Farro with sausage, apple & fennel

Farro with Sausage, Apple & Fennel
Farro (I used quick cooking Farro from Trader Joes)
2 cups Chicken broth
3-4 Italian sausages (casings removed)
1 diced shallot
1 large apple, chopped (I used granny smith)
1 head of Fennel, chopped

In large skillet over high heat crumble sausage and stir until browned, about 5 minutes
Add farro (not cooked), shallot, garlic, apple & fennel
Add wine to reduce
Add broth, bring to boil
Reduce heat to low, until chicken stock reduces (about 20 minutes), stir regularly.
If farro is not tender add additional water until tender.
*For a quicker recipe
Boil farro per instructions on package
In separate pan cook sausage until brown
Add shallot, garlic, apple & fennel
Add wine and reduce
Add farro and broth
Cook on low until reduced, stirring regularly
Enjoy!

Crock Pot Beef Barley Stew

Crock Pot Beef Barley Stew
4 cups beef broth
1 lb stew meat
2 tsp garlic chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
Carrots chopped
Celery chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
Onion chopped
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup red wine
3/4 quick cook barley


Dredge beef in flour and brown in skillet
Add to crock pot
Deglaze pan with red wine and dump in crock pot
Add all ingredients to crock pot (****except barley if using quick cook barley****)
*****If using regular barley I would add now as to make sure it's fully cooked
Cook on low 6-8 hours
45 minutes before ready to eat increase temperature to high and add quick cook barley

Crock Pot Beef Stew

This is a recipe I switch out the vegetables based on seasonal options. I'll replace potatoes for sweet potaotes or butternut squash as they add a completely different flavor.


Crock Pot Beef Stew
1 lb stew meat
1/2 cup flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 6oz can tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
chopped onion
Potatoes/Sweet Potatoes/Butternut Squash
Carrots
Celery
bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
1 tbsp garlic
2 cups beef broth

Chop all vegetables and add to crock pot
Add tomato paste, herbs & beef broth

Cut stew meat into bite size pieces, dredge in flour & cook on stove top in olive oil until browned. Add meat to slow cooker, use red wine to deglaze pan. Let red wine come to boil and scrap off any residual meat flour in pan, pour into crock pot.
Cook on low 6-8 hours

Brussels Sprouts w/Fried Capers

This is a recipe we tried Thanksgiving 2009 and since then has become a staple that we eat at least 3 or 4 times a month.

Brussels Sprouts w/Fried Capers
1 lb Brussels sprouts
1/4 cup capers (drained)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves chopped
3 oil packed anchovy fillet chopped (optional)
1/2 lemon
1/2-3/4 tsp red chili flakes

Heat oil on high, add capers, stir until crisp (about 5 minutes)
Add garlic & anchovies
Add Brussels sprouts & chili flakes, stir until coated and desired cook of Brussels sprouts
Transfer to plate, sprinkle with additional capers and squeeze on lemon.

**we typically substitute the anchovy fillet for anchovy paste as we have that on hand

Fennel (Finocchio) Salad

Have you seen this in the grocery store and thought to yourself, what the heck is Fennel (Finocchio in Italian), what on earth would I do with it?? Well this is a staple in our house, thanks to marrying an Italian I've been introduced to foods I'd never had before and this has to be one of my all time favorites. We use Finocchio in many different methods in our house, one of which is a salad, just this last week between my two toddlers and myself we finished off 8 bulbs of Finocchio. Oh so good. At Thanksgiving (and Christmas) we put a different spin  on our usual salad, we "fancy" it up a bit.

Finocchio Salad
2 bulbs of Finocchio sliced
3-4 tbsp olive oil
6 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
A few pieces of shaved Parmesan

Mix all ingredients together
Chill
Enjoy

***Year around we use this same recipe just without the pomegranate seeds and Parmesan, and as a dressing simple balsamic vinegar and olive oil instead of the lemon juice.

