Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Zucchini is in abundance at this time of year so I pulled out my MIL's recipe, got all the ingredients together and got to baking. Hubby and I enjoyed some for dessert at supper. The rest will be shared! Hmm..who would like some??

• 1/2 cup soft butter
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups finely shredded zucchini..(peel and all)
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts, I used pecans
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Cream butter, oil and sugar, blend in vanilla, eggs and buttermilk. 
2. Mix dry ingredients and shredded zucchini and mix in with the moist ingredients except for the nuts and choc chips.
3. Pour into a greased 9 x 13" pan. Sprinkle with nuts and choc chips.
4. Bake in preheated 325º oven for 45 min.
5. Cool on rack. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream. It also is delicious served cold.
6. Yield: 12 servings

Pie by the Yard

Well technically the pie is only about one foot long.
With the transparent apples ready in our region, the apple peelers are going full throttle.
This little apple peeler has peeled many apples.
After school snacks, apple sauce and of course pies, it's the handiest little tool.

• 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 egg yolks
• enough buttermilk to make 3/4 cup with the egg yolks in the cup

1. Mix together the flour and the soda and the salt
2. Cut the butter into the flour mixture
3. add the yolk and the buttermilk which has been stirred together
4. Stir together with a fork as well as you can
5. Turn the dough onto the countertop and form into a ball
6. Flatten into a rectangular disc and put it in the refrigerator for an hour.

1. Peel and slice enough apples to make 8 cups.
2. Toss the apples with 1 1/2 tablespoons minit tapioca.
3. Add 3/4 cup sugar.
4. Set aside.

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F
2. Divide the dough into two pieces.
3. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper
4. Roll each piece of dough roughly the size of the cookie sheet.
5. Roll the dough onto a rolling pin and transfer onto the two cookie sheets.
6. Divide the apple mixture between the two pieces of dough.
7. Fold first one long side over and then the other and then fold the ends onto the top last.
8. Take the two egg whites and beat them until soft peaks form.
9. With your fingers spread the egg white over top the pies as shown.
10. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• a drip of vanilla

1. Stir together until no lumps remain and then drizzle over the pie as soon as it comes out of the oven.
2.  Let cool completely and then slice.

Trudy's Granola

Living healthy becomes important as we have so many choices today.
I have a sister-in-law who always shares some wholesome healthy recipes.
I started making this granola a few years back,
and this has become one of my staples in our home for our grandkids.
He calls granola, "Crumbs"
Whenever the little one is hungry he says,
"Oma, can I have some yogurt with Crumbs?"

5 Cups Quick Oats
1/2 Cup Sesame Seeds
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Seeds
1 Cup unsweetened med-coconut
1 Cup Sunflower seeds
1 Cup almonds
1 Cup cashews

Mix all these ingredients in a large stainless steel bowl.
I make sure that I chop my almonds and cashews coarsely.
In fact I use any nuts, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts etc. that will equal two cups.

In a small bowl, I mix the following ingredients.
2 tsp. almond flavor
1/4 Cup water
1/4 Cup oil (not virgin oil)
3/4 Cup honey
I stir these ingredients and blend them together with my Brown mixer.
It makes the right consistency.
Then mix the wet ingredients with the dry.
Stir till all the ingredients are moist.

Bake in the oven in a 9x12 cake pan at 350'
Stir every three minutes for up to 30 minutes.
I prefer my granola crunchy.

When cool, pour Granola into a container and freeze.

Serve over yogurt, add some fresh berries,
(In winter I add frozen berries)
Cover with a large spoonful of Granola.
This has been a life saver for many a quick healthy snack.

Rhubarb Cream Pie

Hey mom can we have pie? Sure just wait til I take a pictu.........never mind. TEENAGERS!


When my youngest daughter was born I received some wonderful meals and this pie was part of a fabulous dinner and is my personal favorite. Baked pie shell, filled with a Rhubarb custard. Delish!

