Chicken Crepes

So quick, easy and so tasty! I used Costco chicken and the egg white crepes from TJs. It took less than 30 minutes total time!

butter, for the dish

2 1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (such as parsley, dill, chives or mint)

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

8 store-bought crepes (about 9 inches each

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Butter a large baking dish. Combine the chicken, ricotta, 1/2 cup parmesan, 3 tablespoons herbs, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Spoon about 1/4 cup filling across the lower half of each crepe; roll up to enclose the filling. Place the crepes, seam-side down, in the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake until the filling is hot, about 15 minutes.

Advertisement

Pork Meatballs & Peppers

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 tablespoon fennel pollen
• 1 1/2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (1/3 cup)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 red or yellow bell peppers, cored and cut into 1/2-inch strips (2 cups)
• 1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch slices (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 can tomato sauce (15 ounces)
• 6 ounces fresh mozzarella

• Mix together pork, fennel, Parmigiano, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Form into 1 1/2-inch balls. Heat oil in a large straight-sided skillet over medium-high. Add meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes; transfer to a plate.nullADVERTISEMENT
• Add peppers, onion, and 1/4 cup water to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce and 3/4 cup water. Season with salt and pepper and return meatballs and any accumulated juices to pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Partially cover skillet and simmer until meatballs are cooked through, about 10 minutes.
• Preheat broiler, with rack 6 inches below element. Top everything with mozzarella. Broil until cheese melts, about 2 minutes.

Greek Burger on Salad

This low carb healthy dinner comes together in about 30 minutes. The feta studded burger is so yummy.

• 1 lb Ground Beef
• 1/2 tsp Salt divided
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper divided
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 1 Scallions minced
• 1 tbsp Capers minced
• 3 oz Crumbled Feta
• 1 English Cucumbers
• 1/2 c Greek Yogurt
• 2 large Romaine Lettuce, chopped
• 2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
• Combine the beef with half of the salt, pepper, and crushed garlic. Add the scallions and capers and mix well.
• Carefully fold in the crumbled feta, and shape the beef mixture into 4 even-sized patties; set aside.
• To make the tzatzki, slice the cucumber into a colander and combine with the remaining salt. Allow cucumber to drain in the colander for about 10 minutes. Add the yogurt and remaining pepper and garlic to the cucumbers, and stir to combine.
• Broil the beef patties on high for about 5 minutes to an internal temperature of about 165*F, flipping once to achieve even cooking and browning.
• Serve burgers on lettuce, tomato and with tzatzki.

Fat Free Balsamic Dressing

3/4 Cup Water

1/4 Cup Balsamic vinegar

1/4 Cup Apple cider vinegar

1/4 Cup Red wine vinegar

1/4 Cup Unseasoned rice vinegar

3-4 Cloves Garlic

1/4 Cup Ketchup

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 Tsp Xanthan or guar gum

---

Place all ingredients in a blender jar and process until very smooth and emulsified.

Chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Dressing will thicken as it chills.

Fromage Fort

This recipe is so easy and delicious! Inspired by David Lebovitz. it’s a great way to use up all the scraps of cheese you have in the fridge.

8 ounces (225g) cheese pieces, hard rinds removed

1 to 2 ounces (30 to 60g) cream cheese

1/4 cup (60ml) dry white wine1

garlic clove, peeled and minced

A pinch of ground black pepper

pinch of cayenne or red pepper powder

1 tablespoon minced chives or flat-leaf parsley

additional chives or parsley, for garnish

Cut the cheese into bite-sized cubes and put them in the bowl of a food processor with 1 ounce of the cream cheese, wine, garlic, and the black and red peppers.

Process the mixture until completely smooth. If it is not completely smooth (which may happen if you are starting with an assortment of harder cheeses), add the additional cream cheese, and continue to process.

When smooth, add the chives or parsley and pulse the machine a few times, until they are incorporated.

Using a spatula, put the fromage fort into a serving dish or bowl, cover, and chill until firm.

Serving: Sprinkle the fromage fort with additional chopped chives or parsley, and perhaps a few turns of black pepper. Serve with toasted bread or crackers with pre-dinner drinks or cocktails. Let come to room temperature before serving. Fromage fort can also be served over split baked potatoes.

Apples in Puff Pastry

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 large apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (I like to use different varieties)
• 1/4 c dried tart cherries
• 1/4 – 1/2 c toasted pecans
• 1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed

1. Heat the oven to 375°F. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork. Stir the granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add the apples, nuts and cherries and toss to coat.
2. Sprinkle the remaining flour on the work surface. Unfold the pastry sheet on the work surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 16 x 12-inch rectangle. With the short side facing you, spoon the apple mixture onto the bottom half of the pastry sheet to within 1 inch of the edge. Roll up like a jelly roll. Place seam-side down onto a baking sheet (this will help keep it from unrolling during baking). Tuck the ends under to seal. Brush the pastry with the egg mixture.
3. Bake for 35 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Let the pastry cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 20 minutes.

Ground Pork, Apples & Cabbage

This dish is a one pot wonder – a perfect fall dinner. it comes together in less than 30 minutes and tastes amazing.

Ingredients

1 lb ground pork

1/2 small to medium cabbage, chopped

1 garlic clove minced

1 small onion, chopped

2 apples of choice (gala, pink lady, honeycrisp work great), chopped

3 tbsp chopped sage

1/4 tsp onion powder

1 tsp fresh thyme

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp salt

Mix seasoning into ground pork. Make sure it is evenly distributed.

