Pineapple-Cucumber Gazpacho

You know I never really got the whole Gazpacho thing. To me traditional Gazpacho tastes to much like eating salsa with a spoon. Not my thing. However I have a recipe book that is nothing but Raw vegan recipes. I found this and made it. OMG! this is delish. My mother will make herself sick eating it. She loves, loves, loves this version of Gazpacho. I just can't tell you how good this is. Give it a try. Enjoy! From Raw Food Real World.


Here's what I do:
4 cups chopped peeled cucumber (I like the long English cucumbers.)
4 cups chopped fresh pineapple
1 cup fresh pineapple juice
1 small jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 green onion, white and 1 inch green part, chopped
1 Tbl. fresh lime juice
2 tsp. sea salt (If this seems like a lot of salt it isn't. This is raw food eating and there is not salt. So more salt it needed than you would use if you were cooking with canned products. Trust the salt level.)
1 handful of cilantro leaves
3 Tbl. avocado oil, macadamia nut oil, or cold pressed olive oil (I have always used the avocado oil. You can find this at any health store or Whole Foods, Sprouts etc...) DONT ADD 3 TB. OF EACH OF THESE OILS. PICK ONE TO USE AND USE 3 TBL. OF THAT OIL. THANK YOU, THE END.
1 handful of finely chopped raw macadamia nuts

In a blender add 3 cups cucumber and 3 cups pineapple, pineapple juice, jalapeno, green onion, lime juice, and salt. Blend until smooth. add the remaining 1 cup of pineapple and cucumber, the cilantro, and 1 1/2 Tbl. oil. Pulse a few quick times. The Gazpacho should remain chunky. Taste for seasoning. Place in fridge to chill.
Before serving, add the mad nuts to the soup and stir. Serve in bowl with a drizzle of the remaining oil on top.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

I originally found this recipe in Pillsbury Healthy Baking Cookbook. I will list the original recipe which is lower in fat etc.... then list the one that I also make that is a little higher in sugar and fat. That way you can choose which you want to make. They are both good.


Low Fat version:
2 Cups all purpose flour
1/2 Cup sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 Cup chocolate chips (mini chips work great too)
3/4 Cup 2% milk
3 Tbl. oil
1 egg, beaten

Topping for muffins (optional)
3 Tbl. sugar
2 Tbl. brown sugar

Heat oven to 400. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners. In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder,salt, and chocolate chips. Mix well. In small bowl, combine milk, oil, and egg, blend well. Add  dry ingredients to wet and stir till just combined. Divide into paper lined muffin cups. Mix the brown sugar and white sugar together and sprinkle on top of the muffins before baking (this is optional. Sometimes I do and a lot of the time I forget.) Bake 18-23 minutes.

Less healthy version: It is not much different. More sugar and usually whole milk.

2 Cups all purpose flour
1 Cup sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 Cup (or more) chocolate chips. Minis work great.)
1 Cup milk
3 Tbl. oil
1 egg beaten

follow directions above and add sugar topping if you want.

Low Fat but oh so good Potato Salad

I have this Richard Simmons Cookbook. It is a pretty good one. We have liked everything we have ever made out of it. We love his potato salad. It is different from my southern potato salad, but I would almost say it is just as good. The fact that it is low fat is even better. The first time I made it I could hardly believe it was low fat. It is a keeper.

Here's what I do: Book says this is 4 servings. You know I at least double this if not triple.

4 cups cubed unpeeled red potatoe
1 can (14 oz.) fat-free chicken broth
2 Tbl. apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup finely diced celery
1/2 cup finely diced green onion (green and white part.)
2 hard boiled egg whites, coarsely chopped
1 Tbl. minced fresh parlsey

Dressing:
1/2 cup reduced fat mayo
1 Tbl. course ground Dijon mustard
1 Tbl. sweet pickle relish
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. celery seed

1. In medium saucepan combine the potatoes with the chicken broth. Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Cover and cook about 10 minutes or until tender. Drain. In large bowl toss the hot potatoes with the vinegar.

2. In second bowl mix dressing ingredients. Add to cooled potatoes together with the rest of the remaining ingredients. Toss to combine and chill.

