Grilled Flank Steak Sandwich

Grilled Flank Steak Sandwich with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette--Dressed and Pears
(sorry we ate it before we took a picture....yum, it was good)

Ingredients:
2 lemons
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (about 4 springs), stripped and chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 lbs flank steak
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
4 rolls, split
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 ripe Bartlett, Anjou, or Bosc pear
8 slices prosciutto di Parma
1 large bunch of arugula, cleaned and trimmed (2 to 2 1/2 cups)

Directions:
1. In a shallow bowl, combine the juice of 1 1/2 lemons, thyme, salt and pepper. Add steak and toss to coat. Marinate for 5-10 minutes.

2. In a small bowl, combine mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Whisk in 3 tbsp of Olive oil, then the blue cheese. Toast the rolls and rub the toasted cut sides with the garlic clove.

3. Preheat a grill pan or outdoor grill on high. Add rest of oil if on a grill pan. Grill the steak for 6-7 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate and loosely tent with foil to let the juices redistribute before slicing.

4. Thinly slice the pear, and toss in a salad bowl with the juice of the remaining half lemon. Slice the prosciutto into strips. Add the arugula leaves and prosciutto to the salad bowl and toss with the vinaigrette.

5. Thinly slice the steak against the grain and on an angle. Layer the steak slices onto the rolls and to pwith the arugula-pear salad.

Brought to you by Rachael Ray 365: No repeats. Russ made most of this dinner. It was so good!

Chinese Fried Rice

Chinese Fried Rice (rough recipe)

Ingredients:

6 eggs
5 cups calrosa rice made the day before
2-3 cups shreaded chicken
3-5 garlic cloves, minced, to taste
4 heads of green onion, chopped
3-4 heads of baby bok choy, chopped
sesame seed oil
soy sauce

1. In large skillet or wok scramble 6 eggs until really well done. Add about 1 tsp of sesame seed oil and garlic. Saute until garlic just golden.
2. Add precooked rice, soy sauce, and more sesame seed oil. heat up and break up. Add chicken. Add more soy sauce to taste as it cooks and sesame seed oil as it needs more moisture.
3. Add green onion in last 7 minutes of cooking. And bok choy when you have about 3-4 minutes left to cook.

Brought to you by Nei Wei (a friend/ co-worker from TMMC)

Shrimp Jambalaya with Sausage

Ingredients:
2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
7 oz of kielbasa turkey sausage, sliced, then quartered
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
3/4 tsp Creole seasoning (i.e. Tony Chachere's)
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/3 cup green onions
1 1/2 tsp hot sauce

Directions:
1. heat oil in a large 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Add onion and next 3 ingredients. Saute 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
2. Add broth and next 3 ingredients to pan;bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 18 minutes. Add shrimp, green onions, and hot sauce. Cover and cook 7 to 8 minutes or until shrimp are done. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.

Place hot sauce and Creole seasoning on table for people to specialize their plate to their taste.

Yeilds 6 servings. Serving size 1 1/2 cups.
Per serving: cal 259 (14% from fat); Fat 3.9 g (sat 0.9g); Pro 18.2g; Carb 36.9 g; Fib 2.2g, Chol 104mg; iron 3.7 mg, sod 784 mg, calc 67 mg. WW points 5.

Brought to you by Weight Watchers annual recipes cookbook.

Baked Ziti Rigatoni

Ingredients:

1 (16oz) package dry ziti rigatoni pasta
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
2 (28 oz) jars spaghetti sauce
8 oz. sliced provolone cheese
8 oz. sliced mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1-2 tbspn Italian seasoning

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until ad dente; drain
2. In a large skillet, brown beef over medium heat. Add onions right when meat is half way cooked. Continue cooking until beef is brown and onions are tender. Drain off fat and add spaghetti sauce; simmer for about 15 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
4. In a lightly greased 2 quart baking dish, place about half of the pasta; top with a layer of half the provolone and mozzarella cheese slices. Spread on a layer of half the spaghetti sauce mixture. Then add on top all the sour cream.
5. Cover with remaining pasta, cheese, and sauce; sprinkle a layer of Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.
6. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until cheese and sauce are bubbly; serve.

Original Recipe brought to you by Disney Family. With mild moderations.

Cronin Chocolate Cake

My mom started this cake with directions from my dad who kept saying "make it more chocolate, more chocolate". My sister's sweet sixteen birthday cake was this cake. My 21st birthday, while I was in nursing school, I spent an evening making it so I could bring it to class the next day to help celebrate my birthday.

Ingredients

Favorite Chocolate Cake Recipe (usually doubled so you can make 4 round cakes)
12 oz Cool Whip
2 cups Milk Chocolate Chips

Directions:
1. Make Chocolate Cake as preferred in 4 round cakes.
2. After they cool cut the rise in the cake so they are even to stack.
3. Melt chocolate, preferably in a double boiler. When fully melt add to Cool Whip.
4. Assemble cake with cool whip between layers and around cake.

**serve with large glass of milk :)

Noni's Succo

In hanging out with a friend Leah and I got a 4 generation old Sicilian recipe from her mother. (Noni is the grandmother but it originated from Rossina Finochio (her mother) from Alcomo, Sicily). Succo is what her family called it and it actually means juice. But this is how they make marinara sauce and meatballs (polpette di carne). I slightly modified it for what worked for me.

