Asian Cole Slaw

Asian Cole Slaw is a summer favorite.  The crunchies are the best.  We made this today along side some Teriyaki Chicken Legs and Fried Rice.

Asian Cole Slaw

Ingredients

• 1 head napa cabbage (we used reg)
• 1 bunch minced green onions
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 (3 ounce) package ramen noodles, broken
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds 

• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions

1. Finely shred the head of cabbage; do not chop. Combine the green onions and cabbage in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Make the crunchies: Melt the butter in a pot. Mix the ramen noodles, sesame seeds and almonds into the pot with the melted butter. Spoon the mixture onto a baking sheet and bake the crunchies in the preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven, turning often to make sure they do not burn. When they are browned remove them from the oven.
4. Make the dressing: In a small saucepan, heat vinegar, oil, sugar, and soy sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil, let boil for 1 minute. Remove the pan from heat and let cool.
5. Combine dressing, crunchies, and cabbage immediately before serving. Serve right away or the crunchies will get soggy.

Air Fried Home Fries and Chicken Sausage 5 ww sp

I have fallen in love with my Bella Air Fryer!!!

My Air Fryer is by far the most used appliance in my kitchen.  It keeps things cool, can make small batches and prepares everything in a healthier way.  Starting back up on Weight Watchers, the Air Fryer helps me keep the points low but still enjoy that yummy fried taste.

I'm not always a huge breakfast fan, but love hash browns and breakfast potatoes.  Cooking potatoes in a skillet takes a lot of oil to keep them from sticking.  I used to prepare home fries in the oven quite often, but the time and the heat the oven produces in the summer, just didn't make it seem practical on a daily basis.  Potatoes are decent sp wise too.  A 5oz potato is only 4sp.  I weigh my potato each morning on my kitchen scale before dicing to enter the exact weight into my Weight Watchers App.

I throw an Aldi All Natural Chicken Sausage in the Airfryer that cooks along with my potatoes each morning.  The Chicken Sausage is only 1sp and is a great size.

Air Fried Potatoes

1 Potato, washed and cubed

diced onion, amount to your taste

diced green pepper, to your taste

non stick cooking spray, I prefer butter flavored

season salt

Add cubed potato, onion and peppers to your Air fryer bin.  Coat with cooking spray and season to your liking with season salt.  Cook for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

On a side note, I'm pretty proud of the fact that I have earned a "Blue Dot" for each day for May so far.  Eating within my Healthy Eating Zone has got my weight loss back on track after a dodgy April.  Who would have thought if you follow the Weight Watchers program as intended it works that much better ;)

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Need a big salad to take to your next gathering?

Have lots of garden surplus to share with everyone?

Cucumber Tomato Salad is a colorful, delicious recipe for you.

This recipe serves 30-40.

Cucumber and Tomato Salad
8 medium tomatoes, sliced and quartered
4 large cucumbers, peeled and sliced
16 green onions, chopped
3 tablespoon sugar
3 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cup cider vinegar 
4 cup water (tap)

Directions
In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber and onions. In a small
bowl, combine the sugar, salt and pepper. Whisk in the vinegar and
water. Pour over vegetables and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate
for 4 hours or overnight. Serve with a slotted spoon

This recipe was added to a link party at:
Tasty Tuesday

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

Oven space always seems to be at a premium when cooking for a crowd.  This Stove Top Mac and Cheese is a winner!

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
1/4 cup salt
4 pounds elbow, shell or other bite-size shaped pasta
6 (12 fluid ounce) cans evaporated milk
4 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup butter
1-1/3 cups flour 
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
4 pounds grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1. Bring 2 quarts of water to boil in large soup kettle. Add salt and pasta. Using package directions as a guide, cook until al dente. Drain. To prevent sticking, drain and immediately pour onto a large lipped baking sheet and let cool while preparing sauce.
2. Meanwhile, microwave the milk and chicken broth in a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup or bowl until hot and steamy (not boiling). Melt butter in the empty pasta pot; whisk in flour, then hot milk mixture. Continue to whisk until thick and bubbly, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in mustard, Parmesan and pepper. Turn off heat, stir in cheddar until melted.
3. Add drained pasta (and optional flavoring ingredients, see notes) to sauce, and stir until everything is well combined over low heat. Stir to heat through, and thin with a little water if the sauce is too thick. Serve hot.

