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Ingredients 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice 1/4 cup oil (vegetable or canola oil) 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 medium onion, finely diced 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp chili powder 1/3 cup tomato sauce 2 teaspoons tomato bouillon granulated, or cubes (or 1 tbsp ketchup) 2 teaspoon salt 1 carrot, diced small 1/2 cup peas (frozen or fresh) 3 cups water 1-3 whole serrano peppers, optional Instructions In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the oil. Once hot, add the rice and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the rice is lightly golden brown all over (about 10 minutes) Add tomato sauce, garlic, diced onion, cumin, and chili powder to the pan. Stir. Add tomato bullion, salt, carrots, peas, and water (and serrano peppers, if using. They add a little flavor, but not spice.) Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and cook for about 20 minutes or until the water is completely absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork Taste test. Spruce up with more salt, pepper, and cholula as necessary

Ingredients 2 tablespoon Olive Oil 1 cup Onion diced 5 cloves Garlic minced 4 fresh roma tomatoes diced 4 Celery Stalks chopped 4 Carrots chopped 2 small Zucchini chopped 1/2 cup elbow macaroni pasta or similar 32 ounces vegetable or chicken Broth 1 can White Kidney Beans 15oz, drained 2 cups Spinach chopped (can substitute kale but leave out the stems) 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated or shredded Parsley chopped, to garnish (optional) 2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning, more to taste 1 teaspoon Salt, to taste 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper crushed, to taste 1 teaspoon Paprika, to taste Instructions Start the instant pot in SAUTE mode with olive oil. Add diced onions and minced garlic. Stir and Saute for 2 minutes. Add diced tomatoes and chopped celery, carrots and zucchini. Add in the italian seasoning, salt, pepper and paprika. Stir another minute or so to mix well. Add in the pasta, vegetable broth and white kidney beans. Stir it all up. Make sure the pasta is under the broth. Press Cancel and close lid with vent in sealing position. Set to SOUP setting (high pressure) for 6 minutes. It will take a while to hit pressure and temp. 6 min starts AFTER that FYI. When 6 minutes are up and instant pot beeps, release the pressure. Stir in the chopped spinach and let it sit for 5 minutes. Stir in. Garnish with parmesan cheese (optional) and minestrone soup is ready to serve.

Ingredients Broth: 2 cm fresh ginger, finely grated 2 green onions, minced 1.5 cups water 2 tbsp miso paste (either white or red, dealers choice) 2 tbsp peanut butter no sugar added (or almond or similar, get unsweetened if possible) Noodles: 1 packet ramen, or equivalent in rice noodles, or soba or udon or whatever available For serving: 1 sheet nori (seaweed) 1 red chili, finely sliced (or red chili flakes work fine) 2 tbsp fresh coriander (or 1-2 tbsp ground coriander works) 2 tsp black or white sesame seeds Instructions Cook the noodles separate as per package. Then place in serving bowl Place ginger and onion in small sauce pan with tiny bit of oil. Turn on the heat and just start to cook/sizzle, then add the miso and peanut butter along with the water. Whisk together and slowly bring to simmer. The instant it starts simmering, take off the heat and pour in serving bowl with the noodles Add the servings ingredients to the bowl and serve immediately

Ingredients 2 lb eggplant sliced 0.3" thickness (discard ends) Salt, 2-3 tbsp olive oil 1-2 tbsp Olive oil 1 yellow onion diced 4-5 garlic cloves minced 1.5 lb ground beef or lamb 1/2 cup red wine (or a few tbsp red wine vinegar) 1 14 oz can crushed tomatoes mildly drained 3 tbsp tomato paste 1 cup beef stock/broth Spices: 1 beef bouillon cube (or 1 tsp powder), 2 bay leaves, 2 tsp dried oregano, 1.5 tsp any sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp salt or more 4 tbsp butter 5 tbsp plain flour 2.5 cups milk (any kind or make) 1/4 tsp nutmeg ½ cup parmesan cheese (the coarse shredded, NOT the powder) 2 eggs 1 tsp chicken stock powder or similar (salt can be substituted) 1 tsp black pepper Either ½ cup parmesan OR breadcrumbs (for topping before baking to give it a crunch) ...

Ingredients 2-3 pounds chicken thighs (flexible on volume, how hungry are ya) 1/4 cup or more dijon mustard 2-3 tbsp honey OR maple syrup 1/4 cup water for sauce 1 tsp salt or more to taste 1/2 cup tarragon leaves (or basil if that is easier to find) Additional (optional) seasonings: garlic salt, pepper Instructions Put chicken in deep dish pan and preheat oven to 430°F Mix rest of ingredients together well in small dish Spread out on chicken in pan, add water so there is at least a half inch of water in pan (you do not want the chicken to dry out) Cover with tinfoil and bake for at minimum of an hour. Cooking it more will make it more tender and flaky which if there is time, reduce heat to 300°F at hour mark and cook another 1-2 hours Check periodically to make sure water has not evaporated and add more if needed Serve with veggies and a starch!

