Here’s something just a little different. Rosemary goes really well with chicken so I made rosemary flavored meatballs. They came out juicy and flavorful. I think most people will like them.

Ingredients for about 5 servings

1 lb ground chicken

2 XL eggs – slightly beaten

1 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup sweet onion – chopped fine

2 garlic cloves – ground to paste

1 carrot – grated fine

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary – chopped fine

2 Tablespoons fresh parsley – chopped fine

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

pinch crushed red pepper

1 Tablespoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Non stick cooking spray – (or oil if you prefer)

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F

Spray or oil your baking sheet(s)

In a large mixing bowl add everything except the ground chicken. Mix well. Now add chicken and mix well again.

Pinch off a small marble size piece and zap in the microwave in paper towels for about 10 seconds or pop in the oven for about 5 minutes in some oiled aluminum foil and test for seasoning and adjust if you care too. (The taste will be close from the microwave but not exact).

Scoop out balls with a small scooper on to your sprayed baking sheet(s). I made 28 balls.

Cook till done on middle rack. In my oven the meatballs were ready in 15 minutes.

Forking Tasty!

 

 

These pickles come out light but with a really yummy flavor. They are not too sweet or too salty. I think everyone will enjoy them. It’s usually best to use pickling cucumbers but I used seedless because that’s what I had. Sometimes I substitute yellow squash for cucumbers and sometimes the yellow squash taste better as a pickle than the cucumber. The onions came out tasty and delicious too. You might enjoy them in a sandwich. Let these pickles sit about three days for the best flavors.

Ingredients for about 15 servings

2 1/2 lbs cucumbers cut in thick coin shapes

1/2 sweet onion – quartered and cut in slices

3/4 oz fresh dill

1 cup white vinegar

3 cups water

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

8 garlic cloves – smashed

2 teaspoons turmeric

1 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

2 Tablespoons kosher salt

1 Tablespoon white peppercorns

Directions

In sterilized containers or jars add the cucumber, onions and dill.

Add remaining ingredients to a sauce pot on near to high heat and bring to a boil. Let it medium boil (a tad more than a simmer) for about five minutes. Pour the liquid over the cucumbers and let it sit on the counter till it cools a little. Refrigerate when it’s around room temperature. It’s not necessary to can because they will stay good for several months.

Enjoy!

 

I had a butternut squash and Israeli Couscous to use up and this is what I came up with. I have to say it really did come out Forking Amazing! I did use a bunch of ingredients that most people don’t use or have such as zahtar, Aleppo pepper, sumac and urfa pepper. The only ingredient that’s hard to find here is urfa pepper (one of my new favorites). The urfa pepper is more intense than Aleppo and a Spanish pepper called Nora. It’s really delicious. It’s fruity, raisin like,lightly smoky and mild heat. It’s worth your time and money to find the urfa pepper for your own creations because it will make anything you make delicious. The recipe is easy to prepare and is sure to be a #crowdpleaser. Sorry now that I didn’t make a bigger batch. This one is really special.

Ingredients for 4 servings

1 small butternut squash – peeled, seeds removed and cut in bite size pieces

1 15.5 oz can 50% less sodium garbanzo beans – drained and rinsed three times

5 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (1T on garbanzo beans, 2T for butternut squash and 2T for couscous)

1/2 teaspoon urfa pepper

1 Tablespoon zahtar

1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1 teaspoon sumac

fresh ground sea salt to taste

fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 cup Israeli Couscous

1/3 medium onion – chopped

1 medium tomato – core removed – chopped

3 garlic cloves – sliced razor thin

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock

2 Tablespoons cilantro – chopped

2 Tablespoons parsley – chopped

4 oz goat cheese – crumble it

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F

Place the butternut squash pieces in a medium/large bowl and drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle the urfa pepper, and zahtar. Mix well. Place in one layer on a baking sheet(s) and sprinkle  very lightly with a little bit of fresh crushed sea salt and black pepper.

