Play Dough Frosting

1/3 C melted butter
1/3 C corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1 lb. powdered sugar
food coloring

Stir together then knead until smooth.

Notes: This frosting is great for little hands wanting to decorate gingerbread people with clothes and the like. Separate the dough before adding food coloring for a variety of dough to decorate with.

Pizza Rolls

Begin with your favorite recipe of pizza dough. There are three published on Foodees (one, two, three), or you can use another, or buy another. Then gather all your favorite pizza makings (whether it consists of your standard marinara and pepperoni or maybe pesto with pine nuts).

Then, get
1 T. olive oil (or less)
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 t. dried Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese

Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly-floured surface. Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12" x 8". You're going to then cut it into 2" x 2" squares. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough.

Place cheese (not the Parmesan, but part of your toppings) and other desired toppings on each square. (Note: marinara sauce does NOT go on at this point. It's used for dipping later.) When all squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings. Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam-side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar-sized dish).

Brush the tops of the dough balls with the oil, then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning and top with Parmesan cheese.

Cook them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Because doughs vary, I'd start checking them after 10 minutes.  (I don't think mine were quite done, so I'd go a bit darker than this picture suggests.)

Serve warm with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping.

Note: We ate far more of this (re: the entire thing) than we would of a pizza made with same ingredients, so beware.  They were just so good.

Creamy White Bean Chicken Chili

1 large onion, diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 cube butter (I use less)
¼ cup flour
¾ cup chicken broth
2 cups milk or half-and-half (I use skim milk)
2 cans great northern beans, drained
1 teaspoon Tabasco (I use about ¼ tsp)
1 ½ tsp chili powder (I use about 1 tsp)
1 tsp cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 (4 oz) cans green chilies
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced and cooled
1 ½ cups Monterey Jack cheese
½ cup sour cream

1. Cook the onions and garlic in 2 TBS of butter until softened but not browned. In a large pot melt the remaining butter and whisk in the flour. Cook whisking for about 3 minutes. DO NOT BROWN.

2. Stir in the onions, garlic and gradually add the broth and milk, still whisking. Bring to a boil and then to a simmer, stirring 5 minutes or until thickened.

3. Stir in the drained beans and all remaining ingredients except the cheese and sour cream. Cook stirring over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Serve with cheese and sour cream as a topping.

Cheesy Cornbread

1 cup melted butter (I use ¾ cup)
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 can cream-style corn
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
4 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Optional:
1 can green chillies or chopped jalapenos, crumbled Bacon, and/or green onion

Combine butter, sugar, eggs, and corn. Next add the remaining 4 dry ingredients and the cheese. Stir just to combine. Do not over-mix.

Pour the mixture in a 9x13 inch pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then turn the temperature down to 300 degrees and bake for 50 minutes.

Granola

3 C. rolled oats
1 C. slivered almonds
1 C. cashews
1/4 C. + 2 Tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 C. + 2 Tbs. honey
1/4 C. oil
3/4 tsp. salt
1 C. dried cranberries


Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. In large bowl, combine oats, almonds, cashews, brown sugar and cinnamon. In separate bowl combine honey, oil and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour over one or two cookie sheet pans. Bake for 1 hour, 15 min. stirring every 15 minutes to bake evenly. Remove from oven and add dried cranberries.

notes: obviously there are a lot of recipes for granola out there. this has been my favorite that i have found so far. the original recipe i used called for maple syrup instead of honey and raisins instead of cranberries but since my husband won't come within a 10 foot radius of anything maple or raisins, i made my own substitutions and they work perfectly.

Lasagna Rolls

I have adapted this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis of the Food Network. Find her original recipe here.

Lasagna:
1 15 oz. container whole milk ricotta cheese
1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1 C. plus 2 tbs. grated parmesan
3 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
1 lg. egg, beaten
3/4 tsp. salt plus more for boiling water
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 to 2 tbs. olive oil
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
2 to 3 C. marinara sauce
1 C. shredded mozzarella @ 4 oz.

Whisk the ricotta, chopped spinach, 1 C. parmesan, prosciutto, beaten egg, salt and pepper in bowl to blend.

