Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Recipe : Antipasto Salad

Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
6 ounces macaroni
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups broccoli florets
4 ounces sliced pepperoni sausage
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
Cook pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain.
In large bowl, stir together oil, vinegar, garlic, basil, and salt and pepper. Toss with warm macaroni to coat well. Toss with Parmesan. Cover, and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours.
Add broccoli, pepperoni, and tomatoes; toss well. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, and serve.

Recipe : Avocado Cheese Bread

Ingredients
2 avocados - peeled, pitted, and mashed
2 eggs, beaten
1 (8 ounce) container lemon-flavor yogurt
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup self-rising corn meal mix
1 tablespoon fajita seasoning

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
In a large bowl, stir together the avocados, eggs, yogurt, cheese, cornmeal, and fajita seasoning until well blended. Spread the mixture evenly into the greased pan.
Bake for 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top turns golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Recipe : Baked Ziti with Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients
1 pound ground turkey
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely diced onion
3 tablespoons chopped, toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup grated Romano cheese
6 cups tomato sauce
1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese

Directions
In a bowl, stir together turkey, garlic, bread crumbs, onion, pine nuts, parsley, egg, salt and pepper. Form into meatballs about 1 inch in diameter.
In a large heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Cook half of meatballs, shaking skillet, until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer meatballs to paper towels to drain. Brown remaining meatballs in remaining 2 tablespoons oil in same manner.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Oil a 3 to 4 quart gratin dish.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook until just al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain.
In a small bowl, toss together mozzarella and Romano cheese.
Spoon about 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce and half the meatballs into prepared dish, and spoon half the pasta on top. Spread half remaining sauce and half cheese mixture over pasta. Top with remaining meatballs, and drop dollops of ricotta over meatballs. Spread remaining pasta over ricotta, and top with remaining sauce and cheese mixture. Bake in middle of oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe : Brown Rice Hot Dish

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups instant brown rice
1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine, divided
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
1 1/4 cups finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/4 cups hot water
1/3 cup chopped pecans
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions
In a nonstick skillet, saute rice in half of the butter until golden brown; transfer to a large bowl. In the same skillet, saute the mushrooms, celery and onion in remaining butter until tender; add to rice. Stir in the water, pecans, salt, marjoram, pepper, sage and thyme.
Transfer to a 1-1/2-qt. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Recipe : Bacon Wrapped Pork Chops

Ingredients
6 (1 inch thick) boneless pork chops
6 tablespoons process cheese sauce
12 slices bacon

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Fry the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until cooked through but still flexible. Wrap two slices of bacon around each pork chop and top with a tablespoon of cheese sauce. Place the pork chops in a baking dish.
Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven.