Cabbage Salad

A friend of mine makes this recipe every time we go up to their cabin in the summer. It's one of my top 10 side dishes (thanks, Cindy!) and I eagerly look forward to every August when she makes it. This last time, I decided I needed the recipe so that I could make it at home and not wait another year before enjoying it again. I have since built off this recipe to adapt it even more to our tastes and there are likely endless possibilities. I'll be sure to include the word "optional" so that you can either make the basic recipe (which is great as it is!) or make it to suit your family and tastes as well. The recipe I am listing below is written for a single coleslaw package serving; double the ingredients if you choose to make more.

Ingredients:

1 or 2 packages of coleslaw mix (OR make your own coleslaw mix by shredding your own head of cabbage--which is the equivalent of 2 packages of the premade kind you can get at the store--and also include some shredded carrot
Diced onion (about 2-3 Tablespoons; optional)
Broccoli, chopped into small pieces (optional)
Dried cranberries or other fruit (optional; I did not include them the last time I made this salad)

Dressing:

1/3 c. veg oil
1/3 c. white vinegar
1/3 c. white sugar
Seasoning packet from Ramen noodle package (optional)

Toppings:

1 package Ramen noodles (I use the Oriental flavor), crushed
1/3 c. slivered almonds
1-2 Tbsp. sesame seeds

Start out by making the dressing. Get the salad ingredients mixed together and then add the dressing to it. The longer it can marinade in there, the better it tastes!

In the meantime, take your crushed Ramen noodles, almonds, and sesame seeds and place them in a dry pan/skillet on the stovetop. You'll want to heat these at a low to medium-low heat or else they will burn. Make sure to stir them frequently as they heat up and begin to turn a nice, toasty brown. Once much of the mixture has browned, remove it from the heat so it doesn't overcook or burn.

By now the salad has had a nice bath in the dressing and can be served up at any time.

You are free to pour the toasted noodle/nuts mixture over the top and mix them directly into the salad, but keep in mind that if they sit for any length of time, they will get soggy. I prefer to keep the noodles/nuts separate and add them to the top of people's servings. That way they stay nice and crunchy.

This recipe makes a great side dish or simply a yummy snack! It's quick to throw together and very delicious. I hope you like it, too!

Corn Dog Casserole

Last week for the 4th of July, we hosted a pool party and invited a bunch of people to just stop by and hang out for as long as they wanted. Always one to buy more food than necessary, I was left with an overabundance of hot dogs. So today I decided to try a new way to use up some of those hot dogs (I'm going to freeze the rest!) and the image of corn dogs popped into my mind. Why not turn these hot dogs into a corn dogs? Enter Corn Dog Casserole. It's super easy to throw together and my kids who enjoy corn dogs on an occasional basis really enjoyed this meal. The cornbread casserole surrounding the hot dog slices is moist and has a hint of sweetness to it that pairs nicely with the saltiness of the hot dogs.

Ingredients:

2 boxes of corn bread mix (8.5 oz each box)
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. onion powder
pinch of pepper
1 cup of milk
2 eggs
1 can of creamed corn
6 hot dogs, sliced thinly

Baking Time: 30 minutes
Baking Temp: 400 degrees

Start out by emptying your 2 boxes of corn bread mix into a large bowl.

To that, you will add the brown sugar, onion powder, and a pinch of pepper. Stir to combine these dry ingredients.

Next you will add the wet ingredients to the dry--pour in the milk and 2 eggs, stirring well.

You'll wind up with a thin batter of sorts. To this, you will add the creamed corn and chopped up hot dogs. Stir them all up together.

At this point it doesn't look very appetizing, I know.

You're going to want to spray a 9x13" baking dish with some non-stick spray and then pour the batter into the pan.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the center is cooked through.

Allow it to cool for about 5 minutes so that it won't fall apart when you slice it up. Play around with the recipe--you can add shredded cheese to the top during the last few minutes of cooking, or serve it with ketchup and mustard like you might use on a regular corn dog. Pair it with a vegetable to make it seem a little healthier and you'll be all set. It really is a fast and easy dish to make!

Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant is one of those vegetables that people seem to either really like or really dislike as it has the propensity to be a little on the bitter side for some. My husband and I fall into the "like" category. Our four kids are in the "dislike" category (although one child had to admit tonight that paired with pasta and spaghetti sauce, it really wasn't all that bad).