Add olive oil to large pot of boiling salted water. Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to the bite. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.

Butter a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish. Pour some of the sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Spread about 3 tbs. of the ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Sprinkle a little mozzarella on each noodle as well. Starting at one end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching atop the sauce in the dish. Spoon the remaining marinara sauce over the rolls. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and parmesan over the rolls. Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 375 until heated through, about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 20 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes. Any remaining marinara sauce can be heated and served on the side.

Notes: I do not suggest substituting cottage cheese for the ricotta, gross. Ricotta is much tastier and much more smooth. However, if prosciutto is out of your budget, you can use cubed ham. Just make sure to chop it to smithereens before you add it to the ricotta mixture. As far as the baking time, I generally watch to see the sauce inside get bubbly and then take off the foil for the last 15 - 20 min. Just fyi, the pic is of the assembled rolls, pre-baked.

Pumpkin or Banana Muffins

I know, I know, there are like a thousand versions of this, but I have been trying to pack in as many healthy recipes as I can to my stash. With a husband who is borderline on his blood pressure, and now blood sugar (and no, he is not ginorm, he bikes to work daily and really is quite healthy) we are really conscious of what we eat. Here is an uber healthy version that my kids still enjoy (I think it's because we add the chocolate chips for a little fun). I love serving them at breakfast because they keep my kids feeling so full!

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flax (this is optional but we add it to everything now. I buy whole seeds and grind what I need in the blender. The whole seed has a shelf life of two years. I even sprinkle the ground flax on my kids' peanut butter sandwiches and in their fruit smoothies)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/8 tsp. ginger (for banana) or nutmeg (for pumpkin)
1/4 tsp. salt

Put above ingredients in bowl and stir with whisk.

In blender or mixer combine:
3 ripe bananas or 15 oz can pumpkin +1/4 cup water
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey (or agave or sugar)
1 tsp. vanilla

Combine wet and dry ingredients and add 1/2 - 1 cup chocolate chips
Cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. I use a mini muffin tin. These little guys are super filling!
Makes about 40 mini muffins and they freeze beautifully!

Camping Food: Kielbasa Tin Foil Dinner

3/4 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and halved
1/2 pound red potatoes, quartered
1 large onion, sliced
1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces (we used turkey kielbasa)
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
2 t. butter, melted
1/3 c. water

Put everything on a sheet of foil and seal tightly with many layers of foil, leaving only a small opening. Pour water into the opening and seal. If prepping at home, don't add water until just before cooking so it doesn't spill out everywhere while in transit. Cook 20 to 30 minutes in hot coals, turning once.

Camping Food: Orange Cinnamon Biscuits

orange
pre-made cinnamon roll

Take a large orange and slice it in half along its equator. Scoop out the halves of the orange, keeping the skin intact. Place a pre-made cinnamon roll (the ones in the tube) into one of the orange halves. Replace the other half of the orange skin and wrap the whole thing in foil (or a couple of pieces of foil). Place the foil balls into hot coals for 10 minutes, turning once during cooking. The cinnamon roll will cook, picking up the flavor of the orange.

Note: the scooping of the orange may be easier to do at home.

Camping Food: Baked Apples

apples
brown sugar
cinnamon

Fill each core of an apple with 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Wrap each apple in a large piece of heavy foil (or a couple of pieces, just to be sure not to burn them). Place the apple in the coals of a campfire or barbecue grill and let cook for 5 - 10 minutes (we found 8 worked well). Remove and unwrap, being careful of the hot sugar.

I'm sure this would work in an oven as well.

Velvety Pumpkin Soup. . .

My husband found this recipe last year on allrecipes.com. Here is the direct link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Velvety-Pumpkin-Soup-With-Blue-Cheese-and-Bacon/Detail.aspx

Ingredients:

2 (15 oz.) cans pumpkin

1 quart chicken stock

1 c. half and half

1 shallot, minced

1/4 c. molasses

2 T. butter

1 t. pumpkin pie spice

1 t. salt

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

6 slices of bacon

1 c. crumbled blue cheese

Directions:

1. Stir together the pumpkin, chicken stock, half and half, shallot, molasses, butter, spice, salt, and cayenne pepper in a large stockpot over low heat; simmer 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place bacon in a large skillet and cook until crispy, remove to paper towels to drain, then cool and crumble.

3. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with bacon and blue cheese.

e-notes:

We did not do the shallot. I honestly think it would not be good in this soup. My husband did 1 T. of butter instead of 2 T. (for my sake - he's so good). He did a scant less than 1/4 t. cayenne pepper. He could probably do the full 1/4 t. for his sake, but for mine and the kids he did a little bit less. It depends on how spicy you like things. I read some comments and some people thought it was the perfect amount, and others halved the cayenne. We bought bacon bits instead. Well I think last year we bought bacon bits. I just looked and this year we used a bag from Oscar Mayer called "Real Bacon" (it was already cooked and crumbled). We just let people put how much bacon and cheese they wanted into their own bowls. We did not use nearly 1 c. of blue cheese. I probably put a 1/2 t. - 1 t. in my bowl. Ben maybe a little more? The kids? None. (I had them try it first.).

But let me say I absolutely love, love, love this soup! It is soooooo good. Ben loves it every bit as much. Delicious. One of my favorite meals at the moment and my favorite soup. YUM.

Chicken Sauteed with Apples

I got this recipe emailed me from realsimple.com. I guess at one point I signed up for daily recipes. We really liked this one. Here is the direct link. It's a really great fall dinner, I think.

Here is the recipe:
4 chicken breasts
1 T. oil
1 apple, cored, halved and cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 c. apple juice
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. salt
2 T. dijon mustard

Directions
Place each chicken-breast half between 2 sheets of wax paper and pound with a meat mallet until about 3/4 inch thick.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and saute the chicken until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Add the apple slices, apple juice, onion, garlic, thyme, and salt. Cover and simmer 6 to 8 minutes or until the chicken is fork-tender.

Remove the chicken, apple slices, and onion to a serving platter and keep warm.
Bring the sauce to a boil for about 5 minutes or until slightly reduced. Whisk in the mustard. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.

e-notes: I had to cook the chicken longer until it was no longer pink. I did two apples, and frankly could have done three. We didn't have thyme and so I did "herbs de provence" which is mainly made with thyme. A lovely fall supper.

Whole-Wheat Banana Nut Muffins

3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. honey (or 1/4 c. sugar if you prefer, or I did 2 T. sugar and 2 T. honey)
1/4 c. butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c. mashed very ripe bananas (about three bananas)
1/3 c. low-far sour cream or plain yogurt
1 t. vanilla
1/4 c. nuts, chopped (pecans or walnuts)
1/4 c. packed brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with liners--you'll need about 15-16.

Whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, honey (if using), and butter. Add each egg in one at a time, combining completely after each addition but not over-mixing. Add the mashed banana, yogurt, and vanilla. Slowly add in the flour mixture and beat until just combined (don't over-mix).

Divide the batter evenly (so the cups are about 2/3 full) among 15-16 muffin tins. Combine the chopped pecans and brown sugar and sprinkle them on top of the batter. Bake for 23-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack and allow to finish cooling. Serve with breakfast or as a snack.

Note 1: My friend Julia hit me up to this lovely site, where I found the recipe for these muffins. They are really, really excellent. I was able to get a dozen regular-sized ones and a dozen mini muffins. So some for me and the husband and some for the kid! We all loved them. Also note that I love nuts IN my muffins, so I added an additional 1/4 cup chopped walnuts to the batter.

Note 2: These are similar to these, but not quite the same. I like the addition of nuts, as well as the sour cream/yogurt.

Meat and Bean Burritos

recipe from Bridgette

Ingredients:
1 can pinto beans
1 can diced green chilis
1 cup salsa
tortillas
cheese
1/2 to 1 pound ground beef
1 diced medium onion
shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream and extra salsa for toppings

