Grilled Corn, Kelbasa, and Endive

Kolrabi and Carrot Salad

"Chikin" Finger Lettuce Wraps

Guava Cake with Coconute Frosting

Garlic Scapes and Wax Bean Sautee

Mozzerella Tomato Salad

Sauerkraut Chicken Eggrolls

Broccoli Cheese Quiche

Potato Pea Curry

Honey Flax Bread

Black bean and corn salsa

Horseradish yogurt dressing

Coconut Cauiflower Pepper Curry

Lemon Squares

Mango Cheesecake

Homemade tortilla and nachos

Fajita Stir Fry

Jumbo Baked Crab Rangoon

Meat Ravioli with Smokey Tomato Sauce

Crab Cakes

Corned Beef Fajita

Water Boiled Bagels

Vegetarian Eggrolls

These are easy, and they are baked! So you can eat a bunch of them and not feel guilty. I used several types of cabbage and bean sprouts for the majority of the filling. The dipping sauce is the best part and probably where most of your calories are coming from. I like sweet and sour but can use whatever you have on hand.

Ingredients:

• Eggroll wrappers
• Green cabbage
• Red cabbage
• Green onion
• Mango
• Bean Sprouts
• Garlic
• Pepper
• Salt

Directions:

• Dice cabbage, onion, and mango
• Sautee diced cabbage, green onion and mango
• Add seasonings
• Fill center of egg roll wrapper with vegetables
• Top with bean sprouts
• Roll like a burrito
• Spray both sides with butter spray
• Flip halfway through
• Bake until crispy

Enjoy!

Stuffed Cabbage

I love stuffed cabbage! These are great and can be pretty low in calorie if you use turkey meatballs. If you are in a hurry buy premade meatballs, instant rice and canned sauce. Otherwise make your own.

Ingredients:

• Cabbage
• Rice
• Meatballs
• Tomato sauce
• Beef or ham bouillon

Directions:

• Carefully remove cabbage leaves from head
• Steam cabbage leaves
• Partially cook rice
• Fill cabbage with rice and precooked meatballs
• Fold cabbage like a burrito
• Place in baking pan
• Cover with sauce and additional water
• Bake for 30 minutes

Serve with garlic bread and a green vegetable
Enjoy!

Coconut Mango Shrimp

Ingredients:

• Shrimp
• Coconut milk
• Mango
• Baby bokchoy
• Green onion
• Celery
• Lemon Grass

Directions:

• Chop vegetables and mango
• Sautee vegetables with onion and lemon grass
  
• Add shrimp
• Add coconut milk
• Add mango

Serve over rice or noodles
Enjoy!

Homemade croutons

I rarely eat croutons, but that's because the prepackaged kind are awful. If you've ever had homemade ones you'll never eat that other crap again. Croutons remind me of growing up when my dad was a chef at the Moose Club and they would make trays and trays of them and we'd eat them until we felt sick to our stomachs. These don't use real butter (though you could) so they won't give you that same effect.

Ingredients:

• Cubed white bread (I used left over homemade)
• Butter spray
• Nutritional yeast
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Basil

Directions:

• Cube bread
• Spray thorough with butter spray
• Toss with spices
• Grease baking pan
• Spread evenly on pan
• Bake until crunchy and brown

Enjoy!

Roasted Beet Hummus

Here is another easy take on hummus. Roasting beets is really easy, just be careful that you don't destroy your clothing with the red pigments in the vegetable. All you need is some fresh raw beets, and the usual ingredients for hummus.

Ingredients:

• 2 large beets
• tahini
• garlic
• salt
• pepper
• lemon juice

Directions:

• Roast beets by washing and placing in tin foil
• Bake beets in their own juices until soft
• Cut beets into square chunks
• Add beets (including skin) into food processor
• Add tahini
• Blend until smooth
• Add lemon juice and seasons
• Blend until thoroughly combined

Enjoy!

Super Easy Pumpkin Brownies

So I decided to use the other half of my canned pumpkin for a healthier dessert. This is another no frills 5 minute assembly food, plus baking time. It's a very moist and dense brownie that does not have to add any additional oil or fat products. I used Jiffy brownie mix.

