Cherry Pie Cookies

These are unbelievably good, and very easy to make. I found the recipe on Better Homes and Gardens, and they had some good Christmas cookie options there. This is definitely a keeper!!!

Chewy Cherry Almond Bars
Makes: 36 bars
Prep: 20 minutes Bake: 35 minutes


Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract (I used vanilla)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups regular rolled oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 12-ounce jar (1 cup) cherry preserves

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil over the edges of the pan. Grease foil; set pan aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and almond extract until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour, the oats, and almonds.
3. Remove 1/2 cup of the dough and set aside. Press the remaining dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Spread with preserves. Crumble the remaining dough evenly over preserves layer.
4. Bake in the preheated oven about 35 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Using the edges of the foil, lift the uncut cookies out of the pan. Cut into bars. Makes 36 bars.
5. To Store: Place bars in a single layer in an airtight container; cover. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

Curry Dip

This is a staple at all Garvey family gatherings.

Blend in a blender:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 hard boiled egg
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 clover garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Tis the season

I just found this blog about crockpot cooking: A Year of Crockpotting. The author made a new year's resolution to cook with her crockpot every day in 2008. Looks like some interesting stuff, especially now that we're headed into fall! I'll let you know when I try something.

Grilled Red Peppers with Feta

This is SUPER easy and a good side dish with a summer meal. Cut a red bell pepper into about 4 parts (the long way, up and down) so it makes a little cup or bowl. Brush then inside of it with balsamic or balsamic vinaigrette. Sprinkle feta into each little bowl and put them on the grill just to warm it a bit, try not to blacken or char the bottom. And that's it! You could probably use crumbly bleu cheese or try yellow or orange peppers too.

Smitten Kitchen

I'm on a roll with unnecessary surfing. Check out Smitten Kitchen. Amalah linked to it in her post today and I must make this ratatouille. I am drooling and it's only 10am.

101 Cookbooks

I stumbled across this blog today, 101 Cookbooks. It looks very much our speed. I'm adding it to the sidebar, but thought I'd let you all know with a new post! I haven't cooked anything interesting lately, but I did make a chicken pie and realized I need to get that recipe up here.



We're grilling steak tonight because it is just too damn hot to cook in the house.

Shrimp with Roasted Peppers and Feta

So I've never actually made this but Real Simple e-mailed it to me today and I couldn't not share it! I imagine that if you roasted your own peppers and used low fat feta you could probably reduce the fat/calories/etc. In any event YUM!!!!! I love Real Simple ....

1 12-ounce jar roasted red peppers
1 bunch scallions
1 head garlic
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper
8 ounces Feta
4 1-quart resealable plastic freezer bags

Freeze It:
Drain the peppers and cut into 1-inch pieces. Slice the scallions and 2 cloves garlic. Combine the vegetables in a bowl with the shrimp, 2 tablespoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
Divide the mixture among 4 resealable plastic freezer bags, top with the Feta (crumbled), and freeze, for up to 3 months, until ready to cook.

Cook It:
Heat oven to 400° F. Remove the shrimp mixture from the bags (you'll need one bag per serving) and place in individual baking dishes or a large casserole, making sure the Feta is on top.
Bake until the shrimp are cooked through and the Feta begins to brown, about 20 minutes.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 415(48% from fat); FAT 22g (sat 10g); PROTEIN 44g; CHOLESTEROL 309mg; SODIUM 2293mg; FIBER 2g; CARBOHYDRATE 10g

Mary's Strawberry Brownie Cake- age 4

When we were little my mom used to let us cook with her. If we were really lucky, she'd even let us make the recipe! This is a one that I created when I was 4 years old. We should've known back then that I wasn't destined to be a chef....

