Basil-Chicken Sandwiches

A cool, easy, and delicious chicken sandwich, perfect for hot summer days. Shown here with fresh strawberries and raspberries.

yield: 4 sandwiches (2 servings)

1 large chicken breast, cooked, shredded, and cooled
8 slices hard-crust bread
4 tsp pesto
4 tsp mayonnaise
2 small tomatoes, sliced
2 oz cheese, sliced (I used kaşar, since that's what's available here)
12 fresh basil leaves

1. Spread 1 teaspoon of pesto on each of 4 slices of bread. Spread 1 teaspoon mayonnaise on each of the remaining slices of bread.
2. Top each slice of pesto-smeared bread with chicken, cheese, tomato slices, and 3 basil leaves. Top with mayonnaise-smeared bread.

*I will confess, I stole the idea for this recipe from a friend. But the improvisations (and improvements, in my opinion) were all my own. :-)

Cran-Walnut Banana Bread

Oh. My. Yum. I got bored with regular banana bread and decided to experiment. This banana bread is full of healthy extras and pairs tart cranberries with sweet chocolate chips.

yield: 1 loaf

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1/4 cup wheat bran
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 350° .
2. Combine flours, wheat bran, flaxseed, baking soda, and salt. Stir with a whisk.
3. Beat sugar and butter together in large bowl until blended. Add eggs, stirring well. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat well. Add flour mixture; beat until just moist. Stir in walnuts, chocolate chips, and cranberries. Pour into loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a knife comes out clean.

Zesty Cheese Pizza

A cheese pizza with a bit of a kick, utilizing kasseri cheese (or "kaşar" in Turkish) which is widely available in Turkey.

1 pizza crust
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp pepper, divided
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
5 garlic cloves, minced
28 oz diced tomatoes
10 oz kasseri (kaşar) cheese

1. Combine oregano, cumin, paprika, and 1/2 tsp pepper; set aside.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Add salt, remaining pepper, garlic, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until thick.
3. Preheat oven to 400°.
4. Top pizza crust with tomato mixture and cheese; sprinkle with oregano mixture. Bake at 400° 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Tangy Pasta with Feta

Tangy balsamic vinegar and mustard contrast wonderfully with sweet grapes in this light, summery dish.

Original recipe credit: Cooking Light
yield: 4 1&1/2-cup servings

3 cups uncooked bow-tie pasta
2 cups tomatoes, chopped
1 cup green grapes, halved
1/3 cup sliced fresh basil
2 Tbsp green onions, sliced
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. Cook pasta and drain. Combine pasta, tomatoes, grapes, basil, and green onions in a large bowl.
2. While pasta cooks, combine vinegar through pepper in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add oil to vinegar mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Drizzle over pasta mixture; toss well to coat. Add cheese; toss to combine.

Broccoli-Cheese Soup

A thick and creamy soup, wonderful on a cold day and immensely satisfying.

yield: 4 1-1/2ish cup servings

1 medium-large onion, chopped
5-6 cups chopped broccoli
3 cups chicken broth
2 tsp dried minced garlic
2 1/2 cups milk (I used skim)
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
6 slices American cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet (or Dutch oven, if you have a nonstick one) coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion and broccoli; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add chicken broth and garlic; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook 10 minutes.
2. Whisk together milk and flour in a medium bowl; add milk mixture, salt, and pepper to broccoli mixture. Return heat to medium-high. Stir mixture constantly until it's been boiling for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cheeses until they melt.

**If you want to, you can blend some (about 1/3 to 1/2) of the soup in a blender to eliminate some of the large chunks. It's not necessary if you chop your broccoli and onions small enough in the beginning, in my opinion.**

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin with a hint of lemon. Yum.

yield: 12 servings

Crust:
2/3 cup flour
3 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 Tbsp ice water

Filling:
1 8-oz block fat-free cream cheese
1 8-oz block 1/3-the-fat cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon extract
1/2 tsp ginger
2 cups pumpkin
3 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. To prepare crust, combine 2/3 cup flour and 3 tablespoons sugar in a food processor; pulse until combined. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. With food processor going, pour ice water through the chute, mixing until blended. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes; cool on a wire rack.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.
4. To prepare filling, beat cream cheeses together in a large bowl until smooth. Add sugar through pumpkin to cream cheese mixture, beating until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour cheese mixture over crust. Bake at 325° for 50 minutes or until almost set (slightly wiggly in center, but not too wiggly). Turn oven off; slightly open oven door. Let cheesecake sit in oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven; cool on a wire rack. Cover and chill at least 8 hours.

Cranberry Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Crispy and sweet with a hint of chewiness, these biscotti are better for dunking in hot tea than coffee.

yield: 2 dozen

2 3/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chocolate chips
4 tsp canola oil
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour through chocolate chips. In a small bowl, combine oil through eggs. Add egg mixture to flour mixture, stirring until well combined (dough will be very crumbly). Turn the dough out onto a flat surface; knead 7-8 times or until dough sticks to itself. Divide dough in half; shape each half into an 8-inch long roll. Place rolls on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray; flatten each roll to 1-inch thickness.
3. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes. Remove rolls from cookie sheet and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°. Slice each roll diagonally into 12 slices. Place slices, cut side down, back onto the cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes; turn biscotti over and bake an additional 10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet and cool completely.