Roasted red pepper feta dip

Adapted from A Spicy Perspective.

1 lb. feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 lb. whole milk cottage cheese
2 cloves garlic, roughly minced
1/3 c. olive oil, plus 1-2 Tbsp. as needed
1 lemon, juiced
1-1.5 Tbsp. fresh thyme
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1+ tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 large roasted red pepper, jarred is fine

 Using a food processor, pulse the first 9 ingredients together until smooth. Add more olive oil as necessary to achieve a smooth consistency. Drain and dice the roasted red pepper. Add to the food processor and pulse a few times to combine. There should still be chunks of red pepper, but the whole mixture should have a red/pink hue.

This is delicious as a dip, but it's even more delicious on a modified BLT:

Open-faced bacon, egg, tomato sandwich

1 slice Genesis 1:29 bread, or other whole grain sprouted bread, toasted
2 Tbsp. feta dip (above)
pinch crushed red pepper
1-2 slices bacon, cooked
1-2 slices garden fresh tomatoes
1 egg, over easy

Toast the bread, spread on the feta dip while it's still warm. Add an extra pinch of crushed red pepper, and top with tomatoes. Salt the tomatoes, and top with bacon. Cook your egg (over easy or medium is perfect), and top with sandwich with the egg. Add salt and pepper to taste. Devour.

Caprese turkey meatballs

Adapted from Cooking Canuck.

Yields 26-30 meatballs

1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 oz. dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
4 oz. fresh mozzarella, diced
0.2 oz. basil, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. red pepper flake
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 egg
3/8 c. panko (1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp.)
1.25 lb ground turkey

Combine the first 9 ingredients in a large bowl, mix well, and let sit for 20-30 minutes in the fridge. When ready to make the meatballs, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a half sheet pan with aluminum foil. Mix the turkey, panko and egg with the other ingredients. Roll out golf-ball sized meatballs (I got 26). Bake about 20 minutes, or until firm to the touch and cooked through.

Tomato basil soup

Makes 3 quarts

Adapted from here

2 15.5-oz cans fire roasted diced tomatoes, with juice
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped carrots
1 c. chopped onion
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. red pepper flake
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3.5-4 c. chicken broth
1 bay leaf

Put all of the above ingredients in a 3 quart (ideally 4 quart) slow cooker and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours until the vegetables are tender. About 30 minutes before serving, prepare a roux: 2 Tbsp. butter 3 Tbsp. flour 2 c. half and half Cook the butter and flour for 5-7 minutes. Whisk in the half and half, and cook over medium until the mixture thickens. Whisk 3 cups of hot soup into the cream mixture, in batches. Return the soup to the slow cooker. Add additional basil and oregano, if needed. I added extra salt and pepper here, too. Cook for another 20-30 minutes and do a final check on seasonings.

The original recipe called for a cup of parmesan cheese. While the soup was delicious without the parmesan, next time I'll use it. Also, I got 3 quarts of soup, whereas the recipe yielded 2 quarts.

Parmesan chicken with Caesar roasted romaine

This recipe modified from here.

 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 10 oz each)
1/2 tsp. Montreal steak seasoning
1/2 c. grated Parmesan (about 1.5 oz)
1/2 c. Panko
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 Tbsp. worcestershire
2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 large hearts of romaine, halved lengthwise
4 anchovy fillets
1 lemon, cut into wedges
High quality extra-virgin olive oil for dressing

 Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a half-sheet pan with foil. Season chicken with Montreal steak seasoning and place in the oven for about 10 minutes, while preparing the rest of the ingredients. Combine cheese, panko, 2 Tbsp oil, parsley and garlic clove. Season with salt and pepper. Pull chicken from the oven and pat 3/4 of the panko mixture on to the chicken. Roast chicken until crumbs begin to turn golden and chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Drizzle the romaine with 1 Tbsp oil, drizzle each half of romaine with worchestershire, sprinkle with the remaining panko mixture. Add the lettuce a second half-sheet pan, lined with foil, and put in the oven for about 5 minutes until slightly browned at the edges. Divide among plates. Serve with lemon and olive oil for dressing.

Chili rubbed pork tenderloin with cherry sauce

1 to 2 lbs pork tenderloin (I used a 24 oz loin)
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided

1-1/2 Tbsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 Tbsp paprika
1/2 Tbsp salt
1/2 Tbsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano

1-1/2 oz dried Bing cherries
4 oz Pom pomegranate/cherry juice
2 to 4 oz red wine
1 Tbsp butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Mix up the spice rub and set aside. Rinse the pork tenderloin and pat dry. Trim any silver skin. Pour about 1 Tbsp oil in a large plastic bag. Add the pork and make sure it's completely coated in oil. Pour in the spice rub and shake, knead, etc, until it's thoroughly coated. Let rest about 5 minutes in the spice rub.

In a small bowl, combine the cherries and cherry juice. Microwave for about 1 minute. Let the cherries sit in juice until the meat is done.

Preheat a large non-stick, oven-safe skillet. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp oil and sear the pork on all sides. Transfer to the oven for 18-20 minutes, or until the internal temperature is about 160 degrees (well done). Remove the meat to a plate to rest and tent loosely with foil.

Return the pan to a burner and deglaze with the cherries and cherry juice. Add 2 to 4 oz of red wine to coat the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer and reduce to half. Add 1 Tbsp butter to finish the sauce.

Dublin Dash

Though it's still not much to brag about, I ran this year's Dublin Dash in 31:14 and set a new PR!

White beans with tomatoes

1 lb. dry white beans (great northern)
1 15-oz. can fire roasted tomatoes with juices
1/2 tsp. dried sage
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp. baking soda
5 c. water

Put all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours. I seasoned mine at the end. I'm not sure if the salt would inhibit cooking. If you use filtered water, or if your water is not high in calcium, you can omit the baking soda. Our water is terrible, and the baking soda is supposed to help the beans soften.

I think my beans were a little old/dry/cracked because some of them fell apart completely in that length of time. The majority stayed whole, and they were creamy, tender and delicious!

This was amazing with some pan-fried sausage and Swiss chard. I'm tempted to try it for breakfast with an egg on top...

Meatloaf

We're working on developing a good meatloaf recipe that we both enjoy. The first time we made meatloaf, it was too heavy on the veggies. I've always used oatmeal in my meatloaf, but Rob uses saltines. So, tonight was a compromise... hopefully a delicious one.

Meatloaf

1.5 lb. ground beef (93% lean or better)
1/2 large onion, diced
5 slices bacon, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
4 oz. mushrooms, diced
20 saltines
1/4 c. oatmeal
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
3 Tbsp. ketchup
1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Cook the onions and bacon together until the onions are translucent and the fat on the bacon is mostly rendered. Add in the mushrooms and bell pepper and cook until soft. Let the vegetables cool. In a large bowl, put in beef, crushed saltines, oatmeal, eggs, and vegetable mixture. Add tomato paste, ketchup and Worcestershire. Salt and pepper liberally. Mix gently until combined. Put in a loaf pan and bake at 400 for 45 minutes.

Sausage, pepper and bean stew

1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 lb. hot Italian sausage
1 can pinto beans
2 cans fire-roasted, diced tomatoes
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 Telma vegetable cube
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 c. water

Brown sausage. Squeeze tomato paste into sausage and cook for about 1 minute, and transfer to slow cooker. Saute onion until barely translucent, then add peppers and cook for 2 more minutes. Add all ingredients to crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8.