Gourmet Book Club

06/02/2026

06/02/2026

Left overs again…nope…made something new! If you recall I made some bacon ranch chicken cups a few days ago but I had left over chicken, bacon, Raos Alfredo sauce and brocolli. I had cubed cheese left over from a salad, and chopped onions.

I decided to make a bacon, ranch, chicken, casserole in my Tupperware Microwave Instant Pot because now that the weather is warmer, anything to avoid heating up the kitchen is a winner one pot meal with added elbow macaroni.

In my instant pot…

2 C uncooked elbow macaroni
3 C Water or prepared chicken bouillon (I used 1/2 Tbls. Knorrrs Caldo De Pollo (powdered chicken bouillon)) (Typically a little salty so no need to add extra salt)
About 2 C left over seasoned broasted chicken (I seasoned with ranch dressing and Italian dressing season packets for previous recipe)
About 1/3 C left over crumbled cooked bacon
About 1-2 C brocolli flowers
About 1-2 C cubed mixed cheeses (I had cheddar, a couple different white cheeses)
About 1/3 C chopped onion
1/2 - 3/4 C Raos Alfredo sauce

Mix, make sure liquid just covers all, press down so enough liquid to cook the pasta. Cover and seal instant pot.

In the Tupperware Microwave Instant Pot, cook on high for 25 mins.

This could be cooked in a baking dish in the oven also, but I would cook the pasta separately in this case and add cooked noodles without all the liquid added except for the Alfredo sauce. Mix and pour into your baking dish. Cook at 350 for about 20-25 mins. (Eventhing is cooked but the brocolli and onions so heat through to soften the vegetables and combine flavors.)

You could also use your standalone instant pot. Use settings that you normally use to cook pasta.

Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and Italian parsley for esthetics and added flavor.

06/01/2026

Have you ever simply longed for a plentiful cookie jar? I was experiencing one of those days. I had the following leftover ingredients: half a bag of chocolate chips, half a bag of white chocolate chips, half a bag of butterscotch chips, half a bag of caramel bits, and half a bag of candied pecans. I combined all of these in my chopper and created a crumble of sorts. I was craving peanut butter cookies or oatmeal cookies, I decided to make a chocolate chip-peanut butter-oatmeal cookie with browned butter and flaky sea salt, which has a monster cookiesque vibe without the M&M’s. They turned out amazing.

Peanut Butter/Browned Butter Oatmeal Monster Cookies

Ingredients:

* ½ cup unsalted butter, browned
* 1 cup creamy peanut butter
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 2 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1½ cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* ½ teaspoon baking powder
* ½ teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional but delicious)
* 3 cups Oatmeal
In a food processor or chopper add:
1/4 C Each butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, candied pecans and Carmel bits.

Directions

1. Cream together the cooled browned butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
4. Gradually mix dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
5. Stir in oats.
6. Add chips, nuts, and Carmel.
7. Chill dough for 30 minutes if it seems soft but mine was very dry. I think 2-4 Tbls milk or water are necessary so not so dry.
8. Scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
9. Press like you do with peanut butter cookies otherwise you can leave as balls as picture shows.
10. Sprinkle flaky sea salt on top each cookie.
11. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden.
12. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

05/27/2026

What do you do when you have left over peppers, onions and mushrooms? You add Aidells Roasted Garlic & Guyere Cheese Smoked Chicken Sausage and you have an awesome flavorful meal!

In a saute pan,
1/2 Stick of butter or you can use a few Tbls. olive oil
1 Sliced carton fresh mushrooms
1 Slivered large sweet onion
1 Sliced red pepper
1 Sliced yellow pepper (Could add orange too)
1/4 C Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbls Garlic powder
2 or more sliced Aidells Roasted Garlic & Guyere Cheese Smoked Chicken Sausage

Cook over medium heat until vegetables are soft and sausage is cooked through.

Serve with or without potatoes or pasta.

