Fat Free Tartar Sauce

This is a wonderful creamy tartar sauce. Reduced fat mayonnaise can be substituted for the fat free mayonnaise.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 large green onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix together the mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish, green onion, and red wine vinegar. For best results, refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Thai Hot and Sour Soup

Packed with exotic flavor and spice, this simple chicken soup is an excellent starter to a Thai style dinner.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon tom yum paste
1/2 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 stalks lemon grass, chopped
2 kaffir lime leaves
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast
halves - shredded
4 ounces fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon chopped green chile pepper
1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped
1 sprig fresh basil, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Stir in the tom yum paste and garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves. Place the chicken in the saucepan, and cook 5 minutes, or until no longer pink and juices run clear.
2. Mix in the mushrooms. Add the fish sauce, lime juice, and green chile pepper. Continue cooking until well blended. Remove from heat, and serve warm with the coriander and basil.

Pressure Cooker Italian Chicken Soup

Using a pressure cooker to make this flavorful chicken soup speeds time cooking the pearl barley; a process that normally takes 1-2 hours can happen in 9 minutes. If you don't have a pressure cooker, use a heavy stockpot for stovetop cooking, add more stock, as some will cook away, and allow more cooking time.

INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons olive oil
4 Italian turkey sausage links, casings
removed
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup pearl barley
1 cup green lentils
1 bone-in chicken breast half, skin
removed
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 cups chicken stock
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo
beans), drained
1 (16 ounce) bag fresh spinach leaves,
chopped
1 cup mild salsa

DIRECTIONS:

1. heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a pressure cooker over medium heat. Add sausage meat, and cook until browned, breaking it into crumbles. Remove sausage to a plate and drain oil. Add another 1 teaspoon of olive oil to pressure cooker; cook onion and garlic until onion is transparent. Add barley and stir 1 minute. Return sausage to pressure cooker. Add lentils, chicken, parsley, and chicken stock to cooker, adding enough stock to completely cover chicken. Close cover securely; place pressure regulator on vent pipe. Bring pressure cooker to full pressure over high heat (this may take 15 minutes). Reduce heat to medium high; cook for 9 minutes. Pressure regulator should maintain a slow steady rocking motion; adjust heat if necessary.

2. Remove pressure cooker from heat; use quick-release following manufacturer's instructions or allow pressure to drop on its own. Open cooker and remove chicken; shred meat and return to soup. Add garbanzo beans, spinach and salsa; stir to blend and heat through before serving.

Summer Berry Parfait with Yogurt and Granola

This colorful and wholesome breakfast parfait is nice enough for company, and easy enough for everyday. This parfait is particularly attractive when served in a clear glass to show off the lovely layers.

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup sliced strawberries
3/4 cup blueberries
1 (6 ounce) container vanilla yogurt
1 tablespoon wheat germ
1/2 banana, sliced
1/3 cup granola

DIRECTIONS:
1. Layer 1/4 cup strawberries, 1/4 cup blueberries, 1/3 container yogurt, 1/3 tablespoon wheat germ, 1/3 of the sliced banana, and about 2 tablespoons of granola in a large bowl. Continue to build the parfait, repeating the layers until all of the ingredients are used completely.

Tequila Cocktail Sauce

This is a great cocktail sauce recipe straight from the heart of the Rockies (Aspen, Colorado), via Cape Cod. The tequila gives it a good kick! This recipe yields a large amount, you may want to half or quarter it.

INGREDIENTS:

6 cups ketchup
6 cups chili sauce
2 cups prepared horseradish
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup lemon juice
4 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
2 cups tequila
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, blend ketchup, chili sauce, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, hot pepper sauce, tequila, salt and pepper. Chill until ready to serve.

Seafood Cioppino

This is as good as any restaurant's version! Serve with rice and a nice salad.

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 fresh red chile pepper, seeded and
chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 pinch paprika
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 cup white wine
1 (10 ounce) can minced clams, drained
with juice reserved
25 mussels, cleaned and debearded
25 shrimp
10 ounces scallops
1 pound cod fillets, cubed

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil, and saute the onion, garlic, bell pepper, and chile pepper until tender. Add parsley, salt and pepper, basil, oregano, thyme, tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, paprika, cayenne pepper, and juice from the clams. Stir well, reduce heat, and simmer 1 to 2 hours, adding wine a little at a time.
2. About 10 minutes before serving, add clams, mussels, prawns, scallops, and cod. Turn the heat up slightly and stir. When the seafood is cooked through (the mussels will have opened, the prawns turned pink, and the cod will be flaky) serve your delicious cioppino.

Dried Tomatoes

Worth their weight in gold. Four pounds of tomatoes and a bit of salt produce a quart of these amazing dried tomatoes.

INGREDIENTS:

4 pounds tomatoes
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).
2. Wash and halve tomatoes. Gently squeeze out the seeds. Place the tomatoes on a non-stick cookie sheet, and sprinkle with salt to taste.
3. Bake until tomatoes take on a leathery texture. This could literally take all day; smaller pieces will require less oven time.