Grilled Asparagus with toasted sesame seeds

Summer time barbeques are the perfect opportunity for inclusion of vegetables. Even if you don't own an outdoor grill, an indoor electric grill is perfectly acceptable for grilling these delicious spears!

Though the original recipe, courtesy of Cooking Light, featured larger spears of asparagus threaded onto wooden skewers for ease of turning while grilling, I used what I had on hand. In this case, our smaller asparagus, sans the skewers, turned out just fine. But if you have them, thread a few sticks through the top and bottom of a row to make a 'raft'. They are so much easier to flip all at once when one side has been grilled.

Use fresh, beautiful green (or white if you are lucky enough to have them) spears that snap when the ends are broken off. Fresh asparagus is truly the best!

• 16 asparagus spears (the thicker, the better)
• 1 Tablespoon of low-sodium soy sauce (trust me on this one, go low sodium)
• 1 teaspoon of dark sesame oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced well
• 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Prepare an outdoor, or an indoor electric grill to high heat.

Toast sesame seeds with salt and pepper. (Think toaster oven.) Set aside. 

Combine soy sauce, minced garlic and sesame oil in a large, shallow container. Place the spears into the mix, and move them around to coat them. You may also brush the mix onto the spears. Grill approximately three minutes, turn over, grill for three more minutes. 

Remove from the grill, sprinkle with the sesame seed, salt and pepper combination.
Serve immediately.

Marinated Tomatoes

As Summer nears an end, one should always reserve a few tomatoes for marinating. Quick and easy to fix, they pop into the refrigerator in no time, marinating while the rest of dinner is prepared.

Originally posted in Country Magazine, I swear this is the same recipe used by a former co-worker's mother for a company dinner. The tomatoes didn't last long, and everyone complimented Mrs. Crawford's dish, so much so, that she ended up printing the recipe (along with her fabulous cheese ball to which I would later become addicted) for many of the employees.

Grab a few tomatoes from the garden, or head for your local Farmer's Market early for the big ones. A large casserole dish is perfect for the marinating process. Simply cover with plastic wrap in the refrigerator.

• 3 large fresh tomatoes, sliced on the thick side
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt (optional use = 1/2 tsp. or none at all)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 to 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• 2 Tablespoons onion, finely minced (make 'em pretty, they will stand out)
• 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, finely minced
•  1 Tablespoon fresh basil, finely minced, or 1 teaspoon dried basil

Place sliced tomatoes in a large dish such as a rectangular casserole dish. Mix all remaining ingredients in a container with a lid, cover and mix well. Pour over tomato slices, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours. 

Print several recipe cards. They are going to ask for them. Bon appetit!

White Chicken Chili

Though this recipe is a mere twist on an old pot of white beans, it is a hearty, simple, and delicious version updated by the Bush company. Think Duke and Jay Bush...

Quick to make, and easily adapted to your preferences, it is a forgiving recipe that awaits, and even begs changes.

If this, or a similar white bean chili recipe is not already in your folder, file box or cookbook, it should be!

Try adding cooked barley. Or zucchini. Or jalapenos. Corn or black beans. Perhaps a clove or two of garlic. Fennel seeds. Oregano flakes. A dash of chili powder. Black pepper, red pepper flakes. SO many options, and they are all certain to taste wonderful in this recipe!



1 Tablespoon of olive oil
1 medium onion, diced or chopped
1 can of chopped green chilies, drained (4 ounces)
3 Tablespoons of all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons of ground cumin
2  15.8 ounce cans of Bush's Great Northern White or Navy beans
1  14 ounce can of chicken broth
1  1/2 cups of diced, cooked chicken

Examples of optional toppings:
Shredded cheese
Sour Cream
Salsa

In a medium-sized sauce pot or small Dutch oven, cook the diced onion
in olive oil until transparent - about four minutes. Add drained green chilies, flour
and cumin, cook and stir for two minutes. Add chicken broth and beans
(do not drain the beans) and bring to a boil, gently stirring occasionally.

Reduce heat, simmer for about ten minutes, and it will thicken up. Add
chicken, allow to heat once more.