• 3 cups rhubarb
• 1-11/2 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 2 - 4 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Combine rhubarb, half the sugar and cook til rhubarb is softened about 10 min. Mix remaining sugar, flour, salt, egg and milk. 
2. Add a little cooked rhubarb to mixture to temper the egg, then mix in with remaining rhubarb, cook a few minutes til thick . 
3. Add vanilla and butter. 
4. Pour into baked pie shell. 
5. Cool completly and serve with whipped cream.

Rhubarb,Strawberry Streusel Pie

• 4 c. Rhubarb, chopped
• 2 cups Strawberries
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. flour

1. Line a 9" pie plate with your favorite Pastry.
2. Fill with the fruit.
3. In a seperate bowl mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the Rhubarb and Strawberries. 
4. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over the fruit.

Streusel topping:

• 1/2 c. flour
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. butter

1. Mix the flour and sugar. 
2. Cut in the butter until you have course crumbs.
3. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes then at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Apple Pie Squares

There’s nothing quite like apple pie in July! Yellow transparents are an early apple and ready for the picking, and they make a wonderful, old-fashioned apple pie. I like to make 'apple-pie-by-the-pan' to feed a crowd...or simply to freeze and take out a few pieces at a time.

Apple Pie Squares

• 1 ½ cup margarine
• 3 ¾ cup flour
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• 1 egg yolk and milk to make 1 cup
• 6 cups peeled, sliced apples
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

1. Cut margarine into flour and salt.
2. Add egg yolk and milk.
3. Roll out half the dough and place on large bar pan...about 12 x 16 inches.
4. Spread apple slices evenly over bottom pastry.
5. Sprinkle with sugar, flour, and cinnamon mixture.
6. Roll out other half of dough and place on top…pinch edges.
7. Beat egg white until foamy and spread over crust.
8. Bake at 400 for fifteen minutes…reduce heat to 325 and bake an additional 30 minutes.

Chicken Crepes

These crepes often bring back memories of the couple who was teaching/mentoring us when we were in a young marrieds class. Hank and Joyce modeled true caring and hospitality to all of us and often had a large group at their house on Sundays for brunch. We learned so much from them! I remember large cookie sheets of crepes coming out of their oven and being so impressed with the ease and joy they served us with, together. It made me want to be like that. I have altered the recipe a bit, although I think I would like to try it again in the way that they made them, with a little dry white wine in the sauce. For now I will just write it out the way I’ve made them. Always good! Use leftover, turkey, roast chicken or rotisserie chicken (when it's too hot to cook). Cubes best once it's been refrigerated. The meat goes a long way. I usually serve these with stove top dressing and/or rice, steamed broccoli and a cucumber salad.

CREPES

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup flour

1. Beat with whisk or electric beater.
2. Fill ladle with 3 tablspoons of batter and pour into a small, heated (7 inch) Teflon pan, holding it slightly at an angle and then rotating to cover. Cook just below med heat. Usually no need to grease, maybe spray for first crepe. Makes about 10.

CHEESE SAUCE

•  2 - 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour (mine are rounded, so maybe 3 to be exact)
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons cheezwhiz or 1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded
• 1 Knorr chicken bouillon, divided 

1. In small saucepan, melt butter and stir in the flour with a whisk
2. Add milk, starting slowly, while stirring, and continue until smooth and bubbly.
3. Stir in your preferred cheese and 1/2 of the bouillon cube (use other half in the water that you cook the rice in.)

ASSEMBLING:

1. Mix 1/1/2 – 2 cups cooked, cubed chicken with cheese sauce, saving some of the sauce for topping.
2. Spoon into crepes, roll up and lay side by side into Pyrex casserole dish.
3. Spoon saved cheese sauce over center of crepes and bake at 350 F, 20 min. I usually cover with foil to prevent drying out. You can probably heat them for 10 min without foil. These can be made ahead of time and refrigerated before baking.

Smooth Vanilla Cheesecake

I've always loved the smooth creamy taste of a baked cheesecake.

I've experimented with many different methods and I've found the secret.No cracks. . . not a one.

It is one of the easiest and classiest desserts to serve.

