Italian Pasta Salad

This salad is great for a potluck, simple, and tasty.

24 oz Rotini pasta, cooked al dente (8-10 cups)
16 oz Kraft Zesty Italian dressing (fat-free is fine)
2 (3.8 oz) cans sliced olives
1 package mini pepperoni or 1/2 package turkey pepperoni, cut into 4 parts
4 Roma Tomatoes, diced
1/2-1 lb cheddar cheese cubed.

Cook pasta, drain, and rinse to cool.
Chop all ingredients and toss with pasta in a large bowl.
Toss with dressing.
Refrigerate until served.

Rumor has it you can add chopped broccoli or other veggies to this if you would like.

Cookie Salad

I have made this twice the spring already.  Cookie salad is easy, delicious, and a fun change from other fruit and side salads. Also it doubles as dessert.  We enjoyed this salad today for a family Easter dinner along with Resurrection Potatoes (What we call Mormon Funeral Potatoes during the Easter season), ham, glazed carrots, Cottage Cheese Jello salad, and awesome cupcakes.

6 oz of vanilla instant pudding (2 small boxes)
2 cups buttermilk
16 oz cool whip
2 lbs strawberries
4 bananas
11 oz can of mandarin oranges
1 package of Keebler Fudge Stripe cookies

Stir together vanilla pudding packets and buttermilk.
Add cool whip.
Chop or slice strawberries, slice bananas, and drain mandarin oranges. 
Stir fruit into vanilla pudding and cool whip mixture. 
Crumble up all of the fudge stripe cookies.  Stir in 3 rows worth of cookies, and top with last row of cookie crumbs.

*For a fun tropical version, use Samoa Girl Scout cookies and replace strawberries with 1-2 cans of pineapple tidbits.  Also double mandarin oranges.

Garden Brushetta

My mom's garden is growing like crazy! She planted a wide variety of tomatoes this year including Roma tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, Cherokee Purples, and a variety that is black. I had some amazing Bruschetta in Pisa, Italy last January and since it is one of the 3 ways I will eat tomatoes I thought I would try to recreate it. The recipe I decided to try was from Our Best Bites. It was stellar!

Everything I used was purchased at the farmers market or from my mom's garden, except the olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Bruschetta by Our Best Bites:
2 C diced tomatoes, seeds removed... I used Cherokee purple tomatoes, an heirloom, and a roma.
1/3 C diced red onion
1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt
a few cracks black pepper
1/4 C chopped fresh basil leaves
1 french baguette
additional olive oil
1 large garlic clove

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine tomatoes, onions, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and 1 tsp olive oil in a bowl and mix to combine. Add basil and gently toss to distribute. Give it a taste and add additional salt and pepper if necessary. Cover and chill. Slice baguette into half inch slices and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle or brush some olive oil on top. Place in oven for 8-10 minutes until just lightly toasted. Remove pan from oven. Slice garlic clove in half and rub cut side down on each piece of bread. Top with about a tablespoon of the tomato mixture.

Carmalized Garlic and Baked Brie

I recently returned from Las Vegas where I had a wonderful lunch at the Mon Ami Gabi restaurant at the Paris Casino and Hotel.

One of the appetizers we tried was the baked brie.  It was drizzled with honey, toasted hazelnuts, and caramelized garlic cloves.  Seriously so good, I couldn't even believe they were garlic cloves.  When I got home I wanted to try to recreate this delight and this combo is pretty darn close.

I adapted from the following sources: Baked Brie, Caramelized garlic.

Brie:
1 wheel of Brie (12-14oz)
honey
hazelnuts

Place Brie wheel in the center of a 8x8 glass pan.  Drizzle with honey and sprinkle hazelnuts over the top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-20 minutes until soft and hazelnuts smell toasted (it is okay to leave it in for awhile, the original recipe calls for 10 minutes I left mine in for 20).

Caramelized Garlic:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp cooking white wine (could substitute with apple juice or just water, but cooking wine is inexpensive, non-alcoholic, and lends the right taste)
2 Tbsp water
1/2-1 cup fresh peeled garlic cloves (I buy the fresh peeled cloves from Costco.  You a lot more garlic for just $1 more and all the hard work is done).

