Tuna Melts with Lemon and Capers

This is a 15-minute meal. Beat that, Rachel Who? The lemon and capers make this so fresh, not your Momma's stinky tuna. My girls asked, flabbergasted, "This is fish?!" Enjoy.

Tuna Melts with Lemon and Capers

makes 8 half sandwiches

Ingredients:

4 5-oz. cans best quality White Albacore Tuna, drained really well

zest of one lemon

juice of 1/2 lemon

3-4 Tbl. capers

1-1 1/2 cups Mayonnaise

salt and pepper to taste

Crusty French rolls or bread, sliced

2-3 Tomatoes, sliced

8 slices Munster or Swiss cheese

Instructions:

Gently fold together tuna, lemon zest, lemon juice, mayo and capers. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon about 1/4 cup of tuna mixture on each half of roll or sliced bread. Top with sliced tomato and cheese. Place under broiler for about 5 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

BLT Pizza

We have pizza night around here about once a week. It's a happy, cheesy night. So, I was making this pizza PW's Potato Bacon Leek Pizza which has been an adult favorite around here, and I had all this leftover bacon. What's a girl to do? I also had a lot of ripe tomatoes on my counter and some lettuce in the fridge. What happened next was nothing short of miraculous: BLT Pizza. I had my doubts, but it ended up being every one's favorite. This will definitely be made again and again and again. And again. Enjoy.

BLT Pizza

Favorite pizza dough for one pie

Olive oil

4-6 slices Thick-Cut Bacon, cooked until nice and brown

Mozzarella, grated

2-3 ripe Tomatoes, sliced

1 head of Romaine, washed, dried and chopped

1/2 cup Mayo

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 450*. Sprinkle baking sheet with cornmeal. Form fresh pizza dough on the baking sheet until it's about 1/4 inch thick. Drizzle with olive oil and spread around the crust with your fingers. Cover generously with mozzarella. And then just as generously with bacon. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly. Let sit for about 5 minutes. Layer entire pizza with tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Dress the lettuce with the mayonnaise and serve on top of the pizza.

PW's Potato Bacon Leek Pizza

(and don't' forget the goat cheese; it really does give it that something special)

Sausage and Spinach Baked Pasta

This is the only casserole in my cooking repertoire. I make it when I don't want to mess around. It's easy and quick to make, and everyone always likes it, no whining for PBJs two hours later. It's based very loosely on a casserole I grew up eating and loving that my Mom and her Mom called Tyrolean Casserole. It's comfort food to me and mine.

Sausage and Spinach Baked Pasta

Ingredients:

1 lb. any Tubular Pasta, I use Archer Farm's Rigatoni

1 jar Archer Farm's Pomadora Sauce, or your favorite jarred pasta sauce

6 links Mild Italian Sausage

1 block Cream Cheese

1 small container Cottage Cheese

4 large handfuls of Fresh Spinach (or 1 small grocery store bag)

Parmesan or Pecorino Romano

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation Instructions:

Brown sausage until nice and carmelized, and add pasta sauce. Stir and turn off heat. Prepare pasta according to package instructions, keeping pasta al dente. Drain but do not rinse. Immediately add pasta back to pot and add cream cheese and cottage cheese. Stir until pasta is creamy and coated thoroughly.

In a medium to large casserole dish, spoon the sausage sauce over the bottom just until it's covered. Add a layer of creamy pasta, followed by two large handfuls of spinach and a good handful or shaving of cheese. Keep layering until you run out of ingredients. I usually end with pasta or sauce, either will work. Bake, covered, in a 350* oven for 35-45 minutes or until bubbly.

(Sometimes I add fresh garlic or basil from my Summer herb garden)

Slab Cookies

I married a cookie person, which is only unfortunate because I'm a cake person and I don't like making cookies, which is why (can you use "which" twice in a sentence?) I'm always looking for a way to make cookies without really making them. This may be just the thing. Thank you, Pioneer Woman. For the step-by-step instructions, straight from the source, go to Pioneer Woman Cooks.

Slab Cookies

or Spreads or the Lazy Man's Chocolate Chip Cookie or CCC Deconstructed

Ingredients:

1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Butter
1 whole Egg
2 cups Flour
½ teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Chocolate Chips

1 cup toasted Walnuts or Pecans, chopped finely (optional)

Preparation Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together brown sugar and butter. Add egg and mix together. Add flour, salt, and vanilla, and mix together well.Spread dough onto cookie sheet to a thickness of 1/4 to 1/2-inch.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until slightly brown. At this point, pull out of the oven and sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top. Return to oven for 1 minute. Remove and spread melted chips over the top. Sprinkle with nuts or MnMs. Cut into squares.

