Ingredients

• 4-5 potatoes, chopped into pieces less than a square inch
• salt & pepper
• oregano & sage (optional)
• baby arugula
• olive oil
• 1/2 a lemon
• Parmesan cheese
• Other optional toppings: chopped avocado, bacon, shredded cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
2. Toss the chopped potato pieces in olive oil on a baking sheet
3. Season the potatoes with salt, pepper, and other optional spices such as oregano and sage
4. Roast the potatoes for 1 hour, turn the pieces after 30 min
5. While potatoes are roasting, prepare the other toppings. Cook and break bacon into pieces, chop the avocado, etc.
6. Spread the arugula on a platter, sprinkle parmesan cheese, and squeeze lemon over both
7. Add the roasted potatoes and other toppings to the arugula salad

1. 2 lb spinach, chopped (I used frozen – it’s easier because it’s already chopped!)
2. ¼ c minced onion
3. ½ lb feta cheese + ½ lb cottage cheese, mixed together
4. 4 eggs
5. 1 tsp dill
6. pinch parsley & salt
7. 1 stick butter, melted
8. ½ lb phyllo dough, thawed according to directions

Directions:

1. Combine first six ingredients together.
2. Butter 9×13” pan.
3. Place 4 leaves on bottom of pan, buttering each leaf with a basting brush.
4. Place ½ of spinach mixture on leaves.
5. Place 4 buttered leaves on mixture, buttering each leaf with a basting brush.
6. Place remaining mixture and 4 more leaves on top, buttering each leaf with a basting brush.
7. Turn edges of dough toward edge of pan.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until golden brown.

NOTES:

You need to work really quickly with the phyllo dough. This takes a bit of practice.

The above recipe is for a casserole. To make appetizers, instead of using one pan, use two – this will make a thinner spanikopita, which you can cut into small squares.  These are a huge hit at parties!

2-3  cans prepared enchilada sauce OR

• 3 Tbsp plus 1/2 cup oil, divided
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 16 oz chicken stock
• 10 oz tomato puree
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp gound cumin
• salt

Filling/other ingredients:

• 3 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken (I just boil a couple chicken breasts and pull the meat apart with a fork/knife —  you can also used cooked ground chicken, turkey, or beef)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 10 corn tortillas
• 1 c sour cream or Greek yogurt, for garnish
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro or chopped scallions, for garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sauce:
Easy out: use 2-3 cans prepared sauce, which is still really, really good, instead of homemade sauce.I use 3 cans, but I like them really saucy!
In saucepan, heat 3 Tbsp oil, add flour, and cook, whisking, 1 minute. Add chili powder and cook 30 seconds. Stir in stock, tomato puree, oregano, and cumin, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes until flavors are well-blended. Season to taste with salt.

Enchiladas:
Combine cheese, chicken, and onion for filling. Heat remaining 1/2 C of oil in a skillet until hot. Using tongs, dip in tortillas, one at a time, to soften, and drain on paper towels. Next, dip each tortilla in sauce. On a plate, fill with a generous spoonful of filling and roll up. Place enchilada seam-side down in a baking dish and repeat until all ingredients are used up. Top with remaining sauce. Bake 30 minutes. To serve, top with sour cream and scallions.

Lower fat version: use cooking spray instead of oil in the skillet, and heat to soften the tortillas.

Ok, I know the name sounds weird, but I couldn’t think of anything more original. I threw all of this together on a Sunday night, because that was what was in the fridge… and it turned out surprisingly delicious. I made my own homemade crust, but you could use a store-bought one as well. The goat cheese makes this. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Pre-cooked 9” pie crust, store bought or homemade
• 1 small cooking onion, chopped
• 3 cups lightly packed fresh baby spinach
• 8 large eggs
• ½ cup milk, cream, or half and half
• ½ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp white pepper
• 1/8 tsp dried dill
• 2/3 cups grape tomatoes, halved
• 6 slices cooked, chopped bacon
• ½ – 2/3 cup crumbled goat cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Saute chopped onion in oil (I used macademia nut oil) until translucent. Add spinach and sautee until wilted. Set aside.
3. Lightly beat eggs. Add milk, yogurt, salt, pepper and dill.
4. Stir in spinach and onion, tomatoes, and bacon.
5. Bake for 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

1. Make some egg noodles.
2. In a pan or bowl if you’re feeling a little lazier mix: peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil (or olive if that’s all you have) Tb honey, sesame seeds if you like, squeeze of lime juice.
3. Thinly slice red/orange/yellow bell pepper
4. Mix noodles with sauce and top with peppers.

Nice to serve with Edamame.

Eli and Leo really dig this. It’s just as quick as mac & cheese and it’s not.

This will serve a crowd:

2 cups red lentils, washed and picked over
olive oil
1 onion chopped
1/2 apple thinly sliced and cut in quarters
3 cloves garlic, minced
just over half of one box of lo sodium veggie/chicken stock/water (stock makes them more flavorful.)
3 whole peeled canned tomatoes and a splash of their juice
hefty pinch dark brown sugar
big pinch: cumin
lesser pinches: curry powder, cinnamon, turmeric, salt, sage
splash of apple juice
2 handfuls raisins

basmati rice

1. Heat a stock pot on high. Heat olive oil. Saute onions until translucent.
2. Turn down the heat. Add Lentils to pan and dry and toast them a bit.
3. Add apple to the pan stirring and cooking until some of the juices are released.
4. Add minced garlic. Saute until just fragrant.
5. With your fingers break up the tomatoes and add them and the juice to the pan.
6. Add stock and remaining ingredients.
7. Bring mixture to a boil. Then turn the heat to low and cover the pot.

MAKE RICE.

