Zucchini Cakes with Mushroom Ragout

Zucchini Cakes with Mushroom Ragout

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray
1 Tb Olive Oil
1/2 of a medium Zucchini, shredded (1 cup)
8 1/2 oz package of Corn Muffin Mix
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup Milk
1 Egg
1/4 tspn Cayenne Pepper
12 oz assorted Mushrooms, quartered or sliced (4 1/2 cups)
1 cup drained, bottled, Roasted Red Sweet Peppers

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly coat 12 muffin-pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2) In a mixing bowl, combine zucchini, muffin mix, cheese, milk, egg and cayenne pepepr.
3) Spoon mixture evenly into prepared pan. Bake 11-14 minutes or until golden brown.
4) Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large skillet over med-high heat.
5) Add mushrooms; cook 4-5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionaly.
6) Season with Salt and Pepper.
7) Place roasted red peppers in blender, blend until nearly smooth.
8) Arrange 3 corn muffins on plate with mushrooms and pepper sauce.

Notes*

- It's easiest to shred zucchini while holding the entire zucchini, don't cut in half.
- I couldn't find 8.5 oz muffin mix, so I added about 1/3 cup of cornmeal mix to my 6oz package.
- I used Shitake and Baby Bella Mushrooms, but the shitake is a bit too chewy, I would suggest going with other mushrooms. The Baby Bella was great!
- Roasted Red Peppers are in a jar! Not dried, not fresh........in a jar. Normally found with olives, pickles, etc.
- Great served with light salad. To make lettuce stars, take a bunch of Romaine Lettuce, and slice about 1 1/2 inch sections, do not seperate. Arrange two of these sections on plate.
- Takes about 20 minutes, very quick and easy!

Just Crumbs...

I made this delicious looking crumb cake last week, and guess what?

It was terrible! I threw the whole pan away.

Bella

Chicken Phyllo Bundles

Chicken Phyllo (Fylo) Bundles

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Julienne Carrots (match-stick-cut)
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese (2oz)
4 med green onions, thinly sliced(or 1/4 cup onion)
9oz box Green Giant frozen Asparagus cuts, thawed and drained
6.5 oz package Garlic-and-Herbs spreadable cheese
1 box (16oz) frozen phyllo pastry sheets, thawed
Butter-flavored cooking spray

Directions:

1) Heat oven to 375.
2) In a small microwavable bowl, place carrots. Cover; microwave for about 1 minute or until tender. Set aside.
3) In a medium bowl, gently mix chicken, Swiss cheese, onions, asparagus and spreadable cheese. Stir in carrots.
4)To make 1 bundle, layer 5 phyllo pastry sheets, generously spraying each layer with cooking spray. (Stack randomly.)
5) Keep remaining sheets covered with a dry paper towel, with a damp cloth over that. This will keep them from drying out.
6) Place about 1/2 chicken mixture in the center of pastry stack.
7) With both hands, lift sides towards center and twist (pinch) to make a bundle. May tear a little bit.
8) Spray the outside of the bundle generously with cooking spray; place on a large UNGREASED cookie sheet. Repeat steps to make 7 more bundles.
9) Bake 20-25 minutes or until pastry is browned and crisp.
10) Serve immediately over wild rice and peas.

Layered Taco Dip

Layered Taco Dip

Ingredients:

1 lb. Ground Beef
1.25 oz. package Taco Seasoning
16oz can Refried Beans
1 lb. Ripe Tomatoes, chopped
6 Scallions, trimmed and chopped
1 tspn. Sugar
1/2 tspn. Garlic Salt (I just used powder)
1/4 tspn. Black Pepper
2 cups Shredded Taco Blend Cheese (Mexican Blend)
1 cup. Sour Cream

Tortilla Chips, for dipping

Directions:

1) Cook ground beef until browned, stirring occasionally. Drain well.
2) Stir in 3/4 cup Water and taco seasoning, reduce heat to med-low and simmer 5 min.
3) Stir in Refried Beans until well combined and heated through.
4) In a medium sized bowl, mix together tomatoes, 1/2 of the scallions, the sugar, garlic, and pepper.
5) In another bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese and sour cream.
6) In a clear bowl (or pie pan) layer half of each mixture. Beef mix, then tomato mix, then cheese mix. Repeat layers. Scatter remaining scallions and cheese over the top and serve.

Canadian-Bacon Pepper Jack Panini

Canadian-Bacon Pepper Jack Panini

Delicious!

Ingredients:

4 tspn Honey Mustard (I prefer Ken's Steakhouse!)
4 slices of country white bread
8 slices of Pepper Jack Cheese
6 slices of Canadian Bacon
18 Baby Spinach leaves

Directions: Makes 2 sandwiches

1) Spread 1 tspn of Honey Mustard on each slice of bread.
2) On two slices, layer cheese, canadian bacon and spinach, top with remaining bread.
3) Heat a large, non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray over med. heat.
4) Brush one side of sandwiches with olive oil. Place sandwiches, oil-side down, in the skillet. Top with a heavy pot weighed down with several cans.
5) Cook 2 minutes. Brush tops with oil and flip. 2 more minutes.
6) Serve!

*This recipe is for those of us who don't have Panini presses!

Oh the joy of harvest...

I picked the tomatoes and basil from my garden a few weeks ago...isn't it pretty!






Making Grilled Cheese Sandwiches...




Making Spaghetti...




Dirt Pudding...

Broccoli Salad

Broccoli Salad

2 cup Broccoli Florets
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
2 TB Sugar
1 TB water
1/4 c. Raisins
1/8 c. Sunflower Seeds, hulled and roasted
1/2 c. shredded Cheddar Cheese

1) In a small bowl, combine mayo, sugar and water.
2) Add broccoli, raisins and sunflower seeds.
3) Add more mayo if you need to.
4) Gently stir in cheese.
5) Serve!

I don't really use a recipe to make Brocolli salad, this is just the aproximate amounts. I add the water to the mayo to make it a little thinner. I'm not a fan of mayo..so I prefer it to be more "saucy".

If you want the salad to last longer in the fridge, leave out the raisins and add just before you serve. You can also use cubed colby-jack cheese instead of the shredded cheddar. Cubes retain their shape and don't get mushy like shredded cheeses.