Summer Tortellini Salad

Do I dare start this up again? It has been so long...Why not? At least I will have a bunch of good recipes in one spot. I got this tasty pasta salad recipe from the Sisters' Cafe blog. I didn't have all of the ingredients and it still turned out great. I used half of a double pack of tortellini from Sam's Club. It seems like it was definitely more than 9 ounces of pasta. I kind of just added the ranch and cheese till it looked nice and coated like I would want it.

Summer Tortellini Salad

Submitted by Amy ~ www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com

Printable Recipe

1 pkg. (9 oz.) uncooked refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini(You can also use dry tortellini. Barilla has a yummy four cheese and Costco has really good tortellini as well)
1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped (I use the equivalent of baby carrots instead)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
4 green onions with tops, thinly sliced
1/4 cup snipped fresh parsley (or 4 tsp. dried parsley if you don't have fresh...fresh is always best of course, but dried works fine too)
1/2 cup home-made or you're very, very favorite ranch dressing (I tend to skimp a bit on this measurement but 1/2 a cup isn't too much, just trying to be healthy:)
Parmesan Cheese - to taste

*Option - I have added left over Rotissere chicken to this and really liked it

Cook tortellini according to package directions, drain and rinse under cold running water. Place tortellini in a large colander and set aside. Meanwhile, slice zucchini. chop carrot(s). Cut tomatoes in half and slice green onions. Snip parsley, if using fresh. Add vegetables to tortellini. Poursalad dressing over salad. Grate parmesan cheese oversalad. cover; refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Yield: 6 servings

organizing my recipe box and I found...

Tonight I decided I would reorganize my recipe box (since it gets totally rearranged by me and my kids) and I came across my favorite cheesecake recipe.  Now, when I first got married I made quite a few cheesecakes and this was the best.  Unfortunately, it has been a while since I made it!  I think I will have to dig out those spring form pans!  It has a smooth chocolate layer on top with the chocolate chip filling below and a chocolatey crust.  How can you go wrong?  The recipe came from a 2003 Taste of Home magazine, although I have altered it a little.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

2 C vanilla wafer crumbs

1/2 C finely chopped walnuts

1/4 C sugar

3 T baking cocoa

1/3 C butter, melted

Filling:

4 pkgs. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 C sugar

4 t cornstarch

4 eggs

1/3 C whipping cream

3 t vanilla extract

1 1/2 C miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Topping:

3 squares (1 oz each) semisweet chocolate, melted

1 T butter, melted

1 C powdered sugar

1/4 C whipping cream

     In a bowl, combine the first five ingredients; stir in butter.  Press onto the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 10 inch springform pan.  Refrigerate for 15 minutes,

     In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Combine sugar and cornstarch; beat on low speed just until combined.  Add the cream, vanilla and chocolate chips,.  Pour into prepared crust.

     Place pan on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes or until center is nearly set.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosed; cool 1 hour longer.  (Cheescake top may crack but topping will cover.)

     For topping, combine chocolate, butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.  Slowly beat in cream until mixture achieves spreading consistency.  Spread over cheesecake.  Refrigerate overnight.

     Remove sides of pan.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Oatmeal Cookies

This is my favorite Oatmeal Cookie recipe I have come across and since we made them last night, I thought I would share! I got it years ago from a piano teacher and have been enjoying them ever since. They are great plain or you can add raisins or chocolate chips (my personal favorite). The recipe is also calculated in case you want to make 1 1/2 batches and those numbers are in parentheses.

