Kathy's Spinach Mango Salad with Candied Pecans

• • 6 cups washed baby spinach
  • 1 mango
  • s&p
• Candied Pecans:
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T balsamic
• 1 cup pecan halves
• 
  
• Dressing:
• 5 T olive oil
• 2 T balsamic
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• pinch of cayenne pepper

Spray sheet of foil with nonstick spray. Stir sugar, 1 T oil and 1 T balsamic in heavy saucepan over medium heat until sugar melts and syrup bubbles, about 3 minutes. Mix in pecans. Stir until nuts are covered, toasted, about 7 min. (Be careful it doesn't burn) Turn nuts onto greased foil. Using fork separate nuts and cool completely. Coating will harden. Set aside.

Take mango - peel, pit and cut into small pieces. Combine spinach, mango and cooled pecans in large bowl. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Season with s&p.

Other Options: You can add strawberries and freshly sliced parmesan cheese or use candied almonds.

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup (like Zupa's)

Made this last night and took some over to our Lady-in-waiting Meghan. It's good, I'm having some for lunch.

2 Tbsps butter (1/4 stick)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk (I used half & half)
1 can chicken broth (I used low sodium)
1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into fairly small pieces
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 package (8 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (about 2 cups)

In saucepan, melt butter over med heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 min, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 cups water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes.

In blender (remove center part of blender cover to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth.

Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve w/ oyster crackers on top.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Made this last week. ld is a fan.


5 acorn squashes, halved and seeded
1 pound sausage,(I actually just cooked it up like hamburger, but could dice links up too)
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup craisins
1/4 walnuts, chopped
1 cup fresh spinach
1 cup breadcrumbs or 2 cups bread chunks (use plain breadcrumbs, unseasoned)
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
First, I cooked the squash in the oven 400 degrees for about 20 min. I cooked it whole and plopped it in the oven. Nope I didn't split it open and seed it, as I never cook squash that way. I figure why bother, eh? I just cook it whole and then when can get a fork through it (much like a baked potato) I split it open. Anyway, after it was done I seeded it and splashed a bit of olive oil on it.

While squash was cooking, I sautéed the onion in olive oil for about 5 minutes and then added sausage and let that cook for another 5 minutes. Once brown, add the craisins, spinach, walnuts and the breadcrumbs and stir it up until combined. Take the stuffing off the heat to let cool for about 10 minutes. Once the mixture has cooled a bit, add beaten eggs and mix. The eggs help bind the stuffing together.

Once the squashes have roasted, fill them with stuffing mixture and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and return to the oven (at 350 degrees) for about 15 minutes.

If you like Acorn squash you will like this. I love the texture and flavors.

Oatmeal Cookies (a Lion House recipe)

Made these yesterday. I had forgotten how good they are. I didn't use the raisins as I don't like raisins in my cookies.

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup shortening (okay, I used butter)
2 eggs
½ cup milk
2 cups rolled oats
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
2 cups flour
1 cup raisins (opt)
½ cup nuts (opt)

Cream together sugar and shortening. Add eggs and milk and mix well. Then add rolled oats. Sift together dry ingredients and mix in until smooth. Stir in raisins and nuts. Drop on cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 10 min or until lightly browned. Makes 3-4 dozen cookies.

Taco Seasoning Mix

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Mix in a small bowl. Equal to 1 package Taco Seasoning Mix. We had chili this weekend, seasoned them with this.

Chewy Gooey Chex Mix

1 cup butter
1 cup karo syrup
1 cup sugar
6 cup rice chex
6 cup honey grahams
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup cashew halves
1 cup coconut

Stir butter, light karo syrup, and sugar in a pan and bring to a boil for 3-4 minutes. Pour over the top of all the mix. Mix well. Spread mix on wax paper and let sit for 1 hour or longer.

