Fresh Berry Cinnamon Raisin Swirl French Toast

Ingredients:

For toast:
1. 6-10 slices of Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Toast
2. 4 Eggs
3. Vanilla (about two teaspoons)
4. Cinnamon (A couple of dashes)
5. 1/4 cup of milk

Berry jam:
1. 1/4 cup of fresh raspberries
2. 1/4 cup of fresh blackberries
3. 1/2 cup of strawberry jam

4. Maple syrup

Instructions:
1. Mix eggs, vanilla, milk, and cinnamon in a separate bowl and set aside.
2. Place toast in above mixture allowing it to soak for at least ten minutes.
3. Squeeze berries into jam and mix.
4. Pan fry toast until golden brown.
5. Dribble berry mix over plated toast.
6. Add maple syrup and enjoy!

Cranberry Brown Sugar Flaky Baked Brie

This is a spin off of the traditional baked Brie using phyllo dough for a lighter and flakier sensation! Thanks to Kim for the inspiration!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of dried cranberries
1 small wheel of baked brie
Phyllo dough (about a dozen sheets)
1/2 cup of melted butter

Directions:
1. Defrost phyllo dough
2. Preheat oven on 350 degrees
3. Butter a quiche or similar type pan and set aside
4. Layer sheets of phyllo dough buttering in between each sheet and place on the pan
5. Place wheel of cheese in center on top of dough
6. Cover cheese generously with brown sugar and cranberries
7. Fold over dough to cover/wrap the cheese
8. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes on 350 degrees
9. Serve with crackers and enjoy!

Make it a panini night!

I credit this idea to my friend Colette.

Ingredients:
Your favorite sliced bread
A variety of cheeses: Gorgonzola, mozzarella, cheddar, Gouda, etc.
A variety of meats: sliced turkey, crab meat, pepperoni, ham, etc.
A variety of vegetables: spinach, sliced red onion, sliced squash, etc.
Panini maker

Directions:
1. Heat up panini maker
2. Pick ingredients and slap between bread
3. Place on panini maker, toast, and enjoy!

Triple Trifle Strawberry Tiramisu

Ingredients:
Sliced strawberries
Crumbled graham crackers
1 cup of espresso (or dark coffee)
Chocolate and white chocolate bar (shaved)
2 tubs of mascarpone cheese (8 oz each or one 17 oz)
Sugar
Trifle bowl

Directions:
1. Mix mascarpone cheese with espresso, but saving about 3 teaspoons of the espresso for later use.
2. Add sugar to taste (about 1-2 cups). Set aside.
3. Layer bottom of trifle bowl with crumbled graham crackers.
4. Place strawberry slices on the edge of the bowl.
5. Add lawyer of espresso flavored mascarpone cheese mix.
6. Continue to layer as desired.
7. End with a layer of mascarpone cheese mix.
8. Shave chocolate and white chocolate on top to decorate as desired.

Honey Soy Skirt Steak

Very simple yet very tasty!

Ingredients:
Skirt Steak
Soy Sauce
Honey
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
1. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the steak, set aside.
2. Heat pan with a dash of olive oil.
3. Place steak onto pan and drizzle a generous amount of honey over steak.
4. Add a tablespoon of soy sauce over the same side of the steak.
5. Repeat on other side of the steak: flip steak and drizzle honey and a tablespoon of soy sauce.
7. Cook until desired temperature
Optional: Serve over rice or with a side of vegetables

Lily's Quiche

Thanks to Lily for teaching me how to make this delicious quiche.

Ingredients:
1 frozen pie crust (I prefer Pillsbury)
1 /2 cup of diced chunks of ham
1/4 cup of diced onions
1/4 cup of sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 bag of pre-washed spinach
4 eggs beaten, set aside in bowl

Directions:
Preheat oven at 400 degrees.

1. Take pie crust and layer bottom with mozzarella cheese.
2. Add almost half of egg mix.
3. Add spinach, ham, mushrooms, onion, and a bit of cheese evenly and layered.
4. Add the rest of the egg and then layer the top with the rest of the cheese.
5. Place into oven. Turning down about 10 degrees every 10 minutes stopping at 275 degrees.
6. Cook until a nice light brown color (takes about 20-30 minutes)
7. Take out and allow quiche to cool before serving.

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:
2 cups of butternut squash chopped
1 can of chicken broth
1 cup of chopped chicken
1 tablespoon of green onions chopped
Salt to taste

Directions:
1. Boil chicken broth
2. Add butternut squash and chicken.
3. Bring to a boil and then turn heat down to low-medium
3. Simmer until it squash is soft
4. Add salt to taste
5. Add green onion

Light & Savory Turkey Lasagna

Ingredients:
Spicy Italian Turkey Sausage (sliced, about 2-3 links)
Ground turkey (about 1 pound)
Low-fat ricotta cheese
Low-fat mozzarella cheese
1 cup of chopped onions
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
Lasagna pasta
Your favorite marinara sauce

