Momma Hawk Cooks

Fruit Salsa with Pie Chips

2012-02-10T09:30:00.000-08:00

Fruit Salsa with Pie Chips
Adapted from: Very Culinary

Pie Chips:
1 package refrigerated pie crust (15 ounce with 2 ready-made pie doughs)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (I used butter flavored Pam instead)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Fruit Salsa:
1 pint strawberries, diced
1 pint cut pineapple, diced
3 kiwi, peeled and diced
1 large peach, diced
1 mango, diced
3 tablespoons honey (left this out of mine)
1 tablespoon lime juice (used the juice from 1 entire lime)
Mint for garnish (optional)

I made my chips the night before the party. Just take the pie dough and unroll it on a flat surface. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough in chips - I made long strips then cut into triangles. They were very irregular and rustic in size. I placed them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet then sprayed with butter flavored Pam liberally. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together - I didn't use the exact measurement - just put some sugar in a bowl and sprinkled some cinnamon on top then stirred together. I then sprinkled with the cinnamon sugar mixture and baked for 10-12 minutes. You can place these once they are cool in an air tight container and save for the day you want to serve the fruit salsa with them.

To make the salsa: You just need to dice up all the fruit in small pieces. Toss the fruit with the honey, lime juice and the chopped mint leaves if you're using it. I covered with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two before serving so that all of the flavors had a chance to meld together.

It was really tasty and as a bonus - my two toddlers are LOVING eating the leftover fruit with their meals this week.

Pizza Roll Ups

2012-02-09T10:53:00.000-08:00

Pizza Roll Ups
Courtesy of: The Girl Who Ate Everything

Yield: 8 Rolls

1 can of Crescent Roll Dough
1 3.5 ounce bag of Pepperoni
4 Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

Glaze:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasonings
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Dipping Sauces:
Ranch or Marinara (They are also good without any sauce)

Take 3-6 of the pepperoni and 1/2 of a cheese stick and lay it on the larger end of 1 triangle of the Crescent roll dough. Roll into a package - I didn't close the sides, but when I make them again - I will keep the filling more compact and pull in the sides as much as possible to keep the cheese inside the roll. Bake at 350 for 10-14 minutes or until the Crescent roll is golden brown.

While the rolls are baking: combine the glaze ingredients in a bowl. Brush on the rolls immediately after they come out of the oven. You can serve with ranch or marinara - or just by themselves.

Baked Brie Bites

2012-02-08T12:46:00.000-08:00

Baked Brie Bites
Adapted from: Plain Chicken

mini phyllo tarts (check to see if your store has these in the freezer section - if not... follow my instructions)

Frozen Package of Phyllo Dough (only if you can't find the tart shells)

Melted Butter (only if you can't find the tart shells)

Large Wheel of Brie, cubed

brown sugar

pecan pieces

honey

Preheat oven to 350.

If you have frozen phyllo tart shells, skip to the next paragraph. If you had to go the hard way, like me, you'll want to defrost a roll of your phyllo. Mine came with two rolls in the box - just defrost 1 - I made about 40 bites with mine. Once defrosted (I did mine overnight in the fridge), you will want to lay your phyllo on the counter or a cookie sheet and keep it covered with a damp cloth while working. Using a mini muffin pan - spray with cooking spray - I used butter flavored Pam. Take 1 sheet and put it on a large cookie sheet, spread with melted butter - cover with another sheet, spread with butter - do this until you have a stack of 4 sheets. Then cut the sheets in half and then each half into 5 pieces. I took each section and folded it in half then pushed it into a mini muffin pan. It's okay for there to be some of the phyllo sticking out of the well of your muffin tin - that makes it have the pretty brown crunchy edges. You will repeat this to make another set of shells for 20 in each batch. I only baked mine once with the filling in and they were lovely and golden brown.

I used a large wheel of Brie - I think it cost about $10. I then cut it into 5 pieces length wise and cut off the rind as I was cutting the pieces for my bites. Place a cube of brie in each phyllo tart shell. Sprinkle each tart with approximately 1/4 tsp brown sugar. Top with approximately 2-4 pecan pieces (roughly chopped pecan halves) and a drop of honey. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until brie is melted.

Chocolate Mousse

2012-01-31T13:42:00.000-08:00

Chocolate Mousse
Courtesy of: Pat & Gina Neeley

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped fine (we used a bar of semi sweet baking chocolate)
4 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons sugar
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Dark shaved chocolate, for garnish
Whipped cream, for garnish

Melt the chopped chocolate using a double boiler - or a glass bowl fit over a pan of simmering water. Stir until completely melted and smooth - then remove from the heat.

Whisk together the egg yolks, 4 tablespoons sugar, 3/4 cup heavy cream and a pinch of salt in a medium 2-quart curved bottom saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir constantly until the mixture is thick, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the chocolate and vanilla. Strain the mixture into a large bowl using a fine mesh sieve and place in the refrigerator until chilled, at least 30 minutes. (We didn't strain ours, and I found a few lumps in it - but not too bad)

Beat the remaining 1 cup heavy cream and remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the chilled chocolate. Divide the mousse evenly among 4 individual serving dishes(I'd do more like 6 dishes or more - it's VERY rich) and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator to chill for at least one hour. Serve with shaved chocolate and whipped cream.

Pasta Fiesta

2012-01-27T06:29:00.000-08:00

Pasta Fiesta
Courtesy of: Blue Eyed Bride

8 ounces pasta (she used bowties, but my kids won't eat that so I used the mixed fusilli)
1 pound lean ground beef
½ onion, chopped
½ green bell pepper, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 cup sour cream
1 cup salsa (I used our favorite Clint's Salsa)
½ cup sliced black olives
1 can black beans, drained (this was just suggested, and I think it would be GREAT!)
¼ cup sliced jalapenos (optional - and I opted to not use them)
1 tomato, chopped (I skipped this too)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Cook the pasta using package; drain. Brown the beef in a skillet, and drain off any extra fat - depending on what mix of ground beef you use. Add in the onion and bell pepper sautee until tender, stirring constantly. Stir in the tomato sauce, chili powder, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Combine the pasta, ground beef mixture, sour cream, salsa, black olives, black beans, jalapenos, and tomato in a bowl and mix well. Spoon into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until brown and bubbly.

This was really good, and would be a super easy dish to make for delivering meals to a family in need. Just add in some crusty bread and maybe a salad.

Slow Cooker Bolognese

2012-01-26T09:30:00.000-08:00

Slow Cooker Bolgonese
Courtesy of: Real Simple

This recipe makes 3 quarts of sauce - so it's good for freezing. It takes about 35 minutes to get it prepped for the crock pot, but it is WELL worth it. My family LOVED it.

1 medium onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 stalk celery, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 carrot, finely chopped (3/4 cup)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds combined ground beef and pork, or meat-loaf mix
1 cup milk
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
6 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

In a large skillet, combine the onion, celery, carrot, and olive oil and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the meat and cook, stirring frequently, until it loses its pink color. Add the milk. Increase heat to high and cook until the milk has evaporated. Transfer the mixture to a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker.

Return the skillet to the heat and add the tomato paste; cook over low heat to reduce its bitterness, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste to the cooker, along with the tomatoes, salt, and nutmeg.

Cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4 hours. I always go for the longer slower cooking time, it just works better for us - I get it on during breakfast or morning naps and then it's ready by the time the boys are ready for dinner.

Serve over pasta - I used a gemili shaped pasta, but you can use whatever your family likes.

Cheese Enchiladas with Rice & Beans

2012-01-25T14:18:00.000-08:00

Cheese Enchiladas with Rice & Beans

Courtesy of: The Homesick Texan (fitting, right?!)

Chili Sauce:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 cups beef broth, chicken broth or water (I used beef broth)

Heat the oil in a medium sized sauce pan, stir in the flour and cook 3-4 minutes to form a roux. Add all the spices to the flour mixture and allow to heat for a minute or two to develop the flavors. Then whisk in the beef broth/chicken broth/water - allow to simmer for 15 minutes. You can add more liquid.

Enchiladas:
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I skipped this and wish I hadn't once I was in the process of making them)
8 corn tortillas (I used 12)
8 oz Velveeta
8-10 oz Cheddar Cheese
1 medium onion, diced (I chopped mine finely because I served this to the babies)
2 cups of chili sauce

Preheat oven to 400. In a 9x13 pan - place a 1/2 cup of the chili sauce on the bottom of the pan.

If you use the oil, heat it in a small skillet - then dip each of the tortillas in the oil for a few seconds and keep them wrapped up until all are heated.

Chop up the Velveeta, and mix with grated cheddar and onions. Then place about 1/4 cup or so of filling in a tortilla and roll it up. Place the filled enchilada in your baking dish seam side down. Repeat for all of your remaining tortillas. Once you are finished - pour the remaining chili sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Put remaining cheese and onions on top and bake for about 10 minutes until everything is melted and bubbly.

I served with rice and beans that I made:

For rice - I used long grain white rice with chicken broth instead of water, added a can of diced tomatoes, a teaspoon of cumin and a teaspoon of garlic powder.

For the beans - I used a can of refried beans and added a 1/4-1/2 cup of Velveeta and 1/2 cup of the enchilada chili sauce.

This mean certainly made us feel at home - since we haven't found any Mexican restaurants here in Memphis that have filled the void for our Texan hearts.

Green Bean Bundles

2012-01-23T13:32:00.000-08:00

Green Bean Bundles
Courtesy of Jen Bettis

4 cans whole green beans
8 slices bacon, cut in half so that you have 16 short pieces (We actually quartered the bacon and got 32)
1 cup brown sugar
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 stick butter, melted

Divide green beans into 32 bundles - our bundles had about 8 green beans a piece. Wrap each bundle with a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place in baking dish. Combine sugar, garlic, and butter and pour over bundles. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bacon reaches desired "doneness".

Sweet Potato Praline Souffle

2012-01-22T12:35:00.000-08:00

Sweet Potato Praline Souffle
Courtesy of: Cindy Harris (my sister)

3 cups sweet potatoes (4 good size fresh)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, cubed
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup melted butter

My sister cubes her sweet potatoes, boils and mashes them. We opted to roast our sweet potatoes, then peel and mash them. Once mashed, while still hot - add in the sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, milk and cinnamon. You may not need all the milk - you want the mixture creamy but not soupy.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Pour the mixture into a 13x9 inch baking dish. Then make the topping. In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients: brown sugar, flour, and pecans. Add the butter while stirring - the topping should be crumbly. Sprinkle the topping over the potatoes in the baking dish - then bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes until topping is browned and heated all the way through.

Our boys literally couldn't get enough of these, and they were MUCH better than the standard canned yams with marshmallows on them. (I'm not a fan of those.)

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli

2012-01-15T09:38:00.000-08:00

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
Courtesy of: Ina Garten (aka the Barefoot Contessa)

3 tablespoons pine nuts
4 to 5 pounds broccoli
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
6 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (We did not use the basil in ours)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread the pine nuts onto a baking sheet and place in preheated oven 5-7 minutes until fragrant. Shake the baking sheet halfway through baking so the nuts will toast evenly. Remove nuts from oven and set aside to cool completely. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees F.

Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks. Cut the larger pieces through the base of the head with a small knife, pulling the florets apart. You should have about 8 cups of florets. Place the broccoli florets in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper.

Roast until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, Parmesan, and basil. Serve hot.

We served this with the TGI Fridays Jack Daniels Chicken

TGI Fridays Jack Daniels Chicken

2012-01-15T09:32:00.000-08:00

TGI Fridays Jack Daniels Chicken
Courtesy of: Big Oven

This sauce can be used on chicken, pork chops, steak, shrimp, fish, chicken wings, and even on burgers! It is versatile and very very tasty!

1 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon Jack Daniels Wiskey
2/3 cup water
1 cup pineapple juice
3 tablespoons white onion, minced
1 tablespoon crushed pineapple
1/4 cup Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 head garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

Take your garlic, cut about 1/2 an inch off of the top, and a bit off of the bottom so that it will stand up flat on the pan. Place the garlic on a piece of foil, drizzle olive oil, wrap the foil over the garlic and bake it on 325 for an hour. Once roasted, remove the foil and let it cool until you're able to handle it.

In a large sauce pan, combine: water, pineapple juice, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Turn the heat to medium high, and stir occasionally until the mixture boils then reduce heat to a simmer. Add remaining ingredients to the pan. Squeeze the sides of the garlic and let the roasted paste come out on to a pan or plate. Add about 2 teaspoons of the paste to the simmering liquid.

Let mixture simmer for 35-45 minutes or until it is reduced by 1/2. We had to turn up the heat to reduce ours a bit more at the end. You want it to be thick and syrupy. Make sure it doesn't boil over. You will end up with about 1 cup of sauce after everything is reduced.