Another Variation, not as gooey:

1 cup light Karo syrup
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter (NOT margarine)
1 pinch baking soda
18 cups mixed Golden Grahams cereal or Kix cereal or Chex cereal or Crispix cereal, and nuts

1. Preheat oven to 250°
2. Melt together Karo syrup, sugar and butter in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil.
3. Add butter flavoring and baking soda, mix.
4. Pour over cereal mixture (use whatever quantities of cereal and nuts that you desire to make 18 cups).
5. Spread on a large, flat cookie sheet and bake at 250° for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and spread Chex mixture on waxed paper, separating cereal pieces. Let cool completely.

Poppy Seed Chicken

I can't remember if I already posted this or not. We had this at girls camp in June several years ago. It had snowed all day and we were all freezing, huddled together in our cabins. My good friend Debbie was our camp cook and around 4:00 that afternoon she put on her snowsuit and left our cold, cold cabin to fix this dish. In near-blizzard like conditions. I helped her as best I could, but she is and will remain my hero because as soon as we all had a hot meal inside of us our spirits (and the weather) improved dramatically. This, to me, is the ultimate comfort food and meets all the criteria. Our memories really are all tied up with the smell and taste of food and the hands that prepared it.

6-8 chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup
16 ounces sour cream
1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 stick butter, melted
3 cups cooked white rice (can increase rice to extend recipe to feed more)

Boil chicken, and shred into bite-size pieces. Mix soup and sour cream, and stir in chicken and rice. Spoon mixture into a greased 9" x 13" casserole dish. Sprinkle crushed crackers over the chicken mixture, then sprinkle poppy seeds over the top. Drizzle melted butter over the top. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly. (This is a great make-ahead dish, and making it the night before enhances the flavor.

New Fav Meatloaf

Everyone liked this meatloaf when I made it a couple of weeks ago. Everyone. That means it's a keeper.
This makes 2 large loaves.



3 lbs. ground beef

1 lg. onion, chopped finely

1 (8oz.) box stuffing mix (any flavor)

1 8oz. can of tomato sauce

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
 (I actually used A-1 and it was good, too)
1/4 tsp. pepper

1 c. sour cream

1 packet of dry ranch dressing

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. oregano

1 egg



Sweet Sauce (Topping)


2/3 c. ketchup

1/2 brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. prepared mustard



Heat oven to 350 degrees.

 Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

 (Can use your mixer to combine everything)


Divide into 2 loaf pans and bake for 1 hour. Drain any fat from pans and top with sauce/topping. Bake 30 minutes more.

Rootbeer Cookies

Ingredients
2 cups brown sugar

1 cup butter

2 eggs

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons rootbeer flavoring

3 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon soda





In bowl whisk flour and soda.

 In mixer cream the butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes. Beat in eggs. Mix root beer flavoring with the water and alternately add the flour with water mixture. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. The dough will still feel really soft, but works fine.

 Heat oven to 400 degrees. Drop dough onto cookie sheets with a cookie scoop. Bake 6-8 minutes. Let them cook long enough or will be too soft when they cool. Cool on wire racks.

 When the cookies are cool frost.


Frosting


2 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup butter
 (softened)
1 1/2 teaspoons rootbeer flavoring

2 tablespoons hot water

Mix rootbeer flavoring with hot water. In a mixer beat all ingredients until creamy.


free recipe cards

So I've been looking and looking online for some recipe cards that allowed me to type in them directly and then print out.
I am doing a secret and important project and need an easy way to get the recipe onto the card. And yes, I know I can just print the recipe out but for this secret and important project it needs to be on 3 x 5 cards. Here are a couple of links I found that do just that. In case you need them for your secret and important projects.

Scroll down, I have been using the cupcake design.
http://freeprintablesonline.com/category/free-recipe-card-templates/page/2/

This one I really love, but it prints out too light. Maybe it's my printer?
http://www.skiptomylou.org/recipe-card-maker/

ham & swiss sliders

I know I've posted this recipe on my personal blog but thought it appropriate to post it here too for easier access. I served this at Kody's graduation "party" and when we had some friends over to watch the world cup {meh. don't care for soccer.} both times they were DELICIOUS! The second time I settled for general grocery store rolls, and prepackaged ham slices (i know, i know) but surprisingly they turned out pretty good.