Check after around 25 minutes to be sure their is still some liquid. The beans will take between 30-45 min to cook. If you need to, add more stock.

Beat lightly:
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk

Combine:
1 cup flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup cornmeal

Mix above together with:
1/4 cup bacon fat (I used 2-3 tablespoons butter)

Pour batter onto waffle iron, place a piece of bacon on top before closing the lid.

Chicken
New York Fried Chicken in Salem, MA works for me.

• 5 leeks, cleaned and dark green parts discarded
• 4 large carrots, peeled and shredded or chopped into tiny bits in a food processor
• 6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into small pieces
• 2 cups loose spinach (could also use kale or other greens), stems removed
• 7 cups vegetable broth
• 5 Tbsp butter
• 2 bay leaves
• salt
• 1/3 tsp white pepper

Directions:

1. Cut the leeks crosswise into circular slices, about 1/4” thick
2. Melt the butter in a large soup pot.
3. Sautee the leeks, combined with about 1/2 Tsp salt in butter for about 25 minutes, until softened, over medium/low heat.
4. Add potatoes, spinach, and shredded carrots. Stir to coat.
5. Add the vegetable broth, bay leaves, white pepper, and more salt, if needed.
6. Simmer on low for about an hour.
7. Enjoy!

Makes 8-10 servings.

NOTE: To make this a creamy soup, puree the mixture in an immersion blender or food processor. Stir in 1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of buttermilk.

serves:  4

INGREDIENTS

8 oz. mushrooms (any type), finely chopped (I used a food processor)

1 cup cooked chickpeas

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 tablespoons soy sauce

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed

about 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp. dried

about 1 tsp. chopped fresh sage, or 1/4 tsp. dried

1/2 tsp. Hungarian paprika

1/2 cup vital wheat gluten

olive oil for brushing before grilling or panfrying

INSTRUCTIONS

In a medium-sized skillet, cook mushrooms in 1 T. olive oil over medium heat with a pinch of salt until well-colored and most of the moisture is evaporated, 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, mash chickpeas together with 2 T. olive oil until no whole chickpeas are left.  Add the remaining ingredients, including the cooked mushrooms, and knead for about 3 minutes, until strings of gluten have formed.  The texture should be moist but firm (if it seems too mushy, add a bit more bread crumbs or wheat gluten, if it’s really dry, add a few drops of water, soy sauce or vegetable stock).

Form into 4 patties (burger shaped if you want to serve them on a bun, or “cutlet” shape if you want to eat them with a knife and fork).  Brush with olive oil on both sides, grill until browned on both sides and warm throughout.  Or, to fry in a pan, add a thin layer of olive oil to the bottom of a heavy skillet, cook burgers/cutlets on each side for 6-7 minutes, adding more oil as needed.

The pizza I’ve eaten outside of the midwest has always been a disappointment and the problem is especially acute in Boston where it often tastes like cardboard collided with a canned tomato. I’ve spent a long time (years!) experimenting to recreate a recipe similar to the type of pizza I grew up with in Columbus, OH. The Bay Staters who ate this Ohio-style pizza with me were positive, although they were a little suspicious about the small, triangular pieces you get around the edges when you cut a pizza into “squares.”

An explanation for the uninitiated: In Ohio the crust is usually thin, but strong enough to hold a (square or rectangular) piece at the edge without the other side flopping over. On the other hand the crust is “tender,” not crackery but also not so bread-like that you have to tear off bites. The sauce and cheese have a strong, rich flavor. Toppings are incidental, but meat is not required for a rich flavor.

Dough

I’ll give you a shortcut for the sauce, but you have to make your own dough! This recipe makes enough dough for two 14-inch pizzas. The dough can be made in advance and refrigerated, but set it out to return to room temperature before rolling & cooking.

• 1 package of yeast
• 1 cup water
• 1 heaping tablespoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons softened butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1. Measure one cup of cold water and then heat it to 110-115 degrees. This takes 45 seconds – 1 minute in the microwave and I check the temp with a meat thermometer.
2. Pour the water in a large mixing bowl and add the package of yeast and the sugar. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
3. Mix in the butter, salt, and flour and knead until the dough is smooth (3-5 min.)
4. Cover a bowl in olive oil spray, put the dough in it, cover with a towel, and let it rise in a place protected from drafts for about an hour.
5. Punch it down and let it rise again.
6. Roll it out evenly on a 14-inch pan (coated with olive oil) or a pizza peel (coated with flour).

Sauce

The sauce should not be too sweet and it needs lots of spices. Try the red gravy with love recipe, add lots of oregano, and food process all the vegetables after they are tender so the sauce isn’t too chunky for pizza. Or, if you need a shortcut, use Newman’s Sockarooni.

Cheese

Provolone! The key to Ohio-style pizza is to use a good quality provolone cheese, not mozzarella! This is the most important part to achieve “Ohio-ness.” You’ll need about 1/2 pound per 14-inch pizza.

Directions

1. Move the oven rack to the lowest position in the oven and preheat the pizza stone at 500 degrees.
2. Add sauce to your rolled out pizza dough. Spread it evenly all the way to the edges.
3. Sprinkle most of the 1/2 pound grated provolone evenly over the pizza. I save a little to go over the meat/veggie toppings.
4. Add the veggie or meat toppings of your choice. Pepperoni and mushroom is my family tradition but I also recommend mincing a few garlic cloves and adding them as the very last topping.
5. Turn the oven down to 375 degrees and bake the pizza for 20-25 min. The cheese should start to brown.
6. Cut in squares and serve.

Tip

Advice from patdaddy:
If you’re not using a real pizza stone, It’s a good idea to pre-bake the crust for about 4-5 minutes before you put sauce/cheese toppings on. Then, continue to bake for the regular recommended time.