We used the sauce with grilled chicken, but like I said - you can put it on ANYTHING!

Autumn Chopped Salad

2012-01-08T13:06:00.000-08:00

Autumn Chopped Salad
Adapted from: Espresso and Cream

6 to 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
2 medium pears, chopped
1 cup chopped pecans
8 slices thick-cut bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled
4 to 6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
Balsamic Vinaigrette (we used Brianna's Home Style dressing)

Chop all of the lettuce, pears, pecans, bacon, and feta into very small pieces. Combine in a bowl for mixing. Pour the dressing over the top and toss with the dressing.

The original recipe also added in dried cranberries and used a dressing mix of 70% poppy seed dressing mixed with 30% of the vinaigrette. We personally aren't huge fans of dried cranberries or poppy seed dressing so I left those out of our salad.

We really enjoyed this salad combination, and will be making it again sometime soon!

Memaw's Cheese Ball

2011-12-16T09:49:00.000-08:00

Memaw's Cheese Ball
Courtesy of John's grandmother

2 – 8oz. packages of cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon chopped pimento
1 tablespoon chopped bell pepper
1 teaspoon chopped onion
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice
dash cayenne pepper
dash salt

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and roll into chopped pecan pieces (approximately 2 cups).

Chill for an hour or so in the refridgerator before serving, and serve with your favorite crackers.

Strawberry Jello Salad

2011-12-16T08:30:00.000-08:00

I've made this for my work Thanksgiving party, and then again for Thanksgiving Day too.

Strawberry Jello Salad
Courtesy of an old family recipe

1 large package strawberry jello (I use sugar free)
2 cups boiling water
1 package frozen strawberries
1/2 pint sour cream (I think that I use the whole pint)
2 riped bananas, mashed
1 big can crushed pineapple, drained well
1 cup chopped pecans
1 container of whipped cream

Dissolve jello in water. Add strawberries and stir until thawed. Add bananas and pineapple. Pour 1/2 of the mixture into a 13 x 9 inch pan. Let set up in refrigerator until firm. Place the bowl with the other 1/2 of the jello mixture in the refrigerator as well.

Mix the sour cream and the pecans together. Spread on first layer of jello. Pour the rest of the jello mixture on top of the sour cream layer. Refrigerate until firm.

Spread the whipped cream on the top. Serve and enjoy!

Pinwheel Cookies

2011-12-15T11:30:00.000-08:00

Pinwheel Cookies
Courtesy of: Our Italian Kitchen

2 cups flour, plus possibly a few more tbsp
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup unsifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (cut in chunks)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp of food coloring of your choice
1/2 tsp of any desired extra extracts, optional
1 1/2 cup holiday sprinkles

I started by cutting each stick of butter in half, and then in half again... then into small cubes. I placed the butter in a small bowl and put it back in the refrigerator until I was ready to use it. In a stand mixer, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugars with paddle on medium until well blended. Add butter in, 2-4 cubes at a time, and continue mixing. Add in vanilla extract. At this point, your dough will form a ball on your paddle.

Remove all your dough and divide into two equal parts. Return one portion back in to the mixer and add the food coloring and any extra extracts. I used Wilton gel food coloring in leaf green and red and vanilla extract for my batches. You could add mint flavoring in with the red or green coloring. You could do these for other holidays as well with yellow coloring and lemon flavoring, orange coloring and orange flavoring - the possibilities are endless. Also, if you are using liquid food coloring, you will need to add a few tbsp of flour to keep the dough from becoming too wet. Mix until the color is spread out evenly.

I put the balls of dough back in the refrigerator before rolling out the dough. I wanted it to firm up slightly before the next step. Roll out each portions of your dough, between two sheets a wax paper until is reaches about 11 x 9 inches and is 1/4 inch thick. Slide both unto a cookie sheet and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

When firm, remove the top sheets of wax paper from both. Then flip the colored dough onto the vanilla uncolored dough so they are stacked atop each other and even. You can use a slight brushing of water between the layers to help seal the dough together. Press the edges lightly with your fingertips to seal them together. Using a small pairing knife, trim the edges of the dough to make straight, even lines.

Be sure your dough is still cold, but flexible. Once it's ready, begin rolling the long side of dough into a swirl, jelly-roll style. Don't get nervous if the outer layer of uncolored dough tears a bit. It's no problem, just pinch and pat those tears back together, and just keep rolling. I wrapped the dough in wax paper and placed the dough back in the refrigerator overnight to firm up completely before cutting. Having the dough cold, helps with keeping the pinwheels in shape.

You can also wrap the dough in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months. You will need to allow the dough to defrost in the refrigerator for a day or so before continuing on with the next few steps for baking.

Pour your sprinkles onto a cookie sheet. Now gently lift your dough log onto the sprinkles and roll away. Cover the log completely with your sprinkles.

Slice your dough into 1/4-1/8 inch slices and bake on parchment lined baking sheets. Allow for plenty of room in between the cookies - as they spread a bit. Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes until edges are slightly golden. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then move them to a cookie rack to finish cooling. We ended up doing 4 batches of these - 1/2 red and 1/2 green... and alternated which colors were on the outside - I LOVE how they turned out! Enjoy your whimsical Christmas cookies!

Fudge-Filled Cookies

2011-12-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

Fudge-Filled Cookies
Courtesy of: Taste of Home

1 cup butter, softened
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
2 cups chopped walnuts
Confectioners' sugar, optional

In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour and mix well.

Turn onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth, about 3 minutes. Divide dough into fourths; cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until easy to handle.

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and milk; stir until smooth. Stir in walnuts. Cool to room temperature.

Roll out each portion of dough onto an ungreased baking sheet into an 11-in. x 6-1/2-in. rectangle. Spread 3/4 cup chocolate filling down the center of each rectangle. Fold long sides to the center; press to seal all edges. Turn over so the seam sides are down.

Bake at 350° for 27-32 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Cut into 1/2-in. slices. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired. Yield: 3 dozen.

Red Velvet Cookies

2011-12-14T18:30:00.000-08:00

Red Velvet Cookies
Courtesy of: Recipe Girl

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut up
1 Tbsp. red food coloring (I used gel food coloring and didn't measure it)
3 ounces white chocolate (or white Almond Bark), coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. butter flavored shortening
festive sprinkles

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. I start by cutting the stick of butter in half, then cut the halves in half again - then just cut into small cubes. I then place the butter in a bowl and put it back in the refrigerator until I am ready to add it to the dough mixture.

In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Cover and pulse until combined. Add butter and red food coloring. Process by pulsing until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Then continue to process until mixture begins to clump together.

Scoop dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly until nearly smooth. Roll or pat dough to a 1/2-inch thickness. Using a floured 1-1/2-inch round cutter, cut out dough. I used a regular biscuit cutter, but if I had it to do over again - I would use something with a more decorative edge. Place cutouts 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press scraps together and roll again.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until centers are set. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool.

In a microwave safe bowl, add in 1 package of the white chocolate and shortening - heat for 1 1/2 minutes in microwave. Stir. If the mixture isn't melted and smooth - you can microwave it an additional 30 seconds at a time until melted. Make sure to not over do it with the heat or you will ruin the chocolate. I often pull mine out and am able to melt it the rest of the way by just stirring it in the warm bowl for a minute or so.

Once your mixture is melted, dip half of each cookie into melted chocolate. If desired, sprinkle with festive sprinkles, nonpareils or chopped pistachios. Let stand on waxed paper until set.

Yield: About 24 cookies.

Pecan Balls

2011-12-14T13:13:00.000-08:00

Pecan Balls
Courtesy of: My Recipes.com

1 cup (1/2 lb.) butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup chopped pecans (about 4 oz.)

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and the vanilla until smooth.

In a medium bowl, mix flour and baking powder. Add to butter mixture and beat on low speed to mix, then on medium speed until well blended. Stir in pecans.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls (we used a cookie scoop for uniform size and shape) and place about 1 inch apart on buttered or cooking parchment-lined 12- by 15-inch baking sheets.

Bake in a 300° regular or convection oven until cookies are pale golden brown, about 25 minutes; if baking more than one pan at a time, switch pan positions halfway through baking. Let cookies stand on sheets until cool enough to handle.

Place remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar in a paper lunch bag or shallow bowl. Gently turn warm cookies, a few at a time, in powdered sugar to coat. Set cookies on racks to cool completely.

Salty Turtles

2011-12-14T10:05:00.000-08:00

Salty Turtles
Inspired by Pinterest

These are really not a true recipe - it's just layering ingredients. We were making a lot of these for John's employees & coworkers.

1 bag of square pretzels
2 bags of Rolos (Or you could use Hershey's Hugs)
1 bag of pecan halves

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Unwrap your Rolos or Hugs. Place the pretzels on a baking sheet, and put 1 candy on top of each pretzel. Bake for 5 minutes. The candy will not change shape in the baking process. Immediately upon pulling them from the oven, push a pecan down into the melted candy. You can then place the baking sheet in the freezer for about 5 minutes or in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes - then they are ready to serve or package for gifts!

Mongolian Beef

2011-11-11T09:31:00.000-08:00

Mongolian Beef
Courtesy of: Pink Bites

Serves 4

2 lb of steak, thinly sliced crosswise (The original recipe used flank steak, I used sirloin)
1/4 cup of cornstarch
3 teaspoons of canola oil
1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger
(I used the ginger from the tube - it keeps longer and is good for the price)
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic (about 2 -3 large cloves)
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (I skipped this, but if you like spicy - go for it!)
3 large green onions, sliced crosswise into thirds

Prepare the meat:
First, make sure the steak slices are dry (pat them dry) and mix them with the corn starch. Using your hands or a spoon, move them around to make sure all pieces are coated. Place beef slices in a strainer and shake off excess corn starch.

Make the sauce:
Heat half of the oil in a large pan at medium-high and add the garlic and ginger. Immediately add the soy sauce, water, brown sugar and pepper flakes. Cook the sauce for about 2 minutes and transfer to a bowl. Don't worry if the sauce doesn't look thick enough at this point. The corn starch in the beef will thicken it up later.

Cook the meat and assemble dish:
Turn the heat up and add the remaining oil to the wok. Add the beef and cook, stirring until it is all browned. Pour the sauce back into the pan and let it cook along with the meat. Now you can choose to cook it down and reduce the sauce or leave it thinner. Add the green onions on the last minute so the green parts will stay green and the white parts crunchy.

Serve it hot with rice. If I were to do this over again - I'd likely add some fresh broccoli to the pan until sauteed for a little bit of vegetable in the meal. We also had it with a green salad with a ginger based dressing.

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

2011-11-10T09:23:00.000-08:00

Slow Cooker Jambalaya
Adapted from: Plain Chicken

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
3 Tbsp dried minced onion flakes
1 medium green bell pepper (diced)
1 cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 tsp minced garlic
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I left this out, but if you like spicy - go for it)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
white rice or instant rice

In a slow cooker, mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice, onion, bell pepper,garlic, celery, and broth. Season with oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme.

I sometimes do this the night before and put it in the fridge. Just pop it in the slow cooker in the morning before you leave for the day... or just for ease of prep. For me it helps to not have to spend some of nap time putting the meal together - I can just throw it in there the night before. Win!

Cover, and cook 7 to 8 hours on Low, or 3 to 4 hours on High. You can mix in the cooked rice about 15 minutes before serving - or we like to just put the rice in the bottom of our bowl and spoon the Jambalaya on top.

Brown Sugar Cake

2011-11-09T09:15:00.000-08:00

Brown Sugar Cake
Courtesy of: SuperChikk

1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 pkg (3 oz size) vanilla instant pudding
4 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
2/3 cup water
½ cup oil
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans

Heat oven to 350. Beat first 6 ingredients with mixer 3 minutes or until well blended. Add brown sugar and mix well.

The original recipe calls for mixing 1 cup of pecans in with the batter. I just sprinkle the pecans into the bottom of my greased bundt pan, but my cake got stuck in the end... so I might try mixing some into the batter next time and have some on the top.

Pour into 12-cup fluted pan or 10-inch tube pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. (I baked 1 hour, but probably should have gone a bit longer)

Cool in pan 15 minutes. (Mine cooled longer than the 15 minutes, but still had some problems coming out of the pan) Loosen and invert. Cool completely and enjoy!

This is a GREAT cake, and is similar to my chocolate chip bundt cake... I will be making it again and playing with the pecans a bit to see if that helps with my little bit of sticking.