ham & swiss sliders

{courtesy of ourrecipeclub.blogspot.com}
24 good white rolls {shirley's in utah has ooey gooey soft rolls thare yummy}
24 pieces good honey ham {first time I used a maple ham--still yummy}
24 small slices swiss cheese {personally I am a huge cheese fan so I don't skimp on the cheese. ever.}
1/3 mayo
1/3 cup miracle whip

{poppy seed sauce}
1 1/2 TBSP poppy seeds
1 1/2 TBSP yellow mustard
1 stick butter, melted
1 TBSP minced onion
1/2 tsp. worschestershire sauce

in a small bowl, mix together mayo & miracle whip. spread into both sides of the center of each roll. place a slice of ham & a slice of swiss inside of each roll. close rolls & place into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. place very close together.

in a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. let sit 10 minutes, or until butter sets slightly. cover with foil & bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. uncover & cook for 2 additional minutes. serve warm.

** sandwiches can me assembled a day ahead & kept in the fridge ready to bake.

Summer Fruit Salad

Sorry for the delay on this recipe....

found at thedishondelish

1 cup cubed watermelon
2 nectarines, pitted and cut into chunks
1 cup hulled and quartered strawberries
Zest of 1/2 lime
1 lime, juiced
3 Tablespoons honey
Pinch of salt

{I more than doubled this recipe for the BBQ on the 24th.}
In a small bowl, combine zest, lime juice, honey and salt. Whisk until combined. In a medium bowl, combine the watermelon, nectarines and strawberries. Drizzle syrup over the fruit. Stir well. Serve chilled for best taste. {In a hurry, I think I ended up grabbing some form of white nectarines...they were still uber delicious but they added a funny color I think}.

Apple Gruyere Pie

I just renewed my Netflix account two days ago and started watching the short lived but critically acclaimed television series Pushing Daisies. It is very fun and quirky and I wish it had found an audience so it would have been on longer than two seasons.

The show is about a pie-maker who can bring the dead back to life with a touch–and kill them again with a second touch. Needless to say, the hapless pie-maker brings a dead woman back to life and falls in love with her, realizing that he can never touch her. In addition to all the macabre antics surrounding reanimated corpses and the like, the show features two spinster aunts who are afflicted both with social anxiety disorder and a great love of expensive cheese. Make sense? No…? Well, like I said, it’s quirky.

Well, anyway, Chuck, the pie-maker’s undead girlfriend sends her cheese-loving aunts an apple pie with Gruyere baked into the crust. In an attempt to cheer them up and alleviate their social anxiety disorder, she laces the pie with homeopathic anti-depressants. I was inspired by Chuck’s pie and decided that I must make this pie, although sadly, without the homeopathic anti-depressants.

Searching the internet I soon discovered that I wasn’t the only inspired to try and make this pie so I read several of the recipes and combined different parts of each one and came up with this recipe. The pie turned out absolutely delicious so I decided to share it on the Humble Pie.

(The next thing in my Netflix Queue is Babette's Feast, which helped inspire this blog; Maybe it will inspire me to post more often.)

Apple Gruyere Pie

Crust Ingredients:

1 - 1/2 cubes (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/4 cup vegetable shortening cut into 1/2-inch pieces

5 to 7 tablespoons cold water

12 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 2 3/4 cups, plus extra for dusting

1 teaspoon table salt

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

3 ounces Gruyere cheese finely grated

Directions for the crust:

Place the butter, shortening and water into the refrigerator for 1 hour.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, salt, Gruyere and sugar by pulsing 3 to 4 times. Add the butter and pulse 5 to 6 times until the texture looks mealy. Add the shortening and pulse another 3 to 4 times until incorporated.

Remove the lid of the food processor and sprinkle in 5 tablespoons of water. Replace the lid and pulse 5 times. Add more water as needed, and pulse again until the mixture holds together when squeezed. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

Filling Ingredients:

5 Tart Peeled Apples (I used Granny Smith apples)

1 cup Sugar

2 tablespoons Flour

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1 tablespoon Cider Vinegar

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Directions for filling:

Peel and slice your apples. Soak them in water with a tablespoon of lemon juice. This will prevent the first apples cut from turning a funky color.