Eggplant Balls in Spicy Marinara sauce

This is a really good vegetarian entree. My Sasquatches (I mean kids) even like it. Actually they love this dish. I have been making this for them since they were little Sasquatches. I was vegetarian when my last son was born. He didn't have meat for the first two years of his life. I don't know if I feel sorry for him or not. It took him years to really like meat. He still loves fruit better than just about anything. I serve these in a spicy marinara sauce. It is the only time I make this particular marinara sauce. I don't know why. It just became the sauce I make with these eggplant balls and I never make it for anything else. I dunno. I will list the marinara sauce after the eggplant ball recipe below. Comes from a very old vegetarian cookbook I love called "Claire's Corner Copia"
Enjoy!

Here's what I do:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic minced (I use more almost always)
2 large eggplants, peeled and diced
2 Tbl. water
2 Cups italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 Cup minced flat leaf parsley (use whatever parsley you have)
2 Tbl. minced fresh basil
4 oz. shredded mozzarella (optional)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 Cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper (to taste)
1/2 flour or more for rolling the eggplant balls in
oil/butter for frying (I use olive oil and butter. You can use whatever oil you want with or without the butter.)
Heat the oil in a pan over med-high heat. Add the garlic and saute for a second and then add the eggplant and stir to coat. Turn pan down to med and  add the water and cover and cook about 20 minutes or so, stirring often till eggplant is very soft. I think I have on occasion added another tablespoon of water if need be. Remove from heat and turn into a bowl. Add the bread crumbs, parsley, basil, mozzarella, eggs, parm and salt and pepper. Stir to mix well. Taste for seasoning. let mixture stand for 15 minutes. Stir again well. You want to break down the eggplant some without turning the whole thing into liquid mush. You can add more breadcrumbs if the mixture is to thin. You should be able to scoop it up and roll into into a ball.
Form into balls and roll in flour and set on a baking sheet. To fry them heat oil and butter in skillet over medium heat and when oil is hot add balls to skillet leaving a little space in between them. Fry on each side till golden brown and remove to a paper towel covered plate to drain. You can bake them if you prefer. 350 degrees for 30 minutes turning halfway through.

Spicy Marinara Sauce

1/2 Cup olive oil
1 small onion chopped
6 cloves garlic minced (I always use more. We love garlic.)
2 (28oz.) cans good italian tomatoes. If they aren't already crushed then crush them before putting them into the pan. (I like the fire roasted myself.)
1/2 Cup fine chop fresh basil
1-2 tsp. red pepper flakes (I add enough as it is cooking till the sauce has some spicy heat.)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in pan and add onion. Fry for a couple minutes and then add the garlic. Stir constantly till garlic softens a bit (don't let garlic burn as it gets bitter.) Add the red pepper flakes and stir and then the tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes and then add the basil, salt and pepper. Simmer another 10 minutes. Sauce should start to thicken. Taste for seasoning.
Serve over pasta and or eggplant balls.

Sloppy Joe

Sloppy Joes. What can I say about a Sloppy Joe? It was one of my favorite days of the week at school when we had Sloppy Joes. I also can't say "Sloppy Joe" without thinking of the SNL skit with the cafeteria lady and the sloppy joe song. If you haven't seen it you should look it up on youtube. Hopefully its there somewhere. I have added a video with Sandler on Letterman singing the song. You wont get to see Farley but you get to hear the song. Enjoy

Chris Farley (RIP) was the cafeteria lady and Adam Sandler sang the unforgettable sloppy joe song.
Anyway, it is a quick and easy meal at my house too. My Sasquatches love it with some chips and home made pink lemonade.  If they are really lucky I will whip up a batch chocolate chip cookies.
So here is my "sloppy joe" recipe that was born of many recipes read and put together to create a pretty good sloppy joe.

Here is what I do: You can half it if you like. I am cooking for Sasquatches after all. One thing about it it makes great leftovers.

