Family Style Greek Salad

I can't remember where I found this recipe but we love it!

Dressing:

1/2 C. Olive Oil

1/4 C. red wine vinegar

1 t. garlic powder

1 t. dried oregano

Salad:

1-2 heads of romaine lettuce chopped to 1 inch pieces

2 med. cucumbers peeled chopped

4 lg tomatoes cut to thin wedges (or we sometimes use 2 boxes of little tomatoes)

1 lg. red onion sliced thin and cut in quarters

12 oz. crumbled fetta cheese

3/4 C. Kalamata olives (i like them pitted but it's your choice)

1/4 C. Lemon Juice

Whisk dressing and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Combine salad ingredients and drizzle with the Lemon Juice

Add dressing to taste! TOSS and EAT!

Sue's Chocolate Sauce

This recipe is from my good friend Sue! We made this in Young Women's one night and I was amazed and awed!

1/2 C butter

3 squares unsweetened choc.

2 C sugar

1 C light cream

1/2 C light corn syrup

1 tsp. real vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 bar good quality dark chocolate

Melt butter and the 3 squares unsweetened chocolate on low heat. When completely melted, add sugar, cream, syrup, vanilla, and salt. Turn heat to medium and, stirring constantly, bring to a boil and boil for 1 1/2 minutes. Take off heat and add 1/2 bar of dark chocolate or milk chocolate if you prefer. Serve warm over ice-cream or your finger!

When this is cold, its like the center of a really good truffle....be warned you should hide this from your kids!!

Janey's Split Pea Soup

This is my almost final product after years of playing with this recipe. I like to buy the bags of split peas at Grocery Outlet and I have taken the recipes on the bags and basically picked them apart and made them better.

First you must beg, borrow or buy a honey baked ham bone...ok I guess another would work, but these are my favorite! A good way to get one or two (freezable by the way) is to hang around the kitchen after a ward dinner where they are serving ham!

Dig out that large crock pot and add:

the ham bone

8 cups of water (more if you like it soupy)

2 C. rinsed split peas

Now!

Dice:

one onion

3 stalks of celery

2 carrots

Saute these for 3 min in about 1 T. Butter and 1/4 t. sage powder, dash of red pepper flakes!

(you can omit this step and just toss in if you prefer but I think it adds a nice flavor)

Add this mixture to the crock pot

Add 2 t. kosher salt, dash of pepper

and lastly, 2 bay leaves

Turn on High or low and get some housework done!

When done, remove the bay leaves and the ham bone remains, you may also need to skim off any fat if your ham had a lot on it!

OPTIONS:

I like to chop up the meat(only the tender parts) and add back to the soup. I Smoosh up the peas with the back of a spoon cause I like my soup chunky.

OR!

You can puree and strain soup for a smooth consistency.

OR/AND

you can add milk...

I will often puree up half of the mixture and add it back in for the smooth/chunky look!

This soup can also be made quicker by simmering for 45 min to an hour on the stove top!

Pictures to follow, I am making this today since I had to make room in the freezer and the ham bone was in my way!

Parmesan Crusted Salmon

Buy your Salmon the day you would like to make this....Or! you can get the frozen individual packed salmon at costco and thaw it the day you want to make this!

This is for 4 medium portions so adjust accordingly. This recipe works best if all the portions are similar in size. If you have a big fat piece you may need extra cooking time.

Combine about 1/2 Cup grated parmesan (freshly grated is best but get the good stuff at the store if you can't)

1/4 C. seasoned bread crumbs

dash of pepper

You can stop here...

I always grab a few fresh leaves of thyme and parsley from my herb garden and chop fine and add to the mixture.

I don't usually dredge the Salmon in anything but I do rinse with water before I crust it.

Lightly (because the Parmesan is salty) season the salmon with salt and pepper. Generously coat 1side of the salmon with the finely grated Parmesan. In a non-stick saute pan, add approximately 3 tablespoons vegetable oil and place over high heat. When the oil is hot, carefully place the salmon in the pan cheese side down. Turn temperature down to medium heat and allow the salmon to cook about 4 minutes before flipping over. The idea is to form a nice crispy, lightly brown crust. Turn salmon and allow to cook another 3 or 4 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside in a warm place until plating.

