Super Slaw

So I heard on the news that to fight cancer we should eat at least 3 servings of raw broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage a month. It also said a good way to get the cabbage in our diet is to eat coleslaw. I personally really like coleslaw and when our store has the shredded cabbage bags on sale for 88 cents I had to get a bag. I made are really good coleslaw recipe the other week (see John's Summertime Slaw), but I'm always looking for new recipes. This one was really good too. Not a real creamy dressing, but delicious anyway. It would be nice at a potluck or picnic where you wouldn't want a mayo dressing sitting out too long. Anyway, another yummy coleslaw recipe to try!

Super Slaw from Cooking Because we Care Cookbook

1 bag of slaw mix
1 tsp celery seed
6 T sugar
1 onion
2 T dried parsley flakes
6 T white vinegar
4 T salad oil
1 tsp salt
1 T lemon juice
2 ice cubes

Shake sugar, vinegar, oil, lemon juice, salt and 2 ice cubes in pint jar with lid until ice cubes are melted. Pour this mixture over cabbage mixed with thinly sliced onion, celery seed and parsley. Refrigerate a few hours before serving.

Baked Potatoes

These are a simple and delicious side dish that I have made a few times now. Ryan really enjoys these and they were delicious with the ribs!

Baked Potatoes from Country Cookin' Cookbook

6 medium potatoes
1/2 pkg dry onion soup mix
1/4 c butter or margarine

Peel potatoes and slice. Melt the butter. Grease sides and bottom of casserole. Layer potatoes and onion soup; pour melted butter over; repeat layers to use all ingredients. Cover. Bake for 1 hour at 350.

BBQ Country Style Ribs

I like to make something a little more putzy for Sunday since I have a little more time to prepare it. This actually wasn't too putzy, but it was really yummy. It was a nice dish to make in the crockpot and not have to have the oven on warming up the house.

BBQ Country Style Ribs

5 tsp chili powder
2 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
5 tsp vinegar
2 1/2 tsp garlic salt
2 1/2 c. water
3 pounds beef country style ribs (I used boneless pork ribs)
1 c BBQ sauce

Mix liquid smoke, chili powder, vinegar, garlic salt and water in a roaster pan or electric skillet. Add ribs. Cover, place in over at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove and drain liquid. Pour BBQ sauce over ribs and place in oven 1/2 hour to 1 hour-remove and enjoy. Can use crockpot. (I put everything the ribs in the crockpot on high for 2 hours, drained and poured the BBQ sauce over and cooked another 1-2 on low).

Versatile Vinaigrette

I am growing just about everything imaginable this year. Some things are doing really well, others not so good. I have lettuce growing in a container on my front deck and it looks really good. I decided the other day to use it to make a salad for dinner. I also have radishes in a container so I decided to pick some of those too. Unfortunately, the radishes fall into the not so good catergory and the biggest one I found was about the size of a pea. It still tasted like a radish though. Anyway, I wanted to make a different kind of dressing for the salad and I found this recipe in a light cooking book. It was really easy and it tasted great. It says that it is a good dressing for pasta salad too which I am looking forward to trying soon too.

Versatile Vinaigrette from Six Ingredients or Less Cookbook

1/4 cup olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
1 T Dijon Mustard

Combine ingredients; mix well to blend (I used a whisk to mix). Makes about 1/2 cup.

Adobo Marinated Pork Kabobs

These are really, really good. In the summer we like to make kabobs quite a bit on the grill. These were awesome! They do have a little zip to them since they have the chipotles in the marinade.

Adobo Marinated Pork Kabobs

1/2 c red wine vinegear
1/4 c fresh cilantro leaves
3 T fresh oregano leaves
2 T canned chipotle chilis in sauce (about 3 chilis with sauce)
3 cloves garlic, halved
1 T brown sugar
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c butter, melted
1 1/2 pounds pork loin cut in 1" cubes

Salsa:

1 1/2 c chopped Roma tomatoes
1/3 c chopped green olives
1/4 c Monteray Jack cheese, cut in 1/2" cubes
1 T fresh cilantro
1 T lime juice
Mix all of the above and chill.