Breakfast Cupcakes

2011-11-08T14:12:00.000-08:00

Breakfast Cupcakes
Adapted from: Love from Texas

1 pound sausage (cooked)
6-7 pieces of thick cut bacon (cooked, chopped)
12 eggs
2 cups shredded cheddar (sharp or cheddar jack)
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1-2 Tablespoons of chopped fresh chives
salt and pepper
1 can Grands Flakey Layers biscuits

Spray muffin pans with cooking spray. Divide each unbaked biscuit in to 3 layers. (They should just peel apart.) Press each layer in to a cup on the muffin pan. This will make 24 total. Add some of the bacon pieces on top of the biscuit.

Whisk eggs together and season with ground mustard, chives, salt, and pepper. Stir in cheese and cooked sausage crumbles.

Pour egg/sausage mixture in to each muffin cup until it is almost full. Bake at 350 for 16-18 minutes, or until egg is done and tops are golden.

We freeze the muffins, and I send 2-3 with John every morning for breakfast at the office. He pops them in the microwave for 1 minute and they're good to go. He also adds a little hot sauce in them for his enjoyment.

Peanut Butter Kisses

2011-11-07T08:39:00.000-08:00

Peanut Butter Kisses

1 tube or package of peanut butter cookie dough
1 bag of Hershey's Kisses

I used a package of break apart peanut butter cookie dough. Separated the cookie dough pieces and rolled them into balls. Put them in a mini muffin pan, baked according to package instructions. Immediately upon removing from the oven - I placed a Hershey's Kiss in the middle.

I've also used mini peanut butter cups in this type of recipe as well. Either way is GREAT!

Candy Corn Cookies

2011-10-18T10:33:00.000-07:00

Candy Corn Cookies
Basic Recipe by Land O' Lakes and the idea for the adaptation from - Sweet Sugar Belle

2 sticks of butter, softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 teaspoons orange juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in the egg, vanilla, almond extract, and orange juice.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Then begin to mix into the other ingredients in small stages. This will keep you from wearing all of the dry mixture. (I had this experience the first time)

One the dough is combined, portion out in three bowls. I used a 1/4 cup to make sure that I got evenly portioned dough. From here you can complete the cookies as I made them... or you can go a different route.

To complete as I made them:
Mix yellow food coloring into 1/3 of the dough. Mix orange food coloring into 1/3 of the dough. Leave the last remaining portion of the dough without and coloring. (I used Americolor Food Color for mine) Once you get the colors mixed, you will use a 9x5 (or 8.5 x 4.5) loaf pan to combine the dough. Line the pan with wax paper or plastic wrap... then take the white dough and press into the bottom of the pan. You will then press the orange dough on top of the white, and finish with the yellow on the top. Cover the dough with the remaining plastic wrap or wax paper. It will look something like this:

Let the dough sit in the refrigerator to let the butter get hard again... this will make the cookies easy to slice and bake. I let mine sit overnight. The next morning, I pulled my dough out of the pan (the above photo was at that step) and prepared to slice them for baking. I sliced off a piece, and then slice again in diagonals to make the candy corn triangles. Like the photo below.

Transfer to a cookie sheet, you can put a bunch on the pan because they don't spread much if at all. I will dust mine with a good sanding sugar next time. Bake on 375 for 7-10 minutes. (8 minutes did the trick for mine)

I can totally see myself doing these for other holidays too - in different shapes... but you could do some Easter Egg type ones... red and green with white for Christmas... red, white and blue... you name it!

To adapt the recipe so that all the cookies look like real candy corn:

You make the cookies just as the recipe states, but instead of dying 1/3 of the dough yellow... leave it white... you'll end up with white on the bottom, orange in the middle, and white on the top. Slice and bake as I did... but then you will get some yellow melting chocolate, and dip the bottom end of each cookie into the melted chocolate. The link to the Sweet Sugar Belle blog did hers that way, and you can go take a look at how she did them for more specific instructions.

Peanut Butter Dip

2011-10-10T14:11:00.000-07:00

Peanut Butter Dip
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.com

1 cup smooth peanut butter
3 (6 oz) containers vanilla yogurt
1/2-1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips (or as many as desired)

This recipe is so simple, I just mixed all of the ingredients together. I started with the peanut butter and mixed in 1 container of the yogurt at a time. It takes a minute to get it to combine into a smooth mixture. Then add the cinnamon and chocolate chips. I served with pretzel sticks, graham crackers, and apple slices. (Sorry the picture isn't great... it was served at my son's 1st birthday party.)

Zucchini Hamburger Casserole

2011-09-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

Zucchini Hamburger Casserole
From: Pilsbury.com

1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon uncooked medium-grain white rice
1 cup water
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can (19 oz) Progresso Vegetable Classics tomato basil soup
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 13x9 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. In 10-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place rice and water in baking dish; stir to mix. Layer cooked beef, zucchini and diced tomatoes over rice. Pour soup over top. Cut 16x20 inch sheet of foil; spray with cooking spray. Cover dish with foil, sprayed side down.

Bake 40 minutes. Uncover dish; sprinkle cheese over top. Bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes longer or until edges are bubbly and cheese is lightly browned. (We like our cheese really brown as you can tell in the picture)

In higher altitudes - add 5 minutes to the cooking time before adding the cheese.

* I changed the recipe to use the diced tomatoes instead of chopping a large fresh tomato. If you'd rather do that - drop the extra tablespoon of the rice out of the recipe. I added that because of the additional juice from the canned tomatoes.

Chicken Pesto Pasta Bake

2011-09-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

Chicken Pesto Pasta Bake
Inspired by: Taste of Home
Yield: 1 casserole for dinner and 1 for the freezer!

1 (16 oz) package of penne pasta
6 cups cooked chicken, cubed
4 cups shredded Italian cheese blend
3 cups fresh baby spinach
1 can (15 oz) crushed tomatoes - *I used diced Fire Roasted tomatoes instead
1 jar (15 oz) Classico Alfredo sauce
1 jar (8 oz) Classico Pesto sauce
1 1/2 cups milk

topping:
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil

Bake your chicken in the oven - I season mine and bake it on 400-425 for about 20 minutes. Cool and then cube it. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine: chicken, cheese, spinach, tomatoes, alfredo sauce, milk, and pesto. Drain the pasta and add to the chicken mixture; toss to coat.

Transfer to two greased 9x13 inch baking dishes. In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the casseroles.

Cover and freeze one casserole for up to 3 months. Cover and bake the remaining casserole at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly.

To reheat the frozen casserole; thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking cover and bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly.

Slow Cooker Italian Mushroom Chicken

2011-09-15T09:03:00.000-07:00

Slow Cooker Italian Mushroom Chicken
Inspired by: Cleverly Inspired's Angel Chicken

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/2 pounds)

1 8-oz. pkg. fresh button mushrooms, sliced
1 8-oz. pkg. fresh baby bella mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup butter
1 0.7-oz. pkg. Italian dry salad dressing mix
1 10-3/4-oz. can condensed golden mushroom soup (I used regular cream of mushroom)
1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 of an 8-oz. tub cream cheese spread with chives and onion (I used Roasted Garlic Cooking Creme)
1/2 package of egg noodles, cooked

* I added some minced onion because I didn't have the chive and onion cream cheese

Layer your crock pot with the mushrooms on the bottom, lay the chicken on top of the mushrooms, and I sprinkled my minced onion on top of the chicken. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter - once melted add in the Italian dressing mix, mushroom soup, wine, and cream cheese. Pour the combined sauce over the chicken, and cook on low setting for 6-8 hours.

Before serving, I shredded the chicken and put it back in the sauce. I boiled my noodles, and once they were ready - I mixed them into the crock pot and let it sit in the sauce for about 20 minutes or so to soak up some of the sauce and flavor. I did this because the sauce is rather thin, and I thought this would be a good way to not waste it - if it soaked up in to the pasta.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

2011-09-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Courtesy of: Niki via Food.com

Yield: 30-32 regular sized muffins

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 (16 oz) can pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil (yes, that is correct)
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

* I added a dash of pumpkin pie spice
** If I wasn't serving these to the babies - I might have added some pecans or walnuts

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. In a second large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, vanilla, and oil together until smooth. Continue beating, adding little bits of the flour mixture in at a time until all combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin tins about 3/4 full. I used a 1/4 or 1/3 cup measuring cup to fill mine to make sure they were all equal in size. Bake at 400 degrees for 16-20 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Chicken with Olives, Tomatoes and Orzo

2011-08-23T18:16:00.000-07:00

Chicken with Olives, Tomatoes and Orzo
Modified from: My Recipes.com

YIELD: 6 servings (serving size: 2 chicken thighs and about 1/3 cup sauce)

Ingredients
12 chicken thighs (about 4 pounds), skinned -- (I used 3 thighs for us)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 teaspoon olive oil (I skipped this)
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 to 3 teaspoons crushed red pepper (I skipped this)
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained (I used a 14 oz can)
1/4 cup sliced pitted kalamata olives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used dried parsley)
** I added minced onion, some Italian seasoning, and mixed in Orzo

I'm going to tell you how I made this dish here - and the original recipe is below in case you want to compare. I put the chicken in the crock pot raw... I knew I was going to cook it all day - so it was easier for me. I then put the tomato paste in a bowl and whisked it with the white wine. I mixed that in the crock pot with the chicken and tomatoes. I added the rest of the ingredients: salt, pepper, garlic, dried parsley, minced onion, Italian seasoning, and olives. Put everything on low for 5-6 hours.

I then boiled 1 cup of dry orzo in water, and once it was cooked - I added it to the crock pot and put it on the warm setting. I did it for ease of cooking with the kids - that was when I tested it and took the photo above. When I served it to my family - the sauce had completely soaked into the orzo... so if you have the ability - I'd add the orzo and mix it in just before eating.

You could serve it over rice or something else if you'd prefer. It does change the nutritional values below... but I think it's worth it to balance out the meal.

Original Preparation

Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Place chicken in an electric slow cooker. Add garlic to pan, and sauté 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add wine,
scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 30 seconds. Place wine mixture in cooker. Add tomato paste, crushed red pepper, and tomatoes to cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH 4 hours. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper, olives, and parsley.

Nutritional Information: Amount per serving
Calories: 270
Fat: 12.9g
Saturated fat: 3.3g
Monounsaturated fat: 5.6g
Polyunsaturated fat: 2.8g
Protein: 29.1g
Carbohydrate: 8.7g
Fiber: 2.2g
Cholesterol: 99mg
Iron: 2.4mg
Sodium: 658mg
Calcium: 44mg

Green Cake

2011-07-31T12:23:00.000-07:00

It took me a couple of years to weasel this secret family recipe out of a friend... you simply MUST try it... immediately!

Green Cake

Courtesy of: Angela F.

Preheat oven to 350F

Grease 11x13 cake pan & sprinkle 1 tbsp cake mix to "dust" pan

Cake:

1 box white cake mix

1 jello pistachio pudding mix

1/2 cup oil

3/4 cup water + 1 tbsp

4 eggs

1-2 cups pecans, finely chopped (or your favorite nut)

Mix ingredients until smooth, and pour mixture into prepared cake pan. Sprinkle 1-2 cups finely chopped pecan pieces evenly over cake. (If you don't like pecans, I would expect that any nuts would work beautifully here.) Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Frosting:

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup water

2 cups packed powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix ingredients while cake is in the oven. When cake is done, remove it from oven. With a fork, puncture the cake several times until surface is evenly "poked". Gently spoon frosting mixture evenly over entire cake (pouring on frosting makes it pool & doesn't coat evenly). Bake the cake for an additional 5 minutes so the frosting becomes flakey. Cool to room temp and enjoy!

** I considered warming the frosting ingredients before putting them on the cake and to make sure they mix evenly... we didn't do it, but I wonder if it might work better than ours did.

Lasagna Roll-Ups

2011-07-14T09:41:00.000-07:00

Lasagna Roll-Ups
Courtesy of ME!

Package of Lasagna Noodles
1 container of ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 medium zucchini, grated
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I used Classico Spinach)
1-2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

This recipe makes about 9-10 rolls - which for our family is plenty because currently John and I only eat about 1 roll per meal. For larger families, or if you think your family will eat more - you might want to double up on the ingredients in the filling mixture. I had quite a few lasagna noodles left over - so you should be fine with one package.

Boil your lasagna noodles. Drain and rinse with cold water. Separate the noodles and lay them out on a towel lined cookie sheet. We had more than one layer - so I just covered each layer with a separate towel and kept stacking.

In a skillet, brown your ground beef with salt, pepper, the Italian seasoning, and onion. Once browned, allow the mixture to cool. In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, egg, Parmesan, 1/4 cup of the spaghetti sauce, and beef mixture.

In the bottom of a baking dish, spread a few tablespoons of the spaghetti sauce. You want to make sure that the bottom of the dish is covered lightly so that the noodles don't dry out.

