​Serves 4-6
Cook Time: 45 minutes

In a medium Dutch oven, heat olive oil until it shimmers, add salted and peppered chicken leg quarters skin-side down.  Allow skin to brown, then flip chicken and saute on other side.  Once chicken is browned (not cooked through) remove to a plate and set aside.  Saute onion in chicken fat until softened; add garlic and saute one more minute.
Add butter and saute mushrooms until browned and cooked down by at least half.    Sprinkle with Wondra and cook for about a minute until Wondra is not longer raw white flour.  Deglaze with wine then add stock and milk.  Add chicken back to pan and allow to cook through as soup simmers on low.
Check your chicken temperature after 45 minutes, you need it to be at least 165 in the thickest portion (dark meat can handle being higher without any ill effect after only 45 minutes).  Meanwhile, cook 1/12 cups dried rice with 3 cups water until cooked through.
When chicken reaches an internal temperature of at least 165, remove from pot and allow to cool; once cooled remove skin and shred chicken (I like to save the skin and bones in the freezer to make stock later).  
Add chicken back to pan and add cream, if using.  If you are serving all the soup at once and do not anticipate leftovers you can add the cooked rice to the soup pot; however, if you are planning on having leftovers, add a few spoonfuls of soup to the individual serving bowls and ladle hot soup over the rice.

Serves 4-6
Cook Time: 1 1/2 hours

In a medium Dutch oven, heat olive oil until it shimmers.  Salt and pepper chicken and add chicken leg quarters, skin side down, and brown, turn and brown on other side.  When chicken is browned, but not cooked through, remove and saute onion in drippings.  
Once once is softened add passata, stock, and chipotles; add salt and pepper.  Bring to a simmer and add chicken leg quarters back to pot allowing to cook through as soup simmers.  Once chicken is cooked, remove and allow to cook, then shred and put meat into soup (save bones and skin for stock if you'd like).   
Depending on the amount of fat in the chicken you will may have a lot of fat floating on top of the soup, skim off a little or as much as you'd like.  Add cream and any more salt or pepper.

Serves 2-3
Cooke Time: 20 minutes

Bring a large pot of water to a boil; once it is at a rolling boil, add a handful of salt.  Cook pasta about 1 minute short of package directions; this should leave your pasta al dente, but check about 2 minutes before the package directions say it will be done just to check.
In a large pan, melt 1 Tbsp. of butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Once melted, add the shallots and garlic and cook for a few minutes or so, just until softened. Add the mushrooms, toss them around to get them coated in the butter and olive oil.   Let them cook and release their water so they can brown, 8-10 minutes.
Deglaze with the balsamic vinegar; stir everything together making sure to scrape up all of the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.  When most of the sherry is cooked into the mushrooms, pour in the cream and continue to cook for about 10 minutes (this is a good time to drop your pasta into the boiling salted water).
Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and toss to combine. Add the fresh parsley and season with salt and pepper.  Serve with additional parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top.

Serves 4
Cook Time: 4-8 hours

Combine all ingredients, except hoagies, mayo and cheese, in a slow cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-8 hours (low and slow recommended.)  If you are using a lean cut of beef, like London broil, go ahead and slice it up before putting in the slow cooker...if you are using a fatty cut of beef like chuck, it can be shredded and added back to the slow cooker about one hour before serving.
When beef is ready, spread hoagies with mayo, top with beef mixture, top with cheese and broil until cheese melts.

Serves 3-4
Cook Time: 3-8 hours


Combine all ingredients (except 1 cup queso fresco) in a large slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours (low and slow recommended). Garnish soup with remaining queso fresco and cilantro.

Serves 3-4
Cook Time: 3-8 hours


Combine all ingredients in a large slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours (low and slow recommended.)  The longer you cook this the more the split peas will break down, so keep an eye on them till they are the consistency you want (I like 8 hours where 2/3 are broken down and 1/3 still holds its shape).

Serves 6-8
Cook Time: 1 hour

Bring a large pot of water to a boil; once boiling add salt and spaghetti noodles.  Cook according to al dente according to package directions.
Cut crusts off bread and pour milk over bread to reconstitute.  Once bread had absorbed milk squeeze out excess milk.
Combine ground beef and pork, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, egg, squeezed out bread, half the parsley and half the basil.  Once combined shape into meatballs (any size you like is fine, but I prefer roughly a golfball-sized meatball).
Heat a large sauce pan over medium high heat, once heated add olive oil and pan sear meatballs on all sides.  Get a good sear on the meatballs, but do not cook them through.  When meatballs are seared on all sides remove from pan with slotted spoon and set aside.  Sauté onions and garlic in drippings, add extra oil if necessary.  When onions are starting to brown deglaze with wine and allow the alcohol to cook off.
Add can of tomatoes and cook down, breaking up tomatoes with a wooden spoon as they cook.  Lower heat to medium low, add meatballs back to sauce and toss in sauce.  Cover pan with lid and allow meatballs to cook low and slow until cooked through. 
Once meatballs are cooked through remove from pan.  Drain pasta and toss in sauce and garnish with remaining chopped herbs (if you toss with the meatballs still in the sauce they will break up when tossing in the pasta).  Serve meatballs over pasta.

Serves 4
Cook Time: 1 hour

Preheat oven to 375.
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil, once boiling add potatoes and cook until fork tender.  Once potatoes are boiled, mash with potato masher or ricer, then add 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. milk and the butter.  Stir to combine and set aside.
While water is coming to a boil, sauté onions in olive oil until translucent, add garlic and cook for one more minute.  Add chopped mushrooms along with salt and pepper.  Allow mushrooms to brown and release water, then add herbs and cook for another minute or two; then add tomato paste and allow to cook for another minute.
Add stock and bring to a boil, add lentils, cover and cook until lentils are cooked through, about 30 minutes.  When lentils are cooked add kale and bring back to a boil, meanwhile make a slurry with remaining milk (2 Tbsp.) and cornstarch.  Once boiling add slurry and boil for one minute.  Reduce heat to low and add balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce.  Continue cooking for about 5 minutes for all flavors to combine.
Add mushroom mixture to casserole dish and dollop with mashed potatoes.  Gently spread potatoes out over mixture so mushrooms are completely covered and back, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Click he Serves 6-8
Cook time: 35 minutes

Preheat oven to 350.  In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, then add melted butter, sour cream, corn kernels, creamed corn, and salt, stir to combine.  Add dry ingredients and combine.  
Pour into a greased 2-quart casserole dish and bake for 35-40 minutes until set. 
For the optional candied pepper topping: using a chopstick or skewer, poke holes in all over the top of the spoonbread, top with pats of butter and a jar of candied peppers.re to edit.

Serves 4 - 6
Cook time: approx. 1 hour, depending on type and age of field pea

Sautee fatback over medium-high heat to render some of the fat.  Sautee onion in the fatback until translucent.  Add dry peas and enough water to cover.  Cook until done - depending on the variety and age of pea this could take 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours.  Keep an eye on the water level and add more if needed, you'll want the beans to be submerged during the entire cook time.