• 1 1/4 cups graham wafer crumbs
• 1/4 cup melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. 
2. Roughly cut a piece of parchment paper to fit larger than a 9 inch springform pan. Lay the parchment paper on to the bottom and put the edge around and squeeze the pan shut leaving the excess paper on the outside of the pan. I do this because it makes it really easy to transfer onto a serving plate once it is very well chilled. .
3. Mix together the crumbs and the butter and press into the pan. I use a flat bottomed glass to make it nice and smooth and firmly pressed.
4. Bake the crumbs in the pan for about 10 minutes or until they are a bit fragrant.

• 4 packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 5 eggs
• 1 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• a squeeze fresh lemon juice

Topping

• 1 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Make sure that all your ingredients are room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 500 F. 
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese on low for a minute or two until it is smooth and creamy.
4. Add the salt and the sugar and beat another minute or two until it is smooth. Never beat the cheese to death. Incorporating too much air will cause your cheesecake to rise and then fall and the .. .well you know what happened to humpty dumpty.
5. Stop your mixer in between to scrape down the sides so that all the cream cheese and sugar is evenly mixed.
6. Add the flour and mix until incorporated, not more than a minute. 
7. Crack the eggs into a bowl and at room temperature. Add one egg at a time. They'll naturally slip in one at a time if you don't dump your bowl to quickly.
8. Mix the eggs in just until smooth. Add the cream and and the vanilla and lemon juice another mix for half a minute.
9. Take your pan with the cooled crumb crust and wrap it in heavy aluminum foil.
10. Gently pour the cheesecake batter into your pan and set it in the 500 degree oven. Set your timer for 10 minutes. At 10 minutes turn your oven to 200 degrees. Bake for another hour and 10 minutes. Don't peek.
11. While the cheesecake is baking, stir together your sour cream, sugar and vanilla.
12. After the hour and ten, the cake should be fairly set.  Open up the oven and pour your topping on your cake smooth it out and put it back in your oven for another 10 minutes.
13. Put an instant read thermometer in the center of the cheesecake. Your aim is to have it read 150.
14. The total baking time shouldn't be more than about an hour and a half up to an hour and forty minutes but you really need the instant read thermometer to help you with knowing when it is done. The jiggly in the center is also a good judge but it is hard to get it perfect with this test. 
15. Take the cheesecake out of the oven and let it sit in a draft free room temperature spot for a few hours and then chill it completely in the fridge.

Blueberry Sauce

• 2-3 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/3 cup sugar or to taste
• a squeeze of lemon juice
• 1/2 cup water

1. Combine all this and cover and put in the microwave for a minute, stir and cook for another minute or two until bubbly.
2. I also made some raspberry coulis which is 2 cups of raspberries and a half cup of sugar in the blender. .
3. Pool a little raspberry sauce on your plate, put on your cheesecake and cover with a good tablespoon or two of blueberry sauce and a dollop of whipped cream for good measure.

Cola Marinade for Rotisserie Beef

I love trying new things and I found this recipe for Cola Marinade at Foodgeeks.com. I tweaked it a bit and tossed my roast in the zip loc bag.

• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground salt
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 can cola
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

1. Put your large zip loc bag inside a measuring cup, folding the edges over the cup. Add all the ingredients into the bag.
2. Remove the bag from the measuring cup careful not to spill. Add a 4-5 pound sirloin beef roast.
3. Seal the bag, put the bag in a bowl and put it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
4. Let the roast sit at room temperature 1 hour before putting on the grill.
5. Tie the roast onto your rotisserie. Preheat the grill to 400 and insert the rotisserie onto the grill. Add a drip pan underneath with 1 cup of water, check to make sure the water doesn't run dry, or you will have very scorched drippings.
6. Grill with the lid closed for 1 hour, check the temperature. You will aim to have the internal temp at 135 - 140.  Remove from the heat and wrap in foil for 15 minutes.

During the resting time we grilled our chopped up veggies in a grill basket. I simply toss the veggies with veggie seasoning and olive oil and stir them once in a while. They only need 10 - 15 minutes on the grill.

