Parmigiano-Reggiano Vinaigrette

What is Parmigiano-Reggiano you ask? Only some of the best cheese in the entire world. And before you ask, no, it is not that stuff in the green can at the grocery store!

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

6 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Kosher salt

Mix together and serve on a salad, veggies, dip your bread in it, or put it on baked chicken breasts. It's all good.

Lemon-Rosemary Chicken Breasts

Anything with lemon is good in my book! Lemonade, lemon squares, lemon hummus, lemon cake, lemon in my water...

1/4 cup olive oil
8 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 lemon
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (you will probably need 2 lemons in addition to the one above)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just 1 minute but don't allow the garlic to turn brown. Turn off the heat and add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, rosemary, and 1 teaspoon salt. Pour into a 9 by 13" baking dish.

Pat the chicken breasts dry and put them on top of the sauce. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in 8 wedges and tuck them in with the chicken pieces.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done and lightly browned. If the chicken isn't browned enough, put it under the broiler for 2-3 minutes. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with the pan juices.

Carrot Nut Bread (Makes 2 Loaves)

I like it when bread recipes make two loaves and this is one of those recipes. You can freeze one loaf or cut it into slices and freeze slices individually as I often do. I modified this recipe from one I found at www.preparedpantry.com to make it a little healthier. Think of this as a healthier version of carrot cake.



Ingredients:
2 cups grated carrots (I used a food processor)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup skim milk
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare two medium loaf pans with cooking spray or you can grease them with butter.

Grate and measure the carrots and set aside. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Whip the eggs together in a medium bowl. Stir the sugar in and then add the oil, vanilla, and milk. Make a depression in the dry ingredients and add the wet mixture along with the carrots and nuts. Mix with a spatula until combined.

Divide the batter between the two loaf pans. Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes at 350 degrees or until the loaves test done when a toothpick is inserted in the middle of the loaves. Remove the loaves from the pans and cool on wire racks. This bread makes a great gift.

Lemon Sauce for Bread Pudding

This lemon sauce recipe is from cooks.com and is just one of many different types of luscious sauces you could drizzle over your homemade bread pudding. I can think of many other things this sauce would go well with too...

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar (or Splenda Blend)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon (~ 2 1/2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons butter

Blend the sugar, cornstarch and water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook 2-3 minutes until mixture is thickened. Remove from heat and add lemon zest, lemon juice and butter. Serve the warm lemon sauce over bread pudding or whatever you'd like.

Rum Sauce for Bread Pudding

Oh my, this stuff is quite the treat. The rum sauce can also be used for other goodies aside from bread pudding.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
Rum to taste, about 3 tablespoons....

In a small saucepan over low heat, mix the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla. Slowly stir in 1 egg, then add the rum. Heat and stir on low heat for about 5 minutes. Serve warm over bread pudding or with whatever you'd like.

New Orleans Bread Pudding

This bread pudding is very dense and a small piece can be very filling. Cut into small squares and freeze them individually.

New Orleans Red Beans & Rice

Milk Chocolate Truffles

This recipe is from ehow.com...just in time for Valentine's Day...

3 1/2 tablespoons salted butter

1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

2 egg yolks

1/3 cup heavy cream

12 oz. milk chocolate

Melon baller or small ice cream scoop

Additional confectioner's sugar (optional)

Cocoa powder

Soften the butter by bringing it to room temperature or heating it for a few seconds in the microwave. Add ¼ cup confectioner's sugar and mix it together until creamy. Add the egg yolks and beat until it's thoroughly mixed.

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and mix it into the butter, egg yolk, and sugar mixture.

Bring the cream just to a boil over medium heat in a small saucepan. Stir constantly while you heat the cream to prevent burning.

Pour the boiling cream over the pre-mixed ingredients and stir thoroughly until the chocolate is completely melted.

Place the mixture into the refrigerator to solidify it completely. This will take about 2 hours. Chill the melon baller or ice cream scoop in the freezer while you wait.

Put about a cup of mixed cocoa powder and confectioner's sugar in a bowl. For a fairly sweet coating, use a 1:1 ratio of cocoa and sugar. If you want the traditional bittersweet coating, use straight cocoa powder. Adjust this to suit your taste.

Use the chilled melon baller or ice cream scoop to make balls of the chocolate filling, and roll in the cocoa and confectioner's sugar mixture. You can put the bowl of filling inside a larger bowl of ice to keep it chilled while you work. If it becomes too soft and sticky, return it to the refrigerator for 15 minutes before continuing.

• Store your truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
• You can use any kind of milk chocolate, but baking chocolate is the highest-quality milk chocolate readily available. Milk chocolate chips or (plain) milk chocolate candy bars also work well. If the truffles are too sweet, you can reduce or eliminate the confectioner's sugar or use semi-sweet chocolate instead.
• To make flavored truffles, add 1 teaspoon flavoring extract or 1 tbsp. flavored liqueur to the filling before adding the hot cream. For a Mexican twist on this recipe, add 1 teaspoon cinnamon to the filling before you pour in the hot cream.

Chicken Noodle Soup

This is a family recipe for the magical soup that will cure what ails you!

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 carrots, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

8 cups prepared chicken broth (there are low-sodium options)

½ teaspoon black pepper

3-4 cups cooked chicken, chopped

6 oz egg noodles

salt to taste

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken broth and pepper; bring to a boil. Stir in the chicken. Add the noodles. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the noodles are tender, about 10 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Veganaise Cole Slaw

1 cup Veganaise 

1/4 teaspoon celery seed 

2 tablespoons sugar 

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar 

1 teaspoon ground mustard 

16 oz bag preshredded cole slaw

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Add a 16 oz bag of preshredded cole slaw and toss well. Chill to blend the flavors before serving. This cole slaw also makes a great topping for BBQ sandwiches.