Sarah Reeder's dinner that "mint" a lot!

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

1 pkg orzo pasta

1 small jar of capers

1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped Kalamata olives

1/2 cup chopped peppers (assorted colors)

1/2 cup chopped cucumber

pesto and red wine vinegar to taste

roasted chicken (optional)

feta or Parmesan cheese to taste

Boil pasta al dente.  Run under cold water to stop the cooking process

Place all ingredients in a bowl and toss together

Chill  1 hour and serve

Chimichurri (green stuff that I put on the steak)

1 bunch parsley

1 bunch cilantro

1/2 jalapeno (no seeds)

1 shallot

4 cloves of garlic

1 tsp of each: Cumin, Salt & Pepper

Juice of 1 lime

Splash of red wine vinegar

3/4 cup olive oil

Take all ingredients and put in a food processer

Process till chunky

Lower speed and gradually add the olive oil until consistency of salsa  

*No need to refrigerate if serving immediately

*If refrigerating give an hour to allow the chimichurri to come to room temperature 

Michelle Thurber's Faux Pho Night

*****Next time I would double the sauce and make sure the meat had a higher fat content.  I used the ground pork from Harmon's and it was too lean.

crockpot sweet and tangy asian meatballs

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

2 hours 25 mins

Total time

2 hours 45 mins

Author: Jo

Serves: 6

ingredients

For Meatballs

• 2 lbs ground pork
• ½ cup green onions, chopped, about 6 or 8 green onions
• 4 cloves garlic, minced 
   Coupons
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp ginger, freshly grated
• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper to taste
• sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

For Sauce

• ⅔ cup Hoisin sauce
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp ginger, freshly grated
• 1 tbsp Sriracha sauce
• freshly ground pepper

Crockpot Sweet and Tangy Asian Meatballs - Jo Cooks

Cheater Pho Noodle Soup 
(I just used rotisserie chicken in the soup)

Couples Night- Meat and Potatoes

HAM AND CABBAGE POTATO GRATIN

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 2 cups deli ham (thinly sliced) or chopped bacon 

• 1/2 head green cabbage (cored and sliced 1/2-inch thick) (or Savoy cabbage is better)

1 onion sliced

• 2 cloves garlic (minced)

• 1/2 cup chives (finely sliced)

• 1/2 cup parsley (finely chopped)

• 2 pounds russet potatoes (peeled and sliced 1/8-inch thick)

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1 teaspoon paprika

dash of nutmeg

• 2 cups gruyere or Parmesan (shredded and divided) 

directions

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Butter a large 8x8-inch baking.

Place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon butter. Add the ham (or don't do butter and do bacon instead) and cook until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and add remaining 1 tablespoon butter (or cook cabbage in some of the bacon grease). Add cabbage, garlic, and onion, season with Kosher salt and cook until the cabbage has wilted, about 7-8 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the ham back in with the herbs. Allow to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, add the potatoes, cream, paprika and 1 1/2 cups of the gruyere. Season with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix to combine. Add half of the potato mixture in an even layer. Spread all of the cabbage mixture on top and top with remaining potato mixture. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese evenly on top of the potatoes. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Then remove the foil and continue to bake another 20 minutes, until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Garnish with chopped chives if desired.

Helpful tip: do not hold the potatoes in water after slicing. This will remove too much starch before cooking.

Broiled Feta Appetizer (recipe found HERE)
*I doubled the amount of tomatoes for this recipe

Carmel Apple Pretzel Salad (recipe found Here)
*For the pretzel/pecan topping, I found that it needed to bake longer than 7min, I'd try 10 or 11min.  Also I'm not sure that it really needs that much butter?  It was really greasy - not dry and crumbly like her pictures show on the website.
*I also think she was way off on the #of apples, I think one recipe can easily handle 5 apples

Pork Sandwiches with 
Cilantro Lime Pesto:
1 C. Mayo
1 C. chopped cilantro
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. fresh Lime juice
1/2 tsp. cumin
Combine in food processor and serve on rolls with a package of shredded cabbage, Smoked Pulled Pork (Kirkland brand pork), and your favorite barbecue sauce.


Here's my ice cream recipe.  For gourmet group, I added 1 T coconut extract instead of the vanilla and of course, no raspberries. 

Krumkake (Norwegian Cookies)

Whisk together:
6 eggs
1 cup milk

Add:
1-3/4 cup sugar
2-2/3 cup flour
1-1/2 teaspoon Cardamom

Add:
¾ cup melted butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla
a sprinkle of Nutmeg

Cook in the Pizelle  Maker – then form into a cone shape while still warm.

