Fruit Salad

Use any combination of fruit you like with whipped cream. Here's what I did.

Strawberries
Raspberries
Bannana
Kiwi
Pineapple

Whipped Cream

Whip cream in a bowl. Gradually add powdered suger and 1/4- 1/2 tsp. vanilla until taste.

Fold fruit into whipped cream.

Butter Maple Carrots

I just kind of threw stuff together. So I really don't know the ratios. But I'll guess. (Believe it or not, Shane loves this and requested it!)

2 cups thin sliced carrots sticks
3 Tblsp. butter
1/4 - 1/2 cup maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. parsley

Put butter and carrots in pan and salt and pepper. Cover and steam over medium heat. Stir occasionally so they don't burn. When softened but still firm, add everything else. Cover and simmer about 15-20 min. Serve hot.

Thai Wraps

Wonderful recipe from Leah's friend!  We made a half recipe tonight and have enough leftovers for two more dinners.  They're fairly spicy, but the sauce really mellows that out.  We'll surely be making these again!

Filling

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup white vinegar

6 Tablespoons sugar

6 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/2 cups chopped cilantro

4 Tablespoons salsa

8 cloves garlic, minced

2 jalapeno chiles, minced

1 1/2-2 heads green cabbage, cubed

1-2 carrots, grated

6 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

8 green onions, chopped

Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce

1/3 cup white vinegar

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup green chiles

2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

1. Combine oil, vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce together in a bowl. Stir in the salsa, garlic, jalapenos, and cilantro. Set aside. 

2. In a very large bowl, stir together the cabbage, carrots, chicken, and green onions. 

3. Pour the vinegar/cilantro mixture over these ingredients. Stir well and marinate in the fridge for a few hours. (The longer you marinate, the better.) 

4. For the dipping sauce, combine all the sauce ingredients in the blender and puree until smooth. 

5. For the wraps, place a spoonful of filling in the middle of a wrap. Place any type of white cheese in the center (Leah and I omit this step). Tuck and roll. Heat in the microwave for 2 minutes. Place wrap(s) on a baking sheet and toast on broil for about 1 minute, until lightly browned and toasty. Serve with dipping sauce. 

Mrs. Field's Triple Layer Lemon Bars

I love these! I had a friend over the other night who doesn't like traditional lemon bars (she doesn't like lemon)but loved these. She said they kind of taste like lemon cheesecake!


Yields: 12 servings

CRUST:
½ cup salted butter - (1 stick) softened
¼ cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
CREAM CHEESE FILLING:
8 ounces cream cheese softened
1½ cups confectioners' sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon lemon extract
LEMON CURD:
4 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup water
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
¼ cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons salted butter softened
TOPPING:
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 325.

Prepare the shortbread crust: Cream butter and sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer set on high speed. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Add flour and mix at low speed until fully incorporated.

Press dough evenly into bottom of an 8- by 8-inch baking pan. Refrigerate until firm, approximately 30 minutes.

Prick shortbread crust with fork and bake for 30 minutes or until crust turns golden brown. Cool on rack to room temperature.

Prepare the cream cheese filling while the crust is baking: Beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth in medium bowl with electric mixer set on high speed. Add egg and lemon extract and beat on medium speed until light and smooth. Cover bowl tightly and refrigerate.

Prepare the lemon curd: Blend the egg yolks with cornstarch and sugar in medium non-aluminum saucepan. Place over low heat and slowly whisk in water and lemon juice. Increase heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. Add lemon peel and butter and cool for 10 minutes.

Assemble the bars: Sread chilled cream cheese filling evenly over cooled shortbread crust with spatula. Spread lemon curd evenly over cream cheese filling. Place pan in center of oven. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until edges begin to turn light golden brown. Cool to room temperature on rack. Chill in refrigerator 1 hour before cutting into bars. Dust top with confectioners’ sugar.

This recipe yields 12 bars.

Tomato Basil Toast

I usually get in a rut for lunch and make the same things for me and my kids - PBJ's, salad, mac & cheese, hot dogs, etc. But I've been trying to make my lunches a little more healthy. I made this for lunch the other day and loved it!! So, I thought I'd share it with you! Please forgive me, because I just kind of add and subtract things as I like! :) Feel free to do the same!

Ingredients:

Slices of bread, or a sliced baguette, or something bread related

Olive oil

Spinach leaves

Sliced tomato

Mozzarella

Basil (fresh or dried)

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Brush olive oil over bread and broil until lightly golden. Add layer of spinach leaves and tomato slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with mozzarella and dried basil. Broil until lightly brown. (If using fresh basil, wait to put it on until AFTER you broil it with the cheese.)

I'm looking forward to trying this with some other flavors as well. Peppers, feta cheese, onion, etc. The possibilities are endless and I'm getting hungry again! :)

Overnight Danish

4 1/2 tsp dry active yeast
1/2 cup warm milk
6 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
1 cup cold butter
1 1/2 cups warm half and half cream
6 egg yolks, beaten
1 can pie filling, any flavor (pudding also works)
Icing (see recipe below)

DIRECTIONS
Dissolve yeast in warm milk. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter. Add the yeast mixture, half and half, and egg yolks. Stir until mixture forms a soft dough (will be sticky). Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Punch dough down. Divide into quarters. Roll each portion into an 18" x 4" rectangle. Cut into 1" x 4" strips. Place two strips side by side. Twist together. Shape into a ring, and pinch ends together. Repeat with remaining strips. Place 2" apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.
Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make a 1/2" deep indentation in the center of each roll. Fill each with about 1 Tbsp pie filling. Bake at 350 for 14-16 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks. Drizzle icing over rolls.

