Pesto Parmesan Pasta, with Poultry

Ingredients:

1 package whole wheat pasta, cooked & drained.

¼ cup fresh homemade pesto, heated

2 TBSP olive oil

½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 pound shredded roasted chicken (poultry), heated

½ cup julienned zucchini

½ cup minced sweet onion

½ cup diced fresh tomato

2 cloves garlic, crushed & chopped

¼ cup sun-dried or partially dehydrated tomatoes

¼ cup chopped olives

½ cup pickled artichoke hearts
3 strips of bacon, fried fairly crispy and crumbled

Fresh ground pepper to taste (be generous)

Instructions: Cook the pasta. Use the water to pre-heat the oversize bowl you’re using to mix it all in. Mix the pesto and oil into the hot pasta. Add the hot chicken & mix well. Add the veggies, and mix it up again. Add the Parmesan, and mix again. Top with parmesan and maybe some parsley. 

Variants: Use rice pasta and substitute goat cheese for the Parmesan, and you're almost safe for the disinglutified and disindairyfied among us. If you make your pesto with goat cheese instead of Parmesan, you're there!

Stuffed Sirloin Steak

Instructions, one steak per person:

Butterfly fillet a thick-cut (1”+) Angus sirloin steak: cut it in half through the middle, leaving a meat hinge between 2 pieces of ½” steak. Grind a bit of fresh pepper over both sides, and sprinkle on ½ tsp of ground lemon grass.

Layer onto one side of the opened steak:

• 2 or 3 fresh basil leaves.
• 2 strips cooked & drained thick cut bacon. Leave it just a little chewey.
• 3 or 4 rings of freshly grilled onions.
• 1 tsp crumbled bleu cheese.
• A few julienned sun-dried tomatoes

On the other side of the opened steak:

• Drizzle 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar.

Close the steak, enclosing the bacon and other ingredients. Tie the steak shut with a couple of pieces of food-safe twine.

  

Brush both sides of the steak with olive oil. Grind a little fresh pepper on one side, and place the steak, seasoned side down on a hot grille, immediately lowering the flame to medium or medium low.

When it’s ready to turn, re-apply a little olive oil to the top, grind a little fresh pepper onto it, and flip that side down. You should only have to turn the steak once. Depending on how hot your grille is, five minutes a side may be enough.

Serve with a good stout or Belgian beer. Share with good friends. 

Gremlin-Free Corn Muffins / Pancakes

(Wheat-free and dairy-free)
 

Use the whole recipe for pancakes for 4 or 6. Double it for a large batch of muffins. Halve it for Personal Pancakes.

½ C finely ground yellow cornmeal

¼ C corn masa (white corn flour) (or more yellow cornmeal?)

⅓ C white rice flour (not brown rice flour)

2 TBSP cornstarch

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ C vegetable oil

¼ C soy/hemp/rice milk

2 eggs

¼ C honey

butter or bacon grease to fry in. (Margarine will work if you're desperate.)

Optional:

½ C fresh or frozen blueberries or banana slices, quartered.

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a more modest bowl, whisk the liquid ingredients together (today, honey is a liquid). Stir the wet mix into the dry mix. Add the fruit last if you add fruit.

Pancakes: heat a cast iron frying pan. When it’s fully heated, add 1 tsp butter (or bacon grease) and ⅓ cup batter. Flip when bubbles begin to form on top (earlier than you would with traditional flour pancakes). Serve with peanut butter & honey or syrup. Or serve with bacon and fried eggs. Or both.

Muffins: preheat oven to 400°; position rack in lower third of oven. Coat the muffin pan with butter or oil and lightly dust with rice flour, knocking out excess. Fill each cup ¾ full. Bake until tops are domed and springy, about 15 minutes. Check with toothpick. Let cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes, then cool on a wire rack. Enjoy with honey, jam, or friends.

Cooperative Ham and Lentil Pilaf-ish Dinner

My Bride & I had ham, had lentils, and needed to make dinner. We wanted something more substantial than soup (all the recipes were for soups), something that needs a fork. Serves 3-4.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil (for frying things)

1 cup onions, small diced

½ cup celery, small diced

½ cup carrots, small diced

1 cup cooked ham, diced

½ pound pre-steamed lentils

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

Freshly ground black pepper

3 sprigs (1 TBSP) of fresh thyme, chopped

1 spring (2 tsp) of fresh rosemary, chopped

1 sprig (2 tsp) fresh tarragon, chopped

¾ tsp chicken bouillon concentrate, in ½ cup hot water

Heat oil in cast iron frying pan over medium heat. Add veggies and half of the bouillon mix. Stir until the carrots begin to soften, about 5 minutes. 

Add the pre-steamed lentils, the chopped herbs, and the rest of the bouillon mix. Stir until ham is heated through, about five more minutes. Be generous with your pepper. 


Serve with a good pale ale. Enjoy with a German hefeweizen. 




Consider adding a bit of lemon juice to the veggies, and maybe some julienned fresh Kale.  

Steak Rub / House Seasoning.

1 TBSP kosher salt.
1 TBSP ground black pepper.
1 TBSP onion powder.
1 TBSP garlic powder.

Variations: Try adding one or another of these:

2 TBSP Italian seasoning.
1 tsp cayenne pepper.
1 TBSP chili powder.
2 tsp smoked paprika


Mix it together. Put it in a spare shaker-top seasoning container. Sprinkle it on food.

Corn Chowder Bread

Into the bread machine, in this order:

2 tsp active dry yeast

2 cups white flour

1 tsp corn masa flour
1 cup corn chowder soup mix

2 TBSP honey

1 TBSP gluten

2 TBSP olive oil

1⅓ cups milk, preferably lukewarm.

Savory Veggie Bread

Into the bread machine, in this order:

2 tsp active dry yeast

2 cups unbleached flour

1¼ cups whole wheat flour
¾ cup dried vegetables
2 TBSP honey

1 TBSP gluten
2 tsp chicken bouillon concentrate

2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP buttermilk powder

1⅓ cups milk, preferably lukewarm.