Oatmeal Cookies

Mix: 1 C shortening (1 1/2 C)
3/4 C brown sugar (1 1/8 C)
3/4 C white sugar (1 1/8 C)
1 t vanilla ( 1 1/2 t)
1 t water (1 1/2 t)
Add: 2 eggs (3)
1 t baking soda (1 1/2 t)
1 t salt (1 1/2 t)
Add: 2 1/4 C flour (3 3/8 C)
2 1/2 C old fashioned oats (3 1/2 C)

Bake at 335 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

yogurt parfaits

Have you ever tried yogurt parfaits? After trying them recently at a church function, I now love them! We went out and bought a big bag of granola and yogurt tub to try it out on our family and were pleasantly surprised to find out that the kids love it too. My kids? No way! But it's true. Just alternate layers of granola, yogurt, and fresh or frozen fruit if you have it. We used vanilla yogurt and honey granola with dried blueberries in it. It's delish! And I am now totally hooked on granola. On another note, I just found my camera this week and am excited to start posting again...hopefully with more pictures!

camp food...indoors

Last night we sort of had an indoor camping night...so fun! So naturally, the food we ate revolved around that theme. You have to try Paula Deen's Sure Fire No Fire Smores!! They are made in the oven and I even like them better than the campfire kind! And of course we had my favorite (thus far) hobo dinner. Everything done in our oven.

Here is the link to Paula Deen's Smores: http://recipes.pauladeen.com/index.php/recipes/view/sure_fire_no_fire_smores/

And here is our campfire bundles (adapted from a recipe I got out of some magazine)

1 large white onion
1 each large green, red and yellow bell peppers
5 red potatoes, sliced about 1/4-1/2 inch thick
1 package fully cooked kielbasa sausage, cut into 1/2 in. pieces
1/2 C butter
salt and pepper

Place vegetables in order listed on three pieces of double layered heavy duty foil (so this recipe makes 3 large pouches). Add sausage and dot with butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold foil around the mixture and seal tightly.
Grill: Grill, covered, over medium heat for 30 minutes. Turn and grill 30 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender.
Campfire: Place it into the coals. It does not take all that long to cook. Sorry, I can't remember the exact time.
Oven: We cooked it last night at 375 degrees for about an hour and 15 minutes, maybe a smidge longer until the potatoes were ready.

buttermilk #4--bran muffins that are delicious!

I confess I didn't finish off my buttermilk before it expired! But I can share one more buttermilk recipe that I love! Oh, and there is also a buttermilk pie recipe that I have already shared in a past entry. These muffins are not your typical dry, dense bran muffins. They are moist, fluffy and are delicious with a nice pat of butter! Thanks to Robyn Harris sharing it with me back in our missionary days!

Bran Muffins

1/2 C shortening
1 1/4 C sugar
2 eggs
2 C buttermilk
2 1/2 C flour
2 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3 C Kellogg's All Bran

Pour 1 C boiling water over 2 C all bran and let cool. Mix all ingreadients together and place in greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. This batter can be stored in the refrigerator for two weeks.

buttermilk #3--dill buttermilk bread

Here is a new recipe I tried with buttermilk, and the verdict is....it's . I got it off of recipe zaar. You can see it below or check it out on their site at http://www.recipezaar.com/Dill-Buttermilk-Bread-636 .



Dill Buttermilk Bread



Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder, PLUS
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup fresh dill
2 teaspoons dried dill
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Directions
1Preheat oven to 350 F.
2Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, dill, baking soda, salt and pepper in a bowl.
3Add buttermilk a little at a time until a soft dough forms.
4Turn into a greased 9 inch by 5 inch (2 litre) loaf pan.
5Bake for 50 minutes or until loaf is golden brown.
6Serve warm; reheat when needed.

buttermilk #2--creamy tomatillo salad dressing

I found this recipe on recipelink.com a while back when I was looking for a copycat for Cafe Rio's salad dressing. Thanks to whoever it was that came up with it! We have used it several times and loved it! You can use it to top a Mexican style green salad with chicken, black beans, and tortilla strips or whatever is your taste. **I can't remember if I add sugar in it or not. I want to say that I don't, or if I do it is just a little.