Place garlic cloves in boiling water and cook for 2 minutes.  Remove from boiling water and place in cold water to stop cooking.  This tenderizes the garlic.  Drain on paper towel.

In a heavy skillet, add butter, brown sugar, and cooking wine.  Place over medium heat and stir constantly until well mixed and butter melted.  Add water and swirl pan to incorporate.  If thickening too quickly turn down the heat.  Add garlic and stir to coat.  Allow to sauté while stirring occasionally over low heat until garlic is tender and the caramelization thickens up.  This takes about 10 minutes.

Spoon with a bit of sauce over the baked brie.  Serve brie with toasted baguette slices.

Hobbit Recipes:

Here are the delicious recipes from the Hobbit.  Sorry not all have pictures, I was having too much fun at the party to remember to snap them!

Honey and Goat Cheese Apple tarts (from the Hunger Games, by Laura) recipe can be found here.

Roast Beef Au Jous
(by Jill's mom)

3-5 lbs Roast
1 pkg dry onion soup mix (1/4 oz)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp oregano
2 (10oz) cans beef broth (I had a 3lb roast so I used 1 1/2 cans)
12 oz coca-cola
2 garlic cloves (2 tsp minced garlic), finely chopped

Place roast in crockpot.  Stir together in a separate bowl all other ingredients.  Pour over roast and cook on high 4-6 hours until tender.  Slice or shred beef while in pot.  Juice can be used as Au Jous sauce.  I keep my beef in the juice and serve with tongs.  Serve with french rolls.

Potato Soup
(by Annicka)

1 30oz bag of frozen shredded hashbrowns
3 14.5oz cans chicken broth
1 10.5oz can cream of chicken soup
1/2c chopped onion
1/4tsp ground pepper
1/2c. bacon pieces
8oz cream cheese (DO NOT use fat free, it won't melt)

Put all ingredients except cream cheese in the crockpot. Cook on low for 6-81 tso hours. About an hour before serving, cube the cream cheese and add to crockpot. For serving, top with green onions, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, or any other baked potato toppings you like.

Cheeseball
(by Jill)

For 1 cheeseball:

1 (8oz) package of cream cheese, softened (regular or neufchatel will work, fat-free does not soften)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2-3 green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp lemon pepper

Mix all ingredients together and form into a ball.  Refridgerate until firm. Roll in chopped nuts (I decorated mine like a pinecone-as seen on pinterest- with whole salted almonds).  Can refridgerate and then remove at least 30 minutes prior to serving.

Pumpkin tarts

(by Camilla)

Crust:

3/4 cup butter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt

Cut the butter into the flour until it's crumbly and there's no dry powder.  Dissolve the salt into the water, then stir it into the flour and butter. Stir to make a soft dough. Form into a flat ball, and chill.

Filling:

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon*
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves*
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice*
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger*
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1.5 cups cooked, mashed pumpkin
1 cup evaporated milk

*or use 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Mix the filling ingredients together, blending thoroughly.  Roll out the crust on a lightly floured surface, using flour on top and bottom as necessary to prevent sticking. Roll to 1/8" or thinner. Cut into small circles and press them down into a cupcake tin. Keep rolling and cutting to use all the dough.  Pour the filling into the crusts, almost to the top of each.  Bake at 350 F for 30-40 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. This should make about 1 dozen tarts.

 

Tango Scones

(by Camilla)

 

1 cup raisins

1 cup hot water

½ cup sugar

1 tsp. Baking soda

2 eggs

1 cup melted butter

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 F. Soak the raisins in the hot water for 10 minutes, then drain and puree in a blender.  Beat together the sugar, baking soda, and eggs. Gradually add the melted butter, beating well. Add flour, raisins and nuts. Blend well.  Line a cookie sheet with a piece of baking parchment and form the dough into a large flat circle on it. Cut the circle into wedges. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until light brown.