Ingredients:

• 1 box Jiffy Fudge brownie mix
• 8 oz canned pumpkin
• vanilla extractalmond extract

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients in mixer
• Grease baking pan
• Pour ingredients into baking pan
• Bake until top is firm

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Potato Soup

This is a super easy, 5 minute recipe to make pumpkin soup. Everything is precooked so it just requires assembly, some stirring, and personalization of seasoning.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz canned pumpkin
• 1 chicken bouillon
• 2 cups water
• 1/3-1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes
• 2-3 tsp sugar
• red pepper flakes
• salt
• pepper
• garlic

Directions:

• Put all ingredients in pot
• Stir constantly until potato flakes are absorbed
• Season to taste

Enjoy!

Spicy Eggplant Dip

This is another take on babaganoush. I used wing sauce, red pepper flakes and liquid smoke to add flavor to this dip. Cilantro is our other big flavor contributor. This is very simple to make once the eggplant is roasted.

Ingredients:

• Eggplant
• Tahini
• Lime juice
• Cilantro
• Red pepper flakes
• Wing sauce
• Liquid smoke

Directions:

• Cut eggplant in half
• Cover with oil
• Add garlic, salt and pepper before putting in oven
• Roast eggplant until soft
• Scoop out eggplant filling
• Puree eggplant with tahini, cilantro, lime juice and seasonings

Serve warm Enjoy!

Dandelion greens with carmelized onion

Dandelion greens are a great addition to your diet, adding lots of vitamin A, vitamin C and Calcium. They offer many positive benefits such as decreasing UTIs, acting as a directic and decreasing inflammation. I enjoy sauteing mine with onions, garlic and feta. Make sure leaves are clean.

Ingredients:

• Dandelion greens
• Onions
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Oil
• Feta

Directions:

• Caramelize onions in oil
• Add garlic and dandelion greens
• Cook until wilted
• Season as desired
• Top with crumbled feta

Enjoy!

Stovetop Popcorn

You may wonder why I have popcorn listed on my recipe list. Well frankly I was shocked when I found out that many people have never made popcorn on the stove. Their only experience with popcorn has been microwave crap or several day old movie theatre popcorn (yes it's true, I used to work at one). Anyways season this as you like but make sure to make the kernels crunchy. You can add melted butter and salt for the traditional flavor or caramel/chocolate for a dessert twist.

Ingredients:

• popcorn kernels
• vegetable oil
• salt
• butter

Directions:

• Place a thin layer of oil on the bottom of a pot
• Fill pot with a single layer of kernels
• Cover pot and turn on stove
• Once you hear popping, gently shake kernels around pot several times
• Leave on heat until you hear 2 seconds between pops
• Remove from heat
• Salt and flavor accordingly

Enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce

Spaghetti squash is a great pasta alternative or as a light dinner served with a meat or spicy marinara sauce. The squash has a crunchy texture and a sweet flavor. Combining the sweet flavor with a spicy tomato sauce is a perfect combination. For those that want additional protein/texture, use a ground beef or turkey in the sauce. The squash is easily prepared in the microwave or the oven while the sauce can be made on the stove or crock pot. Or, if you are feeling lazy, just buy a canned sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lb spaghetti squash
• 1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 15 oz can whole tomatoes
• Crushed Garlic
• Minced Onion
• Green bell pepper
• Sweet Red peppers
• Red pepper flakes
• Fresh basil
• Sugar
• Ground beef/turkey/Boca crumbles

Directions:

Sauce:

• Sautee peppers and onions on stove, add meat if desired
• Cook until meat is browned and onions carmelized
• Combine tomatoes, spices, sugar, vegetables and meat together
• Cook until sauce starts to darken and thicken

Squash:

• Pierce squash with fork, keep whole and bake or microwave until soft
• Cut squash in half and remove seeds/center
• Flake squash into "strands"

Spoon sauce over top of squash and serve hot.

Enjoy!

Mussels

Mussels are a seafood I am always apprehensive about cooking. They are really easy to cook, just make sure they are cleaned and debearded. Most grocery store mussels have been farm raised so there isn't much to do with debearding, but in the event there is, just give a pull on the stringy fibers that are found in the mussel. Also, I'm not sure how well this works but on the first soak of the mussels I have been told to add flour or cornflower to water and soak for 1 hours to help remove more of the sand. I used red wine because that is all I had, but chicken broth, water, or white wine are great choices as well.

