Asian Lime Shrimp

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Sandy

Ingredients
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
3 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound medium fresh shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 green onions, diced
1 (5-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 head butter lettuce, cored, cut in 1/2
Directions
In a medium bowl, combine lime juice, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Add shrimp and let marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, green onions, and water chestnuts; cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add shrimp and marinade and cook 3 minutes, or until shrimp are pink. Stir in 1 tablespoon soy sauce.

Garnish with diced chilled avocado.

For Lettuce Wraps:
Divide lettuce into leaves. Spoon about 1/4 cup mixture down center of 1 lettuce leaf. Fold bottom edge and sides up and over filling. Repeat with remaining lettuce leaves and shrimp filling.

For Salad:
Tear lettuce and top with shrimp. Excellent light lunch. Add diced avocado!

For Appetizers:
Serve along with skewers on a beautiful serving tray.

Posted in Appetizers, Asian Flavors, Ocean's Best Seafood, Salads | Leave a comment

Split Pea and Lentil Soup

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Sandy

Ingredients
Ham bone or 10 Slices of Bacon
2 (32-ounce) containers low-sodium fat-free chicken stock or broth
1 cup dried split peas – small package
1 cup dried lentils – small package
4 carrots, sliced (I happen to not have carrots today, so I omitted them)
4 celery ribs, sliced or 1 tsp celery seeds, or 1 tsp celery salt
2-4 onions, chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cardammom
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 cans peas (add after the other ingredients have been pureed.)

Ham bits, croutons and Sour cream for garnish
Preparation
In a large dutch oven, brown the chopped bacon then add onions to saute.
Combine other ingredients reserving the garnish for ater.
Bake, covered, at 400° for 2 hours or until peas and lentils are tender.

Re-season according to your taste. Salt and Pepper. To reduce the fat content in the soup, remove the chopped bacon. Easy to do as it will float on the top. Then
using a stick blender puree the mixture. If you want a more refined soup, strain.
At this point, I like to add the drained canned peas. It adds back texture to the soup and I like the taste.
Serve in bowls with dallop of sour cream, croutons and bits of ham on top.

Serve with half ham and cheese on Rye sandwiches or salad or fresh french bread with cheddar cheese spread.

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Honey Walnut Shrimp – Craving Chinese Food!

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Sandy

You know how it is, sometimes you just get a craving for asian food! Perfect to serve over butter lettuce as a meal salad or serve with rice or chow mein for a crowd.

Ingredients

1 cup water
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup walnuts
4 egg whites
2/3 cup mochiko (glutinous rice flour)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon canned sweetened condensed milk
1 cup vegetable oil for frying

Directions
1.Stir together the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and add the walnuts. Boil for 2 minutes, then drain and place walnuts on a cookie sheet to dry.
2.Whip egg whites in a medium bowl until foamy. Stir in the mochiko until it has a pasty consistency. Heat the oil in a heavy deep skillet over medium-high heat. Dip shrimp into the mochiko batter, and then fry in the hot oil until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
3.In a medium serving bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, honey and sweetened condensed milk. Add shrimp and toss to coat with the sauce. Sprinkle the candied walnuts on top and serve.

Posted in Asian Flavors, Fan Favorites, Ocean's Best Seafood | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Butter! Every kid should make it!

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Sandy

I was telling a story the other day to a co-worker about how one of my chores as a kid was to make butter. “What? You made butter? How do you make butter!” It was pretty easy as I remember. I did the shaking and my dad would do the rest. He liked salted butter, so he added salt. He didn’t use food coloring, instead he left it natural.

1 to 1 ½ quarts heavy cream (You need at least 30% butterfat cream, so buy the heaviest cream you can.
1 tblsp salt (optional)
4-6 drops yellow food coloring (optional)

Our cream came from our cow Jesabelle. My brothers and Mom would milk her daily. The milk was refrigerated and the cream from the top would be skimmed off for making butter.

Did I mention you could get in big trouble if you tried to ride Jesabelle? Mom would chase you around the yard letting your know she would tell father. (Apparently, Jesabelle needed to have a stress free environment to keep giving milk.)

You can place the cold cream in your kitchenaid bowl and whip it, but I think you need to take a quart jar and fill it 1/2 full, and hand it to your kid! Then they will always know where their food comes from.

As they shake the jar, the butter will separate from the buttermilk. When it clumps together, pour off the buttermilk, and knead the butter to remove the excess moisture. Save the buttermilk for the pancakes or baking later. Use your hands and press the butter together adding the salt you love so much. You can add the food coloring drop by drop to the desired color you prefer, careful not to stain your hands.

By the way, depending how vigorously you shake your jar it will take 10-20 minutes. I often raced with my sisters to see who could finish first!