Delicious when filled with fruit and whipped cream.

Soup and Lyon,French Salad Night by Kristi Williams

Dessert:  Brownie Bombe!
Click Here for the recipe!

St. Patricks Green Dinner by Michelle Beattie

Appetizers:


Green Fruit Kabobs with Green Jello Dip

Reuben Sliders

Italian Night by Kymberly Burgess

Appetizer:
Strawberry Balsamic baguette slices 
1 cup strawberries, hulled and diced 1 tbsp. sugar 1 French baguette, sliced on a bias 4 oz. goat cheese 1 tbsp. olive oil 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar ¼ cup minced basil leaves Freshly ground black pepper

Combine the strawberries and sugar in a small bowl; toss to combine. Let the berries macerate for about 10 minutes so that they begin to release their juices. Spread a thin layer of goat cheese on top of each baguette slice. Top each slice with the strawberries. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Top each slice with the basil leaves and cracked pepper, to taste.

Goat Cheese, Prosciutto and Fig Jam 
1 fresh baguette 1/8 cup olive oil sea salt or kosher salt 4 ounces goat cheese, plain, at room temperature 6 tablespoons fig jam 3 slices prosciutto, each cut in half 6 fresh basil leaves Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Slice six 1/2-inch slices of bread from the baguette. Place on a baking sheet and brush generously with the olive oil. Sprinkle a little salt on each slice. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until crisp and not yet turning golden. Watch that they do not burn. Remove from oven and cool slightly. This makes the bread very chewy and crunchy, you can skip this step if you prefer a softer bread appetizer. Spread some goat cheese on each, then spread about a tablespoon of fig jam on top of the goat cheese. Fold the half slices of prosciutto and place on top, add fresh basil leaf on each and serve.

Bee’s Salad 
Bag of Spring mix lettuce blend
Strawberries
Sections of peeled cuties/mandarin oranges
Sliced or diced Avocados
Red Grapefruit slices, skinned
Sprinkled Feta Cheese
Sliced Almonds
Bottle of Balsamic Salad Dressing

I also made InstantPot Mashed Potatoes by washing & dicing a 5 lb bag of red potatoes, add to cooker with 1 cup of water and some salt. Manual cook for 12 minutes, then steam release and add milk, butter, garlic salt, sour cream, cream cheese, pepper and more salt - whatever you like to make your potatoes super creamy. 😉 These were served under the Artichoke Mushroom Chicken

ARTICHOKE MUSHROOM CHICKEN 

4-6 Chicken breast halves 

1 c marinated artichoke hearts 

1 16oz can diced or crushed tomatoes 

8oz mushrooms, sliced or quartered 

2-4 cloves garlic minced 

1 tsp oregano 

1 tsp basil 

1 tsp salt 

½ tsp pepper 

¼ red cooking wine 

In large skillet or cast-iron pan, heat a little bit of olive oil and brown chicken. I usually will dredge the chicken in flour first then brown over medium to medium high heat. Season with salt/pepper while cooking. Once browned but not cooked all the way through, remove from pan and add mushrooms and garlic for a sauté until they are golden. Add the remainder of ingredients and cook for 5 mins, place the chicken back in the pan and cover with a lid to simmer over medium low heat for 20 mins until the chicken is cooked through. Can serve with fresh parmesan over mashed potatoes or pasta.

Dessert:

Easy Italian Layer Swap Chocolate Cake 

· 1 package chocolate cake mix – use a really chocolatey mix 

· 2 lbs ricotta cheese 

· 4 eggs 

· 3/4 cup sugar 

· 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 

· 1 (3.4 ounce) package of instant chocolate pudding 

· 1 cup cold milk 

· 16 oz. frozen whipped topping (such as Cool Whip), thawed 

Instructions 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 9x13 inch pan with nonstick spray. 

2. In a large bowl, mix together cake mix according to the directions on the box. 

3. In another bowl, mix together ricotta cheese, eggs, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. 

4. Pour the cake batter into the baking dish, fill the pan evenly. 

5. Carefully pour the cheese mixture evenly over the top of the cake batter. Spread to cover cake as best you can (the layers will switch during baking). 

6. Bake the cake for 1 hour. 

7. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting. 

8. To make frosting, mix together pudding mix and milk with a whisk until combined. Carefully fold the cool whip into the pudding until combined. 

9. Spread mixture on top of cooled cake and cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving.

strawberry cream puffs with chocolate ganache. 

 http://ourbestbites.com/2016/02/chocolate-covered-strawberry-cream-puffs/

Jennie Russon

Shrimp Salad
Dessert: Australian Pavlova with Berries and Cream