Chili Pepper Olive Oil

Looking for a few last minute Christmas gifts? Does your recipient like to eat or cook? (Who doesn't like to eat!)  If so, here is an idea that is quick, easy and sure to please!

I did a lot of reading online before attempting this and have used a number of techniques from all over to make this spicy and attractive oil.Start with a glass bottle of oil...I used olive, but you can use pretty much any cooking oil you like, just not extra virgin olive oil as the heat and chili will destroy subtle flavours. Might as well save your cash in this case and get regular olive oil.

Chicken with Wine and Mushrooms

A quick and easy week night dinner. Chicken breasts are sauteed in a tangy wine and butter sauce and tossed with sauteed mushrooms. Serve over mashed potatoes with the side veg of your choice!

This recipe will serve two but you can scale it to serve as many as you like!

Rosemary Garlic Salted Amish Dinner Rolls

I wanted to make rolls to serve with a roast chicken dinner and was having trouble finding a recipe that didn't have milk as an ingredient (I was out!)

This recipe, described as an Amish bread recipe worked with what I had at home. I topped the rolls with rosemary butter before baking and brushed the tops with garlic butter before serving.

This recipe yields 2 loaves of bread or about 16-20 rolls depending how large you make them!

Easy Mushroom Risotto

I searched the web for an easy risotto recipe and was confronted with similar yet slightly differring instructions. The recipes called for anywhere from 6-10 cups of stock....1-2 cups of rice....cheese and vegetables in the rice, vegetables in the stock....all with different cooking times...what to do but experiment! With delicious results!

Note - Due to differing liquid amounts I found when searching for recipes online, I prepped 10 cups of liquid for 1 cup of Arborio rice.  I used nearly all 10 cups, freezing the rest for another use.

Thai Coconut Curry Sole

This is a really simple, one pan recipe for a mild, thai curry sole. I obviously used filets of Sole in this recipe but you could just as easily use Tilapia, Basa or any white fish...or even shrimp!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

This recipe is so easy -- you can even make it in the food processor if you have one!  Serve as-is or ice with cream cheese frosting if you wish.

Chicken with Orecchiette Pasta

Shaun and I saw a similar recipe on the Food Network show 'The Best Thing I Ever Ate" but made with rabbit. In ours we substituted rabbit meat for boneless, skinless chicken thighs. This recipe would work well in a slow cooker after the chicken is browned. Otherwise, let it simmer on the stove for an hour to tenderize the meat.