Lay out 1 lasagna noodle on a cutting board, spoon some of the ricotta mixture on the noodle to cover it.

Then roll up the noodle.

Ideally, the rolls would stand up in the pan. Mine wasn't deep enough - so I had to lay them side by side. You will want to pack the rolls in tightly so that they can keep their moisture. If they stand up in the pan, you will be able to fit them all in one dish - I had to use two in order to bake mine.

Once you get all the rolls made up, cover them with the remaining sauce - a little bit on each roll so that the noodles continue to have plenty of moisture so they don't dry out. Top them with mozzarella cheese and bake for about 20-25 minutes until the mozzarella cheese is melted and the rolls are warm.

Margarita Pie

2011-07-07T13:15:00.000-07:00

Margarita Pie
Courtesy of: A grocery store cookbook (my son ripped off the cover and I'm not sure who's it was)

1 1/4 cups crushed pretzels
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice
1 envelope KOOL-AID Lemon Lime Unsweetened drink mix
1 tub (8 oz) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

For the crust:
Mix pretzel crumbs, sugar and butter together. Press into bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie crust. For best results - use a glass or metal pie plate instead of a disposable one. Refrigerate until ready to fill.

For the filling:
Mix the sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, and KOOL-AID drink mix together in a large bowl. Whisk in COOL WHIP. Pour the contents into the pie crust, and freeze for 6 hours.

Remove the pie from the freezer 10-15 minutes before serving, let stand at room temperature until slightly softened. Use a large knife dipped in warm water to cut the pie into slices. I dipped the knife in the water after each cut. You can top the pie with more COOL WHIP if desired.

My crust came apart a bit - so I sprinkled the pretzel crumbs on the top so no one missed any of their salty bite with the sweetness of the filling.

Feaux Mimosa

2010-12-29T10:01:00.000-08:00

Feaux Mimosa
Courtesy of John

Orange Juice (we used orange pineapple)
Sparkling Grape Juice (white or red... we used red)
Ice

Mix 2 parts orange juice with 1 part of the sparkling grape juice... pour over ice into your favorite glass and enjoy! It was a special treat as a part of our first Christmas breakfast as a family.

Cinnamon Roll Bats

2010-10-26T09:44:00.000-07:00

Cinnamon Roll Bats

Courtesy of Pillsbury.com

1 can (1 lb 1.5 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing

5 tablespoons chocolate candy sprinkles

5 chocolate wafer cookies

10 gummy ring candies (3/4 inch)

10 miniature candy-coated chocolate baking bits

10 candy corn

5 large or small black gumdrops

Heat oven to 350°F. Separate dough into 5 rolls. Cut each in half crosswise. For each flying bat, arrange 2 halves, round sides together, on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350°F. for 17 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Reserve 1 tablespoon frosting. Frost warm bats with remaining frosting. Immediately sprinkle each bat with 1 tablespoon candy sprinkles.

With small amount of reserved frosting, attach wafer cookie to each bat for head. Use remaining frosting and candies to decorate faces as desired.

Melted Witch Puddles

2010-10-17T17:13:00.000-07:00

Melted Witch Puddles
Courtesy of Taste of Home.com

1 teaspoon water
4 drops yellow food coloring
1-1/2 cups flaked coconut
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons shortening, divided
36 chocolate cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies
36 Bugles
4 cups vanilla or white chips
36 pretzel sticks

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine water and food coloring; add coconut. Seal bag and shake to tint coconut; set aside. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons shortening; stir until smooth.
For witches' hats, place about 1/3 cup chocolate mixture in a resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in a corner of bag. Pipe a small amount of chocolate on a cookie. Dip a Bugle in some of the remaining chocolate; allow excess to drip off. Position over chocolate on cookie, forming a witch's hat. Set on waxed paper to dry. Repeat with remaining chocolate, Bugles and cookies.
For brooms, in a microwave, at 70% power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth. Place mixture in a large heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in a corner of bag.
Pipe mixture into the shape of a puddle onto waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Immediately place a witch's hat on the puddle. Place a pretzel stick alongside the hat; sprinkle reserved tinted coconut at the end of the pretzel stick. Repeat with remaining puddles, hats and brooms. Chill for 15 minutes or until set. Store in an airtight container.
Yield: 3 dozen.

Praline Pumpkin Torte

2010-10-14T09:49:00.000-07:00

Praline Pumpkin Torte
Courtesy of My Recipes.com

Notes: You can bake the cakes (through step 3) up to 1 day ahead; cover and store at room temperature. Up to 6 hours ahead, assemble layers; cover with a large inverted bowl or pan and chill. Prep and Cook Time: about 1 hour, plus 1 1/2 hours to cool cakes.

Yield: Makes about 12 servings

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup butter
3 tablespoons plus 1 3/4 cups whipping cream
1 cup chopped pecans
4 large eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups canned cooked pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or 3/4 teaspoon each ground cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with cooking parchment. In a heavy 1- to 2-quart pan over low heat, stir brown sugar, butter, and 3 tablespoons whipping cream until melted and blended, about 5 minutes. Pour half the brown sugar mixture into each of the cake pans. Sprinkle 3/4 cup chopped pecans evenly into pans.

2. In a bowl, with a spoon, beat eggs, granulated sugar, and oil until well blended. Stir in pumpkin and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt to blend. Whisk dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture until well blended. Pour half the batter into each of the pans; smooth top.

3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cakes comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pans on racks about 5 minutes, then invert onto racks and remove pans and paper. Let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.

4. Up to 6 hours before serving, in a bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, beat remaining 1 3/4 cups whipping cream until soft peaks form. On low speed, beat in powdered sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla just until blended. Set one cake layer, pecan praline side up, on a serving platter. Spread two-thirds of the whipped cream mixture over the top. Set second layer, praline side up, on top. Cover with remaining whipped cream mixture. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup chopped pecans.

Amish Friendship Bread

2010-09-26T14:54:00.000-07:00

Amish Friendship Bread

Starter:

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
3 cups white sugar, divided
3 cups milk

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a 2 quart container glass, plastic or ceramic container, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely and let stand until bubbly. Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Leave loosely covered at room temperature.

On days 2 thru 4; stir starter with a spoon. Day 5; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Days 6 thru 9; stir only.

Day 10; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Remove 1 cup to make your first bread, give 2 cups to friends along with this recipe, and your favorite Amish Bread recipe. Store the remaining 1 cup starter in a container in the refrigerator, or begin the 10 day process over again (beginning with step 2).

To make bread on Day 10:
To the balance (a little over one cup) of the batter, add the following ingredients and mix well.
1 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl combine the following dry ingredients and mix well:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon (we left this out of ours)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 - (5.1 oz) box instant vanilla pudding
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup nuts

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix and pour into two well greased and sugared bread pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

** We made banana nut bread by using banana pudding mix instead of the vanilla... and we made the chocolate chocolate chip bread by adding chocolate pudding and chocolate chips to the batter. You can make this in any combination you can think of - use any flavor pudding... and add all sorts of mix-ins!

Next time we might just add chocolate chips to the version with the vanilla pudding - that would be YUMMY too!

Apple Nachos

2010-09-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

I think these look like a fun treat for fall... enjoy!

Apple Nachos
Courtesy of TasteofHome.com

36 caramels
1 tablespoon water
30 large marshmallows
1/3 cup butter, cubed
4 medium tart apples, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/3 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts
1/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons Halloween sprinkles
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt caramels with water; stir until smooth. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt marshmallows and butter. Arrange apple slices on a large platter. Drizzle with caramel; top with marshmallow mixture. Sprinkle with peanuts, chocolate chips and sprinkles. Serve immediately. Yield: 24 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving equals 149 calories, 6 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 8 mg cholesterol, 76 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein.

Snickerdoodle Muffins

2010-09-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

Snickerdoodle Muffins
Adapted from a recipe on Tasty Kitchen.com
Yield - 24 muffins (for me)

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 whole eggs
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 pinch salt
3/4 teaspoon ground or grated nutmeg (I used pumpkin pie spice)
1 1/4 cups sour cream
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Topping
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Grease muffin tins or use paper liners.

Cream the butter, sugar, and cinnamon until soft about 3 to 5 minutes. Add in the vanilla. Add in the eggs one at a time and mix until well incorporated. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar, and nutmeg (or pumpkin pie spice in my case).

Add about 1/2 cup of the flour mixture to the butter & sugar - mix to incorporate... then add in 1/4 cup of the sour cream - mix to incorporate. Alternate these into the mixture until all are combined - start with the flour and end with the flour... scrape the bowl occasionally.

In one final bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon for the topping. Pour the muffin batter into your muffin pans - I used a cookie scoop to make sure that all of my muffins were roughly the same size. Sprinkle the tops with the sugar topping. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Walnut Rosemary Oven-Fried Chicken

2010-08-24T03:03:00.000-07:00

Walnut Rosemary Oven-Fried Chicken
Courtesy of Cooking Light
Yield: 4 servings

1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 (6-ounce) chicken cutlets
1/3 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3/4 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary (I'm thinking this would be just as good without the rosemary)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
Rosemary leaves (optional)

Preheat oven to 425°.

Combine buttermilk and mustard in a shallow dish, stirring with a whisk. Add chicken to buttermilk mixture, turning to coat.

Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add panko to pan; cook 3 minutes or until golden, stirring frequently. Combine panko, nuts, and next 4 ingredients (through pepper) in a shallow dish. Remove chicken from buttermilk mixture; discard buttermilk mixture. Dredge chicken in panko mixture.

Arrange a wire rack on a large baking sheet; coat rack with cooking spray. Arrange chicken on rack; coat chicken with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 13 minutes or until chicken is done. Garnish with rosemary leaves, if desired.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 287
Fat: 9.4g (sat 1.6g,mono 1.6g,poly 5.1g)
Protein: 42.7g
Carbohydrate: 6g
Fiber: 0.9g
Cholesterol: 101mg
Iron: 1.6mg
Sodium: 379mg
Calcium: 66mg

Coconut Refrigerator Cake

2010-08-22T06:05:00.000-07:00

If you are really quiet - you might actually hear me drooling... I can't wait to make this one!

Coconut Refrigerator Cake
Courtesy of Real Simple
Yield: 6-8 servings

1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut
2 cups Vanilla Pudding
1 cup heavy (or whipping) cream, whipped to a soft peak
2 pound cakes (such as Sara Lee), about 11 ounces each

Preheat oven to 350° F. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and toast in oven until golden, about 10 minutes, shaking the tray once about halfway through the cooking time. Remove and let cool. In a medium bowl, gently fold together the whipped cream and pudding. Slice each cake vertically in half, then slice each half horizontally into three ½-inch layers. Line an 8-by-8-inch square pan with 4 slices of cake to make 1 layer. Top with about 1cup of the pudding mixture, spreading to cover the cake. Repeat the process to form 3 layers, ending with the pudding mixture. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Garnish with the toasted coconut and serve.

Coconut Chocolate Delights

2010-08-21T06:04:00.000-07:00

Coconut Chocolate Delights
Courtesy of Pillsbury.com
Yield: 20 cookies

3/4	cup Fisher® Roasted and Salted Almonds
1 1/2	cups coconut
1/2	cup Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk (from 14-oz can)
1	package (16 oz) Pillsbury® Ready to Bake!™ refrigerated sugar cookies (24 cookies)
1/3	cup Hershey’s® baking cocoa
1/3	cup Hershey's® milk chocolate baking chips

Reserve 20 almonds; set aside. Chop remaining almonds. In medium bowl, stir chopped almonds, coconut and milk until well blended. Refrigerate mixture 25 minutes for easier handling. Let cookie dough stand at room temperature for 10 minutes to soften.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, knead cookie dough and cocoa with hands until well blended. Cover with plastic wrap; set aside.

For each cookie, press 1 rounded tablespoon dough into 3-inch round. Place 1 tablespoon coconut mixture on center of each round. Wrap dough around filling, pressing edges to seal; shape into a ball. Place balls 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Press each ball with fingers into 2 1/2-inch round. Press 1 whole almond on each cookie.

Bake 9 to 12 minutes or until puffed and edges are set. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips uncovered on High 10 to 20 second, stirring every 10 seconds, until smooth. Place in resealable food-storage plastic bag; cut small tip from corner of bag. Drizzle chocolate over cookies. Before storing, let cookies stand at room temperature until chocolate is set. Store in airtight container.

