Grrrrr

Ok. Who left the sour cream container in the fridge with barely any left? Oh yeah. Me.

Vegetable Dip Mix

From Linda Larsen

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup dried chopped chives
• 2 tsp. dried dill weed
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 tsp. onion salt
• 2 tsp. smoked paprika

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl: blend well. Spoon mixture into a small glass container and store in a cool, dry place. Label as "Vegetable Dip Mix". Use within 6 months.
Vegetable Dip: Combine 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, 1 cup mayonnaise, 1 cup sour cream, and 2 Tbsp. Vegetable Dip Mix. Chill at least 1 hour before serving. Makes about 2 cups of dip.

BBQ Pork and Garlic Fries

This easy bbq pork recipe is another one from my friend D.W. The fries are from...
the AARP magazine.


Easy BBQ Pork

Boneless pork ribs
BBQ sauce

Place pork in crock-pot. Cover with bbq sauce. Turn crock-pot to low and cook pork until tender, 6 to 8 hours.


Oven-Roasted Garlic Fries
Serves 4
From AARP

• 1 pound frozen French fries
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, chopped
• Salt to taste

• 1. Cook the fries according to the package directions.
• 2. While the fries are baking, saute the garlic in the olive oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Do not let the garlic get brown.
• 3. Remove the fries from the oven, then toss with the garlic mixture and the parsley. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

Nutrients per serving:
Calories: 219
Fat: 13g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Carbohydrate: 33g
Sodium: 442mg
Protein: 3g
Total dietary fiber: 3g

Wow, That Pineapple Smells Really Good!

So it's a little pungent. And moldy. Everyone's a joker around here. And by joker I mean stating the obvious.

Grilled Chicken & Pineapple Quesadilla

From thepioneerwoman.com
Ingredients

• 8 whole Flour Tortillas
• Butter Or Margarine
• 2 cups Grilled Pineapple, Sliced
• 3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 3 cups Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Sliced
• Cilantro
• 3 Tablespoons Barbecue Sauce

Preparation Instructions

(To grill pineapple: cut wedges, stick on skewers, and grill over low heat. Cut into slices.) For how to go here.
(To pound chicken, place inside a Ziploc bag and pound with a mallet or large can to flatten to uniform thickness.)
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and Cajun spice (or cumin/cayenne, etc.) Drizzle olive oil on a grill pan and grill on both sides until done, brushing with barbecue sauce. Set aside and slice into very thin slices.
Warm griddle over medium heat and put sizzling butter or margarine in the pan. Slightly warm and toast tortillas on both sides, then remove from griddle and set aside.
To assemble, sprinkle four browned tortillas with grated Monterey Jack. Arrange chicken slices evenly over the surface. Add pineapple slices and jalapeno slices. Sprinkle on cilantro. If desired, drizzle extra barbecue sauce over the top. Add second browned tortilla on top of each one. (You’ll have four complete quesadillas at this point.)
Add to oven to warm, or back to skillet to warm, until cheese is melted. Cut each quesadilla into six wedges. Serve with sour cream, pico de gallo, and lime wedges.

Brown Juice

The bottle says orange juice but I wouldn't call it that color. Neither did anyone else.
Orange Yogurt Bread
From Taste of Home
also found at pinchmysalt.com


Orange Yogurt Bread
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 to 3 teaspoons orange juice
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add yogurt, orange juice and peel. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well.
3. Pour into a greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (cover loosely with foil if top browns too quickly). Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack to cool completely.
4. For glaze, combine confectioners’ sugar and enough orange juice to achieve desired consistency (start with 2 t. and add more if needed). Drizzle over cooled bread.
Using a long very thin paint brush handle, I poked holes in the bread all the way to the bottom. I poked as many holes as I could without compromising the top of the bread. I doubled the glaze recipe and poured it slowly over the bread while it was still warm, making sure I drizzled glaze down each hole.

Orange Salmon

From my good friend D.W. So easy and good for you.

Orange Salmon

Salmon
Orange juice


Place salmon in a large non-stick skillet. Cut up salmon if you need to make it fit. Pour orange juice over salmon until it is mostly covered. It doesn't have to be completely submerged. In fact, seeing a little of the salmon helps you to know when it is done. Cook on medium high heat until it simmers. Cook for 2-5 minutes depending on thickness and size of salmon pieces, longer if it is thick. Turn and cook another 2-5 minutes. Do not overcook. Cook until it just starts to flake. It is better to under cook it than overcook and be dry. If it is under cooked you can always put it back into the pan and cook a little longer. It can be rare in the middle. Medium rare is optimal.

Once it is cooked, (hopefully not overcooked :) ) remove from pan and place on warmed plate or platter. Turn the burner to high and reduce the orange juice to desired thickness. If you reduce it too much and it is too thick, slowly add more orange while stirring. If you need more sauce, add more orange juice and reduce.

Serve reduced orange sauce over salmon.

And yes I have overcooked my salmon and over-reduced my orange juice. Why do you think I am so knowledgeable on the subject?

What Can Brown Do For You?

Brown pears and brown applesauce that is.

Pear Bundt Cake
From wholefoodsmarket.com

Serves 12

Ingredients

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup high heat, expeller pressed sunflower oil or expeller pressed canola oil
3/4 cup natural brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 small to medium Bartlett pears, cored and chopped(leave peel on)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/3 cup raisins

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Spray a 2-quart bundt pan with canola oil cooking spray and set aside.

Whisk together applesauce, oil and brown sugar, blending completely. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Add vanilla.

Sift together both flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and gradually add to liquid ingredients, blending completely. The batter will be thick and slightly sticky. Stir in pears, nuts and raisins.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 60 to 70 minutes or until done when tested with a toothpick. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to continue cooling.

Nutrition

Per serving (3.5 oz/94g-wt.): 240 calories (80 from fat), 9g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 5g protein, 37g total carbohydrate (3g dietary fiber, 19g sugar), 30mg cholesterol, 320mg sodium

Roasted Baby Eggplant

Roasted Baby Eggplant
from: luculliandelights.com

Baby eggplant
Olive oil
Garlic, finely chopped
Thyme
Rosemary
Sage
Sea salt

Cut eggplant in half lengthwise. Deeply score the flesh in a crisscross pattern. Brush with olive oil. Rub with garlic allowing some to catch in the cuts. Sprinkle with remaining herbs and salt. I used dried herbs from my pantry. Bake at 400 degrees until they are well cooked and soft, about 30 min. They should be slightly browned. If they brown too fast, cover with foil and continue baking. Remove from and drizzle with more olive oil.

Less Corn, More Bread

Bisquick makes bitter cornmeal taste better.

Cornbread

Mix:
3 c Bisquick

1/3 c cornmeal

1 c sugar

1 t. baking powder

Heat until warm:

1 c. margarine or butter and

1 1/2 c. milk

Add to Bisquick mixture--don't stir yet

Beat 3 eggs and add to above

Stir 20 times

Pour into greased 9x13 pan and bake 350 for 30-35 mins.

Homemade Bisquick Mix

4 c. flour
2 T. baking powder
1 1/2 t. salt
1 c. shortening

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add shortening and mix until blended. Use and electric mixer or your hands to do this.