Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies

Thumbprint Cookies1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg – separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup finely chopped almonds (or walnuts)
2/3 cup raspberry jam
1/4 teaspoon salt

 

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Grease cookie sheets.
  2. Cream butter or margarine, sugar, vanilla, and egg yolk and beat til light
  3. Add flour and salt, blend well.
  4. Wrap dough in wax paper and chill ~ an hour.
  5. Beat egg white til well blended
  6. Divide dough into 3 parts, flour a board and roll into 1″ cylinders.
  7. Cut rolls into 3/4″ pieces
  8. Roll in egg white, then nuts.
  9. Place on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 5 minutes.
  10. Remove cookies from oven.  With thumb, put a dip in center of each cookie.
  11. Put jam in each thumbprint.  Bake for another 8 minutes.

I love you

Fettucine with Goat Cheese Pesto

  • 1 ½ cups fresh basil
  • 1 ½ tsp chopped garlic
  • 3 Tbsp pine nuts
  • Salt
  • 1/3 c olive oil
  • 4 Tbsp creamy goat cheese
  • Ground pepper
  • Thin noodles

 

  1. Process basil, pine nuts and garlic briefly.  Add oil and process until creamy
  2. Transfer to serving bowl.  Add goat cheese and a few grindings of pepper.  Mash up goat cheese until smooth.
  3. Cook pasta until al dente.
  4. Add a few Tbsp of cooking water to mixture in bowl.  Drain pasta.  Toss with sauce.
  5. Do not add parmesan cheese

Enjoy.  I love you

 

Bruschetta

 

  • 1 French baguette
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
  • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
  • 1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 pinch ground white pepper
  • 8 oz package sliced mozzarella cheese
  • 6 oz package sliced provolone cheese

 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Slice the baguette into 1/2 inch thick diagonal slices. Arrange the slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Brush both sides of each slice with the olive oil. Place tomato slices and a sprinkling of basil and oregano on the bread slices. Sprinkle the tomatoes, basil and oregano with the garlic powder and white pepper. Cover the tomato slices with slices of the mozzarella and provolone. Place more basil, oregano and tomato slices on top of the cheese.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.

Serves 6.

Enjoy!  I love you!

 

Lentil Soup

  • 2 cups lentils
  • 1/2 lb each of sweet and hot sausage (optional)
  • 8 cups water
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 8 oz sliced pepperoni
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 16 oz can of tomatoes
  • 2 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/4 tsp sage
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • 2 medium carrots sliced
  • 2 stalks celery sliced
  1. Wash lentils and remove stones
  2. If using sausage, slice thin and fry.  drain
  3. Place lentils and sausage in 6 quart cauldron with water and broth, and everything up until cayenne.  Bring to a boil.
  4. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add carrots and celery.  Simmer another 40 minutes.

Enjoy.  I love you

24 hour layered salad

  • 2 pkgs frozen peas
  • 1 head iceberg lettuce
  • 1/4 c choppped onion
  • 2 C mayonaisse
  • 1/4 c chopped celery
  • 1 can waterchestnuts sliced
  • 1 hard boiled egg – chopped
  • 1 C grated swiss cheese
  • bacon bits

Layer lettuce, onions, celery, peas, waterchestnuts.  Spread mayo on top as a seal.  Sprinkle some sugar on top.  Refrigerate for 24 hours. 

Toss and garnish with egg, cheese and bacon bits.

Enjoy!  I love you.

Spinach Balls

  • 2 packages of frozen spinach
  • 2 cups of Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing
  • 1 tsp s+p
  • 6 beaten eggs
  • 1 C grated parmesan cheese
  • 3/4 cup melted butter

Wring spinach dry, mix all ingredients.  Form 1″ balls.  Place on cookie sheet & fast freeze 1 hour.

Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes.

Can be frozen and stored in plastic bags.

 

Enjoy!  I love you!

Mom’s Asian Slaw

There is alot of substituting you can do with this recipe.  It all depends on what you have around and what you like.

