Pasta with Caramelized Onions & White Wine

What You'll Need:

• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 3 tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 2 cups yellow onion, thinly sliced (about 1 pound)
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 8 ounces uncooked spiral pasta
• 1 tbsp Kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper

What You'll Do:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine the Panko, 1 tbsp Olive Oil, 1 clove of garlic, and a dash of salt in a small bowl until combined, then spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 6 minutes, or until golden. Stir the Panko mixture after 3 minutes.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add remaining 2 tbsp Olive Oil.
4. Add your onions to the skillet and cook about 20 minutes or until brown. Be sure to stir frequently.
5. Cook your pasta with 1 tbsp Kosher salt according to the package directions.
6. Add the remaining minced garlic clove and wine, increasing heat to medium-high. Cook for 1 minute.
7. Add broth to skillet and cook about 5 minutes, or until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup.
8. Combine your cooked and drained pasta, remaining salt, and pepper to onion mixture in the skillet and toss together.
9. Once pasta is served, sprinkle each serving with Panko mixture.

** If you don't have Panko, or would prefer not to purchase Panko (a box shouldn't be more than $2), feel free to use regular breadcrumbs. **

Dish Info:

This flavorful dish will serve 4 people and each serving has 364 calories. It was also adapted from a recipe found in the April 2011 issue of Cooking Light. While this is a great dish (wonderful for company), it does not reheat well so isn't a good choice for left-overs. 

Broccoli Cheese Soup

What You'll Need:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• frozen chopped broccoli, (12-oz)
• 2 cans chicken broth (14.5-oz each)
• 1 lb Velveta, chopped
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/3 cup corn starch
• 1/2 cup water or chicken broth

What To Do:

1. In a medium stockpot melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add the onion to the melted butter and cook until softened.
3. Pour broccoli into stockpot and cover with the 2 cans of chicken broth. Simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Add cubed Velveta and stir until melted.
5. Pour the milk and garlic powder into the stockpot and stir.
6. Mix the water or chicken stock and the corn starch until smooth and pour into soup and cook, stirring frequently until thick.

Dish Info:

This dish has 266 calories per serving and came from here.  I also halved the recipe, so this will feed 6 very hungry appetites.

Baked Apples

What You'll Need

• 6 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp Cloves
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 Walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup milk

What To Do

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and coat a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Cloves.
3. Add your sliced apples to the sugar mixture, stirring to coat.
4. Fold the raisins and Walnuts into the apples and spoon the fruit into your prepared baking dish, spooning milk over top.
5. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until apples are soft. Allow dish to cook slightly before serving.

Dish Info 

This delicious recipe serves 12 appetites, and can be easily halved. It is also scrumptious when served with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream.

Black Bean Chili

What You'll Need

• 3 cans of Black Beans, rinsed and drained (15-oz each)
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 1 lb ground beef or turkey
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp ground Cumin
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 can of chicken broth (14-oz)
• 2 cans Rotel, undrained (15.4-oz each)

What To Do

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot, and add your chopped onion and ground meat and saute until the meat is cooked through.
2. Stir into the pot the Chili Powder, ground Cumin, salt, and pepper and continue to saute for an additional minute.
3. Add the beans, chicken stock, and Rotel to the meat mixture and bring it to a boil. Cover your pot, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. 

*The long you allow the chili to simmer to spicier it will taste. Rob likes it best when it simmers for 30 minutes*

Dish Info

This recipe will serve about 8 people, depending on appetites.