High Tea Scones

(by Camilla)

Grated peel of 1 lemon

4 Tbls. Sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 Tbls. Milk

2 cups flour

3 tsp. Baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup raisins or dried currants

Combine lemon peel and 2 Tbls. Sugar, set aside. Preheat oven to 425 F.  In a small bowl, combine sour cream and baking soda. Stir in the egg, oil, and milk. Set aside.  In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and 2 Tbls. Sugar. Pour the egg mixture into the flour and stir until just combined. Stir in the raisins/currants.  Line a cookie sheet with a piece of baking parchment and form the dough into a large flat circle on it. Cut the circle into wedges. Sprinkle the top with the lemon sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

 

Mini Leaf Pies

(by Jill)

Premade pie cruse (or homemade recipe of your choice)

Premade pie filling of choice (or homemade recipe of your choice)

 

Roll out piecrust and cut with cookie cutter (I used a leaf).  Fill with small amount of piefilling and sandwhich with another piecrust shape.  Slice 3 airvents into top crust.  Seal with a fork around edges.  Bake according to piecrust directions for 15-20 minutes until browned.

 

 

Stuffed Mushrooms

(by Jill)

 

26 medium mushrooms

4 Tbsp butter

4 green onions, diced

1/2 cup of minced ham (I just slice up one package of Budding brand ham)

1 Tbsp preminced garlic

2 cups finely chopped Spinach (I grab a handful of leaves and roll them then slice them)

2 pieces of bread (cut into small cubes)

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup mozerella cheese

 

Melt 2 Tbsp butter and grease a mini muffin tin or a small glass baking dish).  Precut and dice all filling ingredients, including 2 of the mushrooms into small pices.  Remove stem and spoon out some of the inside of each of the remaining 24 mushrooms.  Discard stem and insides.  Place each mushroom into dish.  Saute remaining 2 Tbsp butter with garlic,  Add mushroom pieces, onions, ham, and spinach.  Saute until tender.  Add bread crumbs, salt and pepper and stir well.  Allow mixture to cool to a temperature that is okay to touch.  Spoon stuffing mixture into each mushroom, pressing down with fingers to secure.  Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve immediately as these are better warm (Can be made in advance by preparing mushrooms and then refridgerate until ready to bake and serve).

 

 

 

Glazed Pecans Salad

(by Becca)

 

Green leaf lettuce of choice

feta or mozerella cheese

apples, diced

craisins

sugared pecans

cucumbers

 

Mix together ingredients in portions desired

 

Glazed Pecans:

In a frying pan over medium-high heat, melt 1 tbsp butter. Add 1/4 cup sugar and1/2 cup pecan halves, stir to coat. Cook until the sugar melts, then reduce the heat to low. Stir and continue cooking until the sugar turns golden brown. Remove from heat pour the nuts onto the prepared baking sheet to cool.

 

Poppyseed Dressing:

(by Anne)

 

1/3 cup white sugar

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

1 cup oil

1 Tbsp poppy seeds

 

 

In a blender combine all ingredients except oil and poppyseeds and blend for 20 seconds.  Slowly add in oil as blending until incorporated.  Stir in poppyseeds.

 

Eggnog

(by Jill)

 

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

pinch of salt

1 whole egg

4 egg whites

1 1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cups half and half

 

Combine sugar and spices in a large bowl.  Add the whole egg and 4 egg whites and beat on high for 5 minutes.

 

Heat 1 cup of the milk, stirring constantly, until steaming (do not boil!).  Slowly mix half of milk into the egg mixutre, while stirring.  Stir this back into the hot milk in the pan.  On medium heat, cook for 8 minutes, stirring constantly, until steaming again (do not boil!).

 

Remove from heat and stir it frequently as it cools for 5 minutes.  Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk and half and half.  Cover and chill.

 

Wassil:

(by Jill)

 

2 quarts apple cider

1 cup apple juice

2 cups orange juice

1/2 cup lemon juice

12 whole cloves

5 cinnamon sticks

1 pinch ground ginger

1 pinch nutmeg

1 orange

 

In a crock-pot or large pot combine juices.  Season with cloved, ginger, nutmegs, and cinnamon sticks.  Simmer for 4-6 hours until hot and smells delicious. Slice orange and place on top.  Serve hot.

