Grilled Watermelon Salad with Goat Cheese and Crispy Pancetta Serves 4 3 lb. chunk of ripe watermelon, sliced into 8 triangles, about 1 to 1 ½ inches thick each. Cut away the rind from each slice. – $3.11 4 oz. log goat cheese, crumbled, either a French Chevre or Montrachet – $3.99 3 oz. thinly sliced[…]
Farro Salad with Sweet Potato, Scallions & Dried Cherries
Farro Salad Serves 6 as a side dish Ingredients: 1 ½ cups farro – $ 5.99 (for a 1 lb. bag) 3 cups chicken stock or water ½ lb. sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice – $0.99 3 oz. prosciutto – $3.99 2 scallions, chopped, green and white parts – $0.25 ¼[…]
Beef Barley Soup with Mushrooms
Beef Barley and Mushroom Soup Serves 10 Ingredients: 1 cup barley, cooked according to package instructions – $1.59 3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided – stock 2 lbs. boneless beef Chuck steak, cut into small chunks – $8.70 the juice of 1 large orange (1/3 cup) – $0.50 2 cups diced carrots – $0.99 1½ cups[…]
Chorizo and Shredded Chicken Soup
Chorizo and Shredded Chicken Soup Serves 8 to 10 Ingredients: 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts – $3.99 1 lb. Mexican Chorizo sausage, cut into ½” thick rounds – $8.49 1 medium sweet potato, about 2/3 lb. – $0.89 3 Tablespoons olive oil – stock 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped – $0.99 ½[…]
Classic Chicken Parmesan with Crunchy Panko & Smoked Mozzarella
Chicken Parmesan with Panko Topping Serves 6 Ingredients: ½ cup Panko bread crumbs – $2.49 ¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese – stock 1 Vidalia onion , diced – $1.14 2 cloves garlic, minced – stock splash of Balsamic vinegar – stock 3 Tablespoons plus 2 Teaspoons olive oil – stock 2 ½ cups jar[…]
Sliced Steak with Turnip Puree and Toasted Quinoa
Sliced Steak with Pureed Turnips and Toasted Quinoa Serves 4 Note: When buying turnips, select the smaller ones. They are not only sweeter but also a whole lot easier to peel and dice before boiling. And the quinoa (a protein-packed grain, BTW) is actually crunchy as this recipe requires only a small amount of water[…]
Vegetarian Chili with White Beans & Wild Mushrooms
Vegetarian White Bean Chili with Mushrooms Serves 6 Note: Don’t use canned beans for this dish as the lengthy cooking time will cause the beans to lose their integrity. Additionally, if you don’t want to soak the beans overnight follow these directions for the quick-boil solution: Using a large pot, cover the beans with about[…]
Hot Crab Dip with Old Bay Seasoning
Hot Crab Dip with Old Bay Seasoning Serves 10 Ingredients: 8 oz. whipped cream cheese, softened – $2.19 3 scallions (about ¼ cup), chopped fine – $0.99 ½ of a red bell pepper (2/3 cup) , chopped – $1.07 a heaping ½ cup grated Monterey Jack cheese – $1.09 ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese –[…]
Black Rice Salad with Roasted Beets, Montrachet & Pistachios
Black Rice Salad with Roasted Beets and Montrachet/Chevre Cheese Serves 4 Note: I wrote this recipe as though the reader plans to enjoy the salad over the course of several days. Obviously, if you are planning on dining with friends and family, all of the assembly is done at once, separating any leftovers as directed…if[…]
Cheesy Zucchini Pie with Prosciutto and Sweet Onions ala Alyssa
Zucchini Pie ala Alyssa Serves 12 Ingredients: ½ lb. zucchini, scrubbed and chopped diced – $1.75 2 Tablespoons olive oil – stock 1 medium-large Vidalia onion, diced – $1.16 3 cloves garlic, minced – stock 3 oz. Prosciutto – $3.99 ½ cup shredded Fontina cheese – $2.99 ½ cup diced fresh mozzarella – $2.69 ½[…]