I like to Serve with brown rice and lemon wedges.

Snickerdoodles

Pre-Heat oven to 375

Cream together

1 C. butter at room temp

2 C. Sugar

Add:

2 eggs

1/4 C. milk

1 t. vanilla

Sift together and add:

3 3/4 C. flour

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. cream of tartar

Mix in a shallow bowl

3 T. granulated sugar

1 T cinnamon

Use greased cookie sheets or parchment lined.

Form dough into 1 inch balls and roll in the shallow bowl of sugar.

Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and flatten slightly with the

bottom of a cup.

Bake 8 min till light golden.

Peanut Butter Cookies

I always double the regular recipe so I am just going to post this doubled!!!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Pre-Heat the oven to 375

Cream together:

1 C. Butter

1 C. Chunky peanut butter

1 C. Granulated sugar

1 C. Packed Brown Sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

Sift together and Add:

2 1/2 C. flour

1 1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

Form into 1 inch balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on a parchment lined

cookie sheet. (or and ungreased cookie sheet)

criscross with the tines of a fork.

Bake for 10 min. Cool 1 min before moving to wire rack.

Banana Cookies

Banana Cookies,

My kids love these almost as much as banana bread!!

Sift together:

2 C. Flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. cloves

Set aside

Beat for 30 Sec:

1/2 C. Butter

Add

1 C. sugar

Beat till fluffy

Add:

2 eggs

1/2 t. vanilla

Add a little at a time alternating:

1 C. mashed ripe bananas (2 med bananas or equivalent)

Flour mixture

Beat in between additions

Drop on a greased cookie sheet or parchment lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top.

Bake for 10 to 12 min.

Cool on a wire rack.

Banana Butter Frosting

(If you want to add this I would omit the cinnamon sugar step)

Stir together

2 C. sifted powdered sugar

1/4 C. mashed banana (1 small)

2 T. softened butter

1/2 t. Vanilla

Mix well and add more sugar if needed to get to the consistency you prefer.

Lemon Squares

Lemon Squares

Pre-Heat Oven to 350

Grease 2 8x8x2 pans or a larger than 9x13 baking pan

Crust:

3/4 C. Butter at room temp

1/2 C. Sugar

2 C. Flour

1/2 t. Lemon Zest

Filling:

4 eggs

1 1/2 C. sugar

1/2 t. lemon zest

6 T. lemon juice

1/2 t. Baking powder

beat butter for 3o seconds, add the 1/2 c. sugar and 1/2 t. salt beating till fluffy.

Stir in the 2 C. flour and lemon zest, pat the dough into the bottom of the pans evenly. Bake for 15 min.

Meanwhile beat the eggs and add the sugar, flour, lemon peel, lemon juice, and baking powder.

Beat 3 min or till slightly thickened. Pour over baked crust. Bake for 25 to 30 min longer till light golden brown around the edges and center is set. Cool. Sift Powdered Sugar over top if desired.

Cut into squares makes 32.

Note: If you add some cornstarch to your powdered sugar and sift together it will hold up longer on top without melting! (not sure of the proportions but I would start with adding say 1 t. to one cup)

Pumpkin bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Everyone seems to have a recipe like this, but this is my favorite by far. Thanks to Connie Lowder for the recipe!

Cake/bars

Pre-heat oven to 350 Degrees

Cream Together:

1 C. Oil

4 eggs

1 16 oz can Pumpkin puree

1 2/3 C. Sugar

1 t. salt

2 t. Cinnamon

1 t. Soda

1 t. Baking powder

Add:

2 C. Sifted Flour or Cake Flour

Bake in a Jelly roll pan (10x15x1) I use a cookie sheet with a 1" side

for approx. 20 min.

Frosting:

3 oz cream cheese

1/2 C. Butter

1 t. vanilla

2 C. powdered sugar

Cream together, gradually adding powdered sugar
I always double or use recipe below:

Frost cake when it's cooled. Cut into Bars.

We sold a lot of these at the bakery!!

Store in refrigerator. It's actually better on the next day! Serves a lot!

