Here are just a few of my gazillion favorite recipes! All are pepared ahead and heated at last minute. CLAMS CASINO Posted by tobygirl (My Page) on Sun, Dec 23, 07 at 6:31 Here's a very good one, which I have made many times. 2 cans minced claims with their liquid 2 Tbls. lemon juice 1 small onion chopped 2 cloves garlic minced 2 Tbls. fresh parsley chopped or 1 tsp. dried 1/4 c. butter 1/2 tsp. oregano 3/4 c. seasoned bread crumbs 2 drops hot sauce or to taste 1/2 c. cheddar or parmesan cheese grated Paprika Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Simmer clams with their liquid and lemon juice in a covered saucepan for 5 minutes. Set aside. Saute onion, garlic and parsley in butter for about 5 minutes; then add the oregano, bread crumbs, hot sauce and clams/lemon juice mixture. Spoon into a greased pie plate and bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and paprika and return to oven just until cheese melts. Serve warm with crackers. Robust Onion Cheese Toast (posted by Caliloo) 1 cup mayonnaise 1 package cream cheese, softened 4 oz blue cheese, crumbled 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley 2 tablespoons minced onion ½ teaspoon minced garlic ½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce ½ teaspoon white pepper 1 loaf sliced cocktail rye bread Combine mayo, cream cheese, blue cheese, parsley, onion, garlic, pepper sauce and white pepper. Cover and chill for 2 hours to let flavors blend. Can be made up to 2 days in advance. Spread 2 teaspoons mixture on each slice of bread and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Cover with plastic and chill until ready to serve. To Serve: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Uncover baking sheet and bake 10 15 minutes until toasts are puffy and slightly brown. Dlynn's Ham & Asparagus Roll-ups 24 fresh asparagus spears 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1 (4 ounce) package crumbled blue cheese 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives 12 slices bread, crusts trimmed off 12 slices thinly sliced deli ham 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted paprika Garnishes green onions, curl red bell peppers Snap off tough ends of asparagus, and remove scales from stalks with a vegetable peeler, if desired. Arrange asparagus in a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover and steam 4 to 6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from steamer, and cool on paper towels. Stir together cream cheese and next 3 ingredients. Roll each bread slice with a rolling pin to flatten. Spread 1 side of each slice with 2 tablespoons cream cheese mixture; top each with 1 ham slice. Place 2 asparagus spears, tips pointed toward opposite ends, on one end of each bread slice; roll up, and place, seam side down, on a greased baking sheet. Brush with butter; sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 400° for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately. Garnish, if desired. Note: Freeze unbaked rollups up to 1 month in an airtight container. Thaw in refrigerator, and bake as directed. Yield: 12 appetizer servings. Hot Beef Dip 4 oz dried beef, shredded 8 oz cream cheese, softened 8 oz sour cream small can of chopped chilis Bake at 350* until hot and bubbly.....about 20-25 minutes SUZIE'S PESTO CHEESECAKE CRUST 1 cup breadcrumbs 1/2 cup grated parmesean cheese 1/2 cup melted butter Mix all together and press into 9" springform pan. Bake 10 minutes. FILLING 4 (8 oz packages) cream cheese 4 eggs 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 cups pesto (from the refrigerator section of your grocer) Beat with electric mixer. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350* for 1 hour. Chill several hours or overnight. Remove from pan and decorate with a little chopped tomato or chopped sundried tomatoes. Slice into very thin slices and serve on small individual plates - or - cut into thirds and place 1/3 on serving plate and use to spread on crackers or baguettes. Be sure to decorate with a little chopped "red" tomato accent and maybe some green basil too. Looks beautiful! (If you cut into thirds, you can serve 1/3 and freeze the remaining for another time.) NEW MEXICAN CHILE DIP from the kitchen of Jim Myers Makes about 3 quarts 2-3 pounds ground beef 2 pounds Velveeta cheese cubed 2 large onions, chopped 1 - 28 ounce ounce can crushed tomatoes 4 cloves garlic chopped 2 - 4 ounce cans chopped green chiles 1 tablespoon chili powder 2 teaspoons cumin Brown ground beef with the onions and drain. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 20-30 minutes. Transfer to crock pot to keep warm. Use large corn chips for dippers.

I've been reading Rosemary Barron's "Flavors of Greece" (I read cookbooks the way others read novels). In it there is sort of a Greek version of hummus that might work: Rivithosalata (Garbanzo Beans & Garlic Salata) 1 1/2 cups dried garbanzo beans, soaked overnight in water to cover 2 large cloves garlic, chopped 1 tsp ground coriander or 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp sea salt 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper 5 tbls Kalamata olive oil Strained juice of 2 lemons for serving: Finely chopped flat-leaf parsley 1 tbls dried rigani (Greek oregano) crumbled 1 tsp paprika Drain the beans and place in a large saucepan with cold water to cover. Bring slowly to a boil, drain, rinse. Rinse out the saucepan, return beans to pan, and add cold water to cover by 3 inches. Bring to a boil, recuce the heat, cover, and genly simmer for 50 minutes or until so0ft. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and a few whole beans for garnish. Place the beans, garlic, coriander, salt and pepper in a food processor or blender container. With the machine running, gradually add 1/4 cup of the olive oil and most of the lemon juice. Add more salt and pepper and the remainign lemon juice if desired and process until smooth and creamy. For a thinner consistency gradually add some or all of the reserved liquid (if you plan to store the salata add all the reserved liquid---it will thicken on standing). Spread on a platter and sprinkle with the parsley, regani and reserved whole berans. Combine the parprika and remaining tbls olive oil and sprinkle over the salata. To store, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to two days.