The Best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-08-08T14:25:00.000-07:00

The Best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup Crisco Butter Flavor Shortening (1 stick)
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Light Brown Sugar (firmly packed)
3 eggs
2 tablespoons Milk
1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
4 cups Quick Cooking Oats
1 cup Chocolate Chips
1 cup Pecans (or Walnuts)

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl (we use the Kitchen Aid mixer), blend the Crisco with the sugars, adding the sugar gradually. Add the eggs (one at a time), milk and the vanilla; beat well until mixture looks somewhat fluffy. I use the paddle mixer on the Kitchen Aid for this - not the whisk. In a small bowl, mix together your flour, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in the bowl 1/2 c. at a time; beat well. Add the oats 1/2 c. at at time. If you are using a Kitchen Aid or any other heavy duty stand mixer - this is the reason you will want to use the paddle attachment. Otherwise, if you are using a hand mixer, you will want to mix the oats and the remainder of the ingredients in by hand. Once the oats are incorporated, add your chocolate chips and finally your nuts (pecans or walnuts). Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls, about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Back for 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Be very careful to not let the cookies brown too much or they will be very crisp after cooling - especially the next day. Remove the cookies and let stand for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to a plate or some other surface to finish cooling. Of course make sure to taste one while they are still hot and gooey - YUM!

Makes about 42 cookies

Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala

2010-08-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

I made this last Sunday, but completely forgot to take a picture of mine - because I wasn't feeling very well.

Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala

Courtesy of Pillsbury.com

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 jars (6 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 cup sweet Marsala wine or chicken broth (I used 1/2 a cup of each)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Spray 4-5 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In cooker, place garlic and oil. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; place in cooker over garlic. Place mushrooms over chicken; pour wine over everything.

Cover; cook on low heat setting about 5-6 hours.

Remove chicken from cooker; place on plate and cover to keep warm. In small bowl, mix water and cornstarch until smooth; stir into liquid in cooker. Increase heat setting to high; cover and cook about 10 minutes or until sauce is thickened slightly.

Return chicken to cooker. Cover and cook on high heat setting 5 minutes longer or until chicken is hot.

To serve, spoon mushrooms mixture over chicken breasts and sprinkle with parsley.

In the photo - they served it over white rice, but we chose to have ours over egg noodles instead. This makes a simple easy dinner when served with a salad.

Lemon-Raspberry Angel Food Cupcakes

2010-07-30T06:34:00.000-07:00

YUM! I'm drooling just looking at their picture...

Lemon-Raspberry Angel Food Cupcakes

Courtesy of MyRecipes.com

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Other Time: 1 hour 2 minutes

Cupcakes:
1 (16 ounce) package Duncan Hines Angel Food Cake mix (you will make using the package instructions - so you'll need those ingredients as well)
24 paper baking cups
3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam (I'd likely leave this out of mine)

Frosting:
1 1/2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 (16 ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons lemon zest
fresh raspberries for garnish

Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 325. Prepare angel food cake batter according to package directions. Place paper baking cups into 2 (12 cup) muffin pans. Spoon batter evenly into cups.

Bake at 325 for 22 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely. (about 30 more minutes)

Make a small hole in tops of cakes with a knife or end of a wooden spoon. Pipe or spoon about 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam into centers of cupcakes. (If you skip the jam - like I would... no need to do this step)

Frosting:
Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; add lemon juice, beating just until blended. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended; stir in lemon zest.

Spread cream cheese frosting on tops of the cakes - or you could pipe it on for a more decorative look. Garnish with a fresh raspberry if desired.

Creamy Lime Squares

2010-07-16T08:42:00.000-07:00

Oh sweet heaven... YUM! Somehow being pregnant has kicked into a weird love of limes... especially key lime yogurt!

Creamy Lime Squares

Courtesy of: Pillsbury.com

Yield: 24 servings

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup cold butter or margarine
3/4 cup frozen (thawed) limeade concentrate (from 12-oz can)
2 containers (6 oz each) Yoplait® Thick & Creamy Key lime pie yogurt
1 box (4-serving size) French vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime peel
1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 to 4 drops green food color
Extra whipped topping, if desired
Lime slices, if desired
Fresh mint leaves, if desired

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, mix flour and powdered sugar. With pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture looks like fine crumbs. In bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan, press mixture evenly. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely, about 40 minutes.

In large bowl, mix limeade and yogurt with wire whisk until blended. Beat in pudding mix until well blended. Let stand 5 minutes to thicken. Stir lime peel into yogurt mixture. Gently stir in whipped topping and food color until desired green color.

Pour yogurt mixture over cooled crust; spread evenly. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

For squares, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Serve each square topped with extra whipped topping, lime slice and mint leaf.

High Altitude:
Bake 23-28 minutes

Nutritional Information:

1 Serving:
Calories 200 (Calories from Fat 90)
Total Fat 10g (Saturated Fat 6g, Trans Fat 0g)
Cholesterol 20mg
Sodium 125mg
Total Carbohydrate 25g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 13g)
Protein 2g

Layered Fruit Flag Salad

2010-06-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

How fun & festive does this look?! (photo courtesy of Pillsbury.com)

Layered Fruit Flag Salad

Courtesy of Pillsbury.com

Yield: 12 servings

2	cans (8 oz each ) pineapple tidbits in juice
2	medium bananas, sliced
3	pints (6 cups) fresh strawberries
3	containers (6 oz each) Yoplait® Original 99% Fat Free lemon burst yogurt
1 1/2	cups frozen (thawed) whipped topping
3	tablespoons powdered sugar
4	cups cubed (1/2 to 3/4 inch) cantaloupe, well drained
1 1/2	pints (3 cups) fresh blueberries
2	cups miniature marshmallows

1. Drain pineapple, reserving juice in small bowl. Pat pineapple dry with paper towels to remove any excess liquid. Toss banana slices in pineapple liquid; drain well, discarding liquid. Reserve 18 to 20 strawberries for flag stripes; cut remaining strawberries into quarters.

2. In medium bowl, mix yogurt, whipped topping and powdered sugar until well blended and smooth.

3. In ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish, layer cantaloupe and quartered strawberries. Reserve 50 blueberries for flag stars. Layer remaining blueberries over strawberries. Top with bananas, pineapple and marshmallows. With pancake turner, press fruit lightly to even out top. Spread yogurt mixture evenly over fruit. If desired, at this point, salad can be covered and refrigerated up to 4 hours.

4. If serving salad immediately, add topping; if salad is refrigerated, add topping up to 1 hour before serving. Sprinkle reserved blueberries in corner to resemble stars of flag. Cut reserved strawberries into quarters. Arrange strawberries in rows to resemble stripes of flag.

Tip: You could vary this salad to suit your taste. Why not add or substitute red or green grapes, raspberries or honeydew melon? Chopped pecans, walnuts or pitted dates are also delicious in the salad.

Nutritional Information:
1 Serving:
Calories 210 (Calories from Fat 25)
Total Fat 3g (Saturated Fat 2g, Trans Fat 0g)
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 40mg
Total Carbohydrate 41g (Dietary Fiber 4g, Sugars 31g)
Protein 4g

Strawberry Pineapple Pie

2010-05-10T08:10:00.000-07:00

Photo from Taste of Home.com

Did anyone notice the new face lift that my friend, Becky, gave to Kim's Cuisine?

Strawberry Pineapple Pie

Courtesy of Taste of Home.com

Servings: 8

1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple, undrained
10 frozen strawberries, thawed
3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
3/4 teaspoon lemon extract, divided
5 drops red food coloring, optional
1 pastry shell (9 inches), baked
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Place pineapple and strawberries in a food processor; cover and process until smooth. Transfer to a saucepan. Stir in the tapioca, egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar; let stand for 5 minutes.
Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a full boil. Remove from the heat; stir in 1/2 teaspoon extract and food coloring if desired. Pour into pastry shell; refrigerate for 1 hour.
In a small bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add remaining sugar and extract; beat until stiff peaks form. Spread over top of pie. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until set.

Nutrition Facts: 1 piece equals 663 calories, 20 g fat (10 g saturated fat), 97 mg cholesterol, 118 mg sodium, 127 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 4 g protein.

Fruity Spinach Salad

2010-05-01T08:01:00.000-07:00

(Photo from Taste of Home.com)

Yet another salad that makes me drool right now... pregnancy might just be VERY good for my diet! Because protein is important to me right now - I'd likely either have a side of grilled chicken with this, or toss it into the salad.

Fruity Spinach Salad

Courtesy of Taste of Home.com

Servings: 8

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 package (12 ounces) frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed and undrained
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1 package (9 ounces) fresh spinach, torn
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1 large banana, sliced
1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
In a large bowl, whisk the first five ingredients until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in thawed strawberries and poppy seeds.
Place spinach on individual salad plates. Arrange the fresh strawberries, banana and avocado over spinach. Top with green onions and dressing.

Nutrition Facts: 1 cup equals 214 calories, 13 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 29 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 2 g protein.

Lemon Fruit Dip

2010-04-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of Taste of Home website

I haven't tried this recipe yet, but man... it makes my mouth water!! So I'll be whipping some up soon...

Lemon Fruit Dip

Taste of Home.com

Servings: 13

1 cup cold milk
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant lemon pudding mix
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
Assorted fresh fruit

In a small bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Whisk in sour cream. Chill until serving. Serve with fruit. Yield: 1-2/3 cups.

Nutrition Facts: 2 tablespoons (calculated without fruit) equals 75 calories, 4 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 14 mg cholesterol, 106 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrate, 0 fiber, 1 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1/2 starch, 1/2 fat.

Mixed Berry Cheesecake

2010-03-18T13:12:00.000-07:00

(excuse the photo - all I had when it was served was a cell phone)

Mixed Berry Cheesecake

Courtesy of Ina Garten

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 tablespoon sugar

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature (5 8oz packages)

1 1/2 cups sugar

5 whole extra large eggs, at room temperature

2 extra large egg yolks, at room temperature

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, about 2 lemons (I only used 1 lemon)

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (I used my vanilla bean paste)

For the topping:

1 cup red jelly (not jam) such as currant, raspberry, or strawberry

1/2 pint sliced strawberries

1/2 pint raspberries

1/2 pint blueberries

** I opted just to use sliced strawberries mixed with a little sugar and lemon juice for our topping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, combine the graham crackers, sugar and melted butter until moistened. Pour into a 9-inch springform pan. With your hands, press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and about 1-inch up the sides. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees.

To make the filling, cream the sugar and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed of the mixer to medium and add the eggs and egg yolks, 2 at a time, mixing well. Scrape down the bowl and beater, as necessary. With the mixer on low, add the sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and pour into the cooled crust.

Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 225 degrees and bake for another 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the oven off and open the door wide. The cake will not be completely set in the center. Allow the cake to sit in the oven with the door open for 30 minutes. Take the cake out of the oven and allow it to sit at room temperature for another 2 to 3 hours, until completely cooled. (I left the cake in the oven the whole time - I just opened the door for the 30 minutes, and then closed it again for the 2-3 hours.) Wrap and refridgerate overnight.

Remove the cake from the springform pan by carefully running a hot knife around the outside of the cake. Leave the cake on the bottom of the springform pan for serving.

To make the topping, melt the jelly in a small pan over low heat. In a bowl, toss berries and the warm jelly gently until well mixed. Arrange the berries on top of the cake. Refridgerate until ready to serve.

Kimmy Bean Cupcakes

2010-02-06T17:07:00.000-08:00

Kimmy Bean Cupcakes

(aka Vanilla Bean Cupcakes)

Courtesy of Tasty Kitchen.com

Cupcakes: (yield 12 cupcakes)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 whole eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon scraped vanilla beans (I used 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, and eggs together until fluffy. Add vanilla and scraped vanilla beans. Make sure vanilla is mixed into the batter well. Combine dry ingredients (flour and baking powder) in a bowl. Add half of the dry ingredient mixture to the wet batter, mixing until just combined. Add the milk. Once mixed, add remaining dry ingredients. Pour into cupcake tins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool. Then frost.

Frosting: (yield 24 cupcakes)

1 cup

2 pounds powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon scraped vanilla beans (I used 4 teaspoons of the vanilla bean paste)

Mix butter and powdered sugar together, adding sugar gradually to the mix. Add milk gradually, then the vanilla extract and vanilla beans. Continue to add milk and sugar until it reaches the desired consistency. I used AmeriColor Gel Food Coloring to make my Super Bowl themed cupcakes.

Chicken & Spinach Casserole

2010-01-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

Chicken & Spinach Casserole

Unknown source

1 whole rotisserie chicken, shredded (I used 2 chicken breasts that I pre-roasted instead)

2 packages frozen spinach, thawed

1 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Parmesan, shredded or grated

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 whole onion, diced

1 head garlic, minced (I used about 5-6 cloves)

1 box pasta shells, cooked (I used spirals instead because I had them)

Preheat oven to 420 degrees. Saute onion and garlic until translucent. Add spinach and cook until all liquid has evaporated. Mix chicken, pasta, spinach, sour cream, mayonnaise, mozzarella, and season to taste with salt & pepper. Pour into ovenproof casserole dish. Mix Parmesan and breadcrumbs and sprinkle on top of casserole. Bake 25-30 minutes.

