Ranch & Bacon Pasta Salad

I've loved Betty Crocker's Suddenly Salad: Ranch with Bacon for a long time, but I sometimes can't find it on the shelves, and when I do it seems pretty expensive!  Also, I really don't care for the dehydrated/reconstituted peas.  I started removing them (tedious!) and adding my own.  I also prefer real bacon to the "fakeo bacos." In the end I decided that I could probably make this myself and eliminate all the cons while enjoying all the flavorful pros. 

I weighed out the ingredients. I researched, tried, and tweaked several online copycat recipes. And I finally settled on what suits me.  Sorry, Betty!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups tiny pasta shells
1 Tbs. carrots, julienne cut (2-3 baby carrots)
½ cup fresh or frozen peas (no need to cook or thaw them)
¼ cup REAL bacon bits (I use Kirkland Bacon Crumbles)
1 cup mayonnaise (if you use Miracle Whip, please don't tell me!)
½ tsp. granulated onion (or powder)
2 Tbs. ranch dressing seasoning powder (or ½ package)

DIRECTIONS:

• Boil carrots along with pasta according to package directions. (12 minutes or until tender)
• Drain pasta, rinse with cold water, drain well.
• Stir together seasoning and mayonnaise in medium bowl
• Add peas and bacon bits.
• Stir in pasta and carrots.  Refrigerate leftovers.   

(Hint: Add a bit of milk to refresh leftovers if too dry.)

One fun thing about pasta salad recipes is that you can adjust it to your own particular taste and add-in whatever veggies, cheese, meats you'd like.  Feel free.  Go crazy!

 

Orange Julius

Orange Julius                                                      

6 oz. orange juice concentrate

1 cup milk

1 cup water

1 tsp. vanilla

¼ cup sugar

15-20 ice cubes

 

Place all ingredients in a blender.  Cover and whirl until well blended.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

Into a saucepan put: 

½ c. butter (one stick)
2 c. white sugar
¼ c. cocoa
¼ c. light corn syrup
½ c. milk

Bring to a ROLLING boil and boil 60-90 seconds*.  Remove from heat and add:

1 tsp. vanilla
¾ c. chunky peanut butter
3 c. old-fashioned rolled oats

Mix well. Drop by spoonfuls (or medium scoop) onto wax paper-lined** cookie sheets.  Refrigerate until firm.

NOTES:
*Most recipes like this call for boiling for one minute, but it always turns out too soft for me.  I boil it longer and it's still pretty flexible after it cools.

**Instead of wax-paper, I now use reusable silicone baking mats.  It doesn't peel off from the cookie quite as easily, but it's reusable and I just use an inverted spatula to release the cookie.

Using a scoop to portion these cookies has revolutionized my life.  I use a scoop to do other cookies, but I hadn't thought of it for these until a friend suggested it.  Oh my goodness.  So fast.  So clean.  So perfect!  I  love it!  

Chicken Tortilla Soup

6 c. water/chicken broth

3 tsp. (+/-) chicken bouillon*

1 tsp. minced garlic

½ tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

1 ½ c. chopped onion

1 ½ c. frozen corn

12 to 15 oz. can beans, rinsed & drained

1 c. cooked rice

1 ½ c. chunky salsa

1 small zucchini, small dice

1 Tbs. lime juice

1 quart canned chicken thighs, drained**

tortilla chips

 -Monterey jack cheese

 -sour cream

 -chopped green onion

 -avocado

In a large pot over medium heat, bring to boiling the water/broth (use liquid from canned chicken), bouillon (if used), garlic, cumin, chili powder, onion, corn, beans, rice, salsa, zucchini, and lemon juice.  Reduce head and simmer 20-30 minutes.  Gently stir in chicken and heat 5 minutes.  Break up some tortilla chips into individual bowls and pour soup over chips.  Garnish with Monterey jack cheese, sour cream, green onion, and avocado.

*If you don't have enough chicken broth and you need to use water, then add as much bouillon as you need to get the flavor right. 

