On Hiatus.

Hi everyone. Just letting you guys know that we do have more recipes coming. Jenny, who has been taking care of most of our content lately (because I'm lazy!), just had a baby and moved to a new state. So, she's been a bit preoccupied. Perhaps that will motivate me to actually post something, eh?

Mandarin Orange and Cucumber Rice Salad with Orange Blossom Vinaigrette

This was so light and refreshing. It is perfect for summer.Mandarin Orange and Cucumber Rice Salad with Orange Blossom Vinaigrette

From: Cooking with Anne

Vinaigrette:
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. orange blossom water (I couldn't get this here and substituted in orange extract and it was yummy)
1 Tbs. pomegranate vinegar (or other fruited vinegar)
1/2 cup liquid canned mandarin oranges
1 shallot, minced
1/2 tsp. salt

Salad:
2 cups water
1 cup rice
1 shallot, finely diced
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1 can (11 oz.) mandarin orange segments

Combine vinaigrette ingredients, stir well and let stand in the refrigerator for one hour or more to blend flavors.

Heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat and add the oil. Stir in the shallot and rice. Stir well so that the rice is well coated with oil. Add water, bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover tightly and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from heat and cool completely.

Toss orange segments and cucumbers with the vinaigrette and place in the refrigerator until the rice is cooled. When rice is fully cooled, combine with the vinaigrette mixture and serve immediately.

Very Veggie Egg Rolls

Oh holy yum. These were fantastic. All of the fresh veggies made this too die for.Very Veggie Egg Rolls

From: Cooking with Anne

1 small head cabbage, thinly sliced
1 large red pepper, deeded and finely diced
1 small zucchini, finely diced
1 large carrot, cut into thin matchsticks
8 oz. snow peas, finely diced
1 bunch green onion, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
2 Tbs. rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 Tbs. sesame oil
1 pkg. (24 count) egg roll wrappers
oil for frying

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a large pan(I used my wok) and add the veggies. Cook over medium-high heat until soft. Add garlic, ginger, vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil. Cook until most of the liquid is evaporated.

Roll about 1/4-1/3 cup of filling into each egg roll wrapper. Cook in a deep fryer until golden brown or in a pan over medium-high heat, turning frequently until golden. (I used a little water to seal the wrappers shut. This made a huge difference in how easy they were to fry.)

French Toast with Pears and Pomegranate Sauce

Wow, this was just beyond yummy. We had this as a breakfast for dinner a while back and I was in sweet tooth heaven. No need for dessert. The boys certainly thought they were having a treat!French Toast with Pears and Pomegranate Sauce

From: Tarah's Food Reviews

5 lg. eggs
1 cup whole milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom, divided
4 3/4" thick slices of egg bread (I just used french bread)
4 Tbs. butter, divided
2 unpeeled red Anjou or Bartlett pears, halved, cored and cut into 1/3" thick slices
1 cup pomegranate juice
3/4 cup packed brown sugar

Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla, and 1/2 tsp. cardamom together in a 15x10x2 in glass baking dish (I just used a metal cookie sheet. Add bread slices; let stand until egg mixture is absorbed, turning bread slices occasionally, about 10 minutes. (I think this was too long.)

Meanwhile, melt 1 Tbs. butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pears; saute until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Transfer pear to a plate. Add 2 Tbs. butter to the skillet; stir to melt. Add pomegranate juice, sugar and remaining 3/4 tsp. cardamom; simmer until liquid is slightly thickened and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Remove sauce from heat.

Melt remaining 1 Tbs. butter on griddle or a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the bread slices and cook until golden grown, about 3 minutes per side. Cut french toast slices in half diagonally; divide among plates. Top with pear slices and pomegranate syrup. Serve.

Cream Cheese Cookies

Jason just loves these cookies. They are usually made with a yellow cake mix, but all I had was strawberry and the hubby was craving... so... I actually like them better with the strawberry cake mix. Also, I think that these cookies are really best eaten HOT.Cream Cheese Cookies

From: Mom Crellin

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 yellow cake mix

Cream butter and cream cheese together. Blend in egg and vanilla. Add cake mix 1/3 at a time. Chill for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Drop by teaspoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until light brown. Cool slightly before removing.

