TERRIFIC TURKEY CHILI

TERRIFIC TURKEY CHILI

INGREDIENTS: 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 head of chopped garlic, 1 chopped onion, 1 diced each jalapeño & banana pepper, 3 lbs ground turkey, 1 tbs each cumin & oregano, 3 tbs chili powder, 1/2 tsp each onion salt, sea salt and crushed red pepper, 7 ounce can diced green chilis, 1/2 can rinsed small white beans, 32 ounce free range chicken bone broth, 8 ounces frozen corn and 3 tbs molasses, 2 bay leaves 

GARNISH: Cilantro, chopped scallion, shredded taco cheese and low fat sour cream

Sauté onions, garlic & peppers in oil 5 minutes, add turkey and cook until almost done. (it won't brown because there is no fat) Add rest  of ingredients and simmer for half hour. Remove bay leaves and enjoy!

TRISCUIT TREAT WITH ROASTED GARLIC

TRISCUIT TREAT WITH ROASTED GARLIC

INGREDIENTS: Your favorite type of triscuit, head of garlic, 1/2 cup olive oil, tomato and fresh basil

Roast garlic in 425 oven for half hour, let it cool, peel the cloves and put in the olive oil to hang out. Meanwhile thinly slice tomatoes and basil. Spread a clove of garlic on each cracker and top with tomato and basil. Simple but yum.

RED WINE MUSHROOM SAUCE FOR STEAK

RED WINE MUSHROOM SAUCE FOR STEAK

Ingredients: 1 yellow onion, 1 red onion, 8 cloves of garlic, 1 pound of mushrooms, 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 cup beef broth, 2/3 cup red wine, 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Sauté chopped onions, mushrooms & garlic in oil and butter until soft. Add wine & broth, bring to boil and lower heat until mix thickens. Stir often. Put over steak, cauliflower steak or grilled eggplant. Garnish with parsley. 

BROCCOLI STUFFED POTATOES

BROCCOLI STUFFED POTATOES

Ingredients: 4 Baking Potatoes, Small head of broccoli, 6 cloves chopped garlic,3 tbl butter, 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese, salt & pepper to taste and paprika or cayenne for top

-Wash potatoes, poke 1/2 dozen small slices with a knife so they don't explode in the oven, sprinkle with sea salt and bake at 350 for 1-1/2 hours. 

-While potatoes are cooking, chop up the broccoli and sauté with butter & garlic. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper and set aside.

-Take potatoes out and let cool a bit. Cut in half and scoop out some of the middle and save for something else. (great for thickening soups)

-Fill with broccoli, top with a little shredded cheese and garnish with paprika (or cayenne) and bake for another 10 minutes.

ZAHTAR TOAST

ZAHTAR TOAST

Ingredients:

Lebanese pita bread, olive oil, zahtar spice.

Mix one cup of zahtar spice and enough oil to make a paste. Separate  the pita in half, spread the mixture on the bread and bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes. Easy and oh so yummy!

BABA GANOUSH

BABA GANOUSH

Ingredients:

2 eggplants, olive oil spray, salt, white pepper, garlic powder, 4 garlic cloves, juice of one lemon, 2 tablespoons tahini, 1/4 cup olive oil

Put peeled and sliced eggplant on sprayed cookie sheet. Spray the eggplant with more spray and season with salt, white pepper and garlic powder. Roast for 25 minutes at 425. Take out of oven, turn over and let it sit for 15 minutes. Add eggplant and rest of ingredients in food processor until smooth. 

JAMMIN' JAMBALAYA

JAMMIN'JAMBALAYA

There are a lot of ingredients here, so it's okay to add some of your own or skip the one's you don't like.

Ingredients:

-1/4 cup olive oil

-1 chopped onion & 2 chopped celery stalks

-6 cloves of chopped garlic

-6 chopped okra

-2 chopped scallions

-2 peppers (banana, Hungarian, bell, or jalapeño)I didn't use bell.

-Cup of chopped mushrooms (I used shiitake)

-6 cups chicken stock

-Rice: I used a box of Goya yellow rice

-28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes

-6 ounce tomato paste

-1 tbl each oregano, cumin, dark chili powder,worchestire & red hot

-4 tbl molasses

-Pound of large shrimp (take off shell)

-1 package thin, organic chicken breasts (cut bite size)

-3 hot Italian sausage links

-4 Andouille sausage

In a large pot, saute oil, garlic, celery & onion until soft. Add inside of the Italian sausage broken up into small pieces and the mushrooms and cook until sausage is almost done. (about 5 minutes)

Add stock, rice, tomatoes, and spices from oregano to molasses.Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20-25 minutes covered.

When rice is cooked, add shrimp, chicken, scallions and okra and cook on medium heat. Should take about 10 minutes.

When chicken and shrimp are done, add andouille sausage and simmer for 15 minutes.