Peach Custard Pie

I adapted this recipe from CD Kitchen online.

Preheat your oven to 425 F.
1 9 inch unbaked pie shell

Peel and slice enough peaches to fit into the bottom of the shell, they will float about a bit once you pour the custard on top but it won't affect the outcome.

I used 5 peaches each one cut into eight.

Custard

• 1 cup of 5 % unflavoured yogurt
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and beat until smooth. I had my food processor out so I whipped it up in there. A blender would work perfectly too.

Pour the custard on top of the peaches and bake in the center of the oven for 10 minutes.

Lower temperature to 375 and bake for an additonal for 30 minutes. The original recipe does not ask you to lower the temp, but I did, so you probably don't need to.

Meanwhile make your streusel.

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar

Combine with a pastry cutter until you have it combined and made crumbs, refrigerate until you are ready to put it on the pie. (I found it easier to crumb after it chilled a bit)

After the pie has baked for 1/2 hour and the filling is somewhat set, drop the little pieces of struesel on top of the pie.

Continue to bake until the streusel is golden brown, about another 15 - 25 minutes.

Remove the pie to a cooling rack and serve warm or completely chilled.

Grilled Peppers with Tomato and Feta

These peppers are as tasty as they are attractive and are a great addition to your summer BBQ.
My sister passed this recipe idea on to me and they've become a summer favourite at our house.

• 3 large yellow bell peppers
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• grape tomatoes
• 4 leaves fresh basil
• 1 garlic clove minced
• salt and pepper
• chopped black olives (optional)
• Feta cheese

1. Cut peppers into 3 or 4 sections along ribs so that each piece can be filled.
2. Cut grape tomatoes in half. Place in a bowl.
3. Chop basil leaves and mince garlic and add to tomatoes with olive oil , salt and pepper and olives.
4. Crumble feta cheese into bowl and mix gently.
5. Grill pepper pieces, cut side down on medium hot BBQ.
6. When they begin to blacken around the edges, turn them over and fill each piece with some of the tomato mixture.
7. Continue to grill until tomatoes are heated through and bottom of peppers begin to blacken.
8. Remove from grill and serve.

Barbequed Salmon with Sundried Tomatoes

I would guess that I’m not the only one, who would say that most of my favorite recipes are those that we’ve enjoyed in someone’s home. Our good friends, Harv and Bonnie love to cook together and we have been the lucky recipients of their hospitality over many years now. This is just one of the great recipes that they have shared with us. I've added the basil, so it's optional.

Ingredients:

• 4 - 5 garlic cloves, chopped fine
• 4 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped fine 
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped fine
• 3 sundried tomatoes (packed in oil) drained and chopped (about 1/4 - 1/3 cup, chopped)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 (2-3 pound) salmon fillet (with or without) skin on under side

Method:

1. Combine garlic, parsley, basil, salt, tomatoes and oil in jar.
2. Let stand overnight in refrigerator. (Overnight is best, but if you only have a few hours, that’s okay too)
3. Spread a thin layer of mayonaise all over the salmon.
4. Place on greased (doubled up) foil, (or on foil topped with parchment paper) on low heat on BBQ. Close lid and cook 10 min. 
5. Spread garlic mixture over fillet. Close top and raise temperature to medium. 
6. Cook an additional 15 - 20 min, until fish flakes easily when tested with fork.

Food for Thought

Thank God for dirty dishes -

they have a tale to tell;

while other folks go hungry -

we're eating very well.

Teryaki Chicken

This recipe was from a friend - Heidi in Winnipeg.

Cooking the chicken in the marinade keeps it exceptionally moist.

For the Marinade

• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• grated fresh ginger to taste*
• 1 tablespoons orange zest

• boneless chicken breasts or thighs

1. Combine marinade ingredients, mixing well.
2. Place chicken in a large ziplock bag and pour marinade over. Seal bag and marinate in fridge for no more than 3-4 hours.
3. Place a foil pan (lwith edges) on a preheated BBQ. Place chicken pieces in pan and pour marinade over.
4.  Grill for 6-7 minutes per side, turning only once.

