I've been making these 2 recipes lately and like them a lot. Easy, filling, and delicious.

Fried Rice

You can play around with this recipe. I like to add asparagus tips, green peppers, broccoli, etc.

3 cups cooked rice (day old or leftover rice works best!)
3 tbs sesame oil
1 cup frozen peas and carrots (thawed)
1 small onion, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup soy sauce

On medium high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet or wok.
Add the peas/carrots mix, onion and garlic.
Stir fry until tender.
Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side, then pour your eggs on the other side of skillet and stir fry until scrambled.
Now add the rice and soy sauce and blend all together well.
Stir fry until thoroughly heated!



Peanut Butter Noodles

(I like mine warm, I don't rinse the pasta in cold water.)

1 pound linguini, angel hair pasta, or soba noodles
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
5 tablespoons sesame oil
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons peeled and grated fresh ginger root
1 small garlic clove, crushed
4 scallions, trimmed and cut
Toppings (optional): grated carrot, scallion cucumber, toasted sesame seeds, chopped peanuts, etc.

Cook the noodles according to the package directions, then drain and rinse with cold water.
In a large bowl, blend together the peanut butter, vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic.
Heat until the peanut butter melts and the whole makes a smooth sauce.
Add to noodles or pasta, toss well, then garnish with the toppings.

Before it gets lost...

Apple Pan Dowdy - variation on an old New England Recipe
Make similar to apple pie but add molasses, a little brown sugar, and butter as well; butter the bottom of the pan, double up the top pie crust which makes it thick. Serve warm after the crust has been 'dowdied' into apples and juice. Addition of sauce (I don't do it) or ice cream or whipped cream when serving. Yum! Can't wait...going to have it for breakfast!

I made one chili dish (that I can't find the photo of now) with either ground turkey or chicken.

Good, but twasn't enough for the effort, nor hot enough. I had added my herbs as well as chili powder medium.

Had it over biscarti (sp) rice. Yum.

Will add photo if I can find it.

So today, still undercover of snow, I made the second batch.

This time with 1.5 lbs ground beef (half drained after cooking with garlic, and my red peppers (2 from freezer)and some slices of my frozen really hot peppers), then 2 cans (almost) Hunts with veggies and lots of additions. This time with 2 heaping Tbl chili powder med, my oregano, basil, garlic chives, just cooked chick peas (for hummus) and probably more. Slow simmered 2 hrs.

WTF 10th Reunion Hummus Dip

(will post a pic tomorrow)

I'm not giving specific proportions or amounts, because you can scale this as required. I often make a small plate of this for lunch; for the reunion, I used a medium platter.

Homemade is best, but store-bought hummus makes the prep super fast and easy. I buy many of the ingredients at Costco so I'm listing the brand names that I used for the garnished hummus that was served at the reunion.

Sabra Roasted Pine Nut Hummus
Ground cumin (The Spice House - not Costco)
Ground sweet paprika (The Spice House - not Costco)

President crumbled feta cheese
Pitted kalamata olives, quartered
Grape tomatoes, quartered
Chopped flat leaf Italian parsley

Trader Joe's California estate extra virgin olive oil

Stacy's sea salt pita chips

This is a layered dip.

Spoon hummus on a plate and spread it out to the edges of the plate so it's maybe a half inch (or maybe a little more) thick. Sprinkle ground cumin and paprika on top to taste. Top with all other ingredients (like a pizza)... crumbled feta, olives, tomatoes and parsley, and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with pita chips.

Of course you can use fresh homemade pita or other crackers. And change or delete spices and other ingredients as you prefer. Or try different flavors of prepared hummus. I think this might also be really good using baba ghannouj as a base instead of the hummus.

(from Well-Tempered Gardener)

My work buddies and I used to go to Berghoff's for lunch pretty frequently. I used to order this as one of my sides *all* the time.

