Chicken Fajita Marinade

1/4 cup beer
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
salt to taste
Directions
1.To prepare the marinade, stir together beer, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, cilantro, cumin, and salt; mix well.
2.To use marinade, pour into a resealable plastic bag, add up to 1 1/2 pounds of chicken breast, and mix until chicken is well coated. Marinate for 1 to 3 hours in the refrigerator.

Scooter’s Spaghetti

Scooter’s Spaghetti

Ingredients
8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
1 pound ground beef
1 large can spaghetti sauce (26.5 ounces)
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped green peppers (I usually omit or substitute red peppers)
1/3 cup chopped onions
8 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons milk
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
French Fried Onions (small can)
Directions
Cook spaghetti according to directions on the package. Cook to al dente, drain and set aside.
Brown ground beef. Drain excess grease. Add spaghetti sauce to skillet and heat.
Combine onions, peppers and butter in small glass bowl. Cover and microwave 4 minutes on HIGH until soft.
Add cream cheese and milk to vegetables and stir well.
Using a 10 x 6 dish, assemble in the following order:
Thin layer of meat sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish.
Spaghetti
Cream cheese/vegetable mixture
Spaghetti sauce
Parmesan Cheese (amount subject to your own taste)
French Fried Onions (added during last 5 minutes of cooking)
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Top with French Fried onion and continue baking 5 more minutes. (This is the secret ingredient–don’t let them burn.)
Notes
Make this ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze without the French Fried onions. Don’t forget to add them 5 minutes before casserole is finished cooking.

Italian Potato Casserole

Italian Potato Casserole Recipe

4-6 ServingsPrep: 15 min. Bake: 30 min.15 30 45 Ingredients
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
3 cups mashed potatoes
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped green pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
Directions
In a skillet, cook sausage until no longer pink; drain. Place in a greased 9-in. square baking dish. Top with potatoes. In the same skillet, saute onion, green pepper and garlic in oil for 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
Stir in the mushrooms, tomatoes, olives, basil, salt and pepper. Spoon over potatoes to within 1 in. of edge of dish. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and parsley on top. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Crash Hot Potatoes

Ingredients
■12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
■3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
■Kosher Salt To Taste
■Black Pepper To Taste
■Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste
Preparation Instructions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.

On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.

With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.

Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Parmesan Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients

• 1 clove garlic, minced


• 1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup or 1/4 pound), melted


• 1 cup dried bread crumbs


• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or 2/3 cup if you are using a Microplane zester)


• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt


• A large pinch of Italian seasoning (herb mix)


• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper


• 2 lbs of skinless, boneless, chicken meat, cut into pieces no larger than 2x2 inches

Prep Time: 15 minutes - Cook Time: 20 minutes

1 Preheat oven to 450°F. Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels.

2 In a bowl, combine the minced garlic with the melted butter. In another bowl mix together the bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, salt, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Dip chicken pieces into garlic butter, then into crumb mixture to coat.

3 Place coated chicken pieces on to a 9x13 baking dish. Try to leave a little room between each piece. Drizzle with remaining garlic butter and bake uncovered 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Note that the chicken will get much more browned on the bottom side than on the top.

Pork Schnitzel

Ingredients

• 4 boneless pork chops (1 pound total), 1/2 inch thick
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt (Spike or Lawrey's, or just substitute plain salt)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 3/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs or panko
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 3 Tbsp canola oil, grapeseed oil, or olive oil
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill or 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream (full fat)

Method

1 Use a meat hammer to pound the pork cutlets to 1/4-1/8 inch thickness. Cut small slits around the edges of the cutlets to prevent curling.

2 Set out 3 shallow bowls. One with a mixture of the flour, seasoned salt, and pepper. The second with the egg and milk whisked together. The third with a mixture of the bread crumbs (or panko) and paprika.

3 Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Dredge the cutlets first in the seasoned flour, then dip the cutlets in the egg mixture, and then into the mixture of bread crumbs and paprika.

4 Working in batches, sauté the cutlets for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove the cutlets from the skillet and cover with foil or place in a warm oven to keep warm.

5 Add the chicken stock into the skillet to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen the brown bits. In a small bowl mix the dill and salt into the sour cream. Stir the sour cream mixture into the chicken stock. Heat and stir until mixture thickens (do not let boil).

Serve the cutlets with the sauce, and lemon slices if you like. Serves 4.