In a large mixing bowl mix the remaining ingredients. Drain the water off of the apples and mix them with the spices.

Roll out the bottom piecrust put in glass pie plate. Cut the excess dough off so the crust is on the edge of the pie pan but not over. Puncture the crust with a fork.

(Making my own crust scares me and I normally just use the Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust but since I had to add the Gruyere cheese I had to bake my own. This tutorial was very helpful, if you feel you need step by step instructions for pie crusts watch this tutorial.)

Add the pie filling to the pie plate, dot with pieces of butter, and then roll out the top crust. Make 4 slits in top piecrust to let the steam out of the pie. Lay the piecrust over the top of the pie then cut the excess dough from the top crust so that there is a one-inch overhang off the pie plate. Roll top crust over the bottom crust and then in and then press to make a decorative edge. Grate a little more Gruyere on top of the pie crust.

Directions for baking the pie:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place pies on a cookie sheet to catch any drips, put in oven, and bake for 60 to 80 minutes, or until you can see the filling bubbling up between the slits in the crust. I put foil around the edge of the crust so it wouldn’t get too brown and took off the foil for the last 15 minutes of baking. Cool on a wire rack at least 20 minutes before serving.

banana pudding

I've become obsessed with learning more about southern dishes. The food here really is just that delicious...not healthy mind you...but delicious. Banana pudding is everywhere here and I love it. I'm on the hunt for a great banana pudding made-from-scratch recipe...but I have found a good compromise for when you don't want to do all that work but you also want something more then just pudding from the box.

Southern Banana Pudding

1 large box instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups milk
8 ounces sour cream
1 tsp of cinnamon (optional)
8 ounces Cool Whip, thawed
1 box vanilla wafers
3 bananas, super-ripe but not brown, peeled and sliced

In a medium bowl, prepare the pudding as instructed on its box. Beat in the sour cream, making sure to blend well. (Beat in some cinnamon while you're at it, if you'd like. Fold in the Cool Whip just until no white streaks are present.

In the bottom of a trifle bowl or other serving dish, put down a layer of vanilla wafers. Top with about a fourth of the pudding mixture and a layer containing half of the sliced bananas. Top this with another fourth of the pudding. The next additions will be a layer of cookies, a layer of pudding, the rest of the bananas, and the rest of the pudding. For decorative purposes, adorn the pudding with more wafers in an aesthetically-pleasing manner:

Chill for at least 8 hours. Then enjoy!

I got this recipe from a southern cooking blog called A Southern Grace. Check it out.

the perfect roasted marshmallow

Seems Cameron, Mark and Joseph have perfected the technique. Something about patience, even turning and indirect heat over the coals. All very complicated but the results were stunning as the pics prove. We had a great time hanging out with the Larry Arnett tribe Sunday night. The S'mores were ooey gooey delish. Yeah for Kathy for winning them at the family auction:)

Oh, and I think it matters if your marshmallows are jet-puffed. What say you, Cam? Do you recommend puffy?

http://www.ehow.com/how_2111855_roast-perfectly-golden-marshmallow.html

Black Bean Croquettes with Fresh Salsa

My friend made these for dinner last night and they were muy delicioso to say the least. She served them with small corn tortillas. I say make your homemade salsa however you make it and serve the avocado on the side. She just bought fresh salsa from the store and it was still delish.

The recipe itself comes from the site eating well.

Ingredients

• 2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup plain dry breadcrumbs, divided
• 2 cups finely chopped tomatoes
• 2 scallions, sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon chili powder, hot if desired, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 avocado, diced

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Mash black beans and cumin with a fork in a large bowl until no whole beans remain. Stir in corn and 1/4 cup breadcrumbs. Combine tomatoes, scallions, cilantro, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder and salt in a medium bowl. Stir 1 cup of the tomato mixture into the black bean mixture.
3. Mix the remaining 1/3 cup breadcrumbs, oil and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon chili powder in a small bowl until the breadcrumbs are coated with oil. Divide the bean mixture into 8 scant 1/2-cup balls. Lightly press each bean ball into the breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake the croquettes until heated through and the breadcrumbs are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir avocado into the remaining tomato mixture. Serve the salsa with the croquettes.