Icing
2 Tbsp butter, softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
dash salt
4-5 Tbsp half and half cream

Beat butter until fluffy. Gradually beat in the sugar, vanilla, salt, and enough cream to achieve a drizzling consistency.

Jamaican Chicken and Potatoes

INGREDIENTS
Jamaican Jerk Seasoning (see recipe below)
3 to 3 1/2 lb whole chicken
2 Tbsp oil
3 medium baking potatoes, cut lengthwise into fourths (I always make extra potatoes)

DIRECTIONS
Make Jamaican Jerk Seasoning. Heat oven to 375. Line roasting pan with aluminum foil. Place chicken, breast side up, on rack in roasting pan. Brush 1 TBSP of the oil over chicken. Rub 2 TBSP seasoning into the chicken skin. Brush remaining Tbsp oil over potatoes and sprinkle with remaining seasoning (I do the potatoes in a Ziploc bag, or a container, and shake them). Place potatoes on rack around chicken. Roast uncovered 60-75 minutes, until potatoes are tender and meat has reached a temperature of 180. Let chicken stand 15 minutes, then carve.

Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
1 Tbsp instant minced onion
2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)

Mix all ingredients. Can be stored in a cold, dry place for up to 6 months.

Sugar Cookies

I love my old sugar cookie recipe, but they don't hold their shape well. I did a bunch of research, and built my own recipe. I made several batches. With some trial and error, I finally created one with the taste I love that still hold their shape. Just adding flour makes them dry and shortening isn't the same as butter. Too much heat melts the sugar too fast and flattens the cookie, so a high sugar recipe wouldn't work with high temps. (The above picture: The white is my regular recipe with extra flour. The pink is less granulated sugar, temp 400. They look great but I didn't like the flavor as well. The purple was more sugar, soda, cream of tartar and 400 temp. The blue is the recipe below with powdered sugar.)

I traded out the baking powder for some baking soda and cream of tartar. And a friend of mine told me that granulated sugar melts at a different temperature than powdered sugar. She told me it's the granulated sugar that flattens out the cookies, so I traded that straight across. So, see what you think.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 eggs

3 tsp. vanilla

3 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Chill for 1 hour. Roll 1/4 inch thick on floured surface. Cut out shapes. Bake at 350 for 10-12 min. Cool completely. Frost and decorate!

If you want a variation, you could substitute 1 tsp. almond flavoring for the vanilla. Or add keep vanilla and add 1/2 tsp. nutmeg and 1 tsp. cinnamon. (Great variation for the holidays.

Frosting:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 Tblsp. milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla

1 Tblsp. butter

Directions:

Mix until smooth and not too runny.

Granita al Limone (Italian lemon Ice)

Lylli's class did a banquet of foods around the world. So, we found this and made it! It's from Italy! Lots of fun and real easy! She did all of it. Although, she didn't want lemon, so we made apricot. I'll put my recipe at the end.

Ingredients:•Water -- 3 cups
•Sugar -- 1 1/2 cups
•Fresh lemon juice -- 1 cup

Directions:

1.Bring 1 cup of the water and the sugar to a boil in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue boiling for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let to cool.
2.Stir in the remaining water and lemon juice. Pour the mixture into a glass baking dish and set in the freezer for one or two hours until it starts to get slushy.
3.Stir well with a fork, breaking up any large chunks of ice or ice crystals. Repeat this process every 20 minutes or so until the granita is frozen solid.
4.Place scoops in small glasses or dessert bowls and serve.

Variations:

Let your imagination run free. There are so many options. Here are a couple of the more common variations:

•Granita alla Arancia (Orange Granita): 1/4 cup water; 1/2 cup sugar; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 3 cups of orange juice. Boil the water and sugar only long enough to dissolve the sugar. Stir in the orange lemon juice. Freeze as for lemon granita. Add a couple tablespoons of orange-flavored liqueur for a luxurious twist.
•Granita di Fragole (Strawberry Granita): 1 cup of water; 3/4 cup sugar; 1 pound strawberries, hulled and pureed; 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Boil the water and sugar as for the lemon granita. Stir in the strawberry puree and lemon juice. Freeze as for lemon granita.

Here's my apricot recipe. It's smooth like a sorbet but needs served immediately after you take it out of the freezer. If you want it more icy, I think you'd just have to add more water.

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

3 cups apricot nectar

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 - 1 tsp. almond flavoring

Heat water and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Add apricot nectar, lemon juice, almond flavor, and freeze like above.

Orange Chicken

2 Tbsp oil
1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed

2/3 cup warm water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp white vinegar
5 to 8 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/8 tsp cinnamon, or to taste
1/8 tsp cloves, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
2 tsp grated orange peel

4 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

chopped green onions for garnish, if desired

3 cups cooked white rice

Directions:
Cook chicken in oil until outside is brown and inside is no longer pink, about 10-12 minutes.
Meanwhile, stir together warm water, brown sugar, orange juice, soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, garlic, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, cloves, pepper, and orange peel until sugar is dissolved.
Add sauce to chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
Mix the cornstarch and cold water, then slowly add to boiling chicken. Boil and stir 1 minute, or until thickened.
Serve over warm rice and garnish with green onions.