**Don't forget to use the drained liquid from your chicken as part of your broth.  Waste not, want not!

Serves 6-10 depending on the size of your people. :)

 

Sour Cream Lemon Pie

1 C. sugar
3 oz. cream cheese
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 lemon, juiced, and zested
 ~1/2 c. lemon juice, use bottled juice if needed
 ~1 Tbs. lemon zest
1 C. milk
4 Tbs. cornstarch
1/4 C. butter
1 c. sour cream
whipped cream                                                   

Using a hand mixer process cream cheese and sugar until smooth before adding anything else; then add in eggs and process until homogenized. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, milk, and cornstarch.  Place in heavy saucepan; cook over medium heat until thick.  Stir in butter and cool mixture to room temperature. Stir in sour cream and transfer filling into baked 9-inch pie shell.  Cover with whipped cream.  Store in refrigerator. 

Mini Raspberry Cheesecakes

CRUST:

1 ½ cups finely crushed Oreo cookie crumbs (about 22) (You can also use sugar cookies)

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

1. Place one row of the cookies into a resealable plastic bag on a flat surface. Pound them with a hammer until crushed into crumbs. It is easier to crush the cookies when there is a smaller amount in the bag. Measure out one and a half cups.
2. Mix the cookie crumbs and butter in a bowl with a spoon until they're properly mixed and have a consistent texture.

(ALTERNATIVE: I used my food processor and just pulsed it until the crumbs were fine and then added the melted butter and pulsed it until it was incorporated, scraping the sides a couple of times)

3. Use your fingers to press 1 tablespoon of crumbs into each of the lined muffin tins (I used silicone liners. I recommend it.)

Makes 18-24 depending on the size of your liners.  (I used silicone which narrowed the space enough that it made 24 instead of the originally stated 18.)

HEAT oven to 300°F.

FILLING:
2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

1. In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed, scraping bowl frequently, until smooth and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. (NOTE: Do not whip at high speed or mix too long. Introducing too much air will cause cakes to fall after baking.) Stir in vanilla. Pour about 1/4 cup of the filling on top of each of the cookie crusts.
2. Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until edges are set and centers are still slightly jiggly. Turn oven off, and open door slightly. Cool cheesecake in oven 30 minutes. Remove from oven to cooling rack; cool at room temperature 30 minutes. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until cheesecakes are chilled. If desired, carefully peel off liners. Top with raspberry sauce and sweetened whipped cream.

TOPPING*:
1/3 cup raspberry preserves (or jam)
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. cornstarch (dissolved in the lemon juice)

In a small saucepan, heat preserves over medium heat till melted. Add raspberries and lemon juice/cornstarch. Cook and stir until slightly thickened (about 1 minute for fresh fruit or 3-4 minutes for frozen fruit). Transfer to a small bowl. Cover; quick-chill in the freezer for 10 minutes or chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Spoon raspberry sauce over cheesecake.

(*DISCLAIMER:  I kind of made up this topping recipe as I went along based on a couple of other recipes I consulted. I was also making 72 cheesecakes at the time and I waaaaay overdid the amount of topping I made.  Soooo, I’ve backed way off on the amounts and I’m hoping that it’s actually enough for one batch of 24 cheesecakes.  You might have leftovers; you might have to make a bit more.  You’ve been warned!)

 

Mini Grasshopper Cheesecakes

I forgot to take my own picture so this is a small
clipping of a picture someone else took of my
cheesecakes. Thus, the low resolution!

CRUST:

1 ½ cups finely crushed Oreo cookie crumbs (about 22) (You can also use sugar cookies)

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

1. Place one row of the cookies into a resealable plastic bag on a flat surface. Pound them with a hammer until crushed into crumbs. It is easier to crush the cookies when there is a smaller amount in the bag. Measure out one and a half cups.
2. Mix the cookie crumbs and butter in a bowl with a spoon until they're properly mixed and have a consistent texture.

(ALTERNATIVE: I used my food processor and just pulsed it until the crumbs were fine and then added the melted butter and pulsed it until it was incorporated, scraping the sides a couple of times)

3. Use your fingers to press 1 tablespoon of crumbs into each of the lined muffin tins (I used silicone liners. I recommend it.)

Makes 18-24 depending on the size of your liners.  (I used silicone which narrowed the space enough that it made 24 instead of the originally stated 18.)

HEAT oven to 300°F.