Directions:
1. In a large pot, boil water and cook lasagna, set aside.
2. In a non-stick frying pan, grill chopped onions and garlic until brown
3. Add sliced sausages and ground turkey and fry stirring occasionally
4. In a large glass oven pan, spray with olive oil or butter to prevent sticking
5. Remove cooked pasta and layer bottom of pan to cover entire pan
6. Add cooked meat mixture, marinara sauce, mozzarella, and ricotta cheese layering and flattening it out as evenly as possible.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until you reach the desired thickness ending with lasagna pasta on top
8. Cover pan with foil
9. Bake for about 30 minutes until cheese is melted

Smoked Gouda Grilled Onion Gourmet Burger

Ingredients: (for two burgers)
2 beef patties (lean beef or turkey can also be used)
4 potato bread hamburger buns (toasted)
Smoked Gouda Cheese
Onions
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Mustard
Mayonnaise

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan
2. Slice or chop onion (about half of an onion) and place into pan stirring occasionally on medium heat
3. Cook onions for at least 10 minutes to caramelize them, put aside
4. Cook one side of beef patties (turn at last minute)
5. Place Gouda cheese on top and cook the other side of the patty (turn down temperature if needed)
6. Place onions, patty (with cheese), lettuce, tomatoes, mustard, mayonnaise, and another other ingredients you like inside buns.

Spicy Lemongrass Chicken

A traditional Vietnamese dish...
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon of Sriracha Chili Garlic Sauce
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
2 tablespoons of minced onion
2 tablespoons of minced lemongrass (frozen okay)
1 teaspoon of olive oil
4 cups of chopped chicken

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan.
2. Add garlic, onion and satay until light brown.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemongrass. Stir.
4. Add fish sauce and chicken. Stir.
5. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemongrass. Stir.
6. Add 1 teaspoon of chili garlic sauce (add more if you like it spicier).
7. Cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked.
8. Serve over rice.

Shitake Japanese Style Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
1 cup of snow peas
1 cup of diced carrots
1-2 cups of sliced shitake mushrooms (purchased dried and then soaked)
1/2 cup of diced tofu
1 small filet of your favorite fish sliced (Tilapia or Catfish recommended)
1/2 a cup of minced green onions
1/2 a cup of minced cilantro
Noodles enough for 2-4 (whole wheat or regular spaghetti, soba, or udon noodles can be used. To measure enough for one, grip nickle-size width amount of noodles in hand)
2 small cans of chicken broth
Kikkoman Memi Noodle Soup Base or Soy Sauce (to taste)

Directions:
1. In a small pot, boil water to cook noodles.
2. In a separate pot, boil both cans of broth.
3. Add carrots, snow peas, shitake mushrooms, tofu, and fish. Bring to a boil.
4. Add Kikkoman Memi Noodle soup base or soy sauce to the taste. Add water if you want to dilute the soup or if it's too salty.
5. After noodles are done, place a small amount into a bowl and add the minced green onions and minced clilatro.
6. Add soup mixture over noodles and serve. (Serves 3-4)

Note: this soup can be made vegetarian style by removing fish and using only vegetable broth.

Quick and Fresh Salsa

Ingredients:
3 small tomatoes or 2 large
1/4 of a red onion
1-2 tablespoons of cilantro
Half or whole jalapeno
1 lime
Tortilla chips
salt and pepper (optional)

Directions:
1. Throw first 4 ingredients into a food processor and chop/grind
2. Squeeze half a lime into mixture and stir evenly
3. Add salt and pepper if desired
4. Serve with tortilla chips

Light and Simple Crab Cakes

Ingredients:
About 6 oz of lump crab meat
1 tablespoon of finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon of finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon of light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon of melted butter
2 dashes of paprika
2 dashes of cayenne pepper
2 dashes of Kosher salt
1 dash of parsley
1 dash of bay leaves
2 pieces of bread toasted and minced
1 egg

Directions:
1. Mix all above ingredients together evenly (careful not to break up crab too much)
2. Take mixture and form cakes with hands
3. Refrigerate for about 1 hour, or until firm (this will make it less likely to break apart)
4. Heat olive oil in non-stick pan and pan fry. Turn only once.
5. Serve with tartar sauce and/or lemons.

Note: I highly recommend this recipe as it is one of my favorites so far!

Carmelized Sweet Onion Cubed Beef

Ingredients:
2-3 cups of steak, cubed
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 an onion chopped
Olive oil
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of garlic
2 tablespoons of soy sauce

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a pan
2. Cook garlic for about 5 minutes
3. Add onions and cook until lightly brown on low heat
4. Add sugar, soy sauce, and steak and cook to your liking

Apricot Cranberry Glazed Porkchops

Ingredients:
Kosher Salt
Dried Cranberries (a couple dozen)
1 Jar of Apricot Jelly or Speadable fruit
Garlic Powder
Center cut Pork loin chops (thin cut)
Olive Oil

Directions:
1. Sprinkle each side of chops with Kosher salt and garlic powder.
2. Spread apricot jelly on one side.
3. In a non-stick pan, heat oil and sprinkled cranberries onto pan.
4. Place chops jelly side down onto the cranberries. Continue to spread the jelly on the other side of the chops.
5. Flip and then add the rest of the cranberries.
6. Cook until sauce is reduced into a glaze and chops are done.