Preparation:
Brown hamburger and onions together in skillet, add salt and pepper to taste. When the meat is cooked, drain the fat off, put in a separate bowl, and wipe the skillet down with a paper towel. While hamburger is cooking empty beans and chilis in a pot and heat over medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Be careful, do not let the beans begin to stick to bottom of pan, you may need to cook them on low! Remove the beans from heat when they are finished and use a potato smasher to mash them up. Then add salsa and as much cheese as you want to make a completely delicious pot of bean goop! Spread the bean mixture down the middle of a tortilla, add some meat mixture, then fold the sides in and roll up your burrito. Then put the burrito in the skillet you cooked the meat in and brown on each side. This makes them crunchy and yummy! Top with toppings and serve with black beans or rice. I use a package of Spanish rice from the store. When we have beans I cook them in a pot with the juice of 1 lime! SO YUMMY!

e-notes: Our family really loves these burritos. So simple, yet so tasty. I pretty much do everything as said. I do a pound of ground turkey. I also just use one skillet - I brown my meat and onions, then I add the beans and when warmed I smash them with the potato masher. Then I add the can of green chilies and the salsa and cheese. I just mix everything up together and then spread the mixture down the center of my tortillas. I spray my burritos with cooking spray to help them crisp up when browning the filled tortillas on the skillet - using low-fat ground turkey usually doesn't leave a lot of grease to "fry" them on. I love browning the burritos on the skillet because it kind of "seals" them up and makes them less floppy - which makes them so much easier to eat for my little kids.

Chicken Fajita Melt

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sliced onions
1/2 cup sliced red bell pepper
1/2 cup tomato juice
2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix
1 cup salsa
8 (1/2 inch thick) slices French bread
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, and cook and stir until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the sliced onions and red peppers, and cook and stir for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the tomato juice and taco seasoning, and mix well. Cook mixture until the juice has thickened and the chicken is well coated with sauce, about an additional 7 minutes.

Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source.

Spread 2 tablespoons of salsa over each slice of French bread. Evenly spoon the chicken mixture on top of the salsa topped bread. Sprinkle each sandwich with 1/4 cup Cheddar cheese.

Place sandwiches under the preheated broiler and cook for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown.

Notes: We won't drink tomato juice, so I couldn't see buying an entire thing of it just for half cup. However, I found that you can mix tomato sauce or tomato paste with water to get the juice. If using sauce, use a 1:1 ratio (so use 1/4 c. sauce and 1/4 c. water to get 1/2 c. juice). If using paste, then you'll need a 4:1 ratio (four parts water to one part paste). They were really tasty!

Taco Seasoning

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all together and use like you would use a packet of taco seasoning you buy. This makes enough for one pound of meat; you could easily make more and store it until you're ready. If you make more, then note that one serving would be 2 T and 2 t.

I didn't have sea salt and used regular salt. This recipe has less sodium than the packets, so that's good news.

Thai Noodles with Chicken and Snow Peas

1 pound chicken, cubed
9 ounces Asian-style noodles (can use linguine, but the Asian are good. And FYI, they were sold in a two-pound package for $3, so not that different in price from regular pasta)
1 1/2 c. snow peas
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped

Chicken marinade:
1/3 c. vinegar (rice or regular)
3 T. honey
2 T. peanut butter (chunky or reg)
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. canola oil
1 T. sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 t. red pepper, crushed
1/4 t. ginger, ground

Combined all marinade ingredients. Set aside one-fourth of this in another bowl. Using the remaining, marinate the chicken overnight or at least 30 minutes.

Remove chicken and discard marinade. In a large skillet or wok, cook chicken for 6-10 minutes over high heat until cooked thoroughly. Set aside.

Cook noodles according to package directions (the Asian took only 5-6 minutes). Add snow peas during last three minutes of cooking noodles.  Rinse noodles and peas with cold water; drain. Place in large bowl; add cooked chicken and marinade which was set aside. Toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Serves 5-6.

Pita Bread

1 1/8 c. warm water
1 1/2 t. sugar
1 1/2 t. yeast
3 c. flour (white or whole-wheat)
1 t. salt
1 T. vegetable oil

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water in the bowl of your mixer.  Let proof for about 10 minutes.  Add the flour, salt, and oil and knead until dough pulls away from the bowl, about 4-5 minutes.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Form into a ball and cut into eight pieces (or you can form it into a rope and cut into eighths).  Roll each into a smooth ball.  With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6- to 7-inch circle.  Set aside on a lightly floured countertop.  Cover with a towel and let rise about 30 minutes, or until slightly puffy.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Place two or three pitas on a wire cooling rack.  Place the rack directly on oven rack.  Bake pitas 4-6 minutes or until puffed and tops begin to brown.  Remove from oven and immediately place in a sealed brown paper bag or cover them with a damp kitchen towel until soft.  Once pitas are softened, they can be stored in a plastic bag in the fridge for several days or in the freezer.

