Greek Salad Dressing

Absolutely Fabulous Greek/House Dressing Rated: Prep Time: 10 Minutes Ready In: 10 Minutes Submitted By: DANIELLE M. Servings: 4 "This is the 'secret' Greek dressing recipe from the pizzeria that I work at. The recipe makes almost a gallon but can be scaled down easily. It can be used for picnics and travels very well, since it doesn't need to be refrigerated. This is the best dressing I have ever tasted, people offer to buy it constantly, but if we sold it we wouldn't be able to make enough to use in the restaurant!" INGREDIENTS: 3 tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon olive oil 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard 1/4 cup and 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar DIRECTIONS:

Absolutely Fabulous Greek/House Dressing (continued) 2 of 2 DIRECTIONS: (continued) You have scaled this recipe's ingredients to yield a new amount (4). The directions below still refer to the original recipe yield (120). 1. In a very large container, mix together the olive oil, garlic powder, oregano, basil, pepper, salt, onion powder, and Dijon-style mustard. Pour in the vinegar, and mix vigorously until well blended. Store tightly covered at room temperature. Nutrition Information Servings Per Recipe: 4 Calories: 104 Amount Per Serving Total Fat: 10.9g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 246mg Amount Per Serving Total Carbs: 2g Dietary Fiber: 0.3g Protein: 0.2g ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com

Creamed Corn with Jalapeno and Thyme

I had this dish at The Commander's Palace in New Orleans several years ago. It was so amazing I bought the cookbook, Commander's Kitchen, which included the recipe. Here it is for you to try - and with corn so abundant this year (and inexpensive) it won't break your budget either.

Difficulty: moderate
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Serves: 8


INGREDIENTS:

8 ears fresh corn, shucked
1 pint heavy cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 jalapeno peppers, stemmed, seeded and minced
2 Tablespoons fresh thyme
1 Tablespoon butter

DIRECTIONS:

Stand an ear of corn inside a large bowl, and using a small knife, remove the kernels, being sure not to cut into the cob. When all the corn has been scraped off, scrape the cob with the back of a knife, break the cob in half, and place in a large pot. Repeat with the remaining corn.

Pour the cream into the pot. It probably won't cover all the cobs. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil, taking care not to let the cream boil over. Stir and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the cream starts to thicken. Using tongs, remove the cobs.

Add the corn and the jalapeno to the pan and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The corn should be tender. Add the thyme, stir in the butter and adjust the seasoning as needed.

Posted by Debi

Summer Berry Crepes

I found this recipe posted on another Food blog, What's On My Plate.


I got this crepe batter recipe off of Alton Brown's "Good Eats" and have loved it ever since. There are so many fun fillings and flavors you can combine with the crepes which make this recipe great for breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert =) I will say, "practice makes perfect". I had to ruin a few crepes before I figured out how to make them just right, so don't give up if you don't get it your first try. The more I make them, the easier it gets.
Also, I would suggest using a large saucepan so you have plenty of area around the outside of the crepe to work with. When I first starting makes crepes, I was using a small 12" saucepan with high sides, and trying the get a spatula underneath the crepe, and then attempt flipping it without tearing it, was nearly impossible unless I had the batter cooked just right. So start off with a bigger pan - you'll thank yourself in the long run.

Summer Berry Crepes

*Crepe batter - Sweet Variation (recipe below)
Butter to coat pan
1 lb. strawberries, sliced
6 oz. blueberries
3 bananas, sliced
2 cups vanilla yogurt
2 cups granola
ground cinnamon

For an even more decadent crepe add:
2 cups chopped pecans
maple syrup (drizzled over top finished crepe just before serving)

Directions
Once you've made your fresh crepes, begin layering: 3-4 Tbsp of yogurt, fresh fruit, granola & then sprinkle cinnamon in the center of each crepe. Gently fold over each side so that they overlap in the middle. Top off Crepe with more fresh fruit or drizzle lightly with more whipped yogurt and granola.

Crepes - Alton Brown

Ingredients
2 large eggs
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup milk
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons melted butter

Directions

In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

Heat a small non-stick pan (**I prefer a large one - Jamie) . Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone. After they have cooled you can stack them and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for up to two months. When using frozen crepes, thaw on a rack before gently peeling apart.

*Savory Variation Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, spinach or sun-dried tomatoes to the egg mixture.

*Sweet Variation Add 21/2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of your favorite liqueur to the egg mixture.

Posted by Debi

Sweet Corn Salsa

This recipe is from Southern Living's 1995 cookbook - one of my favorite editions. It includes all the best tastes of summer and is wonderful served with grilled meats or cold salads.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups fresh whole kernel sweet corn (I use the bi-color), scraped off the cob.
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
3 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup finely chopped purple onion
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped sweet red pepper
1 (4-1/2 oz.) can chopped green chiles, undrained
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients, and toss gently. Cover and chill at least 2 hours or overnight. Yield: 5 cups

Posted by Debi

Chocolate Babka

I would call this a chocolate cinnamon roll. Delicious, easy and makes a good amount. I did a different variation of the streusel topping. From the reviews of this particular recipe everyone complained that the topping didn't stay on the dough. So I did it different and it turned out great! Definitely worth trying. I also did my dough in my bread machine on the dough setting. Took 1 1/2 hours and it came out perfect.

