Bruschetta Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 plum tomatoes (about 12 ounces total), cored and diced

• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion

• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or 4 chicken cutlets (about 1 1/2 pounds total)

• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Place the tomatoes, onion, basil, garlic, 1 tablespoon of the oil, vinegar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl and stir to combine; set aside.
2. If using chicken breasts, slice each one in half horizontally, starting at the thick end, so that you have 2 (1/4-inch-thick) cutlets (this is known as butterflying). Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season generously on both sides with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the cutlets in a single layer without crowding the pan, working in batches if needed. Sear the chicken until the bottom is browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the cutlets and continue searing until the other side is browned and the chicken is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes more. Transfer the cooked cutlets to a plate, tent with aluminum foil, and repeat cooking any remaining pieces.
4. Spoon the tomato bruschetta mixture over the chicken and serve.

Posted by Emilee

Spaetzle

 Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup water
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 tsp salt

Instructions

1. In a saucepan, bring heavily salted water to a boil.
2. Beat flour, water, eggs, and salt together. The consistency should be similar to pancake batter. If it's not thin enough, just add more water. Too thin? More flour!
3. If you don't have a spaetzle-maker, I feel your pain. Not to fear, you can do this with a colander (as long as it is one with larger holes, not one like a screen). With one hand, hold the colander over the boiling water. With the other, ladle the batter into the colander, working it through the holes so it drops into the boiling water below. 
4. Allow the spaetzle to boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon (I use a sifting colander). I like to put the cooked spaetzle into a bowl that has a tablespoon or two of butter in it while I make my way through the rest of the batter.
5.  You can eat the spaetzle as is, or fry them in a pan with butter. (Highly recommend). 

Posted by Emilee

Venison Stroganoff

 Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons butter

• 1 1/2 pounds venison backstrap (or any cut of venison/steak), in one piece

• 2 large shallots, minced

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/2 pound sliced button mushrooms

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

• 1/4 cup Madeira wine or sherry

• 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature

• Dill pollen to garnish (optional)

• Heavy cream, optional (to loosen sauce)

Directions:

1. Salt the venison well and let it sit on the cutting board for 20 minutes. Get 2 tablespoons butter in a large saute pan good and hot over medium-high heat. Pat the venison dry and sear all sides well in the butter. Cook it until it's rare to medium-rare. If you don't know how to determine this, use the finger test for doneness. When the meat is ready. move it to a cutting board and let it rest.
2. Add the mushrooms to the pan and turn the heat to high. Soon they will give up their water, and when they do, use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When most of the water has boiled away, add the rest of the butter to the pan along with the shallots and saute everything for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic, toss and cook over high heat for another 3 minutes or so. Sprinkle some salt over everything.
3. Add the Madeira/sherry and toss to combine. Let this boil down furiously. While it is doing so, grate some nutmeg over the mixture. When the Madeira/sherry is mostly gone, turn the heat down to low. Slice the venison thinly and return it and any juices that have collected on the cutting board to the pan. Stir to combine and add most of the chopped fresh dill.
4. Stir in the sour cream and turn off the heat. Stir to combine and let it heat through from the heat in the pan. Do not let this boil, or even simmer, or Very Bad Things will happen. Think nasty curdled crap. 

Serving suggestions: over egg noodles or, as I would personally suggest, homemade spaetzle. 

Posted by Emilee

Acorn Squash stuffed with Brown Rice and Sausage

 Ingredients

• 2  acorn squash each cut top-to-bottom in half and seeded
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 pound pork breakfast sausage - the kind that comes in the big roll for cutting patties*
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 medium red pepper, chopped
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 2 cups precooked whole-grain brown rice, cooled
• 2 tablespoon(s) chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

1. Lightly grease microwave-safe large plate; place squash halves, cut sides down, on plate (it's OK if halves overlap slightly). Cook squash in microwave oven on High 8 to 9 minutes or until fork-tender; set aside until cool enough to handle.
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a pan with foil. 
3. In nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add sausage and cook until browned, breaking up sausage with side of spoon. With slotted spoon, transfer sausage to large bowl.
4. To same skillet, add onion, red pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and cook over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned and tender, stirring occasionally; add to sausage in bowl.
5. With spoon, scoop out squash, leaving 1/4-inch-thick shell. Add scooped-out squash to bowl with sausage; stir in rice and parsley until combined.
6. Spoon sausage mixture into squash shells; place in prepared pan. Bake 20 minutes or until heated through.

