Tuna Alla Puttanesca

2 cans tuna drained and flaked
2 cups dry bow tie pasta
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1 small red onion, chopped
1 can (14oz) diced tomatoes in juice
1 cup white cooking wine
3 tablespoon capers. drained
1 tablespoon chopped Rosemary
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
salt to taste
2 tablespoon Italian parsley
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Prepare pasta meanwhile place oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and saute for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and juice, wine, capers, rosemary and pepper to onions and garlic. Raise heat to high heat and cook for 3-4 min or until the sauce thickens slightly. Salt to taste. Add tuna and pasta to sauce,stir to combine. Stir in parsley. Spoon onto plates and garnish each serving with cheese.  Serves 6.

Turkey Burgers

1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/2  cup diced green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped onion or 4 green onions
1 garlic clove, minced
1 egg white

Combine all ingredients in small bowl and mix until well combined. Form into patties 1/2 inch thick. Grill patties  turning once for 12-14 min or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees and no longer pink in the center.
Put on toasted buns with mayo, lettuce and tomatoes.

Shepherd's Salad

3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
2 cucumbers seeded and chopped
1 bunch parsley, leaves picked not chopped
1/2 cup halved black olives
1/2 small red onion, chopped
2 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 tablespoon lemon juice
4 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
8 ounce feta cheese diced

Toss all ingredients minus feta. Let sit at room temperature up to one hour. Toss in feta cheese just before serving. Adjust seasoning if necessary

Eggplant Parmesan

1 medium eggplant sliced
1 egg beaten with 2 tablepoons milk
 Dried Italian bread crumbs
Olive oil
24 ounce jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
 Pinch of  dried oregano
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1/2 pound shredded  mozzarella
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice washed eggplant 1/2 inch thick.  Place egg mixture and breadcrumbs each in a shallow bowl. Dip slices into the egg mixture and then into the bread crumbs, coat well. Grease a cookie sheet with olive oil. Arrange each slice of coated eggplant in one layer on the cookie sheet and drizzle each piece with olive oil. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. Check that the slices are golden brown, turn them and bake for another 15 min. When done they should be browned on both sides. Set aside.
In saucepan mix sauce,garlic and oregano to taste and warm through, In baking dish arrange browned eggplant slices in 1 layer. Spread 2 tablespoons of sauce on each slice. Layer each eggplant with mozzarella and sauce until all is used. Top with Parmesan cheese and bake fore about 20 min. Serve hot.




This is a great recipe to introduce eggplant.It is good with all the sauce and cheese and I loved the aroma that the eggplant gave off as it was cooking.

Orange Chicken

Sauce
1 1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice                                                  
1/3 cup rice vinegar                                                                   
2 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped green onions

1-2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoon water or more as needed

Chicken
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil (optional)

Pour 1 1/2 cup water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar and soy sauce into saucepan and set over med/high heat. Stir in orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and onion. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat cool 10-15 min.
Place chicken pieces into resealable plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled pour one cup of sauce in bag reserving the remaining sauce. Seal the bag and put in fridge for at least 2 hours. Once chilled fill another plastic bag with flour, salt and pepper. Place chicken pieces in bag and shake to coat. Heat oils in wok over medium heat add  floured chicken pieces. Cook until brown on each side. Remove from wok and put in  small casserole dish and keep warm in a warm oven while making the sauce. Add sauce to wok and bring to a boil. Meanwhile combine cornstarch and water. Once sauce is boiling turn down the heat and add the cornstarch. Let simmer for 5 min. If sauce is not thick enough mix and add more cornstarch mixture till it reaches desired thickness. When sauce is done pour over chicken. Serve over rice.

Great with a side of broccoli or stir fried vegetables (red pepper, green pepper, water chestnuts, baby corn)

*This recipe needs a little time planning ahead due to the marinating time.
I love orange chicken when we go out to eat but it is usually too spicy. This one is not spicy at all and has a great orange taste. If you like a little spice add some red pepper flakes to the sauce to give it some heat.

The best meal planning sheet

I devote at least one afternoon to planning meals. I usually end up with three different lists. One listing my meals for the week. One for the ingredients needed for those dishes and one made to restock my pantry. I end up taking all those lists to make one big shopping list for the store. It was kinda crazy so when I found this list in the Jan 2011 issue of Real Simple magazine I ripped it out and copied it several times. It has been a lifesaver. Easy to plan and shop for the meals, I mean all you do is have to go down the list in each category! It is also great for keeping record of the meals that we had and what weeks.
You can go here to download your own copy. I made a couple of changes to fit my schedule. I don't commit the meals to certain days because some days I feel like an easier recipes and some days I feel like cooking so I leave the day blank to give me more freedom. It is just nice to have my meals and my shopping list in one. Thought I would share. I think meal planning the hardest part of cooking so something to make it all easier is nice.
A example of my list.

Macaroni Salad

2 cups uncooked shell macaroni
2 cups frozen peas
2 cups finely, diced celery
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 shallot*, thinly sliced
1 cup mayonaise
3 tablespoons evaporated milk or half and half
salt and ground pepper
fresh dill, chopped to taste

Cook macaroni. Drain and rinse and transfer to large bowl. Thaw peas and drain well add to macaroni, Add celery, green onions, shallot, mayonnaise, evaporated milk to macaroni and peas. Add fresh dill, salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve. This tastes the best if chilled for at least an hour.


*1/4 cup red onion can be substituted for the shallots. We love onions so I usually do both the shallots and red onion.

To make it a Tuna Macaroni salad add 1-2 cans drained and flaked tuna when adding the onions and such.
With or without the tuna this salad is great on rolls as a sandwich. Serves 8.

Tuna and White Bean Salad

5 oz canned Tuna, drained and flaked
1 garlic clove, minced or 1 tsp of garlic paste
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 red bell pepper, cubed
1/4 cup chopper red onion
fresh basil, chopped to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste
Lemon zest
 Mince garlic and mash to a paste with the back of a spoon. Mix garlic paste with lemon juice, salt and pepper and slowly whisk in olive oil. Toss red pepper, onion, and beans together. Break apart tuna and mix into bean mixture. Add dressing and toss well. Add basil just before serving.
I put this on top of lettuce but would also be great in a wrap or a pita. I used what I had vegetable wise when I first made it using tomatoes and green onions in place of red pepper and red onion it was still tasty.


recipe from  http://www.tunathewonderfish.com/cookbook/ where they have a more fun Tuna recipes.