Chocolate Babka

Prep Time: 2 Hours 35 Minutes

Cook Time: 25 Minutes Ready In: 3 Hours

Servings: 10

"These babka rings are made from a rich yeast dough spread with a chocolate and

cinnamon filling. The loaves are rolled up, finished with a sweet streusel topping, and

baked."

INGREDIENTS:

BABKA DOUGH

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

2 cups bread flour

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup water

1 egg

3/4 teaspoon salt

CHOCOLATE FILLING

5 (1 ounce) squares semisweet

chocolate, finely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/3 cup white sugar

1/4 cup butter, chilled

STREUSEL

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, chilled

1 egg beaten with

1 tablespoon water for glaze (optional)

**MY TOPPING**

2 tablespoons of milk

2 tablespoons of melted butter

1/4 c. sugar

I brushed on milk, the sprinkled with sugar, brushed on butter and sprinkled with remaining sugar.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Warm the milk and melt 1/4 cup butter in a glass or ceramic bowl in the microwave

for 30 seconds, or on the stovetop in a saucepan. Combine the bread flour, 2 cups

all-purpose flour, yeast, and 1/4 cup sugar. Add the water, the milk-butter mixture,

the egg, and the salt to the dry ingredients and mix well.

2. Use the dough hook in a stand mixer on low speed or knead the dough by hand

until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes. If the dough is too wet,

add more bread flour, about 2 tablespoonfuls at a time (up to 8 tablespoons) to

make a workable dough; too much flour can make the dough dry. Cover the dough

with a damp cloth and let rise until double in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

3. Make the chocolate filling and the streusel while the dough is rising. For the filling,

stir together the finely chopped chocolate, the cinnamon, and 1/4 cup sugar. Cut in

1/4 cup chilled butter with a fork. To make the streusel, combine the confectioners'

sugar and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour; cut in 1/4 cup chilled butter until the mixture

resembles coarse crumbs.

4. When the dough has doubled, punch the dough down and cut it into two equal

pieces. Loosely shape each piece into a ball. Cover the dough with a damp cloth

and let it rest for 10 minutes.

5. Roll out one portion on a lightly floured surface to form a 15x4-inch rectangle.

Sprinkle with half the chocolate filling, roll up to form a long log, and seal the seam.

Attach the ends to form a circle and place the ring, seam-side down, on a

parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Use a

serrated knife or kitchen shears to cut slits at 1-inch intervals around the rings.

Cover the rings with damp kitchen towels and let rise until doubled in size, about 30

minutes.

6. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

7. Brush the loaves with the egg wash, if desired. Sprinkle streusel on top. Bake the

loaves for about 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheets to promote even browning,

until the bread is a deep golden brown.

**CAUTION** Do not unless you REALLY want to ruin how awesome these taste!

Nutrition

Information

Servings Per Recipe: 10

Calories: 477

Amount Per Serving

Total Fat: 20.4g

Cholesterol: 80mg

Sodium: 296mg

Amount Per Serving

Total Carbs: 65.5g

Dietary Fiber: 2.8g

Protein: 9.5g

Posted By : Tracy

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 4/24/2010

Strawberry Margarita Pie (non-alcoholic)

Well, it was good. Not really a strawberry margarita taste, but kind of. I didn't want to use alcohol because my kids wanted to eat it. Maybe next time we will do a grown up one and see if it tastes more like the drink.

Your favorite pie crust - baked and cooled.

1 1/4 qt. strawberries, sliced and divided.

3 T. cornstarch

1/2 c. sugar

2 T. margarita mix

Splash of orange juice

1/4 t. vanilla

Put a layer of fresh sliced strawberries on the bottom of the pie. Mash 1 qt. of strawberries and cook with sugar, cornstarch, margarita mix and orange juice. Stir constantly until the liquid turns clear. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir. Pour over fresh strawberries in pie crust and chill overnight or in the freezer for at least 4 hours. Top with whip cream if desired.

Posted by: Tracy

This recipe was taken from the Kellogg's All-Bran website. I added 3 T. of ground flax seed with the cereal and banana mixture. I also needed to cooked it 1hr 15min - with the last 15min. on a speed bake (if your oven has that setting). Came out super moist and delicious.

