Ingredients
Marinade
¼ cup whole milk Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon Greek seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
Skewers
Kebabs
8 oz boneless lamb chops fat removed and cut into ¾ inch chunks. I use loin lamb chops and remove the bone. Loin lamb chops are very tender.
1 small bell pepper cut into 1-inch pieces
¼ of an onion cut into1-inch pieces
Directions
Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl, add the lamb pieces, cover, and place in the refrigerator to marinade. (2-3 hours minimum, ideally overnight)
Remove the lamb from the fridge 30 minutes before you plan to cook and throw the lamb pieces, onion, and chopped peppers on skewers.
Cooking Instructions
Air fryer
Heat the air fryer to 400°F, spray the basket with olive oil, and place the skewers inside the air fryer when it has come to heat and cook for 8-10 minutes, turning halfway.
Indoor grill
Grill for approximately 10 minutes, turning halfway.
BBQ (Grill)
Cook for 10-15 minutes, turning halfway. You’ll need to light a charcoal barbecue 30 minutes before cooking.
Oven baked
Heat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking tray with foil or grease it with a little oil to prevent the meat from sticking and cook for 10-15 minutes without turning
Serve with Greek Salad and bread
4 servings
Ingredients
1 pound flank steak or you can purchase stir-fried steak at your grocery store that is sliced and recipe ready
4 cloves garlic
One 1-inch piece of ginger
7 tablespoons ow-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Freshly ground black pepper
½ cup beef broth
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 medium white onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large red bell pepper (about 8 ounces), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large green bell pepper (about 8 ounces), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
2 sliced scallions
Cooked Jasmine or white rice, for serving
Directions
If using flank steak: Freeze the flank steak until the meat is slightly frozen and firm enough to thinly slice with ease, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Grate 2 cloves of garlic into a large bowl. Peel the ginger and cut it in half. Finely grate one of the ginger halves into the same bowl; reserve the remaining ginger. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of the soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of the Shaoxing wine, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the sugar, and several large grinds of pepper to combine. Set aside.
Thinly slice the flank steak against the grain on a very slight bias into 1/4-inch-thick strips. Cut any extra-long pieces in half; the strips should be no longer than 3 to 4 inches. Add to the bowl with the marinade and stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
When ready to cook use tongs to transfer the steak to a large baking sheet lined with several layers of paper towels and arrange it in a single layer. Lay additional paper towels on top to help absorb any excess marinade. Set aside to take the chill off the meat.
Whisk together the beef broth, sesame oil, remaining 1/4 cup soy sauce, remaining 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, and a couple of large grinds of pepper in a medium bowl; set aside.
Finely mince the remaining 2 cloves of garlic and add to a small bowl. Finely mince the remaining ginger and add to the same bowl. Set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil in a large skillet over high heat. When the oil starts to shimmer, add half of the steak strips in a single layer and cook until well-browned on the first side, about 1 minute. Turn over and cook until browned on the second side, about 1 more minute. Transfer to a large plate. Cook the remaining steak adding 1 1/2 teaspoons of oil per batch. Transfer to the plate.
Lower the heat to medium-high. Add the onion and a splash of water to the empty skillet and cook, scraping up any browned bits and stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
Add the red and green bell peppers and cook, stirring frequently and adding another splash of water if the skillet starts to get too brown on the bottom until the vegetables are crisp-tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring constantly, until softened about 1 minute.
Return the steak to the skillet and stir to combine. Whisk the cornstarch into the sauce, then pour it into the skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thick and glossy, about 2 minutes. Transfer the pepper steak to a large serving platter and top with sliced scallions Serve immediately with a side of rice.
Ingredients
Basic Pizza Dough {see recipe}
4 oz can of sliced mushrooms, drained
¾ cup of marinated artichoke hearts drained
¾ cup canned roasted red pepper strips, drained
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon red chili flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup prepared marinara sauce
16 oz mozzarella, sliced
Grated Parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Directions
reheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Oil a 16-inch pizza pan.
Press the dough out in the pan to its edges.
Cover the dough with the mozzarella cheese slices. Spread the marinara sauce over the cheese.
SDistribute the mushrooms, artichoke hearts and red pepper strips topping evenly over the sauce.
Sprinkle with oregano and Parmesan.
Bake the pizza for about 20 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before serving..
Ingredients
Sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons chicken broth
2 tablespoons honey
Stir-fry
3 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
1-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium sweet red peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Hot cooked rice
Directions
Make the cornstarch mixture:
In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch, soy sauce, broth, and honey until blended.
In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, and cook and stir until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan.
In the same pan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add the sliced red peppers, and cook and stir until crisp-tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook and stir for 1 minute longer.
Whisk the cornstarch mixture, and then add it into the pan, stirring as constantly. Bring the sauce to a boil. Cook and stir until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the chicken back to the pan. Stir and heat through.
Sprinkle the green onions and sesame seeds over the Garlic Chicken. Serve with rice.
