This is GOOD stuff!

Oh. My. GOODNESS!! I have finally found my favorite salad dressing!! If you have ever been to a Japanese steakhouse and had their little salad that comes with the hibachi meal, then you will know the savory, delicious flavor of this dressing. I am addicted. I like eating the Fresh Express 50/50 Mix with sliced cucumbers and carrot ribbons piled high on top. Top that with a tablespoonful or so of dressing and I am good to go for lunch time!! (Or any time, for that matter.) The dressing must be kept refrigerated, so I suggest looking for it with the produce in the refrigerated section. It has 80 calories and 1 gram of sugar per 2 tablespoonful serving. It does contain soy and wheat. The label says the dressing can be used as a sauce or a marinade, as well. You’ll find the link to the product website here. There are a bunch of yummy looking recipes right there that are just begging me to try. I wanted to share this wonderful discovery with y’all. Enjoy!!

1 beef rump roast, about 3 to 4 pounds
2 envelopes Lipton onion soup mix
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon oregano
2 Tablespoons minced garlic (we are garlic lovers!)
2 cans (10.5 fl oz each) beef broth, or reconstitute 3 cups beef broth
1 bottle (12 fl oz) light beer
French bread rolls or loaves, cut to serving size

Here’s what you do:

1. Trim and discard fat from beef. Place trimmed beef in Crock Pot.
2. Combine all other ingredients, except for bread, in medium mixing bowl. Pour over beef. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, low for 2 hours. You can also cook it on low for 8 hours.
3. Remove beef from Crock Pot, slice/shred on a cutting board, and return beef to cooking juice in Crock Pot.
4. Serve roast beef on rolls with au jus liquid in a little bowl on the side.

 
This is a really delicious recipe that my husband found in The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook (2010) and we made our own. My family and I love it!! The recipe serves about 6, and it doubles nicely, too. The soup can be made as mild or as spicy as you want. Since we have little ones and I am a spice-wimp, we tend to only use a half of a chipotle chile. Serve this soup with shredded Monterey Jack cheese, chunky bits of avocado, a few chopped cilantro leaves, a squeeze from a wedge of lime, and a dollop of sour cream. It’s a fun-to-assemble meal all by itself!!

Here’s what you need:

8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 onion, peeled and quartered
4 garlic cloves, peeled
8 to 10 fresh cilantro sprigs
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
½ to 2 canned chipotle chile(s) in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 cup frozen corn kernels

For garnish:

1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and cut into chunks
Fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
Tortilla chips, broken
1 fresh jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, chopped
Sour cream
Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Lime wedges

Here’s what you do:

Bring the broth, chicken breasts, 2 of the onion quarters, 2 of the garlic cloves, cilantro sprigs, and oregano to a simmer in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the chicken registers 160-165 degrees on an instant meat thermometer. If the pieces are small, it shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes.

Remove chicken from the broth and pulse in food processor until it’s VERY roughly chopped. If you don’t have a food processor, use a blender. (We have found that shredding the chicken with two forks takes FOREVER. This method takes literally 5 seconds!) Strain the broth, discarding the solid pieces. Set broth aside.

Process the remaining 2 onion quarters, remaining 2 garlic cloves, tomatoes, and chipotle peppers until smooth. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat, until oil starts to smoke. Add the pureed onion-tomato mixture and cook until tomato juice is mostly evaporated and the mixture has slightly darkened in color, at least 10 minutes. Stir often. You’ll also know when it’s about ready for the next step when the mixture starts sticking to the bottom of the Dutch oven You’ll want that caramelization for the subtle smoky flavor.

Stir in the broth and corn kernels, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir in the shredded chicken and simmer another 5 minutes, until it is heated through.

Ladle soup into bowls, add desired garnishes, and ENJOY!!

 
Get the
QR Code for smartphones. HERE The entire recipe is on it.

Here’s what you need:

½ cup peach preserves

2 Tablespoonfuls Dijon mustard (I use Grey Poupon)

2 teaspoonfuls vegetable oil

¼ teaspoonful dried thyme leaves, slightly crushed

¼ teaspoonful salt

1 package pork tenderloin (there will most probably be 2 in the pack)

Here’s what you do:

1. Mix all ingredients except pork in a small mixing bowl. Place pork and marinade into resealable plastic bag, seal, and place on plate (in case of leaks). Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but no more than 8 hours, turning occasionally.
2. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
3. Remove pork from plastic bag, place in baking dish, and pour marinade on top. Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes, until meat thermometer reads 145 degrees. It is important to let meat rest for 3 minutes to allow final cooking. Stir and reserve marinade.
4. Slice pork, plate, and drizzle cooked marinade on top. Enjoy!!

1. Place eggs into pot.
2. Fill pot with enough water to cover eggs.
3. Bring eggs to boil on stove.
4. Remove from heat, cover with lid, and let stand for 18 minutes.
5. Empty water from pot. CAUTION: Water will be HOT!!!
6. Run cold water over eggs -OR- fill pot with cold water, wait a minute or two, empty and refill until you can handle them safely.

Step 1:   Wet paper towel	Step 2:  Spread out damp paper towel onto work surface.	Step 3:   Place cutting board on top of damp paper towel. (I let it stick out to illustrate this step.

If, after a while, the cutting board starts to slide, repeat steps 1 through 3. Easy peasy!!