5 lbs. ground beef (you know I grind my own.)
1 large onion, diced
2 bell peppers, diced
10 cloves garlic, minced
3 Cups ketchup
2 Cups water
4 Tbl. brown sugar
5 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. dry mustard
3-4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper, to taste

add butter to fry pan and fry hamburger meat till done and crumbly (I grind my own meat so I need the butter. You may not need it.) Drain off most of the grease (if any, or liquid). Add the onion, bell peppers and garlic. Stir and fry the hamburger mix together for 3 minutes or so to cook the garlic, onions, and peppers. Then add the water, ketchup, brown sugar, chili powder, dry mustard, and worcestershire sauce. Stir to mix completely. Simmer for 20 minutes or so stirring often till most of the liquid is gone and it has thickened. Taste and add salt and pepper.
Butter and brown your rolls to serve your sloppy joes on. This makes them so much better. Something about the crispy buttered bun. I dunno its just good.
Enjoy!

Buttermilk Dressing

Buttermilk dressing really is the precursor to Ranch Dressing. They really are one and the same. Here is a recipe that I found and give inspirational credit to Home Sick Texan.
This is very good and refreshing. Unlike some other "Ranch Dressings" this doesn't have onion powder and garlic powder. It does have garlic though. It is very very good.
Give it a try.

Here's what I did:

1/2 Cup Mayonnaise (of course at my house Hellmanns is the only mayo that exists.)
1 Cup sour cream
1 Cup buttermilk
1/2 Cup fine chop cilantro
2 Tbl. fresh squeezed lime juice
2-4 cloves minced garlic (this is where you let your taste buds do the decision making.)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, veined and minced fine
1 Tbl. fine minced chives
1/8 tsp. cayenne (to taste)
salt and pepper (to taste)
mix everything in a food processor or blender and chill and least an hour.

Texas Sheet Cake

This is probably one of my favorite cakes. Which is why I only make it a few times a year. I can't stay out of it. My kids prefer it without the pecans in the frosting. I love it with the pecans in the frosting. So maybe they wont eat it if I put the pecans in. I'm crossing my fingers. This is absolutely delicious. I have seen many many recipes for it. This is my mothers. I don't know where she got it but it is the best. I have looked up other recipes and most don't have cinnamon in the cake and that is a shame. It is the secret to the success and complete to die for goodness of this yummy cake. Love it.

Here's what I did:
Cake
2 Cups sugar
2 Cups all purpose flour
1 stick butter
1 Cup water
1/2 Cup shortening
4 Tbl. cocoa
2 eggs
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 Cup buttermilk
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla




Oven 400


In mixer combine flour and sugar. In saucepan  bring to a boil 1 stick butter, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup shortening, and 4 Tbl. cocoa. When it comes to a boil remove from heat and pour over the sugar/flour mixture. Immediately add eggs, cinnamon, salt, buttermilk, baking soda, vanilla. Beat to combine. Pour into floured 15x10 (aprox) jelly roll pan. Bake in 400 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes. Check after 15 and test to see if its done Insert a toothpick into center. It should come out clean. Or center should be springy to the touch.

8 MINUTES before cake is done start the frosting. You will frost the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. You want it good and hot to help melt/spread the frosting.


Frosting

1 stick of unsalted butter
pinch of salt
4 Tbl. milk
4 Tbl. cocoa
1 box powdered sugar

1/2-1 Cup chop pecans
1 tsp. vanilla
In a saucepan bring to a boil 1 stick butter, 4 Tbl. milk, 4 Tbl. cocoa. Remove from heat and add in the 1 box powdered sugar, vanilla, and pecans. When cake comes out of the oven pour the hot frosting over the cake and spread carefully. Cook and enjoy.

7 Up Biscuits

I guess I'm always late to the party. Who knew? My sweet Mother turned me on to these biscuits which she loves. I had never heard of them. So I gave them a try and they are a quick and good biscuit. Give them a try. They are pretty easy peasy to make and you wont be sorry you did.
I looked at a bunch of the recipes for these biscuits and they are pretty much all the same. So I can't give direct credit to anyone for the recipe as I don't really know who it belongs to.

Here's what I did:

2 Cups Bisquick type biscuit mix
1/2 Cup sour cream
1/2 Cup 7up
1/4 Cup melted butter
3-4" biscuit cutter
Oven 450 degrees

Cut sour cream into biscuit mix. Add the 7up and blend. This makes a soft dough. It should not be runny just soft (I read lots of women say it was so wet they had to use a muffin tin and scoop it in. That is because they made some sort of a mistake. My guess is they didn't read the recipe well and added all the 7 up. DONT ADD ALL THE 7UP, just what the recipe calls for!) Sprinkle counter with a little biscuit mix and pat out the dough. Melt the butter in the bottom of a (this is about an 8x8 square pan) baking pan. Cut out biscuits and place in pan with the melted butter (yes, just set them in all that great butter.) Bake 12-15 minutes.
NOTE: I also read some just place the dough in the pan and pat it out to fit and then take a knife and cut the dough into squares in the pan and then bake. I haven't tried it but sounds like a good idea. I will probably try this the next time I make them.

