Quick pickle (attempt #1)

1 qt mason jar

Fill the mason jar with thinly sliced radishes, carrots, red onion, and thin stalks of asparagus. Add

20-25 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 large clove slightly crushed garlic

Bring the following pickling liquid to a boil and simmer about two minutes, until the sugar and salt are incorporated:

1 1/4 c. water
1 1/4 c. white wine vinegar
1/4 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. kosher salt

Pour over the vegetables in the mason jar. Let cool at room temperature.

Pizza casserole

Yield two 8"x8" pans

1.25 lbs ground beef (80% lean)
3 links Johnsonville hot Italian sausage, removed from casings
1/2 large yellow onion, 1/4" dice
6 oz. whole wheat elbow noodles
1 large green pepper, 1/2" dice
1/2 large yellow pepper, 1/2" dice
8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
7 oz. pepperoni, quartered
1.5 jars Classico Spicy Red Pepper pasta sauce (about)
12 oz. shredded Sargento mozzarella and provolone
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp. oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the ground beef, Italian sausage and onion. Meanwhile, cook elbow noodles in heavily salted water until al dente. Drain pasta and meat, reserving 1 Tbsp. meat drippings. In the drippings, cook mushrooms until they release their water. Add peppers, and saute until slightly soft and mushrooms are browning. Combine pasta, meat, pepperoni, and 1 jar of pasta sauce in a large bowl. Season with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Divide half the pasta mixture between two 8"x8" pans. Divide the remaining (approximately) half jar pasta sauce and vegetables between the pans. Top with the remaining pasta, and cover each pan with cheese. Bake at 375 until cheese is browned and sauce bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let stand 15-20 minutes before eating.

(We decided this could be even better with twice the mushrooms and some sliced green olives.)

Lentil, potato and kale stew

1 c. French lentils
1 15-oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes with juice
3 c. water
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper1 large (4 oz) carrot, sliced into 1/4" coins
1 medium (8 oz) yukon gold potato, ~1/2" dice
1 small bunch kale, torn into bite size pieces

Rinse and pick through lentils. Combine lentils, water, tomatoes and spices in a sauce pan and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and add the carrot. After about 10 minutes, add the potato. When the potato is nearly tender, add the kale, stirring frequently to wilt it into the stew. You might need to add up to 1/2 cup water to keep things from sticking.

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.