Mediterranean Pasta

 From The Golden Balance via Instagram

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef or lamb

8-10 oz cooked rigatoni pasta (or other pasta of choice)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp oregano

1 jalapeño, finely diced (optional)

1 shallot or small onion finely diced

1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 Tbsp sundried tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup reserved pasta water

1/4 cup kalamata olives

1 1/2 tsp mint

1/2 cup feta cheese

Olive oil

Arugula

Directions:

Brown the ground beef in a pan. Season with salt, thyme, and oregano. Add jalapeno, shallot, and mushrooms. Sautee until tender. Add sundried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, olives, and pasta water. Stir to combine and cook until the cherry tomatoes soften slightly. Add the pasta and stir until well combined. Plate and top with mint, feta, olive oil, and arugula.

Cilantro Lime Ranch

From Melanie Pierce

This sauce is delicious and can be used as a taquito dipping sauce, dressing, or marinade!

Ingredients:

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup milk or buttermilk

1 lime, juiced (about 2 tbsp)

1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix (ignore package directions)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup of roughly chopped cilantro

1/4 cup green salsa (such as La Costena or Herdez)

Hot sauce to taste (such as Cholula or Tabasco)

Directions:

Combine mayonnaise, milk, lime, and ranch dressing mix. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. Alternatively, you can combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until the sauce is homogenous throughout. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight to allow the flavors to blend and the sauce to thicken. 

Cajun Chicken Pasta

 From Melanie Pierce

Ingredients:

8 oz penne or bowtie pasta cooked according to package directions

2 Tbsp butter

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

4 tsp Cajun seasoning, divided

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 1/4 cups parmesan cheese

Chopped parsley (optional)

Directions:

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and 2 tsp of Cajun seasoning. Stir-fry for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Add cream and remaining 2 tsp of seasoning to the same skillet. Boil gently for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add parmesan cheese. Stir until cheese is melted and sauce thickens. Add the pasta and chicken. Toss to coat with the sauce. Plate and top with parsley and parmesan, if desired.

Quick and Easy Pizza Crust

 From Chef Rider via AllRecipes

Note: This dough can be made in advance and stored in the fridge overnight. It will be easier to work with and have better flavor when it has been refrigerated.

Ingredients:

1 .25oz package of yeast (or about 2 1/4 tsp)

1 tsp white sugar

1 cup warm water (around 110 degrees F)

2 1/2 cups bread flour

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water. Set aside until it has bloomed and it looks creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the flour, salt, and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat/roll into a large round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or sheet tray. If using a pizza stone and pizza pel, simply place on the pizza peel after dusting with cornmeal. Spread with desired toppings and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Dumplings

 From Haylee Luo

Note: None of these measurements are entirely exact, feel free to adjust as necessary 

Ingredients:

1 package of dumpling wrappers

1/2 of a small cabbage, chopped into small pieces

1 Tbsp salt

3-4 green onions, sliced

1 lb ground pork (Jimmy Dean sage, or your favorite kind)

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp sesame oil

1/2 Tbsp fresh ginger (grated or finely diced)

Neutral oil (for pan frying)

Directions:

Mix the salt and cabbage together. Let sit until the cabbage juice starts to come out. Continue to agitate and press the cabbage until all of the water is extracted from the cabbage. Drain. Add the green onions and pork to the cabbage. Mix until well combined. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger. Mix until incorporated throughout. Place about a tablespoon of filling in the center of a wrapper. Wet the edges and crimp/fold the edges as desired. Heat a pan (that has a lid) with a drizzle of oil. Add dumplings in a single layer and fry until bottoms are golden brown. Add several tablespoons of water to the pan and cover. Steam until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes. Repeat as necessary with remaining dumplings. The dumplings can be boiled or steamed as well.

Soy Dipping Sauce:

1 tsp sugar

1 Tbsp hot water

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 tsp ginger, grated or minced

1 tsp sesame seeds

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Peanut Dipping Sauce:

2 Tbsp peanut butter

1/2 Tbsp water

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp honey or sugar

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp siriacha (optional)

Other filling variations:

Kimchi

1 1/2 cups of kimchi, chopped - squeeze excess liquid or else the dumplings will be soggy! Cornstarch can also be added to bind excess liquid.