Cosmopolitan Cocktail

Ok, here's the thing. Recipes are really personal. So you try it out and then adjust it to your personal tastes. More of this, less of that.
I like martini's. I like girl martini's. Meaning I'm not a huge fan of straight alcohol in a martini glass. I love a good dirty martini but it has to be extra dirty. I happen to really like a good cosmo. Yes, I jumped on the bandwagon because of Sex and The City. I also happen to love that show. I own most of the seasons. So sue me. I'm a mindless follower of certain shows. I admit it. Anyway, here is my favorite version of the Cosmo. Tweak it to your tastes.

Here's what I do:
2oz. Citron vodka
1 Tbl. triple sec
1 Tbl. cranberry juice cocktail
1 Tbl. fresh lime juice
a twist of lime, lemon, or orange peel to garnish.
Fill martini shaker 2/3 full of ice and add in all the ingredients but the twist. Shake the heck out of it till its good and cold and pour into a chilled martini glass and add a twist if you like.

Beeritas! Isn't Summer GREAT!

I first stumbled across this recipe in a Semi-Homade cook book by Sandra Lee. To tell you the truth I don't know if this is the recipe from her cookbook or not. I have it written down and don't know if we changed it or found another we liked better. So.......all I can say is these are very good and a nice flavor change from your standard margarita.

Here's what I do:

Take about a half gallon size pitcher and add to it
1 (12oz.) can frozen limeade, slightly thawed
12oz. of tequila (I just fill the empty limeade can up)
1 bottle of beer (I use Corona)
lemon/lime soda, 7up, sprite, whatever
After you put the limeade,tequila, and beer in the pitcher then fill the rest of the way up with the soda and stir to dissolve all the limeade. Serve over ice.

Rio Grande Limeade

I love Margaritas. This is a recipe that I found in my Southern Living Magazine in 2001. Although I tend to prefer frozen margaritas this one is wonderful. It is easy to fix in big batches and tastes great. The plus is that your not in the kitchen blending constantly to make refills. Give it a try. You wont be sorry.

Here's what I do:

2 (12 oz.) cans of frozen limeade concentrate thawed.
3 Cups good Tequila
3 Cups water
2 Cups orange liquer
1 Cup fresh lime juice
Limes to garnish.
Mix all in a pitcher and chill. Serve over ice with lime garnish if you wish. Salt the rims of the glass if your so inclined.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie Sundae= OMG!!!

I had to borrow this picture from PW. It is also her recipe. 

Sorry for the borrowed picture. I am terrible about remembering to take pictures of the foods I make and put on my blog. I found this recipe on PW blog and it is divine. It looked like a group of Parana had attacked my baking pan. When the smoke cleared the pan was empty and I even think there were dents. Oh the joys of a house full of Sasquatches. Here's what I did:

2 sticks of butter softened
1 cup of light brown sugar
1/2 Cup regular white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. real vanilla (I personally think this makes all the difference in the world.)
2 1/4 Cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. instant coffee granules (trust me. It is the secret to success.) I used instant espresso granules.
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
8 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips. (more if you want. I found this to be a good amount.)
Vanilla ice cream (or your ice cream of choice)
hot fudge
caramel sauce
whip cream
cherry
nuts
Just whatever you want to top it with.
Oven set to 375, a 13x9 baking pan. I used a cake pan that is 13x9
In mixer bowl add softened butter and sugars. Beat till blended. Add eggs, vanilla and mix together. In separate bowl mix dry ingredients and add to wet a little at a time. Add a little and turn mixer on and mix it down and then add more till all the dry ingredients are blended in. Mix in the chocolate chips and give it one more good mix. Grease or spray a 13x9 cake pan and put dough in and spread out evenly. Bake 15-18 minutes.
 Since we didn't eat ours right out of the oven we cut ours into serving pieces and then microwaved each piece to heat it up and then added the toppings. This was great.

