Mushroom and Walnut Pate

If you eat da buttah, go for it, otherwise I'm sure olive oil will work just fine. I'm going to use this as a stuffing for chicken, and thinking of adding in dried cherries.....is that crazy talk?

**Because I have super smart friends EDIT: Melicious aptly pointed out that the olive oil might be too much liquid and not provide enough in the way of saturated fat for the texture. She suggests subbing coconut oil, and she is absolutely right... While modifying recipes to meet your dietary needs, it's important to remember to match textures when finding a substitute ingredient. This will help you avoid a grosstastrophe. Thanks for saving the day Mel!!!

Ingredients

* 1 cup walnuts
* 1/2 cup minced shallots
* 1/2 cup unsalted butter
* 1/4 pound shiitake mushrooms, chopped
* 1/4 pound crimini mushrooms, chopped
* 1/4 pound portobello mushrooms, chopped
* 1 tablespoon roasted garlic puree
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread walnuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Toast for 10 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly browned.
2. In a large saute pan, cook shallots in butter over medium heat until translucent. Then add chopped mushrooms, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until most of the liquid has evaporated.
3. Process toasted walnuts and olive oil in a blender or food processor until mixture forms a thick paste. Spoon in the cooked mushroom mixture, and process to desired texture.
4. Pack mixture into well-oiled ramekins or bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

Almond or Walnut Stuffed Dates

10 raw organic dates, pitted (no sulfur)
5 whole raw almonds
5 whole raw walnuts

Very neatly put the almonds or walnuts into the hole where the date pit used to be. Serve em up!

Meatballs!

Into 1 lb. ground beef, bison, pork (or other favorite ground meat), combine 1 egg, ¼ cup tomato sauce, ½ cup white onion (minced), 3 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley, 2 Tbsp. minced red bell pepper, 1 Tbsp. minced garlic, 2 tsp. minced fresh oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Roll into meatballs and either cook in pan (until browned throughout) or bake in oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes depending on size. Serve as is or with a favorite sauce.

Stick a toothpick in each and serve as appetizers!

Chipotle-Lime Deviled Eggs

Chipotle-Lime Deviled Eggs (adapted from Kalyn's Kitchen recipe)
(Makes 12 deviled egg halves, can easily be doubled. Recipe created by Kalyn.)

6 eggs (preferably about a week old)
2 T mayo (make your own)
2 T fresh lime juice
1 T yellow mustard (not Dijon)
1/4 tsp. ground Chipotle chile peppers
1/2 tsp. salt (optional, or use Spike)
2 green onions, green part only, finely chopped

First, make perfect hard-boiled eggs. Let eggs cool, then peel and cut in half crosswise. While eggs are cooling, slice green onions, and finely chop with chef's knife. When eggs are quite cool, carefully remove yolks and put into small bowl. Mash yolks well with a fork.

Mix together lime juice and Chipotle chile powder. (If you don't do this, you'll have large flecks of chile powder in the deviled yolk mixture. The chile powder won't dissolve completely, but adding it to the lime juice does make it blend in better.) Add lime-Chipotle mixture to mashed yolks, then stir in mayo, mustard, salt, and half the chopped green onions. Taste for seasoning to see if you want more mustard, Chipotle chile powder, or salt. Stir until mixture is well combined.

Arrange eggs white halves on serving plate. Use a rubber scraper to scoop yolk mixture into a small plastic bag. Cut a small piece off one corner of the bag and squeeze from the top to force the yolk mixture out the hole, into the egg halves. (This can also be done with a spoon or a cake decorating tool.) When all egg white shells are filled with deviled yolk mixture, sprinkle with remaining chopped green onions. Serve immediately.