I'm getting lots of lettuce from my CSA for salads but I wanted a nice fruit salad with the hot weather that we're having. Plus I have an over abundance of sour cream in my refrigerator so you might be seeing a few recipes using it in the next few days.
Grape Salad
1 # green grapes
1 # red grapes
4 oz Neufchatel cheese (or regular cream cheese)
1/3 cup sour cream
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup toffee bits
Wash and drain grapes. In a small bowl, combine Neufchatel cheese, sour cream, honey and vanilla. Stir into grapes. Sprinkle the mixture with toffee bits. Cover and chill for 4 hours before serving.
It's been some time since I made a snack mix and I found lots of ingredients in my pantry to throw one together today.
Cinnamon Apple Crunch Mix
6 cups popped popcorn
1 cup dry roasted peanuts
2 cups dehydrated apples
2 cups chow mein noodles
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
In a small saucepan, melt butter and then add the sugar, cinnamon, salt and vanilla. Cook until thick and pour over the popped popcorn, peanuts, apples and chow mein noodles in a large roaster. Stir well and bake for 15 minutes at 250°. Turn off oven after 15 minutes, stir and put back in cooling oven for an additional 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container.
My comfort food always seems to have a little heat in it. This time it came from red pepper flakes which balanced out well with the hint of garlic.
Ham & Parmesan Linguine
8 oz linguine
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Half and Half
1 cup ham, diced
1/2 cup peas (I used frozen)
1/2 cup Parmesan (shredded plus extra shaved for top)
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Cook linguine in salted water. As that is cooking, heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Toss in minced garlic and cook for a minute before adding in Half and Half. When that is heated, add in ham, peas, Parmesan and spices. When pasta is cooked, lift out of saucepan and toss right into the cream sauce. Toss lightly and add shaved Parmesan to top before serving.
Whatchamacallit candy bars are one of my favorites even though they are hard to find some days. I wanted to create an ice cream to taste similar and without all the heaviness adding in egg yolks. Naturally you need a crunch factor and I picked one of my favorite cereals to nibble on to provide it ~ Cap'n Crunch Peanut Butter Crunch.
What-Cha-Ma-Call-It Ice Cream
In a large bowl combine ~
1/2 cup dark cocoa
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 cups half and half
2 tsp vanilla
Mix together and pour into your ice cream machine.
When it's thickened, add in ~
2 cups crushed Cap'n Crunch Peanut Butter Crunch
1/2 caramel sauce ~ see below
Put in your freezer until it's firmly set.
Caramel Sauce
15 caramels2 tbsp whipping cream
Melt caramels with whipping cream and stir until smooth. Allow to cool before adding to ice cream. Gently mix in last so you leave ribbons of caramel in the ice cream.
It's Monday and that deserves an easy meal on your first day back at work after a nice weekend. And this one doesn't get much easier but still gives you a feeling of comfort which Mondays usually have you wanting. Plus who can resist ooey gooey mozzarella falling down the toasted edges of the bread? I already had my pizza sauce for dipping made and just had to thaw it and heat it.
Grilled Mozzarella & Pepperoni Sandwich
2 slices of bread, your choice ~ my choice was sourdough
softened butter
sliced fresh mozzarella cheese
1/8 tsp oregano
pepperoni slices
Butter outsides of the slices of your bread. Place one butter side down and top with mozzarella, oregano and pepperoni. Grill until a golden brown on both sides. Serve with pizza sauce.
Pizza Sauce
1 - 6 oz tomato paste
6 oz water
3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp Italian Seasonings
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
salt to taste
Mix together tomato paste and water in a medium sized pan. Add in honey, garlic and spices and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
I'm always thinking of new ways to make pork and chicken. I decided I wanted to add new spices to pork chops and I'm glad I did. A little sweet, even more spicy and oh so tender.
Mexican Pork Chops
4 pork chops
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, chili powder and cumin. Dip pork chops in and place in heated frying pan with olive oil. Lightly brown on both sides and finish cooking in a 350° oven until the internal temperature reaches 145°.
I love my Le Creuset French Oven and it has a permanent home on my stove top. Plus it's Cassis which I also love. Today I made a new form of baked beans with real maple syrup so your house is guaranteed to smell heavenly.
Maple Baked Beans
1 lb dried beans - I used great northern
1/2 tsp baking soda
½ lb applewood smoked bacon, cooked in small pieces
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 cup onions, diced
3/4 cup real maple syrup
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
Rinse and pick out bad beans. Place in your french oven, add in 1/2 tsp baking soda and cover with cold water and let soak overnight. In the morning, drain and rinse the beans, cover again with water and boil until soft. Drain and save the water. In a separate pan, cook onions in 1 tbsp of olive oil, remove and add to beans and then cook the bacon. Let cooked bacon drain on paper towels before adding to beans. Add in salt, dry mustard and real maple syrup. Cook over a low heat for 8 hours. Stir occasionally and add in saved bean water if necessary.