 

Other delicious food included: Roast Ham with Pineapple, Bratwrust, Hobbit Hole Cakes, cheese/crackers/fruits/veggie platters, and broccoli salad.

 

Potato Salad

I am pretty picky about potato salads, I usually think it sounds good and then I am almost always dissapointed.

My roommate made this recipe today and I was pleasently surprised so I thought I better mark it down.  It is a bit sweeter than traditional potato salad, but had a nice variety of flavors.  I also believe that you can toss in whatever you want to salads so I will just give the dressing recipe.

7 potatoes cooked, peeled, and cubed

Dressing: 

1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
4 Tbsp butter
1 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup onion, chopped

Combine sugar and cornstartch in a saucepan. Add vinegar, milk, egg, butter, celery seed, salt, and dry mustard.  Cook over a low heat, stirring continually until thick and bubbly.  Stir in the mayo and chopped onion.  Cool.  Gently fold sauce over potatoes.  Add additional stuff and refridgerate until ready to serve.

Stuff :
3-5 hard boiled eggs, chopped
small cubes of cheddar cheese
salt, pepper, paprika
a little bit of mustard to taste
chopped celery
1/2 cup dill pickle relish or chopped pickles

Happy Birthday Harry, Recipies

Yorkshire Pudding

(adapted from simplebites.net)

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 cup water
4 eggs (at room temperature)
1 stick butter at room temperature

Sift together flour and salt.  Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in milk and water.  Whisk until well incorporated.  In a small separate bowl beat eggs until frothy.  Beat into other ingredients.  Refrigerate mixture for at least an hour.  Generously grease two 12-cup muffin tins with softened butter.  Place in oven and preheat to 400 degrees.  While oven is preheating remove mixture from refrigerator and whisk until small bubbles appear on surface.  Remove tins from oven when butter is browning and smoking slightly.  Immediately and quickly fill each tin with approximately 1/4-1/3 cup of batter, fill all cups evenly and not too full as it will puff up while cooking.  Place back in oven as soon as filled and bake for 20 minutes, until puffed and edges are lightly browned.  Serve immediately with roast beef and gravy.

Cauldron Cakes

There are so many amazing versions of cauldron cakes that have been created.  Some are spicy, some chocolate, some have cauldron handles and some have potions spilling forth.  For this party I didn't have a lot of time so I kept it simple.

1 brownie mix

1 vanilla buttercream frosting (recipe below)

Raspberries

Gold Flake sprinkles

Mix and bake brownies according to packaging, except bake them in a well greased mini muffin pan.

Mix up vanilla buttercream as brownies cool completely. 

Vanilla Buttercream:

1/3 stick butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp milk

Mix butter and powdered sugar together until crumbly.  Stir in vanilla and milk and blend until creamy.  Add more powdered sugar or milk to achieve desired consistency. 

Frost brownies, sprinkle with gold flake sprinkles and place a washed raspberry in the center.

Acid Pops:  I made these as directed on The Pastry Affair.  The only change I would make would be to use Karo (corn) syrup rather than honey because I don't like the flavor of honey and thought it was too overwhelming.





tasty time.

Haven't posted a new recipe for awhile, here are a couple that I have tried recently that were super good and easy.

Chicken Pasta Salad

(This one Becca made for Sakerra's Wedding)



1 bag cooked bow tie pasta
2-3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
1 cup mayo
1 cup Miracle Whip or mayo
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup sweet pickle juice
Chopped Celery
Craisins
Grapes or Apples
Unsalted Cashews

Mix together the mayo, salad dressing, sugar and pickle juice. Toss with the pasta and add remaining ingredients.

Flatbread Cheeseburgers

(adapted from Life as a Lofthouse)

1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 pkg dry onion soup
1/2 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp mustard
1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp preminced garlic)
1 (11 ounce) can refrigerated pizza dough
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Romaine lettuce, chopped


Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Add water, vinegar, onion soup mix, ketchup, mustard and garlic. Stir to combine then simmer over low heat until warmed through and thickened.

