Pecan CranberryTart

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 orange, zested and juiced 

• 1 egg, beaten
• 15 (2 inch) sweetened pastry tart shells
• 15 pecan halves
• 15 fresh cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 
2. Mix brown sugar, chopped pecans, dried cranberries, butter, orange zest, orange juice,and egg together in a bowl.
3. Arrange tart shells on a baking sheet and spoon pecan-cranberry filling into each shell about 2/3 full. Add 1 pecan half and 1 fresh cranberry to each tart.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until tart shells are lightly browned and filling is bubbling, 18 to 20 minutes.
5. 
   

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/234673/pecan-cranberry-butter-tarts/print/?servings=15

Pumpkin Sheet Cake

It is nice having a few days off work. The weather is like late Fall here today, which has me thinking of Autumn recipes. It has been a long time since I made this cake. I won second place in our Farmers Market pumpkin cooking contest many years ago with this recipe

• 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup canola oil
  4 eggs, lightly beaten
  2 cups all-purpose flour
  2 teaspoons baking soda
  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  1/2 teaspoon salt
   Frosting 
  1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
  5 tablespoons butter, softened
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
  3 to 4 teaspoons milk
  Chopped nuts
  Directions
  In a large bowl, beat pumpkin, sugar and oil until blended. Beat in eggs. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; gradually add to pumpkin mixture, beating until well blended.
   Pour into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
   For frosting, in a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar until smooth. Add milk until frosting reaches desired spreading consistency. Frost cake. Sprinkle with nuts. 

Kung Pao Chicken

Rice

10 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into chunks

4 t soy sauce

1 T minced garlic

2 t corn starch 

2 T chicken broth

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 t red chili paste, such as sambal oelek

1 T oil

6-8 whole dried red, chilies 

2 stalks celery, cut into 1/4" pieces

1 small zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

1 small red pepper, cut into 1/4" pieces

4 green onions, thinly sliced.

3 T chopped unsalted peanuts.

Cook rice.

In a medium bow, combine chicken, 1 t soy sauce, garlic, corn starch and set aside for 10 minutes. Ina small bowl, combine remaining 3 t soy sauce, broth, vinegar and chili paste. set aside.

In a large wok or large pan on medium high, heat 1 1/2 tsp oil. Add dried chilies and stir fry until chilies begin to brown but not burn. 45 seconds. Add chicken and stir-fry until cooked through and edges of chicken begin to turn golden brown, about 2 minutes. Push to the side and add remaining oil and veggies and stir-fry until veggies are crisp tender about 2 minutes. Add soy-broth mixture, toss all ingredients together and cook until sauce is thick and bubbly, about 1 minute. Add green onion, remove chilies just before serving. Serve with rice and top with peanuts.

Orzo Salad

1 large bunch of basil (about 2 cups packed)

3/4 cups olive oil

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

3 medium garlic cloves

a small hand full of pine nuts. (I used pecans)

salt and pepper to taste.

Chop basil and mince garlic.

In a blender or food processor, combine the basil, Parmesan cheese, garlic and nuts, adding the oil last, and blend.

Season with salt and pepper.

Set a side 1/4 cup pesto. refrigerate the unused pesto in a well sealed glass container and use within seven days.

For the dish...

2 cups Orzo

2 cups cherry tomatoes cut in half.

1 large bell pepper (red, orange or green)

1 cup feta crumbled

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup pesto

Crushed pepper flakes, to taste.

Set aside some feta for garnish. Combine all ingredients and toss well. Sprinkle with remaining feta and serve.

Pumpkin Sheet Cake

It is nice having a few days off work. The weather is like late Fall here today, which has me thinking of Autumn recipes. It has been a long time since I made this cake. I won second place in our Farmers Market pumpkin cooking contest many years ago with this recipe

• 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup canola oil
  4 eggs, lightly beaten
  2 cups all-purpose flour
  2 teaspoons baking soda
  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  1/2 teaspoon salt
   Frosting 
  1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
  5 tablespoons butter, softened
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
  3 to 4 teaspoons milk
  Chopped nuts
  Directions
  In a large bowl, beat pumpkin, sugar and oil until blended. Beat in eggs. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; gradually add to pumpkin mixture, beating until well blended.
   Pour into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
   For frosting, in a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar until smooth. Add milk until frosting reaches desired spreading consistency. Frost cake. Sprinkle with nuts. 

