Grilled Italian Sausage with Marinated Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 vine-ripened tomatoes, each cut into 6 slices
• 1/3 red onion, thinly sliced
• 6 (4 ounce) mild Italian sausage links
• 6 French rolls, halved lengthwise

Directions

1. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat.
2. Whisk together red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and olive oil in a small bowl. Arrange the tomato and onion slices on a serving platter, and pour dressing overtop. Allow to marinate at room temperature while you cook the sausages.
3. Pierce the sausages with the tip of a sharp knife a few times, then place onto the grill. Cook until no longer pink in the center, turning them frequently so that they cook evenly and have lightly browned, about 15 minutes total. Serve on French rolls with marinated tomatoes and onions.

Zucchini Boats

Ingredients

• 2 medium zucchini
• 1 slice white bread, torn into small pieces
• 1/4 cup bacon bits, grilled chicken, or other cooked meats or your choice.
• 1 tablespoon minced black olives
• 1 jalapeno pepper, minced
• 3 tablespoons diced green chile peppers
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1/4 cup chopped tomato
• 6 tablespoons shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 pinch dried basil
• seasoned salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Prepare the grill for indirect heat.
2. Place the zucchini in a pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook 5 minutes. Drain, cool, and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out the pulp to about 1/4 inch from the skin. Chop pulp.
3. In a bowl, mix the zucchini pulp, bread pieces, bacon bits, olives, jalapeno, green chile peppers, onion, tomato, and Cheddar cheese. Season with basil, seasoned salt, and pepper.
4. Stuff the zucchini halves with the pulp mixture. Seal each stuffed half in aluminum foil.
5. Place foil packets on the prepared grill over indirect heat. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, until tender.

Slow Cooker Chicken Creole

The stewed tomatoes and jalapeno pepper give this slow cooker recipe its Creole zing, along with seasoning and other veggies. This is an easy and tasty Creole chicken recipe. Just put all ingredients into the slow cooker and let it simmer all day. It's perfect over egg noodles. Add extra water and veggies to the leftovers to make a tasty afternoon soup.

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• salt and pepper to taste
• Creole-style seasoning to taste
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, with liquid
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 (4 ounce) can mushrooms, drained
• 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

Directions

1. Place chicken breasts in slow cooker. Season with salt, pepper, and Creole-style seasoning to taste. Stir in tomatoes with liquid, celery, bell pepper, garlic, onion, mushrooms, and jalapeno pepper.
2. Cook on Low for 10 to 12 hours, or on High for 5 to 6 hours.

Cooking With Cicadas

Most experts agree that cicadas are a rich source of protein with about the same amount per pound as red meat. Cicadas are also said to be full of vitamins and minerals, low in fat, and they have zero carbs. So why aren’t more people eating them? Maybe because the thought of eating a bug makes you dry-heave!? But if you think about it, shrimp and crawfish are pretty much cicadas without wings. In fact, crawfish, lobster, crabs, shrimp, and insects are all part of the same biological phylum of arthropods.

Cicadas can be cooked in a large frying pan in a way similar to popcorn. The taste is similar to the "crispy edges of the egg white of a fried egg." A popular way to prepare cicadas is to saute them in butter with crushed garlic and basil. Before you start your cooking you need to remove all the hard parts: wings, legs and head. These parts don’t contain much of the meat either but may be very sharp, so its best to get rid of them.

Cicadas can also be dry-roasted on a stick like a marshmallow over a fire. Other popular cicada recipes include Cicada Stir-Fry and Cicada Dumplings. Deep fried cicadas taste best when eaten with hot mustard or cocktail sauce. (Any sauce used for lobster should also work well to garnish cicadas.) Cicadas can also be roasted, which tends to give them a "nutty", or almondlike, flavor.
 

Cicada Tacos 

Ingredients: two tablespoons butter or peanut oil, one and a half pound of cicadas, one teaspoon of chili powder, one tomato, finely chopped, one onion, finely chopped, one and a half table spoon ground pepper, one and a half table spoon cumin, three table spoon taco seasoning mix, one handful cilantro, chopped, Taco shells, Sour cream, Shredded cheddar cheese, Shredded lettuce. 

Cooking instructions

1. Heat the butter or oil in a frying pan and fry the cicadas for 10 minutes, or until cooked through. 
2. Remove from pan and roughly chop into 1/4-inch cubes/ Place back in pan. 
3. Add the chopped onions, chilies and tomato, season with salt, and fry for another 5 minutes on medium-low heat. 
4. Sprinkle with ground pepper, cumin and oregano to taste. 
5. Serve in taco shells and garnish with cilantro, sour cream, lettuce and cheddar cheese.  

Feta and Bacon Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 4 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 4 slices feta cheese
• 4 slices bacon, fried and drained

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a small bowl combine the oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix together. Place chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish and pour oil mixture over chicken.
3. Stuff each chicken breast with 1 slice feta cheese and 1 slice bacon. Secure open sides with toothpicks.
4. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 35 minutes.

Marinated Grilled Shrimp

A very simple and easy marinade that makes your shrimp so yummy you don't even need cocktail sauce! Don't let the cayenne pepper scare you, you don't even taste it. 

Ingredients

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 pounds fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
• skewers

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the garlic, olive oil, tomato sauce, and red wine vinegar. Season with basil, salt, and cayenne pepper. Add shrimp to the bowl, and stir until evenly coated. Cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring once or twice.
2. Preheat grill for medium heat. Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Discard marinade.
3. Lightly oil grill grate. Cook shrimp on preheated grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until opaque.