Berghoff's Creamed Spinach

Ingredients

2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons chicken base, or 1 cube chicken bouillon
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic (see note)
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (2 1/2 cups)
salt and ground white pepper, if desired
ground nutmeg, for garnish
crisp, cooked, crumbled bacon, for garnish

Ingredient note: Granulated garlic is dried granular garlic, not the same as dried minced, dried chopped, or garlic powder. It has the best flavor of all the dried garlic products, in our opinion. Some supermarkets carry it in the gourmet spice section, and it’s available from spice shops.

Preparation

In a medium size saucepan, heat the half-and-half, milk, chicken base, Tabasco, and seasonings to a simmer. Remove from the heat and keep warm.

In another medium size saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk well to combine. Cook this mixture for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often. Slowly whisk the heated milk mixture into the butter mixture, a little at a time, whisking constantly until smooth. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly until it thickens. The sauce will be very thick.

Stir in the spinach and simmer for 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Serve while hot.

To serve: Place the hot creamed spinach in a bowl, sprinkled with an extra touch of ground nutmeg on top. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon of crisp, cooked, crumbled bacon, if desired.

Idea: For a decadent breakfast, make an omelet with leftover creamed spinach, bacon, and goat cheese.

Chicago's Berghoff restaurant:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...off_%28restaurant%29

Bernard's molded waldorf salad

(I omit the lemon juice because it makes it too lemony for my taste.)

1 6-oz. package lemon gelatin
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 c. hot water
lemon juice
3 medium golden delicious apples
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 c. heavy cream, whipped
1 c. finely chopped celery
1 c. finely chopped walnuts

Dissolve gelatin and salt in hot water then stir in 2 Tblsp lemon juice (if you use it). Chill until thickened. Pare 2 apples partially (leave a little skin on for color), then core and dice. If you want to get fancy, core and cut remaining apply into thin slices, otherwise dice the 3rd apple as well. Sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Fancy (optional): Arrange apple slices, skin side down around bottom of an 8-cup mold.

Blend the mayo into the thickened gelatin and fold in the whipped cream (yum!). Fold in the diced apples, celery, and walnuts gently. Spoon over apple slices. Chill until firm. Unmold.

Voila! Swank molded Waldorf!

Mik's Moroccan Chicken with Lemon and Olives.

I highly recommend this chicken dish. It was beyond awesome. Used Castelvetrano olives that are really bright green and turned out so buttery. The sauce was reminiscent of Cincinnati chili, and would be moreso if you skipped the lemon wedges.

Definitely a keeper.

Moroccan-Chicken-with-Green-Olives-and-Lemon

2 Meyer lemons or regular lemons
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, halved, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 4 1/2-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces, skin removed (I used legs and thighs - they take braising better than breasts)
1/2 cup green olives (I reccomend Castelvetrano - see above)


Preparation: Cut 1 lemon into 8 wedges. Squeeze enough juice from second lemon to measure 2 tablespoons; set wedges and juice aside. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sprinkle with salt and pepper; sauté until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add next 5 ingredients; stir 1 minute. Add broth; bring to boil. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; add to skillet. Add lemon wedges. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, turning occasionally, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter. Add olives and 2 tablespoons lemon juice to skillet. Increase heat to high; boil uncovered to thicken slightly, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over chicken.

Completely unsubtle buffalo chicken dip
[recipe also on bottle of Frank's]

1/2 c Frank's Red Hot hotsauce
1/2 c blue cheese
3 oz cream cheese
1/2 dressing: ranch or blue cheese (I left this out, didnt miss it)
2 c shredded cooked chicken.

slice french bread, crackers, carrots, celery etc

Melt 1-4 together and stir thoroughly. Stir in chicken. Serve warm (I use a pre-heated crockery container and sit it on an oven mitt, I've seen it served in a crockpot.)

serve on slices of baguette, or carrots, or.....

