Chicken Veggie Lettuce Wraps

  

DRESSING

• 1/2 cup onion chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon ginger

WRAPS

• 2 zucchini grated or julienned
• 2 carrots grated or julienned
• 1 cup cooked chicken, chopped
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup wonton strips
• butter leaf lettuce

Directions:

DRESSING

1. In a medium saucepan, saute chopped onions and sugar together in butter. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onions start to caramelize. Add minced garlic and continue cooking for one more minute.
2. In a blender or mini food processor, pulse caramelized onions and garlic together with orange juice, honey, olive oil, and ginger.

WRAPS

1. In a large bowl, combine zucchini, carrots, chicken, almonds, and wontons. Toss with 1/2 of the dressing until well coated-add more if desired. 
2. Spoon the chicken veggie mixture into a lettuce leaf.

Navratan (9 Vegetable) Korma

This is another great Indian dish.  I love how many vegetables it uses.  I'm not sure when I first had this dish...but I've tried many times to recreate it.  Here is a recipe that comes very close to what I remember eating at a restaurant.  Enjoy!

Image from Here.

In large soup pot over medium heat cook 7 minutes:
2 red onions, sliced
2 c chopped tomatoes
3 TBS butter or olive oil
1/2 c cashews
-Add the below spices and cook 1 more minute:
1 tsp chili powder
2 TBS honey
1 TBS Kasoori Methi 
1 TBS garam masala
1 tsp salt
2 TBS fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic
-Using a blender, blend onion, tomato, cashew, and spice mixture until smooth and cream.  Return sauce back to large soup pot and add:
1 can coconut milk
chopped vegetables: potatoes, peas, zucchini, cauliflower, carrots, water chestnuts, green beans
1/4 c. golden raisins (optional)
-Simmer until vegetables are soft.  Season with additional salt to taste.  
-Serve over basmati rice.  Garnish with additional cashews and chopped fresh cilantro.

Zucchini Crisps

Original Recipe (slightly modified below) and image from food network.com

Ingredients

Cooking spray

2 medium zucchini (about 1 pound total)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (3/4-ounce)

1/4 cup plain dry bread crumbs (optional)

1/8 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
• Slice the zucchini into 1/4-inch thick rounds. In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini with the oil. In a small bowl, combine the Parmesan, bread crumbs, salt, and a few turns of pepper. Dip each round into the Parmesan mixture, coating it evenly on both sides, pressing the coating on to stick, and place in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake the zucchini rounds until browned and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove with spatula. Serve immediately.

Browned Zucchini with Parmesan

Simple and Easy!

1 TBS Olive oil

2-3 Sliced Zucchini
-Cook on high heat for about 3 minutes (don't over cook or zucchini gets soggy) until some of the sides begin to brown.
-Remove from heat, season with freshly ground pepper and salt
-Top with parmesan (or pecorino romano) cheese and serve immediately. Yum!

Korean Rice Bowls

 I love eating at family members homes.  Their food always tastes so good!  Here is a tasty recipe from one of my amazing sister-in-laws!  This makes a great "Pot-luck" meal where you can divide out topping assignments.

1 ½ lbs ground turkey or ground beef or ground chicken

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

Salt and pepper

½ c brown sugar

1 c low­ sodium soy sauce

½ c low ­sodium chicken or beef broth

2 TBS sesame oil

½ tsp red pepper flakes 

2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger

Garnishes/Toppings:

green onions, chopped

Hot, cooked sticky rice

Romaine lettuce, chopped
shredded carrots
red peppers, chopped
mung bean sprouts
spinach
sesame seeds
roasted zucchini

• Start the rice cooking according to package directions.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, add the meat, garlic and ¼ tsp salt and pepper. Cook, stirring to break the meat into small pieces, until the meat is cooked through and crumbly, about 7­10 minutes. Drain any excess grease.
• In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the brown sugar, soy sauce, broth, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and ginger.  Stir the sauce into the meat and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes or so. 
• In serving bowls layer lettuce, rice, and meat with sauce.  Serve topped with green onion, shredded carrots, sesame seeds. 

Zucchini Pizza

For a super easy and healthy pizza alternative...

use zucchini (or yellow squash) 

as your pizza base instead of bread.  

This is a common dish when our zucchini plants are in full garden swing!  

Top zucchini with sauce, cheese, and then desired toppings.  

Bake at 475 for 12-15 minutes.  

Don't overcook.  

You want the zucchini to be crunchy-not water and soggy!

Pesto Zucchini Pasta with Grilled Chicken

This is a simple easy meal to throw together.  The one necessary kitchen tool is a spirualizer (or you could purchase already spiraled zucchini noodles at your grocery store).  DO NOT cook the zucchini!!!  This creates a watery and mushy nasty mess!  I often grill large quantities of chicken and then freeze cooked chicken in meal size portions.  Then I can just pull it out when I need it to make this meal all the more simple to put together.