  • 2 packages of ramen noodles (I use chicken flavor, because I use some of the flavoring in the dressing)
  • 1 pound of cole slaw mix
  • 1 bunch of scallions sliced thin
  • 3/4 cup canola oil
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup raisins or craisins
  • 2 Tbsp sugar (+ or – to taste)

Crunchy stuff: (pick a few 3 )

  • slivered almonds *
  • sunflower seeds *
  • flax seeds
  • pumpkin seeds
  • pistachio nuts – chopped
  • toasted sesame seeds
  • black oriental sesame seeds (looks GREAT in salad) *
  • wasabi peas

Break up ramen noodles while still in bags. 
Place noodles on bottom of large salad bowl
Top with raisins, then cole slaw mix, then scallions – in that order.
Add the crunchy stuff you chose on top.
Mix well – oil, vinegar, sugar and a bit of the seasoning from one packet of ramen.  Pour over top.  Let it sit for at least an hour, or even overnight.

Toss all together and serve.

The noodles on the bottom will soften with the dressing.  This is why you do not toss right away.

* means I always use these

Enjoy!  I love you!

Shrimp Salad in Avocado Halves

This is a simple Shrimp Salad recipe, only it’s served in avocado halves and laid on a bed of endive leaves.

Shrimp Salad:

  • 1/2 lb of shrimp, cooked and coarsely chopped (not too teeny) – or use the teeny tiny shrimp and don’t cut them at all
  • 1/2 cup chppped celery
  • 1/4 cup minced red onion
  • 1 – 2 teaspoons of lime juice
  • 1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
  • 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • 2 ripe avocados

Mix ingredients together with shrimp, place a large spoonful into avocado half.  Place avocado on a bed of 3 – 4 endive leaves fanned out.

*Tip–If you use lime – then use cilantro & red onion – it gives a tropical taste.  If you use lemon – then use parsley & white onion.

**This isn’t my photo, I swiped it off the Internet.  I leave the skin on the avocado, or it mushes apart when you start to fork the shrimp salad out of it.

Enjoy!  I love you!

Apple Crisp

For you Goo:

My apple crisp is an ‘on the fly’ kind of concoction, so nothing is ever really measured.

I use a stone baking dish, so I do not butter the bottom.  If you do not have one, then you need to butter the bottom of the baking dish you use.  Baking dish should be the size of a quiche pan.

  • Peel and Slice ~ 6 apples (I use Granny Smith – You can use any good baking apple, but not MacIntosh, they get too mushy)
  • Arrange the apples in your dish after it is buttered.  (Sprinkle apples with a bit of lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg if you wish.)

 

Topping:

  • Melt a stick of butter in the microwave
  • Add about 1/2  cup of brown sugar to the butter
  • Add about 1 cup of oats (not the quick kind) to the mixture and mix until it is moist
  • As I said, this is not measured, so  you might need to play around with the quantities.
  • Spread the mixture evenly over the top of the apples. 
  • Bake at 350°, uncovered for about 45 minutes.

Be careful not to place too high in the oven, or the top will darken too much.

Enjoy!  I love you!

Carmelized Onion Dip

  •  5 Spanish onions
  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • 16 ounces sour cream
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 bunch chives
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt & pepper

 

  1. Peel and cut the onions in a small dice. Get a large pot on the stove with the olive oil and throw in the diced onions. Cook on medium to low heat until they are caramelized (nice golden brown color). This should take somewhere between 45 min to an hour. Cool to room temperature.
  2. Put the cooked onions, cream cheese, sour cream, juice and zest of lemon in a food processor. Blend until combined well. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
  3. Mince the chives, fold the chives into the dip and sprinkle some on top to garnish.

Patience pays off here — take your time caramelizing the onions. First, the onions will give off a lakeful of liquid. Let it boil off slowly, and by the time the onions begin to caramelize — it took ours at least an hour — they’ll be as soft as pudding and deeply concentrated in flavor. Their sweetness infuses the entire dip, and while the rest of the ingredients are the classic onion dip foundation — sour cream, cream cheese, and chives — this one will be better than any you’ve had before

I love you