Divine Quiche

I had some asparagus that needed to be used, so I searched the Internet for recipes to try. Martha Stewart had a divine recipe for an Asparagus, Leak, and Gruyere Quiche. I made it for dinner tonight and my husband and I loved it! Yum!

Ginger Snaps

I am always looking for great cookie recipes. My sister, Suzy, sent me this recipe for ginger snap (molasses) cookies and it is DIVINE! 

Ginger Snaps

1/2 C. margarine
1/2 C. shortening
2 C. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cloves
1/2 C. molasses
3-4 C. flour
4 tsp. baking soda


Beat first 4 ingredients until creamy. Add next 4 ingredients and beat well. Stir in just enough flour to make into balls,a nd roll in sugar.


Bake at 350 degrees for 7-8 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet. You will be tempted to cook these longer, but I say NO! Also, I suggest softening your butter in the microwave first.

Note:  I used butter rather than margarine and the recipe turned out just fine! Also, I stuck to the suggested baking time and they stayed soft for a full week.

Costco Green Olive Flatbread Sandwiches

I love Costco. They always have the freshest, nicest produce and it's reasonably priced. I also love the Kirkland brand because I can trust that it will taste good or work well. (And who doesn't love their bargain books, pot stickers, and flowers?)

No, I'm not a marketing rep for Costco. I just love them. One of the many things I love is their tasters. I hate to buy something (especially in the quantities available at Costco) without knowing if I'll like it or not. I discovered a great item the other day during a tasting. Costco bakery now makes a green olive flatbread and it's delicious! Matt and I have been quite imaginative with it and I thought I'd share one of our creations along with some ideas for other ways to use this delightful bread. (By the way- as I was eating this I realized that every single thing used on this sandwich was purchased at Costco.)

Ingredients-
Green Olive Flatbread
Costco Rotisserie Chicken
Goat Cheese
Baby Portabello Mushrooms (thinly sliced)
Fresh Spinach Fresh Tomatoes (thinly sliced)
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Directions-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (Fahrenheit).
Cut the flatbread to the desired sandwich size and then slice it open. Lay it on a baking sheet.
Drizzle olive oil onto both slices of bread.
Crumble goat cheese on both slices of bread.
On the slice that will be the bottom of the sandwich you will put the sliced mushrooms and pieces of the rotisserie chicken. (Quantities according to personal taste.)
On the slice that will be the top of the sandwich you will put the fresh spinach (put more than you think you'll want because it will shrink when cooking).
Put the baking sheet in the oven and let it bake until the mushrooms are cooked to your preference (10-15min.).
When mushrooms are cooked, remove baking sheet from the oven.
On the slice that will be the bottom of the sandwich you will put the fresh tomatoes (as many as you would like).
Salt and pepper to personal taste.
Put the top of the sandwich on the bottom and, voila!

Some other ideas for the green olive flatbread-

• Balsamic vinegar tastes great with this bread, so adding that to virtually any recipe with this bread would be delicious. 
• I made a caprese salad sandwich with it- lots of fresh basil, tomatoes, and mozzarella). 
• Goat cheese goes well with the bread and would taste nice crumbled across the top (you could heat it if you like). 
• It could make a great base for a gourmet pizza. 
• Red, yellow, and orange peppers would taste excellent with it.
• Excellent as a side to any pasta dish.

Refrigerator Bran Muffins

I obtained this recipe from my mother. When we children were young she would often make this recipe and we all loved it. You know it's good when 5 young kids will eat something that's healthy for them!

Refrigerator Bran Muffins

yield 56 muffins

2 Cups All Bran Cereal

2 Cups boiling water

4 eggs 

1 quart buttermilk

2 Cups sugar or 1 1/2 Cups honey

1 Cup canola oil Can substitute applesauce for half of it

3 Cups whole wheat flour

2 Cups flour

5 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 tsp salt

2 Cups dried fruit (optional)

4 Cups Bran Buds or 100% Bran Cereal

In a small bowl, pour boiling water over All Bran Cereal and let stand till soft.

In a large bowl mix, eggs, buttermilk, sugar and oil. (applesauce if applicable)

Add the All Bran mixture to the egg mixture. Stir in the next 4 ingredients, just until moistened. If using dried fruit add it at this point.