Bacon Ranch Pea Salad

I love volunteering as my "me" time.  Once a month I plan, co ordinate and prepare a meal for 40 at the Ronald McDonald House in St. Louis.  This Pea Salad is always a big hit with the residents.

Bacon Ranch Pea Salad
40 slices bacon
8 (16 ounce) packages frozen green peas
3-1/3 cups chopped onions
4 cups Ranch dressing
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Place bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside. Bring the water to a boil in a pot. Boil the peas 1 minute, until just tender, and drain. Cool peas under cold running water. In a bowl, toss together bacon, peas, onion, Ranch dressing, and Cheddar cheese. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until chilled before serving.

Cranberry Oat Bread

Cranberry Oat Bread

from the Bread Machine

I'm ready to try something new and venture into the unknown.  I've created a short video of this recipe on YouTube.  Lets see how it goes!

Ingredients:

1 cup water (lukewarm)

1 tablespoon butter/margarine

2 tablespoons honey

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup old-fashion oats

2 1/2 cups flour

1 3/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/3 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

In bread machine pan, place the first eight ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer.  Select basic bread setting.  Choose crust color and loaf size if available.  Bake according to bread machine directions (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed).  Just before final kneading (your machine may audibly signal this), add cranberries.

Pumpkin Spice Cheerio Bars

Pumpkin Spice Cheerio Bars

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter/margarine

1 bag Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows

6 cups Cheerios

Butter Flavored Spray for Pan

Directions:

Place butter in microwave safe large bowl with marshmallows.  Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes.  Stir until marshmallows are all dissolved.  Mix in cereal carefully.  Pour into greased 9x13 baking dish.  Spray fingers with butter flavored spray as well and press treats into the dish.  Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes and enjoy.

Tater Tot Casserole

As a fan of the Duggars, this is a family favorite recipe at our house.

Brown one pound of ground beef or turkey and spread in a 9x13 casserole dish.

Next spread a can of drained green beans or corn over the ground meat.

Top veggies with a bag of frozen tater tots.

Mix one can of cream of whatever soup with one can of evaporated milk.  We prefer cream of mushroom, but any will work.  Pour this mixture over the tots evenly.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven uncovered for about 45 minutes until slightly browned on top.

This truly is a delicious casserole that has a great cheesy texture from the evaporated milk.  Definitely a kid favorite on a busy school night.

Campbell's Skillet Sauces Creamy Chipotle

Looking for a quick way to make a delicious dinner?  The Campbell's Skillet Sauces are just that.

The Creamy Chipotle Sauce was a bit on the spicy side for me, but would make an excellent sauce for inside enchiladas.

Skillet Sauces are super easy to prepare, just saute up your chicken and stir in the sauce.

Taco Pasta

Taco Pasta is a great meal to throw together quickly and you probably have all the ingredients on hand.

Ingredients

1 package Taco Seasoning

1 pound Ground Beef, cooked and drained

12 ounce package Pasta, any shape

1/2 jar Salsa

1 can Chili Beans

1 cup Spaghetti Sauce

Boil pasta according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, in a separate saucepan, mix together all other ingredients and simmer over medium heat.

Drain pasta once done and add warmed sauce.

Serve topped with your favorite taco toppings.  We used cheese, sour cream and green onions.

Patriotic Red Velvet Cookies

Patriotic Red Velvet Cookies are made from my Cake Mix Cookie Recipe.

Follow the recipe linked above using a red velvet cake mix and then dipping the top of the raw cookies into the sprinkles before baking.

The kids thought these were great and loved the fun sprinkles on top!