Succo

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 lbs of mild Italian sausage
4 small (6oz) cans of tomato paste (Cantadina)
1- 13 or 14 oz can of tomato sauce (Cantadina)
4 tomatoes (I used 2 vine ripe, 2 roma)
1 onions
4 cloves garlic per taste
Water to add
10 heaping tsps of sugar
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp basil
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. In large pot, heat olive oil then remove skins and break apart meat of sausages, to cover bottom of pan.
2. Right before they are fully cooked add in 1 onion coarsely chopped. Sauté until onions are translucent.
3. Empty paste and sauce into pot on top of sausage mixture.
4. Add 1 ½ can water to every tomato paste can used
5. Add sugar to sauce
6. Add in oregano, basil, rosemary, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir until smooth
7. Put on simmer with lid for 2-3 hours, stir once in a while.



Meatballs

Ingredients

2 lbs. ground beef
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1/2 onion
1/4 cup milk
A little Romano cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Combine breadcrumbs, egg, onion chopped, milk, Romano chesse, and salt & pepper. then add meat and combine.
2. Bake meatballs in shallow pan at 350 degrees until brown about an hour
3. Add them to sauce and continue stirring and simmering.

Spinach, Caramelized Onion, and Goat Chesse Tostada

Ingredients:

1 tbspn olive oil
1 medium red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced into half moons
4 cups spinach, washed, dried, and coarsely chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4-6 inch diameter whole-wheat tortillas
2 ounces fresh goat cheese, preferably reduced-fat

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400-degrees
2. heat the oil is a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, and stirring, until gold and edges are browned, 10-12 minutes.
3. Add spinach and cook until it is wilted, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Place the tortillas on a baking sheet and top each one with the spinach mixture. Crumble the goat cheese over each and bake until the tortillas are crisp and the cheese is slightly melted, about 10 minutes.
5. Let cool for a few minutes, then cut into 4 wedges and serve.

serving size 4 wedges (or one tortilla). kcal 141, total fat 5.5g, fiber 2.5 g.

Recipe originated from E. Krieger "The food you crave: Luscious recipes for a healthy life" and slightly modified.

Shrimp orzo skillet

This recipe is from a Pampered Chef cookbook that I slightly modified

Ingredients

1 lb. large uncooked shrimp (21-25 lb)
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
10 oz. orzo pasta
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 cups water
2 bouillon cubes
1 cup clam juice
1 lemon for 1 tbsp. lemon zest and 1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. mint sliced with chiffonade (shif-uh-NAHD) technique
1 cup 2 inch cut asparagus
1 tbsp. butter

Instructions

1. Peel, devein, and remove tails of shrimp. Add oil to 10 inch skillet heat oil over medium-high heat for 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. As skillet heats, combine salt, black pepper, and sugar in small bowl. Add shrimp to bowl and coat shrimp with mixture.
2. Arrange shrimp in a single layer on skillet and cook until shrimp is cooked. Remove shrimp from skillet and set aside.
3. In same skillet (don't wash it), combine water and chicken bouillon cubes until chicken broth is made. Then add orzo, pressed garlic, and clam juice. Bring to boil. Add asparagus then cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 10-12 minutes or until orzo is cooked through.
4. Remove skillet from heat and add butter and lemon juice. Arrange shrimp over orzo and cover the let stand 3-5 minutes. Before serving sprinkle with lemon zest and mint.

Linny's famous baked beans

This recipe is my mother in laws (Lindsey's) baked beans. I made it recently for the super bowl.

Ingredients

3 lbs Can of Campbell's Pork and Beans
1 lb. bacon
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 chopped onion
1 chopped red bell pepper
1 small ketchup bottle


Instructions

1. Cook Bacon until crispy and chop up
2. with bacon grease add onions and bell peppers, cook until tender then add cooked bacon.
3. Add beans slightly drained
4. Add brown sugar and ketchup. Bring to boil
5. Let sit for 6 hours then reheat and serve.

Roasted Italian Sausages with Tomatoes and White Beans

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs. sweet Italian sausage links
2 pints of cherry tomatoes
1 medium onion, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
4 garlic cloves, pressed
3 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1 tsp. dried bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
3 - 16 oz cans white beans (i.e. cannellini) drained with 1/2 cup of liquid from the beans reserved

Directions

1. adjust oven rack to lowest position and, 5 minutes before you are ready to put the food in, turn the oven on to 425 degrees
2. mix everything but the beans and their reserved liquid in a 13x9 pan.
3. roast until sausages are brown and tomatoes have reduced to a thick sauce, about 45 minutes.
4. remove from oven, stir in beans and reserved liquid, and continue cooking until casserole has heated through, about 10 minutes longer.

serves 8

Nutritional info

with pork sausage: 695 kcal, 38g carbs, 32g protein, 51g fat (17 sat), 108mg cholesterol, 11g fiber, 1,667mg sodium

with turkey sausage: 425 kcal, 38g protein, 18g fat (4g sat), 1,471mg sodium

I got this recipe from USA Weekend magazine and slightly modified it with time. And to cut on cost I assume you could use 2 cans of crushed tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes and drain some of the juices before adding.