May Recipes Week 1

Mel- Homemade Pizza and Salad

1 ½ lbs. Claro's fresh pizza dough	Olive oil
2 cup pizza sauce	pepperoni
3 cloves garlic minced	Pepper to taste
Claro's Grated Romano Cheese	Dry Oregano
½ lb. mozzarella cheese grated on large hole of grater	2 or 3 links Claro's Italian sausage, casings removed

Oil a 16" pizza pan with some olive oil. Roll the fresh dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is a little larger than the pizza pan. Ease it gently onto the pan and pat it into place. Rub some more olive oil on top of the dough. Top with the pizza sauce, sausage, peperoni, garlic and spices. Bake at 400 º until lightly browned. Be sure to put it on the lowest rack in the oven. When it is half done, lightly golden, put the mozzarella & romano cheeses on top and continue baking until done.

To cook sausage take out of casing and either brown like ground meat or slice and cook until no pink.

KITCHEN HINT: The handling of Claro's Fresh Pizza Dough.....

We make fresh dough in all of our stores. It only takes 10 minutes and there is nothing like pizza made with fresh dough. Pizza dough can be kept under refrigeration for about 2 days. When you open the bag and it will sometimes smell slightly like wine, that's normal. It can be frozen, but I only recommend freezing the dough if you have no choice. When you are ready to use the dough, cut it into pieces appropriate for the pizza pan that you will be using, 1 lb. of dough fits a 12" pan nicely. Work the dough into a ball and place it on a cookie sheet lightly dusted with flour. Flour the top of the ball and cover lightly with saran or a dishtowel and place in a fairly warm place and allow to double in size. When rolling, carefully flatten ball with hands and roll lightly with rolling pin until slightly larger than pizza pan. If when rolling dough you have a problem with it shrinking back to much, you need to let it rest more before rolling it out. Your patience will pay off with a light airy pizza crust. Place rolled out dough on oiled pizza pan and top with all your favorites.

Amanda-Pork Fried Rice & Egg Rolls

5 TBS vegetable oil or olive oil 3 eggs lightly beaten 6 tablespoons + 1/2 TBS soy sauce 3 garlic clove green onions Pork carrots 1 1/2 cups frozen peas 6 cups cooked brown rice (about 3/4 uncooked rice) 6 TBS rice vinegar In wok or large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tbs oil over high. In a bowl lightly beat eggs with 1/2 TBS of soy sauce. Add eggs to wok and swirl to coat bottom of pan. Cook, without stirring, until almost set. Then fold together and transfer to work surface. Cut in 1/2 inch pieces. Add 3 tbs of oil to pan ans swirl to coat. Add garlic and green onions and cook stirring constantly until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add pork, carrots, peas and cooked rice. Stir to combine. Add cooked egg and 6 tbs of soy sauce and vinegar and cook, stirring constantly, until rice is coated, about 1 minute. Let cook undisturbed until warm, about 1 min. Cook egg rolls in oven according to packaged directions.

Lu- Nacho Supreme

Nachos Supreme - Brown ground beef then add taco seasoning and ¼ cup of water. Lay chips out in a single layer on cookie sheet. Top with ground beef and add grated cheese. Bake in oven on 400 degrees until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and add chopped tomatoes and avocadoes. Dip in sour cream, salsa or refried beans.

Warm refried beans on stovetop and top with cheese. Eat as a side or as a dip with chips.

I am throwing in a jar of applesauce for the kiddos.

Leah-Steak Chili and cornbread

Chili with Steak (provided, just need to heat it up)
Cheddar Cheese
Sour Cream
green onions

Cornbread mix: follow directions on package. You'll need milk and one egg....I'm not sending these because I'm assuming we all have eggs and milk on hand. If you don't just send me an e-mail and I'll include them for you =)

April Swap II

Amanda-BBQ Chicken quarters, baked beans, corn

Brine:

• 2 quarts water
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed with the side of a large knife
• 6 chicken legs and thighs, still connected, bone in, skin on, about 10 ounces each

Directions

For the brine, in a mixing bowl combine the water, salt, sugar, garlic, and thyme. Transfer the brine to a 2-gallon sized re-sealable plastic bag. Add the chicken, close the bag and refrigerate 2 hours (if you've only got 15 minutes, that's fine) to allow the salt and seasonings to penetrate the chicken.

Preheat oven 375 degrees F.

Preheat a grill pan or an outdoor gas or charcoal barbecue to a medium heat. Take a few paper towels and fold them several times to make a thick square. Blot a small amount of oil (or use spray) on the paper towel and carefully and quickly wipe the hot grates of the grill to make a nonstick surface. Take the chicken out of the brine, pat it dry on paper towels. Arrange the chicken pieces on the preheated grill and cook, turn once mid-way, and cook for a total of 10 minutes. Transfer the grill marked chicken to a cookie sheet and then place in the oven. Cook the chicken for 15 minutes, remove it from the oven and then brush liberally, coating every inch of the legs with the barbecue sauce and then return to the oven for 25 to 30 more minutes, basting the chicken for a second time half way through remaining cooking time. Serve with extra sauce.

Just heat the baked beans and cook the corn on the cob as directed on package.

Lu-Grilled Chicken breast with Mediterranean Grain Salad

The chicken breasts are marinated and ready to grill (or brown on the stovetop in a skillet and finish baking in the oven).

½ pkg of Traders Joe’s Harvest Grain Blend (premeasured for you)

1 c. diced tomatoes

½ c. fresh basil chopped

1/3 c diced green onions

1 Tbs. Red Wine Vinegar

2 Tbs. Olive Oil

1oz. crumbled feta

coarse salt and pepper

Bring 1 ¾ c. water to a boil (or chicken broth). Add a tsp . of olive oil and stir in grains. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 mins. Remove from heat and let cool. Add the above ingredients and toss.

Leah-Beef Stroganoff with egg noodles and broccoli

Beef tenderloin strips

sliced mushrooms

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 onion

2 T butter

brown sugar

1 T white flour

sour cream

Egg noodles

Broccoli

Heat a heavy skillet on high for 2 minutes. Add t tsp oil and swirl the pan to coat. Add the mushrooms and cook over high heat without stirring for 30 seconds, then continue cooking, shaking the pan a few occasionally until the mushrooms have browned lightly, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and transfer them to a mixing bowl.

Return the pan to high heat, add another tsp of oil and swirl to coat the pan. Place the tenderloin strips in the pan in a single layer taking care that the strips are not touching. Sear them without turning until the meat is well browned on one side, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Turn the strips and sear the other sides until well browned, about a minute more. Season the meat with salt and transfer to the bowl with the mushrooms. You may need to split the meat up into 2 batches depending on the size of your pan.

Return the pan to high heat and add 1/4 cup chicken broth to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon or whisk. Simmer and reduce the sauce so it thickens a bit. Pour sauce over mushrooms and beef.

Return the pan to medium heat and add the butter, When it is foamy add the onion and brown sugar. Cook, stirring frequently until the onion is browned, about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour and mix well. Using a whisk, add the remaining chicken broth and mix vigorously until thickened. Add any juices from the bowl of beef and mushrooms. Spoon about 1/2 cup of the hot sauce into a bowl with the sour cream and mix well. Then take the sour cream and pour back into the pan. Mix well. Add the beef and mushrooms. Serve over noodles (directions on package)

Steam broccoli and season to taste.

Mel-Chicken Soft Tacos and Fruit

marrinated chicken

lettuce

Tomato

Cheese

Avocado

Tortillas

Beans

sour cream

Grill or bake chicken. Cut into strips and assemble tacos to your liking.