I didn’t thing I like eating out of a lettuce cups, but this is great stuff. Larb is a classic meat in a lettuce cups. Serve it warm or at room temperature! Oh and what away to impress your friends; it looks very professional on the plate.
Prep: 40 min. Serves: 4

For the dressing;
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1 to 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 Tbsp. honey

For the Larb;
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
3 small shallots, thinly sliced
1 4-inch piece lemongrass, minced
1 Thai Chile, thinly sliced
salt
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
pepper
1 head butter lettuce, leaves separated
sticky white rice, for serving

1. Make the dressing; in a small bowl, whisk the line juice, lemon juice, fish sauce and honey, Set aside.
2. Make the Larb; In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, shallots, lemongrass, Chile, and salt to taste, Cook until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add turkey and season with salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the meat and vegetables are cooked though, about 5 minutes. Add the dressing tp the pan and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat, sir in the mint. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Spoon the turkey mixture onto the lettuce leaves and arrange on a serving platter. Serve with sticky rice.
ENJOY!!

Prep: 35 min. Serves 8

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 fat leeks, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
8 oz. baby spinach, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper
1 15 oz. container ricotta cheese
3 large eggs
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup halved pitted Kalamata olives
All-purpose flour, for rolling
1 sheet frozen puff pasty, thawed in the refrigerator

1. In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the leaks and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, 5 minutes. Add garlic, stir and cook about 1 minute. Add spinach and cook until wilted and tender, 2 minutes. Remove from heat, taste and season with salt and pepper as needed; let cool.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the ricotta, 2 eggs, thyme, 1/2 tsp. salt. Fold the cooled vegetable mixture and the olives into the ricotta mixture.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry until it’s 12 inches square. Using a 12 inch plate or just eyeballing it, cut the dough into a circle ( knead the scraps into ball and save for another use. Transfer the dough to a parchment lined baking sheet, Spoon the tart filling into the center, leaving a 2 inch border of pastry. Lift the pastry edges and fold over the filling, creasing the dough as needed and leaving the filling exposed in the middle. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining egg with 1 tsp. water and brush a thin layer of the egg wash on the exposed pastry, taking care not to let egg run down the sides to pan.
4 Bake until pastry is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving.
ENJOY!!
Here is mine! I added sausage and artichokes, Greek olives to the mix. We really enjoy this and it was fun to make and change it up to what we like.

Prep: 1 hour Serves: 4 to 6
For the sauce;
4 large cloves garlic, smashed
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1/4 Tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 Tsp. ground allspice
Salt and Pepper
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

For the Ribs:
2 4-to-5 pound racks pork spareribs

1. Make the sauce: Combine the garlic, chili powder, cayenne, allspice, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper in a bowl. Whisk the ketchup, 1 cup water, the vinegar, mustard, molasses, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce in a separate bowl.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic mixture and cook, stirring, until the oil turns brick red, about 1 minute. Add the ketchup mixture and bring to a gentle simmer; cook, whisking occasionally, 30 minutes.
3. Make the ribs; ( If you can soak 1 heaping cup hickory mesquite or apple chips in water, at least 30 minutes) This just add favor to the meat.  Or prepare the grill for indirect cooking over medium-low heat (250); On the  gas grill, turn on only one side of the burners. Cover the grate on the cooler side of the grill with aluminum foil. Close the grill lid.
4. Position the ribs on a cutting board, meat-side down. Slip a small knife between the bones and membrane, then gently pull off the membrane. Sprinkle the racks with 1 tsp. each salt and black pepper on both sides.
5. Know if you are using the wood chips, drain the wood chips. For a gas grill, put the chips in a smoker box and position over direct heat.
6. Put the ribs meat-side up on the foil on the cooler side of the grill. Close the grill lid; bring up the temperature back up and cook the ribs, undisturbed, 3 hours.
7. Remove the ribs and close the lid. Wrap each rack tightly in foil, then return to cooler side of the grill, meat-side down; close the lid and grill 2 more hours.
8. Remove the ribs and carefully unwrap. Return to the cooler side of the grill, meat-side up, basting generously with sauce halfway through, until the meat is tender, about 1 hour. Remove the rack and let rest a few minutes before slicing. Serve with the remaining sauce.
I know it sounds like a lot of work but the taste absolutely out of this world! ENJOY!!

