Hot Caramelized Onion Dip with Bacon and Gruyere

Ingredients
4 bacon strips
2 sweet onions, halved and thinly sliced
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon dry sherry
¼ teaspoon tabasco
½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 cup shredded Gruyere Cheese
½ cup sour cream
½ cup mayo
¼ teaspoon freshly, ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to cool. Crumble.
3. Add onions, sugar, and salt to bacon fat in the skillet and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until onions turn a deep golden brown color. This can take as long as 20 minutes. If onions start to burn, turn heat down to medium-low.
4. Add sherry and cook 1 minute. Stir in thyme and tabasco. Remove from heat.
5. Mix together sour cream and mayo in a medium bowl. Add crumbled bacon, cheese, onion mixture, and black pepper. Mix together well and transfer to a 2-cup baking dish.
6. Bake 20 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown on top.

Garlic-Steamed Manila Clams

Ingredients
2 tbsp. olive oil
8 cloves garlic, chopped
2 small shallots, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1⁄2 cup clam juice
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. minced thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 lb. Manila or little-neck clams or mussels, scrubbed
2 tbsp. minced parsley
Crusty bread, for serving (optional)

Instructions
Heat oil in a 6-qt. saucepan over medium. Cook garlic and shallots until golden, 8–10 minutes. Add wine, clam juice, butter, thyme, salt, and pepper; boil. Add clams; cook, covered, until shells open, 3–4 minutes. Stir in parsley; serve with bread, if you like.

Sun Dried Tomato, Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

INGREDIENTS
2 small chicken breasts (6oz/180g), boneless and skinless
½ cup sun dried tomato, cut into strips (oil packed. Use enough to cover the chicken)
4 slices mozzarella cheese (or other melting cheese of choice)
Handful of spinach leaves
2 tsp olive oil

Italian Dressing
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice
½ tsp sugar (any)
2 tsp olive oil
½ tsp EACH Italian mixed her and red pepper flakes (Note 1)
Salt & pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
2. Whisk together the Italian Dressing ingredients in a bowl. It will be thicker than salad dressing.
3. Cut a pocket into each chicken breast, taking care not to cut all the way though.
4. Coat the chicken (inside and out) with the Italian Dressing.
5. Place chicken on work surface. Stuff with sun dried tomato, top with cheese then finish with spinach leaves. Just stuff in as much as you can.
6. Seal with toothpicks (just stick them in on the diagonal - see photo in post).
7. Heat oil in an ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add chicken and cook for 1½ minutes on each side, or until golden.
8. Transfer to oven and cook for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly and chicken is cooked through. Rest for 3 minutes before serving, drizzled with the juices in the skillet.

NOTES
1. Use whatever dried herbs you have - thyme, oregano, parsley, basil.

2. Typically, a 6oz/180g chicken breast (which is a small chicken breast) will take 25 minutes to roast at 180C/350F. This recipe takes less time to roast because: a) it is started on the stove; and b) because the breast is stuffed, it cooks a bit from the inside because the stuffing is not as dense as chicken flesh.

Roasting times for different chicken breast sizes (2 - 4 breasts, for more, add a few minutes) at 180C/350F:
Small 6oz/180g - 15 minutes
Medium 7 oz / 210g - 18 minutes
Large 8oz/250g - 20 minutes

3. Other ideas for stuffing: Spinach (thawed frozen spinach, excess water squeezed out), ricotta, feta, olives, other pickled / marinated vegetables, fresh herbs, bacon (of course).

4. Slightly adapted from this Sun Dried Tomato, Spinach and Cheese Chicken by Yammie's Noshery.

5. Nutrition is per serving, for a whole 6oz/180g chicken breast per person. If you use chicken breast much larger than this, each chicken breast can serve 2 people.

Cheesy Mini Potato Gratin Stacks (Muffin Tin)

INGREDIENTS
Oil spray
1.6lb / 800g potatoes
2 tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
¼ cup cream
½ tsp salt
Black pepper
1 cup grated melting cheese (I used cheddar)
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves or 1 tbsp dried thyme

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
2. Spray a standard 12 hole muffin tin with oil.
3. Peel then slice potatoes into thin slices.
4. Place butter and garlic in a microwave proof cup or bowl, then melt in 30 second bursts.
5. Add cream, salt and pepper into the butter. Stir to dissolve the salt.
6. Place potato slices into the muffin tin so they go halfway up the muffin tin holes.
7. Drizzle each potato stack with ½ tsp of cream mixture then sprinkle with half the thyme.
8. Sprinkle HALF the cheese over the potato stacks.
9. Top with remaining potato slices. Drizzle with remaining cream mixture and remaining thyme.
10. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 35 minutes.
11. Remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake without foil for 10 minutes or until golden and the potato is soft.
12. Let stand for 5 minutes before removing. Use a tablespoon or butter knife to help scope them out. (Note 3)

NOTES
1. You need to use starchy potatoes as they breakdown when cooked, becoming nice and fluffy on the inside and golden and crunchy on the outside. The best to use are Russet (common in the US), Dutch creams, King Edwards or red delight. However, great all rounders like golden delight, coliban, red rascal and Sebago (popular in Australia - the dirt brushed ones) still works great. 