Heat another large skillet over medium heat. Divide the pizza dough into 8 parts. Roll each piece as round as possible..

Place one piece of dough onto the warm skillet. Cook on each side for 45  seconds or until puffed and golden. Place each flatbread onto a cookie sheet in a 200 degree warm oven, to keep warm until all flatbreads are made.

Take one flatbread and fill with meat mix, shredded cheese, and lettuce.  Fold in half like a taco.

 

Buttermilk Recipes

I have rediscovered my love for using buttermilk in recipes.  Here are some good things I have made the past 2 weeks.

Buttermilk Syrup (Butterbeer Syrup for HP fans)

(Adapted from Allrecipes)

1 1/2 cups white sugar

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup butter

2 tablespoons corn syrup

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a saucepan, stir together the sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup, and baking soda. Stir until sugar melts and then bring to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the vanilla.               

Truck Stop Buttermilk Pancakes

(Recipe adapted from Allrecipes)

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 teaspoons sugar

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, butter and buttermilk. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar; stir into the wet ingredients just until blended.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side. Continue with remaining batter.               

Strawberry Soup

(adapted from Allrecipes)

3 cups strawberries

2 1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup sugar

Puree all ingredients together in a blender.  Serve cold.  Strawberry soup is a great and different appetizer. My family first tried it on a Carribbean Cruise.  This serves 10.

Buttermilk Banana Bread

(adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (I use about 3 average sized bananas)
4 tablespoons buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Grease and flour 1 large loaf pan (9 1/4 X 5 1/4-inch). In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, bananas, buttermilk and vanilla until the batter is well mixed. Add in the flour, baking powder, salt and soda. Mix until well combined. Pour batter into greased bread pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Buttermilk Cream Cheese Frosting

(adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

3 cups powdered sugar
4 oz cream cheese, softened
6 tablespoons buttermilk or milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the softened cream cheese and buttermilk together until smooth. Add the vanilla and mix. Whisk in the confectioner’s sugar.

Vampires, Weddings, and Babies Oh My!

We had a Breaking Dawn Twilight extravaganza at my house this weekend and what fun we had.

We went with Fondue which turned out to be a lot harder than I thought...it pays to read directions.  Once I followed the directions it was actually quite easy and tasty.

Cheddar Fondue

5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup flour
2 cups half and half
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dry ground mustard

Shred cheese and carefully mix with flour until each pieces is coated.  Use more flour if needed, set aside.  Heat half and half, mustard, Worcestershire, and garlic powder to just before boiling.  Turn heat to low to simmer and add cheese and flour mixture ONE cup at a time, stirring continually until each cup is melted before adding the next cup.  Once mixture is melted and generally smooth, transfer to crockpot, or fondue pot as desired.

My inital mistake was that I didn't mix the flour and cheese well enough.  Then I added too much of the cheese at once.  It was going fine until it started looking too grainy and I thought to add milk.  BAD IDEA.  That made it too watery and the skim milk wouldn't mix with the half and half.  By then the cheese had also been cooking too long at too high a temperature and turned into a blobby mess sitting in orange colored milk-water.  GROSS.  Luckily for me my roommate had more cheese and saved us.

Other menu items included and Swiss fondue from Annicka, Butterfly shrimp, broccoli, french and brown bread, green apples, pretzels, and crackers for dipping.  We had a chocolate fountain with strawberry and regular marshmallows, pecan cookies, cinnamon bears, gummy bears, angel food cake, pretzels, berries, and lots of fruit to dip in it.  Thu made Red velvet cakepops, and cupcakes with darling Breaking Dawn themed cupcake wrappers and white chocolate chess pieces on top.

