Tomato Pesto-Coconut Chicken And Vegetables

1 celery root - skin pared away
1 yellow beet - scrubbed 
1 red and white beet (concentric circles) - scrubbed
(I didn't use the dark red beet)
1-2 green zucchini
1 yellow zucchini
1 lg. purple onion
1 leek - sliced, not spiral cut
2T coconut oil
3/4c chicken broth
1/2c roasted sunflower seeds

Using a spiral slicer, spiral cut as much or little as you want of each vegetable.  Combine in a big cooking pot with the coconut oil and simmer-saute' for 5-15 minutes depending on how crisp or done you like your vegetables.  At the end add a little chicken broth and the sunflower seeds, simmering another 5 minutes.  Serve  as 'spaghetti' with the chicken sauce. . .Lin

1-1/4# chicken breast meat

1-2T coconut oil

1 lg. elephant garlic clove

14.5oz. can petite diced tomatoes

4oz. tomato pesto
4oz. can coconut cream

Cut the chicken in very small pieces and saute' in coconut oil with the chopped garlic until everything starts to brown.  Add the remaining ingredients and simmer on low for another 10-15 minutes.

Put the vegetables in the bottom of a 2-3 qt. casserole dish, spoon chicken and sauce over this.  Cover and chill.  When ready to serve, bake at 325° for 30 minutes. . .Lin

Midwestern 'Hot Dish' (Homemade Hamburger Helper)

1½# ground beef

1 med. onion

1 large can petite diced tomatoes

8oz. fresh sliced mushrooms

salt and pepper

pinch of brown sugar

1c dry medium texture pasta -

~~cooked about half way

Brown the beef with the onion, add remaining ingredients then simmer until mushrooms are cooked. Serve with crusty bread and a salad. This is a favorite of my North Dakota fiancee' who makes it regularly.

Black Beans And Friends

This was an unlikely combination, but I was craving black beans and sweet potatoes, so I put them together. It turned out well.

1-3 med. sweet potatoes~ peel and cube

1 lg. elephant garlic clove, sliced

1 med. onion, chopped

1-2T butter

1 can drained-rinsed black beans

Combine the first three ingredients in a covered pan. Add a little water, fresh ground pepper, cover and simmer about 5 minutes. Add 1-2T butter, uncover and continue to simmer until liquid is almost absorbed. Add the black beans, cover and heat a few additional minutes. Serve as a side or main dish. . .Lin

Ham-Scalloped Potatoes

1# thick sliced pre-cooked ham

6-8 med. potatoes – peeled and sliced

3-4 stalks celery – sliced

1 med. onion – sliced-chopped

1 can cream soup

Fill this can with half & half

Fresh ground pepper

8oz. shredded cheese

Arrange first 4 ingredients in a 9x13” baking pan. Mix soup and half & half together. Pour over ingredients in pan. Season, cover with cheese then bake at 350° 60-90 minutes. . .Lin  

Smoked Sausage and Vegetables

8oz. Hillshire Farm smoked sausage

4 med. carrots – sliced

2T± Balsamic vinegar and oil mix

2 onions – sliced or diced

½ head of savoy cabbage – slice-chop

fresh ground pepper

Slice chunks of sausage then cut into ½” cubes. Saute', covered, with carrots in the vinegar-oil mix for 5-8 minutes. Keep an eye on the heat, the vinegar-oil will encourage caramelization, which is good, but bringing out the natural sugars in this way, combined with the fats, can lower the scorching point. Add the onions, about a cup of water, cabbage and pepper. Stir and bring the heat to a simmer. Continue to cook, covered, until the cabbage wilts a little and all the vegetables are cooked the way you like them. . .Lin

Bright, Colorful Summer Squash and Corn

3 ears of corn

1-2T each: butter and toasted sesame oil

1 medium yellow and green zucchini - slice-chop

3 patty pan squash, remove seeds then slice

3 red and orange mini-peppers

2 med. purple or green kohlrabi. Peel and slice, top to bottom

1 lg. Onion or equivalent leftover onions - slice-chop

1 can of tomatoes - sliced or chopped

Boil the corn for 8 minutes, cool slightly and cut off the cob. You can eliminate this step if you want - just cut the raw corn into a bowl. Put butter and oil in pan and add all the squash. Finely chop a little of the onion and add that also. Saute' the squash 15 minutes or so, until a little translucent. Add peppers, kohlrabi and the rest of the onion. Stir, in tomatoes. Bring this mixture to a simmer and cook another 10-15 minutes or until all vegetables are just crisp-tender.  Don't overcook.