10 Minute Spicy Kung Pao Chicken

Ingredients:
3 cups of chopped or sliced chicken (chicken thighs, breasts, or tofu can be used)
2 teaspoons of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of Sriracha Chili Garlic Sauce
3 tablespoons of Lee Kum Kee Vegetarian Stir Fry Sauce
3 tablespoons of Kikkoman Stir Fry Sauce

Directions:
1. In a non-stick frying pan heat up sesame oil
2. Add garlic and cook until light brown
3. Add chicken and both stir fry sauces and stir evenly
4. Add chili garlic sauce and cook until chicken is cooked thoroughly
5. More chili garlic sauce can be added if you prefer extra spicy
6. Serve over rice

Healthy Vietnamese Chicken and Shrimp Spring Rolls

Ingredients:
1 dozen uncooked shrimp (peeled and deviened)
2 chicken breasts or 3 chicken thighs
4 leaves of Romaine lettuce
Cucumber slices (sliced long ways about 3-5 inches)
5 mint leaves (remove leaves from stem)
Spring Roll wrappers
For dipping sauce: 1 small bottle of Hoisin sauce (Lee Kum Kee Panda brand recommended), 1 small bottle of Sweet Chili Sauce (Mae Ply brand recommended)

Directions:
1. Boil chicken and shrimp separately until cooked. Drain and set aside to cool.
2. After chicken and shrimp cools, slice chicken in pieces of 3-4 inches. Slice shrimp in half (not in the center but along the side). Set aside.
2. Wash romaine lettuce, cucumber slices and mint leaves. Set aside.
3. Dunk spring roll wrappers in a large bowl of water until wet and set on a plate.
4. Take 3 pieces of sliced shrimp and place on one side of the spring roll.
5. Add a few small pieces of lettuce, cucumber slices, mint leaves, and chicken.
6. Roll carefully keeping everything in place. About half way through the roll, fold edges down and finish the roll.
7. Make more rolls until ingredients are out. This should make about 6-8 rolls.
8. For sauce: mix 2 tablespoons of sweet chili sauce and 1 tablespoon of hoisin sauce. Mix thoroughly.
9. Dip and enjoy!

Sweet & Creamy Tropical Fruit Cocktail Desert

Ingredients:
1 20 oz can of Jackfruit in syrup
1 20 oz can of lychees in syrup
1 20 oz can of coconut jelly in syrup
3-4 tablespoons of tapioca powder (often found next to section with flour)
1 small can of sliced chestnuts (I believe it is 227g)
Red food coloring
1 carton of half and half
1 carton of non-fat milk

Directions:
1. Strain jackfruit, lycheese and coconut jelly, but saving and pouring the syrup in a large bowl (like a glass salad or cocktail bowl).
2. Chop jackfruit and lychees into bite-size pieces and add fruit to the large bowl of syrup.
3. Add cream and milk into fruit/syrup bowl to a desired taste. I use about 4 cups of cream and 5 cups of milk. Set aside.

(This part below can be optional)

4. Strain sliced chestnuts (dumping the water).
5. Chop chestnuts into very small bite-size pieces and place in a bowl. Pat the chestnuts dry with napkins.
6. Add about 4 drops of red food coloring (a little goes a long way) and coat until chestnuts are evenly red.
7. Add about 3 tablespoons of tapioca powder until chestnuts are evenly and generously covered in the powder. (add more if needed)
8. In a small pot, boil water.
9. Pour the chestnuts into the boiling water and cook for 10 minutes.
10. Remove pot from stove and strain chestnuts just to remove the water.
11. Add the tapioca covered chestnuts and add to fruit/syrup/milk bowl. Stir with a spoon to separate the tapioca covered chestnuts. (These are to mimic pomegranate seeds)

12. Chill and serve.

Vietnamese Style Oxtail Soup

Ingredients:
1 tray of oxtail soup (typically with about 8-12 pieces)
2 Chayote squashes peeled and chunked
2 Daikons peeled and chunked
2 Carrots peeled and chunked
1 can of chicken broth
Salt or fish sauce (seasoned to the taste)

Directions:
1. Boil 1 can of chicken broth and 2 cups of water in a large pot
2. Add oxtail and lower heat to a simmer (add water if needed to cover oxtails)
3. Allow pot to simmer with lid closed until oxtail is SOFT (this will take at least 2 hours)
4. After 1.5 hours of simmering the oxtails, add the vegetables and close the lid (continuing the simmering process).
5. After meats and vegetables are soft, season with salt or fish sauce to taste.

Vietnamese Stir Fried Shrimp Cakes and Squash

Ingredients:
6 squash cut into medallions
8 peeled shrimp
3 teaspoons of Vegeta gourmet seasoning
1 teaspoon of olive oil

Directions:
1. Grind 1 teaspoon of Vegeta seasoning and shrimps in a food processor
2. Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan
3. Cook squash for about 10 minutes, add 2 teaspoons of vegeta seasoning
4. When squash is slightly soft, add spooonfuls of shrimp mix
5. Add more Vegeta seasoning to taste