Note: I had no problems doing 100% whole wheat pitas. So don't feel like you need to do half and half. Now turn these pitas into pita chips and serve with tzatziki!

Tzatziki Sauce

1 cucumber, seeded and diced
1/2 T. Kosher Salt
1 T. lemon juice
1/4 clove of garlic, chopped
1/4 t. dried dill (or 1 t. chopped fresh dill)
Dash pepper
1/4 t. salt
6 ounces of Greek yogurt (fat-free, low-fat, whatever)

Peel the cucumber, then cut in half lengthwise and take a small spoon and scrape out the seeds. Discard the seeds. Slice the cucumber into thick slices, then put in colander (placed on a plate or in the sink, to catch the water), sprinkle with the Kosher salt, and let stand for 30 minutes or more to draw out the water. Pat dry with paper towel.

When cucumber is done, put it in a blender with the lemon juice, garlic, dill, and few grinds of black pepper. Process until well blended, and then stir this mixture into the yogurt. Taste before adding salt (it may not need it). Place in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving so flavors can blend.

This will keep for days or more in the fridge, but you will need to drain off any water and stir each time you use it. Serve with pita chips or whatever else you want!

Note on Greek yogurt: This is becoming more and more popular and therefore should be available in most large supermarkets. Even Yoplait is making their own. The brand I found was Chobani and it was about $1.49 for the six ounces. Regular yogurt will not work because of its moisture content. However, if you can't find Greek yogurt, you can strain regular plain yogurt through cheesecloth for about two to three hours to get the general consistency of Greek yogurt.

Pita Chips

2 pitas
4 t. olive oil
Dash pepper
Scant 1/4 t. garlic salt
Dash basil

Preheat oven to 400º. Cut each pita into eight triangles. Place triangles on cookie lined (with parchment paper, wax paper, or foil) sheet. In a small bowl, combine the oil, pepper, salt, and basil. Brush each triangle with the oil mixture. Bake in preheated oven for about 7-8 minutes, or until lightly browned and crispy. Watch carefully as they tend to burn easily!

Easy Peanut Butter Dip

One part peanut butter
Two parts vanilla yogurt

Mix the two together using a utensil. Eat with bananas or apples. For a single serving, I did one spoonful of the p.b. and two of the yogurt and it was perfect, and perfectly tasty.

Thai Chicken Wraps

Peanut Sauce

1/4 c. creamy peanut butter

3 T. water

1 T. sugar

2 t. soy sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

Combine above ingredients in medium saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is smooth and warm. Use immediately or keep warm over very low heat, stirring occasionally.

6 8-10" spinach, tomato, and/or plain tortillas

1/2 t. garlic salt

1/4 - 1/2 t. pepper

12 ounces pork tenderloin (or 12 ounces chicken), cut into 1/4"-thick strips

1 T. oil

4 c. packaged shredded broccoli (broccoli slaw mix, like this one, found near regular cole slaw, that one package had four cups)

1 medium red onion, cut into thin wedges

1 t. grated fresh ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap tortillas in tin foil and warm them in oven for 10 minutes. When done, leave in foil (out of oven) until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, combine garlic salt and pepper. Add meat strips, tossing to coat evenly.

In a 10" skillet, cook and stir seasoned meat in hot oil over medium-high heat for 4-6 minutes or until no longer pink, turning to brown evenly. Turn heat down if meat gets too brown. Remove pork from skillet; keep warm (I wrapped in foil). Add shredded broccoli, onion, and ginger to the skillet. Cook and stir for another 4-6 minutes or until veggies are crisp-tender. Remove from heat.

