Seasoning for Everything!

2 Tbs. salt

1 1/2 tsp. granulated garlic

1 1/2 tsp. granulated onion

2 1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves, crushed as finely as you can with your fingers

1 1/2 tsp. paprika

1 1/2 tsp. celery seed

1 1/2 tsp. parsley flakes, crushed finely with your fingers

1 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed as finely as you can with your fingers

1 tsp. dried basil leaves, crushed as finely as you can with your fingers

Mix everything in a plastic zip bag (or some other tightly-closeable container) and shake well.

This is great on mixed root vegetables, in soups, in salad dressings, and anything else you would use salt and pepper on. I usually toss vegs or whatever I'm cooking in a little olive oil, and then I pour some of this mix over it and toss again. (For instance, I bake the root vegs at 350 F. for 45 minutes to an hour. It smells great, and it makes a great comfort food!) Enjoy!

Sweet-ish Broccoli Salad

I'm eating this for breakfast, although I realize that most people would eat it for lunch or dinner. Fortunately for me, it's great any time of the day!

This makes one serving--Steve prefers "regular" breakfast food! Ha! You can double or triple the vegetables for more servings. The dressing will need to be added and stirred, adding more if it's needed, to maintain a crunchy consistency.

And finally, I used my mini-chop for the broccoli and carrots. Bless the inventor of this gadget!

4 large broccoli florets, chopped

4 baby carrots, chopped

2 Tbs. thinly sliced green onion

6 grape tomatoes

small handful of raisins (I would use cranberries here for Chelsea; she hates raisins.)

6 walnut halves, broken up into 3 or 4 pieces each--small chunks

1/2 c. olive oil

1 Tbs. dijon mustard

1 1/2 tsp. agave nectar (you could also try pure maple syrup, and this can be doubled for a sweeter dressing.)

2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

Combine broccoli, carrots, green onions, tomatoes, raisins, and walnuts in a small bowl.

Whisk together the olive oil, dijon mustard, agave nectar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pour about 2 Tbs. on salad. Taste and add more, if you'd like.

I thought this tasted great--and I'm not a big sweet-eater!! Ha! I hope you enjoy it!

Stuffed Delicata Squash

I usually use one of the vegetarian "sausages" in these types of dishes, so I thought I'd try a vegetable-only dish. We liked it! I will say here that I used one of those "mini chop" things to chop everything, and I bought pre-sliced mushrooms. I don't want to really "slave over a hot stove;" I just want it to taste like I did! Ha!

Serves 2 without a side dish or salad. It would probably serve 4 with rice pilaf and a salad!

1 Delicata squash

1 small onion, diced

1 small clove of garlic, minced (or a couple of shakes of garlic powder. I know.... ;))

1 zucchini, 1/2 inch dice

1 crookneck squash (aka "yellow squash"), 1/2 inch dice

8 oz. sliced mushrooms

2 handfuls of spinach leaves (I used baby ones, so I didn't have to chop them up)

dried basil, 1 tsp. - 2 tsp. (depends on how much you like basil!)

Salt--about 1/2 tsp.

Pepper--about 1/4 tsp.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the Delicata squash in half lengthwise. Spray an 8- or 9-inch square baking dish with an oil spray. Add water to about 1/2 inch. Put the squash in, cut side up, and cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400 degrees until you get the rest of this put together, about 30 minutes, or so.

Chop, or dice, the onion, and mince the garlic. Put them into a skillet with a little olive oil on medium-low heat. Stir the onion and garlic to coat them with the oil. While that's cooking, dice, or chop, the squashes. Add them to the skillet, and stir everything together. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally until they're beginning to soften, 15 minutes maybe? 20 minutes? Anyway, longer than just a couple of minutes! Ha! Add the mushrooms, and cook until they've released some of their water, but they're still firm. Add the spinach, basil, salt, and pepper, and stir.

Take the squash halves out of the oven. They will probably not be completely cooked; that's good. Spoon your stuffing from the frying pan into the squashes, re-cover with the foil, and return to the oven, lowering the heat to 350 degrees F. In 45 minutes, it's done. In an hour, the water has evaporated completely, and the juices from the vegetables have started to burn onto the bottom of the baking dish! Ha! It's still good here, but the clean-up is worse! Ha!

I love experimenting! LOL! Enjoy!

Waldorf Salad PLUS

Steve said he wanted salad for dinner, and for whatever reason, neither lettuce nor spinach appealed to me. This doesn't happen very often, mind you!

So, I just decided to make Waldorf Salad and call it quits, but of course, it didn't work out that way! Ha! Here is our dinner salad for this evening. We both really liked it, and I hope you do, too!