Warm Super Greens Salad with Pistachios & Sweet Peaches
Warm Super Greens Salad with Sweet Peaches Serves 6 Ingredients: 2 cups baby heirloom or grape tomatoes – $2.29 3 ripe peaches cut into 1/8ths – $1.60 18 cups of “super” greens – $5.99 6 Tablespoons of crumbled blue cheese – $3.99 (for the block) 6 Tablespoons of chopped nuts (I use pistachios) – stock[…]
Pulled Pork Pasta Salad
Pulled Pork Pasta Salad Serves 12 as a side dish Note: This salad was intended as a straight-up side dish to enjoy pretty much any season. As I wasn’t entertaining a large group of guests, I found myself scarfing up just about all of the leftovers after our first round of photos and tastings. At[…]
Chicken Marsala with Prosciutto
Chicken Marsala with Prosciutto Serves 10 Ingredients: 3 lbs. boneless chicken breasts – $7.10 Flour seasoned with salt and pepper, for dredging – stock 1/3-cup olive oil – stock 4 Tablespoons sweet butter, divided – stock 1 large Vidalia onion, diced – $ 1.74 3 cloves minced garlic – stock 1½ lbs. assorted mushrooms, sliced[…]
Cheesy Eggplant Lasagna with Prosciutto
Eggplant Lasagna Serves 10 Ingredients: 1 large eggplant cut and sliced into ¼” rounds – $2.79 5 Tablespoons olive oil, divided – stock 1- 8 oz. package no-boil (oven-ready) lasagna – $1.99 1 small Vidalia onion, diced – $1.11 3 oz. prosciutto, chopped – $3.29 3 cloves garlic – stock 2 (15 ½ oz. each)[…]
Sweet Potato-Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheese
Sweet Potato-Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheese Serves 8 Tip: My local grocery store sells Butternut squash already peeled and chopped. This makes the vegetable just so much more “user-friendly” as I simply had to cook it in a pot of boiling water along with the peeled and chopped sweet potato. I didn’t need all of[…]
Spinach-Mango Salad Pizzettes
Spinach-Mango Salad Pizzettes Makes 6 Pizzettes Ingredients: 1-package whole-wheat pita breads (6 per package) – $2.59 1/3 lb. Fontina cheese, shredded – $2.00 1 ripe mangoes, pitted and cut into ¼” dice – $1.00 3 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped – $0.99 1 Jalapeno pepper, minced – $0.14 ¼ cup Bermuda onion, finely diced – $0.79[…]
Lentil and Sweet Potato Stew with Chicken Sausage
Lentil and Sweet Potato Stew with Chicken Sausage Serves 10 Ingredients: 5 Tablespoons olive oil, divided – stock 2 stalks of celery, sliced – $0.49 3 medium-large carrots, cut into ½ – inch rounds – $0.69 1 medium Vidalia onion, diced – $1.22 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½ – inch dice[…]
Oreo Cookie Layer Cake
Oreo Cookie Layer Cake Serves 8 as a Layered Cake 24 as Cupcakes Note: The cake portion of this recipe is actually our Devil’s Food Cake of yore. The only difference is the very-delicious addition of Oreos to the batter. As for the icing – this is a basic Confectioner’s sugar/butter/milk icing with once again,[…]
A Christmas Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake
Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake Serves 8 Ingredients: Dough: 1 package (2 ¼ tsp) active dry yeast – $1.99 1/2 cup warm water 1/2 cup lukewarm milk – stock 1/3 cup sugar – stock 1/3 cup butter, softened – stock 1 teaspoon salt – stock 1 egg – stock 3 ½ -4 cups flour – stock[…]
Black Bean Soup with Chicken Sausage and Honey Crisp Apple
Black Bean Soup with Chicken Sausage and Honey Crisp Apple Serves 8 Note: When I’m preparing homemade soup, if I don’t have a stash of my own chicken or veggie stock I buy organic stock, not broth, from my local market. The stock is less salty than canned broth and while it’s more expensive, it’s[…]