Simple Tomato Salad

This is an easy salad and always a crowd pleaser.  Balsamic glaze is so concentrated and sweet.  The perfect accent to tomatoes.  I simply cut up my tomatoes and toss with extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle or two of balsamic glaze.  Add some kosher salt and black pepper, give it one more toss, and you're done!  The glaze is also good on bruschetta or a caprese salad.

Cream Puff and Berries Dessert Recipe

As promised, here is the recipe for my Cream Puff and Berries Dessert.  This is so good - like a big eclair!  I always get requests for this recipe. 

Crust:
1 cup water
1 stick butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs


Bring water and butter to a boil. Turn heat to low and slowly mix in flour. Remove from heat. Mix in eggs one at a time. Batter will be sticky. Spread in bottom and sides of a greased 13x9 pan. Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes. Crust will be puffy. Lightly press down any big 'pockets' with a spatula. Let cool.


Filling:
8 oz cream cheese
3 small boxes French vanilla instant pudding
2 1/2 cup milk
Fruit – sliced strawberries and blueberries
Cool whip

Beat together softened cream cheese, pudding and milk. Add a bit more milk if too thick.  Spread mixture into cooled shell. Cover with sliced fruit and then spread cool whip on top. Decorate with more fruit. Refrigerate for a few hours. You can also drizzle chocolate syrup on top.

Summer Recipes ~ Cucumber Dill Sandwich Appetizers

These are good any time of year, but are perfect for your cookout or picnic on a hot summer day!   If you make these I guarantee people will ask for the recipe. 

Cucumber Dill Sandwiches
8 oz light cream cheese, softened
1 packet dry Good Seasons Italian dressing mix
1 seedless cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1 package pumpernickle or rye cocktail bread
dried dillweed

Combine cream cheese and dressing mix.  Refrigerate for at least an hour.  Spread each bread slice with cream cheese mixture.  Top with a cucumber slice and sprinkle with dillweed.  (see - I told you they were easy!)

Refrigerate until ready to serve.  I don't recommend making them the day before - the bread will get a little soggy.  I've made several hours in advance and they were perfect.

Basic Cole Slaw Recipe

I love cole slaw with BBQ. So when my sister-n-law said she was serving ribs for Father's Day, I happily agreed to make it!

Here is the recipe my mom and I use. It's easy to adjust the amounts depending on how much cabbage you have.  You can also change the amounts of sugar and vinegar you use, depending if you like it sweeter or tangier.   I always 'cheat' and buy a bag of the pre-chopped cabbage and carrots at GFS.  I like it because it's chopped and not just shredded.  Just like the kind at KFC!


Basic Cole Slaw Dressing
2 cups Miracle Whip Light dressing
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar

Mix together with a whisk until smooth.  Toss with shredded or chopped cabbage and carrots.  Let sit in fridge for at least an hour.

Recipe ~ Pasta with Garlic and Asparagus

This really isn't a recipe - just simple ingredients tossed together to make a light and quick dinner.  We have pasta with garlic and oil - once a week.  My husband and I both grew up on this and I like that it's a quick weeknight meal.  It can also be 'doctored up' to be something special.

It's easy!  We usually use angel hair pasta, but use your favorite shape.  While your pasta is boiling, heat olive oil in a saute pan.  Chop a few garlic cloves and add them to pan.  Be careful to not burn the garlic.  Just cook a few minutes on medium heat to infuse the oil with garlic.  When the pasta is done, drain and add to the saute pan.  Toss to coat, adding a bit more oil if necessary.  Top with grated parmesan cheese.

It's delicious just like this, or we like to add one or more of the following:

• asparagus (just steam it a bit beforehand)
• artichokes (especially the ones marinated in oil)
• sun-dried tomatoes
• tuna (yes, tuna!  try it!)
• cherry tomatos
• feta cheese is also good and adds a bit of a mediterranean touch

Enjoy!

