Add a little pesto to your scrambled eggs, egg white omelet, or tofu scramble for a deliciously festive twist this St. Patrick’s Day! Good for breakfast –great for dinner! Life’s too short not to be Irish!

Serves 8-10

3 tablespoons of olive oil

4 small red potatoes, cup into small cubes

4 celery stalks with leaves, chopped

1/2 an onion, finely chopped

4 teaspoons of minced garlic

1 can roasted diced tomatoes

1 can diced tomatoes with diced chiles

1 can tomato paste

1 can rinsed and drained white beans

1, 16 0z jar of marinated mushrooms (optional)

2 cups of water

2 cups of vegetable stock

1 cup vodka

Sriracha Sauce to taste

2 tablespoons of horsradish

the juice of a lemon

cilantro, chopped

4 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

To begin, heat the olive oil on medium heat, add onions, garlic, and celery. Stir frequently for about 5 minutes.  Add 2 cups vegetable broth. Add both cans of tomatoes, tomato paste, and the white beans. Simmer about 15 minutes. Next, use a hand blender to puree the mixture, or blend in batches in a blender.

Back on medium-low heat add 2 cups of water, vodka, potatoes, french green beans, and drained (but not rinsed) marinated mushrooms.  Cook until the potatoes are soft. Add Sriracha Sauce to taste. Finish with horseradish and lemon juice. Drizzle  vodka and/or olive oil lightly to garnish. Serve with multigrain baguette.

This recipe is adapted from Rachael Ray’s Bloody Mary Stew

This Super Easy, Super Bowl Chili is the most delicious and versatile dish you’ll ever serve.  It’s simple to prepare which means you won’t be busy preparing it in the kitchen, missing the big play of the game –or heaven forbid you miss one of those million dollar commercials.  In fact, you can make this chili the night before and serve it in a slow cooker. It works great as a soup, stew, dip, burrito/wrap filling, on top of a veggie hot dog, baked potato, or sweet potato fries.  It’s the perfect way to feed your hungry Super Bowl guests. No matter how you serve it up, with cheese, sour cream, or corn bread, you’ll be sure to score!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

1/2 a medium sized onion

3 tbs minced garlic

1 (14.5 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes with jalapenos

1 jar (~14.5 oz.) salsa

1 can chili beans (mild, medium, or hot)

1 can kidney beans

1 can check peas or white beans (depending on your preference –pretty much any of your favorite beans will work well)

1/2 cup frozen corn

2 cups brown rice

1 tbs ground cumin

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp garam masala (optional)

1/4 tsp corriander (optional)

1/4 tsp cardamom (optional)

HOW TO PREPARE SUPER BOWL CHILI

Heat about 4 tbs of olive oil in a large wok-style skillet on medium high heat

chop onions and add them to the oil

add minced garlic

add spices and let cook on medium heat (careful not to burn the garlic) until the onions are soft and transparent(about 10 minutes)

add can of diced tomatoes

add chili beans

add rinsed and drained kidney beans and chickpeas

add frozen corn

cook on medium heat 20-30 minutes

serves 6-8 people

So inexpensive to buy and so easy to make –sweet potato fries will please everyone at your Super Bowl party.  You’ll need sweet potatoes –about 1 medium sized sweet potato for every 2 guests, olive oil, and salt (optional 1/2 tsp garam masala).

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Peel sweet potatoes, cut into strips.  Transfer sweet potato strips into a large Ziplock bag and drizzle olive oil over the strips, also add salt to taste, and garam masala if desired.  Shake the sealed bag until all the strips are coated and then spread the strips out on a cooking sheet. Cook about 10-15 minutes, flip fries and cook another 10-15 minutes, until golden brown.

For a delicious gourmet ketchup dipping sauce, add honey (1 part honey to every 4 parts ketchup) and a pinch of chili powder. Make these fries even more irresistible by adding some veggie chili or veggie sloppy joe on top.

My paternal Great-Grandma Demyan, Grandma Betty, and mom, Emily all made traditional Chicken Paprikash for me while I was growing up.  It’s a deliciously rich and creamy dish that’s perfect for a winter day.

When I gave up meat more than 20 years ago, I wasn’t going to give up my favorite family dishes.  So, I’ve made my own version that’s equally as delicious and satisfying as the original.

Now, whenever I crave it, I can go back to those snowy winter days where my boots were dripping wet in the breezeway, but my stomach was full with this sweet and creamy paprika stew.

BROTH

med onion, chopped

2 tbs paprika

1 tbs minced garlic

4 cups water

vegetable bouillon, 2 cubes

celery bunch, chopped, leaves included

16 oz sour cream (do not use fat free)

DUMPLINGS

3 eggs (organic, free range)

2  1/2 cups flour (unbleached)

2 tsp salt

2 tbs sour cream

TO MAKE BROTH

Cook chopped onion in butter, add 1 tbs minced garlic and 2 tbs paprika.  Cook until the onions are soft.  Add 4 cups water, 2 bouillon cubes, chopped celery (with leaves).  Simmer for about 30 minutes.  Use this time to make the dumplings.

TO MAKE THE DUMPLINGS

Bring 8-10 cups of water to boil in a sauce pan. In a mixer blend 3 eggs and 2  1/2 cups flour. Add 2 tsp salt and 2 tbs sour cream.  Once the water is boiling, one-by-one, spoon dumpling dough into the boiling water.  Dumplings should be about an inch long and a half an inch thick.  They will get bigger once they are boiled.  Boil the dumplings until they float.  Strain them from the water and then they’ll be added to the broth.

PREPARE THE CHICK’N PRODUCT

Many vegetarian chicken-type products exist. I recommend either Quorn Naked Chik’n Cutlets, or Gardein’s lightly seasoned Chick’n Scallopini for this recipe.  Defrost all 4 cutlets, chop into fine strips. You’ll add these to the broth towards the end.

BACK TO THE BROTH

After the broth has been simmering for about 30 minutes, use a hand blender, or blend in batches in a blender, until the broth is smooth. Take the broth off the heat.

Temper the sour cream by whisking some of the broth into the sour cream.  Whisk continuously as you add the broth to the sour cream (whisk in 1-2 cups of broth).  Then, whisk the sour cream mixture into the large pot of broth.  Whisk continuously until it is completed combined.  Next, add the drained dumplings and the strips of meat free chicken. Cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Yields 6-8 servings. Enjoy!

This is a healthy twist on the traditional Mexican Fried Ice Cream. Take a scoop of your favorite light vanilla ice cream, or frozen yogurt and roll it liberally in a honey crunch cereal. Top with drizzled honey and enjoy!

Try a new twist on an old favorite! Add honey roasted almonds or peanuts to candy corn for a delicious mix of sweet & salty!

To make your own, first coat your skillet with about 3 tablespoons of olive oil and “brown” the veggie crumbles.  Then, add a can of drained, rinsed kidney beans (or dry ones you’ve soaked over night). The beans will add some good-for-you fiber, protein, and  iron. Finally top off with your favorite Sloppy Joe Sauce. I use about 8 ounces of sauce since most sauces have a lot of sugar in them.  Serve as a sandwich, on top of sweet potato fries, in a wrap, or with tortilla chips as a delicious dip.