Greek Pasta with Meatballs

2010-01-24T17:18:00.000-08:00

Greek Pasta with Meatballs
Courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine

2 cups hot cooked orzo
1/3 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound lean ground beef (the recipe actually called for lamb)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups jarred marinara sauce
3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cook orzo according to package directions; drain. Keep warm. (I mixed in a little bit of the marinara sauce to keep it from sticking, and also to use the little bit I had left in the jar.)

Combine breadcrumbs and next 6 ingredients (through garlic) in a medium bowl; stir in 1 1/2 tablespoon of the parsley. Add egg whites, stirring mixture until just combined. Shape mixture into 12 (1 inch thick) meatballs; cover and chill meatballs for 5 minutes.

Heat oil in a large oven proof skillet over medium-high heat. (I used a skillet and then a Pyrex dish) Add meatballs to pan; cook 8 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Drain well; wipe pan clean with paper towel. Return meatballs to the pan. Spoon marinara sauce over meatballs; sprinkle with cheese. (I skipped the cheese at this stage - because John doesn't like hot feta.) Bake at 375 degrees for 11 minutes or until the meatballs are done. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of parsley. Serve over orzo.

I sprinkled feta over the top of mine, and Parmesan over John's at the end just before serving.

Awesome Party Punch

2010-01-17T15:13:00.000-08:00

Awesome Party Punch

Courtesy of Tara and Staci

The color alone on this punch is amazing!!

1 large bottle of Minute Maid Pomegranate Blueberry juice

2 large bottles of Simply Lemonade

2 bottles of club soda

lots of ice

Mix the ingredients in the order that they are listed with the exception of the ice - fill the punch bowl or serving jug with the ice and pour the ingredients over the top starting with the pomegranate blueberry juice.

It is super yummy!

I just made some to take to a Women's Ministry meeting for our church, and it's a half batch which made about a gallon.... I didn't put it over ice because of the traveling - and I'd say that if you do it this way - you might want to put a tiny bit of water in the glasses with the ice and pour the punch over the top. The ice as it melts dilutes the punch just a bit and makes it really refreshing!

Lightened Moussaka

2010-01-10T15:51:00.000-08:00

Lightened Moussaka
Courtesy of Everyday with Rachel Ray

2 Eggplants (about 1 1/2 pounds), sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
4 Zucchini (about 2 pounds), sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1 15oz can crushed tomatoes
3 ounces gruyere cheese, shredded (I used white cheddar)
1 pint low-fat cottage cheese

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the eggplant and zucchini in two large bowls and season with salt; let stand for 40 minutes. Rinse the vegetables and pat dry. Arrange in a single layer on the prepared pans and toss with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Roast until golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish- I did a single layer of eggplant on the bottom and then a layer of the zucchini on top of that. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the scallions and garlic, cook stirring for 2 minutes; add the ground beef and cook, breaking up the meat, for about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes, season with salt and pepper. Spoon the meat sauce over the eggplant and zucchini. Top with half the gruyere.

Using a food processor (or blender), puree the cottage cheese. Spoon the puree onto the moussaka, top with the remaining gruyere and bake for 17 minutes. Transfer to the broiler and cook for 3 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing.

Cathi's Turkey Burgers

2010-01-09T18:18:00.000-08:00

Cathi's Turkey Burgers

Courtesy of my sister Cathi

1tbls dijon mustard

8-10 oz of spinach (thaw and squeeze dry)

salt

pepper

garlic

minced onion

1 lb ground turkey

1 egg (added by John to a double batch)

1/4 cup bread crumbs (added by John)

Mix all ingredients together. Grill them until they are done, or you could pan fry them. Serve with your favorite hamburger toppings... we also put them on whole wheat hamburger buns.

** This recipe could be used with ground beef, ground pork, ground white meat turkey, or even ground chicken... I don't know if you can get ground seafood - but try it with your favorite ground meat!

Thanksgiving Punch

2009-12-29T16:12:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Punch
Courtesy of: MyRecipes.com

Stir 1/2 cup peeled, chopped fresh ginger, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 cups water in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Let cool and strain. Mix syrup with 4 cups pomegranate juice (I used cranberry pomegranate juice), 4 cups pineapple juice and 6 cups ginger ale. Serve over ice.

Serves 8.

Honey Lemon Chicken

2009-10-25T16:08:00.000-07:00

Honey Lemon Chicken
Courtesy of My Recipes.com

4 (4 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons honey
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken breast half between two sheets of wax paper. Pound the meat until evenly flattened. Repeat on all remaining chicken breasts.

Melt butter with honey in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until melted and blended. (I did mine in the microwave.)

Arrange chicken in a baking dish large enough to hold all chicken in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper to taste on both sides. Pour warmed honey mixture over chicken and place lemon slices on top.

Cover baking dish loosely with foil and bake until chicken is opaque and firm to the touch, about 20 minutes.

Spoon juices from bottom of baking dish over chicken and lemon several times. Sprinkle chicken with rosemary.

Rainbow Cake

2009-10-19T17:19:00.000-07:00

Rainbow Cake

Courtesy of Mckmama's blog and Tasty Kitchen

2 boxes white cake mix (I used butter cake mixes)

Food Coloring (I used the liquid, but next time I'll get the gel colors)

Frosting:

4 packages (8 oz) cream cheese

1 cup butter

5-6 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

Mix one box of the cake mix according to the package instructions. Separate the batter into three even bowls - I used a 1/2 cup measuring cup to separate evenly and ended up with about 1 1/2 cup of batter per layer.

Mix each bowl with the food coloring for the desired layer - making purple, blue and green first. Bake the cakes in round pans according to the package instructions, but make sure you check them about 10-15 minutes before it is supposed to be finished baking. With less mix in each pan, they cook faster.

Repeat for the remaining colors - yellow, orange, and red. You will have 6 layers of different colors.

(I used store bought frosting for this first time... but next time I will attempt to make this frosting instead)

For the frosting, mix together softened (room temperature) butter and softened (room temperature) cream cheese until well combined. Add vanilla. Combine. Slowly add in powdered sugar.

After the 5th cup of powdered sugar, taste the frosting and see if you like it sweeter. Use 5 if you like it less sweet or 6 if it isn't sweet enough.

To assemble the cake:

Try to level each layer of the cake with a large bread knife. For the rainbow cake especially, if all the layers are level, they they will evenly display when you cut into it. (I didn't do this, and no one gasped that the layers weren't even - if they even noticed.)

Start with the purple layer first. Put the purple layer on your cake stand or plate. Add enough frosting to cover the layer and some to spill over the edges, anywhere from 1/2 to one cup of frosting. Run the flat, straight side of the knife around the cake to smooth out the edges.

Add blue layer of the cake. Put frosting in the middle, start spreading out frosting with the flat, straight side of the knife so that it coversthe cake and falls out over the edges. Then run your knife around the outside edge of the cake to smooth out the sides.

Put the cake into the fridge for at least 2 hours (I only did about an hour) or freeze for 1 hour.

Repeat with the green layer, then the yellow layer.

Put the cake into the fridge for at least 2 hours or freeze for one hour. (Again - only an hour)

Repeat with the orange layer, and then the red.

Cover cake with frosting and run the flat, straight edge of a knife around the edges to smooth out the frosting.

It is important to freeze or refridgerate the cake between layers for a couple of reasons. The cake can get really heavy by the time you add the 4th, 5th, and 6th layers, but if it is somewhat frozen at this point, it will not get smooshed, or crushed. Also, it is much easier to frost the cake when it is solid, or not wobbling.

Once you have finished frosting the cake, add any decorations or words that fit your occasion.

I served this at our church family game night - and it was a BIG hit with the kids!

Chicken Marsala Pasta Toss

2009-10-08T16:16:00.000-07:00

Chicken Marsala Pasta Toss
Courtesy of Lauren's Kitchen

Half a box of rotini
2 tsps olive oil
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 1/2 cups sliced button mushrooms
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, cut into cubes
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 tbs. butter
2 tbs. flour
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry marsala wine

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta to al dente. Drain and set aside.

Heat 1 tsp. olive oil in a large skillet, cook green onions and mushrooms until tender, about five minutes. Season with a pinch of salt. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Add remaining olive oil to skillet and add chicken. Season with salt and pepper, stirring until just warmed through, about 3 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Note: John thinks that this would be good with some olives added to the dish... and I think that some sauteed spinach would be really good too.
Melt butter in skillet and add flour, stirring to form a roux. Cook for one minute. Slowly add chicken broth and wine, stirring constantly. Simmer sauce until bubbly and thickened. Add chicken and veggies to the sauce and heat through. Add sauce mixture to pasta and toss to combine. Garnish with additional green onion strips, if desired.

Cinnamon Pecan Bundt Rolls

2009-10-07T08:41:00.000-07:00

Clearly we enjoyed most of this before the picture was taken... it was THAT good!

Cinnamon Pecan Bundt Rolls

Courtesy of the Cypress Family Fellowship Recipe Party 2009

2 cans of big flaky biscuts

1 cup of pecan chips

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

1 stick of butter, melted

1 package of cream cheese

Take the biscuts and cut them in half. Put a piece of cream cheese in half of each biscut peice and fold it over and pinch the seams closed. Mix sugar, cinnamon, pecans, and raisins. Dip the biscut pieces in the melted butter, then dip into the sugar mixture, and place in a greased bundt pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until all the bread is cooked.

Fennel Seed Turkey Muffin & Fat Free Tzatziki Sauce

2009-10-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

Fennel Seed Turkey Muffins & Fat Free Tzatziki Sauce
Courtesy of the Cypress Family Fellowship Recipe Party 2009

Fennel Seed Turkey Muffins

2 pounds extra lean ground turkey
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons Greek seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

Preheat oven to 350. Stir all ingredients together. Weigh 2 ounces of mixture per muffin cup - you will want a mini muffin tin for this recipe. Cook in oven for 20 minutes. This should yield 15-16 muffins.

Fat Free Tzatziki Sauce

16 ounces fat free Greek yogurt (plain)
2 cucumbers, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
juice from 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped dill
3 garlic cloves

In a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients until well combined. Refridgerate for at least one hour for the best flavor.

Homestyle Turkey Meatloaf

2009-10-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

Homestyle Turkey Meatloaf
Courtesy of the Cypress Family Fellowship Recipe Party 2009

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 pound mushrooms, trimmed and chopped
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 (15 ounce) can great northern beans, drained
1 1/4 pounds extra lean ground turkey
2 large eggs
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, plus extra for dipping

This healthy alternative to the typical meatloaf adds white beans for a delicious high-fiber twist. Serve extra Dijon mustard on the side for extra flavor.

Chop onions and mushrooms, and set aside. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat a loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, thyme, cayenne, paprika, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook; stiring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and mushrooms are incorporated, about 5 minutes longer. Add beans and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to a bowl and let cool, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine cooled bean mixture, turkey, eggs, parsley, and 2 teaspoons of the Worcestershire sauce. Mix well with wet hands or the dough hook of a stand mixer to combine. Form into a loaf and place into the prepared pan. Stir together mustard and remaining 2 teaspoons of the Worcestershire sauce and set aside.

Bake meatloaf on the middle rack of the oven for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush with the mustard and Worcestershire sauce mixture. Return to the oven and continue baking 10-15 minutes longer, or until a thermometer inserted into the middle of the meatloaf registers 170 degrees. Let meatloaf stand for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with additional Dijon mustard on the side.

This would be great with a salad, and maybe some sauteed spinach.

Red Velvet Cake Balls

2009-10-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

Red Velvet Cake Balls

Courtesy of Bakerella

1 red velvet cake mix

1 can cream cheese icing

1 package white melting chocolate

wax paper

Make the cake mix according to the package instructions. Let cool - I let mine cool overnight.

Crumble the cake into a large mixing bowl. Mix the cake crumbles with the icing until completely incorporated. Place into the refridgerator for 30 minutes to an hour.

Roll cake mixture into balls - I used a small cookie scoop to get my balls to be roughly the same size. Place on a cookie sheet - once all the balls are formed - place in the freezer for another 30 minutes to an hour.

Melt the white melting chocolate - put all the pieces into a medium bowl, and heat in the microwave. I melt my chocolate for a minute and a half, stir, and then continue heating in 30 second increments until completely smooth.

Dip the cake balls into the chocolate and completely coat them. Lay them on a piece of wax paper until cooled and completely hardened.

