Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups cooked chicken (diced)
4 cooked bacon strips (cumbled)
8 ounces sliced water chestnuts
1/2 cup celery (diced)
1 cup green grapes (cut)
3/4 cup mayo or dressing
1 tablespoon dried parsley (diced)
2 teaspoons onion (diced)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to season

Instructions:

Mix together the chicken, bacon, water chestnuts, celery and grapes.
In a separate bowl, whisk all other ingredients; combine all ingredients and toss to coat. Let chill.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, cut
3 tablespoons diced onion
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon finely diced ginger (fresh)
1 teaspoon diced garlic
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup diced green onions

Instructions:

Marinate chicken pieces in a oven safe dish. Combine the onion, soy, ginger, garlic and honey all together in a bowl; drizzle over chicken. Cover and place in the fridge for one hour, turning chicken over once.
Heat the oven to 425 F (220 C).
Bake in oven for half an hour. Turn chicken and sprinkle with green onion, then bake for additional fifteen minutes, when chicken is tender.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon of olive oil or vegetable oil
6 boneless chicken breasts, skinned and halved

Cooking Instructions

Combine the red wine vinegar, teriyaki sauce, lemon juice, and garlic into a large mixing bowl. Add the chicken breasts to the marinade. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, preferable longer, so the chicken really absorbs the flavor of the teriyaki and other ingredients. Turn the chicken breasts occasionally while in the marinade so they get well coated with all the juices. Remove the marinade from the fridge and set aside.

Heat the BBQ plate or grill which you have lightly oiled. Cook the chicken on one side for 15 minutes brushing the meat with the marinade occassionally. Turn the chicken breasts and continue to cook for 20 minutes or so, until the chicken is tender and the juices are running clear. Allow the chicken to cool down for 10 minutes before serving.

Serve the teriyaki chicken with some green like steamed snow peas and rice.

A classic pasta salad with Pepperoni and Provolone. Serves 16.

Ingredients:

16 ounces Fusilli
3 cups cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
1/2 pound provolone cheese (cut in cubes)
1/2 pound salami (cut in cubes)
1/4 pound pepperoni (sliced)
1 large chopped green bell pepper
10 ounces black olives (canned)
4 ounces pimentos (jarred)
8 ounces Italian dressing

Instructions:

Boil water with a pinch of salt. Cook pasta for ten minutes or until al dente. Rinse under cold water.
Mix together pasta, tomatoes, cheese, meats, pepper, olives, and pimentos in a bowl. Add in dressing, and toss.

Classic Lasagna, a family secret perfected over time resulting in a famously tasty dish. Serves 12.

Ingredients:

1 pound sausage (sweet Italian)
3/4 pound ground beef
1/2 cup onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
28 ounces tomatoes (crushed)
12 ounces tomato puree
13 ounces tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons basil leaves (dried)
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 tablespoons fresh parsley (diced)
12 lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese (sliced)
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)

Instructions:

Cook the sausage and beef together with the onion and garlic over medium heat in a Dutch style oven, until golden brown. Mix in all tomatoes (crushed, puree, & sauce) and water. Use the sugar, basil, fennel, Italian seasoning, salt (1 TBSP), pepper, and parsley (2 TBSPs) to season. Cover and let simmer for around one and a half hours, stirring often.
Boil a pot of lightly salted water to cook lasagna noodles, around ten minutes. Drain and then rinse the noodles with cold water. Use a separate bowl to mix together the ricotta cheese with the large egg, the rest of the parsley, and salt (half TSP).
Heat oven to 375 F (190 C).
In a 9×13 baking dish, pour in about 1 1/2 cups of the meat mixture evenly. Then place about six noodles on top of meat mixture. Add the ricotta cheese mix next, then about a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Add more of the meat mixture over mozzarella, and then add Parmesan cheese on top. Repeat these instructions to add layers. Sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on top to finish. Cover with foil.
Bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake for another 25 minutes. Let cool a quarter of an hour.

If you like the taste of fresh basil then you will love this italian pasta recipe. Best of all it’s so easy and quick to prepare. Serves 4.

Ingredients

1/3 cup of pine nuts
2 cups of basil leaves
16 oz of dried spaghetti
1/3 cup of parmesan cheese, freshly grated
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Cooking Instructions

Place the pine nuts, fresh basil, pamesan cheese, and garlic in a food processor or blender and process all the ingredients until the mixture is roughly chopped.

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti as per packet instructions, until al dente.

While blending the basil mixture, slowly add the extra virgin olive oil in a thin stream, and repeat the process until the mixture is smooth but retains some texture. It will become a nice green color so long as its not over processed. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Pour into a jar for storing and cover with a thin layer of olive oil. Can be kept for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Pesto is delicious when served with spaghetti pasta or homemade gnocchi. Always use good quality olive oil, basil and pine nuts as the flavor primarily comes from these ingredients.

This fettuccine carbonara recipe is a classic italian pasta dish. The creamy white sauce compliments the mushrooms and bacon. Serves 4.