This is a great summer lunch or dinner. It can also be used as a side dish for a cook-out. It would go great with shrimp, steak or chicken on the grill. Serve with fresh grated Asiago cheese and a handful of roasted sunflower seeds. Happy Summertime everyone! . . . Lin

Eggplant and Summer Squash

Sauteed Summer Squash

This is the post that almost wasn't - due to ingredients. The two varieties of squash shown on either side of the eggplant were not good choices as they cooked up with a very bitter taste. Instead of these I would substitute other varieties of summer squash: green and yellow zucchini would be great choices.

2-3 sm-med yellow and green zucchini - slice-cubed

1 med-lg Vidalia onion - chopped

1/4-1/2c almonds - chopped

1 med tomato - chopped

Saute' squash, onion & almonds in a little butter until they're almost translucent. Season with any herbs, salt and pepper you'd like. Add tomato, cooking just a little longer to heat everything and blend the flavors. Serve with eggplant. . .Lin

Crispy Corn-Floured Eggplant

1 beautiful eggplant - slice 3/8” thick

3-4T Balsamic vinegar

a little bowl of salt-peppered corn flour

Measure the vinegar into a shallow bowl. In another flat bowl, stir together seasonings and corn flour. Meanwhile, heat equal amounts of butter and olive oil – (toasted sesame or coconut oil could also be used). Dip the eggplant slices in vinegar, coat with seasoned flour then fry quickly in hot butter-oil. Put on a flattened brown paper bag to absorb oil. Lightly pat top surface with a paper towel. Serve with sauteed summer squash. I drizzled mine with a little Honey-Dijon salad dressing - Peppercorn Ranch would also be good.  Serves 4 as a side dish, 1 or 2 as a main entree'. . .Lin

Costa Rican Dinner with an American Twist

Black Beans and Rice

1 can  black beans

1/2 c   white rice

1    lime - zest

1/2 lime - juice

1    stalk celery & greens

1/2T   cumin

1   T   dry cilantro

sea salt & fresh pepper

1/2 can coconut milk

Cook rice in 1-1/4c water for 15 minutes.  Add drained beans and remaining ingredients.  Transfer to a covered casserole dish and let stand an hour or so to blend the flavors.  Reheat until mixture just begins to bubble.  Serve with eggs, chicken, beef or fish and fruit or steamed vegetables.  (I didn't use the chorizo - it was the soft type - I was expecting it to be more like kielbasa.  Instead I steamed up some shrimp at the end and tossed it in a little spicy-sour spring roll sauce.). . .Lin

Chayote Chop

1  chayote squash

1  zucchini

1  carrot

1/2  onion

1 T  butter

1/2  can coconut milk

sea salt & fresh pepper

Wash all vegetables.  Peel chayote, dice all the vegetables, combine in a pan with butter and seasonings.  Stir and simmer 10 minutes.  Add coconut milk, bake in a loaf pan or baking dish another 20 minutes.  Stir and serve. . .Lin

Chicken Vegetable Stew (two ways)

3  chicken breasts - cubed

2  onions - chopped

3  celery stalks with tops - sliced

3  carrots - cut in big pieces

12oz  fresh green beans - sliced

2  cloves Elephant Garlic - sliced

3  potatoes rough peeled - cubed

*28oz  can stewed tomatoes

Brown the chicken and about 1/2 an onion, finely chopped, in a little olive oil and butter.  Add water, white wine or beer to deglaze pan and repeat several times.  Next add celery, carrots, beans and remaining onion.  Saute'-simmer 10-15 minutes adding water as needed to keep vegetables from sticking.  Add potatoes and garlic, several cups of water, 2-4T powdered soup base, Rosemary Seasoning, and / or salt and pepper.