Here it is, exactly how my mom copied it:

Mary Garvey's Recipe 6-1-89

Strawberry Brownie Cake

Make it a lot of times. Now it's ketchup & mustard & a lot of nuts. Now a little more ketchup and mustard and some salt and pepper and some eggs (3 eggs). Then you put some cake in it then some, a little more nuts. Now some strawberries. Then some dough, cookie dough. You cook it when you get it. It needs to be in the stove, not the microwave, 'cause it hurts my tongue. It needs to be cooked at 350 because the eggs make it turn yellow. You need to put a little more ketchup and mustard in it and a little more egg. Now that's it. (How do you serve it?) You put a little cinnamon on the top of it.

And there you have it. Think I should submit this to the Pillsbury Bakeoff?

Grilled Tuna Steaks with Potato & Green Been Salad

From Rachel Ray ... This recipe is so simple and so good!!!! I made it very easily after work one night in no time at all!

Ingredients
1/3 cup EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)
4 six ounce tuna steaks, 1 inch thick
Salt and pepper
1 pound small red or yellow potatoes, cut in half
1 1/2 pound green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup packed basil leaves
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preparation
Preheat an outdoor grill or a grill pan to medium-high. Drizzle EVOO on both sides of the tuna steaks; season with salt and pepper.In a medium pot, cover the potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil. Salt the water, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the beans; cook for 4 minutes.While the potatoes cook, using a food processor, puree the basil, pine nuts, garlic, lemon peel, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. With the machine on, pour in the 1/3 cup EVOO in a steady stream. Transfer the pesto to a large bowl and stir in the cheese.Grill the tuna steaks for 2 minutes on each side for medium-rare.Drain the potatoes and beans, add to the pesto and toss to coat; season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve alongside the tuna steaks.

Spinach-and-Cheese Casserole

This. Is. So. Good. I found the recipe through a long series of procrastinatory clicks, and I think it was on the Parents magazine website. Don't remember. Doesn't matter. Make it. It's like spanikopita meets spinach dip meets quiche. Which reminds me, I still have to post my spanikoptia and spinach dip recipes.

I'm still experimenting with low fat or no fat or full fat cheeses. The first batch was half no fat and half full fat so I suppose it came out pretty close to the intended result.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 75 minutes
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
Cooking spray
4 eggs
2/3 cup flour
Two 10-oz packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (you can dump the spinach into a dish cloth and twist it to quickly squeeze out all the water)
24-oz container low-fat cottage cheese
3 cups grated reduced-fat cheddar cheese
Salt, to taste (I used garlic salt and pepper. Nutmeg is also a nice addition.)

1. Coat a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs with flour until smooth. (I beat the eggs until they were light and frothy before adding the flour.)
2. Add remaining ingredients and stir well to blend. Spoon into prepared dish and bake, or cover and refrigerate.
3. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 75 minutes.

TIP: To prep and bake the day before, shorten oven time by 10 minutes. Cool, wrap, and refrigerate. Reheat in the microwave, checking at 10-minute intervals, until heated through.
Per serving: 273 calories, 13 g fat (7 g saturated), 818 mg sodium, 140 mg cholesterol.
(How do they know how much sodium is in it if I salted to taste?!)

Design Your Own Chocolate Cookie

I'm "working at home" today and Julia asked if we could make cookies. Actually she started daydreaming about cookies yesterday and i got her to sleep last night with the promise of cookie making today. I did a search for the ingredients I had in the pantry and came across the hershey's site (which I'm adding to the links list because the recipes look awesome!). This was the most basic recipe using the most basic ingredients and I have a feeling we'll be using it often. I made a dozen and froze the rest. The cookies are crispy and chewy at the same time and would probably be delish with some chocolate chips. We added a few m&m's in lieu of any of the suggestions in the recipe.

YUM!!!

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375 F.
2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs; beat well.
3. Stir together flour, cocoa and baking soda; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 5 dozen cookies.

