Too-green-for-mike Salsa

Box of cherry tomatoes

Bunch of cilantro

2 green medium-sized chillis (I use Serrano peppers)

Lug of olive oil

Salt & pepper

2 limes

Roughly chop the tomatoes & cilantro. Finely chop the chillis. Mix in a bowl. Add olive oil, salt, and pepper. Slice the limes in half and juice them to the mix. Let stand for 10 mins in the fridge, or serve straight away with lightly salted tortilla chips!

Artichoke Side Dish

Gals, this one is SO easy and SO good!

Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 pound frozen artichoke hearts, thawed (about 1 small box is good for two ppl)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I used dried)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicy!)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth (or veggie broth)
- 1/4 cup Marsala wine (I use a white cooking wine)
- 2 tablespoons butter (I use margarine)
- 1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Warm olive oil in span over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add artichoke hearts, parsley, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and cook until artichoke hearts are starting to brown at the edges, about 3 minutes. Add chicken broth and wine and simmer for 3 minutes. Transfer the artichoke mixture to a 2-quart baking dish.

Melt butter same pan used for artichokes. In a small bowl, mix melted butter with bread crumbs. Stir in Parmesan cheese and top the artichokes with the bread crumbs. Bake until the top is golden, about 10 minutes.

I now keep frozen artichokes in our freezer...this is a great quick side dish!

Chicken Florentine Style

I've made this once and the sauce was delicious...great over spinach!

Ingredients:
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper
- Flour
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used the healthy stuff)
- 2 tablespoons chopped spring onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
- 1 cup whipping cream (the lite cream should work fine too)
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (I used dried parsley)
- 1 package frozen spinach
- small can of mushrooms (optional)

Directions:
Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Coat the chicken lightly in flour. Shake off excess flour. Melt 2 tablespoons 'butter' in a pan over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Remove chicken from stove and cover with foil.

Melt 2 tablespoons 'butter' in same pan over medium heat. Add spring onion and garlic and saute for a minue or two, stirring to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan for flavor. Add the wine. Increase heat to medium-high and boil until liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes.

Add cream and boil until the sauce reduces by half, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Stir in parsley and canned mushrooms (optional). Add salt and pepper to taste. Add chicken and any accumulated juices to the sauce and turn the chicken to coat in the sauce.

We served this over spinach. Saute spinach in little 'butter', salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Corn Chowder

I've made this a couple of times and we love it!

Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves only (I put a few basil leaves instead)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 cups canned vegetable stock
- 2 cups heavy cream (I used 1 cup heavy cream and 1 cup milk)
- 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
- 6 ears of corn (or use 2 cans of sweet whole kernal corn)
- Little salt to taste at end (the veggie broth is salty)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves (you can use basil or dried parsley too)

Directions:
Heat the butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and thyme (or basil) and cook until veggies are nice and soft, about 8-10 minutes. Add flour to veggies and stir well to coat everything well.

Pour in veggie stock and bring to a boil. Add cream (and milk for me) and the potatoes. Bring to a boil and boil hard for 7 minutes, until the potatoes break down.

Cut corn kernals off the cob and add to soup (or add in the cans). Add black pepper and let simmer until corn is soft, about 10-12 minutes. Stir in parsley (or basil) and add in little more olive oil. Add salt to taste (but taste it first!).

Enjoy!!

Super Easy Salmon

Hubby gets chickened out easily what with all the chicken I make - only. So today I decided to mix things up with a piece of salmon. Super easy and quick - perfect for a weekday dinner.

Salmon fillet(s) - with or without skin
1-2 garlic cloves - minced
Olive oil
Juice of half lemon
1 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 F
2. Season the salmon with olive oil and salt and pepper. Spraying oil is easier. (Season both sides if no skin - I left the skin on which came off easily after I baked it)
3. Squeeze lemon juice over it
4. Mash and mix minced garlic with the butter and dab the mix on the salmon
5. Bake for around 15 mins

That's it. Served this with rice on the side.

Dee's Twice-Cooked French Toast

I have to say...Dee gets extra points for this one. It was snowing and Dee had closed the store. While I was in a meeting this morning, he made me breakfast! It was delicious!!

Ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- 5-6 slices fo day old bread (Italian bread!)
- 1/3 cup lite syrup
- 1/3 cup 1% milk (or whatever you have)
- 1 tsp heavy cream (this could be optional)
- 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
- Butter (we used the healther stuff...some sort of margerine)
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Splash of vanilla extract
- Splash of almond extract
- Powdered sugar
- Berries (optional)

Beat the eggs and add syrup, milk, heavy cream, cinnamon, nutmeg and extracts. Soak bread in the egg batter for 30 seconds and then flip - soak for another 30 seconds, and then remove and let sit for 3-5 minutes.

Melt "butter" in 10-inch frying pan. Place 2 slices of bread at a time into the pan cook until golden brown, approximately 2 minutes per side. Then complete for all bread.

Then place in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or so depending on thickness of bread.

This process should allow the outside to be crispy and brown and the inside to be soft. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and berries if you have them. No additional syrup is necessary, unless you like it extra sweet. Enjoy!! Dee did good! :)

Spicy Chicken Thai Fried Rice

Easy peasy for days I don't feel cooking and have some left over rice :)

Chicken
3-4 cloves chopped garlic
3-4 green chopped chilis
Some scallions (optional)
1-2 tbsp Fish sauce
Soy sauce
Onions (sliced)
Red and green peppers (optional)
2 eggs beaten (you can add some soy sauce in the mix too)
Some cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh thai basil
Leftover rice
Lime and cucumber for garnish (optional)

1. Saute the garlic, chilis and scallions (white part) in some vegetable oil until fragrant
2. Add chicken and cook until white (I sometimes take it out at this point and put it aside to avoid overcooking it)
3. Pour in the chilled rice. Add more oil if needed
4. Add some soy sauce, fish sauce and cayenne pepper and mix into the rice (and also salt and pepper to taste)
5. Add in onions and peppers and let these cook
6. In the meantime make some scrambled eggs either seperately or just push the rice aside in the vok/pan and make it there
7. Mix in the eggs and the chicken
8. Add the basil and green part of the scallion

Lebanese Chicken with Tahini and Skhug Yarog

Marinade:

2 tbsp EVOO
2 garlic cloves, minced or finely chopped
1/2 tbsp ground coriander
1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tbsp ground cardemom
1/2 tbsp red chili powder
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Juice of half lemon

1. Marinate the chicken for 2 hours or more
2. Then cook the chicken in a pan, or grill if you like. Take out and put aside
3. Saute some strimmed onions in the same pan and mix in to serve with the chicken

We had this with warm pita bread and tahini and hot sauce (recipes below). Add some sliced tomatoes on the side seasoned with salt and pepper and add anything else you like - lettuce, pickles etc.

Tahini sauce:

3 tbsp greek yoghurt
2 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp EVOO
Jucie of half lemon
1 garlic clove, minced, or more according to taste (or add garlic powder for taste)
Salt to taste

Mix everything together in a bowl

Skhug Yarog (Hot) sauce:

Half cup fresh cilantro (add more coriander if you like it less spicy)
10 green chilis, or more/less according to taste
1 garlic clove, or more according to taste
2 tsbp EVOO
1/2 tbsp cumin
1/2 tbsp salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cardemom - optional
1/2 tsbp parsley flakes - optional
Black pepper to taste - optional

Put everything in a processor and serve

Fusion Shrimp Scampi

Hubby's recipe we put together by fluke just using ingredients we had at home - it's our favorite dish now! Usually serve it as an appetizer or with rice as dinner.

Shrimps
3-4 Garlic cloves - chopped
3-4 Green chilies - chopped (according to taste)
Some grated ginger
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tbsp Olive oil
1/2 Cup white wine vinegar
Dash of soy sauce
Juice of half lemon
Salt
Pepper
Red chili flakes

1. Saute garlic, chilies and ginger in butter and olive oil until fragrant
2. Add in shrimps and stir for couple minutes
3. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
4. When more or less done, add white wine, then soy sauce and mix together
5. Add lemon juice to taste
6. Cook until done! I like them a little black browned