Guacamole

Although its hard to believe based on the temperatures here in Texas. Summer is drawing to a close soon. I for one will be happy to see the cooler weather come back. Or at least as cool as it ever gets here in good ole Texas.
I have been hungry for some Tex-mex and just some summer time foods. I actually am planning a big Tex-mex meal this weekend  with cheese enchiladas smothered in chili gravy, big pot of pinto beans, and Mexican rice. I may or may not grill chicken. I have to see what I feel like. Oh, and of course margaritas. I will post a really easy and wonderful recipe for margaritas later. They aren't the frozen kind but they are delicious and easy because you can make huge batches and you don't have to use the blender.
Anyway, my family is like flies to ......well you know, when it comes to my guacamole. It is a real battle to have enough for dinner time if I make it too early. This isn't a big secret recipe. I have seen everything from guacamole with just mashed up avocados and onion, to some who add in picante sauce (I actually started out making mine that way.) Just like all recipes there is no right or wrong way in my opinion. There is just good. I'm not a food purist. If it tastes good or makes something better then do it. Now I know when to leave a recipe alone as well. I just think its about taste and your food experience. Enjoy it rather than stand on whats right or wrong. Anyway, here is what I do.

Guacamole
4 large ripe avocados.

Everything from here on out is personal choice. You choose how much of each ingredient you like in your Guacamole.
1 jalapeno (stem removed, cut in two and remove seeds and veins. The heat is really in the seed  and veins. So if you remove them you don't have so much fire.) Slice into slivers and then mince.

2 plum tomatoes,  cut in two and with a spoon scoop out all the seeds and wet stuff. After this dice into fairly small pieces.

1/2  a medium onion (use whatever you like, white, yellow, red....) and dice fine

1/2 bunch cleaned cilantro, minced

salt

juice of half a lime

Peel the avocados and place in a bowl. With a fork mash them up as much as you like for your guacamole. Add the rest of the ingredients except the salt and lime. Add the salt last a little at a time till it is salty enough for you. Lastly mix in the lime juice. Taste for salt and of course if it needs more of any ingredient or even more lime. Serve with corn chips.
If you make ahead and want to store in fridge:
I have heard and tried using the avocado seed. Can't say that really worked all that well. What you want to do is cover with Saran wrap. Place it directly on the guacamole and make sure there are no air pockets. Air is what turns it brown as it oxidizes. Place in fridge. When your ready to eat just remove the saran wrap and give it a stir. Taste for seasoning once more and then enjoy.

You Will Never Make Another "POT ROAST" Again! POT ROAST, POT ROAST!

I'm telling you that this is the best Pot Roast EVER!!!!!!!!!!! I served it over creamy mashed potatoes. I bought a new food mill and ran the potatoes through the food mill and they were so creamy and amazing. Don't know how often I will use the food mill but I have wanted it forever and it made amazing mashed potatoes.

The picture above is the food mill I purchased. They had one that was better but it was $110, so I settled for the second best one. It took a while to get the potatoes through and I will have to play with it some to understand exactly how to use it. It did do everything that they say where the potatoes were concerned. They were absolutely creamy and smooth and delish. I will list the mashed potato recipe another time.

Ok the most amazing pot roast in the world. Here's what I did:

4-5lbs of boneless chuck roast (I purchased mine as Costco and it was actually two roasts.)
2 onions, skins removed and cut into fourths (don't separate the onion layers.)
6-8 med. size carrots cleaned and cut into 2 -3 inch chunks (I cleaned them but did not peel them.)
8 ounces of mushrooms cleaned and cut in half or fourths (optional. Sometimes I use them and sometimes I don't.)
2-4 Tbl. olive oil
1 Cup red wine (I used a good Chianti that we drink often.)
Beef broth (enough to fill the pan 3/4 of the way up the side of the pot roast. I used 1 1/2 boxes of beef broth to do this. But that will change depending on what size pan you use etc..... I used a large roasting pan for this recipe. The picture is a smaller roast.)
3 Sprigs of fresh thyme
3 Sprigs  of fresh rosemary (the first time I used this I almost didn't put this much rosemary in. It ended up being perfect. So dont be afraid to use this much of the fresh herbs.)
Salt and Pepper