Cafe Rio's Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing
Place the following in a blender:
3 fresh tomatillos, cut into quarters
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 cup buttermilk (or make w/dry buttermilk mix)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 package of dry Ranch Buttermilk Dressing
Mix1 cup fresh cilantro (abt. one bunch)
5 stalks (1/2 bunch) of green onions w/ends
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 to 3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. crushed cayenne pepper
4 tsp. sugar or other sweetener

Combine all ingredients and blend in a blender.

buttermilk week...and banana bread

Get ready...it is going to be a buttermilk week! I can't stand to drink the stuff, but I love to bake with it. My motto...everything is better with buttermilk. I made banana bread a couple of days ago and now I have the rest of the jug of buttermilk sitting in the fridge, and for once I intend on using it all...yeah! So I hope to post some of my faves and maybe a new finding of recipes that use buttermilk.
This really is the best banana bread recipe I know. Thanks to Tiffin Clark for sharing. My only wish is that it made more bread! ;) Or does anyone know how to convert a recipe so that you could use regular sized pans instead? Just curious...

Banana bread

1 1/2 C sugar
3/4 C butter
2 eggs
1/4 t salt
2 C flour
1/2 C buttermilk
1 t vanilla
1 C nuts (opt.-I have never used them)
1 t baking soda
3-4 medium sized super ripe bananas

Cream sugar and butter. Beat in eggs. Dissolve baking soda into buttermilk. Mix flour, salt, and buttermilk with butter and sugar mixture. Add bananas and vanilla. Pour into 4 small greased loaf pans. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour.

oven roasted potatoes

Oven Roasted Potatoes

2 lbs. small unpeeled red potatoes, cut into wedges
2-3 T olive or vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T chopped fresh rosemary or 1 t dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Place potatoes in an ungreased 9x13 inch baking pan. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper; toss gently to coat. Bake, uncovered, at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown and tender when pierced with a fork. Yield: 6-8 servings.
* I almost always use more oil than it calls for and for me, it takes a little longer to cook. So just keep checking it. :)

Frog Eye Fruit Salad

Sounds gross, I know, but it was always one of my favorites growing up! Fluffy, fruity, and a fun texture!

Frog Eye Fruit Salad

1 C sugar
2 T flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 C pineapple juice
3 egg yolks
1 box acini de pepe pasta
2 pkg (8 oz) Cool Whip
2 cans (20 oz) crushed pineapple (drained; use some of reserved juice as listed above)
4 small cans mandarin oranges (drained)
mini marshmallows
marachino cherries, cut in halves
sliced bananas

Combine first 5 ingredients into a pot and cook until thick. Let cool. In the meantime, cook your pasta according to box directions. When done, drain the pasta and add to your already cooked mixture. Add Cool Whip and crushed pineapple and mix well. Add mandarin oranges, marshmallows, cherries and bananas to your salad.

Mexican Lasagna

I forgot! I made this meal for the first time last week and I thought it was great! I didn't follow the recipe 100 %, mostly in that I didn't use as many green chiles. Thanks to the people at Little Birdie Secrets for sharing. The recipe is for Mexican Lasagna and you can find it on their site here: http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2008/11/mexican-lasagna.html

Buttermilk Pie

A Bradshaw family favorite!

Buttermilk Pie

1 9 inch pie crust unbaked
1/2 C butter
2 C sugar
3 T flour +1 T cornstarch (or more, but I have never needed to add more)
3 eggs
1 C buttermilk
1 t vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. Add remaining ingredients one at a time. Pour into pie crust and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

It is a little like custard. Make sure to test it to see if it is done. A knife inserted in the middle should come out pretty clean. I always refrigerate the leftovers.

Mashed potatoes

As Thanksgiving approaches, I think I will start posting some traditional Thanksgiving foods, my favorite ways, of course. I have never tried these potatoes with gravy, they taste so great all on their own!