Posted in Child's play, My Pantry | Leave a comment

Berry Tart

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Sandy

1 1/2 cup Strawberries
1/2 cup Blackberries
Sugar
Almond Extract
1 package Puff Pastry (from your freezer section at the grocery store)

Whipped Cream (optional)

Bake the puff pastry into shapes using an egg wash so they are beautifully golden brown.
400 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Fill the tarts with sugared berries. Top with whip cream to serve.

Posted in Dessert - Eat dessert first, Life is uncertain, My Bakery | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Panzanella – Bread Salad

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Sandy

Ingredients:

2 tomatoes
1 small cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
bell peppers (optional)
Kalmata olives (optional)
1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
3 tablespoons balsamic or red wine vinegar, plus more as needed
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
6 to 8 thick slices country-style white bread, torn into bite-size pieces

Preparation
In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, onion and basil. Drizzle with the 1/2 cup olive oil and the 3 tablespoons vinegar, season with salt and pepper and toss well.
Place half of the bread in a wide, shallow bowl. Spoon half of the tomato mixture over the bread. Layer the remaining bread on top and then the remaining tomato mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Just before serving, toss the salad and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. If the bread seems dry, add a little oil or vinegar. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.

Posted in Eat your vegetables, Salads | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Chopped Ham Sandwich

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Sandy

Ingredients:
1 pound ham (the better the ham, the better the spread)
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 stalk celery (optional, chopped very finely if you like crunch in your sandwich)
4 tablespoons Durkee’s Famous Sandwich and Salad Sauce
1/3 cup olive oil mayonnaise or reduced fat mayonnaise
1/3 cup sweet pickle relish
Seasoning salt, (sparingly if desired–ham is salty already)
White pepper to taste
Fresh sweet basil leaves
Serve with sliced pickles

Posted in Ham, Sandwiches | Leave a comment

Fig and Olive Tapenade

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Sandy


I was telling someone the other day that I hadn’t found a tapenade that I loved. I happen to love olives, but tapenade from the store has been left many a month in my refrigerator. Just don’t like it. That is until I was browsing the internet and stumbled upon this Fig and Olive Tapenade. Rather than spend a bunch of time making something I wasn’t sure I would like, I made a quick sample from ingredients I had on hand. My sample consisted of fig jam, kalmata olives and a little butter on a piece of breakfast toast. I know, it doesn’t have all the spices in it yet, but I can tell by the flavor profile, I am going to like it. Now, I am about to embark on the real thing. I have visions of taking this delicious concoction to a friends house as a hostess gift, or perhaps my dish for potluck.

Ingredients
1 cup chopped dried figs
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2/3 cup chopped kalamata olives
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup chopped toasted black walnuts
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
Directions
1.Combine figs and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, and liquid has reduced. Remove from heat, and stir in the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, thyme, and cayenne. Add olives and garlic, and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight to allow flavors to blend.
2.Unwrap cream cheese block, and place on a serving platter. Spoon tapenade over cheese, and sprinkle with walnuts. Serve with slices of French bread or crackers.

Posted in Appetizers, Fan Favorites, My Pantry | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Peach Cobbler

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Sandy

Adapted from Paula Dean’s Peach Cobbler from The Lady and Sons

Ingredients
4 cups peeled, sliced peaches
2 cups sugar, divided
1 tsp Almond Extract
1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/2 cups milk
Ground cinnamon, optional
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.

Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Posted in Dessert - Eat dessert first, Life is uncertain | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Holiday Ham with Apple Bourbon Glaze

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Sandy

BBQ Ham


This recipe is for “ready to eat” or “fully cooked” hams—not fresh hams. Try to buy hams that have been minimally processed, preferably, bone-in and unsliced with a nice cap of fat.

INGREDIENTS
•1 fully cooked ham or half-ham
•1 to 2 cups apple juice or cider
•1 cup apple jelly
•2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
•1 to 2 tablespoons bourbon
•2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
•1/2 teaspoon ground clove
PREPARATION
When ready to cook, start the Traeger grill on Smoke with the lid open until the fire is established (4 to 5 minutes). Set the temperature to 350 degrees F and preheat, lid closed, for 10 to 15 minutes.

Arrange the ham on a rack in a roasting pan. Pour the apple juice or in the bottom of the pan. Place on the BBQ and close the lid. Timewise, allow 15 to 18 minutes per pound for a half-ham, and 10 to 15 minutes per pound for a whole ham.

Oven Roasted

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the apple jelly. Whisk in the mustard, bourbon, lemon juice, and ground clove and remove from the heat. Brush over the outside of the ham 40 to 50 minutes before you expect the ham to be done. Let the ham rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Reheat the remaining sauce and pass it separately at the table.

Posted in Easter, Ham, Thanksgiving | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment