This is a dish that's very easy to make, doesn't take much time. (Broccoli takes a bit more time than Broccoli Rabe just because you have to trim the skins off of the broccoli stems, but we're talking only a matter of minutes.)

The following recipe serves two and can be the main dish with bread (or toast) as a side. If serving with other food items, then this would probably be enough for four people.

INGREDIENTS

At least 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil. More if Rob will be eating.
A minimum of 6 garlic cloves, peeled
A couple of teaspoons of dried Rosemary
A couple of teaspoons of fennel seeds
½ teaspoon dried chile flakes
1 bunch broccoli rabe (about 1 pound), woody stems trimmed (Although I've made this with broccoli before, too, and it came out just fine. Cut the tough skin off of the broccoli stems.
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
salt and black pepper

PREPARATION

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat, combine the oil, garlic, rosemary, fennel seeds and chile flakes. Cook until the mixture is fragrant and the garlic is golden, 3 to 5 minutes.

Turn off the heat, then add the rabe and toss until coated in oil. Scatter the chickpeas around the rabe and stir to coat in oil. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Cover with a lid or foil and bake for about 40 minutes, until the chickpeas are soft and crispy in parts and the broccoli rabe is tender, but the stems are not mushy.

Let cool slightly.

Serve with bread. (Toast or crusty bread both work well.)

This recipe was taken from the New York Times cooking section -- Olive Oil-Braised Chickpeas and Broccoli Rabe, by Ali Slagle. 

Ingredients:

2 cups dry rice
water
1 onion
butter or olive oil
1 or 2 cans of salmon
salt and pepper
1 can olives (black or green)
1 cup(ish) cheddar cheese
2 eggs
butter
lemon juice (or lemon packets)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cook 2 cups of rice with 4 cups of water and a wee bit of salt. Bring to a boil, then turn to medium and put a lid on. You'll know the rice is done when you can't see any more water. But you can always test a grain to be sure.

While the rice is cooking, chop up the onion and sautee it in oil or butter until soft. (Medium heat.)

Drain the liquid from the salmon. (If there are dogs or cats around, divide the liquid into little bowls and set down simultaneously to reduce fighting.)

Mix cooked rice, sauteed onions, drained salmon, drained olives, about 1 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Add a wee bit of the cheese (save the rest for the top) and mix in the two eggs.

Pour mixture into a casserole dish or brownie pan.

You can either put the cheese on at this point and bake. Or you can bake it a bit, then put the cheese on. There are two advantages to going the second route. You'll have a better view of the rice dish to know if it's still eggy or if it's just starting to brown up. And the cheese won't burn while the rest hasn't fully cooked yet.

I think you'll need to cook this for around 20 - 30 minutes. If you don't put the cheese on till later, aim for about 15 minutes in.

While it's baking, make the sauce. Melt a stick (or half a stick... depending on how much sauce you want) in a small pan. Add lemon juice (or you can use the little lemon packets), salt and pepper. Taste it to see if it needs anything added.


When Nana first made this dish, she'd make it in a cupcake pan. That made it easy to portion out and can be a fun way to serve friends. But a big dish works just as well. 

This is a fairly easy to make cake from Bob's Red Mill. I put jam in the center and used an icing recipe that was essentially one can of coconut milk, a bit of sugar, and some gelatin.

When your garden is bursting at the seams with tomatoes, this is an incredibly tasty way to eat them up. This is also a good way to use tomatoes that are starting to go bad on one side, but are just fine on the other side. Toss the bad bits in the compost and throw the rest in the soup.

Ingredients:
Couple tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium - large onion or 2 - 3 cloves garlic... or both
Lots and lots of tomatoes
1/2 - 1 cup bone broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cream
fresh basil to taste


Directions: 
1. Pour some olive oil into the bottom of a soup pot set over medium heat. Add diced onions/garlic. While that is simmering, begin chopping and adding tomatoes. I essentially keep adding tomatoes until a. I've reached about three quarters of the way up the pot and don't want the soup to bubble out or b. I've run out of tomatoes. Stir and simmer while you continue to chop and add.

