Eggplant Parmesan

1 eggplant
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 can French's fried onions or crispy onion straws (sold in salad topping section)
Mozzarella cheese
4 cheese Italian blend (optional)

Begin a pot of boiling, salted water. Using veggie peeler, remove skin from the eggplant. Cut stem pieces off. Cube the vegetable and add to boiling water. Cook at least 10 minutes, test a piece to make sure it is softened. Drain well.

Using a potato masher, mash the cooked eggplant, give it a tiny sprinkle of kosher salt and spread in a casserole dish.
Next layer some crispy onions, followed by a jar of marinara sauce. Grate mozzarella over entire dish. Sprinkle 4 cheese Italian blend over all. Finish it off with crispy onions.

Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes or until top begins to turn golden.

I made this tonight for dinner and it is so delicious. Best of luck!

Xo, Ryan

Green Chile

I've got roasted green chiles for days, this green chile is so amazing.  I shared it last year on my dear friend's blog here.  Her blog has lots of really good recipes.  So, if you're lucky enough to get some fresh green chiles, try this out.  

Lorenz's Roasted Green Chile

-Ingredients for Boil-

-2 Cups Green Chiles (Roasted Preferably- Hatch's chilies even better)

-2 Cups Chicken Broth

-3 Cups Water

-1 LB Pork Shoulder- bone-in preferred (Cut into 1 inch cubes)

* I used thin cut pork loin chops because they are lean and easy

-1 Cup Diced White Onion

-1 1/2 Cup Diced Fresh Tomatillos 

-3 Garlic Cloves (Fresh peeled preferred and smashed flat with knife)

-teaspoon cumin, paprika

-dash of pepper, cayenne, oregano

-tablespoon of salt

*I added a heaping spoonful of diced jalapenos plus the liquid from a can.

-Thickener- (Optional) Use only if chile is too runny for your liking.

-1 Teaspoon of Corn Starch

-1/4 Cup water

-Directions-

Combine all ingredients for chile in large stock pot or crock pot, except onions and pork. Sear pork in hot oiled pan till all pieces are browned. Take pork from pan and throw into pot. Take onions and throw into the same pan with fat from the browned pork. Cook onions till soft and translucent. Throw onions into pot. Heat pot with all ingredients till they boil then lower heat till there is a nice low simmer. Cook for 3 hours minimum. Cook for up to 10 hours if time allows.

When ready to eat take half of the contents and blend in food processor. Return to pot and salt to your liking. (Fine without being blended if you don't have food processor.)

If you want a thicker chile make a corn starch slurry by whisking the corn starch with water. Then add to the the pot slowly until it is completely absorbed into the chile.

Finish each bowl of chile with as much garnish cheese, sour cream, and cilantro as you would like.

xo, Ryan 

http://coxforever.blogspot.com/

Baked New Potatoes

• Red Potatoes
• Olive Oil
• Salt

Wash and cut new red potatoes into smaller pieces.  Place in bowl.  Coat with olive oil and kosher salt (larger salt crystals).  Spread on cookie sheet and bake in 400 degree oven for 30 minutes until outside is crisp and a little browned and the inside is tender.

Zucchini Bread

• 2 cups sugar
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups zucchini

Mix and make into 2-3 loaves.  Bake for 60 minutes at 350 degrees.

September Theme: GARDEN VEGETABLES

Hi Friends!  It's time for another month of great recipes!  This month we are exploring GARDEN VEGETABLES.  Do you have a great recipe for the mounds of zucchini or piles of corn?  Let us know how you mix it up and use those yummy vegetables.

Black Bean Dip

1 can black beans, drained

1 can corn, drained

2 avocados, diced

garlic salt to taste

Stir all ingredients in a bowl and serve with tortilla chips.  I have to refrain from eating the entire bowl in one sitting, it is SO GOOD!  

xo, Ryan

Sour Sammies

• Bologna


• Pickles


• Mustard (opt)

Wrap a slice of bologna around a pickle strip.  Mustard optional.

Cinnamon Apples

• Apples


• Cinnamon


• Sugar

Cut apples in half, core but not clear through.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or cinnamon candies.  Microwave on high 2-3 minutes.

Apple "Seeds"

• Apples


• Peanut Butter


• Raisins

Slice apple wedges, spread with peanut butter, dot with raisins.

Welcome Back!

Hey Friends! Dinner Dilemma is up and running again after some technical difficulties. Feel free to share recipes so that we can all spice up our cookbooks. We look forward to seeing what you make at your house!

Bacon Wrapped Jalepeno Poppers

These are phenomenal and SO easy! Brian and I used to go to a pizza place in Cedar City, UT that made some similar to these. We went home and tried a few things before we found the

winning combination...

You'll Need

Fresh Jalapenos 

(each jalapeno makes 2 poppers, so however many you think you'll need)

Block Cream Cheese, (1 block to every 15 or so jalapenos)

Thin Sliced Bacon, (1 strip per popper)

Wooden Toothpicks to hold bacon in place

Apricot Preserves and Blue Cheese Dressing for dipping!