Enjoy!

Note - these can be made in any variation you like - you could do carrot cake balls, chocolate cake balls, funfeti cake balls... the sky is the limit!

Mixed Up Cereal Treats

2009-10-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

Mixed Up Cereal Treats
Inspired by a recipe found on Tasty Kitchen

1 stick butter
1 large bag of mini marshmallows
2 cups Rice Krispies Cereal
2 cups Captain Crunch Cereal
4 cups Fruit Loops Cereal
2 cups Honey Smacks Cereal

Melt the butter in a large stock pot, add in the marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Mix in all of the cereal and stir to coat with the melted marshmallow mixture. Pour into 2 9x13 inch pans... or at least mine took two pans. Allow to cool and then cut into squares.

Pretty in Pink Treats 2

2009-10-03T10:01:00.001-07:00

Pretty in Pink Treats 2
Inspired by Summer Brown

1 stick of butter
6 cups of mini marshmallows
6 cups of Rice Krispies Cereal
2 packages of white melting chocolate (also can be called almond bark)
1 jar of pink sparkling sugar (found locally at HEB)
Wax Paper

Melt the butter, add in the mini marshmallows and stir until melted. Stir in the Rice Krispies Cereal until combined. Pour into a 9x13 inch pan. Spray your hands with cooking spray, and mash the mixture into the pan until it is compact. This will help when it comes time to cut them.

Allow them to cool - I left mine over night. Cut into small squares. Line your counter top with wax paper.

Melt 1 package of the white melting chocolate in the microwave. I did 1 1/2 minutes at first, and then 30 second incriments until completely smooth. Dip each treat square into the melted chocolate and lay out on wax paper. After each treat is dipped and placed on the wax paper - I sprinkled it with the sparkling sugar. You want to do this while the chocolate is still warm so that the sugar will stick to the chocolate.

I made these for my friend Natalie in honor of her new baby, Addison... but you can make them for any occasion. At our HEB they had the sparkling sugar in: orange, yellow, blue, green, purple, clear, red, pink, and a rainbow mixture. You could also use a raw sugar form, that might give you a brownish color as well - and they might have had that too.

So with that color pallet - you could make these for sporting events and a whole host of holidays. You probably could find sparkling sugar in other stores in an even wider selection of colors and shades.

Pretty In Pink Treats 1

2009-10-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

Pretty in Pink Treats 1
Inspired by Jenn Irwin

1 stick butter
6 cups mini marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal
1 bag pink M&M's

Melt the butter and add the marshmallows - stir until melted. Stir in the Rice Krispies Cereal and the M&M's. Stir as little as possible because the M&M's will start to melt and break apart. Pour the mixture into a 9x13 inch pan. Spray your hand with cooking spray and mash the mixture down into the pan to compact the treats so that they'll stay together better when you cut them.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Sprinkle Rice Crispy Treats

2009-10-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Sprinkle Rice Crispy Treats

Courtesy of... I don't remember, but I know I didn't come up with it on my own...

6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal

1 bag mini marshmallows

1 stick butter

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

rainbow sprinkles

Melt the butter, add the marshmallows stir until they melt into the butter. Mix in the Rice Krispies until coated.

Coat your hands with cooking spray, get a handful or so of the rice crispy treat mixture and form into an oblong shape. (I might have been going for eggs because I think I made these around Easter... but they didn't form eggs exactly) Lay them out on wax paper to cool.

Melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips over a double boiler or in the microwave. (If you use the microwave - I recommend melting them in 1 minute incriments stiring before heating again.

Dip the ends of the rice crispy treats into the chocolate and while it is still hot - sprinkle on the rainbow sprinkles. If you wait too long and the chocolate isn't melted - the sprinkles won't stick very well.

Enjoy! You could make all sorts of variations of this... like for Halloween, use white chocolate and orange sprinkles... for Christmas, white chocolate and red & green sprinkles... let your imagination go wild.

Sausage Balls

2009-10-02T08:34:00.000-07:00

Sausage Balls
Courtesy of the Cypress Family Fellowship Recipe Party 2009

1 pound regular ground sausage
1 pound mild ground sausage
4 cups bisquick
1 pound grated cheddar cheese

Lightly brown meat - do not drain. Add bisquick and cheese to sausage - mix with hands. Form desired size balls of the mixture and place on an ungreased cookie sheat. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-25 minutes. Sausage can be replaced with venison.

When we've made these in the past at our house - we've never browned the sausage before hand - we just mix it all raw and bake until it is all done. You can probably do it either way and be just fine...

Pumpkin Bars

2009-10-01T08:23:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Bars
Courtesy of the Cypress Family Fellowship Recipe Party 2009

4 eggs, beaten

1 1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 (3 ounce) cream cheese, softened

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin

1 cup oil

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or nutmeg

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together eggs, pumpkin, granulated sugar, and oil until well blended. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and the ground ginger or nutmeg. Mix until smooth, then spread batter in an ungreased 10x15 inch baking pan (or for fluffier version 9x13 inch pan). Bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.

For the frosting, beat together the cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Spread the frosting over the cake and then cut into 24 squares.

You can decorate the squares with your favorite shapped fall candy... pumpkins or even candy corn would work... use your imagination!

Tomato Basil Soup

2009-09-30T18:42:00.000-07:00

Tomato Basil Soup
Courtesy of Cypress Family Fellowship Recipe Party 2009

1 large can tomato juice (46 ounces)
2 cans whole tomatoes
1 pint whipping cream
1 package fresh basil - to taste
1 stick butter

Blend all ingredients in a blender. Add the stick of butter, heat and serve.

When we had it at the recipe party - it had been heated in a crockpot for several hours. You could also throw this together and heat it quickly if you were in a hurry.

This was served with the Garlic Cheese Croutons from the previous post as a garnish.

Garlic Cheese Croutons

2009-09-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

Garlic Cheese Croutons
Courtesy of Cypress Family Fellowship Recipe Party 2009

1 loaf sourdough bread cut into bite sized squares
olive oil
garlic powder
parmesan cheese

Place bread pieces in a large flat pan, drizzle with olive oil, garlic powder, and parmesan cheese. Stir and place in 200 degree oven for at least 1 hour or until golden brown. Stir every 15 minutes. Place in an airtight container until use.

Quick and Easy Fruit Salad

2009-09-29T19:32:00.000-07:00

Quick and Easy Fruit Salad
Courtesy of Cypress Family Fellowship Recipe Party 2009

1 can peach pie filling
1 can (tall) pineapple tidbits, drained
1 can (tall) mandarin oranges, drained
1 can (tall) peach chunks, drained
2-3 bananas, sliced
2 apples, in bite sized pieces
1 large carton frozen strawberries
fresh fruit powder

Defrost strawberries. Cut up the peaches in the pie filling. Add all other fruits and mix together. Add strawberries and sprinkle with the fruit powder. Stir and serve cold.

I think the addition of some chopped pecans or walnuts would be lovely with this... and maybe a little whipped cream. It's perfect as it is, but if you want to dress it up - those are my suggestions.

Easy Shrimp Dinner

2009-09-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

Easy Shrimp Dinner
Courtesy of the Cypress Family Fellowship Recipe Party 2009

2 cups chopped onion
4 cups chopped celery
3 large bell peppers, chopped (Red, Yellow, Orange or Green - your choice)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined (you could use chicken or pork if you'd like)
Seasoning of your choice

Cook rice according to package instructions.

Sautee onion, celery and bell peppers in olive oil and garlic, season to taste. When vegetables are tender put shrimp in and cook for 3-4 minutes or until done. Serve the shrimp and vegetables over the rice.

Dump Cake

2009-09-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

Dump Cake
Courtesy of Cypress Family Fellowship Recipe Party 2009

2 cans of fruit flavored pie filling (you could use your choice: apple, blueberry, strawberry, blackberry, cherry, peach... the possibilities are limitless)
1 white, yellow or lemon flavored cake mix
1 stick butter

Put the pie filling in the bottom of a 9x13" pan. Add the dry cake mix on top of the pie filling, spread it evenly over the fruit. Put pats of butter over the top of the cake mix. Bake at 350 for approximately 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Cool and serve with ice cream or whipped cream. (I had this as a kid warm with ice cream over it... it is really rich, but very good!)

Sweet and Crunchy Broccoli Salad

2009-09-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

Sweet and Crunchy Broccoli Salad
Courtesy of Cypress Family Fellowship Recipe Party 2009

1 package Ramen Noodles, broken up into pieces (without seasoning packet)
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup pecans
1 bunch romaine lettuce, in bite sized pieces
1 stalk broccoli, chopped

Dressing:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup oil (vegetable or canola)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
salt & pepper to taste

Saute noodles and nuts in butter until lightly browned. (Add the nuts to the pan a few minutes after the noodles) Cool on a paper towel. Mix together with the lettuce and broccoli. Add dressing just before serving.

Creamy Jalapeno Dip

2009-09-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

Creamy Jalapeno Dip
Courtesy: Cypress Family Fellowship Recipe Party 2009

1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk
3 chopped jalapenos (leave the seeds in 1 for mild, 2 for medium, 3 for hot)
1 bunch chopped cilantro
juice of 1 lemon
3 chopped garlic cloves
1 packet ranch dressing mix (dry)

Put all ingredients in a blender and mix. Serve with tortilla chips.

Cheesecake Crepes

2009-09-27T08:14:00.000-07:00

Cheesecake Crepes
Courtesy of the Cypress Family Fellowship Recipe Party 2009

Crepes:
3 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

Combine eggs, flour, salt and milk; beat until smooth. Let stand 30 minutes. For each crepe, pour 1/4 cup batter into hot, lightly greased skillet. Cook on one side only until the underside is lightly browned. Set aside to cool, and repeat until all the batter is used.

Combine cream cheese, sugar, milk and vanilla; mixing until well blended. Fold in the whipped cream. Fill each crepe with approximately 3 tablespoons of the filling mixture. Roll up.

Top the crepes with your choice of fresh fruit, chocolate or any flavor of jam for serving. I also think that you could toss some nuts on top when serving as well for a little crunchy texture. (We had fresh blueberries and strawberries with additional whipped cream - it was HEAVENLY!)

Homemade Granola Bars

2009-09-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

Homemade Granola Bars
Courtesy of the Cypress Family Fellowship Women's Recipe Party 2009

You can get at least 20 good-sized bars from this recipe, which is about the equivalent of 3 boxes of Quaker Chewy Granola Bars. So even though butter and honey are on the pricey side, this still works out to be nicely frugal. Cost: $2.50-$3.00

4 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour, or spelt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup honey
1 cup of your choice of add-ins

Add-ins
mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (or 1/4 cup cocoa powder)
chopped walnuts or pecans (any nut would do)
dried fruit
sunflower seeds
coconut
flax-seed
**1/2 cup peanut butter in place of 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup honey (add a little water if the peanut butter makes it too thick.

Lightly butter a jelly roll pan (or 9x13" pan, but this makes them really thick).

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and honey. Add all ingredients EXCEPT add-ins. Beat hard until combined. Stir in the add-ins. Press mixture into pan - really jam it in there so the bars won't fall apart. (You can use your hands)

Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into bars. It is important to cut at this point; later, they will be too hard to cut. Let bars completely cool in the pan before removing to serve them.

Store in any tightly sealed container or freeze them right away to preserve the best flavor.

Citrus Grilled Shrimp

2009-09-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

Citrus Grilled Shrimp

Courtesy of dLife.com

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 pounds raw shrimp, peeled

In a small glass or stainless steel bowl, combine the lime juice, honey, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, orange juice, and garlic.

Add the shrimp and marinate for 15 minutes. (We think that it could benefit from 30 minutes in the marinade)

Grill the shrimp on hot coals or broil in the oven for several minutes on each side or until done. Serve.

We served with a small salad and some rice pilaf... but you could do just about anything. These would be great on top of a salad too.

Chicken in Mustard Sauce

2009-09-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

Chicken in Mustard Sauce
Courtesy of Pouch Friendly.com

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped (I used ground thyme instead)
Juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup chicken stock or broth
3 heaping tablespoons dijon mustard
3 heaping tablespoons sour cream

Season the chicken with the thyme, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat with the olive oil. Add the seasoned chicken breasts and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and cover with foil.

Turn up the heat on the skillet to high and add the chicken stock and mustard, whisking to combine. Bring up to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Whisk in the sour cream and continue to cook until slightly thickened, about 2 more minutes. (Mine took a bit longer to thicken)

I put the chicken back in the pan for a couple of minutes while I waited for the sauce to thicken, so that it could pick up the flavor of the sauce and heat back up.