Place the garbanzo beans in a medium bowl. Add one Tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle the Aleppo pepper,seasame seeds and sumac. Mix well and place on a baking sheet in one layer. Sprinkle very lightly with a little fresh crushed sea salt and black pepper.

Place squash pan(s) on the middle rack and the garbanzo pan on the top rack in oven.

Keep the pans in the oven till the beans have a light crisp and the squash is fork tender. In my oven this took thirty minutes.

In your sauce pot on medium high heat add 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and when hot add the couscous. Fry the couscous for about five minutes. Add the onions and cook till transparent. Next add the tomato followed by the garlic. You will smell the garlic soon and then add the stock. Simmer till couscous is done. About ten minutes.

Add fresh crushed sea salt and black pepper to taste.

By now the squash and garbanzo beans are done and carefully stir them into the sauce pan. Mix in the herbs. Serve and sprinkle the cheese on last.

Everyone will FORKING Enjoy this one!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a couple of extra eggplants so I decided to make an Italian type seasoned healthy dip. I made this dip with minimal amounts of oil. I used just enough to make the dip taste good. Besides Olive oil this dip is fat free. This dip is healthy and delicious.

Ingredients for about 8 servings

2 eggplants

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 very large lemon or 2 regular lemons – (just the fresh squeezed juice)

15 oz can 50% less sodium white beans – drained and rinsed three times. (50% less sodium beans don’t taste as canned as regular beans)

2 garlic cloves – ground to paste

3 Calabrian chili peppers – chopped fine (or substitute a hot red jarred chili that you enjoy to taste but the Calabrian chili is recommended)

1 teaspoon fresh chopped fine rosemary

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

fresh crushed black pepper to taste

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

about 1/2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil per portion to finish

about 1/2 teaspoon reduced balsamic vinegar per portion to finish

Directions

Set oven at 350 degrees F.

Wash the eggplants and slice them in half long ways. Place the eggplants in a baking dish. Score the eggplants on a diagonal in both directions like in the photo below.

Pour the lemon juice over the eggplants and then pour the olive oil over the eggplants. Roast until the tops are very dark brown (but not hard black) and the eggplants are squishy. (about one hour to one hour 15 minutes) like in picture below.

The eggplant then gets scraped out like the same way you do avocados, mangos and dragon fruit.

Blend up the eggplant. Add the rest of ingredients except finishing ingredients and blend. I prefer the dip slightly chunky so I don’t blend completely smooth.

Place in dish. Make well and fill with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Serve with vegetables and or crusty bread.

It’s delicious and healthy!

 

 

I was reading about Portuguese Cuisine and read that common flavors in Portuguese Cuisine are Piri Piri, Cinnamon, Paprika and Bayleaf. I thought that would be easy to put in a meatloaf so that’s what I did. The Piri Piri Pepper is hard to come by so I used Nando’s Brand Piri Piri Sauce that contains real Piri Piri Peppers. For the sauce I used slow roasted tomatoes that I cooked at 200 degrees F for most of a day that are very concentrated and sweet. You can use canned or roasted but your tomatoes might not be as sweet so you might have to adjust and add sugar. I served the meatloaf with black rice cooked in vegetable broth with black beans.

Ingredients for 8 servings

1/2 medium sweet onion – chopped fine

3 garlic cloves – ground to paste

2 XL eggs – slightly beaten

1 Tablespoon vegetarian soup base (This is instead of salt as it’s salt with flavor)

3/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 Tablespoons Hot Piri Piri sauce (I used Nando’s Brand)

1/3 cup lager

1 cup panko bread crumbs (I used whole wheat)

1 lb ground turkey

1/4 cup parsley

non stick spray

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (for sauce)

14 oz cooked tomatoes (mine were slow roasted and concentrated, you might need sugar) (for sauce)

1 red bell pepper – chopped fine (for sauce)

1/2 medium sweet onion – chopped fine (for sauce)

1 celery rib – chopped fine (for sauce)

4 garlic cloves – ground to paste (for sauce)

1 Tablespoon – course sea salt (for sauce)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper (for sauce)

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (for sauce)

5 bay leaves (for sauce)

8 black olives – quartered (for sauce)

Directions set oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray baking sheet(s) with non stick spray.

