Greek Pasta Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette

GREEK PASTA SALAD WITH RED WINE VINAIGRETTE

Pasta Salad: 
2 1/2 Cups Uncooked Pasta
2/3 Cup Sliced Red Onions
15 Cherry Tomatoes, Halved
1 Cup Diced Cucumbers
3/4 Cup Sliced Olives (I did black and green)
3/4 Cup Diced Green Peppers
1 Cup Crumbled Feta

Vinaigrette:
1/3 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tsp Lemon Juice
1 1/2 Tsp Minced Garlic
1 Tsp Sugar
2 Tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 Cup Olive Oil

Make Pasta Salad:

Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Strain and transfer to large bowl.

Make Dressing: 

In small bowl, whisk all ingredients except olive oil. While whisking, stream in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Add red onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, green peppers and feta to bowl with pasta. Pour dressing over pasta and mix well. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours. Serve at room temperature and mix well before serving.

Gumbo Dip

Gumbo Dip

4 Tbsp Butter
1 Large Bell Pepper, Seeded and Diced
3/4 Cup Sliced Okra
2 Ribs Celery, Diced
6 Green Onions, Chopped
1 Garlic Clove, Minced
1 1/2 Tsp Tony's Chachere
1 1/2 Lb Shrimp, Peeled and Chopped
8 oz Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan

Preheat Oven 400

In large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Once heated, add bell pepper, okra and celery. Saute until soft, about 6 minutes. Stir in green onions, garlic and Tony's and cook another minute. Stir in shrimp and cream cheese until melted. Spoon mixture into baking dish and bake about 25 minutes until bubbly.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pound Cake with Cinnamon Pumpkin Cream Cheese Glaze

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pound Cake with Cinnamon Pumpkin Cream Cheese Glaze

Cake:
1 (15 oz) Can Pure Pumpkin, Divided
1/3 Cup Butter, Softened
1 Cup Light Brown Sugar, Packed
1 1/4 Cup Sugar
3 Eggs, Room Temperature
2 1/4 Cup Flour
1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 Tsp Cloves
3/4 Cup Whole Milk
1 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 Cups Pecans, Chopped

Glaze: 
4 oz Cream Cheese, Softened
2 Tbsp Butter, Softened
2 Tbsp Pumpkin Puree from above can
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
2 Tbsp Milk
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

Preheat Oven 325 and spray all surfaces of a 12 cup nonstick Bundt Pan with cooking spray and lightly flour your pan.

Remove 2 Tbsp pure pumpkin and set aside for glaze. Add remaining pumpkin, butter and sugars to mixer and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow of eggs disappears.

In Medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternating with milk in between each third. Beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans just until combined then spoon batter into prepared pan. Tap pan on counter to get rid of air bubbles.

Bake until a pick  inserted into center comes out clean. 85-90 min.

Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on wire rack.

Prepare Glaze: Beat cream cheese, butter and 2 Tbsp pumpkin until smooth. Add milk and cinnamon and gradually beat in powdered sugar. Add milk if necessary to reach desired consistency. Drizzle over cake as desired. Enjoy!!!

Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup

Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup

1 lb Lean Ground Beef 
2 Tbsp Olive Oil, Divided 
Salt, Pepper, Tony's Chachere and Garlic Powder to Taste 
1 Onion, Chopped
3/4 Cup Chopped Red Bell Pepper (about 1/2 of pepper) 
3/4 Cup Chopped Green Bell Pepper
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced 
2 (14.5 oz ) Cans Petite Diced Tomatoes
1 Can Tomato Soup or Tomato Sauce (I used the soup)
1 (14.5 oz Can) Beef Broth
2 1/2 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Parsley (or half of that dried)
1/2 Tsp Dried Basil
1/4 Tsp dried Oregano
1 Cup Uncooked Rice 

In large pot, heat 1 Tbsp Olive Oil over Medium Heat. Once hot, add ground beef and season with salt, pepper, Tony's, garlic powder. Drain beef and put aside on plate. 

Heat remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil and add onions, and both bell peppers, and saute 3 minutes, then add garlic and saute another 30 seconds longer. Pour in diced tomatoes, soup, broth and add parsley, basil, oregano and cooked beef. Adjust seasoning. Bring to light boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer, 30 minutes. 

While soup simmers, prepare rice according to package. Strain and rinse your cooked rice and then once soup is finished, spoon in desired amount of rice. I used almost all, but not quite. The first day it will be like a thick soup. The following days, it will be like a stuffed pepper that you cut open on your plate, so if you want, you can add a little more soup or tomato sauce to make it like soup again, but great without. Also, some people like cheese on top of their peppers, so you can sprinkle some on top of your soup after you place in bowl. You can also add the rice to your bowl and pour soup on top if you want to eat it over several days. Enjoy!