VARIATIONS:
CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: Add 2 cups (one 12 or 11.5-pkg.) HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK, Semi-Sweet, Mini Chips or Milk Chocolate Chips to basic chocolate batter.
MINI KISSES CHOCOLATE COOKIES: Add 1-3/4 cups (10-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S MINI KISSES Milk Chocolates to basic chocolate batter.
MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES: Add 1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S Mint Chocolate Chips to basic chocolate batter.
CHOCOLATE COOKIES WITH WHITE CHIPS: Add 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S Premier White Chips to basic chocolate batter.
CHOCOLATE COOKIES WITH PEANUT BUTTER CHIPS: Add 1-2/3 cups( 10-oz. pkg.) REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips to basic chocolate batter.
CHOCOLATE COOKIES WITH TOFFEE: Add 1 to 1-1/4 cups HEATH BITS 'O BRICKLE Toffee Bits or HEATH Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits to basic chocolate batter. Lightly grease or paper-line cookie sheets.

Spinach Sausage Bread

I saw this recipe on an episode of Rachael Ray and changed it a little bit. It's super easy (a trend in all my recipes...) and it was an awesome leftover too.

1 loaf of Italian bread
Spinach (about 3 or 4 bags)
1 package of breakfast sausage (like Jimmy Dean)
Shredded Provolone
Garlic

Preheat the oven to 350. Cut the top off of the bread and scoop out the middle soft part of the bread. Make sure the save the top piece of the crust. Cook the sausage and set aside once it's done. Cook the spinach, adding as much or as little garlic as you'd like. Once both the sausage and spinach are cooked, mix them together and fill the emptied loaf of bread with the mixture. Sprinkle a generous amount of the cheese over the top. Replace the top of the bread, wrap the entire loaf in foil, and bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

The actual recipe called for broccoli rabe instead of spinach, but like most of RR's recipes, she said any green could be used. She said you could also experiment with the kind of meat used. She also loaded cheese on top. She sprinkled parmesan, shredded provolone, and huge slices of mozzarella. I thought the provolone was plenty though.

My roommate and I made this last week, but she is a vegetarian. So instead of getting a large loaf of bread, we each got a couple big sausage rolls and made individual servings. She used Boca breakfast patties and cut them up instead of the sausage. We each made 2 rolls and ended up eating only 1 each, so I reheated the second one in the over the next day for lunch. It was just as good the next day! We also used the bread we scooped out and dipped it in hummus.

(This is the actual recipe: http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/rabe-stuffed-stromboli-bread/)

Mrs. Riley's Cake

This is the Best. Cake. EVER. My friend's mom, Mrs. Riley, used to make whenever I'd go over to her house.

• 1 box devils food cake mix
• 1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 8 oz sour cream
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 eggs
• 1 package chocolate chips

1. preheat oven to 350 and grease a pan (any size and style...Mrs. Riley always used a bundt pan, of course.)
2. mix all of the ingredients. The batter will be very thick.
3. Pour the batter into the pan and bake it for 30-40 minutes (for a bundt cake...cupcakes will, obviously, bake faster.) Check with a toothpick to make sure it's done.
4. Let it cool for 15-20 minutes, then flip it out of the pan and onto a wire cooling rack.
5. Dust with powdered sugar or cover with frosting (cream cheese or chocolate work well).
6. Bring it to my house so I can eat it.

Call for recipes

So far so good, huh? There are several recipes that I think we need added here:

Ginny - Lasagna? Yorkshire pudding?
Ceil - Mrs. Riley's cake?
Mom - you've got a lot of work to do. Gumbo? Christmas cookies? Pickled pot roast?

I'll start categorizing these soon too, but feel free to add your own labels as you choose.

Roast Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Onions

This is yet another Epicurious recipe that I lurve. The meat is tender and the spices are perfect and the onion/apple mixture is just like a chunky savory applesauce. Plus it's easy and healthy. Love!

Ingredients
1 large pork tenderloin (about 14 ounces)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons fennel seeds (or ground fennel for a milder taste)
1 large onion, sliced
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup dry white wine or apple cider

Preheat oven to 450°F. Season pork with salt and pepper.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and sear until all sides are brown, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes. Transfer pork to plate. Cool slightly. Spread mustard over top and sides of pork; press fennel seeds into mustard. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Add onion slices and apples; sauté over medium heat until golden, about 5 minutes. (*I caramelized the onions by cooking them for a few minutes first before I added apples) Spread evenly in skillet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place pork atop apple-onion mixture.