Nutrition

Per serving: 405 calories; 12 g fat (2 g sat, 8 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 61 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 16 g protein; 16 g fiber; 438 mg sodium; 621 mg potassium.

Chicken Tikka Masala

My roomate has made this a few times and it is so delicious. Word to the wise it is very spicy. You could probably put in less cayenne and tone it down a bit. I also made a vegetarian version of this by cutting up some potatoes and baking that along with peas and carrots using the same mixture you would for the chicken version. I baked it at about 400 until the potatoes were done. So with that lengthy intro out of the way.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken:

1 cup plain yogurt 1stp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger (or ½ inch ginger root) 1 T. lemon juice

2 tsp cayenne pepper (1 tsp for milder) 1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cumin 2 tsp. black pepper

1 ½ lbs. boneless chicken breasts or thighs

After combining all ingredients in a gallon-size Ziploc bag, seal bag and knead the mixture together by hand. Allow chicken to marinate at least 1 hour in refrigerator.

After marinating, remove chicken from bag. Grill or broil chicken until cooked through. Marinade will be thick and will cook off. You do not need to save the drippings.

Sauce:

1 T. butter or margarine 2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. ground coriander 1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. paprika 1 tsp. garam marsala

½ tsp. salt 1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce

1 cup whipping cream

Melt butter in a large skillet, add garlic. Cook 1 minute. Add coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala, and salt. Add tomato sauce and cover. Simmer 15 minutes. Add cream and simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Add cooked chicken to sauce; simmer an additional 5 minutes. Serve over basmati rice. Garnish with cilantro.

Serves 6

Thai Peanut Noodle Salad

If you are a fan of the P-Dub's Favorite Noodle Salad then I think you will like this one too!

It's from Our Best Bites. I made it on Friday and Quinn and I both loved it!

Thai Peanut Noodle Salad
Recipe by OurBestBites.com

8 oz Linguine Fini (or regular linguine)
4 C shredded greens: any combo of napa cabbage, romaine lettuce or even spinach
2 C thinly sliced purple cabbage
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, julienned
1/2 medium cucumber, halved and sliced
1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
3 C diced grilled chicken
honey roasted peanuts (about 1/2 cup)

Thai Peanut Salad Dressing (save some time and make this part ahead!)

Start by bringing a pot of water to a boil. Add a spoonful of salt and then add your pasta. While pasta is cooking, start chopping those veggies.

You can really use any mix of veggies you want. I used spinach because I think it is the healthiest of greens.

As soon as your pasta is done drain it and run some cold water over it until it's cool. If you're not going to use it right away, add a drizzle of the salad dressing and stir to coat. This will prevent the noodles from getting all clumpy. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.

When you're ready to assemble the salad, place noodles, veggies, and chicken in a large bowl.

Pour the Thai Peanut Dressing over everything, stirring as you go until you have enough to coat. I use it all!

Dressing:

1/2 C peanut butter
1 lime, juiced and zested
2 1/2 t sesame oil
1 T seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 T soy sauce
3 T honey
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 T minced ginger
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro (stems and all)
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/4 t kosher salt
2-3 t sriracha chili sauce*
2-4 T water

*I use 3 t Sriracha because Quinn likes spicey, for me it definitely had kick so if you don't love spice then dial down the Sriracha sauce

Place everything in a blender and mix until smooth. Makes about 2 cups.

p.s. why isn't anybody posting on this site anymore???

strawberry crumb tart

It's strawberry season here in North Carolina and I bought my first strawberries this week and I can't wait to go pick some more this weekend. So I found this fantastic recipe courtesy of Emeril and The Food Network and had to share. He calls it a pie, but it's really a tart. Since he called it a pie I didn't bother to read the directions until I was well into it and saw that I needed a tart pan. Alas, I didn't have one so I used my spring form pan which worked fine. I also think just a pie pan would be fine as well.

I also don't have a food processor so I just made the crust with my Kitchenaide and had no problems.

Enjoy!