I have an abundance of all types of peppers in my refrigerator right now. My CSA farm had success with them this year. Naturally, I am trying to think of ways to use them instead of freezing them all. So for this dinner, I am making a big batch of Pizziola Sauce, which contains, peppers, onions, tomato sauce, and Italian seasonings. This recipe makes a sizeable portion that you can save for other meats and fish.
For our dinner, I make pork chops.
Pizzaiola Sauce
You can use any type of sweet pepper you like. I used small-medium yellow/green bell peppers because they are tender.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2-3 lbs peppers, seeded and sliced
1 large onion sliced
14 ½ oz container of chopped or diced Italian tomatoes.
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
Salt and pepper to taste.
Directions
Heat the oil in a large deep skillet and add the sliced peppers and onions. Cover the skillet and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat. Remove the cover, add the garlic, and cook over low heat until the vegetables are tender about 15-20 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and seasoning. simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. Serve over your main protein.
Oven Baked Crispy Pork Chops
Ingredients
2 bone-in Berkshire, pasture-raised loin pork chops
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
½ cup cornflake crumbs
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Lightly cover a baking dish with olive oil
Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Sprinkle salt and pepper over the chops.
Spread the chops with the mayonnaise and dredge in the cornflake crumbs.
Place the chops in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
Oven Baked Red Potatoes
Ingredients
7=8 small red potatoes, cut in half
4 tablespoons of melted butter
Salt and pepper to taste.
Directions
Spread the melted butter in a baking dish large enough to hold the potatoes.
Place the potatoes cut side down in the baking dish
Sprinkle with salt and pepper/
Bake in the 400-degree F oven with the pork chops for 45 minutes,
Summer Dinner For 2
Ingredients
For the lamb
4 small loin lamb chops, about 1 lb total
Lamb Marinade
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
½ teaspoon Greek seasoning
1 garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the salad
2 cooked small potatoes, cut into thin rounds
Half of a small red bell pepper finely diced
Half a cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely diced
One-quarter of red onion, finely diced
8 pitted Greek olives, diced
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
1 small garlic clove grated
1 oz Greek feta cheese, cubed
½ teaspoon Greek seasoning
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup chopped parsley for garnish
Pita Bread warmed
Directions
Combine the marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag. Add the lamb, seal the bag, and refrigerate for several hours.
Make the dressing. Combine the oil, lemon juice, Greek seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste.
In a serving bowl combine the red pepper, cucumbers, onion, olives, and feta cheese. Add the dressing. Toss the ingredients lightly to combine them.
Add salt and pepper, to taste, and stir the salad gently to mix in the seasoning.
Chill the salad for at least 30 minutes before serving it.
Sprinkle the parsley over the salad before serving
My air-fryer has a grill option but you can use any type of grill you like.
Remove the lamb from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature.
Preheat your grill.
Grill the lamb for 5 minutes per side for medium.
Serve along with the salad and warm pita.
Classic Italian Peppers And Eggs
Ingredients
12 small to medium sweet Italian frying peppers, stems and seed removed and cut into 1-inch rings
1 small onion, chopped
8 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon chili flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Heat the oil in a deep skillet, and add the peppers, onions, and seasonings. Cover the pan and steam the vegetables over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Uncover the pan and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Add the beaten eggs and cook stirring often until the eggs are completely set.
Serve with a green salad and Italian bread or pile into a warmed hoagie roll for a delicious sandwich.
Summer Cherry Tomato Pie
Servings: 8
Ingredients
1 prepared piecrust refrigerated at room temperature
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup fresh chives chopped
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 pints cherry tomatoes sliced in half
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ cup fresh parsley
Direction
Place the cut tomatoes in a bowl and add the salt. Toss well. Turn out on a kitchen towel and let the tomatoes drain for about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Place the refrigerated crust in a pie pan and crimp. No need to bake.
Mix the cheese, mayonnaise, mustard, chives, and pepper in a small bowl and spread out evenly on the pie crust.
Pat the tomatoes dry and place in circles, cut side down on top of the cheese mixture on the pie pan.
Bake for 45 minutes or until the crust edges are golden brown and the cheese bubbles up around the tomatoes.
Place the pie on a wire cooling rack and let it cool for one hour.
Sprinkle with the parsley and serve with a green salad or vegetable sides.
Caciocavallo is a distinguished Italian cheese from southern Italy that means “horse cheese”, due to the fact that during the maturation process, two kinds of cheese are bound together with a rope in a horizontal way on a wood surface, called in Italian “ a cavallo”, then “horse”. It is an ancient traditional cheese, the first time mentioned in history was 500 BC by Hippocrates. There are other kinds of Caciocavallo cheese based on their origins as well as the type of milk. The most famous is made with cow’s milk from the southern areas of Italy
Ingredients
Basic Pizza Dough {see recipe}
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch thin asparagus (about 1 pound)
Canned or jarred Roasted red pepper strips, drained
1 small handful of fresh sage or basil leaves, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded caciocavallo cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
Combine 2 tablespoons of olive oil with the minced garlic. Remove the woody stems from the asparagus.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Oil a 16-inch pizza pan.