Lemon Crumb Cake

This is great as is with the lemon cake mix, but I have also done this with a french vanilla cake and added a smidge of cinnamon to the crumb and it was delish!

• 1 pkg Lemon Cake Mix
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour a 13x9-inch pan.
2. Combine cake mix, eggs, water and oil in large mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer for 2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Combine flour, sugar and baking powder in a small bowl. Cut butter until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over batter.
4. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan.

Blueberry Buckle

I wish I would have gotten a better pic of the inside for everyone, but hubby took these to work and they were devoured before they even thought to take one for me.

I love using allrecipes.com to find great new recipes.  Check out this recipe for Blueberry Buckle!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple Upside Down Cake is a family tradition recipe passed down from my grandmother.  So easy to remember and make with the simple saying, "A Cup, a Can and a Stick."

Ingredients

1 box yellow cake mix with ingredients list on box (eggs, oil, water)

1 cup brown sugar

1 20oz can of crushed pineapple

1 stick of butter or margarine

Place stick of butter in your 9x13 baking pan and melt butter in oven as it preheats to 350 degrees.

Drain pineapple juice out of your crushed pineapple into a measuring cup.  

Prepare cake mix according to package directions, but add reserved pineapple juice to water.  For example, cake mix requires 1 cup of water, you drain 1/3 cup of juice from pineapple, so then you only add 2/3 cup of water along with the juice.  Be sure to mix cake mix for the full 2 minutes as directed on the box to get the best results.

Remove cake pan from oven with now melted butter.  Carefully stir in the cup of brown sugar.  Next add the drained pineapple to the butter/sugar mixture and spread evenly in pan as pictured below.

Carefully pour cake batter over pineapple mixture.  Bake for about 45 minutes until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let cake cool in pan for 5 minutes.  Then invert cake onto a cookie sheet.  If any of the pineapple mixture sticks to the pan, just scoop it out and spread it back onto the cake.

Enjoy!

Campbell's Skillet Sauce Shrimp Scampi

What an quick and easy dinner this was to prepare!!!  

I defrosted a 1 lb bag of precooked shrimp.  Warm gently in a skillet and then pour Campbell's Scampi Sauce over top.  Serve with spaghetti noodles.

My husband thought the sauce was a bit thin, but I thought it was great.  Sprinkle with a bit of parmesan cheese and delish.

Sushi

Making sushi is a technique more than a recipe.  Once you get the hang of rolling sushi at home, you can mix and match the ingredients to suit your tastes or what is freshest in your area.  I know my choices of "fillings" in my sushi is not traditional but it is what works for our family.  The dictionary meaning of sushi is sugared rice, so as long as you have your sushi rice, the "fillings" can be anything.  I have even heard of people putting fresh fruit down the center of their sushi rolls.

Ingredients

1 batch of sushi rice (recipe below)

5 sushi nori sheets

5 crab sticks

1/2 block cream cheese

1 large carrot

Sushi Rice

2 1/4 cups rice

3 cups water

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

dash salt

Rinse rice 2 to 3 times until water is almost clear.  Picture below shows first rinse.

Drain rinsed rice as much as possible.  Pour in 3 cups water and let rice cook in a rice cooker.

When rice cooker finishes, allow rice to cool slightly.

Mix in rice vinegar, sugar and salt into rice and mix well.

While rice is cooking, be sure to prepare your other ingredients.  I like to slightly soften my carrots by microwaving them in a bit of water for about 3 minutes.

Once rice and all other ingredients are prepared and assembled its time to roll.

Place sushi nori on your mat shiny side down.

Using rice spoon, spread rice over nori all the way to the edges leaving about a half inch at the top.

Place fillings across the rice about 1/3 from the bottom of the nori.

Use the bamboo mat to tightly wrap the nori over the "fillings" and pull back gently to ensure a tight wrap.  Open the mat to continue rolling the nori over itself like rolling up a sleeping bag.  Use the mat around the sushi roll to apply even pressure around the roll and squeeze to ensure roll will not come undone.

Continue with all 5 rolls and allow to set up for about 5 minutes before slicing.