*Tip

I seldom kept fresh ginger in the house because it would spoil before I'd used it up. Then someone told me to keep it in the freezer. It is very easy to scrape the peel off the frozen gingerroot and grate it on a microplane.  Grate as much as you need than pop the rest back in to the freezer.

French Bread

I got this recipe from Lovella G. ( another Lovella, and another great friend) way back when our kids went to the same elementary school. This recipe has become sort of a "staple" kind of recipe for a quick bread, for pizza crust, pizza buns, focaccia bread or baguettes (used for spinach dip etc) As you can see - It is a must have! =)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups hot tap water
• 4 1/2 - 5 cups flour, white - can be half whole wheat or multigrain *
• 2 tablespoons instant yeast

Method:

1. Put sugar, oil, salt and hot water in a large mixing bowl. You can also use a mixer that has a dough hook attachment or your bread machine.  
2. Add 1 cup of the flour mixed with the yeast, then the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Add flour until dough comes away from side of bowl or easily holds together in a ball shape and is not too sticky if you handle it with floured hands. Cover bowl with wax paper and tea towel.
3. Let rise until double, about 1/2 hour. Divide in half.
4. Roll out on a slightly floured surface to about 12"x15” rectangle. Roll up jelly roll style, beginning at longer end, and place on greased or parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Cut diagonal slits on top. Cover with tea towel and then wax paper or plastic.
5. Let rise about 30 - 45 minutes. Brush with mixture of 1 egg and 2 tablespoons milk, whisked with fork.
6. Bake at 400° F for 20 minutes, or until golden. Remove to rack to cool.

* Flour purchased in the USA may need a teaspoon of vital wheat gluten added to the flour




For Pizza:
Instead of rolling out the dough, just divide and press onto 2 pizza pans. Bake at 400° F until light golden - barely done. About 8 -10 minutes.
Spread lightly with pizza or spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover with any cold cuts you want . . . ham, salami, pepperoni, cooked hamburger (left over sloppy joe sauce) or cooked chicken, slivered peppers, grated cheese (mozzarella, or assortment). Sprinkle with oregano and basil. Bake at 375° F, about 15 min.

focaccia bread:
Add about 1 tablespoon of each (fresh if possible) thyme, oregano, rosemary, chopped into tiny bits,
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and 1- 2 teaspoons garlic powder to the dough, as you're mixing it. Cover and let rise.
Press dough into 2 - 8" x 8" greased pans. Make indentations with end of wooden spoon and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with cornmeal and rosemary (optional)
Cover and rise 1/2 hour. Bake until light golden, about 25 - 30 minutes. Serve with Olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

dipping bread:
Use any kind of combination of flour and grains that you like, roll out to make long skinny loaves (baguettes) and slice at an angle. Great with Spinach dip.
Maybe this is too much information, but it's there to give you ideas on what you can do and I hope you try something new and enjoy it.

Pizza Buns

To make pizza buns, I use:

• the French Bread recipe
• pizza or spaghetti sauce
• grated cheese (approx 4 cups)
• a few tablespoons of bacon bits (optional)
• dried basil and oregano (about 1 teaspoon of each)

Method:

1. Roll out as for French bread (18 x 10 inch rectangle). Spread lightly with sauce. Cover with grated cheese, bacon bits, oregano and basil.
2. Roll up jelly roll style, starting on long side. Cut into 11/2 inch slices.
3. Place on greased or parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
4. Cover with tea towel and plastic. Let rise about half an hour or until they look puffy.
5. Bake at 375° F about 15 min. Yields 24 buns

Enjoy warm or cold. Good substitute for a quick sandwich.

Taco Salad - 2 Ways

A meal in a salad bowl.
A great supper solution for those days when you've worked all day in the yard
and don't feel like cooking.

These recipes originated with friends and I've added a few ingredients

of my own. I've always used the bought dressings for these

but I'm sure they would be even better with homemade dressings.

Taco Salad

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
• 1 head iceberg lettuce
• 1 - 2 tomatoes
• montery jack cheese
• cheddar cheese
• bell peppers- red, green, yellow - your choice
• zucchini or cucumber (opt)
• corn chips
• Catalina style salad dressing

1. Brown the ground beef into a frying pan, removing the excess fat with a spoon or baster.
2. Add the taco seasoning, stir in well and fry a few minutes longer.
3. Set meat aside to cool.
4. Seed the tomatoes and chop.
5. Cut the cheeses into a 1/4" dice. You should have at least 1 cup combined.
6. Chop up the peppers - again about 1 cup chopped.
7. Chop the zucchini or cucumber into a 1/4" dice.
8. Tear the lettuce into a large bowl. Add the ground beef, tomatoes, cheese, peppers, zucchini and corn chips. Toss with enough dressing to moisten.
9. Serve immediately.

Chicken Ranch Taco Salad

• 1 head lettuce, washed and torn
• 2 cups crushed taco chips
• 2 cups shredded "TexMex" cheese
• 4 grilled chicken breasts, sliced
• 1 cup chopped red and green bell peppers
• chopped tomato if desired
• 2/3 cup Peppercorn Ranch dressing

1. Toss all ingredients together just before serving.
2. Note: chicken breasts grilled on the BBQ give this salad its special flavour.

Fruit Pizza

Fruit pizza is a perfect summer time dessert. It has a cookie base that is covered with a cream cheese spread, and then topped with seasonal fresh fruit and a glaze. The cookie base recipe is enough for 2 pizza pans. If you are only making one this dough freezes well.

LEMON POPPY SEED COOKIE BASE

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup Crisco shortening
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 tablespoon vinegar

1. Begin by measuring milk and vinegar into a glass measuring cup. Stir and allow this mixture to sour. 
2. Cream together shortening and sugars. Add egg, vanilla poppy seeds and lemon rind. Mix well.
3. Stir milk mixture and add it along with remaining ingredients. Mix well.
4. Spread cookie dough onto a lightly greased pizza pan.
5. Bake in 350ºF oven for 8-10 minutes. The base will be golden brown. Cool.

Cream Cheese Spread

• 1 8 ounce brick cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Place ingredients in a bowl and cream together well. 

Choose fruit of choice and arrange it on top of the cream cheese spread. I use kiwi, strawberries, raspberries, peaches, apricots and plums. 

Glaze

• 1 cup orange juice (keeping a few juice boxes on hand...is handy as they typically hold 1 cup of juice)
• 1 tablespoon apricot jam
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

1. Shake this mixture together well in a jar and then place in a small pot or in microwave. Cook until mixture is bubbly and cornstarch has dissolved.
2. Allow to almost cool and then pour over fruit. I use a silicone brush to spread the glaze as it helps to cover all the fruit and get into all the little spaces between the fruit.
3. Place fruit pizza in the refrigerator for about an hour. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

Tip: This dessert is best the day it is made. 

Rainbow Pasta Salad

This recipe is posted for Vange, who reminded of this recipe recently. Over the years I’ve changed it up a bit, sometimes making it more of a Greek Pasta Salad by adding feta cheese and using Greek Dressing, or mixing it with a sundried tomato dressing.

Ingredients:

• 3 – 4 cups vegetable pasta
• 2 chopped tomatoes 
• 1/4 cup cucumber, sliced
• 1 cup broccoli, chopped
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped 
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onion

Dressing:

• ½ cup sugar ( I prefer less)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• ¼ cup vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika

Method:

1. Cook pasta according to instructions on package. Do not over-cook. Cool. 
2. Mix dressing ingredients and then mix with pasta and vegetables.
3. Refrigerate and serve cold. Serves 8-10

Blueberry Crumble Buns

Blueberries are beginning to ripen in the fields on the farm next door. This recipe is a good way to use up the berries in your freezer or to enjoy the fresh ones that come your way.

