Dill Pickle Dip

Pat loves his pickles, so when I saw this dip on Pinterest, I knew we had to try it. It was actually pretty tasty! It was super easy to make and would be the perfect appetizer to bring to a work potluck or to a party. I used low-fat cream cheese so it felt like it was good for us. :)

 

Dill Pickle Dip
recipe from Foodie with Family
1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1- 1 1/2 cups chopped dill pickles (I used my mini food processor - it was a snap!)
1/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion
2- 4 tablespoons pickle juice (use less for thicker dip or more for thinner dip)
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Use a wooden spoon to press into the cream cheese then stir until loosened up and smooth. Stir in all of the remaining ingredients until evenly distributed. Transfer to a serving dish and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

This dip is good for up to a week when stored tightly covered in the refrigerator. It may become thinner as the week draws to an end.

Beef stew

We had the perfect weather for beef stew the other day, rainy and dreary. This recipe was very tasty. I made a few adaptations to it, as I made it in the crockpot. I put everything in the crockpot and added quartered red potatoes. I also added a little beef stock to help everything get cooked in the crockpot. This was tasty and a recipe I'll use again. It was easy, delicious, and even Izzy liked it! :)

 

Old-Time Beef Stew 

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Ingredients

• 2 pounds stew beef
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1 or 2 bay leaves
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• Dash ground allspice or ground cloves
• 3 large carrots, sliced
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

Brown meat in hot oil. Add water, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and allspice. Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Remove bay leaves and garlic clove. Add carrots and celery. Cover and cook 30 to 40 minutes longer. To thicken gravy, remove 2 cups hot liquid. Using a separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch until smooth. Mix with a little hot liquid and return mixture to pot. Stir and cook until bubbly.

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Sweet Potato Burger

I had such high hopes for this recipe, especially after reading all of the comments saying how amazing it was, but it was only okay. It seemed to be a little bland, which is disappointing since we added a lot of different spices that the recipe didn't call for, as well as a lot of toppings. We didn't "deep fry" them like the recipe calls for, so maybe that would make a difference. Izzy will be enjoying the leftovers since it is all foods she enjoys. I don't know if I'd make them again, unless I came up with a really good spice/herb mix to make it more flavorful. I added basil and we served it with avocado and Dijon mustard. If you try it and find it tasty, please share with me what you did differently. I was bummed, as we love sweet potatoes.

 

Sweet Potato Veggie Burgersmakes 7-8 large patties

2 cans cannellini white beans, drained
1 large sweet potato, baked/peeled/mashed (about 2 cups)
2 Tbsp tahini
2 tsp maple or agave syrup
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning OR Cajun seasoning (or another fave spice!)
1/4 cup wheat flour
optional: additional seasoning (whatever you have on hand - I used a few dashes cayenne, black pepper and a scoop of nutritional yeast)
salt to taste if needed

plentiful Panko crumbs
safflower oil for pan

burgers: avocado, Dijon mustard, grain buns, romaine, onion, olive oil, pepper

Directions:

1. Bake sweet potato. Peel, place in large mixing bowl.
2. Add drained beans to mixing bowl. Mash beans and potato together.
3. Mash in seasoning, flour and any additional seasoning. Your mixture will be quite soft and moist. But you should be able to form a patty. Add more flour or a scoop of breadcrumbs - or dry rice to thicken the mixture if needed.
4. Heat 1 Tbsp safflower oil in a pan over high heat.
5. Form a patty from mixture and coat in Panko crumbs. Thick coating. Then drop the patty in the pan. Repeat until the pan is filled. Cook until browned on both sides. You could also bake. If baking, use less Panko.
6. Transfer cooked patties to paper towel. Cool for a few minutes.
7. Serve on toasted bun with lotsa toppings.

Quinoa with black beans and avocado

This was pretty tasty! I used regular quinoa, not red. I am not sure where you buy red quinoa. This was the perfect summer time salad. It was easy to make and will become a summer grilling stable side dish I am sure. I am always looking for new quinoa recipes and this one didn't disappoint. 

 

Ingredients
1 cup red quinoa ($1)
1 cup frozen diced green pepper ($.29)
1 cup frozen corn ($.29)
2 cups cooked black beans ($.40)
1/4 cup lime juice ($.10)
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (free from the garden)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 avocado, diced ($1)
Directions

In a large skillet, saute the green pepper, corn and black beans.Once softened, add the lime juice and cilantro.In a saucepan, cook the red quinoa as directed on the package.Once cooked, mix the quinoa in with the sauteeing veggies.Dice up an avocado.Serve the avocado on top of the quinoa and veggies.