2. Once you've decided to stop adding tomatoes, add the bone broth and let the tomatoes simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes. This gives the tomatoes a chance to break down and become soupy. Add salt and pepper and if you want a little heat, add a little of your favorite spicy additive now.

3. Once the tomatoes have broken down to a consistency that looks soupy, add the cream and basil. Let cook just a few minutes longer and serve. 

This is a great way to use fresh tomatoes in the fall. So you'll note that there's an "or" in the ingredients depending on the time of year.

It's also a good way to use up leftover rice.

Ingredients:
1 pound of beef
1 medium onion or half a large onion (or more if you really like onions)
1-3 cloves of garlic, minced
5-15 fresh tomatoes, diced (depending on the size of the tomatoes and how tomatoey you want your rice to be)
or 1 6 oz. can of tomato paste and 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2 - 1 cup homemade bone broth
1 teaspoon salt
pepper
couple of dashes of chili powder and cumin
2-4 cups rice... whatever you have leftover

Directions:
1. Brown the beef. When beef is nearly done, add onion and garlic.
2. Add the tomatoes or cans of tomato paste/chopped tomatoes, bone broth, salt, pepper and chili and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Add the rice, let simmer another 5 minutes.

When reheating, add about 1/4 - 1/2 cup more broth so that the rice doesn't scorch on the bottom of the pan. This also adds in more of the good, tummy healing stuff that's in the bone broth. 

Ingredients
2 cups rice
2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil
1 small or medium onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or a small piece of chopped up fresh ginger
2 - 3 tablespoons of Thei red curry paste
1 can coconut milk
1 cup bone broth
vegetables (broccoli, peppers, green beans, etc.)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons Bragg's liquid aminos
chicken or shrimp (I use 2 chicken breasts or about 2 cups shrimp.)

Directions
1. Put rice into a sauce pan and add twice as much water. (2 cups rice, 4 cups water) Bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, turn the temperature down low (to about 3) and let simmer until the water is gone. While the rice is cooking, begin the curry.

2. In a stainless steel fry pan, heat oil on medium heat (around 5).

3. Chop up onion and add it to the oil. Let it cook, stirring every minute or so, until the onion is soft and translucent.

4. Add ginger, curry paste (or curry powder if we're out of paste), coconut milk, and broth.

5. Add vegetables (either fresh chopped or frozen) and let cook over medium heat.

Chicken Curry Directions...
6. In a separate pan, fry up chunks of chicken in a few tablespoons of oil. Stir the chicken occasionally. Cook until lightly browned.

7. If everyone wants chicken in their curry, then add it to the vegetable mixture.

8. Add fish sauce. I know it smells horrible, but it's going to make the curry taste good. And add the Braggs.

9. Serve.

Shrimp Curry Directions...
6. Allow the curry to simmer about 15 minutes.

7. Add the shrimp, fish sauce, and liquid aminos. Cook until the shrimp is pink. (Or, if it was precooked and already pink, then until it's thawed.) Don't overcook shrimp! It'll be too chewy then. But you also don't want any translucent blue bits on the shrimp. That means it's still raw.

8. Serve.

Ingredients
1/2 package of bacon
1 pound of ground beef (one brick of beef - preferably thawed in advance)
1 medium onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 large clove or 2 small cloves garlic - minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper (or just grind pepper over the dish 5 or 6 times)
1 can tomato sauce OR 1 can tomato paste plus 1 1/2 cups bone broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can pineapple chunks

Directions

1. Cut the bacon into little slices (cutting perpendicular to the length of the bacon strips). Fry these up in a cast iron pan for about 5 minutes on medium heat (around 5 on the dial).

2. Add the ground beef and let cook until fully browned, stirring occasionally so that the meat doesn't burn on the bottom. Begin cutting up the vegetables while the meat is browning.

3. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlict o the meat. Let cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.  Add the chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir.

5. Add tomato sauce (or tomato paste plus broth), diced tomatoes, and pineapple chunks.

6. Your chili is essentially done at this point. But if you have time to let is simmer (3 or 4 on the dial) for 30 - 45 minutes, that will allow the flavors to blend together.

This recipe is a modified version of the Spicy Pineapple Chili by Civilized Caveman Cooking.