Prep: 25 min. Makes: 8 small sliders

8 whole-wheat slider buns
12 oz.. cremini mushrooms, cut into 1/4 inch slices
3 green onions
2 garlic cloves
1 ( 15oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
3/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
1 egg white
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tomato, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
some lettuce
1. The best way to do this is in a blender. Add chop onions, garlic; process all until finely chopped. Add mushrooms and black beans; plus 4 to 5 times. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; stir in breadcrumbs, lemon juice, cumin, salt, pepper and egg white. Divide bean mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 3/4 inch patties.
2. Heat skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tsp. oil; swirl to cover. Add 4 patties; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned.
3. Place sliders on the buns ( I toasted mine). Add the tomato, lettuces and slice red onion.

Walk on the wild side with fun and funky sandwich suppers. We made burgers, grilled cheese and other roasted vegetable for our dinners. I’m not much of a vegetarian, but I love these black bean burgers! Missing meat once a week is a very good choice. More veggies and beans are ok for us. Give it a try, you will like it, they are delicious. Enjoy!!

2 to 4 boneless pork chops
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 ground black pepper
2 oz. prosciutto thinly sliced ( 6 slices)
Cooking spray

For mine salsa I used cantaloupe, red pepper which provides a little sweet and heat contrast to the pork.
Combine 1 cup diced cantaloupe,
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/4 cup chopped red onion
3 Tbsp. chopped mint
1 Tbsp. chopped seeded jalapeno
1 tsp. line juice
1/4 tsp. salt
Place all this in a bowl and chill for 1 hour.

1. Preheat indoor grill or outside to med-high heat.
2. Pat pork chops dry with paper towels.
3. Sprinkle pork evenly with salt and pepper. Wrap pork chops with Prosciutto, with slices slightly overlapping.
4. Place pork on the grill 18 minutes turning occasionally to brown on all sides. Enjoy!!

I served my pork chops with roasted potatoes! Enjoy!!

I made Artichoke Spinach Lasagna this time. It was a big hit in our house. We didn’t have much left over for the freezer, but I managed to get at least two small pieces to eat for another day! Any veggies are good to use, eggplant, zucchini, and broccoli. Use your imagination and you will be very surprise.

Here is mine:
9 uncooked lasagna noodles, ( I cooked mine.)
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 ( 14.5 oz.) can vegetable broth
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1 (14 oz.) can marinated artichoke hearts, drained, chopped
1 (10 oz.) package fresh spinach, chopped
1 (28 oz. ) jar tomato pasta sauce
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 (4 oz.) garlic feta, crumbled
1 cup of fresh ricotta

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salt water to a boil. Add noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

3. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium-high, Sauté onion and garlic for 3 minutes, or until tender. Sir in the broth; bring to a boil, Sir in artichoke hearts and spinach; reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Sir in pasta sauce.
4. Spread 1/4 of the artichoke mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish; top with 3 cook noodles. Sprinkle 2/4 cup mozzarella cheese over noodles. Also spoon three to four of the ricotta cheese. Repeat layers 2 more times, ending with artichoke mixture and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle crumbled feta on top.

5. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

This is sooo good! You can freeze this for up to 6 months if you place the lasagna in a sealed plastic bag. I always double bag my lasagna so no air will get into the bag. When you are ready to eat it again take it out and defrost and heat up in the oven at 250 degrees (you don’t want it dry) so add a little sauce it ok. Also add more cheese!!
ENJOY!!

Prep: 35 min. Serves:4
Total: 35 minutes

I used spinach, but you can use Kale or Swiss Chard,  all taste just has good!

12 oz. rigatoni
2 Tbsps. oilive oil
12 oz. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed, crumbled
4 Tbsps. butter
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bag of spinach
1 Tbsp. flour
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook as directed.
2. Heat the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium high heat. Add the sausages and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon; set aside.
3. Wipe the skillet clean; add the butter and melt over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until slightly softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring until combined, 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Add the milk to the spinach mixture and bring to a boil; cook 1 minutes. Sit in the sausage, parmesan, and a pinch of pepper. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 6 minutes.

5. Add pasta to the pot and toss. When plating add more cheese because you can. Enjoy!!