To make-and-take before the movie we had a popcorn bar with multiple themed flavors:

Spicy Breaking Headboard Popcorn

1 tsp paprika

2 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp ground red pepper or cayanne pepper

Sweet Jacob popcorn

1/3 cup white sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Volturi Italiano Popcorn

1 tsp dried italian seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

1/3 cup parmesean cheese

Bloody Vampire Popcorn

melted butter mixed with red food coloring

salt

Autumn Tarts

I had a bunch of mushrooms I didn't know what to do with and found this great mini-mushroom tart recipe...

Mini Mushroom Tarts

Tart dough:

2 1/2 cups flour, sifted
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup cold butter
1/3 cup sour cream
1 egg, slightly beaten

Sift flour and add salt to a large bowl.  Cut in butter (I grate mine with a cheese grater and then use a pastry cutter or a fork to mix with flour) until mixture is crumbly.  Stir in sour cream and slightly beaten egg.

Grease a mini muffin pan.  Form dough into 1 inch balls.  Press each ball into muffin pan, covering the bottom and sides of each cup.  Bake at 350 degress for 12-14 minutes, until golden brown.

While tart cups are baking make Mushroom filling:
3/4 lb mushrooms, diced ( I used about 7 Large mushrooms)
1 bunch green onions, diced
1/4 cup butter
pepper to taste
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup flour
1 cup whipping cream

Dice mushrooms and green onions.  Melt butter in pan on stove and sautee mushrooms and green onions.  Sprinkle with flour, salt, and pepper.  Mix together and then add cream, stirring continually while cooking on the stove.  Cook until cream thickens.  Remove from heat and spoon into baked tart shells.  Yeilds 36-40 tarts.

I also made a dessert tart today that I have previously posted:  Pear Tart.  (Sorry for the crappy picture on this one...it is really tasty and stays together better than it looks!)

Oriental Chicken Salad

Applebee's oriental chicken salad

Dressing:

3 Tbsp Honey
1 1/2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/4 cup mayo
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/8 tsp sesame oil

Whisk all ingredients together until well corporated. 

Salad:
2 cups Romaine lettuce
1 cup fresh spinach
1 cup red cabbage
1 cup napa cabbage
1 carrot, grated
1 green onion

toasted almonds
chow mein noodles

Coarsly chop romaine lettuce.  Finley chop cabbages.  Grate carrot and slice green onion.  Combine all salad ingredients.  Sprinkle with toasted almonds and chow mein noodles. 

Chicken:  I used Tysons pre-grilled chicken strips.  They are quick, easy, and have good flavor.  Any grilled chicken will work, or to make it more authentic to applebees use breaded chicken strips.

Note:  This recipe and dressing are for a "large dinner salad"... when we made this for a family of 6 eating we decided to multiply the recipe by 4.  We didn't even eat 1/2 of it and we had huge portions.  Instead of mixing in the dressing we added it to our personal plates as desired.  In reality 1 salad could most likely feed 2 people. 

This recipe is so tasty and easy to make.

Dinner Group Fruit Salad

Made this fruit salad for my dinner group tonight....possibly the easiest thing in the world.

Ingredients:
a bunch of cut up fruit
1 can peach pie filling


yup that is it.  To be more specific I sliced and diced up 3 kiwi, 2 bananas, a bunch of green grapes, about 10 strawberries, and about 1/2 cup of blueberries.

It was tasty and easy and got good reviews from the group.

Adapted from this recipe.

Pepperoni rollups

These are super simple and tasty.

1 package crescent roll dough
2 sticks of string cheese
32 slices of pepperoni
italian seasoning
garlic seasoning

(I used the turkey pepperoni, low-fat string cheese, and reduced cal crescent dough so they were 3 points a piece on weight watchers)

Roll out dough into the triangles.  Sprinkle with italian seasoning.  Place 4 slices of pepperoni on each triangle.  Cut the string cheese into quarters.  Place on quarter string cheese in the center of fat portion of the triangle on pepperoni and roll from wide to skinny forming a stuffed crescent roll.  Sprinkle with italian seasoning and garlic seasoning.

When all 8 are rolled bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.  Dip in marinara sauce if desired.

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.  Check it out for more detailed instructions and a picture.