Combine in food processor or blender the first 6 ingredients. Process until well chopped. Pour in the oil and the butter. Pulse until smooth. Reserve 1/3 c of marinade to bast the kabobs. Place pork cubes in bag and pour marinade over. Seal and mix up. Place bag in a 9x13" pan. Turn several times to coat pork. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Thread on skewers. Grill 12-17 minutes brushing with reserved marinade. Serve with salsa.

Roasted Cauliflower with Brown Butter

This is one of the best ways to eat cauliflower. I found this on someone's blog a while ago and have made it at least half a dozen times. Ryan loves this recipe.

Roasted Cauliflower with Brown Butter

6 cups cauliflower florets (about 1 head)
cooking spray
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp butter

Preheat oven to 400. Arrange cauliflower in single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat cauliflower with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes, turning cauliflower twice. Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat; cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Combine cauliflower and browned butter in a bowl, toss gently to coat.

Pancakes

I really like to make things from scratch since it's usually cheaper and then I don't have to worry about having the mix on hand all the time. I have made this pancake recipe many times-it's quick and easy to make. Now you can enjoy pancakes all the time!

Pancakes

1 c flour
2 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 c milk
2 T oil

Mix together the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, beat the egg and add the milk and oil. Stir in the flour mixture until blended. Now you're ready to make the pancakes!

Pasta Pinwheels

I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious. This was a really easy recipe to assemble and you really don't even miss the meat. It was really good reheated for lunch today too!

Pasta Pinwheels from Quick and Simple Magazine

Preheat oven to 350. Cook 8 lasagna noodles in boiling salted water according to package directions. Meanwhile, in large bowl, combine 10 oz package frozen spinach (thawed and drained) with 1 cup ricotta cheese, 1 1/2 c shredded mozzarella and 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning. Drain noodles and lay out flat on cutting board. Spread 1/4 c cheese mixture over each noodle and roll up. Place in a baking pan seam side down and pour 2 cups bottled marinara sauce over the top. Top with 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella. Bake, loosely covered, until heated through, about 30 minutes.

Poppy Seed Sour Cream Loaf

I'm always looking for different breads or muffins to make for breakfast. I don't really like to spend a lot of time baking at night so I really appreciate recipes that are easy to put together and don't take a lot of prep time. I found this one in Grandma's cookbook and it turned out to be fast and tasty. It's a little different than what I usually make, but it was a nice change too.

Poppy Seed Sour Cream Loaf

2 c flour
2 T poppy seeds
1 T baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
3/4 c sugar
2 T butter, melted and cooled
8 oz dairy sour cream (1 c)
1 T grated orange peel

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 8x4" loaf pan. In a small bowl, combine flour, poppy seeds, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar and butter; stir in sour cream and orange peel. Add flour mixture; stir until just combined. Spoon into pan (mixture will be thick). Bake about 50 minutes. Remove from pan and cool. Yield: 1 loaf

Sloppy Joes

I was talking to mom the other night and she said that they were having sloppy joes for dinner. I wasn't sure what we were going to have so that sounded good. I found this recipe in Grandma's cookbook. It was easy and fast.

Sloppy Joes

1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 can tomato soup
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
1 cup water
1 green pepper, chopped

Brown meat, stirring frequently. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for at least 20 minutes. Serve on buns.

Teriyaki Beef Burgers

I was excited for the end of the week this week. Not for any particular reason though. I happened to get off of work a little early and so I was able to start dinner preparations a little early too. I had planned to make these burgers from scratch, potato salad and coleslaw for a summery meal. It wasn't too warm out (70s) and it was pretty windy so we enjoyed our summery meal inside.

Teriyaki Beef Burgers from Healthy Cooking magazine

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (I just used 1#)
1 can (8 oz) water chestnuts, drained and chopped (If using less than 1 1/2 pounds of meat, use less water chestnuts)
1/2 c reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/3 c sherry or reduced-sodium beef broth
2 green onions, chopped (I used some that I'm growing in a pot outside!)
1 T brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp ground ginger
6 lettuce leaves (optional)
6 hamburger buns

In a large bowl, combine the beef and water chestnuts. Shape into 6 patties. Place in a 9x13" pan. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sherry or broth, onions, brown sugar, garlic and ginger. Pour 1/2 c over patties; cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or overnight. Cover and refrigerate the remaining marinade for basting. **I just poured all the marinade over the burgers. I thought the additional basting would just make a big mess on the grill.**
Coat grill rack with nonstick cooking spray before starting the grill. Drain and discard marinade. Grill patties, covered, over medium heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until meat is no longer pink, basting occasionally with reserved marinade. Serve on lettuce-lined buns.