***Finocchio is also a great addition to stuff inside the turkey and add some chopped to your stuffing recipe.

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff
1 lb beef (I like to use stew meat)
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cup beef broth
1/4 cup red wine
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup onion
3 tbsp flour
1 cup sour cream
Pasta

Dredge beef in flour, salt & pepper. Melt butter in skillet and brown beef & onion. After browned pour into crock pot. Use red wine to deglaze the pan and pour in crock pot.
Place all other ingredients (except pasta and sour cream) in crock pot and stir
Cook on low for 5-6 hours
Add sour cream, cover and cook on low for 30-45 minutes (do not allow mix to boil)
Prior to eating cook pasta, serve beef stroganoff over pasta

Pumpkin Gingerbread

Pumpkin Gingerbread
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger
2 lg eggs
1 lg egg white
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin

Combine flour, cinnamon, ground ginger, baking powder, nutmeg, baking soda & salt.
Stir in crystallized ginger
Whisk eggs, egg white, oil, molasses & sugar.
Whisk in pumpkin
Fold into dry ingredients until just combined
Pour into pan

Cook @ 350 for 35-40 minutes

Peanut Butter Pie

This is a recipe I associate with my Grandmother, I always remember around the holidays hoping that Grandma was making her Peanut Butter Pie.  It wasn't until I was much older that I learned the recipe was actually from my Grandfather (he had passed away before I was born), I love reading the recipe and seeing his personality (you'll see what I mean towards the end of the recipe).

Peanut Butter Pie

Crust
1 1/4 cup chocolate cookie crumbs (about 20 we use Oreo cookies, scrape off filling)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter melted

Combine crust ingredients, press into pie pan
Bake @ 350 for 10 minutes
Let cool

Filling
8 oz cream cheese
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup heavy cream whipped

Mix cream cheese, PB, sugar, butter & vanilla until smooth.
Fold in whipped cream.
Gently spoon into crust
Lick spoon & bowl until clean, feel no guilt! (yes that is part of her recipe)
Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight and serve!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Now I'm not a cheesecake fan, never have been. I have no idea why but I decided to try this recipe and it made me a believer.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust
7-8 graham crackers
5 tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup sugar

I double this recipe as the filling makes 2 pies
I use my food processor to chop the graham crackers into a dust, then pour in sugar and melted butter. Dump into pie pans and smash down, cook crust for 10 minutes at 350

Filling
24 oz cream cheese (softened)
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp flour
4 eggs
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 can pumpkin
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup sour cream

Mix all filling ingredients either in kitchen aid or with hand mixer until there are no lumps.
Pour into crust (this recipe makes 2 pies)
Bake 1 hour @ 300 turn off oven and leave undisturbed for 1 hour
Refrigerate 4hrs-overnight
Enjoy!!!

Crock Pot Minestrone Soup

Crock Pot Minestrone Soup
1 lb chicken
1 lg can diced tomatoes
1 can beans (kidney, great northern, garbanzo) rinsed & drained
2-4 cups chicken broth (depending on how much broth you want)
zucchini
carrots
celery
Kale
Pasta (farfalle, penne, shells, orzo...etc)

Put all ingredients except kale & pasta in crock pot
Cook on low 6-8 hours
10 minutes before being ready to eat cook pasta and add to crock pot
Turn crock pot to high and add kale cook to desired tenderness

Crockpot Whole Chicken

This is a recipe I've wanted to do for a while, but seeing that my husband had some doubts about how it would turn out I hesitated. Well, next time I'll ignore his doubts because this was absolutely amazing and he is now a believer.
This recipe is VERY flexible, you can add any spices you like, any veggies you like and regardless it's going to turn out fantastic.

Whole Crockpot Chicken
1 whole chicken
2 sprigs of rosemary
1 Fennel bulb chopped into large pieces
1 tbsp sage
1/2-1 cup white wine (depending on how much "broth" you want)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Rub whole chicken with salt, pepper and sage
Place in bottom of crockpot legs down
Place rosemary, fennel pieces around chicken
Add wine
Cook on low 6-8 hours

As I said this recipe is very flexible, replace the fennel for onion, use parsley, cilantro, thyme, any herb you want. Add different veggies, carrots, celery, sweet potatoes, the options are endless.

****The chicken turns out very moist, just be careful as the bones can easily be hidden as the  meat falls off the bone and some of the bones are very small.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

This is a great fresh salad that we love in the summer, my kids devour it when I make it and I love not only how easy it is but also how it gets better day after day.  This was shared from a dear friend and every time I make it I think of her.

Quinoa Tabbouleh
3 cups cooked Quinoa
1 bunch mint
1 bunch flat parsley
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
4-6 medium size tomatoes chopped
2 cucumbers chopped
1 tbsp salt

Put mint, parsley, lemon juice & olive oil into food processor and chop finely
Mix all ingredients together
Refrigerate and enjoy!

