Cranberry Salad

 

This salad is one of my daughter Kristine's  favorite. Everything's giving she'll ask me for the recipe.

I don't make it anymore because it's just the two of us and I would be the only one who would eat it. It makes a large amount so this would be a great salad for a family get together, or church potluck.

1 8oz cool whip

1 bag cranberries

1 can crushed pineapples, drained 

1 cup chopped nuts

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 bag marshmallows

Chop cranberries in blender. Place in a large bowl; cover with sugar. Let stand one hour. Add pineapple, nuts and marshmallows to cranberries, add cool whip mix well. Chill one hour before serving.

Broccoli Potato cheese soup

We had Baked Potato Sunday at church. I had some leftover broccoli and two potatoes that is how I came up with this idea.

My husband made a remark while I was making this soup that we had some bacon bits in the fridge so I tossed them in also.

This soup was a huge hit at church and my husband kept saying how good it was.

 2 T butter

Large onion, chopped

2 celery ribs, duced

Large head of broccoli, dice up stems and cut florets in large pieces.

2 large baked and cooled potatoes, diced in large chunks

4 cloves garlic, chopped

Shredded carrots

3 T better then bouillon chicken

4 cups water 

3 cups half and half

16 oz sharp cheddar cheese 

1/2 Cup real bacon, bits

2 T olive oil

2 T butter

1/3 cup flour

Melt 2 T butter in large pot, add onions, celery and diced broccoli stems. Cook until soften.

Add broccoli florets, carrots, water and better the bullion.

Cover and cook for ten minutes. Until broccoli is soften 

Mean while, heat olive oil, butter and flour in a small pan until light golden in color. 

Remove lid, add chopped garlic, flour mixture and stir. Add potatoes,  bacon bits, half and half and cheese. If too thick add more half and half. Cook until heated thoroughly.

Peach Muffins

 

These muffins were a huge hit. I would chop the peaches much smaller then I did here. I was in a hurry and was making a lot of things at the same time so I just did a quick chop.

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 cups white sugar

• 1 ¼ cups vegetable oil

• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten

• 2 cups peeled, pitted, and chopped peaches

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees line cupcake pan with paper liners

• 1. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Beat together sugar, oil, and eggs in a separate bowl. Stir into flour mixture until moist. Fold in peaches. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups.

  2. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely

Cabbage Rolls

 

I am going to add the link to these cabbage rolls. Go show her some love and make these. I would add a little more salt to it but other then that they are perfect. I love cabbage rolls but for some reason I have never made them in thev42 years I have been married. 

https://youtu.be/bxUIBtFrjlo

Salmon and Slaw

 I got this recipe from Epicurious, it is a really great recipe. It is not like the recipe from Shadowbrook. The salmon from Shadowbrookis my favorite item to order off their menu. Besides their house salad and artichoke soup. But this recipe along with the slaw is really good. Even my picky husband who does not like seafood liked it.

Make sure you make a slaw with it. Slaw recipe is right under this one.

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup sake

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

2 teaspoons water

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

Vegetable oil

6 7- to 8-ounce salmon fillets

1 tablespoon black sesame seeds or toasted sesame seeds

6 lemon wedges

1. Step 1

   Combine orange juice, sake, sugar, soy sauce, lime juice, and red pepper in heavy small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil until mixture is reduced to 1 1/3 cups, about 5 minutes. Combine 2 teaspoons water and cornstarch in small bowl, stirring until cornstarch dissolves. Add cornstarch mixture to ponzu sauce and boil until sauce thickens and is clear, stirring frequently, about 1 minute. (Ponzu sauce can be prepared up to 1 day ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate.)

   Step 2

   Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush grill with vegetable oil. Brush each salmon fillet with 1 tablespoon ponzu sauce. Grill salmon, skin side up, 3 minutes. Turn salmon fillets and brush each with another 1 tablespoon ponzu sauce. Grill until salmon is just cooked through, about 5 minutes.

   Step 3

   Transfer 1 salmon fillet to each of 6 plates. Top with slaw, dividing equally. Sprinkle with sesame seeds; garnish with lemon wedges and serve.

2. Slaw recipe

3. 1/4 cup golden miso*

   1/4 cup honey

   1/4 cup water

   1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

   1 teaspoon oriental sesame oil

   1 teaspoon soy sauce

   1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger

   1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

   1 cup matchstick-size strips peeled jícama

   1 6-inch cucumber, peeled, seeded, cut into matchstick-size strips

   1 red bell pepper, seeded, cut into matchstick-size strips

   1 small carrot, peeled, cut into matchstick-size strips

   1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

   1. Step 1

      Combine miso, honey, 1/4 cup water, lemon juice, sesame oil, soy sauce, and ginger in blender; blend until smooth. With machine running, gradually add vegetable oil. Season miso dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

      Step 2

      Combine jicama, cucumber, red bell pepper, carrot, and chopped fresh cilantro in large bowl. Toss vegetables with enough miso dressing to coat.

