Denver Omelet

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 C diced, cooked ham
1/4 C chopped green bell pepper
1/4 C sliced fresh mushrooms
1 green onion, sliced
1 T butter or margarine
3 eggs
2 T water
1/8 t salt
dash cayenne pepper
1/3 C (1 ounce) cheddar cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS:

Set skillet temperature to 300 degrees F. Add ham, green bell pepper, mushrooms, onions and butter. Saute 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Arrange vegetables in a n even layer. Lightly beat eggs with water, salt and cayenne pepper; pour egg mixture over ham and vegetables. Cover and cook 4 minutes or until eggs are set. Sprinkle with cheese, cover and cook additional 2 minutes. To serve, slice omelet in half and then gently fold each part in half. Gently lift omelets with wide spatula.

Zucchini Casserole

INGREDIENTS:
1 C cooked rice
1 medium onion - chopped fine
1/2 lb. grated cheddar cheese
2 cans mushroom soup
6 medium zucchini squash - cup up with skin

DIRECTIONS:

Saute zucchini in butter until soft and browned lightly. Mix all ingredients together and put in buttered casserole (2 1/2 qt.) dish. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees F.

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

INGREDIENTS:
1 t olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 red bell peppers
4 large tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped (I used canned tomatoes and it turned out great)
1 1/2 t dried thyme
2 t paprika
1/8 t white sugar
6 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
2 T butter
1 1/2 T all-purpose flour
6 T sour cream

DIRECTIONS:

Roast peppers: rub oil on peppers and put them under the broiler until blackened, turn to get all sides. Put into paper bag and seal. Let rest for 15 minutes, then the peel will come right off and core and seeds will fall out. Peel, core and chop peppers. Reserve one chopped pepper; set aside.

Heat olive oil over moderate heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft but not brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato, bell peppers (except reserved), thyme, paprika, and sugar. Cook over medium-low heat until all the tomato juices have evaporated, about 25 minutes.

Stir in chicken stock, salt and pepper, cayenne pepper. Bring to boil, lower heat, and simmer, partially covered, for 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Strain soup, reserving broth. Place solids in food processor or blender, and process until fairly smooth. Add puree back into broth.

Melt butter and stir in the flour, cook for 1 minute. Stirring slowly, add the broth/vegetable mixture. Add reserved chopped pepper and bring to boiling. Lower heat and simmer 10 minutes.
Ladle into bowls and add 1 tablespoon of sour cream to each bowl. For a lighter soup, this is also delicious without the sour cream.

Sweet Shredded Pork

INGREDIENTS:
3lb. pork roast
5 oz. salsa
20 oz Dr. Pepper
1 c. brown sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Place pork in crock pot and fill it 1/2 way up (the pork) with water. Cook on high for 5 hours. Drain off water. Cut pork into thirds. Mix together sauce ingredients and pour over pork. Cook an additional 3 hours on high. Shred pork with forks and leave it on low until ready to serve.

Serve as a burrito, taco, or salad.

Chicken Sandwiches

INGREDIENTS:
1 C Mayonnaise
1 C Miracle Whip
1/2 C Ranch
4 C Chicken cooked, chopped

Following to taste:
Apple peeled, chopped (any sweet apple)
Celery sliced
Almond Slivers
Grapes (seedless) cut in half (either red or green, red tends to be sweeter)
salt and pepper (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all ingredients together and serve on croissants. May add a leaf of lettuce.

Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup

I used 2 frozen chicken breasts and two chicken bouillon cubes, which cut down on the cooking time.

INGREDIENTS:
1 4-5 pound stewing chicken, cut up
12 C water
1/2 C chopped Onion (1 medium)
2 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 C dried medium noodles (I use rotini noodles)
1 C chopped carrots (2 medium)
1 C chopped celery (2 stalks)
2 T parsley
4 chicken bouillon cubes

DIRECTIONS:

In a large pot combine chicken, water, onion, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 2 hours or until chicken in tender.

Remove chicken from broth. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones. Discard bones. Cut meat into bite-size pieces; set aside. Discard bay leaf. Skim fat from broth.

Bring broth to boiling. Stir in chicken, bouillon cubes, carrots and celery. Simmer, covered, about 5-7 minutes or until veggies are tender but still firm. Stir in noodles and parsley; heat through until noodles are firm, but cooked (5-7 minutes).

Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

Even though this recipe calls for pork tenderloin, I used boneless pork chops and it turned out GREAT!

INGREDIENTS:
3 pounds pork tenderloin
1/4 C olive oil
3 Garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 t thyme
1/2 T rosemary
1 T salt
2 T pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Mix ingredients together and let pork marinate for at least one hour. Place pork in baking dish and add whole baby carrots, cubed red potatoes, and chopped onion. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

INGREDIENTS:
3 lbs chicken
1 t garlic salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 beaten egg
4-6 T cornstarch
3/4 C sugar
1/2 C vinegar
1/2 C chicken stock
3 1/2 T Ketchup
1 T soy sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt and pepper. Let stand for on hour or more. Preheat oven to 325 F. Dip chicken in beaten egg and then in cornstarch. Brown in hot oil. Place in baking dish.

Heat sugar, vinegar, chicken stock, ketchup, and soy sauce in pan mixing well. Once the sugar is dissolved pour over chicken and bake uncovered for 1 hour. Turn chicken over once or twice. Serve over rice.