I had 2 leftover bananas that were rapidly approaching the “death” stage when I had the idea to make these muffins. It’s basically a banana nut bread recipe that I tweaked and turned into approximately 18 medium-sized treats. Leave the nuts out if you are allergic or you don’t like them. I used chopped pecans in half the batch and the muffins with and without the pecans tasted equally delicious! You’ll note the recipe calls for buttermilk. Food science fun fact: the acid in the buttermilk reacts with the baking soda (base) and creates the bubbles that help these muffins rise! Unless you buy it and use it on a regular basis, you will need to either buy a container of buttermilk for the ½ cup you need in this recipe or make it, like I did:

For ½ cup of buttermilk, you’ll need:
½ Tablespoonful lemon juice OR white vinegar

Enough milk to bring liquid up to ½ cup

Here’s what you do:

• Measure out ½ Tablespoonful lemon juice/vinegar and pour into measuring cup. Pour milk into that measuring cup until it reaches ½ cup. Let stand for a few minutes. Milk will begin to sour. That’s what you want for this recipe! Now that you have your buttermilk, on with the show!!

For the muffins, here’s what you need:

1¼ cup sugar

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

2 eggs

1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 medium or large)

½ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoonful vanilla extract

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoonful baking SODA

1 teaspoonful salt

½ cup miniature chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts, if you like

Here’s what you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pans with paper baking cup liners and lightly spray with cooking spray.
2. In large bowl, mix sugar and butter. Add eggs, bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt, nuts, and chocolate chips until just moistened. Spoon batter into baking cups.
3. Bake 25-30 minutes, until tops are golden and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove muffins from pans to cooling racks. Enjoy!

Make-ahead note: I always prepare a little extra so my family can have home fries for breakfast the next morning. Serve alongside an omelet or scrambled eggs and a breakfast meat for a tasty “instead of” for just plain old hash browns.

 
 
 
Here’s what you need:

4 or 5 medium red potatoes, washed
1 small onion, diced or sliced how you like
2 to 3 Tablespoonfuls olive or vegetable oil
2 Tablespoonfuls chopped fresh or 2 teaspoonfuls dried crushed rosemary leaves
1 teaspoonful chopped fresh or ¼ teaspoonful dried thyme leaves
¼ teaspoonful salt
1/8 teaspoonful pepper
1 or 2 Tablespoonfuls grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Here’s what you do:
1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line large jelly roll baking sheet with aluminum foil and grease with shortening.
2. Mix all ingredients except potatoes in large bowl. Cut potatoes into 1-inch chunks and toss into bowl. Stir to coat. Spread potatoes in single layer into pan.
3. Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes, stirring and turning occasionally, until potatoes are light brown and tender when pierced with a fork. Enjoy!

I can’t remember how long ago it was when I first had them, but every time my long-time nearest and dearest friend, Christine Campbell, makes these roll-ups, she has to make a double or triple batch! They get gobbled up by our kids (and us!) in no time at all. They take a little time to make, but they are worth it in the end. Depending on how thick you slice them, you can get between 9 to 12 roll-ups per batch. The taste reminds me of homemade biscuits covered in a sweet, gooey blanket of orange heaven. They look kind of like cinnamon rolls, and their orange-y goodness will have you coming back for seconds…and thirds…!

Here’s what you need for the glaze:

6 Tablespoonfuls margarine

3 Tablespoonfuls all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoonfuls orange juice concentrate, plus enough water to make 1/3 cup total

½ cup granulated sugar

Here’s what you do for the filling:

1. Melt margarine in small saucepan. Add flour and orange juice, stirring well and cook until thick and bubbly.
2. Remove from heat and add sugar. Set aside to cool. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Here’s what you need for the dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading and in case the dough is sticky

1 Tablespoonful plus 1 teaspoonful baking powder

½ teaspoonful salt

3 Tablespoonfuls vegetable shortening

1 cup milk

Here’s what you do:

1. Mix all ingredients in large mixing bowl. Knead lightly. Add a pinch of flour at a time if the dough is too sticky. Dust work area with flour and roll out into 10×15” rectangle.
2. Spread approximately ¾ orange filling onto rectangle and carefully roll the dough up, making a dough log.
3. With a sharp knife, slice into one-inch-thick medallions, place on lightly shortening-greased, foil-lined baking sheet and bake for approximately 18 minutes.
4. Spread remainder of the orange filling on top of the roll-ups. Enjoy!

Notes: I recommend using unmarinated artichoke hearts (the ones in the can) and grating your own Parmesan cheese for this recipe. The “shaker kind” of Parmesan has preservatives (usually) and probably won’t melt right. Besides, the flavor of freshly-grated Parm is wonderful! I have used both pre-grated mozzarella and the kind I had to grate myself, and both turn out equally tasty. I have used both regular and reduced-fat mayonnaise for this recipe, as well. The reduced-fat kind will leave a little oil on top of your cheese dip, but I just stir the warm cheese mixture once in a while to mix it in and to prevent the dip from burning. For best flavor, I use fresh garlic cloves, but if I am pressed for time, I use already-minced garlic that comes in a glass jar. Just crush it up a little with a knife to get their garlicky potential going!

Here’s what you need:

1 lb. mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 cup mayonnaise

1 can Progresso artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1 roasted red pepper, drained, seeded and finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

Here’s what you do:

Add all ingredients to your medium-sized slow-cooker and mix thoroughly. Cover. Cook on medium to high about 1 hour. Stir and enjoy!

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