Read more: http://www.5dollardinners.com/2010/06/red-quinoa-avocado-black-beans-corn.html#ixzz1qddlutnY

Read more: http://www.5dollardinners.com/2010/06/red-quinoa-avocado-black-beans-corn.html#ixzz1qddZiL1x

Lemon garlic Spaghetti

I found this recipe on Pinterest. It was pretty good, a great summer salad. It would be good cold. I think I would put more lemon juice in it. We also used Quinoa pasta, so it may not have soaked up the lemon as much, but I like the taste better than regular pasta.

Lemon Garlic Spaghetti – serves 2

4 oz dry spaghetti
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/2 lemon
2 tbsp pine nuts
5-6 basil leaves, chiffonaded

First, start your garlic oil. Pour in olive oil and chopped up garlic into a small frying pan and let it cook over low, until the garlic starts to brown on edges. Immediately remove from heat and reserve.
While that's starting up, boil up some spaghetti.

Chiffonade some basil leaves. Here I have pathetically limpy basil leaves, but fresh is, as usual, the best. Then you take some cheese…Some pine nuts…

And dump it into a large bowl, with the garlic oil, garlic chunks and all. Squeeze in lemon juice. Throw in the spaghetti and toss until well combined. Plate, crack some black pepper on it, and nom.

Homemade Snickers Bars

I made these delicious snickers bars for a coworker's birthday today. They were very rich and very YUMMY! I was surprised at how easy they were to make. I will definitely be making these again, but only for a special occasion when others can help me consume them, as they are dangerous!

 

Homemade Snickers Bars

[recipe from Nikki, who lightly adapted it from and old Taste of Home recipe]
makes one 9×13 pan
bottom chocolate layer
1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter
Thoroughly grease you baking pan. Melt ingredients together in a saucepan or microwave, then pour into the baking dish and spread until even. Let cool and harden completely.
nougat layer
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cup salted peanuts chopped, roughly chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in sugar and milk, stirring until dissolved and bring to a boil. Let cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in fluff, peanut butter and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Turn off heat and fold in peanuts, then pour over bottom chocolate layer. Let cool completely.
caramel layer
1 14-ounce bag of caramels
1/4 cup whipping cream
Combine ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Let melt, stirring occasionally, until smooth – this took about 10 minutes for me. Pour over nougat layer and let cool completely.
Top chocolate layer
1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter
Melt ingredients together in a saucepan or microwave, then pour over caramel and spread until even. Let cool and
harden completely.
Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving, then cut as desired. These can stay at room temperature, but they do get gooey. I like them refrigerated best!

Cream Cheese Sausage Balls

Cream Cheese Sausage Balls
(Printable Recipe)
1 lb hot sausage, uncooked
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups Bisquick
4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400F.

Mix all ingredients until well combined. (I use my KitchenAid mixer with the dough hook attachment)  Roll into 1-inch balls.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until brown.

Sausage balls may be frozen uncooked.  If baking frozen, add a few minutes to the baking time.
 

English Muffin Bread

Well, the third time is a charm with this recipe. I found this recipe on Pinterest and was dying to try it. I was bound and determine to make this recipe work and not give up. It took THREE times to get it right. Here are some things I learned along the way, hopefully it will prevent you from making the same mistakes.

1. Make sure you use hot water (around 100 degrees) not BOILING water and kill the yeast like I did the first time.

2. Use RAPID RISE Yeast, do not use regular yeast. I was up until 11pm last night waiting for it to rise, no luck. I gave up and put them in the oven, only to discover that the bread wasn't really bread, more like a breadstick width.

3. Know that even with Rapid Rise yeast, it can still take a few hours to fully rise. Something they left out of the recipe directions.

Third time is a charm and this ended up being worth all of the hassle, time, and lack of sleep today at work. The best part is, it makes 4 loaves and was really easy to make. I ended up giving one to the neighbors, one to my sister, who so generously offered up her two loaf pans for me when I realized the recipe made four loaves, and one for us. Plus, one for the freezer for later use.

Recipe found here
5 1/2 cups warm water
3 packages RAPID RISE yeast
     (Update: You can use regular yeast, but you will need to let is rise TWICE. Once in the bowl, til it reaches the top...and then again in the pans, til it reaches the top. With the RAPID RISE you only need to let it rise once in the pans.)
2 Tablespoons salt
3 Tablespoons sugar
11 cups flour (I used bread flour....but my Mom always used All Purpose)

Mix altogether, let rise in bowl until double in bulk, then spoon into (4) well greased loaf pans.  Let rise in pans until dough reaches the top of the pan, and bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown. (My oven runs a little hot so I ended up cooking mine for a total of 35 minutes. Just keep an eye on it. You're looking for golden brown.) 10 minutes before done, brush with melted butter. Makes 4 loaves. Bread will be moist at first. Allow to COOL COMPLETELY before cutting. Makes terrific toast.