Crock Pot Korean Beef w/Cucumber salad

This was probably one of the better meats I've made in the crock pot, the kids devoured every last bite. We had no left overs which definitely proves it was a good dinner. The recipe calls for chuck roast, short ribs or back ribs however I wasn't able to find any of those where I shop and I ended up using a flank steak and it turned out amazing as well. I do think it would be perfect with ribs as they have a little more fat on them.

Crock Pot Korean Beef
1 lb beef (chuck roast, short ribs, back ribs, flank steak)
1 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp veg oil
1 tbsp ginger
2 tsp garlic
2 tsp sriracha (optional, we left this out due to tiny mouths)

Mix all together and pour over beef. After I mixed the sauce (prior to pouring on beef) I tasted it to see how I liked the flavor I did need to increase the amount of rice vinegar as I thought it was a little too oily, I added an additional 1 tsp rice vinegar.
Cook on low 6-8 hours

Cucumber Slaw
1 cucumber (seedless recommended)
Thinly slice red onion
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp soy sauce
Mix all together

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings

I've been searching for a good crock pot recipe for chicken and dumplings, I finally found one that I think turned out really well.

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings
1 lb chicken (I use thighs)
Potatoes chopped
Carrots chopped
Celery chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tsp garlic
4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup flour
1/2 pkg frozen peas

Dumplings
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup milk

Add all veggies and meat to crock pot
In bowl combine chicken broth and 1/2 cup flour until dissolved, add spices
Pour into crock pot
Cook on low for 6-8 hours
Dumpling will take 20-30 minutes, when ready to eat turn crock pot to high add peas and dumplings. Let cook covered for 20-30 minutes.

Crock Pot Tortellini Soup

Crock Pot Tortellini Soup
Chopped onion
2 medium zucchini chopped
3 1/2 cup chicken/vegetable broth
1 lg can crushed tomatoes
1 can beans (great northern, kidney, garbanzo) rinsed & drained
2 tbsp chopped basil
8 oz fresh tortellini

Combine all ingredients except tortellini
Mix well
Cook low for 6 hours
Increase to high 10 minutes before being ready to eat and add tortellini
Serve with parmesan

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken

I got a request from my husband to mix things up a little and experiment with some new recipes as sometimes the crock pot always seems like a pot of soup, or cooked down vegetables with meat. SO...I did some quick (actually it wasn't quick as I was interrupted every 5 seconds by little ones wanting a snack, or to play with me, or just to ask me something) BUT I found some new recipes and if they're good I'll share them.
This was last nights dinner and it was a huge hit all around.



Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken
1 lb chicken (I use thighs)
8 green onions, sliced
2 tsp garlic
2 tsp chopped ginger (optional)
2 tsp fish sauce (optional)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 ketchup
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional, we opted to leave this out)
4 tsp cornstarch
1/3 cup water
1/2 tbsp (or more) sesame seeds
3 scallions chopped
Cooked rice
Broccoli

Place chicken in crock pot
In small bowl combine 1/2 of your green onions (other 1/2 reserved for garnish), garlic, ginger, honey, fish sauce, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, sesame oil and red pepper flakes. Mix
Pour over chicken. Cook on low 3-4 hours or on high for 2 hours
Remove chicken and shred into bite sized pieces.
In small bowl dissolve 4 tsp cornstarch with 1/3 cup water.
Add to crock pot.
Stir to combine with sauce.
Place broccoli and chicken back in crock pot and cook an additional 10 minutes to thicken the sauce (if you want the sauce thicker continue to add cornstarch dissolved in water until you get desired thickness).
Serve over rice with sesame seeds & green onions to garnish.

This would also be very good over chow mein like noodles, if I was to use the noodles I'd cook separately and then toss in the crock pot to cover with the sauce.

Almond Sugar Cookies

Almond Sugar Cookies
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup white sugar
1 cup butter (softened)
1 egg lightly beaten
3 tbsp heavy cream (or other liquid, may need a bit more to make right consistency)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
Sift flour, baking powder, salt & sugar. Cut in butter. Stir in egg, cream, vanilla, & almond.
Bake @ 400 for 6-8 minutes.

**This recipe could easily be altered to add any extract, for holiday season you could try peppermint extract, in the summer I use coconut extra to add a twist on a normal sugar cookies.

