Fruit Leather

This is easy, but it takes a long time so you have to be patient.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 12-15 hours
Serves: Probably 8 to 12 depending on big you cut them


Ingredients:


2 1/2 C. Chopped strawberries (or any other fruit)
1 T. Sugar
1/4 C. Water
1 T. Freshly Squeezed Lemon (about half of a lemon)

Cut strawberries and combine all ingredients in a sauce pan.  Bring to a boil and let it cook down until fruit is soft.  Pour fruit mixture in a food processor or blender and blend until pureed.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat.  Spray generously with cooking spray.  Spread fruit mixture over sheet and place in a warm oven.  I put my in my warming drawer on the low setting, you could also turn your oven on 170 and dry it in there.  I would prop the door open though for ventilation if you used your oven.

Then you let the waiting game begin!  I put mine in the oven at 7:00pm and it was ready the next morning by 7:15am.  Most recipes say you have to flip it half way through the process, but I didn't want to bother with it so I just let it be and it came out just fine!  So no extra work, always a plus! :)

Recipe by: Tracy Lytle

Cereal Breakfast Bars

This is quick, easy and really yummy!  Definitely worth making at least once :)

Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes
Difficulty: Easy


Ingredients:
1/2 c. natural peanut butter
1/2 c. sugar (any kind will work)
1/2 c. honey ( if using agave honey cut the quantity in half)
1/2c. cranberries or raisins
1/4 c. ground flax seed
1/2 c. roasted peanuts
3 cups of your favorite cereal - I used plain cheerios

Grease 13x9 pan.  Add dry ingredients to pan and mix together.  In a medium sauce pan, melt sugar, honey and peanut butter together over medium/high heat.  Be careful to not burn, stir constantly!  Just when it starts to boil remove from heat and carefully pour over cereal mixture.  Combine well and press into pan.

Let cool and cut into bars.  Enjoy!

This recipe is easy to change around.  Add whatever you have to mix it up.  Almonds, sunflower seeds, M&M's...whatever you can find!  Share you variation of this with us.


Recipe by: Tracy Lytle

Pasta Tuna Salad

Difficulty: Easy

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves: A LOT :)

Dressing:
1/3 c. Mayo
3/4 c. Plain Greek yogurt
1 T. Apple cider vinegar
1/2 t. Spicy brown mustard
Squeeze of lemon juice
1/2 t. Paprika
1/2 t. Kosher salt
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. Onion powder

Combine all ingredients well, set aside.

Pasta:
1 (1lb) Package egg noodles, cooked, drained and cooled
2 Cans of tuna, drained
1 Cucumber
1/2 c. Mix of red, orange and yellow peppers
1 Small sweet onion
2 Stalks of celery
2 Carrots
3 to 4 Hard boiled eggs
2 T. Fresh chopped parsley

Chop all veggies finely.  Combine all ingredients in a 13x9 pan and stir in dressing.  Refrigerate for 4 hours or longer.

The fun thing with this recipe is you can add as many fresh veggies and other ingredients as you want!  Try broccoli, olives, cheese, or some chopped turkey or salami if you are not a fan of tuna.  Have fun with it and share your versions with us!


Recipe by: Tracy Lytle

No Knead, No Bread Machine Bread

This bread is great for sandwiches!  It is so super easy I am convinced anyone can make fresh, homemade bread!  

Get out your mixer and get ready for the most delicious bread!  

1/2 C. warm milk

1/2 C. hot water (I just turned on my faucet on the hottest it could go and took my water from here)

4 T. melted butter

3 T. brown sugar

3 C. flour

1 1/4 t. salt 

2 t. instant yeast

In order listed, place in your mixers bowl.  With the paddle attachment mix on high until it forms a dough that pulls away from the edges of the bowl.  Change to a bread kneading hook and mix on med. speed until a smooth ball forms (about 5 minutes).

Lightly grease bread pan and with lightly oiled hands press dough into the pan.  Cover with lightly greased plastic and place in a warm spot for 60 minutes or until risen just above the rim of the pan.

Bake bread at 350 for about 35 minutes, until it's light golden brown.

Simple Couscous

Again, no picture!  Sorry. 


