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Salad
Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1 small clove minced garlic
- 1/8 tsp sugar
- Salt / pepper to taste (pinch of herbs such as oregano to
taste)
Let sit for at least an hour before using.
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Salad Fixings
For variety, other than just chopped lettuce, try these
ingredients in various combinations. Use mayo or maybe a salad
dressing to bind it together or give it some zest. Don't overdo,
though, you want the veggie flavors to dominate.
- Pasta
- Rome tomatoes
- Yellow pepper
- Snow peas (lightly cooked)
- Green beans (lightly cooked)
- Fresh Parmesan cheese
- Various squash types
- Fresh mushrooms
- Fresh crushed herbs
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Artichoke
Presentation
I like this one because it is so easy and
very low calorie, but looks really elegant.
- Prepare one salad plate for each serving needed.
- Butter lettuce (arrange 3 or 4 leaves on a salad
plate)
- Top with 2 artichoke hearts (pickled or plain)
- Arrange 6 or 7 stalks cooked asparagus (either canned kind
drained or your own). Be sure the stalks are tender.
- Tbsp capers
- Grate Parmesan cheese on top
- Serve with plain balsamic vinegar or vinaigrette
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Pea Salad
- 2 cans English peas, drained (add last so as not to mush the
peas during mixing)
- Chop the following:
- Bell pepper (start with half a pepper and add to
taste)
- Dill pickles (depending on size, 2 or 3)
- Celery - 3 or 4 stalks
- Onion, finely chopped -(some people like lots of onions;
others just want a suspicion.) Start with about half a cup.
- 3 boiled eggs (mashed with a fork)
- Cheddar Cheese (low fat, if you wish), a cup or more to
taste (chop in small squares, do not grate)
- Pimiento (again, this ingredient can go a long way for some
people). Start with a small jar.
- Garlic clove to taste
- Salt to taste
- Add mayonnaise (low fat, if you wish) ½ cup to start
(mayonnaise should hold it together but not be obtrusive).
- Last thing, add the peas.
Let sit in the fridge for an hour or so before serving.
Mandarin
Salad
Salad Fixin's
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp sugar
- 2 bunches fresh spinach, washed, picked over, drained and
dried, torn into bite size pieces
- 2 - 3 green onions with tips sliced
- 1 can mandarin oranges, drained
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Cook almonds and sugar over low heat until sugar is melted.
Stir to coat almonds. Cool. Place spinach in plastic bag, add onions,
dressing, oranges. Close bag and shake. Break up almonds and add.
Shake again and
place in serving bowl. You can keep the greens in a tightly sealed bag for 24 hours,
then add dressing (below) when ready to serve.
Sweet and Sour Dressing
- 1/4 cup
vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp
sugar
- 2 Tbsp
apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp
salt
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Shake all ingredients
in tightly covered jar. Refrigerate if not using immediately.
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Baked Onion
Rings
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Prepare a cookie sheet by lightly spraying with cooking oil spray.
- ½ cup plain bread crumbs
- Seasoning to taste, e.g., garlic powder, salt or seasoned
salt, pepper
- 2 medium to large yellow onions sliced in rings
- ¼ skim milk and 1 egg (or two egg whites) mixed
Mix the bread crumbs and seasonings in a bag. Dip onions in
milk-egg mixture and put in bread crumb mix to coat well. Arrange slices on cookie sheet
in rows overlapping slightly. Bake about 30 minutes (crumbs should be golden and onions
soft).
You can use other veggies for variety. May require
adjusting the cooking time.
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Roasted Veggies
Roast Oven (425 degrees)
- green beans (1 lb, tossed with 1 tsp olive oil, 12 minutes,
stir midway through)
- asparagus (1 lb. Tender stalks tossed with 1 tsp olive oil,
10 to 15 minutes)
- potatoes (sweet or Irish, 2 medium, cut into ½" thick
sticks, tossed with 1 tsp olive oil, 25 to 30 minutes, turning 2 or 3 times)
- eggplant (1 large, trimmed, cut into 1/3" thick sticks,
tossed with 2 tsps olive oil, 20 minutes, turning once
- onions (2 medium yellow, sliced 1/3" thick, brush with
olive oil, 30 minutes, turning once)
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Mary's Meat Loaf
(350 degree oven)
- 2 lbs very lean ground beef
- ¾ cup quick rolled oats
- 1 to 1½ tsps salt
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ½ to ¾ chopped onion
- 2 eggs (well beaten)
- ½ cup skim milk
Mix all ingredients together and place in loaf pan. Cover
with topping. Bake uncovered until brown and bubbling. 45 minutes.
Topping
- ½ cup ketchup
- 1½ Tbsp prepared mustard
- 1½ to 2 Tbsp brown sugar
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Fragrant
Chicken with Garlic Potatoes
Modified from a new cookbook to serve two
people.
- 2 large boneless chicken breasts
- Adolph's Seasoned Meat Tenderizer
- 4 Tbsps cold unsalted butter
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsps freeze dried shallots
- ½ cup plus 2 Tbsps dark ale
- 1 ½ Tbsps juniper berries
coarsely crushed
- 1 Tbsp pink peppercorns coarsely
crushed
- 4 Tbsps finely chopped fresh
parsley
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- In skillet melt 1 Tbsp butter with
oil.
- Season chicken on both sides.
- Add to skillet and cook on one
side for 5 minutes, turn and cook for 3-5 minutes on other side.
- Remove chicken, add ½ cup ale and
shallots.