*The original recipe called for turkey or chicken sausage, or Italian sausage, but I like it this way better

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Original recipe: Good Housekeeping

Posted by Jasmine

Mussels in White Wine Garlic-Butter Sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• ½ Onion, Chopped Fine
• 3 whole Garlic Cloves, Minced
• 1 cup White Wine
• ½ teaspoons Thyme, Dried
• 1 pound Mussels
• 1 pinch Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1 loaf Crusty Artisan Bread Of Choice

Preparation

1. Melt butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 3 minutes or until translucent. 
2. Add white wine, thyme and mussels. Stir, then cover the pot and cook for about 8-10 minutes. 
3. Discard any unopened mussels. Season with salt and pepper.
4. While mussels are cooking, place the bread on an oven rack for 8 minutes. Slice. 
5. Dump the mussel pot into a bowl. Place bread around the outside edge. Serve and dip bread into the broth.

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Original recipe: Tasty Kitchen

Posted by Jasmine

Basic Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

• 1 10oz loaf stale French bread (or 7 c any type bread), crumbled
• 4 c milk (no less than 2%, can replace a portion with irish cream, pina colada mix, etc.)
• 2 c sugar
• 8 TBS butter, melted
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 c raisins (or blueberries or whatever)
• 1 c coconut (or whatever)
• 1 c chopped pecans (or whatever)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients...texture should be that of cream of wheat: very moist, but not soupy
2. Pour into buttered 9x12 baking dish or larger (or try making it in a muffin tin - cute!)
3. Place into non-preheated oven and bake at 350 for approx. 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown.  Serve warm with sauce

Whiskey Sauce

Ingredients:

• 8 TBS butter
• 1 ½ c powdered sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• ½ c Bourbon (to taste) (substitute fruit juices or liquors to complement the pudding)

Directions:

1. Cream butter and sugar over medium heat until all butter is absorbed.
2. Remove from heat and blend in egg yolk.  
3. Pour in bourbon gradually to your own taste, stirring constantly.  Sauce will thicken as it cools.  Serve warm over bread pudding.

Makes 16-20 servings

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Original recipe: I took a cooking class as like a touristy thing to do in New Orleans and this was their recipe

Posted by Jasmine

Chicken with Garlic Parmesan Rice (aka crack rice)

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken tenders
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup butter (1 stick)
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp salt, divided
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1½ cups uncooked white rice
• 3 cups chicken broth
• ½ cup parmesan cheese (grated or shredded)

Directions

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper and garlic powder. Sauté chicken tenders until nicely browned and just cooked through. Remove from skillet and set aside, covered.
2. Add butter, garlic, red pepper flakes, and ½ teaspoon of salt to the empty skillet and sauté garlic for a couple of minutes on medium heat.
3. Turn heat to medium high and add white wine. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside 3 tablespoons of pan sauce to use later.
4. Add uncooked rice to skillet with remaining butter sauce. Stir well -- make sure rice is completely covered. Add chicken broth and remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. Bring mixture to a low boil then reduce heat to medium-low, cover pan and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir several times while it's cooking.
5. Once rice is done, stir a final time, cover with parmesan, and arrange chicken tenders over the top. Cover, remove from heat, and let stand for 5 minutes.
6. Drizzle reserved 2 tablespoons of pan sauce over chicken tenders when serving

The chicken is whatever. The rice is crack. I warned you.

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Original recipe: What's in the Pan

Posted by: Piera

One-Pot Creamy Taco Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 12 oz rotini pasta
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 4½ cup water
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
• small bunch cilantro, stemmed and diced

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the bell pepper, onion, garlic, and ground turkey. Stirring occasionally, cook until turkey is cooked through and vegetables are tender, about 6-8 minutes.
2. Add the pasta, tomatoes, water, and spices to the pot. Stir and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally until pasta is cooked and most of the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
3. Once the pasta is done, remove from heat. If more than ½ cup of liquid is remaining in the pot, strain off excess liquid.
4. Add cheese, yogurt, and cilantro to the pot with the pasta and stir until cheese is melted and creamy.

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Original recipe: Mealime

Posted by: Piera

Steak Stir Fry with Creamy Garlic-Coconut Cauliflower Rice

Ingredients

• 1 medium head cauliflower (or one pkg frozen riced cauliflower, thawed)
• If you're making your own cauliflower rice, you're a badass. Cut the cauliflower head into quarters, then trim off and discard the leaves and stem. Grate coarsely using a box grater or food processor.
• 4 cloves garlic (or use pre-minced, YMMV)
• 1 (13.5 fl oz) can coconut milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 sticks celery, cut crosswise at an angle
• 2 red bell peppers, sliced into strips
• 2 yellow bell peppers, sliced into strips
• 1½ lb striploin (New York strip) steak (or really any hunk of meat, we use chuck roast), sliced into thin strips
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 8 oz (1 cup) broth (beef, chicken, veg, whatever)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp black pepper

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine riced cauliflower, garlic, coconut milk, and salt.
2. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower is soft and creamy, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and set aside.
3. Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add sesame oil and swirl to coat the bottom.
4. Add steak and stir-fry until golden brown and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes. Add peppers and celery; continue to cook, stirring often, until veggies begin to soften, 3-4 minutes more.
5. Meanwhile, whisk together broth, soy sauce, vinegar, cornstarch, and black pepper.
6. Pour sauce into the skillet/wok. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until the sauce thickens, about 3-4 minutes.
7. Dish stir fry over coconut cauliflower rice to serve.