Ingredients
Pie Crust:

* 1 stick butter
* 3 ounces cream cheese
* 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* Pinch salt

For the crumb topping:

* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup oatmeal
* 4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly

For the filling:

* 6 cups (2 pounds) quartered strawberries
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
* 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
* 1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest

Directions

In the bowl of a food processor combine butter and cream cheese and process until smooth. Add flour and salt and process just until mixture comes together to form a ball. Remove dough from the processor and shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

While the pie crust is chilling, prepare the crumb topping. Combine the 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour, and the oatmeal in a small bowl and toss to combine. Add the melted butter and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Working on a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough out to a thickness of 1/8-inch and fit it into a 9 or 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Return pie crust to the refrigerator for 20 minutes, then blind bake until lightly golden, about 18 minutes. Remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool while you assemble the strawberry filling. Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl combine the strawberries with the sugar, lemon juice, orange zest and cornstarch and toss to combine. Spoon the strawberry filling into the prepared piecrust and spread the crumb topping evenly over the top of the filling. Bake in the middle of the oven for 1 hour, or until filling is bubbly and crust and crumb topping are golden brown. Transfer to a rack to cool to room temperature before serving.

Roasted Potato Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

Roasted Potato Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

Ingredients

* 5 pounds red and white table potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 teaspoons minced garlic
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
* 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
* 8 pieces of bacon
* Blue Cheese Dressing, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a large shallow roasting pan with nonstick aluminum foil.

In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, olive oil, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, tossing gently to coat. Arrange the potatoes, in a single layer, on the prepared pan. Bake until potatoes are tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally, for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onions; cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and add the vinegar. Stir until the vinegar evaporates, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Cut up 8 pieces of bacon and render in pan on stove.

In a large serving bowl, combine the potatoes, onions, bacon, remaining salt and pepper and Blue Cheese Dressing. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Blue Cheese Dressing:

* 3/4 cup mayonnaise
* 1 (5-ounce) container crumbled blue cheese
* 2 tablespoons sour cream
* 1 1/2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, blue cheese, sour cream, horseradish, and pepper. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.

Yield: about 1 cup

Wedding Cake Recipe (White Almond Sour Cream)

The texture of this cake is great for a wedding cake -- not too fluffy so it breaks from the weight, but also not overly dense. The flavor, texture and moistness are just right. This recipe serves about 40-50 people.

2 (18 ounce) boxes white cake mix (Betty Crocker or Pillsbury)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 2/3 cups water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons real vanilla
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 cups sour cream
8 large egg whites

Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir together with a wire whisk.
Add the remaining ingredients and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Pour into greased and floured cake pans, filling each pan a little over half full.
Lightly tap cake pans on counter to bring air bubbles to top.
Bake in preheated 325° F oven until cake tests done.
Baking time varies according to the size and depth of pans being used.

(I have used Wilton's Bake Even Strips on my cake pans to ensure a level-topped cake which is supposed to require absolutely no trimming-- works fairly well, but most likely will still need to even out/trim to get cake absolutely even. A must for a wedding cake)

In 2" deep pans, this recipe makes:
One 14" round and one 6" round or One 16" round
or One 12" round and one 10" round
or One 12 X 18" sheet cake
or One 12" round and one 8" round and one 6" round
or Two 9" squares or 5 dozen cupcakes.

Half the recipe makes:
Two 7" rounds or Two 6" rounds and 6 cupcakes.

For chocolate cake: substitute choc. cake mix for white... instead of egg whites do 6 whole eggs... substitute 2/3 of the flour for cocoa powder, omit almond extract

For berry flavors: use frozen berries, thaw reserving the juice. Substitute the berry juice for part of the water in the recipe, and stir the berries in at the end.

For lemon cake: substitute lemon juice for about 1 cup of the water in the recipe, use 6 whole eggs instead of the whites, stir in 1 Tblsp lemon zest, and use 1 tsp of a good lemon extract in place of the almond.

For white chocolate: melt 8oz white baking chocolate and cool slightly. Use 6 whole eggs in the recipe instead of the whites, temper the chocolate by stirring in a small amount of the batter, then add the white chocolate to the entire batter and stir well. Doesn't bake up quite as high as the original, so add a pinch more batter to the pans.