05/08/2026

Getting ready for bbq season with a fun side dish that I invented from my favorite cocktail…Bloody Mary…Pasta Salad! It’s delish!

In a large bowl, combine…
1 Box Cooked in chicken broth, Rotilli pasta
1/2 C Each - Cubed cheddar cheese, Dubliner cheese, and chipotle colby jack cheese or your choice of cheeses
4 Cubed beef sticks
1 Pkg Cooked and Crumbled Bacon
1 C Chopped dill pickles
1/2 C Chopped garlic filled green olives
1/2 C Chopped banana peppers or pepperocini
3 Spears chopped celery
1 C chopped cooked shrimp (I buy grilled shrimp)
Alternate addition - chopped pickled asparagus
Chopped fresh dill
Ground Pepper to taste

Dressing
1 C Mayo
1/2 C Sour Cream
1/3 C Bloody Mary Mix
1/3 C Clamato Juice
1/3 C Chilli Sauce
3 Tbls Tomato Paste
1 Tbls Worcester Sauce
1 tsp Celery salt
1 tsp Pepper
1 Tbls Chopped Garlic
1 Tbls Horseradish
2 Tbls Pickle Juice
1 tsp Paprika - helps enhance red coloring

Blend and pour over salad fixings, toss, and serve.

05/04/2026

Inspired by new movie “You, Me, and Tuscany”. Very cute romcom btw. I made a very tasty Tuscan Chicken Wrap with Italian antipasto salad. È tanto gustoso quanto colorato.

Antipasto Salad

1 Box of TriColor Pasta - Cooked in Chicken Broth
1 Sm garlic summer sausage cubed
1/2 lb. Sharp cheddar cheese cubed
1/2 lb. White cheddar cheese cubed
(Crumbled Feta or Fresh mozzarella pearls can be great substitutes)
1/2 C Finely chopped red onion
1/2 C Chopped stop light peppers
1 Sm can sliced black olives
1/2 C Chopped radishes
1/2 C Chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbls. Chopped fresh dill
1/2 C Shredded carrots
1/2 C Halved grape tomatoes
1/2 C Chopped English cucumber

Dressing
You can either use 1/2 Bottle of Wishbone Robust Italian Dressing or make your own:

In a jar, combine:

2 Tbls Garlic paste
2 Tbls Dijon Mustard
1 Tbls Lemon juice
1 Tbls Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 C Olive Oil
1 Tsp Dried Oregano
Salt & Pepper to taste

Shake to combine and pour over salad serve alone or with Tuscan chicken wrap as a side.

Tuscan Chicken Wrap
Using 1 pkg. raw chicken tenders, cut into bite size pieces, marinate over night in refrigerator in sealed bag or container:

Place bite size chicken tenders in container or ziplock bag with:
1 pkg Good Seasons Dry Italian Dressing packet
1/2 C Wishbone Robust Italian Dressing
Mix to coat all pieces well. Place in refrigerator.

Remove from refrigerator and either grill, bake or fry in butter, chicken tenders until cooked through, do not over cook because they can get tough.

Lay out a flour tortilla on a plate - size to your liking - I do not heat my tortillas first but certainly you can heat in pan that has been oiled for just a minute or 2 or warm them wrapped in foil in the oven for a few minutes, if you prefer them heated.

Spread basil pesto on tortilla - I buy fresh pesto or jarred pesto in refrigerated section or Italian section of grocery store.
Layer a small portion of lettuce, your choice - I use kale that I’ve made into a salad with olive oil, craisins and walnuts.
Layer a few strips of roasted red pepper on top of the lettuce
Layer the chunks of chicken On top of peppers and lettuce
Top with Fresh Mozzarella slices. (1 or 2, your choice).

Wrap like a burrito and slice in halves. Serve with salad.

03/28/2026

Made Rachel and Reuben Sliders this morning! Yum! So Easy!

What you need:
1 Dozen Kings Hawaiian Slider Rolls
1/2 - 1Lb Shaved Turkey and Corned Beef from the meat department. My favorite turkey is Boars Head Spicy Smoked Turkey. Has a little bite but definitely adds to the taste without being too spicy.

1 Lb Shaved Baby Swiss
1/2 C Thousand Island Dressing
1/2 Stick Melted Butter
1 Can Bavarian Sauerkraut

Assemble:
1. Slice Hawaiian rolls in whole block of rolls, separating tops from bottoms not between individual rolls.
2. Place bottom half on a greased or parchment papered dish or sheet pan.
3. Melt butter and brush the bottom of the buns with butter.
4. Slather the bottom rolls with Thousand Island Dressing.
5. Layer half (6 rolls) if twelve pack of Hawaiian rolls, with Turkey and then layer the other 6 with corned beef.
6. Top meat layer with Sauerkraut.
7. Slather Sauerkrat with more Thousand Island Dressing
8. Top Sauerkraut and Dressing layer with shaved Baby Swiss.
9. Top with the tops of the rolls.
10. Brush top with melted butter and sprinkle Everything Bagel Seasoning over top as final layer.
11. Bake in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, until warmed and cheese melted.

Serves 6 people with a Rachel and Reuben each.

03/26/2026

Have you seen Stephanie Hansen on local news television but also the Jason Show? She’s a local chef who specializes in home style Minnesota cooking. She has written a book with author Kurt Johnson called The Moon Tavern, a culinary love story with recipes. Once released, let’s have a revival of the Thursday Night Gourmet Book Club with recipes from the book. Who’s In?

03/26/2026

Watched an Asian Seafood Salad cooking video and thought how yummy, light and fresh. I of course have put my own spin on it so for something different for your next lunch, brunch or holiday gathering....

In a mixing bowl, bring together:

20-30 Cooked shrimp tail-off chopped into smaller pieces. (I used grilled shrimp, so has that grill flavor)
1/2 Pkg. chopped Imitation Crab or real crab meat
1 Chopped Cucumber - (I used 5 mini English cucumbers)
I C Mirapoix (I used instead of chopping each vegetable individually)
1/2 C Shredded Carrots
1/2 Chopped Red Onion
1-2 Chopped Celery stalks
1/4 C Chopped green onion
1/2 C Mayonnaise
2 Tbls Sesame Oil
2 Tbls Soy Sauce
1 Tbls Chilli Crisp
2 Tbls Siracha Sauce
1-2 Tbls Everything Bagel Mix
Juice of 1 Lemon
Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. Serve with some fresh parsley and/or toasted sesame seeds for garnish.

03/22/2026

Vegetarian Spanish Rice

I tried a new concoction today as I remembered my dad whose birthday was March 15th.

When I was a kid, my dad often made Spanish rice for dinner. It was one of my favorites. Unfortunately, he didn’t use recipes so I don’t have his handed down version. It may have even been a packaged product, but as a memory, it’s a fond one of my dad, and it was always delicious.

I made 3 C Basmati rice with chicken broth in my rice cooker then assembled in a casserole dish.

To the greased casserole dish add:
3 C Cooked rice
1/2 Pkg of Gardein Brand - Plant Based Ground Beef, Pictured. Or you can brown 1 lb. Ground Beef seasoned with taco or fajita seasoning in a skillet, drain grease and add to rice casserole.

(I like using this plant based product for Sloppy Joes, Tacos, and Spaghetti as well. I haven’t done the math but I feel like it makes any dish a little lighter.)

To the rice and protein, add:

1 Can Fire Roasted Corn drained
1 Can Black Beans drained
1 Can Rotel Tomato’s with Chiles drained
1/2 C Chopped Stop Light Peppers
1/2 C Chopped Onion
2 Tbls Chopped Garlic
1 Pkg Taco or Fajita Seasoning if using plant based ground beef
1/3 C Tomato Sauce
3-4 Tbls Tomato Paste
4 Oz. Shredded cheddar blend cheese

Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30-35 Minutes

Serve with either chopped cilantro, parsley or green onion for garnish.