• 2 tablespoons yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup lukewarm water

1. In a large bowl, put the yeast and sugar and add the warm water. 
2.  Let stand about 10 minutes.

• 1/2 cup of soft butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons of instant potato flakes
• 1 cup of hot water
• 1 egg
• 4-5 cups flour

1. In another small bowl, stir together the butter, salt, potato flakes and the hot water. Let this sit while the yeast proofs.
2. Add egg to the butter and potato mixture, then add to the yeast.
3. Add 1 cup of flour at a time stirring well.
4.  Continue to add enough flour to make a soft dough.  Knead until the dough is smooth.
5.  Put the dough into a greased bowl and let rise covered until double, about an hour.

Crumble

• 1 cup of large cut oatmeal
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup melted butter

1. Combine the crumble mixture. 
2.  Line 2 9X13 pans with Parchment paper.
3.  Divide the crumble mixture between the two pans.
4. When the dough has finished rising roll it out to a rectangle 20 X 10. 
5.  Spread a bit of butter on the dough and sprinkle with blueberries. I didn't measure how many blueberries, but I likely used about 2 - 3 cups. 
6. Roll up jelly roll style and mark the dough into 24 pieces and cut with a sharp serrated knife. Lay the rolls on top of your crumble.
7. Cover and let rise again about an hour or until nice and puffy and double.

Cream Cheese Icing

• 4 tablespoons cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons soft butter
• 2 cups of icing sugar
•  enough cream to make a nice smooth icing
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

1. Combine to make an icing that can be drizzled. 

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F.  
2. Bake on a lower but not the lowest rack to make sure the crumble gets nice and brown.
3. Flip the buns out so that the crumble is on top.
4. Drizzle with icing.  

Cream Puffs

Cream puffs are a favorite dessert in our family. We like them served with whipped cream and peaches or strawberries or with a vanilla pudding and whipped cream and chocolate drizzled on top.
This recipe can be doubled and you may want to because they disappear really fast!

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 large eggs

1. In a medium sized saucepan bring water and butter to boil.
2. Stir in flour, sugar and salt, stirring constantly until mixture forms into a ball. Remove from heat.
3. Beat in eggs one at a time until mixture is smooth.
4. Scoop mixture on baking sheet at least 2" apart.
5. Bake in a 400º oven for 15 minutes, then lower temperature to 350º for 30 minutes.
6. Turn oven off and with oven door slightly ajar allow puffs to dry out for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven.
7. Best served fresh. They can be frozen and reheated. 
8. Yield: 9 medium sized puffs

Chicken Stew

Chicken Stew is a nice comfort meal served with fresh crusty bread.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 stalks celery, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 carrot peeled, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 small onion, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (14-1/2 oz) can chopped tomatoes
• 1 (14 oz.) can low-salt chicken broth
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 2 chicken breasts with ribs (about 1-1/2 pounds total)
• 1 (15 oz.) can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a heavy 5-1/2 quart saucepan over medium heat. 
2. Add the celery, carrot, and onion. 
3. Saute the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. 
4. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. 
5. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, thyme. 
6. Add the chicken breasts; press to submerge.
7. Bring the cooking liquid to simmer. 
8. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is almost cooked through, turning the chicken breasts over and stirring the mixture occasionally, about 25 minutes.
9. Using tongs, transfer the chicken breasts to a work surface and cool for 5 minutes. 
10. Discard the bay leaf. 
11. Add the kidney beans to the pot and simmer until the liquid has reduced into stew consistency, about 10 minutes.
12. Discard the skin and bones from the chicken. 
13. Shred or cut the chicken into bite size pieces. 
14. Return the chicken meat to the stew. 
15. Bring the stew just to a simmer. 
16. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
17. Serve with bread.

Here are some variations you can consider: Double the recipe. Use a whole chicken instead of just breasts. Let the dark meat cook longer than the breasts. Use chopped tomatoes with jalapeno and chopped tomatoes with sweet onions and garlic for extra flavor and spice. Use both kidney beans and a can of garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained and rinsed. If you don't have fresh basil use a teaspoon of dried. If your family enjoys mushrooms add some fresh mushrooms, too.