My frosting recipe for this cake:

8 oz Cream Cheese
1/2 C. Unsalted Butter
1 t. Vanilla
1/4 t. cinnamon
1 box of powdered sugar

I pipe it onto the cake then spread it.

Cheesy Potato Soup

Cheesy Potato Soup

This recipe is from my good friend Lisa Hansen! They introduced it to us at Young Women's last year on our Soup and Bread night now we are addicted!!

4 medium potatoes, diced

1 large onion, chopped

1 quart water

¼ cup (½ stick) butter or margarine

3 tablespoons flour

½ cup milk

1½ cups (6 oz.) shredded sharp cheese

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon seasoned salt

¼ teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon ground pepper

Chopped chives

Combine potatoes, onion and water in heavy saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. In heavy skillet melt butter; add flour; cook and stir until mixture bubbles. Remove from heat; stir in milk. Return to heat; cook and stir until thickened. Stir mixture slowly into potatoes; cook and stir until thick. Add cheese and seasonings. Serve topped with chopped chives. 4 to 6 Servings

*I also add about ½ cup chopped celery and ½ cup chopped carrots along with the potatoes and water. I also garnish with sour cream.

Rocking Rice Salad

This was another true winner! I would like to make this with Brown rice! It was so amazing and yummy...whoever made this recipe is my hero!

Rocking Rice Salad

2 (16 oz) cans black or red beans

2 C cooked white rice

2 ears (or 1 (10 oz.) package) of frozen corn, thawed

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 small (6 oz) can sliced black olives

2 red bell peppers, seeded & diced

½ C chopped cilantro

Salt & pepper to taste

Dressing

2 T Balsamic vinegar

¼ C fresh lime juice

¼ C olive oil

2-3 T Worcestershire sauce

2-3 t soy sauce

Toss salad ingredients until well combined. In a small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Makes 14 servings (1/2 C each) Make a day ahead.

Marinated Corn Salad-Girls Camp

This is a recipe from the Girls Camp Cook Book. I loved this when at camp, I can hardly wait to make it!!

Marinated Corn Salad

2 (12 oz) cans white shoepeg corn (we just used niblets at camp)

2 stalks celery, chopped

½ C green pepper, chopped

½ C onion, very finely chopped

2 (2oz) jars pimiento, drained

½ C apple cider vinegar

½ C sugar

½ C vegetable oil

1 t salt

½ t pepper

Combine 1^st five ingredients; mix well. Combine remaining ingredients, blending well and pour over vegetables. Refrigerate overnight. Drain some of the liquid off before serving…Serves 8-10.

Janey's Taco's/Burrito's

We LOVE Taco Dinner Night! We love it so much that we often have visitors that find out we are making Taco's and show up! Enjoy!

Taco's

2 lbs ground beef cooked well and drained

Add:

one Cup of water and one pkg of Taco Seasoning mix

1 16oz can of Tomato Sauce

Heath through and set aside on low to keep warm

(This mixture should be runny you will see why later!)

Warm up a large can of refried beans or two or 3 smaller can's

Chop up

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Grate Cheese

Pull out the sour cream and salsa and hot sauce!

Serve meat with a slotted spoon!

Serve with flour tortillas for soft taco's or Fry Flour tortillas in veg. oil for that crispier texture.

Layer:

Beans

Meat

Cheese

Lettuce

Tomatoes

sour cream or salsas etc.

When everyone is done.....

Make Burritos!

Mix the leftover beans, with the leftover meat (this is where the sauce comes in handy)

Add about 1/3 C. Bean/meat mixture into a flour tortilla and roll,

place in 9x13 or 9x9 pan (depends on the ammt. of leftovers)

Continue till pan is full then pour the remaining mixture over the burritos (there needs to be enough to cover all the burrito's.

Add the leftover cheese to the top grate more if needed.

Cover in foil and pop in fridge till tomorrow!

Bake at 350 for 30-40 min till cooked through and bubbly.

If you are going to wait a few days to bake this wait to put the cheese on till the last 15 min of cooking.

