Herb Roasted Chicken with Honey Figs

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole roasting chicken
  • 1 lemon, halved
  • 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 sprig rosemary, leaves chopped
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
  • 1 small bunch of basil leaves, taken off the stems
  • 14 small figs or 8 large ones, halved and their stems cut away
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon Tamari soy sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Squeeze the juice of the lemon over the chicken. Tuck the lemon halves into the cavity of the chicken. Set aside.

3. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the olive oil with the garlic, rosemary,coarse salt, black pepper and soy sauce.

4. Rub the oil mixture over the chicken.

5. Stuff the basil leaves under the skin of the chicken, anywhere you can find or force room. When in doubt, just put any extra leaves inside the cavity of the chicken alongside the lemon halves.

6. Pile the figs up next to the chicken. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and honey over them. It won’t hurt if some of the garlicky mixture for the chicken gets mixed up with the figs.

7. Tear off a strip of tin foil and fold it so that it covers the figs, but not the chicken. Let the tin foil lay lightly over the figs; don’t tuck it in around them.

8. Roast chicken and figs in oven until the chicken is an irresistible golden color, about 1 hour.

I served this meals with roasted green beans and couscous.

Coconut Curry Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound ground turkey
  • 2 green onions, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • kosher salt and pepper
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 2 red or orange bell peppers sliced
  • 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
  • 2-3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
  • 1 can (14 ounce) coconut milk
  • 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

2. Add the turkey, green onions, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and a pinch each of salt and pepper to a bowl. Mix until just combined. Roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 15-20 meatballs) placing them on the prepared baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are crisp and cooked through.

3. Meanwhile, heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, bell peppers, and ginger. Cook until the fragrant and the peppers softened, 5-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Stir in the curry paste and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the coconut milk, soy sauce, and fish sauce. Stir to combine, bring the mixture to a boil. Add the meatballs and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro.

5. Serve the meatballs and sauce over bowls of rice.

*Recipe adapted from Half Baked Harvest

Skillet Hash Browns

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter or 6 tablespoons ghee
  • One 1 lb bag shredded potatoes
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more

Directions:

1. Heat 4 Tbsp. clarified butter or ghee in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add potatoes and cook, undisturbed, until a deep golden crust forms on bottom, about 5 minutes.

2. Break up potatoes with a heatproof rubber spatula and continue to cook, turning occasionally with spatula and adding 1–2 Tbsp. clarified butter or ghee if pan becomes dry or potatoes start to stick, until crisped and browned all over, 8–10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin

Ingredients:

  • 2 lb pork loin
  • 6-7 slices of bacon
  • Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425. Preheat oven safe skillet over medium-high heat.

2. Generously season loin with salt and pepper. Wrap slices of bacon around loin.

3. Place bacon wrapped loin in heated skillet and sear on all sides. About 2 minutes per side. Place skillet into oven and cook uncovered for about 30 minutes.

4. Remove loin from skillet into cutting board and let rest 8-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Creamed Corn

Ingredients:

  • 8 ears corn, husked
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • 2 tablespoons bacon grease

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cut the tip off cob. Cut the kernels from cob with a small paring knife. Using the back of the blade, scrape against the cob to press out the milky liquid.

2. Whisk together sugar, flour, and salt and pepper, to taste. Combine with corn. Add the heavy cream and water. Mix.

3. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat bacon grease. Add corn mixture and turn heat down to medium-low, stirring until it becomes creamy, about 30 minutes.

Bruschetta Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. cherry tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/4 c. plus 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 c. torn fresh basil
  • kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 lb. spaghetti
  • 3/4 lb. boneless skinless chicken tenders, cut into 1” pieces
  • 1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, stir together tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, garlic and basil and season generously with salt and pepper. Let sit 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook angel hair until al dente, 4 minutes. Drain and return to pot.

3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat remaining tablespoon olive oil. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook until no longer pink, about 10 minutes per side.

4. Add tomato mixture and chicken to angel hair and toss until fully combined.

5. Top with Parmesan and serve.

Mediterranean Braised Chicken Thighs

Ingredients:

  • 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 head of garlic, sliced in half
  • 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 lemon, thinly sliced, seeds discarded
  • 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, plus more for garnish
  • 1 cup mixed Greek olives
  • 2 cups chicken broth

Directions:

1. Remove the chicken from the fridge 20 minutes before cooking to remove the chill. Preheat the oven to 350°. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.