1/2 package of firm tofu, crumbled

1 bag of bean sprouts, blanched and chopped

1 egg

3-4 green onions, sliced

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp sesame oil

1/2 Tbsp ginger 

1/2 Tbsp garlic, minced

2 tsp salt

Japchae

1 Onion, sliced thinly

1 Red Pepper, finely diced

1 bunch of spinach

2 shredded carrots

2 cups of cooked japchae, chopped (sweet potato noodles)

1 lb ground pork

1 egg

3-4 green onions, sliced

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp sesame oil

1/2 Tbsp fresh ginger

1/2 Tbsp garlic, minced

2 tsp salt

(Note: Sautee the veggies in some oil with salt and pepper, ensure all liquid is expelled before you mix in the rest of the filling ingredients.)

Sourdough English Muffins

 From Leavenly

Ingredients

**The Night Before

1/2 cup starter discard (135g)

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (275g) or more as needed

1 cup milk (250g)

**The Next Day

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (85g) or more as needed

1 tbsp sugar (15g)

3/4 tsp salt (5g)

1 tsp baking soda (5g)

cornmeal for dusting

Directions

 **The Night Before

To make your overnight sponge: combine discard with flour and milk. Stir well to combine, and cover loosely with plastic. Rest on countertop overnight, or for up to 18 hours.

**The Next Day

Dust baking sheet with cornmeal; set aside. Add flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda to overnight sponge, and stir well to combine. The consistency should be like bread dough, and highly depends on the hydration of your starter discard. If needed, add more flour or more milk a little bit at a time to achieve this consistency. Mix in stand mixer with dough hook on low for 2-3 minutes, or by hand on a floured surface for 4-5 minutes. The dough should be the consistency of a soft bread dough, very slightly sticky. Add more flour or milk to achieve this consistency. Lightly dust a rolling pin with flour and roll out dough to 1/2" to 3/4" thickness. Cut muffins using a biscuit cutter or cup rim, dusted with flour. Push straight down; do not twist! Combine remaining dough into a ball and let rest 10 minutes. Then roll out and cut as above, getting as many muffins from the dough as possible. Transfer cut muffins to cornmeal-dusted baking sheet and let rest for 45-60 minutes. If you're cooking on a cast iron skillet, preheat your skillet over low or medium-low heat for several minutes (better to start your heat on the low side than on the high side!). Place muffins in skillet, six at a time, and cook for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown. Check undersides every minute. Dust tops lightly with cornmeal and flip, cooking 5-7 minutes more. If you're cooking on an electric griddle, preheat to 300°F. Place muffins on griddle and reduce heat to 275°F. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Dust tops lightly with cornmeal then flip, cooking for 5-7 more minutes. Serve warm, or toast before serving if cooled.

Instant Pot Beef Stew

 2 1/2 to 3 lbs beef chuck roast - cubed
Montreal Steak Seasoning
Neutral Oil

Tomato Paste - 6 oz can

Soy Sauce 

Worcestershire Sauce

Beef or Chicken Broth

2 onions, chopped

3 cloves minced garlic

3 carrots, cleaned and cut in bite size pieces

3 small potatoes, cleaned and cut in bite size pieces

3 stalks celery, cleaned and cut in bite size pieces

4 ounces of white mushrooms, sliced

1 t Thyme

3 bay leaves

2 T Corn starch (GF) or all purpose flour (not GF)

Frozen mixed vegetables

Set Instant pot to "Saute". When heated, add a tablespoon of oil. Saute 1/3 of the beef until browned. Season with the Montreal Steak Seasoning. Set aside. Repeat with the rest  of the meat in 2 batches. 

Add all the browned meat with tomato paste, a few shakes of soy sauce and worcestershire sauce, enough beef broth to cover meat, minced garlic and one of the chopped onions. Set to "seal" and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. You can release lid or let it naturally release. 

Add the 2nd onion, carrots, potatoes, celery, mushrooms bay leaves and thyme. Set lid to seal and cook 4 minutes on high pressure. Manually release lid. Make a slurry of corn starch or flour mixed with water. Set to "saute" and add the slurry. Stir until stew is as thick as desired. Add the frozen vegetables. Leave in just long enough to heat through. Season with salt an pepper to taste.