Ingredients

5 cups of fettuccine pasta
6 bacon rashers, thinly sliced
1 cup of button mushrooms, thinly sliced
10 oz of cream
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup of parmesan cheese, grated

Cooking Instructions

Heat a large saucepan of salted water and bring to a boil. Add the fettuccine pasta and cook for 10 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. Drain well. Transfer pasta back to pan and cover to keep warm.

Cook the bacon in a large frying pan, stirring occasionally until the bacon is crispy. Stir in the mushrooms into the pan and continue to cook until softened. Add the cream and stir through with the rest of the ingredients.

Work quickly to combine the bacon mixture, hot pasta, eggs and cheese into the one saucepan.

Serve immediately with some extra parmesan shavings on top if desired.

Preparation time: 10 Minutes
Cooking time: 10 Minutes
Ready in: 15 Minutes
Feeds around 6-8 people (as a side dish)

Ingredients:

500 g pasta, preferably fusilli or farfalle
1 can of peas
1 can of carrots
1 can of corn
1 glass cornichons/gherkins
1 cup of miracle whip (Vegenaise for vegans, purchasable at Whole Foods)
1/3cup mustard (preferably Gulden’s Spicy Mustard)
Salt
Pepper

Cooking instructions:

Cook Pasta following instructions on package. Cut pickles and carrots into small pieces. Add pickles, carrots, corn, and peas into a big bowl. Add cooked pasta, Miracle Whip (or Vegenaise), mustard and salt and pepper (season to taste). Mix all the ingredients together. Serve directly or chill for about 30 minutes.

Preparation time: 10 Minutes
Cooking time: 30 Minutes
Ready in: 45 Minutes
Feeds around 6 people

Ingredients:

500 g of lasagna pasta (preferably ready for oven kind)
200 g of shredded cheese (soy cheese for vegans)
1 bunch of scallions
1 small onion
1 garlic clove
1 zucchini
1 small eggplant
1 red pepper
1 can of corn
1 can of peas and carrots
1 can of green beans
2 big cans of tomato paste
3 tomatoes
salt, pepper

Cooking instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Cut onions and garlic and sauté in a big pan with extra virgin olive oil. Cut pepper, zucchini, and eggplant into small pieces and sauté it together with the onion and garlic. Dice tomatoes. Mix tomato paste with water until smooth and add the tomatoes to it. Add to the pan and bring to a boil. Turn it down to low heat. Add corn, peas and carrots and green beans (cut) to pan. Cut scallions and add to the pan. Let it cook for approximately 8 minutes. Layer the mixture with lasagna noodles in a medium sized casserole and layer the top with shredded cheese. Bake the lasagna in the oven for 25 minutes or until the noodles are soft.

Ingredients:

9″ pie crust (unbaked)
2 tablespoons softened butter
1 pound zucchini (sliced)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1 cup ricotta
1/2 cup half/half cream
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Pepper and Paprika to taste

Instructions:

Score pie crust with a fork. Bake at 425 F for around five minutes. Lower the heat to 350 F.
Over medium heat, saute zucchini slices in the butter until cooked; drain. Use half the zucchini to line the crust. Sprinkle with mozzarella.
Mix ricotta, cream, eggs, salt, oregano, basil, garlic and pepper. Add over zucchini in crust. Add the rest of the zucchini on top. Season top with paprika. Bake for forty five minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

Ingredients:

15 ounces Ricotta cheese
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach (thaw and drain)
2 cups Mozzarella cheese (shredded)
3 cups Fresh Mushroom Italian Sauce
6 uncooked lasagna noodles
1/4 cup water

Instructions:

Combine the Ricotta cheese with the spinach and the Mozzarella.
Spread only one cup of the pasta sauce in a baking dish (shallow, two quarts). Lay three lasagna noodles on top and half of the spinach mixture. Repeat these layers. Use the remaining pasta sauce on top. Slowly pour water around inside edges of baking dish. Cover for baking.
Bake at 400 F for forty minutes. Uncover and sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese on top. Bake for an additional ten minutes or until hot. Let stand ten minutes.

Ingredients

1/2 cup of cornstarch
4 tablespoons of corn oil
1 lb of firm tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 cup of snow peas, sliced
1/2 cup of mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
12 shrimp, rinsed and deveined
1 small red pepper, sliced
1/4 cup of sweet and sour sauce
Cooking Instructions

Cut the tofu into 1 inch cubes. Add the cornstarch into a pan and coat the tofu on all sides so its evenly coated.

Heat half of the corn oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot enough add the prepared tofu and cook until brown. Be careful not to overcook the tofu because it browns very easily. When cooked transfer the tofu to a bowl and set aside.

Add the remaining corn oil to the pan and add the onions, snow peas, mushrooms, carrot, and pepper. Continue to saute over a medium heat until the vegetables have softened, which will take about 10 minutes, and the add the shrimp and cook for a further 5 minutes, until shrimps turns a light pink color.

Combine the vinegar, sweet and sour sauce in a small cup and add the sauce mixture over the tofu, and continue to cook for a few more minutes so the tofu absorbs all the flavor.

Serve immediately on its own or with some steamed rice.