Sometimes I like to take the corned beef out of the water for the last 1/2 hour or so of cooking, put it in a baking pan & top it with a glaze made with my apricot jam and brown sugar. It sort of "firms up" the meat a bit, and the glaze gets sticky and browns a bit. Yum. I am originally from the East Coast, and wouldn't think of having "boiled dinner" without potatoes, carrots, celery, boilin' onions and cabbage. Some people even add beets, but I haven't tried that...seems like they'd dye everything pink. And I must, must, must have both horseradish sauce and whole grain mustard with "boiled dinner".

This recipe is from George Stellas Low Carb and Lovin It cookbook. I cut back on the cayenne and salt (too hot and too salty for my taste). IÂve added red bell peppers - looks pretty & tastes even better. I also added the fresh lemon juice, Adobo seasoning and lime wedges. You can make the marinade early in the day or the day before. I cut the chicken breast halves into thirds. Be sure to put the cilantro sprigs and lime wedges around the platter - looks gorgeous and the lime juice on the chicken is delicious. I like to serve this with Goya rice & a tossed salad. Easy Cheesy Chili Chicken 2 T extra virgin olive oil 2 T chopped fresh cilantro, plus a few whole leaves for garnish 1 T chili powder 1 T ground cumin 2 tsps kosher salt (I use about ¼ tsp) 1 garlic clove, chopped ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (I use 1/16 tsp) (I squirt some fresh lemon juice in it at this point) (I also sprinkle some Adobo Seasoning from Penzeys) 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 4 halves) ¼ cup julienned green bell pepper - and some red bell pepper too 2 T diced red onion 1 medium plum tomato, cored & diced (about ¼ cup)ÂI use more! 4 oz shredded Colby Jack cheese (I use that shredded Mexican 4 cheese blend) Lime wedges Preheat oven to 400. Line sheet pan with aluminum foil. Whisk together the oil, chopped cilantro, chili powder, cumin, salt, garlic, pepper & cayenne (plus lemon juice & Adobo seasoning) in a bowl; add the chicken & toss to coat. Transfer the chicken to the foil-lined baking sheet & arrange the green/red bell peppers, onion and tomato over each. Roast until the largest piece is just cooked through, and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part reads 165 F, about 20 minutes (I just roast for 20 minutes) Remove chicken from the oven and immediately top with the cheese. Transfer the chicken to a platter & garnish with fresh cilantro leaves & lime wedges. Serve as the cheese melts. Can use a little less or low fat cheese but author states it needs the cheese. Yield: 4 servings 8oz each: 455 calories; 20 g total fat; 8 g sat fat; 5 g carbs Pico de Gallo Chicken Quesadillas (or just chicken) I found this at allrecipes. ItÂs flour tortillas filled with chicken breast, onions, peppers, pico de gallo and Monterey Jack cheese. I make ours w/o the flour tortillasÂI marinate the chicken in lime juice, a little olive oil, garlic powder and a little chile powder, & grill it--and serve it with Goya Yellow Rice and a black bean/corn/red onion/red bell pepper salsa, with guacamole and sour cream on the side. Go to allrecipes and check out the reviews where youÂll pick up some good suggestions. Pico de Gallo: 1 tomato diced and seeded ½ onion, finely chopped 1 lime, juiced 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro ½ jalapeno pepper, seeded, ribs removed & minced (wear gloves!) Salt and pepper to taste In small bowl combine above ingredients and set aside. 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into strips ¼ onion thinly sliced ½ green bell pepper thinly sliced (or red bell) 1 clove garlic, minced 2 (12") flour tortillas 2 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese Salt and pepper to taste 2 Tablespoons sour cream, for topping In a large skillet, heat ½ Tbsp olive oil. Add chicken breast and sauté until cooked through and juices run clear. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside. Put the remaining ½ Tbsp olive oil in the hot skillet and sauté the sliced onion and green (or red) bell pepper until tender. Stir in the minced garlic and sauté until the aroma is strong. Finally, mix in half of the pico de gallo and the previously sautéed chicken breast. Set this mixture aside; keep warm. In a heavy skillet, heat one flour tortilla. Spread ½ of the shredded cheese on the tortilla and top with the chicken mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the chicken and top with the remaining tortilla. Flip, and cook on the opposite side. Remove quesadilla from the skillet and cut into quarters. Serve with sour cream and remaining pico de gallo. Enjoy! Ann