NEW 52...a recipe and a confession

I had a lofty goal of eating vegetarian for a week for my New experience. Laughing out loud right about now.  That was an epic fail.  I have no self control apparently.  Plus I'm blaming "Fat Tuesday" in the mix, because I can.

Something I did make and liked was a bean salsa-salad.  Sorry there are no exact measurements, it really is to taste...

Bean Salsa-Salad

Yellow or White corn (1 cup)
Garbonza Beans/Chickpeas (1 cup, 1 can was too much)
Black beans (1 cup of rinsed canned beans)
2-3 Avacados, chopped to small chunks
Tomatoes (I only had 1 Roma, but would use 2 in the future), chopped into small pieces
1/2 onion (I used sweet Walla Walla, because they are good, I would also recommend a purple one), finely diced
chopped cilantro
lime juice (I think I ended up using 1/4 cup mixed with 1-2 Tbsp sugar)

Tossed all in a bowl and served with chips, pretty good stuff.

So my confession...I ate 1 vegetarian meal a day, but couldn't do it for every meal, all week, like I had planned.  Once I decided to do it all I wanted was a hamburger and I caved.  oh well, I would never be a good vegetarian.  BUT I was more concious of what I was eating and tried to be as fresh and healthy as possible.

About This Project: New52 is a project started by Peppermint and Christine and it ..."invites participants to live outside the box a little bit more and try things outside their comfort zone. Sometimes the “new” will present itself to you unwittingly, other times you’ll be seeking it out. My hope is that we can all become inspired by one another’s adventures – perhaps gain the courage to try someone else’s new thing ourselves. Don’t worry if you’re getting a late start or if you miss a week here and there. New52 isn’t about making a life-altering change every week, it’s about keeping an open mind and embracing little changes in your life." (Copied from Peppermint's blog)

To see more of my New 52 experiences check it out on my other blog here.  For more recipes I have discovered during New 52 click the New:52 label and explore away, thanks for playing!  What new thing have you tried this week?!?

New 52 recipe: Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

I made this salad for Rachel's bachelorette party yesterday, and since I had never made it before it is my new 52 for the week...

This was actually a lot easier than I imagined and quite good. 

Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

1 package (10-12 oz) uncooked pasta (butterfly, rotini, or macaroni)

3 oz or 2/3 cup real bacon bits (10 slices of bacon cooked and crumbled)

1 cup mayonnaise

1 package (3 Tbsp) dry ranch dressing mix

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp garlic salt

1 large tomato, finely diced

1 can sliced olives

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I prefer medium or sharp for the flavor to reach over the seasoning)

Boil pasta 10-12 minutes until al dente.  Drain and set aside to cool.  Mix together mayo, ranch mix, garlic powder and salt in a small bowl.  Dice tomato.  Add to pasta the tomato, olives, bacon, and cheese, tossing together.  Pour over and stir in mayo dressing mix.  Refrigerate for 1 hour to overnight.  Has approx. 12  servings, 1 cup each.

Marv n Joe

One of my personal favorite lunch foods at Utah State University... and one of the only ways I will eat tomatoes.

Thick white or wheat bread
garlic butter
olive oil
balsalmic vinegar
provolone cheese
tomato slices
parmesean cheese

Butter bread.  Layer 2 tomato slices on top.  Drizzle with vinegar and oil.  Cover with provolone cheese.  Sprinkle with parmesean.  Toast until cheese bubbles and edges brown.  Enjoy!!

For official step by step pictured instructions check out this article from the Utah Statesman.

Go Aggies!

New 52: Week 2 -Thu's Guacamole

No more store bought guac or salsa mixed with avacados....this is the only way to do it.

3 ripe avacados
2 Roma tomatos
1/3 white onion
juice of a lime
spoonful of sugar
fresh cilantro
dash of salt

Cut avacado in half, remove pit, and cut into small 1 inch pieces before removing from avacado shell.  Scoop out pieces.  Dice tomato and onion into small pieces.  Add to asvacados and mix together smashing about 1/2 of the avacado chunks in the process.  Stir in lime juice and sugar to taste.  Add some salt.  Chop up fresh cilantro and stir in before serving.