For Chocolate Filling:
Melt 2 cups chocolate chips with a can of sweetened condensed milk. Stir until smooth and then let cool until fudge consistency.

Buttercream Frosting

A good tasting buttercream. Holds up well for wedding cakes especially. In fact, used this on Mallory's wedding cake.

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup shortening* (I use butter if cake doesn't need to be white, but the shortening works well, too)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
8 cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons milk

In large bowl, beat together butter and shortening. Add vanilla, almond extract and salt. Gradually add powdered sugar and milk, beat until well blended and smooth. If frosting is too thin, add powdered sugar 1⁄4 cup at a time. If frosting is too thick, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time, sometimes I thin with small amounts of corn syrup as well. Also, this frosting tastes better the longer it sits.

Yield: 61⁄2 cups.

Shower Recipes

This post is long over due but here are the two recipes that I made for Mal Pal's shower.

Curry Chicken Salad - Paula Deen

Ingredients

• 1 large roasted chicken, cut into 1 inch cubes (I use four chicken breasts instead.)
  
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 (8-ounce) can sliced or chopped water chestnuts, drained
• 2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
• 1 (2-ounce) package slivered almonds

Dressing:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 tablespoon prepared mango chutney
• Salt

Directions

Gently combine the chicken, celery, water chestnuts, grapes, and almonds in a large glass bowl. Combine the dressing ingredients and mix well. Add to the chicken mixture and stir gently to combine. Season with salt, to taste.

Yogurt Marmalade Cake - The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 cup (heaping) Plain Yogurt
• 1 cup Sugar
• 3 whole Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 whole Zest Of Lemon
• ½ cups Canola Oil (I completely forgot to put the oil in for the two I made for the shower and they were the best ones I ever made, you can taste the lemon so much more and the cake is still super moist. When I got back to Idaho I made one with and one without just to make sure and the results were the same. So what I'm saying is leave out the oil.)
  
• _____
• ORANGE GLAZE:
• ½ cups Prepared Orange Marmelade
• ¼ cups Yogurt

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a loaf pan with non-stick baking spray (or grease and flour it if it makes your skirt fly up). Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together 1 cup of yogurt, sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest, and canola oil until just combined. Pour over dry ingredients and mix until just combined; do not over beat.

Pour into a loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes.(I find that you have to bake it about 10-15 minutes longer than she recommends, but I always start with 45 minutes and then check it and add five minutes and check until done. Use a toothpick in the center to test for doneness.) Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Remove from pan. While cake is cooling, pour marmalade into a sauce pan. Heat it on low until melted, stirring occasionally. Add 1/4 cup of yogurt to the pan and turn off heat. Stir to combine, then pour slowly over the top of the cake, allowing icing to pool around the sides.

caramel brownie bars

Made these this afternoon. You should, too.

Caramel Bars

1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons milk
2 egg
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 pan with Pam or lightly grease and flour.

In a bowl mix the butter, sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla. Mix in the flour, baking powder and salt. With a spatula smooth the mixture (it will be thick) into the prepared pan. Bake for 26-28 minutes, don't over bake. Remove and cool.

Caramel Frosting

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 tablespoons milk
2 cups powdered sugar

potato leek soup

Quinn and I are obsessed with this soup right now.

Potato Leek Soup

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 sliced of bacon--cut into pieces
1 diced onion
4 large leeks, cleaned and sliced (I have a hard time having the patience to really clean the leeks before I slice, so a lot of times I'll clean them, then slice them, then put them in a strainer and run them under water for quite a while to really get all of the grit out. To me this is easier.)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2-3 cups chicken stock/broth (the first time I made this I had stock on hand, the second time I only had broth. It was significantly better with the stock rather then the broth.)
2-3 cups beef stock/broth
1-2 cups of cream
4 russett potatoes

Directions

Heat oil in a pan that will hold the soup over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook to render the fat. Add the onion and leeks, saute for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add butter. When melted, stir in flour to make a roux. Whisk in chicken and beef stock. Add potatoes. (I just sort of gauge how much stock to use here. Just enough to cover all the ingredients.) Bring to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender. Right before serving I add in the cream and heat through.

pretzels

I don't think I will ever buy a pretzel in a mall again after making these. They were super easy and very delicious. We are on day 3 now of pretzels and after popping them in the micro for 20 seconds they are still as delcious as they were fresh out of the oven.