Potato Salad

To go along with the burgers last night, I made potato salad and coleslaw. I really like potato salad and am always trying new and different recipes. This one was very easy to make and is actually a Light and Tasty recipe.

Potato Salad from Healthy Cooking magazine

4 cups cubed peeled potatoes
1 celery rib, thinly sliced
1/3 c finely chopped onion
1/3 c sweet pickle relish
3/4 c fat-free mayo
1 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/8 tsp pepper
2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
1/8 tsp paprika

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, celery, onion and relish. In a small bowl, combine the mayo, mustard, salt, celery seed and pepper. Pour over potato mixture and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Top with eggs and paprika.

John's Summertime Slaw

I really like coleslaw. I wish that my husband did too, but he won't even try it. I make it anyway because I really like it and this recipe is awesome! I don't worry about eating this all by myself because it is some of the best and easiest coleslaw to make.

John's Summertime Slaw from the Dinner Doctor cookbook

1 bag (16 oz) coleslaw mix
1/2 c chopped sweet onion, such as Vidalia
1/2 c chopped green pepper
1/2 c mayo
1/4 c sweet pickle juice (I omitted since I didn't have any and added a little extra pickle relish)
3 T pickle relish
3 T sugar, or more to taste
1 tsp seasoned salt, or more to taste

Place the coleslaw mix, onion and green pepper in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Make a well in the center of the slaw mixture and add the mayo, pickle juice, pickle relish, sugar and seasoned salt. Stir with a fork to mix the dressing and the slaw mixture with a wooden spoon to combine. Serve at once or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Buttery Garlic Rice Mix

I have to share with you all one of my favorite rice dishes to make. I got this from hillbillyhousewife.com. Strange, I know. She has a lot of frugal recipes for mixes and other things made from scratch. I don't buy packaged rice mixes very often because I don't like the preservatives in them so this recipe is an excellent, quick alternative.

Buttery Garlic Rice Mix

1 cup long grain rice or brown rice
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp turmeric
2 tsp dry parsley

Combine the rice and all of the other ingredients in a resealable plastic container. Seal container and label. Store in the pantry. This makes one package of rice mix. Can make several at a time. I tend to just prepare the mix when I'm making the rice for dinner which works well too.

To Prepare:
2 T butter or margarine
1 package rice mix
2 cups water

In a 2 quart sacuepan, combine the margarine, rice mix and water. Bring the mixture to a boil. Place a lid on the pot. Reduce heat to the lowest possible flame. Simmer, covered until done. White rice should cook for 20 minutes and brown rice for 45 minutes. Serve hot.

We enjoy this with fish alot. It's very good!

Stuffed Mushroom Caps

This is just a recipe I came up with by myself. Our grocery store had whole mushrooms on sale so I picked up a few cartons. I used some for a pizza or something, but had a whole carton left and didn't know what to do with it. Ryan and I both like mushrooms and I had never made stuffed mushrooms, but I thought I could come up with something that would be tasty-and I think I did!

Cheesy Stuffed Mushrooms

4 oz lite cream cheese, softened
about 1/4 c mayo
4 oz can diced green chilis, drained
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz carton whole mushrooms

In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese and mayo. Add the green chilis and shredded cheese and stir to combine. Rinse the mushrooms and remove the stems (save for another use by freezing). Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and place mushroom tops on sheet. Fill each top with the cheese mixture. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes until heated through and slightly browned on top. A delicious and easy appetizer.

The Ultimate Spaghetti and Meatballs

This was a very delicious and overall pretty easy recipe to make. It takes a little time to put together, but it is one of the best meatball recipes I've ever tried. I got it from Redbook magazine. This is one of Tyler Florence from the food networks best-ever recipes and I would tend to agree.