Salty, tangy, spicy, fatty. Not subtle. Not easy to walk away from.

yield: 1½ cups prep time: 15 minutes cook time: 15 minutes total time: 30 minutes

A homemade Nutella spread, full of roasted hazelnuts and a rich chocolate flavor.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups (8 ounces) hazelnuts
1 cup powdered sugar
⅓ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 tablespoons hazelnut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spread the hazelnuts out on a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until dark brown and fragrant, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. Keep a close eye on them, as they can go from perfect roasted to burnt in a short amount of time. Transfer the hazelnuts to a medium-sized bowl.

2. Once the hazelnuts are cool enough to handle, place a second bowl upside-down on top of the bowl with the hazelnuts. Shake vigorously for about 30 seconds to remove the skins of the hazelnuts. It may take a few times to get all of the skins off; each time, remove the hazelnuts that have lost their skin to the bowl of a food processor, then continue shaking.

3. Process the hazelnuts in a food processor until their oil is released and they form a smooth, loose paste, 2 to 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl often.

4. Add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, hazelnut oil, vanilla extract and salt and process until fully incorporated, scraping the bowl as needed, about 2 minutes. The mixture will loosen and become glossy. Transfer the spread to a jar with a tight-fitting lid or an airtight container. You can store it in the refrigerator or at room temperature for up to 1 month.

* If you want to do away with having to remove the hazelnut skins, you could purchaseblanched hazelnuts, which I might try next time. (Sharon's note: if you can get blanched do it. Peeling hazelnuts is the worst job ever)
* I was not able to find hazelnut oil at any local grocery stores. Recipe author suggested ordering it from Nuts.com. You could substitute walnut oil or vegetable oil, but the hazelnut oil really helps give the spread a silky smooth texture.
* You can substitute regular unsweetened cocoa powder for the Dutch-process. (Sharon's note: I totally used grocery store unsweetened cocoa)

From Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Slow-Cooked Zucchini Coins with Chopped Herbs and Crumbled Feta

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 1/2 pounds zucchini, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced (I omit this)
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup chopped mixed herbs - dill, basil, parsley and cilantro (Mr WTG is a no cilantro guy)
1/2 cup crumbled feta (President crumbled feta from Costco - a bit milder and less salty than some feta cheeses)

Heat the oil in a wide skillet, then add the zucchini and garlic. sprinkle lightly with salt and cook over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring every so often. The finished squash should have a light golden glaze over the surface and be carmelized in places. Taste for salt and season with pepper. Toss with the herbs and cheese and serve.

Mr WTG loves onions, so I've also chopped up some Vidalia-type onions and sauteed them with the zukes.

From pj:

I'm not sure it actually rises to the level of "recipe", but...

Last week, I stopped in at a large Asian grocery store. I found a "pork shoulder butt roast" (huh? shoulder butt? aren't those two opposite ends of the animal?) for about a buck and a quarter a pound. I bought a two-pound-ish piece.

I have a lot of thyme growing in my front planter. Besides the wooly thyme, I have some lovely culinary thyme and some "orange balsam" thyme. I grabbed several fistfuls of both of these.

I sliced the roast open lengthwise and stuffed all the thyme into the middle. I put a little bit of sea salt and a lot of black pepper on both outside sides. I stuck it in a cast iron pan and put a piece of foil over the top -- not quite airtight.

I stuck it in the oven at 350. A short while later, someone called and asked if I was available for dinner. Sure.

Before I left, I turned the oven down to 275. So the pork was in for about half an hour at 350, then something over two hours at 275.

When I got home, it was perfect. It was falling apart, but not dried out. And the whole house smelled like pork roast and thyme.

So... stuff your pork roast with whatever herbs you have growing in your yard, salt and pepper it, cover the pan with foil and stick it in the oven at 350 for half an hour, then 275 for an hour per pound.

From Catseye3:

Broccoli-Brussel Sprouts Stirfry

3 T butter, divided
2 cloves garlic, chopped
8 Brussels sprouts
2 cups broccoli florets
1 small tomato, seeded and diced
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Melt 1 T butter in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir garlic in hot butter until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir broccoli and Brussels sprouts into garlic; add tomato and remaining butter. Season with salt and pepper flakes.