Ingredients 1.5 cups all purpose flour 1 cup plain yogurt (greek is fine) 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt Directions Mix ingredients together in a bowl well and kneed for a minute or so to a ball. If way too sticky add flour, if way too dry to come together in a ball, add a small amount of yogurt. Use a rolling pin with flour to make 6 super thin (~6 in) diameter pies Heat large flying pan (NO oil) up super hot and cook one at a time. A minute or so each side (time depends on how hot). If you get it really thin it will bubble as Naan typically does.

Ingredients 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1/3 cup granulated sugar 2/3 cup light-brown sugar, packed 2 tsp pure vanilla extract 1 large egg 1 1/2 cups rolled oats 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips Instructions In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside Combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute Add flour mixture; mix until almost combined Stir in the oats and chocolate chips. Chill dough for one hour to overnight Preheat oven to 375°F Use a small ice cream scooper (two tablespoons) to Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely Notes Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off Chilling the dough is optional but it created a cookie that spreads out less, concentrates the flavor and dehydrates the dough a bit as well Toasted walnuts make an excellent addition to this cookie. Try adding in 1/2 to 1 cup of chopped nuts Your cookies are done when the edges start to brown. The centers will not be raw but they aren’t fully set either

Ingredients Noodles: 14 oz (package) of very wide dried rice noodles (wide as you can get) Cooking: 4 tbs oil 6 large cloves garlic, minced 4 thai chilis, deseeded and very finely chopped 1 onion, sliced 2-3 cups bok choy 1-2 carrots, peeled all the way into slivers 4 handfuls green onion, white section only chopped (put aside a little of the green for garnish at the end) 4 tsp fish sauce 2 cups thai basil roughly chopped (critical!! ingredient) Sauce: ...

Ingredients Veggies (the “meat of the dish”) 8-12 ounces flat rice noodles (quantity depends on how noodle heavy you like it) 3 tbsp olive oil 4 cloves garlic minced 1 large head broccoli, cut into 1 in. pieces or a smidge larger per preference 12 ounces whole mushrooms, leave whole! 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced 1 yellow onion, sliced thin 3 packages of green onions, diced white side plus a little of the green 3 eggs Required mixers after cooking 3/4 cup thai green chili lime almonds from trader joes, chopped smaller (or just use peanuts if no allergy) 1 cup bean sprouts More green onion (optional) chopped same as above 2 limes (squirt all juice in when called for). Or a few tbsp lime juice…tastes the same 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped roughly Sauce 4 tbsp fish sauce 1.5 tbsp soy sauce 6.5 tbsp brown sugar 2.5 tbsp rice vinegar 2 tbsp sriracha hot sauce (or less to taste) 5 tbsp almond butter (or peanut butter if no allergy) or much more to taste Instructions Cook noodles to package directions and set aside. If they get sticky, right before serving you can pour cold water in pan with them, mix with hands to unstick, then drain again. Do not let sit in water though as they will get soggy. Mix sauce ingredients well. Set aside Heat oil in large wok or deep pan. Add broccoli and garlic, cook for a couple minutes. Add rest of veggies and cover, stirring occasionally, until cooked. Push things to side of wok and cook eggs on other side. Scramble them and chop with stirring utensil into bits. Mix back together and add all of topping ingredients plus sauce plus noodles. Serve. Add additional green onions, peanuts/almonds, cilantro, limes wedges as desired (not required if you add plenty when making it). Note To make with other protein, swap out the broccoli and mushrooms for chicken or shrimp to get “normal” pad Thai.

Ingredients 2 lb spicy italian sausage 3 cups diced yellow onion 2.5 cups diced carrot 2 cups diced celery 6 cloves minced garlic 2, 32 oz chicken stock cartons 1, 15-oz can diced tomatoes drained 4 tsp basic sugar 3 tsp dried basil 3 tsp dried oregano 1.5 tsp dried thyme Salt and pepper to taste 2 cup dry ditalini pasta 1, 15-oz can red kidney beans drained and rinsed 1, 15-oz can great northern white beans drained and rinsed Optional 6 tbsp minced fresh parsley Parmesan to serve Instructions Brown meat in huge pot with a couple tbsp olive oil. When ~? cooked or so add all the veggies. Cook until tender or at least mostly there. Add everything through the salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and simmer 10 minutes. Add the pasta and simmer another 15 min. Add beans and parsley and simmer one more minute. Serve in bowls with parmesan to add to taste. Notes It is easy to vary the proportions. More pasta, less. More beans or less. More veggies is what I usually do.