VIP Chicken Roll-ups

       4 Tablespoons butter
       1/2 cup fine, dry, seasoned bread crumbs
       1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
       Dash pepper
       4 thin chicken breasts, skinned and boned
       4 thinly sliced pieces of ham
       4 thinly sliced pieces of Havarti or Monterey Jack cheese


1. Preheat the oven to 425F and melt the butter I a baking dish. Place bread crumbs and seasoning on wax paper and set aside. Pound chicken into 1/4 inch thick slices.
2.On each breast, place a ham and cheese slice. Roll up lengthwise and secure with a toothpick or two.
3. Dip chicken into the melted butter and then the bread crumbs, coating evenly. Place seam side down in baking dish and add more butter if needed.
4. Bake 15 minutes then turn and bake 15 minutes more. Remove toothpick and serve with fresh steamed vegetables.


Spinach Lasagna

       1 Package spaghetti sauce mix
       1 6 ounce can tomato paste
       1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
       1 3/4 cups water
       1 15 ounce container of Ricotta
       1/2 teaspoon salt
       1 10 ounce package spinach (frozen, chopped-drained) or fresh if you have it
       1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
       1/2 pound Mozzarella cheese
       1/2 pound lasagna noodles uncooked


1. Combine sauce mix, paste, sauce and water and blend.
2. Beat the Ricotta cheese, spinach, salt and Parmesan together.
3. Grease a 13 x 9 baking dish and cover the bottom with the sauce mixture. Add a layer of noodles, half of the cheese and spinach mixture, more sauce, and half of the Mozzarella. Repeat the layering. Sprinkle more Parmesan over the top. Cover with greased aluminum foil and bake at 350F for 60 minutes, or until the noodles are tender. Let cool 10 minutes.


Simple Veggie Saute

       1 cup brown rice or 8 ounces of pasta
       15 ounce chickpeas, with liquid
       2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
       1 medium zucchini or yellow squash
       1 small to medium green bell pepper, with seeds removed, chopped
       Dash of salt
       1 medium tomato, chopped
       1/2 cup corn kernels (fresh off the cob or frozen)
       Sprinkling of fresh chopped basil or dried basil
       Dash of pepper


1. Cook brown rice or noodles according to the package directions.
2. While rice or pasta is cooking, open can of chickpeas. Drain the liquid into a large skillet or saucepan and add garlic to the liquid. Set the can of chickpeas aside. Simmer garlic in chickpea liquid for about 2 - 3 minutes over medium heat.
3. Add chopped zucchini or yellow squash, greed peper, and chickpeas and sprinkle with salt. Saute for about 5 minutes.
4. Add chopped tomato, corn,, and basil and cook for about 5 more minutes. Toward the end of the cooking time, add additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice or noodles. Makes about 3 - 4 servings.