Sausage-Fontina Strata

• 12 ounce(s) sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 6 large eggs
• 2 cup(s) reduced-fat (2%) milk
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) coarsely ground black pepper
• 8 slice(s) firm white sandwich bread toasted
• 6 ounce(s) mozzarella cheese shredded
• 1/4 cup(s) (loosely packed) fresh parsley leaves, chopped

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Directions

1. Grease 8" by 8" glass or 1 1/2-quart ceramic shallow baking dish. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook sausage on medium 13 to 14 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally and breaking up sausage with side of spoon. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
2. Meanwhile, in 4-cup liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, with wire whisk, beat eggs, milk, salt, and pepper until well blended.
3. Arrange 4 slices bread in bottom of prepared baking dish, cutting slices to fit if necessary. Sprinkle with half of mozzarella and all the sausage. Cover with remaining bread. Slowly pour egg mixture over bread; press bread down to help it absorb egg mixture. Top with remaining mozzarella. Let strata stand at room temperature 15 minutes, or cover and refrigerate overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. bake strata 40 minutes or until puffed and golden and tip of knife inserted in center comes out clean. (If strata is refrigerated overnight, uncover and bake 50 minutes.) Let stand at least 10 minutes to set custard before serving. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Italian Meat Balls

1 lb. ground beef or chuck
1/2 lb. seasoned bread crumbs (5 slices)
1/2 cups grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon each onion powder, garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon each salt, pepper
1 tablespoons finely minced garlic (fresh)
2 whole cloves garlic
olive oil, to fill a skillet 1/2" deep

Combine ground meat, bread or bread crumbs, grated cheese, minced parsley and lightly beaten eggs (add eggs one at a time while stirring ingredients together). Sprinkle with minced garlic, olive oil and seasonings, then mix well until everything is combined. A chopped onion or chopped and seeded sweet bell pepper may be optionally added in for a variation.

Form meat mixture into meatballs, using an ice cream scoop or your hands, pressing lightly, just enough so that meat holds together, but not so much that the meat is very compressed or the meatballs will be tough and dry.

In a heavy skillet, heat olive oil over medium low heat. Add whole garlic cloves. Turn the garlic cloves to color them on all sides, then when lightly roasted, press them into the oil; as they brown, remove them (more can be added). This is done while the meatballs are being browned.

As soon as the oil is hot, add the meatballs to the skillet, leaving about 1 1/2" between them so that they can be easily turned. Turn them often using a spatula or large spoon so that they don't stick. Make sure there is enough oil in the pan (about 1/2"). You don't need extra virgin olive oil for this, any good quality Italian olive oil will do. When the meatballs are browned well on all sides, remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Then add the next batch to the pan and continue until all are cooked.

If you're impatient, the meatballs may be transferred to a cookie sheet in a 375°F degree oven after they've browned but before they are fully cooked inside, to finish off cooking in the oven. While the half finished meatballs are baking, you can continue using the skillet to start browning the next batch.

This mixture can also be used as a lasagna or ravioli filling, or stuffed into a calzone and baked.

Easy Peasy Tortellini

1 lb of Italian Sausage, removed from casing (I used 4 Cheese Italian Sausage!)
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 can of Peeled Whole Tomato's (Crush & tear them apart with your hands)
1 jar Marinara sauce
1 lb of cheese Tortellini (family size pack of fresh pasta- in the refrigerated section)
pinch of sugar
Red pepper flakes
Salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

1) First, remove the sausage from the casing. Just make a slit with your knife along the sausage link and peel the casing away.

2) Brown and break up the sausage in a large, deep skillet. Once it’s brown, add your onion. Cook your onion and sausage mixture over medium heat until the onions are translucent.

3) Add a couple shakes of red pepper flakes. This is optional, but it really added something to it. I just did two small shakes- basically a pinch.

4) Add your can of tomatoes. Only put in half of the juice. Cook these down for about five minutes or so.

5) Add your jarred marinara sauce. Stir well to combine and season. I always add a pinch of sugar to my tomato sauces to cut the acidity of the tomatoes- it really helps. You probably won’t need any Italian seasoning since the sausage and marinara are all seasoned that way, but use your discretion. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

6) Cover. Once everything came up to a boil over medium heat, I turned it on low heat and let it simmer for an hour. Simmering for that long is not a necessary step if you’re in a hurry (just five minutes simmering would work fine), but it really helps the flavors meld together.

7) When you’re ready to eat, cook your tortellini according to the package instructions. Then, toss together your tortellini and sauce. For me, it was the perfect sauce/ pasta ratio because I like enough sauce to dip my bread into.

(Thanks to Jessica from The Southern Belle Blog for this Delish recipe!)