Preheat oven to 250 F. If you have a convection oven, use the convection setting. The granola will brown more evenly.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut and brown sugar. Stir. (This is a great thing for kids to help with)

In a smaller bowl, combine the pure maple syrup, oil and salt. Pour over the oats mixture and stir well to coat evenly. (I like to pour the mixture over the oats and let my son stir)

Spread the granola mixture onto two cookie sheet pans (with sides) that have been lined with parchment paper for easy clean up.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring occasionally (every 15 minutes or so) to allow the granola to brown evenly.

Remove the granola from the oven and transfer to a large bowl. Add in the dried fruits and raisins and mix well.

Store granola in an airtight container. Homemade granola will last for about 4 weeks if stored properly.

Cut chicken into bite size pieces no larger than 1”. If you are using a precooked rotisserie chicken, remove the skin and bones before cutting the meat.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat for about 2 minutes. If you are using a precooked rotisserie chicken, you can skip this step as the chicken is already cooked.

Add the uncooked cubed chicken breasts to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes or until the meat is cooked through and you can no longer see pink. (I like to sauté my chicken in a seasoned cast iron skillet. Then I can skip the adding the oil)

Remove cooked meat from the pan and set on a plate.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chopped onions and peppers. Sauté for 4-5 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Add cilantro pesto. Stir. Remove skillet from heat.

If your ham is not already sliced, you need to slice the ham now. Lay the ham, flat side down, on a baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper (for easy clean up).

In a small bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients.

Take handfuls of the sugary mixture and press it around the ham. Do not press any of the mixture onto the flat bottom of the ham. Use a chef’s torch with the flame set at medium low to slowly caramelize the glaze onto the ham.

Repeat these steps two more times until the sugary mixture is gone and the ham is evenly coated with a crunchy sweet glaze.

The ham may now be served cold or warm. It may surprise you, but the inside of the ham will still be cold. If you would like to warm it up, take slices off the ham and warm them in the oven or microwave, being careful to not dry out the meat.

Over medium high heat, melt the butter in a large pot. Add the sirloin and cook until the meat is browned. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic and sauté for 10 minutes.

Stir in the broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.

In a separate saucepan, melt 3 T butter over medium high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook 1-2 minutes, then add the milk and continue to whisk, working out all the lumps. You need to work fast on this step.

When the flour mixture is smooth, add it to the soup broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add in the pesto, shredded cheese, ketchup, mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir until the cheese is melted.

Remove from heat and serve (chopped pickles on top of the soup add a nice flavor…I know…it seems odd…but give it a try).

Trim excess fat from meat. Cut into 1 ½ inch cubes. Set aside.

In medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, pepper flakes, oregano and lemon juice.

Add in meat, toss to coat.

Pour contents of bowl (meat and marinade) into a large zip lock bag. Refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to mix. At this point, you may also freeze the meat. Before cooking, be sure to thaw the meat thoroughly.

When you are ready to cook…heat your grill or broiler to a medium cooking temperature (325 F).

If using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them for 30 min before using.

Skewer meat onto BBQ skewers and grill until meat is nicely golden brown and cooked through. (You may also wish to add a slice of onion or tomato on the skewers)

Serve with warm pita. Garnish with lemon, tzatziki and sliced onion (tomato and fresh parsley optional)

Over med high heat, heat oil in large kettle. Add chicken pieces, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue to cook over med high heat until chicken is browned. Transfer chicken to plate.

To same kettle, add onion, curry powder, ginger, garlic, jalapeno and red pepper flakes. Continue to sauté over med high heat for 3 minutes.

Stir in chicken stock, tomatoes, and cilantro. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium and simmer 10 minutes.

Ladle out about 2 cups of hot broth. Set aside.

In a different smaller saucepan, melt butter over med high heat. Add flour and whisk over med high heat until smooth and bubbly, making a roux (pronounced ROO). Gradually add the ladled broth, continually whisking. Simmer and whisk for an additional minute. Remove from heat.

Add flour/broth mixture back to soup kettle. Simmer for 3 minutes. Add coconut milk and spinach. Remove from heat. Cover for 5 minutes. Stir.

Serve in a bowl over steamed rice.

First, enjoy a glass of wine.

Preheat oven to 375. Wash chicken and pat dry.

Put chopped ingredients in the bottom of a large, heavy pot that can be placed in the oven.

Place chicken on top of chopped vegetables, sprinkle with salt, Herbs de Provence, and freshly ground black pepper.

Add water and wine.

Cover, bake 2 hours.

Remove chicken and vegetables from pot.

Stir cornstarch into hot water and whisk into the hot broth. Whisk until all white lumps are gone.

Cover. Return to oven for 8 more minutes to thicken gravy.

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. I prefer to mix my meatballs by hand to get an even distribution of flavors without over mixing.

Roll meatballs to 1 ½” in diameter. Use a small ice cream scooper for size consistency.

Place meatballs on cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through. Be careful not to overcook the meatballs as they will be heated through again in whatever sauce you prefer.

Remove to a plate and cool. At this point the meatballs may be frozen for later use (vacuum sealer recommended) or used in appetizers, spaghetti sauce, sandwiches, pizza, etc.

Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. I prefer to use softened butter for this, but butter flavor cooking spray works well too. The key is to make sure the pan is well coated so the French toast and topping don’t stick.

Slice bread into 1 ½ inch slices. Arrange them in the baking dish, making sure the edges are pressed together firmly. Squeeze in as many pieces as you can.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs, half and half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Beat until well blended.

Pour mixture over bread slices making sure they are evenly covered.

Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl (softened butter, brown sugar, nuts, corn syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg). Stir well. Spread over bread slices.

Cover baking dish with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning…preheat oven to 350.

Remove foil. Bake for 45 minutes until the French Toast is golden brown.