I use Sebago which are the brushed potatoes you can get from any supermarket in Australia (ie. the ones with dirt on them). If you are based in the US, a great all rounder to use is Russet which I understand is one of the most widely used potatoes in the US.

2. Fantastic for making ahead! Either freeze them (defrost before reheating) or keep them in the refrigerator. Them pop them in a 180C/350F oven for 10 minutes just to heat through.

3. Spraying the muffin tin + the butter and cream helps keep the gratin stacks from sticking to the muffin tin. Also, the muffin tin I use is non stick. If your muffin tin is not non stick, spray it generously with oil before putting the potato in to ensure it slips out easily! Because starchy potatoes are used for this recipe, they breakdown and become soft so they sort of bond together which helps keep these stacks upright. Some might slide slightly when you take them out but the resting time helps "set" them.

Romano Chicken with Lemon Garlic Pasta

INGREDIENTS

ROMANO CHICKEN:
½ lb chicken breasts (butterflied or thinly cut into cutlets)
salt and pepper
½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
dry parsley
½ cup panko bread crumbs (homemade or store-bought)
oil for frying (I used combination of olive oil and sunflower oil)s

LEMON GARLIC PASTA:
½ lb linguine or spaghetti or other pasta
juice from 1 lemon, or to taste
3 garlic cloves, minced
zest from ¼ lemon
2 Tbsp butter, cold
2-3 Tbsp whipping cream, or to taste
salt, pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

ROMANO CHICKEN:

1. Place parmesan cheese in a shallow dish. In another dish, put beaten egg with dry parsley; in third dish put panko bread crumbs.
2. Season chicken cutlets with salt and pepper; dredge with parmesan cheese, dip into beaten egg; press the chicken in panko bread crumbs to coat on both sides; shake off the excess.
3. Heat olive oil in a pan; add chicken cutlets and cook on low heat until golden and cooked through.

LEMON GARLIC PASTA:

1. Cook pasta according to package direction; drain (reserve about ½ cup pasta water).
2. Add lemon juice to a pan; add garlic, lemon zest, a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook until liquid is reduced to about half.
3. Add 1 Tbsp butter and slowly melt into your sauce, while swirling the pan; add another 1 Tbsp butter and repeat; stir in whipping cream and about 2 Tbsp pasta water.
4. Add cooked pasta and toss to combine. Serve romano chicken over lemon garlic pasta.

Ham and Swiss Stromboli

Ingredients
1 tube (11 ounces) refrigerated crusty French loaf
6 ounces thinly sliced deli ham
3 green onions, sliced
8 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese (see note)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Unroll dough into a rectangle on a greased baking sheet. Place ham over dough to within ½ inches of edges of the dough; sprinkle evenly with onions, bacon and cheese. 
2. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Pinch seam to seal and tuck ends under. Place seam side down on baking sheet.
3. With a sharp knife, cut several ¼-in.-deep slits on top of loaf. Bake 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. 
4. Cool slightly before slicing. Serve warm.

Notes
You can also use sliced swiss cheese. It makes it a littler harder to roll but works just as well!
Source: slightly adapted from Taste of Home. I used less green onions.

Taco Bake

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs. lean ground beef
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
• ½ cup water
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning 
• 8-oz. shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese
• Corn tortilla chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef and drain fat.
3. Add the diced tomatoes with green chilies, water, sour cream and taco seasoning mix.
4. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes.
5. In the bottom of a greased 9×13” baking dish, place a layer of tortilla chips.
6. Cover with a layer of meat mixture then a layer of cheese.
7. Repeat this process until the last layer is cheese.
8. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.

Notes

Taco Bake is a very simple recipe with limited ingredients. If you want to amp up the flavors and texture of this casserole, add a layer of any or all of the following: drained, whole kernel corn, drained pinto or black beans, sliced olives, diced red & green bell peppers, sliced jalapeno peppers, and green onions after the first layer of cheese is applied.[br][br]A small amount of diced, seeded jalapeno peppers can be added to the meat mixture if you want more heat.[br][br]If you want to increase the heat in the recipe try Pepper Jack cheese for all or part of the cheese.