In a large mixing bowl combine 1/2 onion, 3 ground garlic cloves, eggs, soup base, 3/4 black pepper, 1 teaspoon thyme, both paprikas, cinnamon, piri piri sauce, lager and panko. Mix well.

Mix in the turkey and parsley. The mixture will be extremely moist. Measure out  the individual meatloaf in 4 ounce portions and place on sprayed baking sheet(s) like this.

Place them in the oven for 20 minutes or until cooked and then remove from oven.

To make the sauce

Put a sauce pot on medium high heat with the olive oil. When hot add the bell pepper, onions and celery and salt. Cook till tender. Add garlic till mixture seems fragrant. Add the remaining ingredients. The sauce might be ready in a few minutes depending on how your tomatoes are…Cook till you think your tomatoes are ready and do a taste test for seasoning. You might need a small amount of sugar if your tomatoes aren’t sweet enough. REMEMBER TO REMOVE THE BAY LEAVES).

Enjoy!

Delicious!

 

I got this idea for Buffalo Blue Cheese Potato Pancakes. Well……..The pancakes came out good but not infused with much buffalo blue cheese flavor…so I came up with a topping for the pancakes. Potato pancakes are pretty easy to prepare and you don’t really need a recipe for them. Basically for about 35 pancakes that freeze well you need about 3 lbs potatoes shredded mixed with a whole grated onion mix in with potatoes (doesn’t turn brown) squeeze out liquid and mix with about two eggs, 1/2 cup of some kind of starch and season. Potato pancakes normally get served with sour cream and chives or sometimes apple sauce. But like I said earlier I got this Buffalo Blue Cheese idea….This topping taste terrific. It’s got this amazing melty texture and it’s very flavorful. A thin spread goes a long way here. You might want to use it on bagels and other things like on sandwiches too. I’m thinking maybe it can kick up a grilled cheese sandwich in an interesting way too. Well anyways it sure makes the Potato Pancake a little more fun and tasty!

Ingredients for about 12 servings

12 oz whipped cream cheese – room temperature

7 Tablespoons cayenne pepper sauce (preferably Franks Red Hot)

4 Tablespoons dijon mustard

4 oz sweet butter – room temperature

1 Tablespoon sugar

7 oz blue cheese

Directions

Get a large bowl and mix in ingredients one at a time in order until done.

Forking Delicious!

 

 

 

 

Had a bunch of orange bell peppers and came up with a stuffed pepper that’s surprisingly light and very flavorful with pleasing texture. It’s creamy but not really creamy and I used some of the very flavorful cooking water from a pan of corn I cooked in the oven instead of more butter or cream. This is an easy recipe to prepare. Just throw everything in the oven and let the oven do the work. The size of the peppers I used may differ from yours so we might be a difference in servings. I used medium sized bell peppers.

Ingredients for about 9 servings

9 orange bell peppers – tops cut off and seeds and membrane removed – (you can use whatever color you want but they all taste different) (you should trim the tops and save the pepper and use)

3 brown skin potatoes (not large but good medium sized…my potatoes were about  7-8 oz each)

1 1/2  teaspoons canola or vegetable oil

5 corn ears (I cooked 5 but only used about 2 1/2 ears of corn….if you cook less corn the water that you use latter won’t be as flavorful)

2 teaspoons course sea salt

2 oz sweet butter

1/2 cup cooking water from corn

1 1/2 oz fired roasted hatch chile – stem, seeds, most of skin and core removed -chopped

1/2 roasted red bell pepper – stem, seeds, skin and core removed – chopped

1/2 roasted jalapeno – stem, seeds, core removed – chopped

3 1/2 oz pepper jack cheese – shredded

1/4 cup cilantro – chopped

1/4 cup scallions – chopped

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

pinch of white pepper

non stick canola or vegetable spray

Directions

Set oven at 350 degrees F

Wash potatoes well then dry well. Prick them all over with a fork. Rub the potatoes with oil and place on baking sheet.