The Ultimate Spaghetti and Meatballs

4 c Pomodoro Sauce (recipe below) or qood quality jarred sauce
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped, about 1/3 cup
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 T chopped fresh parsley (I didn't have any fresh so I used a few teaspoons dried)
1/2 c milk
2 thick slices firm white bread, crusts removed, cut into cubes (about 1 cup)
3/4 pound each ground beef and ground pork (I used 1 pound ground beef since I didn't have any ground pork)
1 egg
1/4 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 oz mozzarella cheese (1 cup)
1/2 c basil leaves (I used a few dashes of dried basil)
1 pound spaghetti

Make Pomodoro sauce. Heat 2 T oil in large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic and parsley and cook until the vegetables soften, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Pour milk over bread and let soak. In a large bowl, combine the meats, egg, parmesan, salt and pepper. Squeeze excess milk out of bread; add bread to meat mixture along with the onion mixture. Gently combine all of the ingredients. Shape the mixture into 12 balls, about 1 3/4 inch in diameter. Preheat oven to 350. Heat remaining 2 T oil in same large skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs and cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer to 9x9 inch baking dish. Spoon 2 c of the Pomodoro sauce over the meatballs. Sprinkle with mozzarella and half of the basil leaves. Bake 30 minutes. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions, reserving some of the cooking liquid. Drain pasta and toss with the remaining 2 c Pomodoro sauce, adding cooking liquid if necessary. Spoon meatballs over pasta; garnish with remaining basil and parmesan cheese.


Pomodoro Sauce

2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans (28 oz each) whole, peeled tomatoes, drained and crushed by hand, juices reserved (I like to use diced tomatoes so I don't have to crush them and break them up myself)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 c fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces (I substituted dried basil-a few teaspoons)

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Carefully add tomatoes and about 3/4 c of the reserved juices. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until sauce is thick, about 15 minutes. Continue to simmer for an additional 20-30 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up the tomatoes and adding more reserved liquid if necessary. Stir in fresh basil.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I'm always looking for good breakfast bread or muffin recipes and I found this one on recipezaar.com. It is pretty rich, but very tasty. It would be really good for a brunch or just a special treat in the middle of the week.

Sour Cream Coffee Bread

1 c butter, softened
2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 c sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 c pecans, chopped (I omitted since I didn' t have any at home)

Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time until blended. Add sour cream and vanilla. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt and fold into the sour cream mixture. Combine the remaining sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Spray a 9" bundt pan with cooking spray. Spoon 1/3 of batter into pan and sprinkle with 3/4 of the cinnamon mixture. Spoon remaining batter into pan and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon mixture. Bake at 350 for 1 hour until done. Cool 10-15 minutes in pan and invert onto a plate to serve. This is very good with a cup of coffee in the morning.

Huli Huli Pork

This is a great recipe to make as the weather is getting warmer and the grills are coming out. I guess this is a Hawaiian dish that I got from Better Homes and Gardens. We had this a while ago and it was really, really good.

Huli Huli Pork

2 1-2 # pork tenderloins or 1 3-4# tenderloin
3/4 c ketchup
1/3 c soy sauce
3 T brown sugar
3 T lime juice or sweet mirin (I'm not even sure what that is-I used the lime juice)
1 T grated fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced

Place pork in a large plastic bag; set aside. For marinade, combine ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, ginger and garlic. Transfer 3/4 c marinade to small container, set aside. Pour remaining marinade over pork. Chill 4-24 hours, turning bag occasionally. Drain pork, reserving marinade. Grill, brushing with marinade from bag. Remove from grill, cover with foil and let stand 10 minutes. Place reserved marinade in saucepan, bring to boil, transfer to serving dish and serve with pork.

Enchilada Meat Loaf

I made this meat loaf a few weeks ago and it turned out pretty yummy. It was simple to make and pretty filling.

Enchilada Meat Loaf

1 egg, lightly beaten
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 c salsa
2 T chili powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 # ground beef
8.5 oz pkg corn muffin mix
2 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Combine egg, onion, salsa, chili powder, garlic and salt; add beef and mix well. Shape into a ball and place in a 9" pie plate. Flatten to a 6" circle. Prepare corn muffin mix according to package directions and spread over meat. Bake about 50 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160 degrees. Sprinkle cheese on top and let stand covered about 10 minutes.