Tonight I decided to make eggplant parmesan for dinner. In the past, I've pan-fried the eggplant slices, but sometimes that seems to make them feel heavy and taste a bit greasy as they tend to absorb most of the oil while they fry up and the oil can also start to smoke if the temp gets a little too warm. So instead, I ventured out on a limb and tried a new-to-me way to cook up the eggplant and it turned out great! It's also probably a bit healthier as it is baked rather than fried.

Ingredients:

1 or 2 eggplants--they should be firm rather than soft, and have a nice, smooth skin
mayonnaise
seasoned bread crumbs (I made my own)
spaghetti sauce (again, I made my own, but any kind would work well)
mozzarella cheese
pasta (I used vermicelli)

Oven Temp: 350 degrees
Baking Time: 40 minutes total

Wash up the eggplant. Go ahead and peel it if you so desire. I kept the skin on as I think it probably contains a lot of great nutrients with the dark color. (The skin was not at all tough after baking.) Then cut it into about 1/2" rounds.

Place a blob of mayo in a small bowl (maybe 1/2 c. or so?) and have a second bowl that has your seasoned breadcrumbs in it.

Take a slice of eggplant and dip it in the mayo, lightly coating each side of the slice, then place it in the breadcrumbs and coat both sides generously.

Place the eggplant slices on a baking sheet. (I did prep my baking sheets by using parchment paper lightly sprayed with non-stick spray.)

Once all your eggplant slices are coated, pop them in the oven and set the timer for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, you will want to get the rest of your ingredients ready to go for the meal--start heating the water for the pasta, get your sauce ready, etc.

After 20 minutes, you'll flip the eggplant slices (I use tongs to flip mine) so that the other side gets toasted.

Place them back in the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes.  When they are done, pull them out and you'll see that they are a dark golden color as well as very tender.

At this point, I sprinkled a little mozzarella cheese on top of the slices.

The mozzarella melted nicely on top of the eggplant, although I wanted to give them one extra blast in the oven to really make them great. I simply turned the oven to its broil setting and baked the eggplant for 1 minute so that the cheese turned golden brown.

By this point, your pasta should be cooked up and ready to be drained so that you can serve up the rest of the meal. Throw down a layer of pasta on the plate, add your sauce, and then top with as many eggplant slices as you would like. Hope you enjoy it!

Reeces Peanut Butter Fudge

I've seen this recipe floating around the internet as of late, and so I decided I had to try it for myself. My teenage son is having a group of friends over tonight for games, food, and fun, so it was the perfect opportunity/excuse to make this. The recipe itself is extremely simple, but I will share some tips to go along with making/serving it that may come in helpful if it's your first time trying this.

Ingredients:

Reeces Peanut Butter Cups (full size PB cups; I purchased 2 6-pack packages, so 24 cups total)
3 c. Chocolate Chips
1 14-oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk

I used a glass 8"x11" pan for making this recipe. If you want to use an 8x8" or 9x9" pan, you may need to use fewer peanut butter cups. Likewise, if you use a 9x13" pan, you'll probably need to purchase more and wind up with a thinner fudge.

The first thing to do is to line whatever pan you are using with tin foil and then give it a quick blast with non-stick cooking spray to prevent the foil from becoming one with your fudge. That would be really disappointing!

Next, simply line up a layer of peanut butter cups to form your bottom layer of the fudge.

After you have this done, grab a small saucepan and go ahead and combine the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. You'll want to melt these together, stirring frequently, until you have a nice, smooth texture. Once it's melted, the chocolate will quickly thicken up into a fudge-like consistency.

Taking a rubber spatula, spoon out the chocolate on top of the PB cups. You'll need to use the spatula to spread the chocolate evenly around the pan and once it's spread across the entire area, gently press down so that the fudge will fill the areas between the PB cups.

With any remaining PB cups you have, go ahead and chop them up into pieces to top the fudge. I found using a nice, sharp non-serrated knife worked wonderfully for chopping up the pieces as well as for cutting the final bars!