   2. Step 3

      *Available at Japanese markets and natural foods stores and in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets.

Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls

 

Here is my second recipe from Nick Digiovanni cookbook, " The Knife Drop" these are really good. You are going to love this recipe. Using a rotisserie chicken saves a lot of time.

I hope you will try this recipe, it is really good. Then go check out this great cookbook.

I promise you are going to love it. Go over to YouTube and checkout his channel also.

1/2 cup reach dressing. ( he has a great ranch dressing recipe in his cookbook, I will save that for you to look up later if you get his book)

3 tablespoons blue cheese crumbles (optional)

 1 1/2cups shredded rotisserie chicken 

2 cups shredded mozzarella

 4 oz cream cheese, soften 

1/4 cup buffalo sauce.( Recipe following this one.)

 4 scallions, thinly slice

 1/3 cup diced celery 

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 

10 squares egg roll wraps

1 cup high heat cooking oil, for frying

1. In a small bowl, combine the ranch dressing and blue cheese crumbles if using. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, mozzarella, cream cheese, Buffalo sauce, scallions, and celery. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Place an egg roll wrapper on a clean work surface in a diamond orientation. Using the tip of your finger, lightly moisten the edge of the wrapper with water.

4. Place a log shaped portion (about four tablespoons) of the filling in the wrapper. Fold the right side of the wrapper over the filling, tucking it tightly around. Then fold down the top corner of the wrapper and fold up the bottom corner so the points overlap in the middle. Finally, roll the wrapper to the left to seal it repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.

5. In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high heat until the oil starts to bubble. To test if the oil is hot enough, place an unfilled egg roll wrapper in the oil. If it immediately begins to puff up and crisp, the oil is ready.

6. When the oil is hot, Add half the egg rolls and fry for about 2 minutes per side or until golden brown. Repeat with the remaining egg rolls.

7. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the egg rolls to a plate lined with paper towels. Allow them to cool slightly.

8. Transfer the egg rolls to a serving dish. Serve with the ranch blue cheese dressing.

Buffalo Sauce.

Some of you are thinking I'll just get pre-made buffalo sauce. Trust me don't, you'll want to make this one. This will be great for hot wings and anything else you would normally use your buffalo sauce for. But the flavor is much better

2/3 cup hot sauce 

1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature,

 cubed pinch of ground Cayenne 

pinch of garlic powder

 kosher salt, to taste.

1. It is small pot over medium heat, combine the hot sauce, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. As soon as it starts to bubble, immediately transfer the mixture to a blender.

2. With the blender on medium speed, slowly add the butter. A blender is important to ensure you get a proper emulsion, where everything is combined into one smooth and uniform sauce.

3. Transfer to a bowl and season to taste with cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and salt.

Rotisserie chicken salad

 

I purchased this new cookbook and I thought it would be a lot of fun to cook through the book and share some recipes with you all. I will not be sharing all of them because I think this is a great book that you would love to have one for your collection. I promised myself I wasn't going to buy anymore cookbooks,  but when I seen this one with this 14 year old kid on it (okay, he's not really 14, but when you get to my age they start looking younger and younger LOL) I flip through the pages and knew I had to have it. He's also on YouTube go check him out, I think you will love the recipes he shares. I can't wait to try more of the recipes in this wonderful cookbook.

As I was using my voice to text to put the ingredients here I realize I forgot the teaspoon of brown sugar, and the zested lemon, also the salt and pepper. Which is fine it tasted great without it.

Here is his rotisserie chicken salad recipe. I'm always looking for something to do with the leftover rotisserie chicken, I think I would buy a rotisserie chicken just to make this again.

2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken

  1 1/2 celery stalks, diced 

1/3 cup diced red onions

 1/2 cup mayonnaise

 1/4 cup sour cream

 1 tsp chopped fresh dill

1 teaspoon brown sugar

 juice and zest of one lemon, divided 

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

In a large serving bowl, combine the chicken, celery, onion, mayonnaise, sour cream, dill, sugar, and 1 tsp of lemon juice. Mix well to ensure everything has been fully Incorporated

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Using a microplane grater great some lemon zest over the top before serving.

Strawberry Cheesecake

This is a combination of two recipes plus a little bit of my changes. One is Natasha Kitchen and the other is Sugar Spun Run. This is the first time I've had tried one of Sugar Spun Run recipe, won't be my last. Go checkout both of these bloggers, they are great.

For the Crust:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs, from 15-16 whole crackers
• 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 350. Line the bottom of 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine graham crackers with sugar then stir in melted butter.  Mix until moisten. Press crumbs into your prepared pan,  going 3/4of the way up the sides. Bake in the center of the oven at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.  Cool to room temperature.