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup
4 cups chicken broth
1 lb chicken (I use thighs)
1 bag of frozen corn
1 lg can of diced tomatoes
1 can of diced green chilies (we use less since we have tiny mouths to feed and don't want it too spicy)
3 or 4 chopped zucchini
1 can of beans (black, great northern, kidney, pinto...etc)
Chopped onion
2 tsp garlic
Corn tortillas
Cilantro chopped

Add all to crock pot, except cilantro and corn tortillas.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours
10-15 minutes prior to being ready to eat slice tortillas into thin strips, drizzle with oil and salt. Place on cookie sheet and bake @400 for 10-15 minutes or until crispy.

Serve soup and garnish with cilantro, crispy tortilla strips, sour cream, salsa, guacamole and extra green chilies for those who would like it a little more spicy!

Crock Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken

What I love about this one is you can change up the flavor just by changing what salsa you use, well and it's a super simple recipe that only needs 4 ingredients.



Crock Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken
chicken (I use thighs or breasts)

1 jar salsa (my favorite is the Salsa Verde from Trader Joes as it's not too spicy for the kiddos)
1 bunch cilantro chopped
1 lime squeezed
1 chopped onion

Place all ingredients in crock pot, cook on low 6-8 hours.

Serve as taco meat, burrito meat, on top of rice, in a soup, meat for enchiladas, with beans, the options are endless....


This would also be really good with a ground beef, ground turkey or even a pork loin/roast.

Crock Pot BBQ Ribs/Crock Pot pulled chicken/pork

This has to be one of my all time favorite recipes as I've adapted it to many uses.

BBQ Sauce
1 Cup ketchup
1/3 cup molasses
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
3 tsp chopped garlic

Mix sauce, pour over ribs, chicken, pork roast and cook on low 6-8 hours

If using ribs the rib meat literally falls off the bone. When using chicken/pork loin it turns into more of a pulled chicken, pulled pork type dish. I then serve with brussel sprouts and buttermilk biscuits.

***When I do as a pulled chicken/pork I chop up a red onion to cook in the crock pot as well.

Pumpkin Muffin Tops

Since it's my birthday I'll share a "sweet" recipe, this is a recipe I call "Pumpkin Muffin Tops" as the consistency of the cookies are exactly like the top part of a muffin. I love the consistency, texture, and flavor of these cookies by using an entire can of pumpkin not only are they super moist but they have a very strong pumpkin flavor.

Pumpkin Muffin Tops
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 can pumpkin
1 egg

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices & salt.
Blend butter & sugar.
Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla, beat until creamy.
Mix in dry ingredients
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet, flatten slightly with back of spoon
Bake @ 350 for 15-20 minutes

***Extra additions

• fresh cranberries (this is particularly good as it gives a bite of tartness)
• nuts
• chocolate chips

Crock Pot Chili (Pumpkin/Butternut Squash Chili recipe too)

This is a recipe I change up the meat on a lot and it changes the flavor and texture of the chili. Sometimes I do a chili con carne, other times a chicken chili and I've also done a ground turkey chili. All turn out very good, and just dependent on what meat I have in the refrigerator.

Crock Pot Chili
2 cans of beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 lb meat (chicken, ground beef, ground turkey)
1 chopped onion
1-2 tbsp taco seasoning (this is a definite cheat for me, as the flavors are perfect for chili and I don't often use cayenne or chili powder so those spices usually just sit in my pantry)
2 tbs chopped garlic

That's it! I typically use whatever beans I have in the pantry and usually use two different types, pinto, kidney, great northern, black beans...etc

When I use ground beef or ground turkey I brown them both first on the stove top and then drain off the excess cooking grease.
I typically serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, and chopped cilantro.
And of course cornbread!

Pumpkin Chili/Butternut Squash Chili
Come Fall I add some flavors from the season, by following the recipe above and then either chopping up some butternut squash and putting that in or adding a can of pumpkin puree (make sure it's not the pie filling).

Butternut Squash Soup

Last Fall my little family took a trip to the apple orchard and did some apple picking, the next day we ventured to the Pumpkin patch. Came home from the pumpkin patch with not only pumpkins but our first ever Butternut Squash. Not knowing exactly what we wanted to cook with it, my husband started pulling things out of the pantry and cupboards. He then created one of the most delicious soups I think I've ever had, it was even more delicious seeing that he added apples that we had picked the day before. Here's the recipe!!!

