Wonton Tacos

16 wonton wrappers
3/4 pound lean ground beef
2 t. cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 . salt
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1/3 c. Pepper Jack cheese
2 green onions, chopped
2 T. cilantro, finely chopped

shredded lettuce, salsa, sour cream

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.

2.  Place the wonton wrappers in the mini muffins cups, gently folding the wrapper slightly so that they fit.  Set aside.

3.  In a large skillet cook the ground beef, cumin, garlic cloves, and salt.  Cook for 10 minutes or until heated through.

4.  Put a spoonful of ground beef into each wonton cup then top with green pepper, red pepper, tomato, Pepper Jack cheese, green onion, and cilantro.

5.  Cook for 8-10 minutes or until the wontons are golden brown.  Remove from oven and top with lettuce, salsa, and sour cream.

Note:  Cooked, shredded chicken can be used in place of the ground beef in this recipe in order to make chicken wonton tacos. 

Roasted Cauliflower Fettuccine

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
3 T. water
1 t. salt
3/4 t. black pepper
2 t. olive oil, divided
12 oz. fettuccine
3 slices bacon
1/2 onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 T. lemon juice
1 t. fresh oregano, chopped
2 t. fresh thyme, chopped  
2 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shredded

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Combine the cauliflower, water, salt, and pepper in a bowl.  Spread onto the baking sheet and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of olive oil.

3.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, turning occasionally, until the cauliflower is tender and golden. 

4.  Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water, and keep hot.

5. Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Place the bacon in the pan and brown on both sides.  Remove to a plate covered in paper towels to drain.

6.  Add the onion to the bacon drippings in the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Add in the garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute.

7.  Add the remaining oil, pasta water, lemon juice, thyme, and oregano to the pan.   Cook for 2-3 minutes or until everything is heated through.

8.  Add the pasta to the skillet and toss to coat.  Remove from heat and stir in the cauliflower and Parmesan cheese.  Serve hot.

Spinach and Feta Pie (makes 2 pies)

6 (10 oz) bags fresh spinach
2 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
5 eggs, beaten well
1 1/2 cups cooked, diced mushrooms
1 box frozen Phyllo dough
melted butter and olive oil, for brushing between dough layers

Heat the oven to 350. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, add the spinach, covering with a few tablespoons of water. Cover and cook for a couple of minutes, until wilted. Remove from pan and continue until you've used all of the spinach. Set in a colander to drain.

When the spinach is cool enough to handle, again, working in batches, place the spinach in a clean tea towel, and squeeze out as much water as you can. There will be a lot, but get the spinach as dry as possible. Roughly chop the spinach and place it in a medium bowl.

To the spinach, add the feta, dill, lemon juice, eggs and mushrooms. Mix well, set aside.

You can do this in one larger pan or pie plates, but I use 2 (9 inch) cake pans. Follow the directions for using Phyllo that are on the box. Basically, you're going to layer in sheets of the dough, leaving some overhanging the sides of the pan. Continue going all around the pan a few times--so three turns of the pan = 3 layers of sheets. Use the olive oil whisked with the melted butter to brush between the layers. Make sure you've got enough butter set aside for this. Don't start the recipe with only half a stick of butter in the fridge. Plan on at least one, mixed with a fair amount of oil. I didn't measure, just eyeballed and added till I had enough.

Divide the filling between the two pans, and then fold up the edges of the overhanging dough to cover the filling. Add a couple more sheets of dough to the top if you need to. I just loosely dropped a couple sheets over the top of each pie. Brush the tops with the oil/butter mixture and bake for 30-35 minutes, until nicely golden brown on top.

• A note about working with the Phyllo: I'm guessing some "experts" will say I'm wrong here, but yeah, it's a bit of a pain to work with. Every now and again I get a roll of it that simply won't cooperate. Follow the directions on the box as far as covering it with plastic and damp towels while you work. And if a few sheets fall apart? Don't sweat it! Just layer as best as you can, and fill in any spots with more dough. I think it's impossible to make Phyllo look bad after it's cooked. Any repairs that you make before baking won't show up when it's fully baked.
• I like to serve this with a green salad, tossed with tomatoes, red onion, and cucumbers, along with this feta vinaigrette.
• Now, of course you don’t need to make two pies. When I’m doing something like this dish that may be a bit of a pain (working with Phyllo, hehe) I like to make extra and get it all done at once. The cold leftovers are amazing, too! This makes great picnic food, as well.
• Feel free to leave out the mushrooms if you like. I’ve also made this with the sundried tomatoes and that’s fantastic, too.