Cheesecake;

4/ 8oz cream cheese blocks, room temperature 

1 1/8 cup sugar

⅔ cups sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla 

⅛ teaspoon salt

4 large eggs room temperature, lightly beaten 

Lower oven to 325

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add cream cheese and stir until smooth and creamy (don’t over-beat or you’ll incorporate too much air)

Add sugar and stir again until creamy.

Add sour cream, vanilla extract, and salt, and stir until well-combined. If using a stand mixer, make sure you pause periodically to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula so that all ingredients are evenly incorporated.

With mixer on low speed, gradually add lightly beaten eggs, one at a time, stirring just until each egg is just incorporated. Once all eggs have been added, use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl again and make sure all ingredients are well combined.

Pour cheesecake batter into prepared springform pan. Wrap springform pan with foil, bake on cookie sheet pan.

Transfer to the center rack of your oven and add a pan of hot water to the rack below cheesecake.  Bake at 325 for about 75 minutes. ( mine baked for about 90 minutes) Edges will likely have slightly puffed and may have just begun to turn a light golden brown and the center should spring back to the touch but will still be Jello-jiggly. Don't over-bake or the texture will suffer.

Remove from oven and allow to cool on top of the oven for 10 minutes. Once 10 minutes has passed, use a knife to gently loosen the crust from the inside of the springform pan (this will help prevent cracks as your cheesecake cools and shrinks). Do not remove the ring of the springform pan.

Allow cheesecake to cool another 1-2 hours or until near room temperature before transferring to refrigerator and allowing to cool overnight or at least 6 hours. I remove the ring of the springform pan just before serving then return it to the pan to store. 

Strawberry topping;

1 pound strawberries,  rinsed, hulled and thinly sliced. Plus more to garnish.

1/3 cup sugar 

1 Tbsp lemon juice.

In a medium saucepan,  combine chopped strawberries,  lemon juice,  and sugar. Set over medium heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and continue simmering,  stirring occasionally for 20-23 minutes,  or until the sauce is thickened. Cool to room temperature.  Add to top of chilled cheesecake, cover top with sliced strawberries.

Brown utter Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

I got the original recipe from  https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3702298631017277805/6687584762283069962

I was in Such a hurry I just threw these together really quick.  They are great cookies. I did change a couple of things. I browned unsalted butter and added mini M&Ms. They will be perfect just the way they are without any changes.

• 1 cup brown butter softened
• ▢1 cup sugar

• ▢1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• ▢2 tsp vanilla 
• ▢2 large eggs
• ▢3 cups all-purpose flour 
• ▢1 tsp baking soda
• ▢½ tsp baking powder
• ▢1 tsp salt
• ▢1 cups milk chocolate chips 
• 1 cup mini m&m's

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
• In a separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder. Set aside.
• Cream together butter and sugars until combined.
• Beat in eggs and vanilla until fluffy.
• Mix in the dry ingredients until combined.
• Add 12 oz package of chocolate chips and mix well.
• Roll 2-3 TBS (depending on how large you like your cookies) of dough at a time into balls and place them evenly spaced on your prepared cookie sheets. (alternately, use a small cookie scoop to make your cookies).
• Bake in preheated oven for approximately 8-10 minutes. Take them out when they are just BARELY starting to turn brown.
• Let them sit on the baking pan for 2 minutes before removing to cooling rack.

Pico De Gallo

 

4 tomatoes on the vine

1/4 large white onion

1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves along with some stems.

1 jalapeno seeds removed, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon Cumin 

Juice of one lime

Coarsely chop tomatoes and onion. Place both in medium bowl. Add cilantro, jalapenos,  salt, Cumin and lime juice, toss to combine.

Greek Salad

 This is a salad from https://natashaskitchen.com/greek-salad-recipe/#jump-to-recipe

One of my favorite blogs to follow. I cannot wait for Natasha cookbook to come out so I can cook through every recipe. Go check out her blog.

Also, this salad is wonderful!

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• 1 romaine lettuce head, chopped
• 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 bell pepper, (any color), chopped
• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (or slice heirlooms when in season)
• 1 English cucumber, sliced
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives,sliced into thirds
• 4 oz feta cheese, crumbled

Greek Dressing Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
• 1 garlic clove, pressed or finely minced
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• Rinse, chop and spin dry romaine lettuce and transfer to a large salad bowl. 

• Add remaining salad ingredients to the bowl: sliced red onion, sliced bell peppers, halved tomatoes, diced cucumber, diced avocado, kalamata olives, and feta cheese.

• Combine all Greek dressing ingredients in a mason jar and shake to combine. Just before serving, drizzle dressing over the salad to taste and toss to combine.