SAUSAGE, SPINACH & ZUCCHINI LASAGNA (CROCKPOT)

1 tray mild Italian ground sausage
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 - 798 ml can crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
2 tbsp. Epicure's Marinara Sauce Mix
2 handful spinach, chopped
1 c. zucchini, grated
4 c. mozzarella cheese, grated
500 ml cottage cheese
12 oven-ready lasagna noodles

In a large frying pan, brown sausage and then add onion and garlic, sautéeing till soft. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and seasonings, then toss in vegetables and stir well. Remove from heat. Combine cheeses together in a bowl, and then start layering things into the crockpot, starting with sauce, then cheese, then noodles.  After the last layer of noodles, add another layer of sauce and cheese, then cook on low for 4-6 hours.

The picture isn't very appetizing, but this lasagna was amazingly delicious!

HOT & CHEESY CHICKEN DIP

You can use this recipe to make puff pastry appetizers or just a hot dip - it's delicious either way! Play around with the seasonings too - if you don't like things too spicy, just use the Creamy Ranch Dip Mix and one of the other seasonings (Buffalo Wings OR Chipotle, Bacon & Cheddar).

1/2 lb. ground chicken, browned, or 1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1 pkg. cream cheese
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 c. grated cheese
1 tsp. Epicure's Buffalo Wing seasoning
2 tsp. Epicure's Creamy Ranch Dip Mix
2 tsp. Epicure's Chipotle, Bacon & Cheddar Dip Mix

As a Hot Dip: Combine ingredients in a baking dish and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips.
If making appetizers, roll out a square of puff pastry and use Epicure's Appy Maker to cut it into triangles. Put a scoop of the dip on each triangle and then roll it up. Place on a lined baking sheet and bake at 425 F for 10-12 minutes. (I made about 40 small triangles using 2 squares of puff pastry, and there was enough dip leftover to put in a small baking dish and cook as a hot dip.)

MINI FRITTATAS

My daycare kids gobbled these up!

5 eggs
1/2 c. whipping cream
2 tsp. Epicure's Cheese, Chives & Bacon Dip Mix
1 tsp. Epicure's 3 Onion Dip Mix
1 c. zucchini, grated
1 tbsp. goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 c. cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 carrot, grated
salt

Whisk ingredients together and pour into greased Perfect Petites mold on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes.

HEALTHY CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BITES

2 c. flour
3 tbsp. Epicure's Pure Cocoa
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. Epicure's Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. apple sauce or oil
1/2 c. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 - 2 c. zucchini, grated

Mix first 5 ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix remaining ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to dry ingredients and mix just until wet. Lay Epicure's Perfect Petites mold on a cookie sheet and grease each individual mold. Fill with batter and bake at 350 F for 15 minutes. There was leftover batter, so I made a few cupcakes afterwards, but you could also flip out the Perfect Petite pan and use it again for the remaining batter.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKES WITH SEA SALT & PEACHES

I got this cake recipe from my new Michael Smith cookbook, but instead of using a muffin pan I used Epicure's Perfect Petite silicone mold. I served them with a sprinkle of sea salt, some ice cream, whipped cream, and fresh diced peaches. They were absolutely delicious!

8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (recipe called for dark chocolate)
1/2 c. butter
4 eggs
1/2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. Epicure's Pure Cocoa
1 tsp. Epicure's Cinnamon
Garnishes: sea salt, peaches, whipped cream, and ice cream

In a double boiler, melt chocolate and butter. Remove from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk remaining ingredients together and then mix the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture. Grease the silicone mold with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Tap it over the sink to get rid of excess sugar, and then lay it on a baking sheet. Fill molds with chocolate batter and bake at 400 F for 10 minutes. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack (they should "fall" a bit while cooling), and after cakes are cooled gently pop them out of the molds. Serve with whipped cream and/or ice cream. A sprinkle of sea salt really goes well with this decadent chocolate cake.

PORK TENDERLOIN WITH LEMON ROASTED VEGETABLES & BABA GANOUSH

1 small bag baby potatoes, quartered
1 zucchini, chopped
1 c. grape tomatoes
2 lemons, quartered
2 pork tenderloins
olive oil
Epicure's Baba Ganoush Seasoning
1 tbsp. tahini (optional)

Season pork with Baba Ganoush seasoning and refrigerate for a few hours. Toss veggies with olive oil and seasonings. Place vegetables and lemons in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Put in the oven at 400 F for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, heat a bit of oil in a frying pan and brown pork on all sides. Transfer to the roasting pan and lay on top of vegetables. Continue cooking in the oven for another 20-30 minutes, or until pork is cooked. (All the recipes I looked at online said it would take 15-20 minutes, but mine took way longer. Maybe I didn't brown it long enough in the frying pan first, or maybe my meat thermometer just doesn't work very well.) Remove pork from the pan and cover it with tinfoil to let it rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing. Continue cooking vegetables if necessary.

Use the roasted zucchini to make baba ganoush. Pick out the zucchini and put it in a bowl. Use one of the cooked lemon wedges and squeeze the juice over the zucchini, and add 2 tbsp. olive oil and tahini. Add some more Baba Ganoush seasoning if you like. Puree with a hand blender.

This was soooooo good!

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

This is a double batch. I hope it freezes well, cuz it made a LOT of soup!

2 tbsp. oil
2 c. carrots, chopped (about 5 carrots)
1 c. onion, diced (about 1 large onion)
1 c. celery, chopped (about 5 stalks)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
8-10 c. chicken broth (I used 2 - 900ml containers of chicken broth and then 2 c. water + 1 tbsp. Epicure's Chicken Bouillon Base)
salt & pepper
1 tbsp. Epicure's Marinara Sauce Mix
12 breakfast sausages
1 c. small pasta (alphabets or stars or ancini de pepe)
1 c. chopped baby spinach
optional: 4 more cups chicken broth (4 c. water + 2 tbsp. Epicure's Chicken Bouillon Base)

Heat oil in a large soup pot, and sauté vegetables until soft. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, remove casings from sausages and cut each sausage into 3-4 sections, rolling them into meatballs. Add to the broth and bring back to rolling boil for about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and Marinara seasoning. When meatballs are cooked, add pasta and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Stir in chopped spinach.

I found that the pasta soaked up a lot of the liquid as it cooled on the stove, so I added 4 more cups of chicken broth. You could also use less pasta instead.