Simple Couscous


1 cup uncooked couscous
1 cup water
2 T. butter
2 T. olive oil
1/4 c. yellow bell pepper
1/4 c. orange bell pepper
1/4 c. red bell pepper
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. fresh parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste

•  Boil 1 cup of water and quickly stir in the couscous, remove from heat and cover.  Let sit for 5 minutes.
• Chop peppers, onion and garlic.  Saute in butter until soft.  Add garlic for the last minute.  
• Chop parsley, set aside.
• After couscous is finished stir pepper mixture, parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe By: Tracy Lytle

*I served this with the lemon roasted chicken and greek yogurt sauce.

Roasted Lemon Chicken With Greek Yogurt Sauce

I unfortunately did not get a picture before we ate all of this meal.  It was that good.

Roasted Lemon Chicken

1 whole chicken, washed and pat dry

Kosher salt

Fresh cracked pepper

Onion powder

Garlic powder

2 T. Coconut Oil

2 T. Butter 

2 Lemons

• Preheat oven to 450.  
• Melt butter and oil and stir in juice from 1 lemon.
• Wash the chicken and pat dry with paper towels.  Place in a greased. 13x9 pan.
• Pour the oil, butter lemon mixture on chicken and rub in, get it on the inside as well.
• Rub all dry ingredients on chicken.
• Poke holes in remaning lemon and stuff inside the chicken.

The chicken can be put in the fridge at this point until ready to cook, I did it for 4 hours and it could go up to 24 hours.  

•  Place chicken in oven and roast on 450 for 20 minutes.
• Turn down to 400 and roast an additional 40 minutes or until juices run clear.

Greek Yogurt Sauce

Serves 4

Recipe provided by the Greek Gods

Adding Greek yogurt to this dish adds moisture and a tangy burst of flavor, making it the perfect way to spice up a normal chicken dish. Serve with grilled vegetables and tabouleh for a delicious, healthy Greek meal.

Ingredients

1 cup greek yogurt

2 tablespoons lemon zest, finely grated

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice (preferably fresh squeeze)

2 tablespoons fresh oregano, finely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

2 wholes clove garlic, peeled and diced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground

Instructions

Combine yogurt, lemon peel and juice, oregano, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper.

Spoon the Greek Gods Greek Yogurt over the chicken and serve.

Cranberry-Oatmeal Bars

Yield: 24 servings (serving size: 1 square)

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 4.5  ounces  all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
• 1  cup  quick-cooking oats
• 1/2  cup  packed brown sugar
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 6  tablespoons  butter, melted
• 3  tablespoons  orange juice
• Cooking spray
• Filling:
• 1 1/3  cups  dried cranberries (about 6 ounces)
• 3/4  cup  sour cream (I substituted with greek yogurt)
• 1/2  cup  granulated sugar
• 2  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 1/2  teaspoon  grated orange rind
• 1  large egg white, lightly beaten

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325°.

2. To prepare crust, weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through cinnamon) in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle butter and juice over flour mixture, stirring until moistened (mixture will be crumbly). Reserve 1/2 cup oat mixture. Press remaining oat mixture into the bottom of an 11 x 7–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

3. To prepare filling, combine cranberries, sour cream, granulated sugar, and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring well. Spread cranberry mixture over prepared crust; sprinkle reserved oat mixture evenly over filling. Bake at 325° for 40 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Cherry-Oatmeal Bars: Substitute dried cherries for the dried cranberries and lemon rind for the orange rind in filling.

CALORIES 135 (31% from fat); FAT 4.6g (sat 2.6g, mono 0.8g, poly 0.2g); PROTEIN 1.7g; CARB 21.5g; FIBER 1.3g; CHOL 13mg; IRON 0.7mg; SODIUM 68mg; CALC 27mg

Maple-Date-Oatmeal Bars: Substitute chopped pitted dates for the dried cranberries. Omit granulated sugar from filling, and add 2 tablespoons maple syrup and 2 tablespoons brown sugar.