LOVE MY GREENS

LOVE MY GREENS

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbs olive oil, 1 tbs butter, 2 tbs crushed garlic, 1/2 cup chicken stock, bag of gai lan (asian green) bag of baby spinach, 1 bunch of escarole, 1 hot pepper diced (or red pepper flakes) parmesan cheese

I cooked the stems of the gai lan in the butter, oil and garlic to soften them up. Then I added everything but the cheese and cooked until veggies were soft. I garnished with grated parmesan cheese.

You can use any type of greens. I often use broccoli rabbi & spinach together. Another good one is baby bok choy with escarole and spinach. The more variety of greens, the better!  

PICA DE GALLO

PICA DE GALLO

I love when I can go into the garden and pick fresh tomatoes, cilantro and jalapeños, because freshly made pica de gallo is one of my favorites! You can also get everything at Wegmans.

Ingredients: 2-3 medium tomatoes (I also added some cherry tomatoes), 1 diced jalapeño, 1/2 chopped purple onion, 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, juice from one lime, pinch of sea salt and crushed red pepper.

Mix and let it sit on the counter for a bit so the flavors become friends. Tomatoes change when you put them in the fridge so leave the mix out and only refrigerate if there are leftovers (which never happens!)

SUPER QUICK & EASY THAI SOUP

SUPER QUICK & EASY THAI SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

1 heaping tablespoon each chicken paste, squeezable ginger, bottled crushed garlic, & red curry paste. Celery, red onion, cabbage, broccoli (whatever veggies in your fridge will do, juice of 1 lemon, fresh basil (or dried), leftover shrimp cocktail. (any protein source would do or keep it vegetarian)

I filled a medium saucepan half full of water and added everything to it. Once it came to a boil, I turned the heat off, stirred it well and ate it. It was great!

ZUCCHINI MEATBALLS

ZUCCHINI MEATBALLS

Ingredients: 1 yellow & 2 green zucchini, 1 tbs olive oil, can of olive oil spray, 1 tsp each salt & paper, 1 tbs each crushed garlic & dried basil, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, 1/3 cup grated cheese, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon worchestire sauce, one large bottle of red sauce (marinara, vodka, or spaghetti sauce) 

-Shred zucchini, add garlic, salt & pepper & fry in oil for 10 minutes. 

-Drain in colander

-Heat oven to 375. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray the foil.

-Transfer zucchini to a bowl and add rest of items (except vodka sauce)

-Mold into meatballs and put on cookie sheet. Bake 25 minutes then transfer to a pot filled with sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes and garnish with fresh basil.

LEBANESE GRAPE LEAVES

LEBANESE GRAPE LEAVES

Ingredients: 2 packages ground lamb, one jar grape leaves, 1 cup white or brown rice, 2/3 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup diced onion, 2 tbl ground allspice, 1/4 cup dried parsley

Rinse grape leaves before using. Mix everything else in a bowl. Roll a small amount of the mixture in the center of the leave like you're rolling a cigarette. Fold sides fist and then roll tight. Place the leave seam side up (looks prettier) before adding mix. If the leaf has a stem, cut it off. Put rolled leaves on a steamer basket in a large pot. Add water to the pot (but don't let it touch the leaves) Bring to a boil (covered) and then turn down heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Any questions, don't hesitate to contact me at mnesser64@gmail.com

SPAGHETTI WITH SCALLOPS, PROSCIUTTO & ARTICHOKE HEARTS

SPAGHETTI WITH SCALLOPS, PROSCIUTTO & ARTICHOKE HEARTS

Ingredients: 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 head of garlic, 1/2 red onion, 1 jalapeño, 3/4 cup bottled grilled artichoke hearts, 4 slices prosciutto, one pound of scallops, 1/2 cup each chopped basil & parsley, 2 medium tomatoes, 1 cup chicken stock, 1 tsp red pepper flakes, spaghetti, grated parmesan cheese

-Sauté oil, garlic, jalapeño & onion on medium low heat until soft. Add artichoke hearts & scallops & cook thoroughly. Add stock & red pepper flakes. Drain pasta, add sauce, chopped basil, parsley & tomato to spaghetti and garnish with grated cheese. 

(You can substitute scallops with shrimp or clams if you don't like scallops)

BETTER BROCCOLI

BETTER BROCCOLI

Have you ever thought about cooking broccoli in a skillet? This way has more flavor and isn't mushy like when you steam it.

Ingredients:

Broccoli, cooking oil (I used light olive oil infused with garlic), garlic, juice of 1 lemon, sea salt and pepper to taste. 

Sauté oil and garlic, add broccoli and fry for 5-10 minutes on a medium heat (you don't want the garlic to burn) Add salt and pepper and mix well. Add the juice of the lemon and turn to high and cook another few minutes. It's yummy!

You can always garnish with grated parmesan cheese. It's a tasty option!