The Process 

Start by washing and halving your jalapenos the long way, (being careful to take as little meat from the jalapeno as possible) cut the stem off too.  Scrap out seeds inside jalapeno- these are kickin', but if you want even more spice you can leave a couple seeds in there.  I completely seed mine and rinse for good measure.  Set jalapeno halves aside.

Soften cream cheese to make it easy to spread, and a small amount of salt into your cream cheese if your a salt lover (which I am). Remember the bacon will add a bit of salt also.  Using a knife, or I prefer the back of a spoon, fill the halves with cream cheese- don't worry about getting them perfectly level.

Wrap an entire slice of bacon around each popper. It's going to seem like too much bacon, but the bacon shrinks down a lot when it's cooked. Use a wooden toothpick to secure the ends, (you can also just carefully tuck both ends under in a jam but that way gets a bit sloppy when your plating and eating them).

You can either grill the poppers or bake them on a metal cooling rack set on to of a cookie sheet.  It takes about 15 minutes, but this is one you have to keep your eyes because it's different every time.  When the jalapeno has softened considerably and the bacon is no longer raw looking it's done (the bacon won't get crispy, but it will darken). 

   

I prefer the apricot preserves for dip (salty+spicy+sweet=YUM)

but my husband prefers a thick blue cheese dressing for his which is also fantastic.

 (I have a GREAT blue cheese dressing recipe that we use for this let me know if you want it)

Other than that, ENJOY and try not to eat every last one yourself!

Emily Waltz 

Quinoa with Black Beans & Cilantro

• Tbsp vegetable Oil
• 2 Cups chopped white onions
• 1 Cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 Cup Quinoa, rinsed, drained (usually in the gluten free section or at Sprouts it is by the other grains)
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 Cups water
• 15 oz can black beans, rinsed, drained
• 1/2 cup chopped, fresh cilantro, divided
• feta cheese (opt)
• avacado (opt)

Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and red pepper; sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in next 4 ingredients. Add water; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until quinoa is almost tender, about 17 minutes. Add beans and 1/4 cup cilantro; cook uncovered until heated through and liquid is fully absorbed, about 6 minutes. Transfer to bowl; sprinkle with 1/4 cup cilantro, cheese and avocado.

From: Sarah

Strawberry Almond Salad

6 cups fresh baby spinach
At least 1 cup sliced strawberries (add more to taste)
1/2 to 2/3 cup sliced honey-roasted almonds
1tbsp cider vinegar
1tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp sugar

combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds in a bowl. In a jar with a tight fitting lid, combine the vinegar, honey and sugar; shake well. Drizzle over salad and toss to coat.

From: Ryan Cox

Maine Potato Salad

8 red potatoes

Dressing:

4 T. olive oil

3 T. vinegar

2 tsp. salt

1/2 t. black pepper

Pinch of red pepper

1 tsp. dry mustard

2 T. chopped parsley

2 T. minced onion( I like to use green onion)

Cook potatoes, drain and cool enough to handle. Dice potatoes and pour dressing over them while warm. Refrigerate. Add a small amount( 1/4 c.) of mayonnaise to taste if you would like. Make a bed of lettuce on a serving platter and mound salad on top. Enjoy.

From: Heather Smith

Lion House Rolls

2 c. warm water

2/3 c. nonfat dry milk (instant or non-instant)

2 Tb yeast

¼ c. sugar

2 tsp salt

1/3 c. butter or shortening

1 egg

5 to 5 ½ c. all purpose or bread flour

Combine water and milk powder; stir until milk dissolves. Add yeast, then sugar, salt, butter, egg and 2 cups flour. Mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add 2 cups flour; mix on low speed until ingredients are wet, then on medium speed for 2 minutes. (Dough will be getting stiff and remaining flour may need to be mixed in by hand.) Add about ½ c. flour and mix again, by hand or mixer. Dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff. (A soft dough will produce a lighter roll. Add only enough flour to make a manageable dough.) Place dough in a greased bowl; turn to coat. Cover and let rise until double in size. Turn dough over on floured surface so that it is floured on both sides. Gently flatten to 1 inch thick, then roll into a 18x8 inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. Cut dough in half the long way, to make two 4 inch strips. Cut dough every two inches to make 18 rectangles of dough, about 2 inches x 4 inches each. (Sometimes when I roll out the dough it turns out larger than 18x8, in which case I just add another column when cutting the rolls; the point is, you should cut the dough into rectangles roughly 2x4 inches.) Starting with the short (2 inch) end, roll the dough up and place on greased baking pans with the short end down. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. Bake at 375° for 15 to 18 minutes or until browned. Brush with melted butter while hot. Makes 1 to 1 ½ dozen rolls. (Dough may be used for breadsticks as well – 375° for ~10 minutes.)

From: Brittany Buehler