Directions:

1.  Spiralize zucchini.  

2.  Top raw zucchini pasta with a warmed pesto sauce 

                 (I add cream to Costco's pesto sauce and warm that up).

3.  Top with grilled chicken  

                 (I usually marinate mine in salt/pepper/lime juice)

4.  Enjoy!

Zucchini Crisps

I've never really liked pickles, but recently I had some amazing FRIED pickles.  Oh they were amazing!  I'm not a big fan of most Southern food here in NC, but pickles were meant to be fried!

 When I saw this recipe I had to give it a try.  It is definitely not the same thing, but these are very tasty too (and of course much healthier!)

Tour of Italy Sausage Lasagna (Red, White, and Green Sauces)--Vegetarian Options Included

This picture is from kraftrecipes.com.  Taking a good picture of lasagna is IMPOSSIBLE!  And if I posted a picture of my own, you'd probably never make this amazing recipe!  This Lasagna recipe is unique for the following reasons:

1.  It does NOT use ricotta cheese

2.  You use sausage for the meat

3.  It has a layer of carmelized onions--YUM!

4.  It has THREE kinds of sauce:  Tomato, Alfredo, and Pesto

5.  It FEEDS A LOT.  

7.  BEWARE This recipe is not for the traditional 9x13 pan.  If you do not have a large pan (size noted in recipe) you can make two 9x13 pans.  

8.  You DO NOT have to cook the noodles ahead of time.

9.  It has the secret ingredient...of green spanish olives.  I don't like Spanish olives myself since they are so strong, but don't worry, they are minced and it adds a secret flare that is a must!  I buy the large jar of Spanish Green Olives stuffed with pimento from Costco.

My husband lived in Rome, Italy for quite awhile, so he is the resident "pasta" expert.  I have learned a lot from him.  In Italy they NEVER put ricotta in lasagna.  That is an American-Thing.  We have made variations of this recipe for years, and finally decided to commit to a predictable product.  The recipe is now here for you!  You can really layer in ratios however your want as long as you do FOUR layers of noodles (just the regular ones--not oven ready since they have a weird consistency--and you do NOT cook them ahead of time).  Hopefully this makes sense!

FOR 15.5 x 11.5 x 2.5 Pan

White Sauce:  1 15 oz bottle Classico Alfredo Sauce

Green Sauce:  1 c. Costco Basil Pesto

Red Sauce: 1  28-34 oz. Bertolli (or Classico) Organic Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce, 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes, 2 TBS Italian Seasoning, 1 tsp salt

2 large sweet vidalia onions, carmelized w/ 1/4 c. butter and 2 TBS brown sugar

20 green olives, minced

2 lbs. Mozzarella Cheese

1 lb. Jimmy Dean Regular Pork Sausage, cooked until super brown and crisp and fat drained

fresh basil (optional for garnish)
2 lbs Lasagna Noodles (DO NOT COOK THEM and DO NOT USE OVEN-READY)

Before Layering:
1.  Blend crushed tomatoes and Bertolli's sauce together with spices.

Layers:

1.  1/3 of red sauce

2.  Noodles

3.  Pesto, 1/2 of meat, cheese

4.  Lasagna Noodles

5.  Alfredo sauce, onions

6.  Lasagna Noodles

7.  1/3 red sauce, cheese, 1/2 of the olives

8.  Lasagna Noodles

9. 1/3 Red Sauce, 1/2 of meat, 1/2 of the olives

10.  Mozzarella (add just last 10 minutes of baking)

Bake 375 for 80 minutes COVERED in foil.  Remove foil, sprinkle with shredded mozzarella and bake uncovered 10 minutes more.  Remove from oven and garnish with fresh basil if desired.

***For Vegetarian version, omit sausage and add a layer of shredded carrots, one layer of shredded zucchini, and two layers of swiss chard or spinach or both! (chopped finely).

15.5 x 11.5 x 2.5 Pan

***If your lasagna comes out to dry for your taste...one thing to do next time is to add 1/3 cup of water around pan perimeter.

Fall Cooking Class Recipes

Here are the recipes from my most recent cooking class.  I took pictures of everything and then they all got deleted somehow...so I'll just post them anyway so you have something to go from for now!