CALORIES 124 (33% from fat); FAT 4.6g (sat 2.6g, mono 0.8g, poly 0.2g); PROTEIN 1.7g; CARB 19.8g; FIBER 1.1g; CHOL 13mg; IRON 0.7mg; SODIUM 68mg; CALC 26mg

Nutritional Information

Calories:

133 (31% from fat)

Fat:

4.6g (sat 2.6g,mono 0.8g,poly 0.2g)

Protein:

1.5g

Carbohydrate:

21.9g

Fiber:

0.9g

Cholesterol:

13mg

Iron:

0.6mg

Sodium:

67mg

Calcium:

20mg

Recipe By: Cooking Light Magazine

Peanut Butter and Banana Bread Pudding with Chocolate Caramel Sauce

This one is in honor of National Peanut Butter Day, which is TODAY! I haven't tried it, but it looks amazing - let us know how it is, should you try it.

INGREDIENTS:

4 slices of Nature's Pride Country White Bread
2 TBS butter
4 tsp white sugar

1/2 cup natural peanut butter, crunchy style
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup palm sugar, or light brown sugar

1 1/2 cups half and half
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

6 3/4 cup ramekins, lightly buttered

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Spread the slices of bread with the butter and sprinkle with sugar. Grill on a hot grill about 1 minute, rotating the slices 90º to get nice cross hatching.

In a bowl, stir together the peanut butter, bananas and palm sugar. Spread the mixture on the toasted bread. Cut each slice into 3/4 inch to 1 inch cubes. Place the cubes loosely into the buttered ramekins.

In a small saucepan, scald the half and half. Stir in the sugar. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Add a small amount of the half and half to the eggs, whisking constantly to temper the eggs. Add the remaining half and half mixture while continuing to whisk. Stir in the vanilla.

Pour the custard mixture into the ramekins. Push the cubes of bread into the custard mixture. Allow to sit for five minutes before baking.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until lightly browned and the custard is just set.

Allow to cool briefly before upending the ramekins onto serving plates. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and the chocolate caramel sauce.

Chocolate Caramel Sauce
(Adapted from Joy of Cooking)

1 cup golden brown sugar
1 TBS unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 oz bittersweet chocolate (I used Ghiradelli 60% Cacao bittersweet chips)

Melt sugar, stirring constantly. Stir in butter and heavy cream. After you have smooth caramel, remove the pan from heat and stir in chocolate. The heat from the caramel sauce should be sufficient to melt and incorporate the chocolate.

Recipe from Javaholic

Posted by Debi

Bananas Foster

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
3 1/2 Tablespoon rum
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 bananas, peeled and sliced lengthwise and crosswise
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 pint vanilla ice cream

DIRECTIONS:

In a large, deep skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in sugar, rum, vanilla and cinnamon. When mixture begins to bubble, place bananas and walnuts in pan. Cook until bananas are hot, 1 - 2 minutes. Serve at once over vanilla ice cream.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 4

Recipe from: Allrecipes.com

Posted by Debi

Roasted Pheasant with Whiskey-Cumberland Sauce

INGREDIENTS:
1/8 cup Scotch Whiskey
1 orange, cut into 1/8ths
2 springs fresh thyme
1 3 lb. pheasant
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
3 slices bacon halved

Whiskey Cumberland Sauce:
1/2 cup Scotch Whiskey
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 Tablespoon grated orange zest
1/2 cup red currant jelly
1/8 teaspoon salt
pinch of cayenne pepper


DIRECTIONS:

For the pheasant: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a bowl, toss the oranges with 1 and a half T. of whiskey. Rub the pheasant with the remaining 1 T. of whiskey and lightly season with salt and pepper. Stuff the pheasant with the oranges and fresh thyme, and close the cavity with skewers. Wrap the breast of each pheasant with the bacon and set in a roasting pan. Roast the pheasant until and instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 160 degrees F. - about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes.

For the sauce: In a medium saucepan, combine the whiskey, orange juice and orange zest, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced by 50 percent in volume. Add the currant jelly, salt and cayenne and stir well.

Cook until thickened, about 2 - 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour into a decorative bowl. Cool slightly before serving.

Remove the bacon from the pheasant, if desired, and cut each bird in half. Discard the oranges and thyme in the cavity. Serve hot with Whiskey-Cumberland Sauce and wild rice.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Intermediate
Serves: 2

Recipe from Emeril Lagasse, 2001

Posted by Debi