Meatloaf

I love meatloaf. There is something about it that just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Meatloaf

From: Mom... aka Ruth Solter

1-1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 cup saltine crackers, crushed
8 oz. tomato sauce
1 egg
1/4 cup minced onion
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. each pepper, celery salt, garlic salt, dry mustard and sage
1 Tbs. worcestershire sauce
BBQ sauce
Ketchup
Brown Sugar

Mix all but the last three ingredients together. Form into a loaf in an ungreased 9x13 pan.

Mix together desired amounts of BBQ sauce, ketchup and brown sugar. I usually do about 1/2 and 1/2 ketchup and BBQ sauce and just dump in a small handful of brown sugar. I like my sauce sweet. Pour over the top of the meat loaf.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1-1 1/2 hours.

Chicken Breasts Pierre

Chicken Breasts Pierre

From: Mom... aka Ruth Solter

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
pinch of black pepper
3 Tbs. butter
1 (14.5 oz.) can stewed tomatoes with liquid
1/2 cup water
2 Tbs. brown sugar
2 Tbs. vinegar
2 tbs. worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. mustard powder
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp. hot pepper sauce
Rice

In a shallow dish, combine flour, 1/2 tsp. salt and black pepper. Coat the chicken with the flour mixture. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and brown chicken on all sides. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.

In the same skillet, combine the tomatoes, water, brown sugar, vinegar and worcestershire sauce. Season with salt, chili powder, mustard, celery seed, garlic and hot pepper sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and return chicken to skillet. Cover and simmer 35-40 minutes or until chicken in tender, no longer pink and juices run clear. Take cover off for last 10 minutes so that the liquid will thicken a little. Serve over rice.

Buttermilk Baked Chicken

Buttermilk Baked Chicken

From: Stephanie's Kitchen

Vegetable oil
8 slices white bread
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. hot-pepper sauce
3/4 tsp. course salt
1/2 + 1/8 tsp. pepper
3/4 cup grated parmesan
1 tsp. dried thyme
4 lbs. chicken parts, rinsed and patted dry (I'm not a big fan of chicken parts, so I used boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Generously rub a baking sheet with oil. In a food processor, pulse the bread until it turns into coarse crumbs.

In a large bowl, stir together the buttermilk, hot-pepper sauce, salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. In a separate bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, parmesan, thyme and 1/8 tsp. pepper. (I added some garlic salt too.)

Place the chicken in the buttermilk mixture, turn to coat evenly. Allow chicken to sit in the buttermilk mixture for a few hours to make it more tender and juicy. Working one piece at a time, remove the chicken from the liquid and dredge in the breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat evenly. Place the coated chicken on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake until the chicken is golden brown, about 25 minutes.

Tortilla Pie

This picture doesn't do justice. It is also a picture of one that I made only two layers rather than the for layers for the kids.Tortilla Pie

From: My Recipes

4 flour tortillas (I used more)
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
salt
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 tomato sauce
1 cup green salsa (I used more)
6 oz. pepper jack cheese, grated (I used more)
Toppings: shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, sour cream, guac, etc.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place a skillet over high heat. Mist the tortillas with cooking spray and toast in the skillet, turning once, until golden, 1 minute. (I thought the ones that I tried on high heat burned rather than toasted. When I turned the temp. down a bit, I got a nice result).

Warm oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4 minutes. Stir in garlic, spices and salt; cook for 1 minute. Add beef and saute, breaking into small pieces, until cooked. Add tomato sauce, reduce heat and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 7 minutes. Drain on a paper towel lined plate.

Place a tortilla on a baking sheet misted with cooking spray. Spread with 1/3 each of the beef mixture, salsa and cheese. Repeat with 2 more layers of tortillas, beef, salsa and cheese. Top with remaining tortilla; press to adhere. Bake 10-12 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. (I toasted several more tortillas and spread a little less meat between each layer but used about the same amount of cheese and salsa and made a few of the tortilla pies, thus spreading the meal. It was a great result.)

Zesty Home Fries

These were yummy. It combines some of my favorite things; bacon, potatoes and cheese. It was hard to go wrong.Zesty Home Fries

From Tarah's Food Reviews

2 lbs. red new potatoes, cut into large chunks
1/2 cup zesty Italian dressing
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 large red onion, cut into chunks
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (I'll admit to using more than this because I can never get enough cheese)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Toss potatoes with dressing and pepper on a greased cookie sheet. Spread in a single layer.

Bake for 20 minutes. Stir in onions. Continue baking for 20 more minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Sprinkle with parsley and bacon; stir. Top with cheese. Bake and additional 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.