To assemble, spread one side of tortilla with peanut sauce. Top with meat strips and broccoli mix. Roll up each tortilla, securing with a wooden toothpick if necessary. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

Breakfast Burritos

1/2 lb. sausage links (we always do turkey sausage)
6 eggs, beaten
4 oz. can of chopped or diced green chiles, drained
4 oz. grated cheese (could do less)

Beat the eggs; add chiles and cheese.

Cook sausage in boiling water; slice and then brown in skillet. Add egg mixture and scramble.

Fill tortillas with scrambled egg mix. Fold up burritos and eat.

Note: When we do this we get three adult-sized burritos, one kid-sized burrito, and maybe enough for one more kid burrito.

Cilantro-Lime Black Bean Salad

1/2 bunch cilantro (tough stems discarded)
grated zest and juice of one lime (2 t. zest and 2 T. juice)
2 T. white wine vinegar
3 T. olive oil (I did 2)
1/2 t. salt
1 t. sugar
3 c. black beans (about two cans, rinsed and drained)
2 or 3 ribs of celery, diced (about 1 cup)
3 large scallions, white and light-green parts, finely chopped

Combine the cilantro, lime zest and juice, vinegar, oil, salt, and sugar in a blender. Process to form a pureed dressing.

Combine the beans, celery, and scallions in a large bowl; add the dressing and mix well. Let sit for 15 minutes, then stir again and taste; add salt as needed. Serve; or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 12 hours. Mix well before serving.

Pioneer Bread

I'm not sure how I stumbled upon this blog, but I'm glad I did. Amy, the blog's author, posted a recipe for oatmeal whole wheat quick bread.

Ben made some last nite and we LOVED it and ate the whole thing - except for our doughy parts (I'll get to that later). Ben and I renamed it "Pioneer Bread" because of its simplicity and wholesomeness. It doesn't use yeast - just baking powder as the leavening agent. So it is super quick to make and bake.

I asked Amy if I could post her recipe here and she very kindly let me. But go check out her blog, too, because she has a lot of neat recipes and ideas there - no refined sugar products. Wholesome goodness is what her blog looks like to me.

Anyways, the recipe:

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
11/2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon coconut oil (I used vegetable oil)
1 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Grind oatmeal in a food processor or blender. In a large bowl, combine oatmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, dissolve honey in oil, then stir in the milk. (I mixed the milk, coconut oil, and honey in a one cup glass measure and microwaved it until the coconut oil melted; the cold milk made it into a solid state, so I needed to liquify it). Combine both mixtures and stir until a soft dough is formed. Form the dough into a ball (I had to add a bit more flour) and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
3. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until bottom of loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

E-notes: Ben made this and for some reason he added 2 T. honey (tho I'm sure 1 1/2 T. would be just as great!). We don't have coconut oil and so I am not sure if Ben added olive oil (don't think so) or vegetable oil (think so). Our blender broke weeks ago (but we just bought a new one today!) and so we couldn't blend up the oats. So we used quick oats as they are slightly more blended-up like. Amy mentioned adding some more flour and Ben did as well. But apparently Ben's ball of dough was a little too high and round - ours didn't quite look like Amy's more oblong-round shape. Ours was more round-round shape. And due to that we think it didn't cook as well in the center and so it was a little doughy. But still oh so delicious - just simple goodness!

Thanks, again, Amy for letting me share this recipe. We are trying to come up with another reason to make some more today - but we don't think our pizza-dinner needs this with it tonite dangit.

Grilled Pineapple

1 large ripe pineapple
3 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. freshly-squeezed lemon or lime juice
1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper

Trim, core and peel pineapple. Cut into quarters from top to bottom. Slice out the core from each quarter. Cut each quarter slice into four pieces, once lengthwise and once crosswise. you should have 16 wedges of pineapple about 1 inch by 3 inches.

In small bowl combine honey, lemon or lime juice and black pepper. Brush glaze on each slice of pineapple coating completely.

Preheat grill and spray with a non stick spray. Place wedges on the grill and cook approx. 4 minutes on each side, turning so that grill marks are on all sides, until pineapple becomes fragrant and starts to dry on the surface. Do not overcook or they will by mushy.

Remove and brush with any remaining glaze and enjoy.