Zippy Deviled Eggs ~ Recipe

These deviled eggs get a nice little zip from horseradish.  I posted this a while back and thought I'd share again since Easter is just around the corner.  Here's the link to the original post:  recipe

Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheese Soup ~ Recipe

I love Panera's Broccoli Cheese soup - My parents and I will stop there for soup and salad when we're out and about running errands.  I've been meaning to try this recipe.  The only thing holding me back was the velveeta - I've never used it before!  I considered using shredded cheddar cheese instead, but I'm glad I didn't.  The velveeta melted so smooth and this soup was really good!  In my opinion, it's all about moderation.  This was a treat!  And perfect for dinner a few nights ago when the wind chill was 9 degrees.

My hubby tried to help me take pictures.... obvsiously that didn't go so well.  He insisted on having his fingers in the picture.  Good grief!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

1/2 cup butter

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 (16 ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli

4 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth

1 (1 pound) loaf processed cheese food, cubed

2 cups milk

2/3 cup cornstarch

1 cup water



In a stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onion in butter until softened. Add garlic and saute for a couple minutes.  Stir in broccoli, and cover with chicken broth. Simmer until broccoli is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Reduce heat, and stir in cheese cubes until melted. Mix in milk.

In a small bowl, stir cornstarch into water until dissolved. Stir into soup; cook, stirring frequently, until thick.

Enjoy!

Holiday Thumbprints

I received some of these cookies at a cookie exchange last week - they are so good!  I think they're pretty too.  I used a seedless strawberry jam and drizzed with a glaze of powdered sugar and milk. 

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
2 egg yolks
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fruit preserves, any flavor
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and egg yolks. Mix in flour a little bit at a time until a soft dough forms. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. If dough is too soft, refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes. Place balls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Use your finger or an instrument of similar size to make a well in the center of each cookie. Fill the hole with 1/2 teaspoon of preserves.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on the bottom. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

Saltine Toffee

This one is easy!  And you may even have everything you need in your pantry.

4 ounces saltine crackers  (not exactly sure how many I actually used)

1 cup butter

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup chopped pecans 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Line cookie sheet with saltine crackers in single layer.

In a saucepan combine the sugar and the butter. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Immediately pour over saltines and spread t cover crackers completely.

Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let sit for 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate and top with chopped nuts. Cool completely and break into pieces.

Apple Dip ~ yum!

I tried this recipe today and it's a winner and so easy!  This is the perfect fall snack.

Apple Dip
8 oz cream cheese, softened  (I used light)
1 cup light brown sugar
1 t vanilla extract

Mix well with electric mix and refrigerate for a couple hours.  Serve with apple slices.

Enjoy!

Slider Style Burgers

I received this recipe from a friend a while ago and I have to admit that I was skeptical at first.  But I'm so glad I tried it!  These are so good!  I usually make a batch and wrap them in plastic wrap and store in the fridge.  They're great to take for lunch with a salad or for a quick snack.

2 pounds ground beef
1 (1.25 ounce) envelope onion soup mix
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
24 dinner rolls, split
1/2 cup sliced pickles (optional)



Cook and brown the ground beef in a large skillet; Drain and discard any excess grease. Stir in onion soup mix. Remove from heat. Stir the mayonnaise and Cheddar cheese into the ground beef mixture.  
Lay the bottoms of the dinner rolls on the prepared baking sheet. Spread the cheese and beef mixture on the bottom half of each roll. Replace the tops. Cover with another sheet of aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake in the preheated 350 oven until the burgers are heated through and cheese melts, about 30 minutes. Serve with sliced pickles.

*If I'm storing for later use, I make the sandwiches but do not bake.  Instead I wrap them in plastic wrap. Just heat them up in the microwave when ready to eat!


Enjoy!

Banana Bread

For the 4th of July I made a dessert that called for instant vanilla pudding.  When I originally went shopping, I mistakenly purchased cook-and-serve pudding mix..... Of course I didn't notice this until the morning of.  Thank goodness the local drugstore was open and had instant pudding.

So when I came across this recipe for banana bread, I thought it was a great idea to use up some of my cook-and-serve pudding mix sitting in my pantry.  The original recipe called for shortening which I replaced  with butter.  It's a great recipe because it works well with whatever amount of bananas you have on hand.  I was a little skeptical of putting the bread in a cold oven, but it baked up very well.  This turned out to be nice bread, not too dense, but very moist.  The folks at work loved it!  

