Chef with Benefits Cooking Classes

We buy a produce box once or twice a month. When zucchinis and peppers are in season, we have to get creative to use them all. Voila! Breakfast! Sautéed squash, peppers, and tomatoes, topped with fried eggs and avocado!

Roasted Acorn Squash Tacos. Slice acorn squash and coat with vegetable oil and sprinkle with favorite BBQ spice. Grill until slightly charred and softened. Assemble tacos with squash and your choice of chicken, steak, tofu, cheese, salsa, guacamole, avocado, and/or sour cream.

Nutritious and delicious 4 ingredient treat: Peanut Butter Stuffed Dates in Dark Chocolate! Tastes like salted caramel. Slice Medjool dates in half and fill with 1 teaspoon of peanut butter. Freeze for about 30-60 minutes then dip into melted dark chocolate. Sprinkle lightly with Maldon salt flakes Place in waxed or parchment paper and refrigerate until firm.

Charred Shish*to Peppers with Sesame Garlic Aoli. Shistito peppers are sometimes called roulette peppers because although most are mildly spicy, one in a dozen or so are really hot! Theyvareveasybto make and really delicious dipped in this savory aioli. Heat a small amount of canola and sesame oil in a large skillet. Add a bout a pound of peppers and cook until slightly charred, stirring occasionally. Aoli: Whisk 1/2 cup of mayo, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1-2 cloves of minced garlic. *topeppers

A simple recipe for your leftover Easter Eggs! Peel and slice hard boiled eggs in half. Put the yolks in a small bowl. You can also finely chop a few of the egg whites and add to the bowl. Mash with the back of a fork. Add mayonnaise, yellow mustard, curry powder, and salt/pepper to taste. Mash again to mix. Fill egg whites. Sprinkle with paprika and turmeric. If serving for kids or guests, you can make these cute little chicks! The eyes are bits of black olive and the beak is a triangle of carrot. If you prefer, you can mash all of the yolks and whites together and serve on bread as an eggs salad sandwich. Enjoy!

Simple tip to keep fresh herbs fresh... as soon as you get them home from the store, remove the band around the stems; pull out any yellow or moldy stems, wrap loosely in a dry paper towel, and place them in your vegetable drawer in the refrigerator.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Red Onions on kale with Tahini-Lemon dressing. So yummy! https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/healthy/a30173718/roasted-butternut-squash-salad-recipe/

Great Zucchini Muffin recipe: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/zucchini-bread/. We made the following changes based on what we had in the house: We used whole wheat flour; I ran out of brown sugar so I substituted half the brown sugar with regular sugar and increased the zucchini by a bit to replace the moisture; and added 2 cup walnuts. The white sugar made the top nice a crunchy!

We got another great box of fresh produce for just $12 from Produce in Wheels - https://m.facebook.com/BorderlandsMarket/. Watch for photos and recipes!

3 Ingredient Pear Tart: Place one Pillsbury ready-made pie crust in a pie plate. Peel and cut 2-3 ripe sweet pears in half lengthwise and remove core. Thinly slice the pears and arrange them in the pie crust by setting them upright and overlapping them as you form a spiral beginning from the outside and moving toward the middle. (It is easier than it sounds!) you can add smaller pieces of pear if there are any gaps. Fold the edges of the pie crust and lightly crimp. Bake according to pie crust directions until pie crust and pears are lightly browned. Allow to cool slightly. Put 1/4 cup of your favorite preserves (we used fig) in a small glass bowl and microwave for 30 seconds at half power until melted. Brush over pears. Serve with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream if desired.

Smashed Baby Potatoes - better than french fries! Place white, red, and purple baby potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water. Add salt and a couple of sprigs of rosemary and bring to a boil. Cook until tender, 15-20 minutes. Drain and pat dry. In a small bowl combine 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 sprig finally chopped rosemary, kosher salt, and ground pepper to taste. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put a sheet of foil on a baking sheet and coat lightly with olive oil. Place potatoes on pan and smash with your palm. Brush with garlic-rosemary-oil and bake until crispy on the outside, about 25-30 minutes. Top with a dollop of sour cream if desired. We are going to experiment with other combinations of flavored oils and herbs!

When we were in Shanghai, China (Fall 2019), we took an early morning walk and had this delicious street food for breakfast! After a lot of searching, we found a recipe that is pretty close: Ji Dan Bing. It starts with a simple dough that you roll into a thin pancake. As it cooks, you put an egg on top then flip. We garnished ours with sautéed peppers and onions (not traditional), chili paste, romaine, and green onions. SO yummy! I’ll put a link to the recipe in the comments.