 Clean and cut up the veggies, salt and pepper the chuck roast well on both sides. Measure out your wine, and open your boxes of beef broth. Get your herbs ready.
In the pan you intend to put in the oven to  cook your roast in ( if you have to brown in one pan and cook the roast in the oven in another thats ok. I have a huge stainless steal roaster that I just put over the fire on my stove. I also have a few cast iron pots that I use. Use what you have and do what you need to. It will work.) Add in the olive oil to the hot pan. Place the onions in and sear them till they have a good brown color on all sides. Remove the onions form the pan and set aside. Add in the carrots and sear these as well. Get a brown sear on them the best you can. All the brown is flavor. It makes a difference in the final flavor. Remove the carrots and set them on the plate with the onions. Now place the roast in the pan and sear it a nice brown, then turn and sear the other side. Remove and set on top of the veggies on the plate. Now pour the one cup of red wine in the pan to deglaze (you could use beef broth if using wine isn't your thing but it wont be as good) scraping up all the little browned bits on the bottom of the pan. These bits are where the flavor lives. now add in the beef broth and the herbs. Place the roast in the pan and then the onions and carrots. Place the onions and carrots around the side if you can so that they are sitting in the broth.
Cover and place in the oven set (this depends on how long you have. If you have 4-5 hours cook at 300 degrees. If you have less time maybe closer to 3-4 hours set the oven to 350 degrees.)
Bake in the oven till the roast is falling apart tender.
Once its done remove roast and strain the veggies and place on the plate with the roast. I then strain the gravy into a big bowl to serve with the roast and mashed potatoes. Straining it will help remove the sticks left behind from the thyme and rosemary and also the leaves. I then poured some of the juice over the roast. You could at this point thicken the roast gravy or serve it as is. I served it as is and  did not thicken it. It was DIVINE!!!!!

Don't forget to serve with a side of good mashed potatoes. I don't cook potatoes in the gravy as I don't think it adds anything to the flavor and I don't care for the taste/texture of potatoes cooked in roast gravy. I prefer good mashed potatoes.

Fruit-n-Nut Chicken Salad on a Croissant

This is hands down my favorite sandwich in the world. It is not something I would have ever in a million years chose to make based on the ingredients had I not had it at a party many many years ago. I have tweaked it some over the years to meet our tastes. I also don't think this tastes as good on other breads as it does on Croissants. There is something about the taste of the croissant and this chicken salad that just work perfectly. Here's how you do it.

Fruit-n-Nut Chicken Salad

6 bonelss skinless chicken breasts (boiled in water till tender and cubed or shredded)
1/4-1/2 Cup raisins (I don't use them as I don't like raisins.)
2/3 Cup chopped walnuts
1 1/2 apples cored and with the skin on chopped into tiny pieces
2 Cups of grapes (red or green seedless) cut into tiny pieces
20 ounce can of pineapple tidbits (in their own juice, drained) chopped

Mix all this together in a large bowl and add:
2 Cups mayonnaise
2/3 Cup sour cream
mix everything together and then add:
1/2 Tbl. cinnamon (now this is where it becomes a personal taste thing. I like the cinnamon. You might start out with a little less and add up to 1/2 Tbl. and taste it. It will mellow out some as the salad sits.)
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. onion salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
mix into the chicken salad thoroughly. Taste and make sure it is how you would want it . You can play with the seasonings to suit your own taste. I actually never measure the seasonings but did this time to be able to put it on the blog.
Store in fridge till it is good and cold and serve on croissants. YUM YUM YUM!!!!!

 Enjoy!

Patty Melt!!!!!!

I was on one of the food blogs I like to read and they made a patty melt. Oh my goodness. I must do this. Take the idea and make it my own. So here is my own. Enjoy!

Makes 8 Patty melts

1 stick of butter
2 large onions sliced thin
3 pounds good quality ground beef (although I usually grind my own I bought mine this time. It was Nolan Ryans 97% lean. Was pretty good quality.)
Salt
Pepper
Montreal Steak seasoning
8 dashes Worcestershire sauce
16 slices baby swiss cheese (you can use American too)
16 slices Rye bread (or a good sour dough works well)
Mezzetta tamed slice jalapenos (not traditional but oh so yummy)
bottle of thousand island dressing

Slice your onions very thin and put a couple tbl. butter in a pan and cook them on med-low heat till they are golden brown. Remove to a bowl.