BBQ'd Beef-on-a-Bun

If the guys in your life are wondering "where's the beef?"...here it is!

I was at a women's conference some twenty years ago...and attended a cooking workshop. The facilitator left me with some wonderful recipes that I've made my own since that time. One of our family favorites is the BBQ'd Beef.  I have brought it to potlucks...camping trips...and it was our dinner at the beach a few nights ago.

BBQ'd Beef

• 5 steaks (any kind)
• 1 28 oz. can tomatoes

1. Cook in slow cooker overnight (about 10 hours) on low.
2. Drain juices and shred the cooked beef with two forks.

Sauce

• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 3 tbsp. packed brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp. parsley flakes
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. prepared mustard
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne

1. Sauté onion and celery until tender.
2. Add remaining sauce ingredients and heat through.
3. Add shredded beef and simmer for about 1 hour. (I return meat and sauce to slow cooker until serving time.)
4. Serve on submarine or beef-dip buns.

The original recipe calls for five steaks...I use any beef I have handy. I often cut up large roasts...and if my crock-pot is chock-full, I make slightly more of the sauce. 

Charlotte's Gooseberry Moos

Fresh Gooseberry Mooss (Stachelbaare or Kjressbaarmooss)

This is a wonderfully tart, refreshing Mooss with a delicate flavor. Kjressbaar lovers will enjoy this treat.

• 4 c. fresh or frozen gooseberries
• 5 c. water
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1 1/2 c. cream
• 1 1/2 c. milk

1. In a saucepan bring gooseberries and water to a boil. Simmer 5 - 6 minutes.
2. Stir a thin paste of the sugar, flour and part of the cream.
3. Add slowly to the gooseberry mixture, alternating with the remaining milk and cream.
4. Stir constantly. Remove from heat. Cool.

Maybe served warm or cold.
A Canadian version would be to add an egg to the thickening after the berries have been boiled to make it more custard like. Add a little hot fruit to the flour/sugar/cream and/egg mixture. Stir well. Then return egg mixture to the gooseberries. Stir constantly. Boil 2 minutes, 1 tsp. vanilla is optional. Cool, Enjoy!

Alvina's Cinnamon Twists

Alvina is my cousin by marriage and even though she has always lived about 1500 miles from us, the visits we’ve had have always felt like we are truly family! Besides being an excellent cook and home- maker, Alvina has a wonderful warm personality and the best laugh! It’s on one of our visits to their place, that I first remember seeing these tempting little twists on her counter and enjoying them, of course. I love having sweet reminders of our times together and when I make these now and wish that the highway between our houses would not be so long.

Ingredients:

Your favorite biscuit or scone pastry. I use:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (optional)
• 6 tablespoons butter, room temp.
• 1 cup buttermilk or milk

filling and icing:

• 2 - 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar 
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 3/4 cup icing (confectioner's) sugar

Method:

 

1. In medium sized bowl, mix dry ingredients, then cut in butter with pastry blender. 
2. Add buttermilk, stirring with fork until dough holds together. Shape into a ball.
3. You can divide pastry in half and pat into a rectangular shape on lightly floured surface, roling each half out to 6 x 12 inch strip OR roll out the whole recipe to 6x24.
4. Spread with melted butter, then with sugar/cinnamon/flour (mixed)
5. Starting from long side, fold over twice, so that you have a 2 inch strip that has 3 layers.
6. Cut into 3/4 inch slices and twist each slice so that it looks like the figure 8. (right hand twists away from you and left hand toward you)
7. Place on greased and floured (or parchment paper lined) cookie sheet.
8. Bake at 400F until golden. About 12 - 14 minutes. Yield: approx. 30 mini twists
9. 

Icing:
Fill a 1 cup measuring cup 3/4 full of icing sugar. Stir while adding a little water at a time, until it has an easy spreading consistency. Drizzle or brush over warm twists. (If you did not use

parchment paper, remove twists from sheet with lifter before sugar, that has run out, hardens.)