FILLING:
2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. peppermint extract
4-6 drops green food coloring

1. In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed, scraping bowl frequently, until smooth and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. (NOTE: Do not whip at high speed or mix too long. Introducing too much air will cause cakes to fall after baking.) Stir in flavoring and color. Pour about 1/4 cup of the filling on top of each of the cookie crusts.
2. Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until edges are set and centers are still slightly jiggly. Turn oven off, and open door slightly. Cool cheesecake in oven 30 minutes. Remove from oven to cooling rack; cool at room temperature 30 minutes. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until cheesecakes are chilled. If desired, carefully peel off liners. Top with sweetened whipped cream and chocolate shavings. 

Refried Beans - Pressure Cooker Method

THESE ARE AMOUNTS AND INSTRUCTIONS ARE SPECIFIC TO MY WEIGHTED 5 QUART PRESSURE COOKER. 

4 cups dry beans (½ pinto & ½ pink is what I like)

2 scant Tbs. dry, minced onion
1 scant Tbs. dry minced garlic
2 Tbs. oil
2 Tbs. vinegar
2 tsp. salt
4 oz. butter
2 tsp. cumin
1 Tbs. chili powder

Place rinsed beans in a 5 qt. pressure cooker with the onion, garlic, oil (oil helps prevent scorching but mainly it keeps foaming to a minimum. Foaming can cause the vents to get clogged up.), and enough water to come up to the maximum fill line. (Don't add the salt yet. It inhibits softening!) Bring to pressure.  Cook 45 minutes.  Let cool naturally.

Depending on the desired consistency, drain off some of the water but reserve it to add back if necessary. The amount of liquid you remove will depend on the consistency you want (thin vs. thick).  It will thicken somewhat as it cools.  (EDITED TO SAY, I no longer remove any of the liquid.  I've found it's much too thick if I do. 4-22-16) Spoon out and reserve about one cup of the beans (optional).  Add the butter, salt, cumin, chili powder, and vinegar.  Blend with an immersion blender or food processor until smooth.  Add a few tablespoons (or all!) of any reserved liquid if the beans are too thick to blend.  When beans are smooth stir back in the whole beans.                                                    

 Makes approx. four 20 oz. portions.

You'll have to play around with amounts based on the size of YOUR pressure cooker. 

Rinse the beans

Add water, bring to pressure and cook for 45 minutes

Drain off excess liquid (if desired)

Add butter, vinegar, and spices

Blend with immersion blender or food processor

Taste test!

ENJOY!

See my Crock-Pot Method here.

The Cream of the Crop (How I separate milk and cream)

Place raw milk in the dispenser and wait 12-48 hours. We like some cream left in the milk so I usually wait about 24 hours. Works for me. I put a dotted line where the cream has separated in case it's hard for you to see it.

A close-up of the milk/cream separation line. It's just above the butterfly's upper wing.

Drain off the milk from under the cream. I really need to get a spigot I can flip up rather than have to press down.
It's hard to keep that button pressed down after a few minutes!

When it gets down to the spigot, you have to tip it to keep the two from mixing.

I drain it off until I am getting straight cream for a few moments.
(I've noticed the sound changes when it becomes straight cream streaming into the bottle.)
We don't care for skim milk and like some of the cream to remain in the milk so
I allow cream to run into the bottle for a few seconds.
This also helps ensure that you are getting the most milk out of the cream.

Then I mix the 2-3 bottles of milk that I've drained off to make sure that there is some cream in all of them.

 Lovely cream is what is left over. I'll wait a couple days and make butter!! :-)

Minestrone Soup

3 Tbs. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
3-4 carrots, sliced
4 cups chicken broth
15 oz. canned tomatoes, undrained.
16 oz tomato sauce
15 oz. canned kidney beans, drained
½ cup frozen corn
15 oz. can green beans
2 large handfuls fresh baby spinach
1 zucchini, cubed
1 Tbs. Italian seasoning
¼ cup barley
¾ cup small seashell pasta

In a large pot, over medium-low heat, heat olive oil and saute garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add onion, celery and carrots, saute for 5 minutes. Add chicken broth, canned tomatoes, and tomato sauce, bring to boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and add kidney beans, corn, green beans, spinach, zucchini, and Italian seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for at least 1 hour, the longer the better. Add barley for the last hour of cooking. Cook pasta separately and add just before serving.