In a large skillet, heat 1 tsp of olive oil, add the onion, garlic, apples and pork into the pan, cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, and breaking up the pork. Once the pork starts to brown add the cabbage and continue to cook until slightly wilted and the pork is cooked through.

Serve with some toasted sourdough bread.

Barbacoa Rump Roast Tacos

These slow cooker tacos are so good and easy!

• one 2 lb to 3 lb rump roast or chuck roast, cut into 4 pieces
• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion peeled and diced
• 1 red bell pepper cut into 1/2 inch chunks
• 1 small hot pepper, diced
• 1 tomato, cut into 1/4 inch chunks
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• half a bunch cilantro chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 heads of chopped romaine
• Crumbles Mexican Cheese

• Thaw your roast out until almost thawed. You can thaw it completely, but I like to have it still a little frozen because it’s easier to cut.
• Combine all the seasonings (salt thru chili flakes) in a small bowl, then rub thoroughly over your four roast chunks.
• Add the olive oil to the bottom of your instant pot or to a cast iron skillet on medium-high heat. Saute the four seasoned chunks of roast until medium brown on all sides. I fried mine two at a time rather than all four at once because the instant pot is too small for all four.
• Once the meat is browned, remove from the pan. Add a bit more olive oil if needed, then add the onions. Saute for a minute until they start to caramelize, then add the pepper and jalapeno. Saute for another 1-2 minutes until lightly brown.
• Add the tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, and the beef roast chunks to the instant pot, slow cooker, or roaster.
• Instructions for Instant Pot:
• At this point, just put the lid on the instant pot and turn it to the manual setting. Don’t add any more liquid. Set the time to 1 hour, and set the valve to “sealing.” And that’s it! Just let it go for an hour until it beeps. At that point, make sure it’s off and then set the valve to “venting.”
• Step away while it’s venting, then when it stops (you’ll hear it stop making noise), carefully open the lid. Again, don’t let the steam get in your
• There will be quite a lot of liquid (sadly inevitable when dealing with the instant pot). Remove your four big roast chunks and place them on a cutting board, then use forks to shred. Return to juices and stir around to allow juices to coat the meat. Then spoon the mixture into a serving dish or plastic container (if you’re saving to reheat later). As you’re spooning, pick up the meat, tomatoes, and peppers but leave about half of the liquid behind. You can use this leftover liquid in a soup or simply discard.
• And that’s it! Serve on tacos, over rice, or in a taco bowl.
• Instructions for Slow Cooker or Roaster: Once you have all your ingredients in the slow cooker or roaster, add about 1/4 inch of water to the bottom. Place lid on and turn to medium heat on the slow cooker or to around 200 degrees F on the roaster. Slow cook/roast for around 6 hours until meat is tender (checking water level occasionally to maintain at 1/4 inch).
• Remove, shred, and serve or transfer to container.

Lemon Sheetcake

This cake come from the NYT! It’s supper moist and easy! Next time I would use 2 c butter for the butter cream.

• 1 c unsalted butter softened, plus more for preparing the pan
• 3 c all-purpose flour
• 1 ⅓ c whole milk
• ¼ c fresh lemon juice
• 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 c sugar
• 4 tsp packed finely grated lemon zest
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM:

• ¾ c unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
• 1 1/4 confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• Pinch salt
• 4 to 5 tbsp fresh lemon juice

PREPARATION

1. Make the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, butter and flour the paper.
2. In a measuring cup with a spout, combine the milk and lemon juice. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing for about 30 seconds after each. Scrape down bottom and sides of the mixer to ensure the mixture is well combined.
4. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk mixture to the bowl in three additions. Mix until just combined, then use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any large air pockets. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until puffed and golden and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake completely on a rack before frosting.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting: Combine the butter, confectioners’ sugar, lemon zest and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low until combined, then turn the mixer up to medium-high and stream in 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Whip the frosting until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, adding additional lemon juice as necessary until frosting is smooth and spreadable.
6. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake and serve. Store leftover cake at room temperature, covered for up to 2 days.

Two Ingredient *Bagel*

Preheat oven 375 (I used my toaster oven)

1 Cup self rising flour

1 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt

2 pinches baking soda

2 pinches of salt

1/4 cup Kraft Fat Free Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 diced mild Jalepeno

1 egg for eggwash- optional

Everything seasoning

How to:

In a bowl, sprinkle in the baking soda and salt with the self-rising flour. Please note, you do not need the baking soda but I added it just to get a little extra lift in the bagels. Add the Greek yogurt and mix with spoon until good and sticky lumpy . Flour your countertop and knead the dough thoroughly.

At this point, if you wish to add the diced jalapeno and cheddar do this now and knead it into the dough.

Divide the dough into 6 equal balls. Using your hands, roll into breadstick like shapes. Form into a circle and place on a greased baking sheet. I had a bagel form which I found at Meijer and I used nonstick spray.

Brush the tops with egg wash if desired and sprinkle on the everything bagel seasoning. Place into the oven and bake for 25 to 28 minutes. They will be golden brown when they are done. Enjoy!

***If you want to make slightly larger bagels, divide the dough into four. This will be three points each ***