Poisonous Green Beans?

I remember years ago, someone telling me that raw green beans were poisonous. I don't remember if I was ever able to figure out if that was true, or not, but I've always liked them raw and snappy and sweet. Last night, I did saute them before serving them to my family. These were a spicy version spiked with salt and pepper...and red pepper flakes.

Chicken Wraps

Stretching two chicken breasts into dinner for the family with this chicken wraps. I cooked the chicken in a non-stick skillet with maybe a teaspoon of peanut oil, and a generous sprinkling of a mixture of paprika, a little brown sugar, pepper and seasoned salt - almost a "blackened" chicken. Put slices of the chicken breast on warm tortillas and top with shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, sliced green onions, lettuce and ranch dressing.

Swedish Meatballs - Homemade

The main offering at the New Year's Eve party we attended at the Helppie's house. Sharon did homemade Swedish meatballs - and I hadn't seen these served up at a party in years. Homemade means the meat is packed more loosely and soaks up more of the gravy. And they were perfectly cooked, not overcooked.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Putting leftover chicken to use - chicken salad sandwiches. This version has chopped onions and celery mixed with mayo and diced chicken. I added diced, dried apricots to part of the mixture for my sandwich. Pecans are a perfect addition, but I had none handy last night.

Rigatoni Kick

My family has been a rigatoni kick for a couple of days. I top it with homemade sauce I keep on hand on the freezer - usually for spaghetti. Rigatoni definitely has more "bite" to it than simple spaghetti noodles.

Baked Seafood Dip

This is a variation on a recipe I believe came from Paula Deen. It's a baked seafood dip. Saute one small onion and one bell pepper in a little bit of butter. Mix in a separate bowl shredded king crab, salad shrimp, about a 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, celery salt, white pepper, one clove of minced garlic, 1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese and heavy cream. I added enough cream to cover everything and then stirred in the sauteed vegetables. Bake at 325 until brown and bubbly and serve with toasted pieces of baguette, or crackers.

Puff Pastry Chicken "Pot Pie"

Lunch at the Brick Oven Bistro over the weekend. This was one of the specials: puff pastry chicken "pot pie." Chicken and vegetables in a cream sauce layered before puff pastry. This food made me happy!