Greek Pockets

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1 pkg premade pizza dough (I use Trader Joe's)
1 bag prewashed spinach
1/2 onion, minced
3-4 chicken breasts, seasoned with lemon, salt and pepper and cooked (I grilled). You can also use rotisserie
1 small container feta cheese
2 cups Basmati rice, cooked
salt and pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 lemon, wedged
1 container Trader Joe's Taziki sauce

1. Sautee spinach, onion, garlic, salt and pepper until spinach is wilted and onions are translucent. 2. Flour a work surface and roll out pizza dough. Divide in 4.
3. Place 1/2C rice, 1/2C chicken, scoop of sauteed spinach mixture on dough center
4. Sprinkle with feta
5. Bring edges of dough together and pinch. Turn upside down and brush with egg white.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until bread is browned. Remove from oven and plate, top with Taziki sauce and drizzle with lemon juice.

Katie's French Bread

From La Fuji Mama

Makes 2 large loaves

1 1/2 Tbsp. or 2 packets (1/4 oz./7 g each) dry active yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 tsp. sugar
2 cups hot water
3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
1/2 cup oil
5 - 6 cups all-purpose flour

1. Dissolve yeast, warm water, and sugar in a small bowl.
2. In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine hot water, granulated sugar, salt, and oil. Add 3 cups of flour to the mixture in the large bowl/mixer and mix well. Stir in yeast mixture.
3. Add 2 - 3 cups more flour and mix until well blended. (At this point your dough will still be quite sticky). Leave in bowl and let rise for 1 hour, mixing a few strokes a couple of times during the hour.
4. Divide dough into 2 (or 3 if you want smaller loaves) pieces. Roll out each piece on a floured surface into the length desired then roll up length wise like a jelly roll.
5. Put on a greased cookie sheet, sealed side down, and tuck the ends under. Slash the top diagonally across the top every couple of inches with a sharp knife. Brush with egg white. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Let loaves rise 30 more minutes.
6. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes.

Lemon Marinade

Juice of 2 lemons
Rind of 2 lemons
1/4 C Olive Oil
1/2 C White wine (I used Chardonnay)
Fresh basil, finely minced
Fresh oregano, finely minced
1tsp crushed garlic (I use Trader Joe's)
1T stone ground Dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste

Whisk together for approx 2 minutes. Pour over chicken or fish and marinade for 3-4 hours. Grill over low heat. You can also use this as a vinaigrette for a lettuce, veggie or pasta salad.

Almond Sour Cream Pound Cake

Cake:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, plus more for pan
3 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup sour cream
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 eggs
2 teaspoons almond extract (yes this is a lot, but much of the flavor will bake off if you dont use this much.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 cake rounds (I used a 12 inch and a 8 inch springform).
In the bowl of a mixer, cream butter and sugar together and then add sour cream. Sift flour and baking soda together. Add to creamed mixture, alternately with eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Add extracts and stir to combine. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Cool cake in pan for about 10 minutes and then unmold and cool completely on a wire rack. Frost cake when completely cooled.

Almond Buttercream Frosting:

1 stick butter, softned
1/2 pkg cream cheese
3 to 4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
With an electric mixer, cream butter in a large mixing bowl. Slowly beat in the sugar until smooth and creamy and sweetened to your liking (about 2 minutes). Add almond extract and stir to blend. Frost cake when fully cooled. If you are not using the frosting immediately, store it, covered, in the refrigerator and then bring it to room temperature just prior to using.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake

1 box devils food cake mix
1 box instant chocolate pudding (3.4 oz.)
4 eggs
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 c. warm water
1/2 c. Wesson oil
12 oz. milk chocolate chips
Combine ingredients in large bowl. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed with electric mixer. Pour into greased and floured Bundt pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes. When cool, turn on to cake plate and dust with powdered sugar.

Muffuletta

Adapted from Skip To My Lou


1 cup pimento-stuffed green olives
1/2 cup drained kalamata olives
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup roughly chopped pickled cauliflower
florets
2 tablespoons drained capers
1 tablespoon chopped celery
1 tablespoon chopped carrot
1/2 cup pepperoncini, drained
1/4 cup marinated cocktail onions
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup canola oil (I omitted)
2 (1 pound) loaves Italian bread
8 ounces thinly sliced Genoa salami
8 ounces thinly sliced cooked ham
8 ounces sliced mortadella
8 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese
8 ounces sliced provolone cheese


To Make Olive Salad: In food processor, combine the green olives, kalamata olives, garlic, cauliflower, capers, celery, carrot, pepperoncini, cocktail onions, celery seed, oregano, basil, black pepper, vinegar, olive oil and canola oil. Mix together and transfer mixture into a glass jar (or other nonreactive container). If needed, pour in more oil to cover. Cover jar or container and refrigerate at least overnight.

