• 4 chicken leg quarters (drumsticks and thighs attached)
• 1 bottle favorite barbecue sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• hamburger buns or bread
• garnishes, such as pickles, onion, lettuce, cole slaw, etc.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Arrange chicken on a sheet pan, and add salt and pepper as desired. You can coat the chicken in sauce now, but if you do, I would add some foil so it doesn’t burn. I usually add the sauce at the end, though, because the chicken exudes quite a bit of liquid, and will make the whole thing runny.

Remove the chicken from the oven after about 2 hours, or when it is fall-off-the-bone tender. Let it sit until it is cool enough to handle and remove the meat from the bones and place it in a bowl. Reserve the bones and any leftover liquid for soup stock later.

Shred the chicken with your fingers or 2 forks. Add barbecue sauce to taste and serve.

• 1 – 15 1/2 oz. can pink salmon, bones and skin picked out (unless you like these)
• 2 packages cream cheese, softened
• 1-2 tsp. liquid smoke

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and spread on toasted bagels.

Here are some additional ingredients that I have added over the years, which I think enhance the experience:

• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 tbsp. minced capers
• 1/2 c. grated or finely diced red onion OR diced green onion
• 2 tbsp. minced fresh or 1 tbsp. dried parsley
• salt and black pepper (freshly ground) to taste

Of course,  if you want to make a non-ghetto version, use a small fillet of natural smoked salmon.

Es gezunterhayt! (Yiddish for “bon appétit”)

• steak
• salt
• black pepper
• butter

To make it like a Dutch Steak, top with the following, and broil. Leave your steak nice and bloody if you plan on adding this topping. It should only need two minutes on each side.

• Mix together the following:
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon sweet hot mustard
  • 3 tablespoons Parmesan

• 3 russet potatoes
• 4 garlic cloves
• bay leaves
• sprig of thyme
• vegetable stock
• salt
• black pepper

I made these because I didn’t have any butter.

Boil some water. Add salt, bay leaves and thyme. Quarter potatoes and place in boiling water. Boil until you can squish a piece of potato between your forefinger and thumb, easily. Make sure to use tongs and cold water before attempting to handle the hot potato. While the potatoes are boiling, cook the garlic in a little bit of oil to soften. Once the potatoes are cooked use either a large fork or a potato masher or a wooden spoon or whatever works best for you. Add the garlic and slowly add stock while mashing. The potatoes will fluff up and absorb the moisture so just add more stock as you mash until you reach the desired consistency. Salt and pepper to taste.

• 1 can condensed chicken noodle soup
• 2 cans of water (this is more than the recommended)
• 1/2 cup cooked rice
• several pinches of canned fancy cut spinach (refrigerate the rest)
• black pepper
• tarragon
• marjoram
• paprika

The spices and the spinach are what really makes this dish stand out from a boring can of reheated soup. This type of recipe is great for people who aren’t used to stocking their pantries with fresh food. As much as I loathe microwaves, you could even prepare this meal with the microwave.

Reheat the condensed soup following the instructions on the label but use twice the recommended amount of water. Don’t be afraid to leave the heat on for too long with this one because the technique I used involved placing cold rice and cold spinach into the soup right before serving. This means that you can add a dash of paprika and a pinch each of the marjoram and tarragon while bringing the soup to a simmer. Sprinkle with black pepper to taste.

After several minutes of simmering, add the rice and spinach straight from the refrigerator. The reason I use this technique is that the heat transfers from the hot soup to the cold rice and the cold spinach warming the latter while cooling the former, allowing you to serve the soup almost immediately.

For the broth:

• 1 turkey carcass with some meat still attached, quartered
• 2-3 quarts water
• Vegetable trimmings (carrot and potato peels, celery bottoms and leaves, onion ends and peels, etc.) or:
  • 1 onion chopped roughly
  • 2 celery stalks, broken in half or thirds
  • 2 carrots, chopped roughly
• 4-5 whole black peppercorns
• salt to taste

Add the turkey carcass, trimming (or vegetables), peppercorns and salt to the pot of water. You may also add any fat or gelatinous material to the pot and bring it to a boil. Boil for 1-2 hours until you have a rich, flavorful broth. Drain the broth through a fine-meshed strainer or a colander lined with cheesecloth or, if nothing else, just a colander. Pick all the meat from the bones and save them for the next part of the recipe. Make sure to let the bones cool first, though.

For the soup:

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2-3 carrots, chopped
• 2-3 ribs of celery, chopped
• 1/4 c flour
• 2-3 medium potatoes, chopped
• 1 can of diced tomatoes, drained (or 1-2 medium tomatoes, diced)
• 1 can corn, drained (or 1 c fresh or frozen)
• 1 can peas, drained (or 1 c fresh or frozen)
• turkey broth (see above)
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 1 c milk
• turkey meat, picked from the bones, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh or 1/2 tbsp dried rosemary
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In the same pan you made the broth in, melt the butter. When the foaming subsides, add the onions, celery and carrots, and saute them until translucent. Add the flour and continue to saute until the flour turns brown, about 1 minute. Add the rest of the vegetables and broth and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Add the remaining ingredients and let it simmer a few minutes until it is thick.