Notes: oh my, this is so good I can never get a picture before it disappears. Imagine pineapple wedges with grill marks on them. I have to give credit to the website where I found this recipe but I don't know where it is at this moment. Just know I didn't make it up someone else did and shared it with me which I am now sharing with you. Seriously though, too delicious to describe with words. And don't skip on the pepper, it gives it an extra kick!

Hawaiian Cake

Cake:

1 pkg. golden butter cake mix (white cake mix is fine too)

1 can mandarin oranges with syrup (small can)

4 whole eggs

1/2 C. vegetable oil

Frosting:

1 lg. container Cool Whip

1 lg. pkg. instant vanilla pudding

1 can (15 oz.) pineapple, crushed with syrup

Cake:

Beat all ingredients with beater all at once until mixed well. Pour into prepared greased and floured pans.

Bake at 350 until layers rise, and then cut temp to 325. Bake until layer springs back and inserted toothpick comes out clean. Time will be similar to time on back of cake mix.

Frosting:

Mix all ingredients with spoon only. Frost cooled cake and keep refrigerated.

(The cake pictured above was made with 6 cake mixes, and a triple batch of the frosting. It was HUGE! and oh, so, delicious.)

Raspberry Walnut Cake

Cake:
1 3/4 c. cake flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 c. ground walnuts
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
1 1/2 c. white sugar
3 eggs
1 T. vanilla

Icing:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar
1/8 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
1 (12 ounce) jar raspberry preserves

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9 inch pans. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and ground walnuts. Set aside. In a small bowl whip 1 1/2 cups cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, eggs, and 1 tablespoon vanilla. Beat 5 minutes at highest speed of an electric mixer. Fold in flour mixture alternately with whipped cream.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

To make the Frosting: In a large bowl combine cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until smooth. In a separate small bowl, whip 1 1/2 cups whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture.

To assemble cake: Split each layer in half horizontally to form 4 layers. Place 1 layer on serving plate; spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Top with second layer; spread with 1/2 cup preserves. Top with 3rd layer; spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Top with remaining cake layer. Frost sides of cake with frosting, reserving about 1 cup for decorating. Spread remaining preserves on top of cake. Using a pastry bag and a star tip, pipe reserved frosting in a lattice design on the top of cake, pipe border around top and bottom edges of cake. Store in refrigerator.

Notes from me: First, regarding cake flour, I found this substitution online. Mix 1 3/4 c. regular flour with 1/4 c. cornstarch to get 2 c. cake flour. Then use only 1 3/4 c. of it for this recipe.

Second, to grind the walnuts I put them in between two sheets of wax paper and crushed them with a rolling pin. Do not omit these; they make the cake.

Third, I used Neufchatel instead of regular cream cheese. Seemed to work fine.

Fourth, I think I used more preserves than it said. I bought a 20-ounce jar because that's what I could find and used more than 60%. But I'm sure the 12-ounce would be fine. And I'm sure you could substitute other fruit with success.

Fifth, I don't have pastry bags, so used a Ziploc sandwich bag and cut the tip. That's why it's not as pretty.

Sixth, this cake is AMAZING. Chuck said it was the best cake he's had in as long as he can remember. I wish I had taken a picture of the fun layers, but that's for you to experience. Serious yumminess.

P.S. This is how good the icing was:

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. soda
1 t. salt
1/4 t. nutmeg
3/4 t. cinnamon
3/4 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 c. mashed bananas (about 2 bananas)
1 3/4 c. quick oats
1/2 c. chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sift together the flour, soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Cream the shortening and sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Add egg, banana, oatmeal, and nuts. Mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Drop by teaspoon on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 14-15 minutes or until edges turn lightly brown.

These were another great way to use overripe bananas. I doubled the batch and had about 9 dozen, so a regular batch would yield about 4.5 dozen (of the erin-sized cookies, of course).

Lemonade

1 1/2 c. white sugar
8 c. water
1 1/2 c. lemon juice (I used bottled and it turned out fine)

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and 1 cup of the water. Bring to boil and stir to dissolve sugar. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled.

Remove seeds from lemon juice, but leave pulp. In pitcher, stir together chilled syrup, lemon juice and remaining 7 cups water. Add some sliced lemons just to make it pretty.