INGREDIENTS
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup prepared yellow mustard
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
3/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
Place the ground beef and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring to crumble, until beef is browned. Drain. Transfer the beef and onion to a slow cooker and stir in the ketchup, sugar, vinegar and mustard. Season with celery seed, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and salt. Cover and simmer on Low setting for a few hours before serving.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups dry pancake mix
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup milk

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, stir together pancake mix and cinnamon. Make a well in the center of the pancake mix. Add the eggs, applesauce, lemon juice and milk; stir until smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 egg, beaten
5 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium bowl mix together the bread crumbs, Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese. Dip chicken breasts in egg, then in bread crumb mixture to coat. Place coated chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until juices run clear, turning over chicken 5 minutes before removing from oven.

Asparagus with Fettuccini

2 cups hot water
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes (see cook’s note)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large yellow onion, cut in half lengthwise, then thinly sliced

1 large clove garlic, smashed and minced

1/3 cup pine nuts.

1 tablespoon chopped basil (fresh or frozen)

1 tablespoon chopped oregano (fresh or frozen)

1 tablespoon chopped chives, regular or garlic

8 ounces fresh asparagus, cut into 1½- to 2-inch pieces.

1/2 lemon

Fettuccini noodles, enough for four people

Soak sun-dried tomatoes in the hot water. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and pine nuts to the hot oil and saute over medium-high heat until onions are translucent. Stir frequently so the pine nuts are toasted, not burned.

Add basil, oregano and chives and lower heat to medium. Continue stirring and cooking two more minutes. Add asparagus. Squeeze lemon juice to taste over cooking vegetables. Squeeze excess water from sun-dried tomatoes. Chop tomatoes and add to skillet. Reduce heat and cook five minutes, stirring occasionally.

When oil is heating, begin boiling water for cooking fettuccini. Add fettuccini to boiling water when asparagus is added to the skillet. Drain noodles and toss with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking. Put them in a bowl. Top with asparagus mixture and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

Cook’s note: Sun-dried tomatoes can be purchased or made. To make, cut tomatoes in half or in quarters. Lightly coat a baking dish with oil, lay the tomatoes pieces in it, and brush the tomato tops with oil. Roast in a 300-degree oven, uncovered, for 2 hours. The roasted tomatoes can be stored in plastic bags in the refrigerator or freezer. One large tomato should be enough for this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons margarine
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 (19 ounce) can cannellini beans
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 1/2 cups cubed potatoes
1 quart chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup elbow macaroni
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

INGREDIENTS
4 pounds chuck roast
1 (4 ounce) can green chile peppers, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Place roast on heavy foil large enough to enclose the meat. In a small bowl, combine the green chile peppers, chili powder, oregano, cumin, garlic and salt to taste. Mix well and rub over the meat.
Totally wrap the meat in the foil and place in a roasting pan.
Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, or until the roast just falls apart with a fork. Remove from oven and shred using two forks.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups grated California Queso Blanco cheese (or California Monterey Jack)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
4 ounces cooked shrimp, peeled, deveined and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup minced green onions
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, pureed and strained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3/4 cup grated California Cotija cheese
30 large, flat tortilla chips
30 fresh cilantro leaves

DIRECTIONS
Preheat broiler.
In medium bowl, stir together Queso Blanco cheese, mayonnaise, shrimp, onions, chipotle puree, chopped cilantro, lime zest and cumin.
Season with salt and pepper.
Spread about 1 tablespoon mixture onto each tortilla chip and place on a baking sheet.
Broil until mixture begins to brown, about 1 minute. Sprinkle each with a generous teaspoon of Cotija cheese.
To serve: put a cilantro leaf on each nacho and serve immediately.

INGREDIENTS
2 (8 ounce) beef rib-eye steaks, cut 3/4 inch thick
1 teaspoon steak seasoning
3 thick slices bacon
2 teaspoons butter
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper
8 ounces small mushrooms, quartered
2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese

DIRECTIONS
Prepare an outdoor grill using charcoal briquettes stacked 2 to 3 deep. Season the steaks on both sides with steak seasoning.
While the charcoal heats up, fry the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove from the skillet and drain on paper towels. Leave grease in the pan.
When the charcoal is covered with gray ashes, put the steaks on the grill. Cook for 12 minutes, turning once, or to your desired degree of doneness.
While the steaks are cooking, stir the butter, Worcestershire sauce and mustard into the bacon grease. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until butter has melted. Add the red bell pepper and mushrooms; cook and stir until tender.
To serve, place steaks onto plates. Top with bacon, then blue cheese and then the vegetables. Serve immediately.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 pints strawberries, hulled and sliced

DIRECTIONS
In a saucepan, stir together the sugar and water. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until it becomes syrupy. Mix in the nutmeg and cinnamon, and remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then pour over sliced strawberries.

INGREDIENTS
1 pint strawberries, cleaned and stemmed
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS
Cut about 1/3 of the strawberries in half. In a saucepan over medium high heat, combine strawberries, sugar and vanilla. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. In a blender, puree about 1/3 of sauce, then mix back into remainder. Store in refrigerator.