Easy Enchilada Sauce

1/2 cup butter

1/2 - 3/4 cup flour

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. black pepper

4 cups broth or bouillon

8 oz. tomato sauce

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Stir in flour to make a smooth paste.  Add spices and continue to stir until bubbly.

Whisk in broth and bring to a boil.  Cook and stir 1 minute, until thickened. Stir in tomato sauce.

Makes 5-6 cups, enough for (1 or 2*) 9×13 pan of enchiladas.

Source: Kim @ Life In A Shoe http://inashoe.com/2012/02/easy-homemade-enchilada-sauce/
*Kim says it's enough for TWO pans of enchiladas but my husband likes a LOT of sauce.  You'll have to figure out what works for you!! :-) 

Glazed Doughnut Muffins

Glazed Doughnut Muffins

1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. oil
1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 2/3 c. flour
1 c. milk

• Mix butter, oil, sugars, and eggs in a mixing bowl.  Blend in dry ingredients.  Then add milk and mix until well blended.
• Spray a regular-sized muffin tin with cooking spray and fill each of the 12 cups to the brim with batter.  (I used mini muffin tins and got 36 muffins/"doughnut holes".
• Bake 17-18 minutes at 425°.  Bake mini muffins about 14-15 minutes.
• Remove from pan and let cool about 5 minutes then dip/twirl the top of the muffins in glaze.  Let glaze harden and dip again if desired.

Glaze: 
Mix until smooth: 3 Tbs. butter, 1 c. powdered sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, 2 Tbs. hot water.

Mini Puffed Pancakes

4 eggs
3 Tbs. oil
1 ½ cups milk
1 ½ cups flour
½ tsp. salt

Pre-heat oven to 400°. In bowl beat eggs, then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix until smooth Spray muffin tins with non-stick spray or brush with melted butter. Fill muffin wells ¾ full. Bake mini muffins about 15 minutes or regular-sized muffins about 20 minutes in a 400° oven.

Top with or dip in maple syrup, berry sauce, powdered sugar, or whipped cream.

Berry Sauce:
6 large frozen (straw)berries
3 Tbs. berry jam (I used raspberry)
sugar to taste, if needed

If using frozen berries, place berries and jam in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for about 1 minute. Use a fork to stir and mash everything together (cut strawberries if necessary), or place everything in a blender and pulse a few times until desired consistency is reached.

This is a slightly tweaked version of the recipe I found at Our Best Bites. I have a bit more egg in mine, some oil, and it's a bigger recipe to feed all my kiddos! I basically followed my German Pancake recipe and cut back on the egg some. We LOVED this recipe and it's so very easy, fun, beautiful, and DELICIOUS!!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Chocolate "Zucchini" Cake using Yellow
Crookneck squash instead of zucchini

½ cup shortening*
½ cup oil
1 ¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup sour milk**
2 ½ cups flour
4 Tbs. cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. cloves
½ tsp. salt
¼ cup chocolate chips
¼ cup chopped nuts (optional)
2 cups grated zucchini

Cream shortening, oil, and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, and sour milk. Mix well. Sift together dry ingredients and combine with wet mixture. Stir in chocolate chips, nuts, and zucchini. Spread in a greased 9x13 cake pan. Bake at 325° for 45 minutes. Very tasty. Enjoy!

You could add frosting to this if you'd like, but we never have and love it as is. Also, my kids don't realize that there is zucchini in this and once they're old enough to figure it out, they've never cared! Yummy!

*I use coconut oil instead of shortening now.

**If you don't have sour milk, you can sour some by putting a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup and adding enough milk to make the ½ cup you need. Let it sit for five minutes or so to let it curdle.

This recipe is from my grandma, Catherine Fox.

Au Gratin Potatoes

2 large baker potatoes or 4-5 medium, thinly sliced
½ cup chopped onion
2 Tbs. butter
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
2 Tbs. flour (white bean flour)
1¼ c. milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup dry bread crumbs

Cook and stir onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Add milk all at once. Cook over low heat until thick and bubbly (at least 3 minutes if using bean flour). Add ¾ cup of the cheese. Stir until melted. Place ½ of the potatoes in a greased casserole. Cover with half the sauce. Repeat. Bake covered at 350* for 40 minutes. Mix remaining cheese and the bread crumbs. Sprinkle over potatoes. Return to oven and cook uncovered for 30 more minutes.