Transfer skillet to oven and roast until apple-onion mixture is soft and brown and meat thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 150°F, about 15 minutes. Transfer pork to platter and tent with foil. Let stand 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour white wine over apple-onion mixture in skillet. Stir mixture over high heat until slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Cut pork on diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Spoon apple-onion mixture onto plates. Top with pork and serve.

BBQ Chicken

This is the easiest recipe ever, but it's so super yummy!

Ingredients:

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (between 2-4...frozen, fresh, any way you have them)
• BBQ sauce (any kind. I like honey bbq, but anything works)
• Sandwhich rolls

Procedure:

1. Take the chicken breasts and put them into a crockpot.
2. Open the bottle of bbq sauce and empty it it over the chicken.
3. Put the top on the crockpot, turn it on low, and leave it for 8 hours (or until the chicken is done.)
4. When the chicken is done, take 2 forks and pull it apart into little stringy pieces.
5. Place a roll on a plate, fill the roll with the chicken, and eat it.

"Mary's" Pasta

I don't know if there's a real name to this, but since it's one of my favorites (and one of the few meals I can make...) my family calls it "Mary's" Pasta.

You'll need...
Tomatoes (I use cherry tomatoes)
Mozzarella Cheese
Basil
Garlic
Olive Oil
Pasta

Cut the tomatoes, cheese, basil, and garlic and mix them with the oil. You can let this sit all day if you want to let the flavors blend. Cook the pasta (I usually use fettuccini, but anything would work). Pour the mixture over the pasta and mix while it's still hot. You can use as much or as little of the ingredients that you want.

Chicken Theresa ...

.... Or that really awesome chicken dish that Gina made for Esther the first time she met her.

I first got this recipe from my college roommate, Sarah. Her family called it Chicken Theresa because her Aunt Theresa would make this for all family functions. I've never had an actual recipe for it so I'll do my best here but it's really mostly to taste and perfection comes with experimenting with it along the way.

What you need:
Boneless, skinless Chicken breats (I allow for one per person)
Butter
Garlic
White Wine
1 -2 cans of Artichoke Hearts - drained and quartered
1 small - medium bag of still dry, sun-dried tomatoes, halved (the tomatoes re-hydrate with all the yummy flavors of the butter/wine/garlic sauce)
Pasta of your choice

Dredge each chicken breast in flour. Melt between half and a whole stick of butter in a large, deep pan with tons of garlic. Cook the chicken breasts in the melted butter/garlic until cooked through. Add a bunch of white wine, stir the whole mixture and bring it to a simmer.

Add artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes to the sauce and let it simmer until it's nice and thick. You can always add some flour/water mixture to the sauce to help thicken it a little more if you feel the need.

While this is all cooking up, I prepare the pasta; I serve it over penne but you can use any kind of pasta you'd like.

And that's pretty much it .... =) Enjoy!!!!

Orzo with Shrimp

This is one of my new favorite recipes. I saved it years ago in my Epicurious recipe folder but only recently tried it. It's quick, easy, hearty and makes amazing leftovers. I didn't use this much oil and it was still delish. I used the creamier kind of feta, I think it was from France. And I used a bag of frozen shrimp already peeled and deveined which cut way back on prep time. Just thaw before you use it in this recipe.

I also added kalamata olives (about a dozen), as suggested in the comments on Epicurious. They also suggested pine nuts and spinach, but the pine nuts I had were rancid. Eew. I served sauteed spinach as a side dish.