Quick Tiramisu

Once upon a time Chef Gordon Ramsey had a cook along.. We actually participated as a family! Each of the older kids came in to help on one of the segments. It was very fun! We pulled one of our little TV's into the kitchen and tried to keep up... which was NOT easy! This recipe is from that show.

Link to a video of this recipe:
https://www.google.com/search?q=gordon+ramsay+quick+tiramisu&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS560US560&oq=Gordon+Ramsay+quick+ti&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l2.7828j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#kpvalbx=1

Ingredients:

1 C. Mascarpone

1/4 C. Powdered sugar

4 T. Marsala, or sweet dessert wine (we used an alcohol free flavoring that we had on hand I think it was hazelnut flavored)

1 t. vanilla extract

3/4 C. Heavy Cream

1 C. Cold Strong Coffee (We omitted this part since we do not drink coffee)

4 Italian Ladyfingers

piece of Chocolate to grate as garnish

Sift the powdered sugar into the Mascarpone. Add the vanilla extract and flavoring to the Mascarpone and mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk the cream till it forms soft peaks.

Mix the cream and the mascarpone together and refrigerate.

Break the Ladyfingers in half and dip very briefly in the cold coffee. Divide them into the bottom of 4 serving glasses. Spoon the Mascarpone mixture on top.

Grate over a little chocolate.

Serve!

These were VERY yummy!! And so pretty! I added a mint leaf from our garden too.

The Perfect Crostini

This can be the perfect start to any number of appetizer dishes! And it's a cinch to make a day or two ahead of time!

Take a baguette or two and slice into 3/8 inch slices.

Brush each side with a little olive oil (I have fallen in love with the silicone brushes, you need one-really!)

Toast in a 400 oven for 5 min or until lightly browned, remove from oven and flip each slice of bread then return to oven to bake for another 5 min. (You know your oven better than I do so, adjust accordingly) You want each bread slice to be a medium brown, not too dark, not too light.

Let them sit for a few min till they are not too hot to handle, they should be hard to the touch but inside hopefully they will be soft.

Get a nice size clove of garlic and peel and chop the hard end off. Rub the garlic over one or both sides of the Crostini. The smell of the olive oil and garlic should have your family running into the kitchen at this point to steal one or two pieces when you are not looking... so beware!

You may need more garlic....

When these little gems are completely cooled you can store them in tupperware or zip-lock bags!

These have a variety of uses:

Bruchetta

Float in soup

cut up and use as crouton on salad

eat plain...

add some goat cheese and spices

Serve with any other cheese spread

9 Layer Salad

This is my own take on the layered Salad. The nice thing about this one is you actually need to make it a day ahead of time!

1 C. Thinly sliced Celery (or diced if you prefer)
1 Lg. Bell pepper any color diced
1 sm onion chopped-I like red but green onions or a yellow onion work too
1 pkg frozen peas
1 head of lettuce Washed, Dried and chopped (make sure it's well dried!) Iceburg tastes the best to me but has no nutritional value so use whichever is best for your family.
1 C. Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 C. Crumbled Crispy cooked bacon
(Just before serving dice on large or 2 med/small ripe tomatoes)

Dressing:
1 C. Mayo
1 C. Sour Cream
1/2 C. Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 T. sugar
2 t. Lemon Juice

Layer as follows
1-Lettuce
2-Celery
3-Bell Pepper
4-Onion
5-Peas
6-Dressing
7-Cheese
8-Bacon
9-Tomatoes (just before serving)

Best Blue Cheese Dressing Ever!

My mother in law Lila taught me this recipe and I still love it!

Take one package of Hidden Valley Ranch Bleu Cheese Dressing mix and follow the directions for mixing.

Add a small package of Crumbled Bleu Cheese or crumble your favorite and add to the dressing.

Refrigerate and enjoy on your next cobb salad!!

The addition of the crumbled bleu cheese makes all the difference.

Elaine's Great Cheesecake

I miss Elaine, she is one of my favorite people! She was my good friend and neighbor when we lived in Houston area for 10 months (yes, that's all I could stand of Texas weather)! She is so inspiring, she painted bold fun colors on the walls in her house and she made great, yummy food! This is her recipe and I don't mess with it....usually!

