Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Ingredients

• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained well) OR 10 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 Tablespoons sour cream
• 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, or more to taste
• dash of cayenne pepper, or more to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degress. In a medium bowl, warm cream cheese in microwave for about a minute to soften. Add spinach, artichokes, sour cream, mayonnaise, and parmesan. Mix all together and add garlic salt and cayenne to taste. Don't worry, if using fresh spinach it will reduce down while cooking.
2. Place in an oven safe dish and bake in the oven at for about 20 minutes or until the top is toasty. If you're using fresh spinach bake for 20 minutes, stir, and bake for an additional 10 minutes if needed.
3. Serve with bread, chips or veggies.
4. Kendee likes to thinly slice crusty bread, spritz it with olive oil and lightly sprinkle cayenne pepper on top. Place in the oven at 400 degrees for a couple of minutes until the tops are barely toasted.

guacamole

Ingredients:
3 avocados (halved, seeded, and peeled)
1 lime (juiced)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ medium onion (diced)
2 Roma tomatoes (seeded and diced)
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro (chopped)
1 garlic clove (minced)

Just for my own info!

PW's Greek Salad

Ingredients

• 1 head Romaine Lettuce, Chopped
• 4 whole Ripe Tomatoes, Cut Into Six Wedges Each, Then Each Wedge Cut In Half
• 1 whole (large) Cucumber, Peeled, Cut Into Fourths Lengthwise, And Diced Into Large Chunks
• ½ whole Red Onion, Sliced Very Thin
• 30 whole Pitted Kalamata Olives, Cut In Half Lengthwise
• 6 ounces, weight Crumbled Feta Cheese
• Fresh Parsley, Roughly Chopped
• ¼ cups Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Sugar (more To Taste)
• 1 clove Garlic, Minced
• 6 whole Kalamata Olives (extra), Chopped Fine
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1 whole Lemon, For Squeezing

Preparation Instructions

Add chopped lettuce, tomato wedges, cucumber chunks, onion slices, halved Kalamata olives, half the feta, and parsley to a large bowl.
Combine olive oil, vinegar, sugar, garlic, salt, pepper, and chopped olives in a bowl. Whisk together until combined. Taste and adjust seasonings (I almost always add a little sugar.)
Pour dressing over salad ingredients, then add salt and pepper. Toss with tongs or clean hands. Just before serving, top with additional feta and squeeze a little lemon juice over the top.

Greek Style Pita Sandwiches

So good!

Pitas:

12 oz boneless pork loin chops, or boneless skinless chicken, sliced into 1/4″ slices
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2  teaspoons minced fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper 

1/4 C diced tomato
1/4 C diced cucumber
2 Tablespoons diced red onion

4 Lettuce leaves
4 pita bread halves
2-3 Tbs crumbled Athenos Feta cheese

Combine pork, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a shallow dish and set aside.  Heat a medium skillet to medium high heat.  While pan is heating, combine tzatziki sauce and set in fridge to chill.  Add pork mixture to pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until pork is cooked through and then remove from heat.   Combine tomato, cucumber, and red onion.  Too assemble, place one lettuce leaf in each pita.  Divide pork mixture between pitas, add cucumber and tomato mixture and then top with tzatziki sauce and a sprinkle of feta.

Tztatziki sauce:

1 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt (that’s 2 6-oz. containers)

1 clove garlic, minced

1-2 tsp. lemon juice

3 green onions, firm ends finely chopped

1 tsp. dry dill weed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced

Combine ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Store covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Bruschetta Chicken

I love summer foods MOSTLY BECAUSE of bruschetta. I can't wait for it to be in season. I really liked this PW bruschetta recipe... we made it over the summer.

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 5 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
• 1 pint Red Grape Tomatoes, Halved Lengthwise
• 1 pint Yellow Grape Tomatoes, Halved Lengthwise
• 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
• 16 whole Basil Leaves (chiffonade)
• Salt And Black Pepper To Taste (don't Oversalt)
• 8 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut In Half To Create Two Thin Breasts
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• Freshly Grated Or Shaved Parmesan

Preparation Instructions

In a small skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir, lightly frying for about a minute, removing before the garlic gets too brown (it can be golden.) Pour into a mixing bowl and allow to cool slightly.
Add tomatoes, balsamic, basil, and salt and pepper to the bowl. Toss to combine, then taste and add more basil if needed, and more salt if needed (don’t oversalt, though!) Cover and refrigerate for an hour or two if you have the time.
Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then grill or saute them until done in the middle.
To serve, give the tomato mixture a final stir. Arrange chicken breasts on a plate (2 at a time) then spoon a generous amount of bruschetta topping over the top.
Use extra topping on slices of grilled baguette!

Kneaders French Toast and Caramel Syrup

It's all about the syrup! This recipe is nice because it doesn't call for buttermilk, like other recipes I've seen. I'm more likely to have and use cream than buttermilk.

Ingredients

For the French Toast
• 1 un-sliced loaf of cinnamon bread
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• strawberries
• whip cream or cool whip
For the Caramel Syrup
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 1 c. light Karo syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions

• Slice the cinnamon bread into 6 to 8 slices, depending on a how thick you like it. Preheat a large griddle to 325 degrees, or a large pan over the stove on medium heat.
• In a large bowl, combine eggs, milk, cinnamon, vanilla, and brown sugar. Dip each slice into the mixture, be sure to completely coat, then cook on the preheated and buttered griddle until both sides of the bread are a golden brown.
• For the syrup, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir and heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.
• Serve french toast with warm caramel syrup, sliced strawberries, and whip cream or cool whip.

teriyaki sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
5 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 -2 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
Directions:

1
Mix all but cornstarch and 1/4c water in a sauce pan and begin heating.
2
Mix cornstarch and cold water in a cup and dissolve. Add to sauce in pan.

Read more at: http://www.food.com/recipe/restaurant-teriyaki-sauce-133751?oc=linkback

pizza sauce recipe

tommy and i tried this pizza sauce recipe tonight and really liked it. it was a bit spicy, so we'll probably cut the peppers down when we make it next, but really flavorful. i just wanted to put it up here so we'd remember about it! we found it on allrecipes.com and changed a few things to make it more delicious for us.

Ingredients

• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 6 fluid ounces warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• salt to taste

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine tomato paste, water, Parmesan cheese, garlic, honey, anchovy paste, onion powder, oregano, marjoram, basil, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and salt; mix together, breaking up any clumps of cheese.
2. Sauce should sit for 30 minutes to blend flavors; spread over pizza dough and prepare pizza as desired.

BBQ Sauce

This is from Jen Izu, our good friend. You can use it for anything you would use BBQ sauce for, but I have used it to go in the crock pot over a good size rib eye roast, cook all day, and then shred at the end and serve over warmed buns. It really is delicious. (makes a lot so you can half it if you don't want too much).

3 c. ketchup
2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. white vinegar

Cook all ingredients over the stove, just until the sugar dissolves. Keep leftovers in the fridge.