When my family lived in London for two years we had an amazing housekeeper/nanny who was also a fabulous cook. This is her recipe she made for us all the time because my kids loved it so much. This is how I got my kids to eat spinach. Thanks Emmie!

Ingredients:

3 5 oz. bags of washed baby spinach

2 small red onions sliced

2 T brown sugar

1/3 C pine nuts

2 T margarine (divided)

1 tsp seasoned salt (I use Jane's Crazy Mixed Up Salt)

Preparation:

In a large saute pan melt 1 T margarine and add the seasoned salt. Add the pine nuts and toast until lightly golden in color and remove from pan.

Melt the remaining 1 T margarine in the same pan and add the onions and saute until softened. Then add the brown sugar and continue to cook over medium high heat until caramelized. Remove from pan and set aside. Add spinach to the pan and cook until just wilted.

Place cooked spinach on a shallow serving dish and spread out to cover the dish . Place the onions on top of the spinach and spread out. Then top with toasted pine nuts and serve warm.

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Sausage and Peppers seems to be a crowd favorite in all of our families and although there aren't very many ingredients and it's fairly easy to make it can get a bit messy and be time consuming.  Nanci came up with this great short cut and I think it tastes just as good!  Nanci uses fresh onions and peppers but recently I decided to try it with frozen onions and frozen tri-colored peppers to see if I can make this even easier to throw together and it was delicious!  I might even go as far to say that it's better than our original recipe...

Ingredients:

1 package of Italian sweet sausage
1 - 12 oz bag frozen chopped onions (or one fresh medium onion sliced)
1 - 16 oz bag frozen sliced tri colored peppers (or 3 fresh peppers sliced)
1/4 cup of pasta sauce

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.   Put onions and peppers into the casserole dish and place the sausage on top.  Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the sausage is browned.  Turn the sausage over and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes to brown other side.  Remove from oven and take out sausage and slice into 1/2 inch pieces and place back into the casserole dish with the onions and peppers.  Add the pasta sauce and stir to coat.  Place back in the oven for an additional 20 minutes or until desired doneness ( I like mine well done and browned and caramelized)
Linked to Country Pot Luck
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Super easy side dish with ingredients that I always have on hand.

Ingredients:

1 lb orzo pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 package of sliced mushrooms

1 small onion diced

Boil pasta according to package directions.  While pasta is cooking heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet.  Add onion and sautee for a few minutes until starting to brown, add mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes until both onions and mushrooms are caramelized and tender.  Drain orzo and add to skillet with onions and mushroom.  Sitr to combine.

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I love this recipe for entertaining. Everything can be done and assembled ahead of time and popped in the oven 10 minutes before serving. It is a big hit at all of our family gatherings and when I throw a cocktail party.

Ingredients:

1 large french baguette. cut into bite sized crostini
1 log of goat cheese
5 medium onions, cut in half and sliced thin
2 T. olive oil
1 T. margarine
1 T. brown sugar
salt and pepper

Preparation:

Saute onions in large pan with oil and margarine on medium low heat until soft and dark brown (approx 20 minutes). Add brown sugar, salt, and pepper and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Transfer to bowl and set aside.

Toast crostini in a 350 degree oven just until lightly toasted. Spread goat cheese on crostini and top with caramelized onions. Bake in 400 degree oven for approximately 10 minutes. Serve immediately.
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My daughter Rachel and I both love sweet potatoes. I am always looking for new ways to make them besides just plain old baked. I came up with this version of mashed sweet potatoes. The caramelized onions and mushrooms really help cut the sweetness of the potatoes. They were delicious!

Ingredients:

4-6 large sweet potatoes

1 T olive oil

1 large onion sliced

8 0z. sliced shiitake mushrooms

2 T butter or margarine

1/4 Cup soy milk

1 T maple syrup

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Bake sweet potatoes in a 450 degrees oven for about 45 minutes or until you can pierce a fork through them easily. Cool for 5 minutes. Remove the skin from the potatoes and place the flesh into a large bowl or dish. Mash the flesh with a fork until smooth.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet and add the onions. Sautee until they start to turn golden. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking until the onions and the mushrooms are a dark golden brown. Set aside.

Add the soy milk, margarine, and maple syrup to the sweet potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Smooth the top and spread the onion and mushroom mixture over the sweet potatoes.

Serve hot.

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I don't know why but I haven't made this dish in several years.  I  think I just forgot about it and it deserves to be remembered.  It's so easy and really delicious.  I am going to add it back into my regular repertoire.  I had a friend over for dinner tonight and she said it was her favorite dish so far that I've made....so with that sort of praise how can I not make it more often?

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken cutlets or chicken tenders
1 cup flavored bread crumbs
2 eggs beaten
2 large onions sliced thinly
2 cups beef broth
1/4 cup vegetable oil + 2 Tbl
2 Tbl butter

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Dip cutlets in beaten egg and then dredge in bread crumbs.  Heat oil in large skillet and fry cutlets until browned on both sides (it's not necessary to cook the chicken through).  Remove cutlets and drain on paper towel and n transfer into a deep casserole dish or dutch oven, set aside.  Clean out skillet and add 2 Tbl of butter and 2 Tbl of vegetable oil and heat over med high heat.  Add sliced onions to skillet and cook stirring often until onions are a dark golden brown and caramelized.  Spoon caramelized onions over chicken cutlets and then pour beef broth over the top of the onions.  Cover and transfer dish to preheated oven and bake for 45 min - 1 hr.  Remove from oven and serve chicken and onions over cous cous spooning extra liquid over the top......the cous cous will soak up the liquid.  Enjoy!
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