Veggie Burgers

This just may be the only vegetarian meal that gets a standing ovation at our house. I've been tinkering around with this recipe since last summer and I may just have it right now. They are delicious, without the meat hangover afterwards. I promise you won't miss the beef. Promise.

Veggie Burgers

makes 8 large patties

2 cups cooked brown rice (couscous or quinoa also work)

1 cup rolled oats

In a food processor, blend until smooth:

2 15 oz. cans beans (I use a combo of black with lentil or soy)

1/2 onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic

1 egg yolk, optional but it helps it hold together

2 Tbl. worcestershire sauce

2 Tbl. steak seasoning

1/4 cup BBQ sauce or 1/4 cup ketchup mixed with 2 Tbl. vinegar

Preheat oven to 350*. In a large bowl, combine bean puree with the rice and oats. Divide mixture into 8 portions and with hands, form patties and lay on parchment lined baking sheets. Brush patties with BBQ or ketchup sauce. Bake for 35-45 minutes until somewhat firm to the touch and caramelized on top. Serve on whole wheat buns with your favorite fixings.

One of the great things about this recipe, is its versatility. Use the above recipe as a base and go wild. I've added roasted red peppers, caramelized mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, fresh herbs, blue cheese, and green chilies to the beans and it's always perfect. I've also changed up the seasoning (added cumin, for example) and then served the patties with a cucumber yogurt sauce on pita bread. Enjoy!

Buttermilk Ice Cream

I've tried some fabulous homemade ice creams--Dulce de leche, David Lebovitz's chocolate, etc.--but whenever I pull my ice cream maker out of its wintry hold, I'm powerlessly drawn to my recipe for Buttermilk Ice Cream. I'm convinced it's the most incredible frozen homemade confection ever. It's the perfect companion to Summer's berry and fruit desserts: fruit pies, cobblers, and crisps, and it's magnificent with simple sugared berries. Thank you, Smitten Kitchen.

2 cups heavy cream

1 1/4 cup sugar

12 large egg yolks*

2 cups buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla or half a vanilla bean, scraped and simmered with the cream

Pinch of salt

In a large, heavy saucepan, combine the heavy cream and one cup of sugar and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar.
Remove the cream mixture from the heat and drizzle a small amount into the yolks, slowly, and whisking constantly to keep the eggs from curdling. Do this a few more times to warm up the yolks before pouring the yolk mixture back into the cream, whisking constantly.
Cook over low heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain the mixture and whisk in the buttermilk, vanilla, and salt. Cool completely and freeze according manufacturer’s directions.
* I’m going to share with you a little secret: You don’t need to use all of these egg yolks. Oh sure, you can and the results will blow your ice cream-loving mind. However, let’s say you find that you only have six or eight egg yolks on hand, this will also do. The ice cream will be less rich, but still incredibly more rich than anything you can buy at any store.

Rib-eye Steaks ith Whisk Cream Sauce

Rib-eye Steaks with Whiskey Cream Sauce

(stolen and made to my liking from the Pioneer Woman)

5 Tbl. butter
3 Tbl. diced onion
1/4 cup whiskey
1/4 cup beef stock
1/4 cup light cream
2 rib-eye or new york steaks
1. Melt 2 Tbl. of butter in a large skillet (cast iron works great) over medium-high heat. Generously salt and pepper the steaks on both sides, then add to the hot skillet.
2. For medium rare, cook for 2 minutes on each side for a thin steak, or 3-4 minutes on each side for a thick steak. Place the steak on a plate and keep warm.
3. Melt 2 Tbl. butter in same skillet and add the onion and cook until brown, about 4 minutes.
4. Carefully pour in the whiskey, scraping the yummy brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Turn the burner on medium and pour in the beef stock.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Now, whisk in remaining Tbl. of butter.
7. Allow the mixture to bubble for 30 seconds, then reduce heat to low.
8. Over low heat, pour in the cream.
9. Whisk, adding more cream if the mixture looks too brothy.
10. Allow to simmer on very low heat until you're ready to spoon over the steaks.