Serves 2-4, meal or side!

1 large, crisp apple (I used a Red Delicious; they're just now coming into season, so they're good!)

2 stalks of celery, cleaned and sliced

2 medium cucumbers, quartered lengthwise and sliced crosswise about 1/4 inch thick

3 green onions, thinly sliced

24-30 red flame grapes, halved lengthwise

2-3 handfuls of walnuts, depending on how much you like them!

Bleu cheese crumbles (they can be "optional," but they really add a flare to this!)

Mayonnaise, about 1/2 cup?

Dijon mustard, about a tablespoon?

Olive oil, maybe a tablespoon or two--enough to thin the dressing to make tossing easier.

Chop the apple, toss it into a bowl, and add the celery, cucumbers, green onions, and grapes.

Dressing: combine the mayo, mustard, and olive oil in a small bowl. The dressing needs to be pretty tangy to offset the sweetness of the fruit, so add more mustard if I've misjudged my own addition. Obviously, this is "to taste!" Ha!

Toss the dressing with the fruits and vegetables. Add the walnuts, and toss again. I just served it on salad plates without further prep; it would look great on a bed of greens, and you could add extra dressing to seep down into the greens, too. However you serve it, toss some bleu cheese crumbles on top of it! Enjoy!

Jicama, Apple, Cucumber, and Nut Salad

Serves 2-4 (meal or side!)

1/4 jicama, peeled and cubed

1 apple, cubed

6 inches of a cucumber, cubed

1/4 red onion, cubed

8 broccoli florets, rinsed and broken into tiny florets

small handful of pecan halves

small handful of walnut pieces

OPT: 3 stalks celery, cubed (adds a touch of salty taste)

OPT: 1 avocado, cubed (adds a creamy texture to individual bites)

balsamic vinaigrette

OPT: mayo on the side

Chop the first 5 ingredients and toss them into a bowl. Add the nuts and the options, if you're using them. Drizzle with vinaigrette. Toss. Serve on a plate. Add a spoonful of mayo, if you like. Garnish, if desired, with rosemary sprigs! MMMMMM

The "OPTs": adding celery gives it a more "Waldorf Salad" taste and texture. Adding a spoonful of mayo on the side of the plates allows the eater to have some, or not. I liked it, because I could snag a bit on the tip of my spoon and scoop some salad on it, too, and I could do it on alternate bites, so I could enjoy the cleaner taste of the balsamic dressing and still have the mayo that I love! Ha!

Chile Rellenos Casserole

I made this a couple of nights ago, but we had a last-minute glitch, so we didn't eat it until last night. It was good, but while I was making it (and confirmed last night), I was thinking that salsa instead of chiles would add a lot of flavor. I really think that, now! Ha!

So, here's what I did, along with the salsa suggestion and a guess as to quantity!

Serves 4

2 cans, 7 oz. each, whole green chiles, rinsed and seeded

1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 medium shallot, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

8 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 bunch cilantro, leaves chopped

4 green onions, thinly sliced

Opt.: 2 medium tomatoes, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with canola oil (or olive oil) spray. Lay opened and cleaned chiles in a single layer on the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle the bell pepper, shallot, and minced garlic over the chiles. Sprinkle the cheese over everything!

In a large bowl, mix eggs, milk, paprika, salt, and pepper with a fork or a whisk. Pour this mixture over the cheese.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 40 minutes, or until the top is slightly browned. Remove from oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes to make cutting easier. Top each serving with cilantro, green onion, and optional tomatoes.

OPTION: Instead of using chiles, red pepper, shallot, and garlic, substitute 1 cup--this is the "guess" part!--of salsa. I think medium would be good--a little zip mitigated by the eggs, milk, and cheese. Finish the dish as directed above, and top with cilantro and green onions. I think this would taste great! AND it would be a lot easier than chopping stuff! Ha! Enjoy, either way!

Portabella Mushroom "Steaks"

Here's another use for marinated mushrooms (based on the "Portabella Mushroom Salad" mushroom marinade below).

You can actually marinate them to imbue them with the flavors of the marinade and end up with a texture similar to meat and a great flavor, and then you can heat them in a skillet and serve them that way over a salad (see "Portabella Mushroom Salad", June 3rd, 2010), or you can serve them on a plate with a baked potato and dressings and a salad or a scoop of peas, or any other side dish you like with steaks.

I haven't tried this, but I'm assuming you could also grill them briefly (after marinating them) to add that flavor to them, and then add them to salad or to a plate with side dishes.