Ingredients
8 ounces orzo
6 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup crumbled feta cheese 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush 11x7-inch glass baking dish with oil. Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain well and return orzo to same pot. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/4 cup feta cheese, Parmesan cheese, and 2 tablespoons basil; stir to blend. Arrange orzo mixture in prepared dish.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and sauté until slightly pink, about 2 minutes (shrimp will not be cooked through). Arrange shrimp atop orzo. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to same skillet. Add garlic and sauté over medium-high heat 30 seconds. Add tomatoes with juice; cook 1 minute. Stir in wine, oregano, crushed red pepper, and remaining 1/4 cup basil. Simmer uncovered until reduced to thick sauce consistency, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper; spoon over shrimp. Bake orzo until heated through, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup feta cheese and serve.

Corn Chowder

I love corn chowder. I got this recipe from epicurious but I've made minor changes over the years. If anyone has other good recipes please post them! I'm always open to suggestions.

4 (or more) slices bacon, coarsely chopped
1 6-ounce russet potato cut into 1/2-inch pieces (peel optional)
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
2 small bay leaves
2 cups milk
1 10-ounce package frozen corn kernels (or 1 1/2 cups of fresh corn cut off the cob)
1 14 3/4-ounce can creamed corn
1 1/4 cups canned chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon (or more) hot pepper sauce

Sauté bacon in heavy large pot over medium-high heat until crisp and brown. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons drippings from pot. Add potato, onion, celery, and bay leaves to pot. Sauté over medium-high heat until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add milk, frozen corn kernels, creamed corn, and broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer chowder until potato is tender, about 15 minutes. Add hot pepper sauce, and half the bacon. Simmer chowder uncovered until flavors blend, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and more hot pepper sauce, if desired. Top each bowl with remaining bacon.

Smashed Cauliflower

This is a variation on the South Beach / Atkins answer to mashed potatoes .. it should end up being the same or similar consistency.

1 head of Cauliflower
1 -2 cans of low sodium, chicken broth
Parmesan / Romano / any shreaded cheese (to taste)

Put the cauliflower pieces in to a large pot along with 1 - 2 cans (depending on the how much cauliflower you have) of the chicken broth. Cook covered on Med - High until cauliflower is soft; remove from head and mash the cauliflower directly into the remaining chicken broth. Once it's all mashed, add shreaded cheese, mix together & serve! Depending on how much chicken broth was left over, you may have to add more cheese, but you can always drain a little of the excess out too.

It keeps pretty well for a few days in the fridge too if you have leftovers and they taste better than mashed potatoes reheated.

turkey goulash

I just made this super yummy goulash:

2 medium onions, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 lb extra lean ground turkey

1 can (15 oz) no-salt-added kidney beans with liquid

medium yellow summer squash in bite-sized chunks

1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt-free seasoning (I wasn't sure what this was, so I used seasoning salt...)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne

lightly mist a pot with oil and saute onions and garlic until they're soft. Transfer them to a bowl, then brown the meat in the same pot, breaking up any clumps with a spoon. Once the meat is brown add the beans (with the liquid), tomatoes, seasoning, and onion/garlic mixture. Heat it to a boil, stirring occasionally. Then turn the heat down to a simmer and cover. Cook for 30-40 minutes (until the veggies are soft and cooked through.)

Serve over rice, noodles, or with crackers on the side.*

*Recipe from The Biggest Loser Cookbook...they recomend using brown rice or whole wheat crackers. I used the noodles we had in our house and topped with a little parmesan cheese. SO YUMMY!

Garlic Dressing

This is a super yummy garlicky dressing. I always get rave reviews when I bring this to parties. You can also top the salad with grilled chicken for a quick healthy dinner. I made it tonight and I can still taste the garlic, which is what reminded me to post my first recipe...

Combine:
1/2 clove of fresh garlic, finely chopped or squished through a garlic press
4-5 teaspoons of olive oil
4-5 teaspoons of worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of dry mustard

Toss chopped romaine lettuce with grated parmesan cheese - I use about 1/4 cup of cheese with a bag of pre-washed chopped romaine or 1-2 chopped romaine hearts. Dress just prior to serving.

Vary the amount of all of these ingredients to taste.