Super easy Pulled Pork

I came on here to post a recipe then I found all these cute cake ideas. I make a really super easy pulled pork recipe. I wanted to smoke my pork in my smoker this time but with the hours I work I just did not have the time so I threw it in the crock pot again. This is my easy go to way to make pulled pork.

Pork butt, I like to use one with a bone in it.

Brown Sugar rub I got this from Costco and figured it was time to use it. 

bottle of brown sugar BQ sauce.

Believe me when I tell you this is a super easy recipe. I came home at 6:00 am from work and headed to bed. As I was laying there I remembered I need to make my pulled pork. So I got up and threw the pork in the crock-pot and sprinkled the brown sugar rub I had over the pork. I set it to high and went to bed. When I got up about 5 hours later I checked it, once it fell apart easily when stirred I turned it to low. Poured in some brown sugar BQ sauce and let it cook for another hour, then turned to warm.

Bag of coleslaw. 

bottle Marie Calendar coleslaw dressing

Hamburger buns.

Mix bag of coleslaw with dressing and chill. Toast hamburger buns and add pulled pork and coleslaw.  Enjoy. 

Hope you give i

t a try and come back and let me know what you think.

Butter Cookies

Every time I think about making cutout cookies I go looking for the perfect recipe. I never find one I like. Now I have to tell you something funny. I have the perfect recipe, I have used it maybe 20 times over the past 30 years. I have no idea why I feel I need to find a better one. I think it is because I really don't like to make cookies, "Oh my, did I say that out loud!" yes, cookie making is my least favorite thing to do. But my goal is to get over it and just start doing it. So today I am going to go make my cookie dough so it will be ready for me to make some Easter cookies this weekend. I am going to try to talk my husband into either doing a hike up to Berry Creek Falls tomorrow or a 40 mile bike ride from Morgan Hill into San Jose and back. We have a trail we love to take, well I like the Morgan Hill one and he likes the Vasona Creek trail. Mine is about 10 miles longer and it is a beautiful peaceful ride, you might see a few more bikers on the path as with Vasona there are a lot of people walking and a lot more bike riders.  
Have a wonderful Easter everyone.


2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups powder sugar
1 cup butter, soften
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp almond extract
Frosting....I will admit I do not frost mine, I don't like really sweet cookies.
4 cups powder sugar
1/2 cup butter
3-4 tbsp. milk
2 tsp vanilla
Food coloring
In large mixer bowl combine all cookie ingredients, beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often until mixed well ( 3-4 minutes. If necessary chill the dough about 2 hours. Heat the oven to 375. Roll out dough 1/2 at a time on well-floured surface ( I use powder sugar)
Roll 1/4" thickness, cut with cookie cutters. Place 1" apart on cookies sheets. Bake for 6-10 minutes until the edges are slightly browned.
In mixing bowl combine all of frosting ingredients, beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until fluffy. If desire add food coloring to your icing mix. Decorate cookies.
If you would like to hang these on your tree at Christmas then while still warm use a straw to put a hole in the cookie.
 I do not use the icing recipe I like to use fondant and I just cut it out
in with the same cookie cutter, but I am going to use royal icing this time.
 Now to find the perfect Royal Icing recipe

Well this is not the perfect cookie icing, it is way too sweet. If I were a diabetic I would be in the hospital with one bite of the recipe I used. 

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Magic Shell

I had to give this a try, it is pretty good. Just two ingredients is all it takes and about 90 seconds in the microwave. This recipe is from Chef in Training. http://www.chef-in-training.com/2015/02/homemade-magic-shell/

2 cups chocolate chips. I used milk chocolate but any chip would work. Maybe a mixture of peanut butter and chocolate chips next time

1/4 cup coconut oil (the solid one)

Put in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds then stir. Repeat until melted. 

Quinoa Tabouli Salad

 1 c quinoa 

1 1/2 c water

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1 fresh lemon, juiced

1 tomato, finely chopped.

1/2 large seedless cucumber, diced
1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
12 mint leaves, finely chopped.
Cilantro (I seen a little leftover in the fridge so I threw it in. 1/8 cup) fiinely chopped.
1/2 t cumin
salt to taste
pepper

Place the water and quinoa  in sauce pan and bring to boil. One it starts to boil cover with lid and bring to a low simmer and cook until all the water is gone and the quina is cooked. Fluff with a fork and let cool.
Mix olive oil, lemon, salt and cumin together and set aside. Once the quinoa is cooled add cucumber, tomatoes and herbs and stir to blend. Add lemon/oil mixture and stir. Chill.