In a bowl place the hamburger meat and add plenty of salt, pepper, the dashes of Worcestershire, and a good shake of the Montreal steak seasoning. Mix completely and divide into 8 burgers and shape in the shape of the bread you are using. Make them large enough to fit the bread size.
Place a few Tbl. of butter in a cast iron skiller (if you have one if not use the pan you fried the onions in. I just think cast iron gives the meat a great flavor.) Fry the burgers till they are done flipping half way through.
Butter the bread you are using for frying. Place a piece of bread butter side down in another hot skillet. Place a slice of cheese on the bread, then the patty, then onions and a few slices of the jalapeno peppers if using, then another piece of cheese and add some thousand island dressing to the last piece of bread on the side that will touch the cheese then place bread(butter side up) on top of patty and cheese. Grill till the bread is golden and toasty and turn. Grill
 the last side till golden. Remove and slice patty melt in half. Serve with extra thousand island dressing if desired.
Pretty tasty.

Lasagna Bolognese

I am almost speechless about this lasagna. It is hands down the best lasagna I have ever ever.....EVER had. It is also very different than what I'm use to.. YUM.
This recipe came from The Homesick Texan (I think. It's been a while since I found it.)
All I can tell you is that it was hands down the best lasagna I have ever had and my husband said the same thing. He just kept repeating all through our meal how wonderful it was. This is now my go to lasagna. I had intended to really be energetic and make home made lasagna sheets but I got to busy and decided to just cheat and use the store bought noodles.
So here it is. Enjoy!
Now the bolognese sauce is a long cooking sauce. I ended up only cooking mine about 1 1/2 hours. I started to late to let it go the 3 to 4 hours they say it should. It was still perfectly wonderful.
Start with the bolonese sauce first.

You will also need
 a large box of lasagna noodles

2 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese (now here is my cheat on Parmesan cheese. I buy a good huge block of parm at Costco. I then buy the Kraft Parmesan/Romano/Asiago shredded cheese. I grind up the good Parm I purchased at Costco and blend it with the store bought parm. It makes the expensive stuff go further and still gives the great flavor of the better cheese. I know its horrible. I should have my kitchen apron taken from me. But when you feed a house of Sasquatches you got to cut those corners where you can. If you can afford the good stuff exclusively then go for it and I love you.)

2 Cups or so of good Mozzarella cheese shredded



 Bolognese
In a food processor add
 one onion cut into fourths
2 carrots (if they are small thin carrots add 4) cut into chunks
2-3 ribs of celery cut into chunks
4-5 cloves of garlic minced
chop the veggues fine in the food processor.
4 Tbl. olive oil
salt and pepper (you will use a lot of this for seasoning)
2-3 pounds good quality ground beef (chuck, sirloin. I grind my own as I have ground beef issues. I used a 2.8 pound eye of round roast that I ground up in my food processor.)
2 6oz. cans good quality tomato paste
2 Cups red wine ( we used a good quality Chianti. You should never cook with a wine you wouldn't drink.)
water (I will tell you how much in the instructions.)
2 bay leaves
4 fresh sprigs of thyme