Ingredients:

• 1lb mussels
• 1 cup red or white wine
• cilantro
• dill
• green onion
• garlic
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

• Rinse mussels several times in cool water
• Soak mussels in water/corn flour for 1 hour
• Scrub any other debris off mussels
• Put all ingredients in pot
• Put mussels in pot and steam for 3-5 minutes
• Turn off heat when mussels open
• Discard any closed mussels

Serve over pasta.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooked Pork Ribs

Pork ribs are sooo good. And believe it or not really easy to prepare. The most important step is browning the ribs on both sides first, which gives the ribs a better taste and keeps them cooking at a hotter temperature to begin with. Experiment with whatever sweet and tangy sauces you have in your refrigerator. And...any left overs can be shredded and used for spicy pork tamales!

Ingredients:

• 1.5-2lb pork ribs
• Catalina dressing
• BBQ sauce
• Honey
• Hot Sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• Garlic
• Onion Powder
• Water

Directions:

• Brown ribs in a cast iron pan
• Heat sauces and water in crock pot
• Coat ribs in sauce
• Cook ribs on high for 2-3 hours
• Bones should easily be removed from meat

Serve and Enjoy!

Sticky Smoked Tofu

This is good for left over tofu and can be eaten alone as a snack, over rice, over salad, in soup or in a wrap. Tofu should be semi drained to start.

Ingredients:

• cornstarch
• firm tofu
• oil
• soy sauce
• worcestershire sauce
• liquid smoke
  
• honey

Directions:

• coat tofu in cornstarch
• fry in oil in a cast iron pan
• flip tofu to brown both sides
• cover with sauces and drizzle with honey
• bake in oven at 375 until sticky and chewy

Enjoy!

Bacon Potato Panzella Frittata

This, just like many of my other recipes, incorporates ingredients I have already at the house. Cooking can be a hassle if you don't have the necessary ingredients. Having to leave your house when you are inspired to cook something to buy several dozen different ingredients can be extremely off putting and ultimately lead you to abandon your cooking efforts. So, like usual, I used what I had and combined several of my "go to" recipes. This is a cross between a quiche, frittata and panzella salad. It't not really considered a strata because nothing is layered in this. The bread gives it a chewy texture while the eggs, tofu and bacon give it a tasty portion of protein.

Ingredients:

• 2 pieces thick cut bacon
• 3 pieces cubed italian bread
• 2 large eggs
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 roma tomato
• 1 cup thinly diced potatoes (I used left over scalloped potatoes)
• 1/2 cup crumbled medium to firm tofu
• Garlic
• Dried Vegetable flakes
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cilantro
• Basil

Directions:

• Brown bacon in frying pan
• Remove bacon and chop into small squares
  
• Save bacon fat and brown chopped onion and potatoes
• Beat eggs and combine with crumbled tofu
• Cube bread and add to onion and potato mixture
• When onions have started to brown mix all ingredients
  
• Add spices
• Grease a spring form pan
• Add ingredients to spring form pan
• Bake at 375 until done

Enjoy!

Jambalya

I love okra but perfer it in a caserole instead of a side dish. Jambayla is perfect because it's spicy, sweet, and the okra adds a nice thick consistency to the sauce. I used frozen okra and corn, diced tomatoes, and some chunky salsa which cuts down on most of the prep time. I boiled the sausage before I fried it and assembled everything in the crockpot.

Ingredients:

• Sausage
• Whole Okra
• Corn
• Scallons
• Diced Tomatoes
• Salsa or Chopped Peppers
• Chicken boullion
• Onion
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Bay Leaf

Directions:

• Boil sausage


• Slice and Fry Sausage


• Put all ingredients in crockpot


• Cook on high for 3-4 hours
  
• Serve over white rice
  

Enjoy!

Portabella Mushrooms

These are great when you don't feel like cooking meat or if you are in a mushroom mood. I started with sauteeing some garlic and adding oil and vinegar along with some herbs. This should be served over rice or pasta.