If the finished stew is too thin, make a flour roux with a couple tablespoons of flour stirred into some cold water in a cup.  Bring stew to a boil to adjust the consistency.

At first this soup was a little too peppery for all our tastes!  *I added a 20oz can of stewed tomatoes, chopped up a bit, and the juice and that was a nice fix. . .Lin

Black & White Bean — Bacon-Venison Chili

1/2#   bacon - finely diced

1/2      onion - finely diced

1#       ground lean meat —

            venison, elk, beef, buffalo

1-1/2  onion - chopped

2 c      celery - chopped

1 10oz  can RO*TEL tomatoes

2 14.5 oz  cans diced tomatoes

Cook the bacon until crispy.  Transfer from pan to folded paper towels with a slotted spoon.  Brown the ground meat in the bacon drippings with the finely chopped onion.  When browned, all fat should have melted away.  Add remaining onion and celery, stir and cook covered about 10 minutes.  Put in a little water if needed.  Add tomatoes (2 cans diced rather than one shown).  Simmer covered another 20-30 minutes.  Best if chilled a few hours at this point, then reheated.  Serve with cornbread, beer bread or biscuits. . .Lin

Chorizo, Chicken and Shrimp Paella

This was an interesting brain tease for me.  We've been invited to a New Year's Eve party and wanted to make my Red, White and Green-Mini Vegetables to go with the ham our hosts are cooking.  I also wanted to make a main dish - something with a few different meats.  I once had Paella, at a Spanish restaurant in Madison Wisconsin my son and daughter-in-law brought us to, 20 years ago.  I don't think I've ever made one but had these three meats rattling around in my head.  I "Googled" those three and found that the other ingredients I had in mind are also usually combined with them in creating this type of Paella.  Ahhh, so here goes - another cooking adventure!  Happy New Year everyone!

1-1/2#  chicken breast - cut in pieces

12 oz    Spanish chorizo - cut in pieces

2 med  onions - sliced or chopped

10         multi-colored mini peppers - sliced

2           cloves elephant garlic - sliced

6-8       cloves regular garlic - chopped

10 oz   package fresh grape tomatoes

1/2 c    sun-dried tomatoes - sliced

1 pinch  saffron threads

1 T       real Maple syrup, honey or sugar

1/2 t     sea salt

1 28 oz  can whole plum tomatoes

1 T       powdered chicken bullion

1 t        hot Hungarian paprika

1 c        frozen peas - thawed

12 oz   frozen shrimp - thawed

2 c        20-minute type white rice

Saute' the chicken, chorizo and a little of the chopped onion in 1-2T extra virgin olive oil for 5-10 minutes.  When browned a bit and sizzling, cover and simmer on low another 10 minutes.  Add the rest of the onion, peppers and garlic.  Stir and saute' a little to release the flavors.

Combine halved grape tomatoes and next 4 ingredients in a bowl. After another 10-15 minutes, when your kitchen begins to smell like a Spanish restaurant, add seasoned tomato mixture and the can of plum tomatoes, cut up a bit.  Stir and simmer on low another 5-10 minutes to blend the flavors.  Chill a couple hours or overnight.

Just before serving, heat and check flavors.  Add salt, pepper, etc., to correct if necessary.



Add uncooked rice, more liquid if needed, and bring mixture to a simmer for 10-15 minutes, then add peas and shrimp.  Combine and simmer 5 minutes and serve. . .Lin 

A Big (and-really-good) Salad

2      handfuls of salad mix - I made this one using romaine

        hearts, red lettuce, red cabbage, onion and mini English

        cucumbers - slice-chop-tear each of these any way you like

1/2   can of white beans - rinsed and drained

1/2   lg. tomato - chopped

1oz  spicy venison (or beef, etc.) jerky stick - cut crosswise

2oz  Swiss cheese - cubed

Tonight I just combined all this, sprinkled with a splash of balsamic vinegar and added a little poppy seed dressing.