Place a 5 or 6 quart pot on the stove. Let is become hot and add olive oil. Once the olive oil is hot add all the veggies you ground up in the food processor. You are going to want to get a good carmelization on these veggies as this brings out a lot of flavor. So you are going to cook them till they kinda brown and  there is a little brown stuff on the bottom of the pan. This my friends is where the flavor is. Now you will add a good amount of salt to the veggies as they are cooking. I'm sorry I didn't measure the salt. I just eyeballed it. Not helpful I know but if you under salt the dish it will not have the flavor you want. So season generously with salt and pepper.
After you have a nice browned veggie mess add in the ground meat and again season generously with salt and pepper. You want to sear this off as best you can (again the flavor is in the browned bits.) Stir and cook till the meat is cooked through and then add both cans of tomato paste. Stir this around and brown. This will take about 5 minutes. It will become a rust color. Just let it cook for a sec and then stir and let it cook for a second and then turn etc....Once it has browned for a few minutes add the red wine and stir to blend everything. Cook a couple minutes scraping up any brown bits that are on the bottom of your pan. Cook for a few minutes till it really starts to thicken and then this is where the water comes in. You are going to add enough water to raise the level two to three inches (normally what would happen is you would add the initial water and cook it down and then add two more cups of water and cook it down and so on for 3 to 4 hours. But since I didn't have time for that whole game this is what I did.) You should have a good size pot of sauce. Turn it down to a simmer add in the bay leaves and the sprigs of thyme. Cook stirring frequently for about an hour to hour and a half.
Now when the sauce is done remove the bay leaves the the thyme stems. Check for seasoning. You should not have to add anymore water. If you do you are cooking it at too high a heat. Just add a tiny amount of water if you have to if it cooks down too much during the hour of cooking.
Now onto the noodles and bechamel sauce.
Now that the meat sauce is done put a pot of water on to boil your noodles. Cook the noodles in good salty water. While the water is heating up and coming to a boil make the bachamel sauce. Here is how you do it.

Bechamel Sauce
1 stick of unsalted butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic minced
fresh ground nutmeg (use dried if you don't have fresh. You will use a couple good pinches of nutmeg)
fresh ground pepper

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Sprinkle flour over butter and whisk together. Cook for a minute to cook off the flour taste and then pour in a little of the milk. Stir as it thickens and then add a little more milk and stir as it thickens. Repeat the process till all the milk is used up. Season with salt/pepper/nutmeg/garlic. Stir till it thickens up and is like a gravy consistency. It should coat the back of a spoon. Taste for seasoning. Again we want it flavorful so be generous with your salt/pepper. You want the nutmeg to be a back note. Kinda like when you exhale after tasting the sauce you get the nutmeg but not over powered by it when the sauce hits your tongue. Sorry kids this is the best I have for helpful directions. Now set it aside and stir often so it doesn't get a film on top while the noodles are cooking. Hopefully by now they are in the pot of hot water cooking according to package directions. Drain the pasta and run under cold water to stop the cooking process and then drain them again and lets start the assembly.

In a lasagna pan (I have a pan that is a little long than the standard cake pan that I make my lasagna in but a cake pan size will work 9x13. I also use glass pans. Use what you got.)

Place a couple ladles of meat sauce in bottom of the pan and spread out evenly. Lay a layer of noodles on top making sure to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Ladle another couple 2 or 3 ladles of meat sauce over the the noodles and spread out evenly. Then ladle a couple ladles of the bechamel sauce over the meat sauce and spread the best you can. Sprinkle with some of the parm and mozzarella and then another layer of noodles. Do this till you have your pan full ending with noodles and then topping with one last layer of meat sauce and then parm cheese. I had 4 layers (your shooting for 4 to 5 layers if you can) of noodles counting the bottom and the top layer. You may have extra sauce left over of both the sauces. Thats ok. The meat sauce can be used over spaghetti. I just got rid of the left over bechamel sauce. There wasn't much of either left.
Bake  at 400 degrees for about 40-45 minutes. I ended up covering the lasagna up with foil for the last 20 minutes or so as it had got a browned as I wanted it to be.
Take out of the oven and let sit for at least 5 minutes (longer if you can.) Then cut and enjoy. This was supremely wonderful.

Refreshing Summer Drink "Cucumber Water"

Ok, I know this is another post that is really a "no brainer".....or is it? The truth is I know I knew this but for some reason never put it to work. One night I was watching a Will Ferrell movie (we love him, even his bad movies) and in it he is a police officer and he is served a water with cucumber in it and he is consumed with how refreshing and delicious it is. He ends up wanting to return to this place of business because they have such great water. It was pretty funny. Anyhow, it was like the light bulb came on and I said to myself "I knew about this why haven't I ever done it?" So I did. Very simple and sooooo good. It is everything summer and cool. It will refresh you. It is a garden in your water. Lovely just lovely.

Here is what I did:

Filled my pitcher with filtered water

Clean an English cucumber and sliced two or three thick junks and dropped them into the pitcher of water. 

Put it in the fridge for a couple hours and then poured myself a nice cold glass of the most wonderful, fresh, amazing water. 

Give it a try. It is wonderful.