The recipe is courtesy of My Kitchen Cafe. You can find it here.

Chewy Soft Pretzels

Makes 8 pretzels

Dough:
2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
7/8 to 1 cup (7 to 8 ounces) warm water*

Topping:
1/2 cup (4 ounces) warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
Coarse salt (optional)
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl and beat until well combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth, and quite slack. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes (see pictures below).

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Prepare two baking sheets by spraying them with vegetable oil spray, or lining them with parchment paper.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces (about 70g, or 2 1/2 ounces, each). Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda, and place it in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved; if it isn't, it will make your pretzels splotchy.

Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28 to 30 inches long), and twist each rope into a pretzel. Dip each pretzel in the baking soda wash (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they're golden brown. I only bake one baking sheet at a time and let the other rest while the first is in the oven.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

*Use the greater amount in the winter, the lesser amount in the summer, and somewhere in between in the spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.

Cookie Pie

That's right: Cookie Pie!
It's the best of both worlds! A marriage as wonderful as pumpkin square potato soup, only good. Trust me.

2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 c melted butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
dash of salt
1 t vanilla
1 c. milk chocolate chips

Pour into unbaked pie shell
Bake@325 for 1 hr.

yummy simple tomato sauce

Apparently this recipe is all the rage on several foodie blogs. So I had to try it. It did not disappoint. If you are looking for a zesty marinara sauce this is not it, but if you want a simple, delicate, delicious tomato sauce...this is it!

28 ounces whole peeled tomatoes from a can (San Marzano, if you can find them)*
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

Serve with spaghetti, with or without grated parmesan cheese to pass.

I did use the San Marzano tomatoes that were suggested in the recipe just to try them but they were expensive...4 bucks at my grocery store...I think next time I'll just use a can of Hunts and see if it makes that big of a difference. Even Quinn liked this and he does not take kindly to change when it comes to his spaghetti.

Lentil Soup

A yummy, easy winter soup!

Adapted from that Italian lady on the Food Network:

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 pound lentils, rinsed (approximately 1 1/4 cups)
• 8 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 4 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper and saute until all the vegetables are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juices. Simmer until the juices evaporate a little and the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add the lentils and mix to coat. Add the broth and stir. Add the thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer over low heat until the lentils are almost tender, about 30 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan, drizzle with olive oil, and serve.

Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce

This is my favorite recipe right now. Delicious. Easy. Low carb (well, except for the part where you pour it over rice...)

Adapted from the ever-handy mykitchencafe.blogspot.com:

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 teaspoons curry powder (yellow)
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t chili powder
1 medium red onion, cut julienne
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 T olive oil
1 14-oz can coconut milk (I use "light" when I care about calories)
1 T dried basil
1 t fresh grated/chopped ginger

Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Place in medium bowl. Stir together curry, salt, pepper and chili powder. Sprinkle over chicken, tossing to coat evenly. Cover and chill for 3o min to an hour.

In a large nonstick frying pan, stir onion, basil, and garlic in hot oil over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes until no longer pink.

Add coconut milk. Cook and stir until bubbly. Stir in ginger. Cook and stir another minute or so. Serve over hot rice.

Super Simple Chicken Tacos

I found this uber simple recipe in the REAL SIMPLE magazine. :0)

Purchase a Rotissiere Chicken and shred the chicken from the bones and skin.
Place shredded chicken in a frying/sauce pan and add about 2 cups of salsa. Heat through.
You can use soft shell (Kodison favorite) or hard shell (which I prefer).
Garnish the taco with slices of avocado, sour cream, cilantro, monterey jack cheese, and several squeezes of lime. Lime is the key and adds the perfect flavor so I prefer not to skimp on the lime. :0) Plus, who doesn't love the flavor of lime. Mmm...