Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Veggie's

As an effort to eat more veggies, this dish was a hit! I am a balsamic vinegar lover. This stuff makes my mouth water just thinking about it. I think I fell in love with B.V. while working at Romano's Macaroni Grill back in Texas. Their bread is super yummy and tastes even better when dipped in a balsamic vinegar and olive oil mix.



Servings: 5-6
The ingredients needed:
· 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
· bunch asparagus, ends trimmed, cut in half
· 3 red bell peppers
· 2-3 zucchini cut in half and then quartered
· 2 red onions, chopped in large chunks
· 1 package sliced mushrooms
· 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
· 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
· 1 tsp sugar
· salt and pepper
· 3 tbsp fresh rosemary
· 2 cloves garlic, smashed and sliced
· 2 tbsp oregano or thyme
· 4 leaves fresh sage, chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Mix the balsamic vinegar, olive oil and all of the spices in a bowl and stir.
3. You'll need two pans(I used a large disposable pan for the veggies and a 9x13 dish for the chicken.)
4. Wash and dry the chicken well with a paper towel and place in a dish. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the chicken.
5. Combine all the veggies together and using your hands and arrange in a very large roasting pan. All ingredients should be spread out in a single layer.
6. Pour the spice mixture over the chicken and veggies, enough to cover it all.
7. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes.
8. Enjoy! I know I did.

Balsamic, Honey and Garlic Asparagus

These are so good and very easy to make.

Ingredients: (half of a large bunch of asparagus; double if using a large amount)

extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoonds balsamic vinegar

kosher salt

Directions:

1. Boil water in a large pot.

2.Wash and break the asparagus.

3. Once boiling, add the asparagus and and boil for 5 min.

4. While it's boiling, take a large bowl and fill with water and ice.

5. When asparagus is finished, place it in the cold water, this entire process is called blanching.

6. Either dump the water out of the large pot or take a skillet and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil in it.

7.Place the asparagus in the pot.

8. Add the honey and balsamic vinegar and salt.

9. Saute asparagus for about 3 min.

10. Serve and enjoy!

Macaroni Salad

This is one of our favorites.

2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked

1 cup mayo

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1/2 cup finely chopped carrots

1 hard-boiled egg, chopped

1/4 cup onion, minced

2 TB relish

3/4 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

dash of paprika



Cook the macaroni according to packaged directions.



Once macaroni is cooked, add all of the ingredients into a bowl and stir well.



Serves 4-6

Stuffed Green Peppers

6-9 peppers (depending on how large they are)

1 ½ to 2 pounds ground beef (or ground turkey)

2-3 cups cooked rice

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped onion

½ green pepper, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 (12oz) jars of chili sauce

2-3 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. black pepper

2 eggs

2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut each green pepper in half and remove seeds. Microwave 4 halves at a time for 1:42 each in a Tupperware container with 1 cup of water.

In a large pot, cook the ground beef. Once cooked, add the onions, garlic and celery and sauté until onions and celery are tender. Allow to cool(so the eggs don’t cook).

Mix 1 and a half jars of the chili sauce, salt, pepper, eggs and rice with the beef.

Fill each pepper half with the beef mixture and place them in a baking dish. Pour 1/2" water into the baking dish.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 min.

Then, add shredded cheddar cheese on the top of each pepper half and bake an additional 15 min.

*We like to put a little bit of the left over chili sauce on the peppers once served.*

Meatballs in Onion Gravy

3 pound ground beef

6 slices bread

3 eggs

1 1/4 cup milk

3 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3 tsp tarragon

3 envelopes of dry onion soup mix

6 cups hot water

flour

oil


Combine all of the ingredients except for the dry onion soup mix.

Pour some oil into a skillet and heat on medium high.

Shape into meatballs(larger than normal), roll in flour and brown in hot skillet.

Remove the meatballs. Take a large pot and dissolve soup mix in 6 cups hot water.

Add the meatballs and cover. Simmer on low for 20 minutes.

Remove meatballs and thicken to make a gravy.

If you need to, half the recipe and this goes great with some mashed potatoes and a salad.