Ingredients:

• 2 portabella mushrooms or a bunch of baby bellas
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 green onion
• 1 handful of cilantro
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• salt

Directions:

• Heat oil in pan
• Peel and chop garlic
• Sautee
• Add diced onion
• Slice mushrooms into strips
• Add additional oil and vinegar
• Add cilantro
• Steam rice while mushrooms are cooking

Serve and enjoy!

Tea Noodles

One of my favorite ways to prepare noodles or rotini is by cooking it in a small amount of liquid and letting the noodles absorb the flavor they are cooked in. The pasta turns out much chewier and starchy because you do not drain the pasta water, because there is none! This recipe uses tea, soy sauce, and liquid smoke, but it works very well with chicken broth or beef broth. The trick is to be constantly stirring the pasta and adding water as necessary.

Ingredients:

• Egg noodles
• Boiling water
• Tea bags
• Soy sauce
• Liquid smoke
• Salt
• Garlic
• Pepper

Directions:
Boil water and tea bags

• Remove tea bags
• Add remaining liquid ingredients
• Add pasta
• Add spices
• Stir constantly making sure pasta does not stick to bottom of pan
• Add additional water if necessary
• Pasta should be taken off heat before completely cooked as it will continue to steam in pan since you do not drain or rinse hot pasta

Enjoy!

16 Bean and Bacon Soup

Does the soup really have 16 beans? I have no idea. But this was modified from a soup my dad serves at his restaurant. He never counted the exact number of different types of beans so neither do I. It probably has less fat and ultimately slightly less flavor than his but is much healthier and still satisfying. This soup can be made with ham, smoked tofu or omitting the meat and adding liquid smoke or aminos.

Ingredients:

• Dried bean soup mix
• Dried butter beans
• Dried lentils
• 1/2 cup red onion
  
• 3 pieces of thick cut bacon
• 1 ham bouillon
• Cilantro
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Vegetable flakes
• Bay leaves
• Water

Directions:

• Soak beans for 2 hours (omit lentils)
• Sautee diced onions and bacon in bacon fat
• Cut bacon into small squares
• Add soaked beans, water, ham bouillon and seasonings to crock pot
• Cook on high for 2 hours
• Add lentils
• Add additional water if necessary
• Cook until all beans are done and soup base becomes thicker

Enjoy!

Spicy Pork and Eggplant Stir fry

This is another good left over dish. I used rib meat and japanese eggplant. The dish gets it's spicyness from hot sauce, red pepper flakes and charred poblano peppers and the sweetness from the left over bbq sauce that marinated the ribs. Because I used left overs, everything was already cooked, which cut done prep time and frying time to about 15 minutes. I felt there was enough protein in this to skip adding an egg. Which gave a nice Mexican themed stir fry as opposed to an Asian one. The vegetables are a nice addition to this dish. Feel free to add/substitute other beans or types of meat that you already have on hand.

Ingredients:

• Pulled pork or rib meat taken off from bones
• Steamed eggplant
• Grilled and charred poblano pepper
• Left over rice and red beans or spanish rice mix
• Roma tomato
• Scallions
• Cilantro
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Hot sauce

Directions:

• Heat ribs and remove meat from bones, ligaments and fat
• Heat oil in frying pan
• Add cold rice, beans, eggplant
• Chop tomato, pepper, scallion and cilantro
• Add red pepper flakes
• Stir fry until all ingredients start to brown and are hot
• Serve with a drizzle of hot sauce on top

Enjoy!

Blueberry Oatmeal Bread

This bread is everything you want in a breakfast or quick snack. It's dense, chewy, moist, sweet, and aromatic. The bread gets its nice color from a tablespoon of black strap molasses which also adds a decent amount of nutrients. Feel free to substitute any berry into this bread or omit it completely for a banana oat bread.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 2 cup instant oats
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/8-1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup blueberries
• 2 medium over ripe bananas
• 2-3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon black strap molasses

Directions:

• Cream eggs, butter and sugar in mixer
• Mix liquid ingredients
• Add mashed bananas
• Start to add dry ingredients
• Add baking soda/powder and salt
• Mix in flour
• Mix in oats
• Mix in blueberries
• Grease bread pan
• Add mixture to pan
• Bake at 350-375 until done

Enjoy!