Japanese Cucumber Salad

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I love cucumbers and have revisited a old family recipe to bring it up to date. This is a very healthy side salad with a refreshing finish! 

Spaghetti Bolognese for a CROWD!!

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A family favorite and "comfort food"! I make this for a crowd or freeze into portions! A Wee Bear favorite!

This a classic Bolognese for meat lovers! It is pretty straight forward but it does require about 3 hours of simmer time. 

This makes about 3 quarts of meaty sauce and will be perfect for about 3 pounds of pasta!

Creamy Sausage Orecchiette

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 My husband just loves one-dish meals. So easy, so tasty, and so easy to clean up (since I cook, someone else has to do the cleaning)! This orecchiette pasta recipe doesn’t disappoint, and adding the fennel in there guarantees my "Wee Bear" eats a veggie too (he won't even bother to pick it out)!

 

Orecchiette is just a fun pasta, with its ear shape...it looks yummy and tastes great! The shape holds the sausage and sauce perfectly and taste like eating a mouthful of little spoons.

 

Creamy Sausage Orecchiette

1 lb. orecchiette

2 T. light olive oil

1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed0 I used both sweet and hot sausage

1 Fennel bulb (approx 14 ounces), cored and thinly sliced, chop the fronds and reserve

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente'. Drain pasta.

Heat, oil in a large skillet while the pasta is cooking over medium high heat, add the sausage and cook until browned. Transfer to plate.

Add sliced fennel to skillet and turn the heat up a bit. Season the fennel with salt and pepper. Cook until the fennel starts caramelize, about 7-8 minutes. Continue to cook and add 1/3 cup water. Turn heat down to med high and scrape up any brown bits on bottom of the skillet. Cook for 10 minutes until caramelized.

Add the orecchiette and wine and cook, tossing the orrechiette to coat in the sauce. Cook until the wine is reduced to a creamy sauce. Add sausage and chopped fennel fronds and Parmesan cheese, toss to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste.

* I think toasted pine nuts would be a good topping on this dish too

 

We are on our last week here in Ocho Rios.....wha wha! It has been a fun and super relaxing 4 weeks. 

 

Now, home to a golf tournament and then off for a week of skiing in Tahoe with my daughter, son in law and two of the eleven grandchildren. 

 

I have to say, I never knew retirement was this much fun! Cheers! JJ

 

JJ's Buffalo Dip

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Super bowl is this weekend! I have no favorite teams and I'm in Ocho Rios, away from the chaos of my Scottsdale home near the Super Bowl and the Waste Management tournament...Trust me when I say, our town is ALIVE!! 

Maurice, our chef, here at Jamaica Inn is all ready for us (most likely only a handful of Americans are here, mostly the Brit's) with a Super Bowl menu that includes his delicious "Hot Wings"! He hasn't divulged the recipe to me yet, but, hopefully I can sweet talk him into it with some good Rum!! In the mean time, I have some old favorites you could whip up, some are healthier than others!

Cherry Banana Egg Bite

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Today, I revamped a old recipe that was labeled for babies and toddlers. Why, because it is a delicious treat for anyone!

This recipe is for everyone wanting a healthy treat or sweet breakfast on the go! It is also great for babies and toddlers for breakfast or a snack. And for those following a special diet. On Weight Watchers, this treat is "ZERO" points! Each bite/muffin is 24 calories, 9 calories from Fat, 1 gram of protein, 1 gram of sugar...no added sugar! Another plus is there are only 4 ingredients and you can make in your food processor!!

Thyme Cheddar Crackers

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I recently hosted a Christmas Open House. I made a lot of appetizers and desserts, had Susie our awesome pizza lady make pizza's in our outdoor pizza oven and I had a local deli make three large platters of nibblies. The Thyme cheddar crackers were a big hit and disappeared within minutes as word spread about how good they are.

Dark Chocolate Bark with Pistachios

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My dessert bar is taking shape for my Christmas Open House tonight! I made this delicious bark in a short amount of time. This is super easy! Using the Lindt bars, there is no need to temper the chocolate.