When slicing your sushi, be sure to have a clean, sharp, and slightly wet knife.  Cut in half first lining up the ends and then cut into 10 slices.  Be sure to clean the knife after each cut so it's not gummy like in the pic above.

Enjoy the beauty of the finished rolls!

Oreo Layer Dessert

Although we did make this at the Ronald McDonald House, the recipe is for one batch.  We just quadrupled it for all the guests.  Very delicious!

Oreo Layer Dessert

1 pkg of regular Oreos 
1/2 c. of butter 
1 lg box of instant chocolate pudding 
2-8 oz cool whips 
8 oz. of cream cheese, softened 
1 c. powdered sugar 

Crush the whole package of cookies either with a food processor, or in a bag and a rolling pin. Save a 1/2 c. to sprinkle on top of dessert when it's done. Pour remaining crumbs in a 13x9 pan. Melt butter and pour into crumb mix. Stir it up good and press crumbs in bottom of pan to make a crust. Make chocolate pudding according to package directions and let it setup in the fridge. In a mixing bowl blend cream cheese until nice and smooth and then add powdered sugar, mix. Then fold in 1-8 oz thing of cool whip. Top oreo layer with cream cheese mix, then pudding, then your last 8 oz thing of cool whip, and then sprinkle remaining Oreo's on top. Cover and refridgerate until ready to serve. 

Lemony Cole Slaw

This recipe was a hit at the Ronald McDonald House and serves about 60

Lemony Italian Cole Slaw

Dressing
3 1/4 cup sour cream
4-5 tablespoons sugar
13 tablespoons lemon juice
13 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
2 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Salad
27 cups shredded green cabbage (5 small heads)
13 cups thinly sliced fennel bulb (5 large bulb)
2 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
2 cup sliced green onions (about 25 medium)

In small bowl, mix dressing ingredients; set aside. In large bowl, mix salad ingredients; toss with dressing. Cover; refrigerate about 2 hours before serving to blend flavors. 

Eggplant Caponata

This is a recipe serving 60 used at the Ronald McDonald House in St. Louis.  This eggplant is a very unique dish and was a tad spicy.  I would tone down the chili flakes if I prepared it again.

EGGPLANT CAPONATA 

2 cup virgin olive oil 
2 large Spanish onion, chopped in 1/2-inch dice
3/4 cup pine nuts 
3/4 cup currants 
4 tablespoon hot chili flakes, plus extra for garnish 
8 medium eggplant 
8 tablespoons sugar 
4 teaspoon cinnamon 
4 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder 
8 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves 
1 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar 
Salt and freshly ground pepper
20 sprigs mint, chopped 

In a large 12 to 14-inch saute pan, over medium heat, heat the olive oil until hot but not smoking. Add the onions, pine nuts, currants and chili flakes and saute for 4 to 5 minutes until softened. Cut the eggplant into 1/2-inch cubes (to yield 4 cups). Add the eggplant, sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Add the thyme, tomato sauce, and balsamic vinegar. Bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer the mixture for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature, garnish with mint and chili flakes 

Basic tomato sauce: Yield: 1 cups 
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 
1/4 Spanish onion, 1/4-inch dice 
1 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced 
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves 
1/4 medium carrot, finely grated 
1 (14-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juices reserved C
Salt 

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt and serve. 

Parsley Potatoes

Another great recipe from the Ronald McDonald House dinners.  Serves 60

Parsley Potatoes

15 pounds new red potatoes
2 – 3 cups Extra Virgin Olive oil
5 onions, chopped
10 cloves garlic, crushed
5 bunches chopped fresh Italian flat Leaf parsley
Salt and ground black pepper

Cut potatoes into quarters, place them in a large pot full of salted water. Bring the water to a boil; then reduce heat. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Remove potatoes with a slotted spoon to a serving bowl. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute onion 5 minutes or until tender, add garlic for last minute. Chop parsley, combine with olive oil and onions. Pour olive oil mixture over potatoes and stir. Serve warm.