Fresh Cheese-And-Tomato Sauce

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 green onions, minced
1 c. ricotta cheese
4 medium tomatoes, diced
basil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Gently heat oil in a pan and add onions and ricotta. After 1 minute stir in the tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper.
2. Remove from heat as soon as mixture is warmed through. Toss with linguini and serve

Variation: use fresh goat cheese in place of ricotta

I had this last night and it was so easy and we all liked it. I can't wait to try it with different types of cheese!!

Vegetable Pizza

2 pkg. crescent rolls
Spread out on bottom of a greased cookie sheet & a small cake pan (unless you like it thick- then just in the bottom of a cookie sheet)). Make sure you press the seams together well. Bake at 375 for 10 min. or until lightly brown. Cool

Mix together 2- 80z. light cream cheese (not fat free) that has been on the counter warming, 1 sm. pkg. Hidden Valley dressing mix, 1/2 c. plus a Tablespoon or so of sour cream, 1/2 c. plus a Tablespoon or so of mayo, and beat with electric beater - starting with the cream cheese alone and then adding the rest. Beat until smooth.

Spread mixture over the cooled pizza crust.

Sprinkle on the top any mixture of the following vegetables: 2 shredded carrots, finely chopped broccoli, chopped green onion, chopped peppers - yellow, green, or red, chopped mushrooms (I didn't use), chopped olives, chopped tomatoes or grape tomatoes, & chopped cauliflower (I didn't use). After veg. are spread on pizza, cover with plastic wrap right on top of pizza and mash ingredients into cr. cheese mixture with your hand so they won't be so inclined to fall off. Next add the tomatoes on top, and refrigerate a couple of hours until ready to use.

Cut in 1 to 1 1/2 inch squares. Fun for a brunch or a snack.

Mom

Easy Coleslaw

Shredded cabbage (You can buy this preshredded in the produce section)
cashews
chopped apple
1 pkg. ramen noodles (noodles only), broken into pieces
poppyseed dressing

There are really no measurements for this. Just add the ingredients to your liking. Mix together and serve!

Chicken Fingers with Honey Sauce

2 - 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 egg white, beaten
1/4 c. + 1 tablespoon honey, divided
2 c. cornflakes, crushed
1/4 t. pepper
4 t. Dijon mustard
1/4 t. garlic powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut chicken into strips, about 3/4" wide by 3" long. Combine beaten egg white with 1 tablespoon honey. Place crushed cornflakes and pepper in a shallow dish (or large ziploc bag). Dip chicken in egg whites then roll in cornflakes. Place in a single layer on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 11 to 13 minutes. Meanwhile, mix remaining honey with Dijon mustard and garlic powder. Drizzle over chicken or use as a dipping sauce.

Manicotti w/ cheese and Spinach

12 Manicotti tubes
10 oz. frozen spinach
1 lb ricotta
1 cup parmesean (split)
¼ lb proscuitto or other flavorful ham
2 egg yolks
¼ cup parsley
1 tsp. salt
Dash cayenne pepper
Tomatoe Sauce
2 T butter

1. Boil the manicotti 8 minutes until soft and malleable. Cook the spinach and then squeeze all the water out and then chop.
2. Mix the spinach, ricotta, ¾ c. parmesean, ham, egg yolks, parsley, salt, and pepper.
3. Squeeze sauce into manicotti tubes and place in baking dish on top of small amount of sauce. Cover with more sauce and then sprinkle the rest of the parmesean cheese on top. Dot with butter and then cover with tinfoil.
4. Bake at 35o for 15 minutes. Remove tinfoil and bake and additional 10 minutes.

Jared’s pasta Recipe Book

Molasses Cookies

Mix:
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. shortening
¼ c molasses
1 egg

Add:
2 C. Flour
1 ½ tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cloves
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp.ginger

Roll into balls, roll balls in sugar and bake 8 (I say 12) min at 350.
Megan Murdoch

Focaccia Bread

1 prepared pizza crust
2 cloves chopped garlic
½ lb mozzarella cheese (grated)
1 cup parmesan cheese (grated)
4 – 5 Roma Tomatoes cut into circles
¼ cup basil

1. First chop the garlic and then spread it over the pizza crust. Sprinkle half of the cheeses on the crust.
2. Put the tomatoes on the cheese and sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the tomatoes
3. Sprinkle Basil over the whole thing and bake in the oven at 350 for 25 – 30 minutes.

My Roommate Annie Boyce

Tex-Mex Chicken Burritos

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
5 Tbsp fresh lime juice (split)
1 tsp ground chili powder
2-3 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
1 (15.5 oz.)can black beans, rinsed, drained
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup corn kernels
1/3 cup diced red onion
2 Tbsp diced jalapeno pepper (yeah right?!?! - I'm too much of a wimp.)
1 ripe Hass avocado, peeled, pitted
¼ tsp salt
flour tortillas
2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, 4 Tbsp of the lime juice, and chili powder. Add chicken, beans, tomato, corn, red onion, and jalapeno, tossing to combine

In a bowl, mash the avacado, 1 Tbsp lime juice, and salt.

Lay tortillas on work surface. Divide chicken mixture among tortillas, placing in a strip along bottom, 1 inch from edges. Top each with avocado mixture, lettuce, and cheese, dividing evenly. Fold up each tortilla and roll in to burritos.

This is a cold dish for hot summer evenings when you don't want to heat up the house from too much cooking. It's messy though because the juices leak out of the tortilla.

Lettuce Wraps

4 Chicken Breasts
6 T. Green onion, chopped
2 c. water chestnuts, chopped
1 1/2 c. fresh mushrooms or 1 can of mushrooms, chopped
minced garlic

Sauce:
6 T. Soy Sauce
6 T. Brown Sugar
1 1/2 t. rice vinegar (or regular vinegar)

Bring 2 T. vegetable oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan. Saute the chicken until cooked. Cut chicken into small pieces. Add an additional 1 T. oil to the pan. Add chicken, vegetables, and sauce into the pan and saute for a few minutes. Serve in lettuce cups (lettuce head sliced in half).

I think this tastes just like PF Chang's lettuce wraps. We've also served the chicken mixture in romaine lettuce cups (they end up being more like a taco).

Sassy Chicken Salad

1 10 oz can diced tomatoes/green chilies (ro-tel) drained
1/2 c. mayo
1 12.5 oz can chicken
1 c. celery
1 c. grapes (I usually add 2 cups worth)
1/2 c. toasted pecans (can use almonds)

I've omitted the celery and nuts -- and it's still really good.