Spinach, carrot, cucumber and apple

• 1 large carrot
• 1 cucumber
• 2 small handfuls fresh spinach
• 1 palm full sliced white onion
• 2 small apples
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• ground cumin

I started with a bed of spinach with which to lay everything upon as I prepared the produce. If you know have a technique or a tool for slicing things very thin, almost as thin as what a peeler would produce, use it here on the carrot. Otherwise, this could end up slightly dry. Arrange the carrot slices across the bed of spinach and feel free to overlap them. If you want to get fancy, place the carrots in overlapping groups of three and that will make the final product come out in sections.

The cucumber doesn’t need to be sliced as thin, here. Slice your cucumber and arrange in a layer on top of the carrots. Follow the same rule of threes here as you did with the carrots.

If not prepared correctly, the next step could cause the salad to look unappetizing. Apples tend to brown quickly so as we are slicing our apple wedges, approximately one-eighth-inch, we are going to have a plate of lemon juice ready. Gently rub each side of the apple in the lemon juice before placing on top of the cucumber. At this point sprinkle a light layer of cumin on top of the salad. I’ll describe the dressing next.

A single serving would ideally be three slices of carrots, three slices of cucumber, some bits of onion and a quadrangle of apple on a small bed of fresh spinach.

Creamy spice dressing

The dressing is almost as simple as the salad but with a couple twists. I honestly didn’t pay attention to the amounts of each ingredient I used so you may have to experiment until you reach the desired flavor.

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup apple cider (juice will work just fine)
• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 2 pinches marjoram
• 2 dashes black pepper
• 1 pinch coriander seed
• 1 pinch cumin
• 2 tablespoons milk (half and half or cream would work as well (not whipping))

This will be a sort of creamy vinaigrette. Start with your oil and add your spices. This will allow the oil to take on some of the flavor of your spices. Feel free to crush up the coriander seed just slightly so the flavor can leech into the oil. After a few minutes mix the apple cider and vinegar together in a separate container and whisk into the main dressing. Whisk the milk or cream next and splash the dressing generously onto the salad. This is a light dressing and compliments the salad perfectly.

Here’s a closer look at the salad. You can’t really make out the spinach or the carrots but it was prettier when eating. I added some crumbled dried bread to the top.

Closer look

• 1 lb of spaghetti
• 1 lb bratwurst, sliced into 1 inch pieces
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 c chicken broth
• 1 c heavy cream
• 1 packet of macaroni and cheese sauce mix
• Italian seasoning
• salt and black pepper to taste

Boil a pot of salted water and cook the spaghetti to al dente.  Sauté the brats, onion, pepper and garlic in olive oil. Add the tomatoes and chicken broth, and reduce by half. Add the cream and reduce again. Add the rest of the ingredients and serve over the spaghetti.

• 1 loaf Italian sourdough bread, sliced and toasted
• 1 package dehydrated sun-dried tomatoes
• pear juice (or any kind of juice, wine or water)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• sliced onion (we did it raw, but I would try sauteing or caramelizing as well)
• sliced roast beef (leave out if vegetarian)
• cottage cheese
• thyme, oregano, cumin

Rehydrate the tomatoes by adding enough pear juice (or whatever) to barely cover them and microwaving 30 seconds or until soft. Mince the tomatoes with the garlic and add this back to any remaining juice. Mix in the olive oil and salt and pepper. Garnish the toast with the tomato mixture and the remaining ingredients and enjoy!

As a side note, I would maybe put this back in the oven under the broiler for a minuted to melt and brown the cheese. Also, I would suggest trying a variation with prosciutto and mozzarella cheese for the roast beef and cottage cheese, if you happen to have any lying around.

• 3 Stone ground whole wheat flat-bread wraps (you can use any kind of tortilla)
• 3 eggs
• 6 tablespoons refried black beans
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• Salt
• Pepper
• Chili powder
• Tapatio
• Butter

This recipe is simple. Throw a couple tabs of butter into a hot pan, break three eggs into the pan after the butter is sizzling and break the yolks with your spatula. I never whisk my scrambled eggs, I just break the yolks and give a couple stirs then season while the eggs are still liquid. To season, just dash some salt, pepper and chili powder by which time the eggs should be solid enough on the bottom to fold in half.

While the eggs are finishing, spread two tablespoons of refried black beans on each tortilla and then you can flip your eggs over. I usually do this in one pan where my eggs only take up half and I only need the half of the tortilla with the beans on it to feel the heat from the pan. I’ll cook one tortilla at a time and slice off a portion of egg topping with tapatio and sour cream then give a partial roll (this will burn your fingers) before placing the burrito on a surface to cool before rolling.

That’s it. That’s the formula. Layer of refried black beans, scrambled egg, tapatio, sour cream then tuck and roll. This will make you three burritos. If you serve this with something else you can feed three people. Two of these by themselves filled me up to where I could have not eaten a couple bites and still been full. Enjoy.