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Original recipe: Mealime

Posted by: Piera

Steak Kabobs with Mediterranean Spice Rub & Cauliflower Tabouli Salad

Ingredients

For the tabouli salad:

• 1 medium head cauliflower (or one pkg frozen riced cauliflower)
• 2 tbsp olive oil, maybe, see step #2
• 2 lemons (or 1 tbsp dried lemon peel, and 4 tbsp lemon juice)
• 1 small bunch green onions, sliced
• 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
• 4 tomatoes, diced
• 2 cloves garlic (or use pre-minced, YMMV)
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 1 small pkg fresh mint (or 1 tbsp dried mint)
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper

For the steak:

• ¾ tsp salt
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp coriander
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1½ lb striploin (New York strip) steak, or really any hunk of meat, we use chuck roast

Directions

1. If you're using wooden skewers, place them in a shallow dish of water to soak until you are ready to use them. You can make this recipe without the skewers though (I always do).
2. If you're making your own cauliflower rice, you're a badass.
• Cut the cauliflower head into quarters, then trim off and discard the leaves and stem. Grate coarsely using a box grater or food processor. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add 2 tbsp olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom. Add cauliflower and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 5-6 minutes. Transfer cauliflower to a bowl to cool. [1]
3. If you aren't making your own riced cauliflower, just heat it according to the directions on the package. Transfer cauliflower to a bowl to cool. [1]
4. Grate the zest from the lemons into a medium bowl, and then juice the lemons into the same bowl. Add cauliflower and the rest of the ingredients for the tabouli salad. Stir to combine.
5. Combine spices for the steak rub in a medium bowl. Cut the steak into 1½-inch cubes; toss with the spices to coat.
6. Cook the meat until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
• If you're using skewers, thread the steak onto them and cook over a grill, rotating every 2½ minutes.
• If you're not, heat some olive oil in a skillet and cook the meat, stirring occasionally to make sure all sides brown evenly.
7. To serve, divide tabouli and place steak kabobs on top.

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Original recipe: Mealime

Posted by: Piera

[1] You can speed up this process by spreading the cauliflower out on a large baking sheet in an even layer.

Thai Scallop & Veggie Sauté with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 cups basmati rice
• 32 oz chicken or vegetable broth
• 4 tsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 crowns broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 medium zucchini squash, sliced
• 2 medium yellow onions, sliced in half-rings
• 1½ lb sea or bay scallops
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

For the peanut sauce:

• 1 lime (or 2 tbsp lime juice)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 one-inch pieces of ginger root (or 2 tsp ginger paste)
• ¼ cup natural peanut butter
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp water
• ½ tsp crushed red pepper

Directions

1. Rice: Using a strainer, rinse the rice under cold water, then drain and transfer to a small saucepan. Add broth and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Once the liquid comes to a boil, stir the mixture, cover the saucepan, and reduce the heat to low. Cook the rice until the liquid is fully absorbed, 15-18 minutes. Once done, remove the rice from the heat and let it stand, still covered, for 5 minutes.
2. Veggies: Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli, zucchini, carrot, and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are crisp-tender; 7-9 minutes. Once done, transfer veggies to a medium bowl.
3. Scallops: Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. Return the (now empty) skillet to the heat, add the oil, and carefully add the scallops in a single layer; cook until they develop a nice sear and are opaque throughout, 1-2 minutes per side. (If you're using bay scallops, you can just toss them all in the pan, ain't nobody got time.)
4. Sauce: Juice the lime into a medium bowl. Peel and mince the garlic and ginger and add them to the bowl with the lime juice. Whisk in the peanut butter, soy sauce, water, and crushed red pepper.
5. To serve, divide the rice into bowls. Top with sautéed vegetables and scallops; drizzle with peanut sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

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Original recipe: Mealime

Posted by: Piera

Louisiana Sweet Potato Pancakes

Ingredients

• ¾ lb sweet potatoes 
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 3½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1½ cups milk
• ¼ cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Cut sweet potatoes into medium-size chunks and place in a medium saucepan of water. Boil until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain. (If you want to remove the skins, immediately immerse in cold water to loosen and remove - I never bother with this.) Mash.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, mix mashed sweet potatoes, eggs, milk, and butter. Blend sweet potato mixture into the flour mixture to form a batter.
3. Preheat a griddle over medium-high heat. Grease with butter. Drop batter mixture onto the prepared griddle and cook until golden brown, turning once with a spatula when the surface begins to bubble.

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Original recipe: allrecipes

Posted by: Piera