She told us it came from Sundance resort so it has to be good right?? Well, it is! You should plan to make this sometime soon.

Crust:
In a food processor Add:

1 3/4 C Graham Cracker Crumbs

1/4 C Melted Butter

1/4 C. Granulated sugar

Mix together and pat into bottom of a large springform pan. Bake at 400 for 8-10 min.

Turn oven down to 325

Cheesecake

1 1/2 lbs. Cream Cheese

3 Eggs

3/4 C. Sugar (I have used as little as 1/3 C. and it's still a good cheesecake!)

1 T. lemon Juice (fresh is best)

1 t. vanilla

Beat Cream Cheese till smooth and fluffy. (this step is really important I find that if I get it very smooth now the cheese cake will utterly melt in your mouth!)

Add the eggs one at a time, then add the sugar gradually. (I do this while the mixer is running on low setting) Add the lemon juice and vanilla. At this point do not over mix, once it's all incorporated pour over the crust.

Bake at 325 for 45 Minutes

Remove from oven and set Temp back to 400

once the oven has reached temp add the Sour Cream Topping (believe me you DO want this!)

Whisk together and pour over hot cheesecake

Bake at 400 for 12 Minutes

Sour Cream Topping:

2 C. Sour Cream

1/2 C. Granulated Sugar

1 t. Vanilla

Cool Cake and refrigerate till ready to serve.

Mixed Berry Topping:

1/3 C. Seedless Raspberry preserves (I have also just used whatever jam I have on hand)

2 c. mixed berries (blueberries, blackberries, sliced strawberries, raspberries any combination)

In a sauce pan Stir Preserves till melted then add berries. Cook down until it is the consistency you want 5 min to 15 min. (if it is not sweet enough for you you can add 1/3 C. sugar or a couple of Tablespoons of honey ) Let cool ladle over cake before serving!

Cheesy tortellini casserole

I can't believe I have never posted this recipe! One of our family favorites.

This recipe can be found here also:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/cheesy-baked-tortellini-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 2 cups marinara sauce (homemade is good, but canned works too)
• 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese (or room temp cream cheese works too)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 pound purchased cheese tortellini (I prefer the Costco cheese ones)
• 2 ounces thinly sliced smoked mozzarella
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish.

Whisk the sauce, mascarpone cheese, parsley and thyme in a large bowl to blend. Cook the tortellini in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Add the tortellini to the sauce and toss to coat. Transfer the tortellini mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top the mixture with the smoked mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheeses on top melt, about 30 minutes.

Herb Crusted Rib Eye with Balsamic mushroom sauce

I have a small herb garden. One day I was looking for something, anything really, to use the herbs for. I created this receipe on the fly and we really enjoyed it. My inspiration was a few different dishes from a few different restaurants and love of steak!!

2 T. Olive Oil

4 Rib Eye Steaks-room Temp very lightly salted

2 T. fresh Thyme leaves Chopped

2 T. fresh Parsley Chopped

2 t. Kosher Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 box sliced mushrooms

2 shallots sliced thin

2 T. dry Sherry

2 T. Balsamic Vinegar

Crumbled or sliced Gorgonzola Cheese (Optional)

Mashed Potatos

Preheat Oven to 450

Mix Chopped Herbs with Salt and Pepper and set aside

Heat a large skillet on med-high heat and add olive oil.

Sear Steaks until browned on each side, (Reserve skillet it's not done yet!)

Transfer to a cookie sheet lined with foil Put a thin layer of the Herb mixture over each steak.

Bake in the oven for about 8 min for Med. (adjust for thickness of steak, use a meat thermometer to check for desired doneness)

OPTIONAL: Add the gorgonzola for the last minute or two of cooking to melt over the top of the herb mixture.

When the steak is done it needs to sit for 5 min to rest.

While Steak is cooking add the mushrooms and shallots to the skillet. Add a touch more olive oil if needed. Cook for about 2 minutes till the mushrooms and shallots are to taste. Deglaze with the sherry, cook for a minute or two then add the Balsamic and reduce by half.

Remove from heat and set aside.

Serve with Mashed Potatoes