Refrigerate the fudge for a few hours until it's fairly solid. Once you feel you've waited long enough and can't handle it for another minute, go ahead and get the fudge out of the fridge. Lift the whole block of fudge out of the pan with the tin foil. I quickly peeled the foil off the bottom of the fudge and then placed it on a large cutting board. Using a sharp knife, I was able to easily cut the fudge into serving-size pieces.

This is an extremely (!!!) sweet fudge, so I would highly recommend that you slice the pieces smaller than you might think you should. Refrigerate the slices until you are ready to serve them up, then enjoy!

Morning Glory Oatmeal

Years ago I worked at a bakery and I remember one of the best muffins they sold was the Morning Glory muffin. Packed with carrots, coconut, walnuts, and a few raisins, it was definitely one of the tastiest ones that I tried. So this morning, while the kids were still snoozing, I decided to see if I could recreate the flavors, but in the form of oatmeal. I figured it would be a relatively healthy breakfast and I was curious to see if it would turn out or not. In my opinion, it turned out great.  My kids were on the fence...it wasn't as sweet as their usual oatmeal where they add brown sugar to it, but I thought it was plenty sweet. Overall they liked it though, and everyone ate their full bowl. Keep in mind that this will taste good with other additions or, if you're like us, go minimal--or not at all--on the raisins or whatever ingredient maybe isn't your favorite. The end product will still taste good!

I made a larger batch of this as we have a larger than average sized family, so you can feel free to cut the recipe down for your family, or else have some leftovers to enjoy another day! Either way, the key to good oatmeal is to use a ratio of 2:1 with twice as much liquid as oatmeal when you're making it.

Ingredients:

3 c. Oatmeal
6 c. Water (notice the 2:1 ratio here!)
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
Pinch of Salt
2 Carrots, shredded finely (mine were so fine you could see them, but they were not at all crunchy)
1 Apple, shredded finely
Raisin (whole or chopped...or not at all! I didn't use many and I chopped them up into smaller pieces)
Shredded Coconut--sweetened or unsweetened, your choice
Nuts (I used pecans, but walnuts or almonds would also work well)
Additional shredded coconut
Maple Syrup--a splash for a bit of sweetness and a finishing garnish

Start out by putting the oatmeal, water, and spices in a large pot on the stovetop.

Next, you'll want to start shredding and chopping...

Carrots:

Apples: 

Raisins:

And then toss everything you've shredded and chopped, including the coconut, into the oatmeal mixture, stirring to combine well. Cooking the coconut and raisins in the oatmeal allows them to rehydrate a bit and of course, it softens the carrots and apples to a nice texture. 

Cook over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes. The oatmeal will bubble and thicken up. Make sure you stir it from time to time so it doesn't burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove it from the heat when it's the thickness you like.

After about 9 minutes, my oatmeal was pretty much to the consistency I wanted.

While the oatmeal cooked, I chopped up some pecans to garnish each bowl with.

When the oatmeal was done cooking, I served it up in a bowl, topping each one with a generous sprinkle of pecans, more shredded coconut, and a drizzle of maple syrup. Hope you enjoy this twist on a muffin-turned-oatmeal breakfast!

Marinated Shishkebabs

I only took one photo of this dish midway through the process, but believe me when I say it turned out great. This recipe isn't so much about the kebabs as it is the sauce that I marinated everything in. It turned out absolutely delicious!

Shishkebabs and Marinade

Meat (I used chicken and think this marinade would also taste great on pork)
Variety of veggies (I used red onions, bell peppers, tomatoes as that is what I had on hand)

Marinade:

Olive Oil (approx. 1/2-1 c. depending on how much you are marinating)
Soy Sauce (approx. 1/4-1/2 c.--base it off how much oil you use as shown above)
Honey (approx 1/4-1/3 c.--use more if you want a sweeter flavor, less for more savory)
McCormick GrillMates Montreal Chicken seasoning (be generous with it--use 1-2 Tbsp.)

**Be sure to marinate your vegetables in a separately from your raw meat!
(You do not have to marinate the vegetables if you don't want to, but they absorb the flavor, too, and it is very good!)

In one bowl (or Ziploc bag), place your meat and add the marinade to it. I used chicken breasts and kept them whole as they marinated, but if you prefer to cut them into smaller pieces in advance, that works, too. Make sure you turn the chicken over or flip the bag you are using so that all sides of the chicken gets soaked with the marinade.