Banana Bread

1 3/4 c flour
1 1/4 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
1 (3 ounce) package of 'cook and serve' vanilla pudding mix
2/3 c white sugar
1/2 c softened margarine or butter
2 eggs
2 T milk
1 to 2 cups mashed ripe banana
Nutmeg and Cinnamon to taste (I use about 1 t each)

Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and vanilla pudding mix. In a separate mixing bowl, beat sugar and shortening until light, scraping sides of the bowl often. Add the eggs one at a time, beating smooth after each addition. Mix in the milk.

Add flour mixture and mashed bananas alternately to creamed mixture, beating until smooth after each addition. Pour batter into a lightly greased 8x4 inch loaf pan or into mini individual loaf pans.

Bake in a cold, (non-preheated) oven set to 350 degrees. Bake for 50 minutes, then cover with foil to prevent burning and bake for additional 10 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the crown comes out clean. Leave in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool.

Deviled Eggs

These deviled eggs have a bit of zip in them from the horseradish.  They'll be a great addition to your Easter dinner!

6 hard-cooked eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
1 dash paprika

Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks; set whites aside. In a bowl, mash the yolks. add mayonnaise, horseradish, dill, mustard, salt and pepper; mix well. Pipe or spoon into egg whites. Sprinkle with paprika. Refrigerate until serving.

Recipe ~ Rueben Dip in Bread Bowl

I'm already thinking about what to serve during the Super Bowl.  My husband is a big Steelers fan (boo) and is insisting that they will be in the big game.  My family has already hinted that they're coming over to watch the game. 

Here's a great recipe for game day or anytime you need some munchies.  You're probably wondering where the bread bowl is in my picture!  Well, I couldn't find one!  I went to the grocery store on 12/30 and it was packed.  Absolutely insane!  And the bread shelves were getting bare.  I was lucky to find this great Pepperidge Farm Rye & Pumpernickle swirl bread.  It was really good!  So I ended up baking the dip in a dish and serving it with cut up bread pieces, which worked out very well.

One other thing to note is that I used lite versions of the mayo, cream cheese and sour cream, and this still came out very good.  A real crowd pleaser and easy because it can be made ahead of time and warmed up in the microwave or oven.

1 round bread loaf, either rye or basic Italian
1 c. mayonnaise
8 oz. cream cheese
6 oz. sour cream
2 pkgs. Buddig corned beef, sliced thin (I couldn't find this, so used corned beef from deli)
6 oz. grated Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut out top of bread and hollow out to create a bowl. Reserve removed bread for serving.

Mix all remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Transfer to bread bowl and wrap bread in foil, leaving dip exposed.  Or, if spread dip in 8"square baking dish.  Bake for 1 hour; serve with bread pieces.

Christmas Cookes ~ Silver Dollars

This is a new recipe I tried today and the we really liked them!  Plus they are easy to make.  I made the dough yesterday and it in the fride.  Today all I had to do was slice and bake :)  This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Silver Dollar Cookies

1 c butter

4 T sugar

2 T vanilla

2 c flour

2/3 c finely ground almonds

powdered sugar

Cream together butter, sugar and vanilla.  Stir in flour and almonds.  Roll into log (about 10 inches) and wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate least an hour (mine was refrigerated overnight). 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Slice dough into 1/4 inch rounds.  Place on parchment-lined cookie sheets.  Bake cookes for 20 minutes or until lightly golden.  Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Makes 36 cookies.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

I make this dip often.  It's one of those recipes that comes out great every time and people will ask for the recipe, so make sure you have it on hand!

2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained *
3 T butter
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing
3/4 cup pepper sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot®)
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese *

*I've never used canned chicken.  I use either leftover chicken breast or just cook a few chicken tenders up to use.
*There's been a couple times when I didn't have cheese and I made this without.  It came out just as good!
 
Heat chicken, butter and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook on Low setting until hot and bubbly. This is great served with tortilla chips, fritos, crackers, soft pretzels and celery sticks.