Banana Date Bread

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Servings: 16

Ingredients

2	cups all-purpose flour
1	teaspoon baking powder
1/2	teaspoon baking soda
1/2	teaspoon salt
3/4	cup chopped, pitted dates
1/3	cup boiling water
1 1/2	cups All-Bran® Original
	or 1 1/2 cups All-Bran® Bran Buds®
1 1/2 cups	mashed, fully ripe bananas
1/2 cup	margarine or butter, softened
3/4 cup	sugar
2	eggs
1/2 cup	coarsely chopped nuts (optional)

Directions
1. Stir together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside.

2. In medium mixing bowl, stir together dates and water. Cover, let stand 10 minutes. Add KELLOGG'S ALL-BRAN cereal and bananas. Let stand about 2 minutes or until cereal softens.

3. Meanwhile, in large mixing bowl, beat margarine and sugar until well combined. Add eggs. Beat well. Mix in cereal mixture. Stir in flour mixture and nuts. Spread batter evenly in 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray.

4. Bake at 350° F about 1 hour or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack. For easier slicing, wrap tightly and store overnight in refrigerator.

Yield: 1 loaf, 16 slices

posted by: Tracy

Making Strawberry Jam

3 Cups of crushed strawberries

4 1/2 Cups of sugar

1/2 Squeezed fresh lemon

Wash strawberries...

Great for composting...

Sliced and ready to be turned into jam.

*photo missing* take the bottom of a cup and mash the strawberries, measure 3 cups of mashed strawberries and add all ingredients to a bread machine. Select "jam" cycle (mine was 13).

Boil jars and lids to sterilize...

It takes 10-15 minutes...

This is what it looked like after 1 hr 15 min in the bread machine

Carefully pour hot jam into the hot jar.

Put lids on immediately to seal

Jam is ready!

Crustless Quiche

This is a recipe my cousin made up that requires no crust, which cuts down greatly on the calories usually associated with this dish. And it tastes amazing!!! It's one of our family's favorite recipes!


INGREDIENTS:

8 oz. mild sausage
1/4 c. chopped green pepper
1/4 c. chopped onion
4 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. flour
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
2 c. grated Monterrey Jack cheese
1/4. c. Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Brown sausage; drain well. Spray 9 or 10 inch pie dish with Pam. In blender, process until smooth the milk, sour cream, flour, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese and eggs. Combine milk mixture, drained sausage, green peppers, onions and grated cheese in mixing bowl. Pour into prepared pie dish. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Let set for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

Posted by Debi

Ropa Vieja

I found this recipe on Recipezaar. It is my first attempt to make it, but it was easy and amazing! This is the note the contributor posted with the recipe:

I found this recipe in our local newspaper. It is an easy crock pot version the Cuban Ropa Vieja which requires several hours of simmering on the stove top. This dish is essentially a stew and will be wonderful served with a side salad, corn muffins or tortillas and rice. NOTE: Sirloin steak or chuck roast can be used instead of the skirt or flank steak called for in the ingredients list. the exact seasonings for the canned diced tomatoes doesn't matter as long as you choose a type that includes garlic. Petite diced tomatoes and no-salt added varieties also work.

Ingredients

* 8 ounces tomato sauce
* 1/2 cup water
* 3 bay leaves
* 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
* 2 tablespoons garlic, minced (bottled)
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 large onion (for about 1 cup slices)
* 2 lbs skirt steaks (or flank)
* 1 red bell pepper (for about 1 cup pieces)
* 1 green bell pepper (for about 1 cup pieces)
* 14 1/2 ounces garlic balsamic & olive oil diced tomatoes
* 2 cups cooked rice (for serving)

Directions:

1. Put the tomato sauce, water, bay leaves, vinegar, garlic, cumin, salt and black pepper into the crock pot. Stir to combine.
2. Peel the onion and cut it into quarters. Thinly slice the onion quarters, and add them to the crock pot.
3. Place the beef over the onions, and spoon some of the liquid over the meat. (If ou are using skirt steak or flank steak, there will be several thin pieces, and they will overlap in the pot.).
4. Rinse bell peppers and discard the seeds and membranes.
5. Cut the peppers into quarters, thinly slice them, and add the pieces to the crock pot.
6. Pour the diced tomatoes with their juice evenly on top.
7. Cover the pot and cook on low until the meat is so tender that it practically falls apart, about 8 hours if using skirt or flank steak or 10 hours if using sirloin or chuck.
8. About 20 minutes before serving, cook the rice.
9. Before serving, removed the beef and vegetables from the crock pot to a large serving bowl.
10. Use two forks to pull the beef into shreds. There should be some cooking juices in the bowl, but if not, add about 1/2 cup juices.
11. Stir to mix the beef and vegetables.
12. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
13. Serve all but two cups of the beef vegetable mixture over hot rice.
14. Refrigerate leftovers, skim off fat and store in the refrigerator for up to to 3 days or a month in the freezer. Use the leftovers in a beefy tortilla soup.

NOTE: I served this with yellow rice and black beans, instead of white rice. I think it added a lot of flavor to the dish.

Posted by Debi