My Favorite Asiago Scalloped Potatoes

 Enjoy!

Ingredients

1. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2. 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
3. 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
4. 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
5. Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
6. 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
7. 1/2 cup milk
8. 1 cup freshly grated Asiago cheese (about 3 ounces), preferably aged
9. 1 cup plain dry bread crumbs
10. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
11. 2 1/2 tablespoons finely shredded fresh sage leaves
12. 2 1/2 pounds medium Idaho potatoes, peeled and sliced lengthwise 1/8 inch thick\

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Melt the butter in a large heavy saucepan. Add the onions and cook over high heat, stirring, until golden, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic,  nutmeg, 1 tablespoon coarse salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper and cook for 30 seconds. Add the heavy cream and milk and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, toss the cheese with the bread crumbs, olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon of the sage, 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
3. In a medium bowl, toss the cheese with the bread crumbs, olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon of the sage, 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
4.  stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons sage into the onion mixture.... Put the sliced potatoes in a large bowl, add the onion mixture and toss gently. Spread half of the potatoes and liquid in a 2-quart nonreactive baking dish and sprinkle 2/3 cup of the cheese bread crumbs over the top. Cover with the remaining potatoes and press firmly to pack them down. Spoon the remaining liquid over the potatoes and cover with the remaining bread crumbs.
5. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 1 hour, or until the potatoes are tender and the top is golden; if they brown too quickly, loosely cover the dish with foil.

Blueberry Pistachio Spring Salad with Pomegranate and Honey Dressing

Light, bright and delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE POMEGRANATE & HONEY DRESSING:

1/4 cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

1/4 cup Pomegranate Juice

1/4 cup Honey

1-1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/2 teaspoon Cracked Black Pepper

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

FOR THE SALAD:

1 pkg Spring Mix Salad Greens

1/2 a medium Red Onion, sliced thin

1 cup Blueberries, washed

Feta Cheese, crumbled small

Pistachios

Pomegranate Honey Dressing

DIRECTIONS:

For the dressing, mix together the lemon juice, pomegranate juice and honey. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while the blender is on. Store in an airtight jar in the fridge.

Toss the salad ingredients together with the sliced red onion, blueberries, feta and pistachios. Drizzle with desired amount of dressing right before serving so you don't sog down your salad.

*If you're not interested in making your own pomegranate dressing, Simply Dressed by Marzetti makes a similar one that isn't to bad for you either

Caesar Romaine "Wedge" Salad

Caesar Romaine "Wedge" Salad

A different spin on "The Wedge". Perfect for a small gather yet easy enough for a larger dinner party!

INGREDIENTS:

4 strips of bacon, cubed and cooked until crispy

2 smallish heads of Romaine Lettuce, halved lengthwise

1 recipe for Caesar Dressing

Grated Fresh Parmesan Cheese

Lots of Fresh Ground Black Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Place the 4 halved Romaine heads onto four plates.

Drizzle each with the desired amount of Caesar Dressing, sprinkle with some of the crispy bacon and a few grinds of fresh ground black pepper. Lastly top with freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.

Grab a fork and knife and dig in!

*I figured cooking the bacon into the "prep-time". If you are making the salad dressing you may want to make it a little bit in advanced*

Fettuccine with Tomato Cream Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 cans (15 Ounce Each) Tomato Sauce Or Marinara Sauce
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• Dash Of Sugar (more To Taste)
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• Grated Parmesan Or Romano Cheese, To Taste
• Fresh Basil, Chopped
• 1-1/2 pound Fettuccine

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.

Heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for a minute or so. Pour in tomato sauce and add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Stir and cook over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and stir in cream. Add cheese to taste, then check seasonings. Stir in pasta and chopped basil and serve immediately. (Thin with pasta water before adding basil if needed.)