*Easy* Apple Strudel

Seriously,  if I can make this strudel, you can make it too!  I recently came across 2 recipes for strudel using puff pastry.  This was my first time using puff pastry and it was pretty easy!  Below is the recipe I came up with after combining a bit from recipes I've read.  I'm thinking of adding this to our Thanksgiving menu.  The only problem I had was that I didn't great the cookie sheet - both recipes I read said there was enough butter in the pastry to keep it from sticking.  Well, mine slightly stuck.  So next time I think I'll put a light spray of PAM down.

1 sheet Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
1 can apple pie filling
1 golden delicious apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

Thaw pastry sheet at room temperature 30-45 minutes, until you're able to roll out. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out the defrosted puff pastry to form a rectangle and lay on a lightly greased baking sheet.  I lightly floured the pastry before rolling.

Unfold pastry on lightly floured surface. Roll into 16x12-inch rectangle  (I didn't measure mine). Place apple slices down center of pastry. Spoon pie filling on top, stopping about an inch from sides.  Neatly fold up both ends to meet in the middle and seal with egg wash. Flip the strudel over on the baking sheet, so the seam side is laying flat down. Tuck ends under to seal. Brush top with egg mixture. Cut several 2-inch slits about 2 inches apart on top using serated knife.  Sprinke top with turbinado (raw) sugar.

Bake 35 minutes or until golden. Cool on baking sheet on wire rack 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Fall Recipes ~ Apple Bars

I found this recipe on allrecipes and it caught my attention because it was low-fat.  They turned out very moist and everyone loved them.  I added a chopped apple, but the original recipe did not call for that.  These were so good I think the next time I make them I'll omit the frosting.  The bars come out pretty thin, so if you want a thicker bar, use a smaller pan.   Enjoy  ♥

Apple Bars

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup applesauce
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (I used a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves)
1 apple peeled and chopped  (I used a golden delicous)

Frosting:
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons margarine, melted
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, mix together the butter, brown sugar and egg until smooth. Stir in applesauce. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice; stir into the applesauce mixture until well blended. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are golden. Cool in the pan over a wire rack.

In a small bowl, mix together the confectioners' sugar and margarine. Stir in vanilla and milk until smooth. Spread over cooled bars before cutting into squares.

Sunday Meal Planning

I try to plan our most of our meals for the week on Sunday.  It makes it easier when I come home from work knowing that I have what I need.   And now I'm planning my meals around tomatoes.  I thought I'd share a few of my favorite ways to enjoy tomatoes ~ nothing too fancy here, just good food with fresh ingredients!  I'd love to hear your favorites too!

1. Pasta with Garlic and Tomato - heat light olive oil in a pan and saute fresh chopped garlic until fragrant (be careful not to let brown).   Add in cherry or grape tomatoes which have been cut in half.  Saute for a few minutes until tomatoes start to wilt a bit.  Add in cooked angel hair pasta.  Toss with your favorite cheese - we like either feta or parmesan.  This is also good with canned artichokes added in too.
2. BLT - I can't resits making a BLT with fresh beefsteak tomato slices.  It reminds me of a diner up in Rogers City, Michigan that we used to go to when visiting my Aunt.  They made the best BLTs and hashbrowns.  Nothing beats comfort food at a diner!
3. Caprese Salad - layer slices of fresh mozzerella and tomato.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle kosher salt and black pepper.  Top with a few sprigs of basil.  Perfect on a hot summer day!  Or, just a big tomato slice sprinkled with salt and pepper.  Yum!

Summer Tomato Salad

Ahhhhh..... fresh tomatoes!  Nothing beats a homegrown tomato!  My grape and cherry tomatoes are starting to ripen.  After work today I went to the garden and picked a basket full of them.  They are so sweet and full of flavor ~ so I like to keep recipes simple when using them.  My favorite is to toss them with cucumber, onion, fresh mozzarella and some basil.  A simple dressing of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar finish the salad. 

This was my main course tonight - paired with a chilled glass of limoncello, it was a perfect summer dinner!