Crab & Orzo Salad

Salad or pasta dish? I think of salads as being cold. This can be served either warm or cold. Divas can be warm or cold. It depends if you bought them a convertible for their birthday or cleaning equipment.

Crab & Orzo Salad

1 cup orzo

½ onion, chopped

1 can crab meat

12 Roasted Grape Tomatoes (see recipe) or 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped

½ cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp. chili sauce (I use Thai chili sauce)

1 squeeze lemon juice

salt & pepper

3 drops hot pepper sauce

Cook orzo according to directions.
Sauté onion.
Combine orzo onion, crab meat, and tomatoes.
In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, chili sauce, lemon juice, salt, pepper and hot sauce.
Pour the spicy sauce over the orzo mixture and serve.

Make it a meal: This is a great light lunch on its own or it can be a side dish with Baked Trout with Parmesan (see recipe).

Wine: Sauvignon Blanc

Roasted Grape Tomatoes

Divas love versatility in their cooking, wardrobe, men, and jewelry.Divas will love this simple dish for the same reasons. I make these ahead of time and then pop them out and throw them into various recipes. They also work fine on their own as a side dish. You can also freeze them. Variety!

Roasted Grape Tomatoes

1 carton grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes cut in half

2-3 glugs olive oil

oregano, thyme, or basil

garlic cloves, minced

Put everything into a pretty bowl and mix.
Pour it all into a roasting dish.
Roast it all at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes.
That's it!

Make it a meal: Serve alongside Chicken & Stuffing (see recipe)

Wine: Sangiovese

Chicken & Stuffing

Super easy comfort food! Make this in the morning and dish it out to hungry family members in the evening. My man loves this. He had two helpings tonight!

3 celery sticks, chopped

3-4 boneless chicken breast

1 cup chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of celery soup

1/4 cup milk

3 cups stuffing mix

4-5 pats of butter

salt and pepper to taste

Toss celery into the bottom of the crock pot.
Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper, and place in the slow cooker.
Pour chicken broth over chicken breasts.
Combine both cans of soup and milk.
Pour soup mixture over the chicken.
Sprinkle stuffing mix over all.
Put butter on top.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Make it a meal: Serve with steamed broccoli.

Wine: Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay

Carmelized Onion with Thyme

This is a healthy, anti-oxidants side dish. If you like vinegar as much as I do, you are going to adore this dish. (photo by Darwin Bell)

Caramelized Onion with Thyme

1 onion, sliced

2 glugs olive oil

salt & pepper

1/4 cup white wine

dash thyme

dash champagne vinegar

Toss the onions on a large pan; salt and pepper.
Add olive oil and sauté briefly, then cover the pan.
Stir the onion often for about 10-15 minutes until onion is soft.
The onions should be golden brown.

Reduce the heat to medium-low.
Add the wine and stir until wine is evaporated, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the vinegar and thyme.

Make it a meal: Serve with roasted chicken and green beans.

Wine: Sauvignon Blanc