Pico de Gallo

Pronounced "peek-oh day guy-oh", pico de gallo, or pico sauce is a wonderful addition to tacos, tostadas, burritos, and the like. It's SO easy to make and to customize. And by 'customize', I mean I, again, don't have a strict recipe but more of an ingredient list. Here's what you need:

Fresh (not canned) diced tomato
Fresh diced onion
Chopped cilantro

Mix these three ingredients in ratios that are pleasing to your taste and add a sprinkle of salt and a squirt or two of lime juice.

That's it. Easy right?

You can add other ingredients as desired. Green onion is pretty. Some people like black pepper. Or jalapeños for some heat. We like our mild. What's fun about the pico that is pictured is that all the veggies are from our own garden! Pretty, yummy, and easy. What's not to love!

Chicken Noodle Soup

This isn't a recipe per se because I don't exactly follow one... It's more of an ingredient list so you'll have to fiddle with amounts, but here goes:

I follow my cookbook recipe for the noodles (LOVE my pasta roller/cutter) and then wing the rest of it.

Sauté onion, carrot, and celery in olive oil and season with salt, pepper, basil, garlic.

Add chicken broth (either homemade or using Better Than Bouillon [or both]). Today I ran out of BTB so I used a packet of dry chicken gravy mix to boost the seasoning. I don't usually do that.

Dice up chicken breast and fry it in a little oil (I used coconut) in a separate pan. Season with salt, garlic, pepper, whatever is to your liking.

Add noodles and boil until desired tenderness. It totally depends on if you are using dry store-bought noodles, fresh homemade, frozen homemade... I never know how long to cook it. 10-12 minutes probably.

Add cooked chicken at the last minute and heat through.

See my post on "Homemade Pasta" for the noodle recipe. I use the whole batch of noodles when I make this soup.

Homemade Pasta

I'm totally cheating here but instead of posting the recipe I'm just going to post a link to the page in my recipe book that I follow.

I use the main recipe with no variations. If you don't have the nifty pasta maker pictured you can roll it out with a rolling pin and cut the noodles with a pizza cutter. That's what I did before I got the pasta maker. It's more work but it's totally doable.

This recipe is from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.

Link: HOMEMADE PASTA....CLICK!!

Energy (Granola) Bars

3 cups granola
1 cup (heaping) nuts
1 cup (heaping) dried fruit
3/4 cup bonus ingredient
3/4 cup bonus ingredient (yes, another one)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons whole wheat flour
4 egg whites

Click on images to enlarge

Bonus ingredients are things like:
a second dried fruit, seeds, another nut, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, coconut, whatever floats your boat!

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Prepare a 10x15 cookie sheet by lining it with foil and then spraying with a light layer of oil. This really helps when releasing the bars.

Press mixture into prepared pan.

Bake at 300* for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool for 10 minutes and then cut into bars. (I use a Bash-n-Chop and press it into the mixture so I don't drag a knife over the foil under the bars. You could probably use a pancake turner or anything like that.) Don't wait until completely cool or the bars will just crumble.

Remove from pan and separate into bars when completely cool.

Makes about 24 bars depending on how they're cut.

Enjoy!



The bars pictured here were made with almonds, dried cranberries, coconut, chocolate chips and a wee bit of flax seed.

Turkey Tetrazzini

8 oz. noodles, cooked
4-6 Tablespoons butter
¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup cream
8 ounces mushrooms, optional
½ - 1 cup green peas, optional
3-4 cups cooked turkey or chicken
½ - 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Bread Crumb Topping: ¼ cup dry bread crumbs & ½ cup grated cheese (any kind)

Cook noodles. In a skillet melt 2 Tbs. butter and sauté mushrooms. In saucepan, melt ¼ cup butter; stir in flour, garlic, and salt until smooth. Add chicken broth and cream. Cook until thickened. Add turkey, cheese, peas, and mushrooms; heat through. Add cooked noodles and combine. Transfer to a buttered baking dish. Top with bread crumb topping. Bake 15-20 minutes in a 425° oven.

This recipe is my morphing about 3 different recipes into my own version.

Photo courtesy of: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/turkey_tetrazzini/