Serve the sauce over the chicken. We served it with white rice, but you could use mashed potatoes or something else to serve the sauce over. You could also have a simple salad along with this too - I imagine a ceasar salad or a greek salad would be wonderful.

Shepherd's Pie

2009-08-31T10:07:00.000-07:00

Shepherd's Pie
Courtesy of About.com (edited by Kim Hawkins)

4 large potatoes, cut in equal pieces
1 pound ground beef
3 carrots, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
1 large onion, diced
1/2 bag frozen corn
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot, boil potatoes for mashing.

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef. Depending on the fat content of your meat - you might want to drain off the fat before continuing on with the recipe. (We drain anything with more than 10% fat)

Add onions, carrots, and celery to the skillet and let them cook until soft - 5-10 minutes. Add the corn to the pan, and allow to heat up. Mix the flour in the pan and mix with the meat and vegetables. Mix the ketchup into the meat and vegetable mixture. Turn off the heat and let it sit until you get your potatoes ready.

Once your potatoes are ready, drain the water. Mash with the butter and sour cream. Add 1 cup of the cheese to the potatoes.

In a large casserole dish, layer in all of the meat and vegetable mixture. Layer the mashed potatoes on top, add the remaining cheese to the top of the potato layer.

Place the casserole into the oven for about 20 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Sopapilla Cheesecake

2009-08-23T16:19:00.000-07:00

Sopapilla Cheesecake
Courtesy of: Kacy Bunte & Beth Bailey

2 to 3 cans of crescent rolls
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 9 X 13 pan with cooking spray, press 1 can of crescent rolls into bottom of inch pan - it make take 1 /12 cans to cover bottom of dish. Mix cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and vanilla until very creamy. Spread over rolls in pan. Cover with other can of rolls. Melt butter and spread onto top crust, sprinkle all the cinnamon sugar on top to this. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes.

Can serve at room temperature, but I think it’s better chilled. Kacy brought this to our small group game night last night, and we actually ate it warm and at room temperature. It was such a hit that none of it was left... we all kept going back for a little bit more. Yummy and really easy!

Honey Pecan Chicken

2009-08-18T07:06:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness - this was soooo good!!

Honey Pecan Chicken

Courtesy of dLife.com (Diabetes Life)

1 cup Chex Wheat Cereal, crushed (I used whole wheat breadcrumbs but next time will go for the cereal)

1/3 cup pecans, chopped

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons soy sauce

6 boneless chicken breasts (I used 1 really large one and it made us about 5 meals)

1 pinch salt & pepper (to taste - soy sauce is salty so be careful with the salt)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

I chose to pound out my chicken so that it would cook more evenly and quickly.

Use a shallow bowl or plate to mix the cereal crumbs and the pecans - mix until combined. In another bowl mix the honey and soy sauce - whisk together until combined.

Season the chicken as desired (I actually forgot this step and it wasn't noticed in the final product), dip both sides of the chicken into the honey mixture, and roll in the pecan mixture to coat. Arrange the chicken in your baking dish.

Bake for 12-15 minutes on each side or until the chicken is done.

Note: I was glad that I pounded the chicken because my pecans were perfectly browned... but if I hadn't done that step - they might have gotten too brown.

I served this with my new favorite Parmesan Cous Cous and my sauteed spinach.

Chicken Florentine

2009-08-09T15:26:00.001-07:00

Chicken Florentine
Courtesy of dLife.com
Yield: 8 Servings

8 boneless skinless chicken breasts (seasoned with salt & pepper)
1/3 cup all purpose flour (I added salt, pepper, and garlic powder to mine)
2 tablespoons olive oil
10 oz spinach, chopped frozen (I used fresh sauteed with onion & white wine)
2 cups grated or 8 slices mozzarella
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

Coat the chicken breasts with flour mixture. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and saute the chicken about 5 minutes per side, until lightly browned. Move to oblong dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. (I didn't spray my dish and had zero problem)

Cook spinach according to the package instructions, and squeeze to drain well. (If you use fresh spinach - saute until wilted with a little butter, white wine, and onion). Top each chicken breast with the cooked spinach and 1/4 cup or 1 slice of the mozzarella cheese.

Add the chicken broth to the same pan used to saute the chicken, then add the wine and lemon juice, scraping the pan to remove the drippings, and stirring until heated. Pour the sauce over the chicken.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is done. The cheese should be melted and the chicken heated thoroughly.

Make Ahead: Prepare early in the day, refrigerate after step 8, and bake it when you're ready... a guaranteed hit in any home.

Berry Cheesecake Parfaits

2009-07-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

Berry Cheesecake Parfaits

Courtesy of Kraft Foods

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups cold milk

1 package (3.4 oz) Instant Vanilla Pudding mix

1 1/2 cups thawed Whipped Topping, divided

24 Vanilla Wafers, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cups seasonal berries

Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk. Add dry pudding mix; mix well. Whisk in 1 cup whipped topping.

Layer 1/2 of the chopped cookies in the bottom of 8 serving dishes. Add layer of berries. Add layer of cheesecake mixture. Repeat layers. A small amount of the extra 1/2 cup of whipped topping on the top of all the parfaits. I also added a couple of berries for the final accent on the top.

Chocolate Walnut Tart

2009-07-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Walnut Tart
Courtesy of Taste of Home Magazine

Pastry for single crust pie (9 inches)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
3 eggs
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Press pastry onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9 inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom; trim edges. Sprinkle walnuts and chocolate chips into crust. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla. Pour into crust.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until top is bubbly and crust is golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

I made individual sized tarts - because I couldn't find a 9 inch tart pan... I got 4 out of the pastry crust. I didn't use all of the other ingredients because it was a bit too much for the smaller shells... I'd say next time to cut the nuts and chocolate down by a 1/4 cup each. The remaining ingredients - I'm not sure how much to cut down, but I did have a bit leftover.

Broccolini with Carmelized Shallots

2009-07-19T16:28:00.000-07:00

Broccolini with Carmelized Shallots
Courtesy of Cooking Dunkin Style

1 bunch Broccolini, rinsed and woody stems removed - chopped in large pieces
2 large shallots, sliced
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter (I added this to the recipe)
Fresh finely grated Parmesan

In a non-stick skillet, heat your olive oil over medium heat. Add your shallots and cook them until carmelized. This may take a few minutes, be patient and stir constantly. Add more oil if needed. (I was trying to cook mine at the same time as making another dish - so mine might have gotten darker than intended... but they tasted great!)

Remove the shallots from the pan and deglaze with the white wine scraping up all the bits on the bottom of the pan. I added the butter at this stage because I was afraid the wine would be too much for us - we're not big wine drinkers.

Add the broccolini and put a lid on to steam until it is tender.

Sprinkle with shallots and parmesan to serve.

Beef Stroganoff

2009-07-19T16:18:00.000-07:00

Beef Stroganoff
Courtesy of Atkins

1 1/4 pound beef tenderloin or sirloin steak, cut into 2x1 inch strips
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil (I use olive oil)
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped Spanish Onion (I use 1 whole onion)
1 cup small white mushrooms, sliced (I use more than 1 cup and sometimes use a combination of baby bellas and white mushrooms)
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 cup beef broth or stock
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown meat in batches, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a platter and cover with foil.

Melt butter in skillet; add onion and cook 3 minutes, until softened.

Add mushrooms, and cook 10 minutes stirring occasionally until mushroom liquid evaporates.

Add wine; cook 5 minutes.

Stir in beef broth and cook 10 minutes, until mushrooms are coated in a thick sauce.

Stir in sour cream and mustard. Add meat and accumulated juices, allow to heat for a couple minutes.

Serve. (This is the low carb version)

You can serve over egg noodles - which I have done more often recently.

I have also made this with chicken, and it turns out just as well - this is certainly a favorite in our house!

Spinach Berry Salad

2009-07-19T15:42:00.001-07:00

Spinach Berry Salad
Courtesy of Jenn Bettis

Baby Spinach (for the two of us - I used about 1/3 of a bag of baby spinach)
Strawberries, halved (about 3 berries per person)
Blue Berries (about 6-8 per person)
Feta Cheese
Pecans
Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette

I don't know if this salad dressing is regional - because it is made in a small town not far from us... but if you can't find it - use your favorite vinaigrette dressing instead. A rasberry vinaigrette would work pretty well here too.

I simply layer all the ingredients into a bowl and serve.

If I were serving more than just the two of us - I'd go ahead and mix the dressing into the bowl just before serving and toss a bit to coat.

This truly is a refreshing summer/spring salad that you can enjoy as a side dish or throw some cold chicken on and have as a meal.

White Chicken Chili

2009-07-19T15:27:00.000-07:00

White Chicken Chili
Courtesy of Proceed with Caution

1 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 medium Onions, chopped
4 cloves Garlic, minced or grated
4 Jalapenos, seeded and diced
6 cups Chicken Broth
1 teaspoon Coriander
1.5 teaspoon Mexican Oregano (we used regular Oregano)
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne
4 Tomatillos, husks removed and diced
3 cans White Beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups Roasted Chicken, chopped
1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese
Tortilla Chips

Garnishes:
Sour Cream
Cilantro
Monterey Jack Cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add onions and garlic, sautee until soft. Add jalapnoes, broth, spices, beans and tomatillos. Simmer for 90 minutes.

Add chicken and cheese, simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve over crushed tortilla chips. We set the garnishes out so that our guests could choose what to add on top... we just had this for small group last week, and everyone seemed to really like the recipe.

Garlic Cibatta Bread

2009-07-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

Garlic Cibatta Bread
Courtesy of John

1 loaf of cibatta bread, sliced into 1/2 inch slices - maybe a little smaller
Butter
garlic power
Parmesan cheese

Lay the slices of bread on a baking sheet. Spread with butter (you can use margarine if you'd like), sprinkle with garlic powder, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Broil until browned...

Roasted Garlic Fingerling Potatoes

2009-07-12T17:32:00.000-07:00

Roasted Garlic Fingerling Potatoes
Courtesy of The Neeleys

1 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
8 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tablespoon freshly chopped italian parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a casserole dish; mix together - potatoes, oil, butter, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Mango Salsa

2009-07-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

Mango Salsa
Courtesy of Ellie Krieger

1 mango, peeled and diced
1/2 cup peeled, diced cucumber
1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeno
1/3 cup diced red onion
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro
salt and pepper

Combine the mango, cucumber, jalapeno, red onion, lime juice and cilantro leaves and mix well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Summer Fruit Salad

2009-07-05T17:18:00.000-07:00

Summer Fruit Salad
Courtesy of Taste of Home Magazine
Yield: 20 Servings

1 medium honeydew melon, peeled, seeded and cubed
1 medium cantaloupe, peeled, seeded and cubed
2 cups cubed seedless watermelon
2 medium peaches, peeled and sliced
2 medium nectarines, sliced
1 cup seedless red grapes
1 cup halved fresh strawberries
1 can (11 oz) mandarin oranges, drained
2 medium kiwi fruit, peeled, halved and sliced
2 medium firm bananas, sliced
1 large granny smith apple, cubed
1 can (12 oz) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 package (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix

In a large bowl, combine the first nine ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Just before serving, stir in the bananas and apple. Combine lemonade concentrate and pudding mix; pour over fruit and toss to coat.

I served in wine glasses with a bit of whipped cream on the top.

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

2009-05-17T16:56:00.000-07:00

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
Courtesy of Food Network.com

Kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds boiling potatoes
1/4 cup milk
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter - I would have gone for the whole stick
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a large pot, bring 2 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and cut them into 1 1/2 inch cubes. Add them to the boiling water and bring the water back to a full boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes fall apart easily when pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan, making sure it doesn't boil. Set aside until the potatoes are done.

As soon as the potatoes are tender, drain them in a collander. Place a food mill fitted with a small disk/blade over a heat proof bowl. (We just used our potato masher) Pass the potatoes through the food mill, turning the handle back and forth. As soon as the potatoes are mashed, stir in the hot milk mixture with a rubber spatula. Add enough buttermilk to make the potatoes creamy. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and the pepper, and serve hot.

To keep potatoes warm, place the bowl over a pan of simmering water for up to 30 minutes. You can add a little extra hot milk to keep them creamy.

Garlicky Broccolini

2009-05-17T16:51:00.000-07:00

Garlicky Broccolini
Courtesy of Food Network.com

1 1/2 pounds broccolini
Coarse salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Trim broccolini ends off. Place 4-5 inch long, thin stalks into a skillet and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer broccolini for 6 to 7 minutes, until tender and bright green. Drain the broccolini and return skillet to the stove over medium heat. Add extra virgin olive oil to pan, then garlic. Cook garlic 2-3 minutes. Add broccolini to pan and coat in garlic and oil - then serve.