2. In a large ovenproof pan or Dutch oven large enough to hold all the thighs in a single layer, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken, skin-side down, and sear until golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic halves to the pan cut side down and flip the thighs over. Cook until the garlic is fragrant and has gotten a little brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the chicken and garlic from the pan and set aside.

3. With the pan still hot, add the onions, lemon slices and oregano, and season with salt and pepper. Add chicken broth. Cook, stirring often, until the onions have wilted and the brown bits on the bottom of the pan have loosened, 6 to 8 minutes. Nestle the thighs skin-side up in the onion mixture and add the garlic and the olives. Transfer the pan to the oven. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Scatter fresh oregano leaves over the top and serve.

Not Red Sauce Bolognese

Ingredients:

  • About 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • About 2 tablespoons butter for sauce, plus a few pats to toss with pasta
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 rib celery, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Herb bundle of parsley, sage, thyme, a few stems of each, tied
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • Freshly grated nutmeg, about ⅛ teaspoon
  • One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • A chunk of rind of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus 1 cup and more at table to serve
  • 1 pound spaghetti

Directions:

Heat stock in a small saucepan. Add a chunk of rind and bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low.

In a Dutch oven, heat olive oil, 2 turns of the pot, over medium to medium-high heat, add butter to oil and when it foams, add onion, celery, and carrot, and cook, partially covered, 5-7 minutes to soften. Add garlic, stir, add ground meat and season with salt and ground black pepper. Break up the ground meat until it is no longer pink, then add bay, herbs, milk, season with a little freshly grated nutmeg and reduce heat to low simmer. Let milk absorb into meat completely. Stir tomatoes into sauce, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes, low and slow.

When the sauce looks like it may be drying out, add a few ladles of the beef stock to moisten it, keeping the bolognese at a low bubble.

Cook pasta in 6 quarts salted water about a minute less than the package directions.  Reserve 1/2 cup of starchy cooking water if you have used all of your stock in the bolognese. Drain pasta or remove from water with spider. Toss pasta with a few pats of butter. Remove bay leaf and herb bundle from bolognese. Combine noodles with sauce and a little stock or reserved water if necessary.

Serve, topping with Parmesan cheese.

*Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray

Soba Noodles with Chicken, Red Pepper, and Pea Pods

Ingredients:

  • 14 oz chicken tenders, cut into 1” pieces
  • 8 oz Soba noodles or spaghetti noodles
  • 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
  • 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil plus more
  • 1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
  • 2 Tbsp Tahini
  • 1 lime, juices
  • 3 Scallions, chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 2 C Snow Peas, trimmed
  • 1 red belled pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 C Toasted Sesame Seeds

Directions:

1. Bring a large lot of water to a boil. Salt water and cook noodles according to directions.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tbsp olive oil. Add chicken, season with salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through.

3. While that is cooking whisk together: Tamari, Sesame oil, olive oil, lime juice, crushed red pepper. Set aside.

4. Add snow peas and red bell pepper to chicken. Cook for two minutes. Add sauce, cilantro and scallions. Toss all ingredients to coat.

5. Before serving, top with toasted Sesame seeds.

6. Can be served hot or cold.

Taco Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

  • 16 oz rotini pasta (or other medium sized noodle)
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 3 TBSP taco seasoning
  • 1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
  • 1 cup diced green bell pepper
  • 2-3 cups Mexican Style Shredded Cheese (or mild cheddar)
  • 4 cups shredded lettuce
  • 1/4 cup taco sauce or 1/2 cup of French dressing
  • 3 cups slightly crushed nacho cheese or tortilla chips
  • chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside. 

2. In a large skillet, cook ground beef. Mix in taco seasoning. 

3. In a large bowl add pasta, ground beef, tomatoes, bell pepper, cheese, and lettuce. 

4. Pour taco sauce over the top and stir everything together. Cover and place in fridge if you’re not ready to serve yet.

5. When ready to serve add in crushed chips (so they don’t get soggy). Top with chopped cilantro if desired.