To Make Sandwiches: Cut loaves of bread in half horizontally; hollow out some of the excess bread to make room for filling. Spread each piece of bread with equal amounts olive salad, including oil. Layer ‘bottom half’ of each loaf with 1/2 of the salami, ham, mortadella, mozzarella and Provolone. Replace ‘top half’ on each loaf and cut sandwich into quarters.

Serve immediately, or wrap tightly and refrigerate for a few hours; this will allow for the flavors to mingle and the olive salad to soak into the bread.

For the bread, try my recipe for No Knead Bread

Chicken Noodle Caserole

From: The Cutting Edge of Ordinary

1 package of egg noodles
6 tablespoons butter
½ small onion, chopped
1-10 oz package of mushrooms, sliced
¼ cup flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 - 16 ounce container of sour cream
4 cups chicken, cubed (1 rotisserie chicken, meat picked off the bone, shredded)
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
salt and pepper

Topping

2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup breadcrumbs (I used Panko)
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 350.
Bring water to a boil and cook noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside in colander.
Melt 2 tablespoons of better in a sautee pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, ½ teaspoon salt and some pepper. Cook until most of the water has evaporated out of the mushrooms. Stir in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and let it melt.
Add the flour and stir until it becomes lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds.
Gradually whisk in broth and sour cream. Let it cook 5 to 7 minutes, but don’t let it boil, you just want it to thicken.
Stir in the chicken, noodles, parsley & thyme. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
Transfer the filling into a greased 3-quart baking dish while you prepare the topping.
To make the topping:
Mix all the topping ingredients in a bowl and sprinkle on top of the casserole.
Bake until browned and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

Antipasto Squares

From: The Cutting Edge of Oridinary

2 large packages Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
1/4 lb ham, thinly sliced
1/4 lb Provolone cheese, thinly sliced
1/4 pound Genoa salami, thinly sliced
1/4 pound, Swiss cheese, thinly sliced
1/4 pound pepperoni, thinly sliced
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 Tablespoons grated cheddar cheese
Dash pepper
Dijon Mustard, for dipping

Lightly spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Open one package of crescent rolls, unrolling in one piece and press it into the bottom of the pan. Make sure you push together all the little perforations. Layer meat and cheese in the order listed above. The 1/4 pound is an estimate. Just keep layering until it covers the pan. Do not overlap the pieces. One note - try to use baked ham instead of cooked ham. Cooked ham can sometimes be too watery. If you do use cooked ham, microwave it on paper towels for a few seconds to get some of the wetness out of the meat.In a medium bowl add eggs, cheese, pepper and Mrs. Dash. Pour most of the egg mixture on top of the meat and cheese, reserving a small amount. Top with second package of crescent rolls and brush and brush with remaining egg mixture. Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees or until top is golden brown. Let cool a bit before cutting into squares so the cheese does not ooze out the sides. Serve warm or room temperature. Dip in Dijon Mustard or your favorite Italian dressing.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

From: Big Red Kitchen

2- 8 ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 - 4 ounce can chopped green chili's (do not drain)
1 - 4 ounce can sliced jalapenos (do not drain) - double if you like heat
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup butter, melted

In a food processor add cream cheese, mayonnaise, Mexican cheese, green chili's, jalapenos and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Spread the dip into a greased (I used butter) 2-quart casserole dish. In a bowl mix bread crumbs and the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Pour melted butter over the crumb mixture and mix well.Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over the dip and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. The top should be browned and the dip bubbling on the edges. Do not over heat or the mayonnaise will separate and a grease puddle will form in the middle of your dip. Serve with buttery crackers, French baguette or chips. Serves 8-10.

Corn Chowder

From: Good 2B Me

1/3 cup butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
3 large potatoes, cooked, peeled and cubed (I used 2-1/2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes and cubed them small enough to cook in the soup)
1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 large package frozen sweet corn, thawed
4-1/2 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup sour cream
In a large saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté onion until it is clear. Add chicken broth.
Whisk in flour, salt and pepper. Stir until smooth. While stirring, gradually add milk.
Add in potatoes, bacon, corn and parsley flakes.
Continue to heat over medium to low heat, stirring frequently until chowder has thickened, about 30 minutes.
Remove from heat. Whisk in grated cheese and sour cream, stir until cheese has melted.
Serve in hollowed out bread bowls.