Butternut Squash Soup
1 Butternut Squash
2 cups chicken broth
1 red onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
2 apples chopped (we used Gala)
sprig of rosemary
1-2 cups white wine
3-4 pieces of ginger
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

Cut squash in half length wise and drizzle with olive oil and salt, bake @ 450 for 10 minutes, then put under broiler on low until the top of the squash is browned (ours was about 15 minutes.
The baking and broiling should make the squash easier to peel, if it's still tough put back in the oven and bake a few more minutes.
Once squash is easy to fork it's done.
In stock pot heat oil, add onion, garlic, apples, rosemary & ginger.
Cook down until apples are soft, onions are translucent and things are browned.
Remove rosemary and pieces of ginger.
Add wine and reduce
Scoop squash out of peel and add to pot
Add chicken broth to pot and let cook until squash is soft.
Puree soup in food processor/blender and return to pot to keep warm

Crock Pot Ground Beef Vegetable Medley

For me this was a "clean out the fridge/pantry" creation. I had no plans for dinner just random ingredients and this is what came together. A perfect Fall addition.

Ground Beef Vegetable Medley
3 cups beef broth
1 lb ground beef
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can beans (Kidney, great northern, garbanzo...etc) rinsed and drained
Onion chopped
Zucchini
Carrots
Celery
1 bell pepper
1 tbsp garlic
pinch of thyme
pinch of rosemary
bay leaf

Cut veggies add to crock pot
Pour in beans and tomatoes
Add broth
Add spices and stir
Cook ground beef & drain, add to crock pot and stir altogether
Cook on low 8-10 hours

Breakfast Scones

This is a recipe I created and have made in thousands of different combinations depending on my mood, the season, what ingredients I have in the house and most of all what sounds really good that morning for breakfast.


Breakfast Scones
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar + a tablespoon
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp softened butter
1/2 cup liquid (milk, heavy whipping cream, almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, water)
Mix dry ingredients
Cut in butter
Add liquid until just moist

Now that you have the base play with the flavors, here's some ideas

• Frozen berries (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries...)
• Nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds...)
• Pumpkin (when I add pumpkin I like to add pumpkin pie spice as well)
• Chips (white chocolate, semi sweet, milk, dark, butterscotch)
• Cocoa powder

The combinations are endless!!!! 

Bake @ 425 for 15 minutes

***Depending on what ingredients I add, I add additional sugar or cut back on the sugar (e.g. if I add frozen raspberries which have a bit of tartness I'll add a little extra sugar, if I add chocolate chips I'll cut back on how much sugar I add as they add their own sugar...)

Molasses Cookies

As requested my favorite Molasses cookie recipe. Molasses is a great source of iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and more. So I look at these as "healthy cookies," at least that's what I tell myself while I'm devouring them.

Molasses Cookies
3/4 c butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground Ginger
1/2 tsp salt

Cream butter & sugar
Beat in egg, molasses and everything BUT flour
Blend in flour 1/2 cup at a time
Roll into balls and roll in sugar

Bake at 350 for 8-12mins

Lets get Crocking

I'm going to start with my newest all time favorite go to crock pot soup. What I love about this soup is not only how easy it is but also the flavors are different than most crock pot soups/stews.

Thai Chicken Rice Noodle Soup

2 cans coconut milk (I prefer using 1 full fat and 1 low fat)
1 lb chicken thighs/breasts
3-4 garlic cloves minced
2 tbsp minced ginger (I probably add closer to 4 tbsp)
4 Cups chicken stock
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 red bell peppers
2 cups snow peas
limes
cilantro
jalapeno (optional, I don't use as we have small tummies we are feeding, but could easily be served on side for people who like spicy)
Rice noodles

Put coconut milk, chicken, garlic, ginger, chicken stock, soy sauce in crock pot.
Cook on low 6-8 hours
10 minutes before being ready to eat cook rice noodles on stove top and add to crock pot
5-10 minutes before dinner is ready (depends on how crunchy you like your vegetables) add in bell peppers and snow peas.
Allow people to add their own limes, jalapeno and cilantro as a garnish

In this recipe I play around with the vegetables we add, carrots, bean sprouts, organic pea shoots, bok choy, etc...

Just getting started

Well I'm new to this so let's see how it goes. I've had a few requests to share my recipes, crock pot, baked goods, etc so I thought what better way than to set up a blog so it's all in one place.
I'll post when I can, if you have recipes you're interested in let me know and I'll see if I have one to share.
All the recipes are ones I've tried and love, I do make my own alterations and variations changing out vegetables for particular seasons and such I will make sure to detail some of those ideas at the end of the recipes I share.