10,000 cheesy recipes

Eat heartily, accompanied by much loud Italian conversation. In fact, I typed this accompanied by much loud Italian conversation. My parents were here, and both were shouting instructions over my shoulder. They disagreed about the arrangement of the lettuce - my mother said that the hole in the middle of the platter was necessary; my father insisted that it wasn't, saying you can just dump the tuna on top of the lettuce. I finally had to give up on this reply until they went home. So now, in the peace and quiet of the aftermath, I've finished it. Hope you had a wonderful holiday.

No-cook tofu cheesecake with a Grape-Nuts crust sweetened by apple juice concentrate and honey-vanilla filling. Dairy-free, vegetarian, and richer the longer it chills.

Crockpot pumpkin turkey chili: lean ground turkey and peppers simmered with tomatoes, real pumpkin, and chili powder. The pumpkin melts in for a velvety, subtly sweet, lighter chili.

Sashimi at home: paper-thin slices of sashimi-grade red snapper served with a soy dipping sauce. It's all about pristine fish and a sharp knife. Naturally gluten-free with tamari.

Easy and tasty! I make this casserole a few times every year when I have spaghetti squash in my kitchen. It's a well-balanced meal with just enough protein and loads of vegetables.

Toss the cooked pasta and rapini with sauteed shallots, red peppers, sun-dried tomato, marinated artichoke hearts, and olives; sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. A quick, easy yet tasty one-pan Mediterranean meal.

So to start off with the first post, I decided to make a meal that screams of comfort food. Whilst it does take a bit of a while to get the meal done, once you take that first bite, heaven couldn’t seem closer if you were Adam trying to touch God’s finger in the “Creation of Adam” fresco created by Michaelangelo. The meal I speak of is Cottage Pie. There is much debate as to what exactly a cottage pie is and how it is different to a Shepherd’s pie...I don’t know. The dominant theory is that Sheperds pie uses lamb mince, whilst a cottage pie uses beef mince. I don’t know about you, but the term “Sheperds Pie” does not get my tastebuds going quite as well, so I prefer the term cottage pie. Besides, comparing the price of ground (mince) beef to ground lamb, a student would pick up the beef mince in a heartbeat without even so much as glancing at the lamb in the meat section. This cottage pie that I made is full of flavour, and just makes you want to cuddle up next to a fire and watch TCM movies all day either by yourself, or with a significant other. Here is the recipe:

Italian meatballs and spaghetti sauce simmer parmesan-laced beef meatballs in a wine-spiked tomato sauce with onion, garlic, green pepper, basil, and oregano. Weeknight ready in 45 minutes.

Hearty meatless chili with lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans, and tomatoes seasoned with cumin and chili powder. A high-fiber, protein-packed vegetarian one-pot meal.

Quick vegetarian chili with kidney beans, six vegetables, and a tomato-chili base ready in 30 minutes. Packed with carrots, zucchini, peppers, and celery.

Slow cooker ground turkey tacos with mushrooms, tomato paste, white wine, and pickling spices, topped with a homemade yogurt cream sauce with nutmeg.

Savory vegetarian pie with caramelized onions, mixed mushrooms, and Gruyere in a rustic oat-flour crust. A lighter quiche-style main dish with an earthy, nutty depth of flavor.

Roasted vegetable pizza topped with caramelized onions, zucchini, tomatoes, and garlic on homemade whole grain dough. This vegetarian pizza is packed with Mediterranean flavor.

A rich and delicious version of the classic pasta Carbonara loaded with chicken, ham, peas and sun-dried tomatoes in a creamy sauce.

White chicken chili slow-cooked with cannellini beans, green chili peppers, and lime juice. Seared chicken simmers all day in the crockpot and gets topped with sharp cheddar.

These mini pizza muffins are quick-easy to make, and very tasty. They won't last long, kids and adults gobble them up in record breaking time. Great for a snack and they freeze very well (that is if you can get them into the freezer before someone eats them all!)