Place peppers upside down on baking sheet that was lightly sprayed with non  stick spray.

Put peeled corn in a pan or baking dish and add water to cover the corn by about about three quarters. Add 2 teaspoon salt and the butter. Cover pan with foil.

Place the potatoes, the cut bell peppers and corn in the oven.

In one hour the peppers should be wrinkled but still have body to them. (you should check the potatoes but in my oven they needed another 1/2 hour. Potatoes will have a slightly wrinkled skin.

At one and one half hours or thirty minutes latter the corn will be very fragrant and should be done with the potatoes.

When corn is cool enough to handle remove from cob. Use two and a half cobs and put the rest in your refrigerator or freezer for something else.

When the potatoes are still warm but cool enough to handle then you peel the skin off. On my potatoes I was able to just pull the skin off. Place in a large bowl and mash by hand with a potato masher. Add warm corn water, white and black pepper, hatch pepper, red pepper, jalapeño, corn, cheese, cilantro and scallions. Mix gently with a spoon and try not to bust up the corn all the way. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

Fill peppers tight as you can with the potato mixture and place each filled pepper in a non stick sprayed pan.

The filled peppers will take about one hour until they get some color on the top.

I chilled this pan and latter reheated two peppers for dinner.

They came out scrumptious! Forking yummy!

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa is delicious on grilled meats and on tortillas. The Tomatillo is related to the Gooseberry and looks like a green tomato but comes in a husk you have to peel off.  Tomatillo do differ in flavor as some are very sweet and some have little flavor. Sometimes you get them when the husk is still green and fresh and seals the tomatillo completely. Most of the time the husk is very dry and comes with dirt inside. Either way you should peel and wash the tomatillos. This recipe is easy to prepare but involves  cleaned up peppers that are roasted, peeled with the seeds and stems of all the peppers removed. The produce always differs in flavor so some adjustments are to be expected.

Ingredients for about 10 servings

5 lbs tomatillos – husk removed, washed, cut in quarters

1 lb sweet onions – chopped

12 garlic cloves – shredded

1 Tablespoon oil (I used canola)

4 oz poblano pepper – roasted, cleaned, chopped

6 oz hatch chili – roasted, cleaned chopped

2 oz jalapeno chili – roasted, cleaned chopped

1/2 cup fresh cilantro – chopped

1/2 cup scallions – chopped

5 epazote leaves – torn very small (skip this if you don’t have it or use a pinch of very finely chopped fresh oregano)

1 Tablespoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cumin

2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

Directions

Turn the oven to 425 degrees F

Put the tomatillos on sheet pan (s) and keep in the oven about an hour or until the tomatoes are somewhat charred.

While the Tomatillos are roasting……

Put on a sauce pot on medium high heat and add the oil. When it’s hot add the onions and when they start to look cooked add the garlic and continue to cook till onions are translucent.

Turn down the heat to medium low.

Add all the peppers.

It should be aromatic by now.

Around now or soon the tomatillos are done.

Add them to the pot.

Add all dry spices and simmer about a half an hour. Stir occasionally.

Shut the heat off and add the fresh herbs and lime juice.

Taste and adjust.

This is a bright light salsa…The sweetness of the Tomatillos cuts all the heat from the hot peppers.

 

 

 

I was inspired to create this dish after dining at Deseo Latin Restaurant in Scottsdale AZ. Deseo’s version was different but some of the flavors that stood out to me are in this dish. I did write about this dish before about three years ago but at the time didn’t actually post a recipe. Everyone who has tried this dish in my house said that it was very good and delicious! This is a very easy mostly one pot recipe.

Ingredients for about 6 servings.