Oh my. . .it was wonderful! . . . Lin

Beef Stew

Cook on high, covered:

1-1/4#  beef stew meat

1/2        chopped onion

2T         bacon drippings

Cook about 10 minutes, then add t-1T Rosemary Seasoning (posted earlier here).  Uncover and evaporate liquid.  When browned, add a little red wine, white wine, Vodka.  Stir and saute' a while, till really brown.  Add a little more liquid and repeat the process as many times as it takes to get meat well browned and smelling wonderful.  Cover and simmer an hour or so.

Add:

4 carrots - chopped

4 stalks of celery - chopped

Simmer-saute' 20 minutes then add:

1 lg       onion - equivalent (red, yellow, sweet)

1 med  sweet pepper (red, green, yellow, orange)

3 med-lg  Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and cubed

Add a little more liquid, water, beef broth, wine, Vodka, etc.  Simmer another 20-30 minutes.  Check flavors - *sour cream?

Ours was a little too spicy (the Rosemary Seasoning has cayenne pepper and needed to be 'tempered' a bit.)  So - *to add another dimension and neutralize a little of the heat, I stirred in 3/4c sour cream, then heat again another few minutes.)  Buttered biscuits are great with this. . .LIn

Tamari-Garlic Chicken

5-6 lg.  cloves chopped garlic

3/4 c     Tamari or soy sauce

1/2 c     extra virgin olive oil

1/3 c     white balsamic vinegar

some fresh ground pepper

1-1/2#  boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Combine first 5 ingredients in a big flat bowl, blending well.  Add chicken and chill, turning pieces every so often.  Marinate 2-8 hours.  Remove chicken from marinade with a slotted spoon.  Place in a non-stick pan over medium heat, cook 15-20 minutes, adding a little more marinade or water if needed. 

several potatoes — scrubbed and cut in chunks

1-1/2 onion ± — cut in chunks

3   big carrots — scrubbed and cut in chunks

Stir in the vegetable and increase the heat.  Add some water or marinade if needed, cover and simmer until all is done.  DON'T use the uncooked marinade as a sauce - (throw away any that's left in the bowl.)  Serves 2-4 - If there are leftovers, you'll love this for the next few days!. . .Lin

Beef Rib Stew

1-1/2#  leftover boneless beef ribs

1  can petite diced tomatoes

Simmer the meat in the tomatoes and juice for an hour or two.  Add a little vinegar and Dijon mustard if you want or some water if needed.

4  med  carrots

1  sm    head of cabbage

1/2 sm  onion

1  can   light red kidney beans

1  can   black beans

Add chunks of carrots, cabbage and chopped onion.  Simmer another hour, add drained-rinsed beans the last 5 minutes.  Serve with cornbread or biscuits. . .Lin

Dinner on the Grill

Beef Ribs
2.75#  boneless beef ribs

In a flat pan, pour extra virgin olive oil and some vinegar over the ribs about 3/4c of each.  Sprinkle with a rub or seasoning of your choice.  I used garlic pepper this time.  Marinate a couple hours, turning a few times.  Bake, covered, at 250° for an hour and a half.  Finish on the grill, browning basting with marinade and cooking juices for 15-20 minutes.

Potatoes and Onions

1  lg  sweet potato

fingerling potatoes scrubbed

1  lg  onion

Peel the sweet potato and cut into chunks.  Put in salted water to prevent browning.

Drain, put in a pouch of heavy foil with butter, sea salt and pepper.  Add the other potatoes and onion cut in large chunks.  Cook open over medium heat on the grill, turning in the butter-salt-pepper mixture until the sweet potatoes are done the way you like them.  20-30 minutes.

