stuffed mushrooms

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Sunshine® Cheez-It® Original snack crackers
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/16 teaspoon pepper
1 pound large mushrooms
1/3 cup minced onion
1/3 cup minced celery
1/3 cup butter
3 tablespoons minced parsley

DIRECTIONS

1. Crush crackers into fine crumbs. Mix with salt and pepper and set aside.

2. Clean mushrooms and save stems for later use in soups and sauces. Saute onion and celery in butter until soft; do not brown. Remove from heat; stir in parsley and crumbs. Stuff into mushroom caps. 3. Place caps, stuffed side up, in shallow pan. Pour enough water in bottom of pan to come up about 1/4 the depth of the mushroom caps. Bake in 450°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender but not mushy.

grilled prosciutto asparagus appetizer

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound thinly sliced prosciutto
• 1 log (4 ounces) fresh goat cheese
• 1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed

Directions

• Cut prosciutto slices in half; spread with cheese. Wrap a prosciutto piece around each asparagus spear; secure ends with toothpicks. Using long-handled tongs, moisten a paper towel with cooking oil and lightly coat the grill rack.
• Grill, covered, over medium heat for 6-8 minutes or until prosciutto is crisp, turning once. Discard toothpicks. Yield: about 2 dozen.

fried shrimp

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds boiled shrimp
• 2 cups milk
• 1 egg
• flour
• cornmeal or bread crumbs
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• dash pepper

Preparation:

Mix milk with egg; add shrimp and let stand for 3 minutes. Mix equal parts of flour and cornmeal or bread crumbs with salt and pepper. Coat shrimp well with mixture. Cook shrimp in hot deep fast at 375° until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
Fried shrimp recipe serves 4 to 6.

chicken fingers

One of the fastest, easiest meals you can make for picky kids is chicken.  Chicken nuggets, chicken fingers: there is something about the familiar, buttery flavor of a chicken breast that puts kids at ease.  Breading and pan-frying chunks of chicken breast takes very little time and served with some steamed veggies and my favorite sweet potato fries you’ve got a great, quick meal that everyone will eat.

Chicken Fingers

serves 4, prep: 10 min, cook time 30 min

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat
• 1 cup flour (can sub all or part whole wheat flour or corn meal)
• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper
• oil for frying

1. Cut chicken breasts into small pieces, either small strips or nuggets.
2. Place egg in a bowl and place flour in another bowl, add any seasonings to flour like salt, pepper, garlic, or mustard powder.
3. Dip chicken pieces in egg, allowing excess to drip off.
4. Then roll chicken in flour until completely coated.
5. Set aside and dip and coat all chicken pieces.
6. In a heavy skillet, heat about 1 inch of oil until it bubbles when you toss in a bit of flour.
7. Cook chicken nuggets in batches, turning several times, until golden brown and juices are clear.
8. Drain on paper towels and serve.

I use light olive oil as my all-purpose oil.  You can use it to fry your chicken and your potatoes if desired, then strain it into a clean jar and store it in the fridge or pantry for another meal.  You can also omit the eggs and just soak the chicken in a bit of milk or buttermilk.

potato croquettes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons milk
• Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped green onion
• 2 egg yolks, beaten
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 cups mashed potatoes
• 1 egg, beaten
• Sifted dried bread crumbs
• Peanut oil, enough to fill pan 1/2-inch

Directions

Add milk, salt, pepper, chopped onion, beaten egg yolks and flour to mashed potatoes. Chill and then shape using an ice cream scoop. Dip in the beaten egg, then roll through bread crumbs. Fry each croquette in shallow oil until brown on all sides.

Cook's Note: Cook in small batches, giving each croquette at least 2 inches of space around it to not overcrowd the pan. This prevents the croquettes from crumbling while frying.

Spicy croquettes with potato and ground meat

Ingredients (for 4 portions):
500gr. boiled potatoes, turned into mash
250gr. ground beef 
1 large onion, finely chopped 
2 cloves of garlic, grated 
3 eggs 
2-3 tbsp of fresh coriander, finely chopped 
1 tsp of turmeric 
1 tsp of ground cumin 
½ tsp of cardamon seeds, crushed
½ tsp of fennel seeds, crushed
a pinch of ground cloves 
1 tea-cup of flour 
3 tea-cups of very fine breadcrumbs 
3 tbsp of butter 
salt 
1-2 lemons for garnishing 
oil for frying

Method:
In a large frying pan melt the butter in medium heat and sauté the onion and the garlic until they get soft. Add the ground beef and sauté until it changes colour- stirring and breaking up the mince with a wooden spatula into small pieces.

In a small bowl mix together the turmeric, the cardamon, the cumin, the fennel and the cloves and add them into the pan with the meat. Season with salt and pepper, stir well and take off the heat to cool down.

In a bowl put together the mashed potatoes, 1 of the eggs, the ground meat, the coriander and some salt and stir well to blend the ingredients. Get a small amount of the mixture and shape into a round croquette in the size of a walnut. If the mixture sticks to the hands brush your hands with some oil.

When you have used all the mixture, place the croquettes in a shallow dish and put in the fridge for 1 hour.

In a small bowl beat the 2 remaining eggs, put the flour in deep plate and the fine breadcrumbs in another.

First lightly pass the croquettes through the flour, then dip in the egg mixture and lastly pass them through the breadcrumbs.

Fry them in a deep frying pan on medium heat turning them carefully so to get nicely coloured all around. Transfer on kitchen paper to drain and serve while they are still hot along with lemon wedges.

fried calamari

ingredients

• 1 lb cleaned calamari , cut into rings
• ¼ cup cornmeal or ¼ cup cornstarch
• 2 eggs , slightly beaten
• 1 cup light cream
• 1 cup breadcrumbs (I like garlic and parsley flavored)
• salt
• oil (for frying)

Directions:

1. 1
   First, coat the calamari rings in corn meal, shaking them out to get rid of any excess.
2. 2
   Then dip them into a mixture of the eggs and light cream.
3. 3
   Lastly, dip them into the bread crumbs mixed with salt, coating them well, and shaking off any excess.
4. 4
   Up to this point may be done in advance, and the calamari rings refrigerated for a couple of hours, until you are ready to fry.
5. 5
   Meanwhile, heat the oil (the secret to crispy calamari is hot, hot oil, just below the smoking point.) Fry the rings (in batches) about 1 minute, or until they are golden.
6. 6
   Remove and drain on paper towels.
7. 7
   If you have a deep fryer it's best, but otherwise, make sure the oil is deep enough to cover the calamari.
8. 8
   Serve immediately with lemon wedges, and marinara sauce.