Stir mixture until well combined. Cover the skillet and cook until browned on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip and brown the other side, about 4 minutes.


Notes: This is a easy, tasty side dish, and very pretty.

You can buy fresh everything and chop it. If you're a Cats kind of cook, you can acquire broccoli florets and Brussels sprouts from your friendly grocer's frozen foods section and keep them in your freezer until the spirit moves you to do even the minimal labor required for this dish, and you can use garlic powder.

Note the instructions say '8 Brussels sprouts', not '8 cups of Brussels sprouts'.

Important: I found that doing the last step made them close to mushy. I will be skipping that from now on.

Also, if you want to ruin this dish, replace the butter with "heart healthy oil." Feh.

From jon-nyc:

Here's one we love, very fast to make, as long as you buy the shrimp cleaned.

Here's what it looks like, though I remove the tails to make it easier to eat.




Ingredients

4 tablespoons olive oil divided
1 pound large raw shrimp peeled & deveined
1 pound asparagus ends trimmed and each stalk cut into 2-3" pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt divided
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic

Lemon Sauce
2/3 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest


Instructions

In a small bowl, whisk together all of the lemon sauce ingredients and set aside.

In a large frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add shrimp to pan in a single layer and cook for about 3 minutes, turning them over to cook both sides. Season shrimp with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Remove from frying pan and place shrimp on a plate.

In same frying pan, heat another 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add asparagus and cook until asparagus is tender-crisp, bright green, and just barely beginning to brown. Season asparagus with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add ginger and garlic and stir to combine with asparagus. Cook for another 30-45 seconds or so.

Pour in lemon sauce mixture into frying pan with asparagus. Add shrimp back into pan and combine sauce with asparagus and shrimp. Simmer for about a minute or until sauce is thickened. Remove from heat and serve.

from jon-nyc:

Here's one we love, very fast to make, as long as you buy the shrimp cleaned.

Here's what it looks like, though I remove the tails to make it easier to eat.




Ingredients

4 tablespoons olive oil divided
1 pound large raw shrimp peeled & deveined
1 pound asparagus ends trimmed and each stalk cut into 2-3" pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt divided
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic

Lemon Sauce
2/3 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest


Instructions

In a small bowl, whisk together all of the lemon sauce ingredients and set aside.

In a large frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add shrimp to pan in a single layer and cook for about 3 minutes, turning them over to cook both sides. Season shrimp with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Remove from frying pan and place shrimp on a plate.

In same frying pan, heat another 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add asparagus and cook until asparagus is tender-crisp, bright green, and just barely beginning to brown. Season asparagus with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add ginger and garlic and stir to combine with asparagus. Cook for another 30-45 seconds or so.

Pour in lemon sauce mixture into frying pan with asparagus. Add shrimp back into pan and combine sauce with asparagus and shrimp. Simmer for about a minute or until sauce is thickened. Remove from heat and serve.

Old-fashioned Rice Pudding made in the Zojirushi fuzzy logic rice cooker, would probably work in the Instant Pot but I haven't tried that yet.

2/3 cup (real measuring cup, not the rice cup that comes with the cooker) medium-grain white rice, such as Arborio, Calriso, or other California-grown rice

4 cups milk
1 large egg
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Place rice and milk in the rice cooker bowl; stir to combine. Close the cover and set for the Porridge cycle.

2. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, combine the egg, sugar and vanilla in a small bowl and beat with a whisk. Open the rice cooker, spoon a few tablespoons of the rice milk into the egg mixture, and beat with a wooden spoon. Beating the rice milk constantly, pour the egg mixture into the rice cooker bowl. Stir for a minute to combine. Close the cover and reset for a second Porridge cycle. (I have to remove the bowl and let the whole machine cool down for a couple of minutes; otherwise I get an error message when I try to set the second Porridge cycle). Stir every 15 to 20 minutes until the desired thickness is reached.

3. Pour the pudding into 6 custard cups or ramekins. Serve warm or let cool slightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. When cold, cover with plastic wrap and store for up to 4 days.