Category: Recipes

Ingredients:

2 pkg hummus, appx 2 (10 oz) containers or 2-3 cups homemade

3 cups finely chopped romaine lettuce

2 cups diced tomato

1 cup finely diced bell pepper

1 cup chopped cucumber (peeled and seeded) plus extra to taste

1/4 cup sliced black olives (optional)

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

1/2-1 cup crumbled feta cheese plus extra to taste

1/4 cup chopped green onion

Delish dippers

carrot sticks and/or celery sticks

thinly sliced bell pepper and/or cucumber

fresh pita wedges

pita chips

Directions:

Step 1

Spread hummus in a thin layer on a serving platter.

Step 2

Finely chop all veggies.

Step 3

Add Greek yogurt (or tzatziki sauce) to a piping bag or plastic bag with a corner edge to it. Cut the end of the bag and pipe a spiderweb pattern in the center. Start out with a vertical line down the center followed by an intersecting vertical line. Add diagonal lines (almost like you’re making pie slices), then finish up with the web detail. It may help to look at a photo while you pipe the design.

Step 4

Surround the hummus with the chopped veggies. First the lettuce, then remaining veggies, then a sprinkling of feta and green onion. You can add as many toppings as you’d like.

Step 5

Top with a few creepy plastic spider rings, and your appetizer is complete. Surround with your choice of dippers and enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 pound fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise

2 tablespoons olive oil

5 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 5- to 6-ounce fresh or frozen skinless salmon fillets

2 medium red, yellow and/or orange sweet peppers, cut into rings

2 cups cherry tomatoes

1½ cups chopped fresh parsley (1 bunch)

¼ cup pitted kalamata olives, halved

¼ cup finely snipped fresh oregano or 1 tablespoon dried oregano, crushed

1 lemon

Directions:

Step 1

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place potatoes in a large bowl. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp. of the oil and sprinkle with garlic and 1/8 tsp. of the salt and black pepper; toss to coat. Transfer to a 15×10-inch baking pan; cover with foil. Roast 30 minutes.

Step 2

Meanwhile, thaw salmon, if frozen. Combine, in the same bowl, sweet peppers, tomatoes, parsley, olives, oregano and 1/8 tsp. of the salt and black pepper. Drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil; toss to coat.

Step 3

Rinse salmon; pat dry. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 tsp. salt and black pepper. Spoon sweet pepper mixture over potatoes and top with salmon. Roast, uncovered, 10 minutes more or just until salmon flakes.

Step 4

Remove zest from lemon. Squeeze juice from lemon over salmon and vegetables. Sprinkle with zest.

Ingredients:

1 28-ounce can of whole, peeled tomatoes

1 medium yellow onion, peeled

2-3 large cloves garlic, peeled

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

A handful of fresh basil leaves, packed

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Peel the onion and garlic, then crush the garlic and dice the onion.
2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté onion and garlic for 4-5 minutes.
3. Open the can of tomatoes and pour into the pan. Stir in oregano, salt and pepper.
4. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer for about 25-30 minutes, or until liquid is reduced by 1/3 and oil gets separated from the sauce.
5. Remove from the heat and carefully pour sauce into a stand blender, together with the fresh basil. (Do this in batches. Blender should not be more than half full.) Blend until smooth, or until it has reached the desired consistency.
6. Taste and adjust the salt to suit your taste.
7. Serve with your favorite pasta.

Ingredients:

SERVES 8

• 8 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs 
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced 
• 1 medium onion, chopped 
• 2 cups canned crushed tomatoes 
• 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped 
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped 
• 2 cups sliced, raw mushrooms  
• 1 bay leaf 
• 1 tbsp red pepper flakes 
• 1 tbsp olive oil 

Directions:

1. Season the chicken generously with salt. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, then add chicken. Cook until lightly browned, about 4 minutes a side. Do not crowd; brown chicken in two batches if necessary. 

2. Add the browned chicken to the slow cooker. 

3. Turn skillet heat down to medium, add the onions. Sauté until soft, 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Season lightly with salt. 

4. Add onion and garlic to slow cooker. Add tomatoes, bell peppers, mushrooms, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes. Mix well, so the chicken is completely coated in tomatoes. 

5. Cover and cook on high 4 hours, or low 8 hours. 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

3 cups peeled, diced butternut squash

2 cups thinly sliced carrots

¾ cup chopped onion

2 (14.5 ounce) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth

¼ teaspoon ground pepper

¼ cup half-and-half

Directions:

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add squash, carrots and onion to pan. Cook, covered, for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add broth, bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 25 minutes or until vegetables are very tender.

Put one-third of the squash mixture in a food processor or blender. Cover and process until almost smooth. Repeat with remaining mixture, then return to saucepan. Add pepper, then bring just to boiling. Add half-and-half and heat through. It’s ready to serve!