English Pastry

Ingredients for short crust pastry:
4 cups flour
1 cup either margarine or butter or a combination of these
pinch of salt
cold water to mix

DIRECTIONS:

Rub the butter or margarine into the flour but not too finely. I sometimes cut the fat into small lumps. Add the salt and then start adding the water gradually until it works together into a ball without being sticky. Put aside in a cool place.

Ingredients for filling
3/4 lb beef, not stewing beef
raw potato
raw swede (also known as rutabaga or yellow/swedish turnip)
small onion
salt and pepper
a walnut sized piece of butter

DIRECTIONS:

Cut the steak into small pieces but do not mince. Slice potato and swede into thin, small pieces about half an inch across. Chop onion finely. Dust the work surface with flour. Roll out the pastry to about 1/4 inch thickness. Using a small plate cut out circles. Moisten the edge with milk or water and support half of the pastry nearest to you over the rolling pin. On the other half, put a small layer of prepared vegetables then a layer of beef. Repeat this once but be careful not to have too much filling which would cause the pastry to burst during the cooking process. Sprinkle sparingly with salt and pepper then add a small bit of the butter. Sprinkle a dusting of flour over the filling (this helps to make the gravy). Fold the other half of pastry which has been resting on the rolling pin over the filling and squeeze the half circle edges firmly together. Starting at the right side whilst supporting the left side with other hand, using first finger and thumb turn the edge over to form a crimp. Repeat this process all along the edge. This will come with practice but you must get a good seal. Brush pasty with beaten egg wash to help with browning process and put a small one inch cut in the centre of the top to allow steam to escape. Bake in a hot oven 420 F for about 20 minutes then reduce temperature to 320 F for a further 40 minutes. Smaller pasties need less time. If they are browning too quickly cover loosely with greased paper.

PF Chang's Mongolian Beef

INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 pound flank steak
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 large green onions

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the sauce by heating 2 teaspoons of vegetable in a medium saucepan over med/low heat. Don't get the oil too hot or you'll get a major spatter when adding the other liquids. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce for 2 to 3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove it from the heat.

2. Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4-inch thick bite-size slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a forty five degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts.

3. Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.

4. As the beef sits, heat up one cup of oil in a wok (you may also use a skillet for this step as long as the beef will be mostly covered with oil). Heat the oil over medium heat until it's nice and hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and sauté for just two minutes, or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges. You don't need a thorough cooking here since the beef is going to go back on the heat later. Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly. After a couple minutes, use a large slotted spoon or a spider to take the meat out and onto paper towels, then pour the oil out of the wok or skillet. Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and simmer for one minute. Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring, then add all the green onions. Cook for one more minute, then remove the beef and onions with tongs or a slotted spoon to a serving plate. Leave the excess sauce behind in the pan.

Penne Chicken Alfredo from Johnny Carino's

BUILD FOR ALFREDO SAUCE:
1 quart heavy whipping cream
1 C parmesan cheese
1 T black pepper
1/4 C whole milk

Saute heavy cream, milk, and black pepper to a consistent boil. Remove cream mixture from heat and fold in parmesan cheese. Store completed sauce in refrigerator until use.

BUILD FOR THE PENNE ALFREDO:
1 oz. melted butter
1/4 C chopped cooked bacon
1/4 C diced roma tomatoes
1 C sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 t garlic salt
1/4 C peas
3 oz. sliced cooked chicken (or shrimp - highly recommended)
4 oz. alfredo sauce
10 oz. penne pasta

In a warm saute pan combine butter, mushrooms, bacon, peas, tomatoes, chicken (or shrimp), and spice mixture. Saute until mushrooms are a golden brown and tomatoes begin to dissolve. Add alfredo sauce and continue to saute until an internal temperature of 165 degrees is reached. Remove from flame, add pasta, toss, and serve.

Bangja Gui

This is a good Korean dish. I'd test the chili powder before putting the whole teaspoon in - they like hot dishes.

INGREDIENTS:
1 ¼ lb sirloin or rib steak
½ t. salt
1 T. sesame oil
¼ t. black pepper
4 green onions; in 2" long strips
3 T. soy sauce
2 t. sesame oil
1 t. hot red chili powder
1 t. sugar
1 T toasted sesame seeds
10-12 large lettuce leaves
3 garlic cloves; sliced thin

DIRECTIONS:

Cut the steak into thin slices 3 inches long and 2 inches wide. Mix the steak with salt, 1 T. sesame oil, and pepper; put seasonings into the meat. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Soak the green onion slices in ice water for 15 minutes. Drain well. Mix together the soy sauce and the remaining 2 t. sesame oil and toss this with the green onion slices. Set aside.

Mix the chili powder, sugar, and sesame seeds together. Rub this seasoning on the inside curl of the lettuce leaves. Set aside.

Grill the steak to desired temperature according to taste. Take 1 lettuce leaf, put several slices of steak in the center, add about 1 T. of the seasoned green onions, sliver or two of garlic, fold the lettuce over the steak and eat. Serve with rice.

Porcupine Meatballs

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4 pounds ground beef
3/4 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
1 egg, beaten
1 (26 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
26 fluid ounces water

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl combine the beef, rice and egg beat. Mix well with hands, making mixture into medium sized meatballs. Set aside.

Pour soup into a large saucepan, and dilute with 1 can of water. Heat to simmering over medium heat.

Lower heat to low, drop meatballs into soup and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.