Stir in Bran Buds. Batter may be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to three weeks and baked as needed.

Conventional Oven: Preheat oven to 375. Pour about 1/4 cup batter into muffin tins. Bake for 15 minutes...20 minutes for chilled batter

Microwave Oven: For one muffin, pour 1/4 cup batter into cupcake paper. Cook on high for 55-70 seconds, rotating 1/4 turn halfway through cooking

Note:  Being curious about the microwave option I decided to give it a shot. The first attempt looked like a smooshy mess because it all just flattened out in the microwave. I tried again, this time putting the muffin liner in a ramekin so it would keep its shape. That worked! I cooked it for 55 seconds in my microwave. It was slightly dry and didn't taste as good as the conventional oven baked muffins. Next time I'll try putting a cup of water in the microwave and see if that helps at all (though I'm sure that will necessitate an increase in cooking time). Have fun experimenting!

Hearty Meatballs

My sister, Julie, gave me this yummy meatball recipe. It's easy to make and quite delicious. A bonus is that you can freeze them for a night when you just don't have time to cook.





Ingredients
1 (6 ounce) package stove top whole-wheat chicken flavor stuffing mix
1/2 cup hot water
1 egg 1/4 cup light ranch salad dressing
1 lb lean ground beef 1 cut cheddar cheese, shredded
1/3 C. ketchup (or other sauce of your choice)

Directions

1. PREHEAT oven to 375ºF. Combine stuffing mix, water, egg and dressing and let sit until moistened (while grating cheese)
2. Add meat and cheese; mix well.
3. Shape into eight 2-inch meatballs.
4. Place on greased baking sheet; spread with ketchup.
5. Bake 30 minutes or until cooked through.

Note: I don't care for meatballs that large, so I made them quite a bit smaller and had 20 instead. It only took 15 minutes to bake. I think this would also make a great meatloaf, stuffing for peppers or mushrooms, or served with pasta and sauce.

I don't particularly care for ketchup and I also like spicy food, so I made half of the batch with ketchup and the other half with Johnny's Jamaica Me Sweet Hot & Crazy sauce. I highly recommend that sauce!

Snickers Salad

Most salads are healthy. This one is not. It is, however, absolutely delicious! My mom made this a few years ago and it's now a family favorite. A huge bonus is that it's super easy to make.



Snickers Salad
12 oz cool whip
Snickers bars (You can cut up regular size bars or fun size or just throw in a bag of mini bars)
4 apples cut in bite size pieces. (Red and green look pretty)
3 bananas

My mom usually mixes it all together and serves it in a trifle bowl. I used the trifle bowl and put everything in layers (whipped cream, apples, bananas, snickers, repeat). It looked very pretty all layered like that, but it all ends up in your tummy no matter how you serve it!

The Most Delicious Cheeseball Ever!

Our family has been making this cheese ball recipe for as long as I can remember. The recipe calls for you to make it into balls, chill, and roll it in chopped nuts, but we love it so much that we end up just eating it as a dip because we can't wait for it to chill in the fridge! Although I love nuts, I think I like this recipe better without the nuts. (I have actually done the whole roll into balls, chill, and roll in chopped nuts thing.)



Delicious Cheese Ball
3 eight oz cream cheese
3 jars Old English cheese
1 jar Roka Blue cheese
1-2 Tbsp grated onion
1/2 tsp Worcestershire
1/4-1/2 Tbsp Accent
1/2 cup parsley

Instructions: Mix all together- let chill- then form into balls and roll in chopped pecans. It tastes delicious with celery, carrots, and assorted crackers. Some family favorites are Club, Chicken in a Biscuit, Wheat Thins, and Triscuit.


Note: Sometimes I just finely chop (or food process) a little onion or green onion instead of grating it. I know my sister will use dried onion in a pinch. I prefer using fresh parsley as well, but dried works just fine. I do think 1/2 cup is a bit much. The parsley is really just to help it look pretty anyway. Also, Accent is a spice and it really does affect the taste of the cheese ball. I had no idea what Accent was and had to call my mommy for recipe advice the first time I made the cheese ball.

Another Note: I tried freezing some. I only left it in the freezer for a few days, but it tasted delicious when it was thawed. Since the recipe is quite large that's definitely an added bonus!

Enjoy!