Sauteed Veal With Pasta - For Two

3/4# veal scallopini cut into thin strips

1  lg  onion - halved and sliced

6-8   cloves of garlic - chopped

3-4   mini-sweet peppers - sliced

1T    whole peppercorns

1/2 c extra virgin olive oil

1/2 c vinegar

Combine all the above and marinate for 2-3 hours, mixing several times.  Sauté over medium heat, browning the meat a little.  Add a little white wine, cover and simmer 20 minutes.  Brown and stir another 15-20 minutes.  Cool just a little, add 3/4c sour cream, blend and serve over pasta with a big salad.

As you can see, not everyone appreciates all those peppercorns.

My Granddaughter is feeling fine right now.  :o)

I love peppercorns, ate all mine - 

and ended up with some serious heartburn :o(  . .Lin

Celery-Potato-Turkey Kielbasa Soup

I needed some fall food today!  This reminds me a lot of the Olive Garden soup recipe I recreated here, with my own touches of course, the Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana I posted here a while ago.

3   Hillshire Turkey Polska Kielbasa's

1T extra virgin olive oil

2/3c red, green, yellow sweet peppers

1/4   lg  yellow onion

1   stalk of very dark green celery w/o hearts

3   carrots

3/4# baby Yukon Gold potatoes

1T   chicken soup base paste

1T   Rosemary Seasoning - posted here previously

1c   light sour cream

Slice the Kielbasa in quarters, lengthwise then cut in pieces.  Chop 1/4 of the onion.  Slice-chop the peppers, celery and carrots.  Combine all in heavy 4 quart pot.  Sauté in olive oil, stirring for about 5 minutes.  Cover and simmer on low in a little water, about 45 minutes.  Add chopped potatoes, remaining chopped onion, soup base and Rosemary Seasoning.  Simmer another 15 minutes until potatoes are done.  Turn off heat, cool 5 minutes.  Add sour cream, stir and serve. . .Lin

"Chorizo" Potatoes and Black Beans

This ended up way different than the original ingredients would indicate.  The Barbecue sauce and red beans were not used.  Just after this photo was taken I got a call from someone who was going to make me some authentic Mexican Chorizo, saying it was ready to pick up.  Ohhh, I was excited!

Well, apparently there's a bit of a language gap between us.  What I thought I was buying was spicy sausage, what I got is more like a spicy red meat sauce!  Ahhh, but one thing that never changes in life is - change.  So here's the new, changed recipe.

1-1/2# baby potatoes - scrubbed and cut into chunks

2  stalks of celery

1  lg yellow onion

1/3 lg green pepper

1  can black beans - drained and rinsed

1 c chorizo mystery sauce or other spicy red, meat sauce

Sauté the potatoes, celery, about 1/4 of the onion and green pepper in 1T butter.  Cook and stir 5-10 minutes.  Chop and add the rest of the onion, black beans and spicy meat sauce.  Cover and simmer on very low until potatoes are the way you like them. . .Lin

Dinner on the Grill

Marinated Root Vegetables

To start, slowly par-boil vegetables - bring them to a simmer then continue 10-15 minutes:

2  big carrots

3  turnips

6  small beets

In a low, flat bowl combine:

Zest & juice of 1 lemon

garlic pepper

sea salt

a splash of Heinz Salad Vinegar

1/2 c±  extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion sliced

Then added the partially-cooked vegetables, cut in big chunks.  I peeled the beets, but left the rest with skinned on.  My turnips were from the Farmers' Market and not waxed.  If yours are, you'll need to peel them.  Marinate several hours, with the dressing and onion, then pour all onto a big sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil.  Cook about 30 minutes on medium-high, until done the way you like them. . .Lin

Steak and Chicken

I made up some Good Seasons Zesty Italian salad dressing to use as a marinade for the meat.  Marinate the amount of each that you need for a couple hours prior to cooking, turning often.  Cook for 10-15 minutes until a fork slips in and out of the pieces of chicken easily.  Throw away any leftover marinade - do not use it as a serving sauce. ..Lin