Press the dough out in the pan to its edges.
Spread the garlic oil over the pizza dough and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the caciocavallo cheese evenly over the dough. Distribute the chopped sage evenly over the cheese,
Alternate the asparagus spears and pepper strips in a circle around the entire pizza top. {see photo}. Sprinkle with Parmesan and the remaining oil.
Bake in the oven for about 15- 20 minutes until the crust is lightly brown. Serve with a salad.
Simple Spinach Salad
Ingredients
5oz baby spinach
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons diced walnuts
Fresh ground black pepper
Directions
To toast the walnuts*. Add walnuts to a small ungreased skillet over medium heat. Let the diced walnuts warm up, stirring occasionally until they just begin to darken and become fragrant, this usually takes about 5-6 minutes.
Remove the skillet from the heat, give the walnuts a little shake, and let the walnuts rest on the warm skillet 2-3 more minutes to finish toasting until ready to add to the salad.
Place the spinach to a bowl and drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil.
Toss the spinach to coat in lemon juice and olive oil.
Add cheese, walnuts, and a dash of freshly cracked pepper. Toss again and serve immediately.
BBQ Chicken
Serves 4
NOTE: To help ensure that each breast finishes cooking at
approximately the same time, buy pieces of similar size. You can grill these chicken pieces on an outdoor grill, an indoor grill, the oven broiler, or in an air-fryer or an air-fryer with a grill plate.
Chicken
Salt
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves (about 12 ounces each)
trimmed of excess fat and skin
Ground Black Pepper
Vegetable oil
Apple Mustard Barbecue Sauce
2/3 cup apple butter or any fruit butter
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup brown sugar
For the Chicken:
Season the chicken breasts well with salt on all surfaces. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour. Rinse chicken under cold water and dry thoroughly with paper towels.
Season chicken with pepper.
For the Sauce: Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan. Cook over low heat until thickened. Set aside.
Preheat your cooking device according to manufacturer instructions.
Cook chicken on all sides until lightly browned
and meat has faint grill marks, 6 to 8 minutes.
Brush the chicken with sauce and cook for 15 minutes, Turn the chicken over and brush with more sauce.
Cook the chicken until it reaches 160 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes longer.
Directions for the Aur-Fryer
Preheat the air fryer to 370 degrees.
Lightly coat the chicken with the BBQ sauce.
Place the chicken breasts in the air fryer basket and cook for 30 minutes, turn the chicken over after 15 minutes. Baste the chicken with the sauce.
Cook until the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165 degrees F. Thicker or larger chicken breasts may take a few minutes long.
Potato Salad
Ingredients
1 ½ lbs whole medium Yukon gold potatoes
2 hard-boiled eggs
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons pickle juice
¼ cup minced bread and butter pickles.
½ cup finely chopped sweet onion or scallions
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
½ cup olive oil mayonnaise
Salt and black pepper to taste
Directions
Place the potatoes in a large pot with a lid. Cover the potatoes with cold water and add 1 teaspoon salt.
Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and cook the potatoes with the lid ajar until tender, about 15 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and cool. When cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes. Slice the potatoes into a storage bowl.
Add the pickle juice and let sit at room temperature for an hour or so.
Add the remaining ingredients, mix well, and taste to see if the salad needs salt. Add black pepper to taste.
Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator.
Asparagus with Roasted Red Pepper Salad
Servings4
Ingredients
1 large Jarred roasted red pepper strips, drained
1 bunch of asparagus cooked and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions
Place asparagus in a serving bowl.
Add red pepper slices, olive oil, zest, juice, salt, and pepper. Toss gently and serve.
Even though this pizza is vegetarian, I call it an antipasto pizza because the topping ingredients I use are found in antipasto appetizers.
For Homemade Pizza Dough
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon honey
1 cup lukewarm water
3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Combine all the dough ingredients in the large bowl of an electric mixer and with The paddle attachment mix until the ingredients come together around the paddle. Attach the dough hook and knead the dough for 6 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled.
Antipasto Pizza
Ingredients
lb whole milk mozzarella cheese, cut into thin slices
1 lb pizza dough, store-bout or homemade, at room temperature
Grated Parmesan Cheese
½ cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
½ cup chopped oil-cured black Italian olives
8 artichoke hearts packed in oil and sliced
¼ of red bell pepper sliced thin
¼ of red onion, sliced thin
Olive oil
For The Pizza
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Oil a 16-inch pizza pan.
Press the dough out in the pan to its edges. Top the dough with the mozzarella slices. Scatter the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, artichokes, bell pepper, and onion evenly over the cheese. drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake the pizza on the bottom rack of the oven for 15 -18 minutes, until the crust is lightly brown.
Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.