Chop your vegetables accordingly and if you choose to marinate them as well, throw them into a bowl, add the marinade, and toss occasionally so all the veggies get coated.

Allow all the pieces to sit and marinate--the longer, the better.

When you're ready, fire up the grill to medium heat, string the kebab skewers however you like, and grill for 10-15 minutes or until your meat is heated through, being sure to turn the skewers every so often.

Stuffed Peppers

I can't believe it took me as long as it did to try making stuffed peppers. But after my first taste, I was hooked! They are delicious, not to mention, versatile--use the basic recipe for a great flavor, or add taco seasoning and maybe some black beans to the meat for a Mexican version. Use some Italian sausage or chorizo along with seasonings that would complement the variety of meats being used per your preference.

Basic Recipe:

2 Pounds of Ground Beef
1 c. Long-grain Rice
1 c. Water
6 Bell Peppers
1 15-oz Can of Tomato Sauce (divided)
1 T Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp. Onion Powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning (or taco seasoning if you prefer)
2 c. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Baking Time: 1 hour
Baking Temp: 350 degrees

Start by halving the bell peppers and placing them in a pan.

I'd start on the rice next as it usually takes a while to cook up. Cook the rice per the directions on the bag.

Once you have the rice going, it's time to brown up whatever meat you are using. After it's browned, go ahead and drain any excess grease and fat. When the rice is done cooking, you'll add it to the browned meat along with HALF the can of tomato sauce, the Worcestershire sauce, and remaining seasonings.

You're going to use a large spoon and transfer the meat mixture into the peppers, scooping them nice and full. 

At this point, you will mix the remaining tomato sauce with the Italian Seasoning (or taco seasoning if you're going that route), then pour it over the top of the stuffed peppers.

Cover the pan with tin foil and bake for 55 minutes. After that time has passed, pull them out of the oven, remove the tin foil, and top with the shredded cheese.

Bake the peppers for another 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Serve with a side of veggies or anything else you think would go well with it and enjoy!

Scalloped Potatoes

One of my favorite potato recipes. Great on its own, just as great paired with leftover ham if you prefer.

What I like about this recipe is how creamy the sauce is that the potatoes bake in and I love that I can control how brown the top of the potatoes get. Personally, I love a little toasted potato flavor, so my potatoes always are browned.

Ingredients:

6 medium potatoes (approx 3 Costco-size potatoes)
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 1/2 c. milk
1 Tbsp. butter (optional)

Baking Time: 1.5 hours
Baking Temp: 350 degrees

Start out by peeling and then slicing the potatoes to the thinness you desire. The thinner the slices, the faster they will cook through. Also try to be consistent with the thickness of the slices you make, or some parts may be overly soft and some parts could wind up being a little hard.

Once you have sliced up the potatoes, place them in a 9x13" glass pan. (If you want to use ham as well, go ahead and sprinkle it in at this point.)

Now you need to make your creamy sauce for the potatoes to cook in. You'll melt the 3T butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once it has melted, add the flour and salt, stirring them until well combined. Next, add the milk to the mixture and stir it all together. I suggest using a whisk for this job so that you don't end up with flour blobs in your milk mixture. 

Depending on what kind of milk you use (I used skim on this particular day), your sauce may or may not thicken up very much. Skim milk will of course give you a runnier sauce than 2% or whole milk. Any of them work in the recipe, however. Keep stirring the sauce mixture frequently until you notice that it's starting to thicken up a bit, then remove it from the heat.

Next, you want to pour the sauce over the potatoes in your pan.

If this is sufficient for you, you can skip the next step. It involves butter. Like bacon, you can't go wrong by adding a little extra butter, so I choose to add 1 last Tbsp. of butter to my potatoes before they bake.

At this point, you will cover your potatoes with tin foil and place them in the preheated 350 degree oven and bake it for at least an hour. If you want your potatoes to brown up, after an hour, remove the tin foil. If you prefer them to be a consistent creamy color, then keep the tin foil on for the remaining 30 minutes of baking time.

Once the potatoes are done baking, you'll want to let them stand for about 5-10 minutes longer. This allows the sauce to finish thickening up and for the potatoes to set.

After they have rested for a few minutes, go ahead and serve them up on a plate with the rest of your meal while they are nice and hot!