Poor Woman's Mashed Potatoes

I call it poor woman's mashed potatoes because it features mashed potatoes out of a box. It's cheap, quick and surprisingly good.

Ingredients
Garlic mashed potatoes box from Whole Foods
Olive oil
Dill
Fried onions from Trader Joe's
Salt & pepper to taste

Follow the directions on the box except rather than use milk or butter use olive oil. Place an equivalent amount to what it says on the box. Stir in a dash of dill and about 1/4 cup of fried onions. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can even top it off with them. MMM fried onions.

Mushroom and Gnocchi

Italian inspired mushroom medley with an olive oil/garlic based sauce.

Ingredients
Crimini mushrooms, sliced
Shiitake mushrooms, sliced
White button mushrooms, sliced
Gnocchi
5 Cloves of garlic, sliced
Olive Oil
Oregano
Red pepper flakes

Boil water in pot with 1 tsp of olive oil and a dash of salt. After water boils place gnocchi in pot until floats. When ready, drain. In the meantime, take a pan and sauté the mushrooms with 1 Tbsp of oil. Add a dash of red pepper flakes and salt. Turn down heat. Separately, for the 'sauce' you'll need to place 3 Tsp of oil with the sliced garlic. Cook until garlic turns a bit brown. Add about and additional 1/4 cup of oil. Cook until hot.

Place gnocchi on plate top with mushroom sauté pouring olive oil sauce to taste including a few garlic pieces.

Caprese Salad

Italian food is so good. And this salad is probably the easiest thing I've ever made. Thanks to Steve for the idea.

Ingredients:
Tomatoes
Fresh Basil
Mozzarella
Bread (Italian Herb with 3 Cheese Bread from Trader Joe's)
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Pick off the basil stems and only use the leaves. Slice tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick. Slice mozzarella about 1/4 inch thick. I bought the kind of mozzarella from Trader Joe's that looks like a white ball. They have larger ones too that are more like logs. Slice bread very thinly and place desired amount in toaster oven. Toast until they are as hard as croutons. Place on plate similar to picture once toast is ready. Drizzle desired amount of olive oil onto salad. For variation, use capers. See other variations here.