Spinach and Ricotta-Stuffed Shells

There is no need to be intimidated by such a recipe. You can do it!


When I served this dish to my significant other, I was expecting the same routine. He would salt the heck out of it, eat it and life would go on. What I didn't expect was all the raving. From another room, I could hear his fork clanging against the plate over and over. The compliments were bountiful, and I was beaming with pride. Stuffed shells may now be marked off the
bucket list. Success!


For a step-by-step tutorial, please visit MY INSTRUCTABLE




2 cups Multi-Purpose Marinara
Cooking spray
2 1/2 cups part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 10 ounce package of frozen spinach - thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1 large egg yolk
1 clove of garlic, minced or squeezed through a garlic press
24 jumbo pasta shells - jumbo. Should be cooked prior to assembling this dish.

Multi-Purpose Marinara Sauce

Oh, the magic of the smells floating through your house when a big pot of this wonderful Marinara sauce is on the stove top.

The longer it simmers, the more intense the flavor, and the thicker it becomes, making it a wonderful sauce in that you decide what the end result will be. Marinara sauce is so versatile. Dip mozzarella sticks into a hot pool of it, and you'll melt like the cheese that would taste great on top of it.

Pour it over a bed of pasta, doll it up further for use as a pizza sauce, there are so many things you can do with it.

Easily adapted if you wish to vary from the given recipe, so please, by all means, have fun with it. Add capers, add mushrooms, olives if you desire. Add more onion, less onion,
no onion. This is your sauce. Let's get started!


For a detailed, step-by-step tutorial with full instructions and a lot of pictures, please
see my Instructable: MULTI-PURPOSE MARINARA SAUCE.

• 3 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 cups of chopped yellow onion (usually about 3 medium-ish onions)
• 3 Tablespoons of minced / diced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon of sugar
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 2 teaspoons of dried basil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of fennel seeds (crushed, if you prefer)
• 2 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (not apple cider, not white)
• 2 cups of fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (no, you can't tell, and it's better for you)
• 3 28-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes (you may use salt free if you wish to reduce sodium) 

Easy Four Day Refrigerator Pickles

If you find yourself with a bounty of little cucumbers, make pickles! So easy to toss together, put into the refrigerator, and then in four days, enjoy. From the 2008 Cooking Light Annual Recipes book, page 217.

6 cups of thinly sliced pickling cucumbers (about two pounds)
2 cups white onion, sliced thin
1 1/2 cups of white vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon of celery seeds
1/2 teaspoon of ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, freshly ground
4 garlic cloves, sliced very thin


For even more details and photos, visit my step-by-step tutorial:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Refrigerator-Pickles/ 

In a large glass bowl, layer three cups of sliced cucumbers.
Top with one cup of sliced onions.
Repeat.

In a small saucepan, combine 1 and 1/2 cups of white vinegar.
Stir in the remaining eight ingredients, whisk or stir well.
Bring to a boil, allow to cook for one minute.

Pour over the cucumber / onion mixture and allow to cool.
Cover and chill for at least four days.

Yield: 7 cups (serving size = 1/4 cup)

May be stored in the refrigerator for up to one month. If they last that long. 

Sweet Rice Pudding (Arroz con Dulce)

From the 2008 Cooking Light Annual Recipe Book:

2 cups of water
1 tablespoon of butter
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 2" cinnamon stick
1 cup UNcooked Arborio rice (look for NON-GMO)
2-1/2 cups fat-free milk (or 2%)
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons of grated lime rind
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Combine first four ingredients in a large saucepan, bring to a boil. Stir in rice. Reduce heat to medium, and cook 10 minutes or until liquid is almost absorbed, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard the cinnamon stick. Stir in milk, sugar and lime rind, bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.

Reduce heat to medium-low, cook 25 minutes or until mixture thickens and becomes creamy, stirring frequently.

Remove from heat, stir in raisins and vanilla extract.

I do have to say, though, now that it has chilled in the refrigerator, it is very thick. Maybe tomorrow after it has completely chilled, the texture will be a little more uniform. I'm thinking I preferred the consistency of it before it chilled. But it is good!