Fresh Orange and Cranberry Muffins

I had a bag of fresh cranberries and am still on an orange eating kick and decided to make some muffins. 

I was nervous they would be too tart but they were surprisingly perfect.

Orange and Cranberry Muffins

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup fresh cranberries

1 egg

3/4-1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup veg. oil

1 tsp grated Orange rind

1.  Mix together dry ingredients.

2.  Juice 1 and 1/2 large oranges (this will come to between 3/4 and 1 cup of juice which was perfect.  3/4 cup --one orange--left the dough too thick so I ended up juicing 1/2 more orange). Set aside.

3.  Chop fresh cranberries into chunks to equal 1 cup.

4.  Stir cranberries into flour mixture.

5.  In a small bowl whisk together egg, orange juice, oil, and grated orange rind (which I grated from the oranges I juiced).

6.  Pour into flour mixture and stir until all dough is moistened.

7.  Spoon into greased muffin tin (works better than using cup liners) about 3/4 full.  Makes approx. 15 muffins.  Sprinkle with some sugar on top and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Harry Potter Party Food 2010-Sweet dishes

So many sweet dishes to be had. 

1.  Snitch Cake--  For Harry's birthday, Mrs. Weasley made a floating snitch cake.  While mine can't fly I thought it turned out pretty fun.  All I did was use Wilton's Sports ball cake pan.  I made a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting colored a pale yellow then dusted with gold shimmer.  For the wings I used thin skewer sticks and glued on vellum cut into a wing shape.

2.  Pumpkin Pasties--

Pie crust**
1 cup canned pureed pumpkin
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
dash of nutmeg

Combine the filling ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir well.
* For the pie crust you can use a large premade unbaked one and cut into small rounds, make your own dough, or as we have begun to do, go to a Mexican market and buy premade and cut uncooked baking empanada rounds.  These are perfect and extremely easy to use. 
Spoon equal amounts of filling into center of each round.  Fold over and seal edge with egg-white wash and crimp edge with a fork.  Cut 3 slits into top.  Brush tops with remaining egg-white wash and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 for 25-30 minutes until golden (or whatever pie dough calls for).  Cool and serve.

3.  Mad-eyes (Oreo truffles)-- Annicka made these tasty and rich little guys.  They are super good and can be decorated any which way.  We just did them as Mad-eyes in honor of his death in Harry Potter 7.

1 package Oreo cookies, finely crushed.
1 (8oz) package cream cheese
toppings of choice

Crush oreos in a ziploc bag with a rolling pin or in a food processor.  Mix together cream cheese and Oreo crumbs and form into balls.  Dip in melted chocolate or white chocolate as we did.  Refrigerate at least 1 hour until firm.  If you want to sprinkle with cookie crumbs, sprinkles, etc. do that before refrigeration.

4.  Butterbeer-- This is Kellie's wonderful recipe.  This one serves 2-4 people but it is easy to make a bunch and then just add cream soda to each serving.  When we make a big batch wekeep it warm and just pour about 1/8-1/4 cup of the creamy mix into a cup and pour over with (unheated) cream soda.


1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup butterscotch topping
2 tablespoons whipped butter (room temp)
1 1/2 cup vanilla cream soda

Combine condensed milk, butterscotch topping and butter. Heat mixture until butter has melted and incorporated into mixture. Heat cream soda and add mixture, stir thoroughly

5.  Polyjuice Potion Punch--  This is the easy Mormon sherbert punch.  I just used a carton of Raspberry sherbet with 1 L. of regular 7 up and 1 of diet 7 up. if foams and fizzles.

6.  Treacle Fudge--  This I made as more of a novelty item for a British flair to the party.  Not my personal favorite.

1/2 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 Tbsp. butter
1/3 cup treacle or molasses

In a large bowl mix milk, brown sugar, and salt.  In a saucepan melt chocolate and butter together.  Remove from heat and add molassess.  Add the chocolate mixture to the milk mixture and pour into a pan to cool.  Cut into squares and serve.

Drinking our butterbeers.