- Bring to boil scraping up brown
bits in pan, cook for 2 minutes. § Return chicken, cover and
simmer for 7 minutes.
- Turn chicken over, cover and
simmer for 7 - 10 minutes or until done.
- Remove chicken and keep warm on
serving plates.
- Add 2 Tbsps ale and 3 separate Tbsps
cold butter.
- Bring to boil, add berries and
peppercorns.
- Bubbly boil for 2-3 minutes until
syrupy.
- Pour over chicken and sprinkle
with parsley.
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| Serve with garlic
potatoes and same ale as in the chicken. |
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| Garlic
Mashed Potatoes |
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- 2 medium potatoes
- 1 can chicken broth
- Salt
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Milk
- 1-2 large garlic cloves
- 1 Tbsp butter unsalted
- 2 Tbsps chopped parsley
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- In large saucepan cover potatoes
with broth and water to cover and bring to boil.
- Reduce heat to medium boil and
cook potatoes until tender.
- Drain and return potatoes to
saucepan. § In a small pan, melt butter, add minced garlic and
cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add cream and simmer for about 5
minutes.
- Mash the potatoes; add creamed
garlic and season as needed with salt. Add milk if needed to be
sure potatoes aren't too dry. Put on serving plates with chicken
and sprinkle with parsley.
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| To add a semi-sweet
taste, also serve with peeled, thinly sliced apples and currants (or
dark raisins) tossed with a 2-3 Tbsps sugar and a little lemon
juice, stir fried in light oil or butter about 5 minutes. |
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Strawberries
in Champagne
- 3¼ tsp unflavored gelatin
- 1 cup water
- ¾ cup plus 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1 bottle dry champagne
- 1 pint strawberries hulled and sliced thin
- In small saucepan, sprinkle the
gelatin over the water and let soften until no dry spots are visible. Melt gelatin over
low heat, stirring with wooden spoon just until no lumps remain. Do not overcook.
- Remove from heat and stir in sugar until all
dissolved.
- Put in big mixing bowl. Stir in champagne (after of course
you may have drunk a small amount of it). It will foam a lot so you have to be sure you
have a big mixing bowl to hold it all. Don't worry about the foam though.
- Cover bowl with saran wrap and refrigerate at least six
hours or overnight.
- To assemble, toss the strawberries with some sugar (1-2
Tbsp).
- Scramble gelatin with a fork and alternate layers of gelatin
with strawberries in glass bowl. (I tumped and tossed the strawberries in with the gelatin
then put in a nice pretty serving bowl or in individual crystal goblets. Couldn't be bothered with layering.)
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Sparkling Citrus
- 2/3 cup sugar (superfine if you can find it)
- 1½ cup orange juice (I used the ready in a gallon
kind.)
- 1½ cup grapefruit juice (I used frozen.)
- ½ cup lemon juice (I used the bottled kind.)
- ¼ cup lime juice (not frozen limeade; I used the bottled
lime juice.)
- 1 quart sparkling water (make sure you have a big enough jug
for when the water fizzes up!)
- mint sprigs or fruit slices for garnish if you have time.
(I'm also sure you could substitute Sweet and Low or Equal
for the sugar if you have diabetics around.)
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Brandy Orange Bundt
Cake
- Orange cake mix
- Small packet instant vanilla pudding mix
- 4 eggs, fork mixed
- ½ cup orange juice
- ½ cup oil
- ½ brandy
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
Mix all together, put in greased, floured bundt pan with
pecans on bottom in each big indentation.
Bake 325 degrees 45 minutes or until done.
Remove from oven loosen cake but do not invert and set pan with cake on wire rack.
Icing Glaze
- ¾ cup orange juice
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 stick butter
- 1 pinch salt
- ¼ to 1/3 cup brandy
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla
In small saucepan, melt butter. Add orange juice and sugar.
Melt sugar and bring to hard boil for 5 to 6 minutes stirring constantly. Glaze will begin
to get thick, but don't let it get gritty. Plunge pan in ice water to cool down quickly.
After about 30 seconds add brandy and vanilla and stir briskly. With cake in pan, poke
slits in cake with knife. With cake in pan, pour glaze slowly over cake letting it seep
down inner and outer sides and inside slits. Take knife and lift cake carefully around
inside and outside edges of pan so glaze can ooze all the way around cake pan.
Let cool for about 30 minutes. But no longer or you will
glue cake into pan with glaze. (If this happens, plunge cake pan into boiling water bath
until cake loosens and you can tump it out.) Tump cake out onto cake plate and let cool
completely. (If you tump cake while it is too warm, all the sauce will
wind up on the cake plate. Oh well, just take a spatula and spread it
over the cake after it has cooled a bit.)
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Pecan Pie
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup white Karo syrup
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 Tbsp Butter
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup pecans
Beat eggs well. Add other ingredients. Place
pecans in uncooked pie shell. Pour mixture over pecans. Bake at 350 for 30 to
40 minutes.
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Cherry
Filled Crepes
This recipe makes enough for four people.
Increase quantities for more people.
- Enough crepes to have 2 to 3 per serving
- Can of pie cherries (black pitted sweet)
- 8 oz sour cream
- 8 oz package of cream cheese, room temp
- small carton heavy whipping cream
- Sugar
Make crepes ahead of time. Warm cherry pie filling.
Whip cream with sugar to taste (I always add vanilla). Beat cream cheese 'til creamy, add sour cream, whip together to make a thick roux. Fill crepes with cherry sauce and cream cheese filling, place in buttered baking pan, bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Serve on dessert plates, Top each plate with whipped cream.
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