Latacha’s CHILI

Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef 1 medium/large onion, diced 1 29 oz can tomato sauce 1 29 oz can kidney beans, drain liquid 1 29 oz can pinto beans, drain liquid 1 4 oz can mild green chilies 2 stalks celery, diced 3 fresh medium tomatoes, chopped 1 TBS chili powder 2 tsp cumin powder 1 teaspoon black pepper 2 teaspoons salt 4 cups water Directions: 1. Brown the ground beef with onion in a skillet over medium heat;  drain off the fat. 2. Using a fork, crumble the cooked beef into pea-size pieces. 3. In a large pot, combine the beef plus all the remaining ingredients, simmer over low heat. 4. Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2 to 3 hours.  (Or use crockpot: low for 3 hours) 5. For spicier chili, add ½ teaspoon more black pepper. For extra spicy chili, add 1 tsp black pepper and a tsp cayenne pepper. For super hot spicy, add 5 sliced jalapeño peppers to the pot. Laura’s Veggie Chili 1 medium onion, diced 1 can corn, drained 1 zucchini, chopped 2-3 bell peppers (any color), chopped 1 29 ounce can tomato sauce 1 29 ounce can kidney beans, drain fluid 1 29 ounce can pinto beans, drain fluid 1 4 oz. can mild green chilies 2-3 stalks celery, diced 3 medium fresh tomatoes, chopped 1 TBS chili powder 2 teaspoons cumin powder 1 teaspoon black pepper 2 teaspoons salt 4 cups water Directions: 1.     Caramelize onion for 7 minutes (optional) 2.    Combine ALL ingredients in large soup pot (or crockpot).  Stir to combine.  3.    Simmer over low for 2 hours (or cook on low for 2-3 hours in crockpot) Crockpot Pork Chops with Apple Chutney (Betty Crocker) Ingredients 4-8 center-cut bone-in pork loin chops, 1 inch thick (about 2 lb), trimmed of fat ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 6 tablespoons packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons cider vinegar 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ cup sweetened dried cranberries 2 medium baking apples, peeled, chopped (2 cups) Directions 1 Spray 3- to 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper; place in cooker. 2 In small bowl, mix brown sugar, vinegar, ginger, cinnamon, red pepper and cranberries. Spoon over pork in cooker; top with apples. 3 Cover; cook on Low heat setting 4 hours to 4 hours 30 minutes. Fresh Blender Cranberry Sauce  4 c. cranberries 1 whole orange (peel and all!) 1 c. sugar -Cut off ends of orange, then put cranberries, orange  and sugar in blender.   -Blend until smooth. Stir in 1 c. pomegranate seeds (optional).   -This keeps in fridge for a VERY long time!  It also freezes well, so well that you cannot tell the difference between a fresh  or frozen batch! Mini-Gingerbread Muffins ¼ c. butter, softened 2 1/3 c. flour (can use wheat) 2 tsp baking pwdr. 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp ginger ½ tsp cinnamon ½ tsp allspice ¼ tsp cloves ½ tsp salt ¾ c. sugar 1 c. pumpkin ½ c. unsulfured molasses 2 eggs ½ c. buttermilk 1 c. confectioners’ sugar and 2 TBS water (for frosting) -Combine all ingredients (except conf. sugar/water) in bowl  and mix until well combined. Spoon into prepared mini cake or muffin pans. -Bake 350 for 20 minutes. Let sit in pan 5 minutes on cooling rack. Then shake out of pan. Cool completely. Then dip muffin tops in  Confectioners’ sugar glaze if desired. -Yield 36-40 mini muffins. -For LARGE muffins bake 25 minutes. Cheesy Southern Biscuits 1 tsp olive oil 2 c flour 1 TBS baking powder 1 TBS dried parsley 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp salt 1 tsp white sugar 1 c shredded cheddar cheese 5 TBS butter 1 c milk (a little bit more if dough too dry) -Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. -With a fork, mix together the flour, baking powder, parsley, thyme, salt, sugar,  and cheese in a bowl. Cut the butter (or grate) into the flour mixture in  coarse chunks, then use the fork to further]cut the butter into the flour-cheese  mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Lightly stir in the milk  just until the dough holds together. Don’t over stir! -Drop the batter by spoonfuls (or cookie scoop) onto 11x17 the baking sheet,  and bake in the preheated oven until risen and golden brown, 20-25 min.  -Makes 12 large (bake 25 minutes) or 18 medium biscuits (bake 20 minutes).  For mini biscuits (bake 12-15 minutes). *Pumpkin* or Cream Biscuits 2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour 2 TBS sugar 2 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 1 1/ 2 c. heavy cream -Preheat oven to 425. 1. Mix together all dry ingredients.   Add cream (and pumpkin for pumpkin version) and stir until just combined (add extra cream if too dry). 2. Using hands, shape dough into a circle or rectangle.  Cut into wedges  or circles. 3. Place biscuits on parchment lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown,  about 15 minutes.  Serve immediately. ***For PUMPKIN version, add ½ c. pumpkin at the same time as the cream.  Sprinkle top of biscuits with cinnamon and sugar before baking.