1 lb red lentils – washed and inspected

1 bunch rainbow chard – cleaned – leaves torn off in pieces from stems and stems chopped

12 oz roasted tomatoes (or canned whole with puree is fine…over 12 oz works too)

1/2 sweet onion – chopped

3 garlic cloves – chopped fine

4 cups vegetable stock (or slightly more if you want it thinner)

17 dates – pit removed and chopped

1/2 cup almonds – skinless is preferred

4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (1/2 in the beginning with the onions and the other half with the almonds)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon Nora pepper ( you probably don’t have Nora Pepper and the second choice would be Aleppo pepper that is very similar…both are fruity pepper with very mild heat…Nora pepper is slightly smoky. If you don’t have either Nora or Aleppo pepper just add a pinch of paprika and a little bit of any pepper you like to taste)

7 oz manchego  cheese – shredded

Directions

Two Tablespoons of olive oil on medium high in a pot. In few minutes the onions will be transparent and then add rainbow chard stems. Keep it going another minute or two till chard stems are soft and then stir in garlic. Now stir in rainbow chard till wilted. (about a minute). Remove from pot and put to the side.

To pot on medium high heat add stock, tomatoes, black pepper,  lentils and bring to boil. Now reduce to simmer till lentils are soft. (about 1/2 hour or so)

Set oven to 300 degrees F.

During this time toast your almonds. On a sheet pan drizzle a Tablespoon of olive oil on the pan and add almonds. Drizzle another Tablespoon all over the almonds and put pan in oven till almonds got a butterscotch color. (Around 20 minutes)

Add remaining ingredients and almonds when they are done. Stir in cheese last.

Taste for seasoning adjustments and adjust if needed.

You will find this dish unique and delicious. Maybe the most delicious lentils you’ve ever tried!

#crowdpleaser

 

 

 

These are those OMG Mashed Potatoes with Hatch Chile and Cheddar Cheese. I had no idea that many people have trouble making mashed potatoes. This past Thanksgiving I saw on the news that the most looked up recipe on the internet in Phoenix AZ was mashed potatoes. Who Knew! I happen to have a few tricks for better tasting mashed potatoes. I infuse the boiling potatoes with garlic, onion and a hot pepper…(for this recipe I used a jalapeño) and sea salt. For Thanksgiving I do rice the potatoes but here I just hand mashed the potatoes, seasoned them perfect and added cheese and fire roasted Hatch Chile till it tasted perfect. The Hatch Chile is popular in the fall time here in the South West. People that live here where the New Mexican pepper Hatch Chile is sold stock up on them for year round cooking. I find that the flavor of them is just right now for all your cooking needs as the Hatch Chiles I purchased in the fall were incredibly fiery hot and now they are toned down and just delicious!

Ingredients for about 12 servings

3 lbs potatoes – peeled – big ones cut in half. ( I like reds but either potato is fine)

1/2 onion – skin removed and leave whole (just for boiling with potatoes)

3 garlic cloves – (just for boiling with potatoes)

1 jalapeno – cut in half longways – (just for boiling with potatoes)

1 Tablespoon course sea salt (for boiling with potatoes)

2 teaspoons course sea salt – (for seasoning the mashed potatoes)

4 oz unsalted butter

1/2 pint heavy cream

1 cup xtra sharp aged cheddar cheese – shredded – (white cheese will look better)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

5 oz Fire Roasted Hatch Chiles – stem, seeds, and most of skin removed. – chopped -(******NOTE the amount of Hatch Chile may differ depending on how the heat is or how fresh or how long the chiles were in the freezer and also by your taste…) THIS REALLY MATTERS…..because the heat can be 10x hotter sometimes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Directions

Add potatoes, onion, garlic, jalapeño and 1 Tablespoon of salt to your pot. Fill with water till the potatoes are covered well. Boil till fork tender. (about 10-15 minutes)

With a slotted spoon remove the potatoes to a colander and drain. Discard onion, garlic, jalapeño and water.

While your pot is hot melt the butter and add remaining spices. You can turn off or turn to low after butter is melted because the potatoes and the pot will remain hot and the rest goes by fast. Add the potatoes and mash with a hand masher. Add cream and mash more and then add cheese and mash more. Lastly add in the Hatch Chiles….(maybe not all at once so you can control the taste)

These Hatch Chile and Cheddar Cheese Mashed Potatoes are certainly a #Crowdpleaser (if you make the right call on how much hatch to add)