Dilly Mashed Potatoes

6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 C milk
1 C (8 oz) sour cream
2 T minced fresh dill or 2 t dill wees
1 T dried minced onion
3/4 t season salt

In a saucepan, cover potatoes with water. Cover and bring to a boil; cook for 20-25 minites or until very tender. Drain well; mash with milk. Stir in remaining ingredients. Yield: 6-8 servings.

(The Complete Guide to Country Cooking, p. 282)

Never would have thought I would be posting a fish recipe...

(too bad I don't take the time to learn about my camera so I could take better pictures) :)


Anyone that knows me knows that I am not a huge fish fan. In recent years, however, I have grown to like it more. Well, Joe brought home some tilapia the other day and we stumbled across this recipe in a newspaper. The verdict... we loved it! It was tender and had just the right amount of flavor, and not too fishy! Here it is...

Lemon Rosemary Tilapia

4 (6 oz) tilapia fillets
1 lemon, thinly sliced
2 t dried rosemary (we used more), or 2 T chopped fresh rosemary
2 T olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Set oven to 450 degrees. Place each tillapia fillet in the middle of a 12" square of aluminum foil. Sprinkle on the garlic and rosemary. Top each fillet with about 1/2 t olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste and top with lemon slices. Fold over aluminum foil and seal. (We placed our four pouches on a cookie sheet.) Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

*Recipe not word for word but taken from the newspaper food & dining section

P.S. I just want you to know that, yes, after taking the picture I did notice that it looks like we missed peeling one of the stickers off of the lemon. Oops! Joe insisted that he thought he had them all...oh well!

Ghost cookies

I have seen these cute little ghost cookies all over the internet. Just melt white candy bark (we used 1/2 pkg to coat 1 whole pkg of cookies) in microwave stirring every 30 seconds. Dip cookies in the coating and place on wax paper to set up. Add mini chocolate chips for the eyes. Very fun for the kiddos!

Chicken Alfredo

I got this recipe out of the last Healthy Cooking magazine. I wanted to try it since it was made from scratch ingredients. I changed it a little by using less garlic, but if you like garlic, I say go for it all! It was delicious! The only problem was that we did 1 1/2 x's the recipe and it made way too much for us and our company. We ate it for another 2 days after that!

Makeover Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

1 pkg (16 oz) fettucine
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 T Italian seasoning
6 garlic cloves, minced, divided
3 T reduced fat butter, divided
1/2 lb. sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 C fat free milk
1 C half and half cream
1 1/2 C (6 oz) shredded reduced fat Colby Monterey Jack cheese
3 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/2 C reduced fat sour cream
1/4 C plus 3 T shredded Parmesan cheesee, divided

1. Cook fettucine according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook the chicken, Italian seasoning and 2 garlic cloves in 1 T butter until chicken is no longer pink; remove and keep warm.

2. In the same skillet, saute mushrooms and onion in remaining butter until tender. Add remaining garlic; saute 1-2 minutes longer. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until blended; gradually add milk and cream.

3. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Add the Colby-Monterey Jack cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, 1/4 C Parmesan and reserved chicken; cook and stir until heated through.

4. Drain fettucine; serve with sauce. Sprinkle each serving with 1 t of remaining Parmesan cheese.

It was a Philly night...philly cheesesteaks, that is!

Seriously a great meal for when you are craving some meat!

Philly Cheese Steaks

thinly sliced beef (this time we used beef that was already pre-cut for stir fry...worked great)
1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper
1 onion

handful or two of mushrooms, chopped
provolone cheese
garlic pepper

salt

Cut up bell peppers and onions into thin slices. Chop up mushrooms into slices or large dices. With olive oil saute them together until tender, adding salt and garlic pepper to spice. Remove from pan. Cook your meat until nearly done and then add in the veggies. You can always test it if it needs more spices too. Once this is done, open up french rolls on a cookie sheet but try not to separate completely and broil until toasted. We then take it out, add the meat and veggie mix and top with the provolone cheese and put it back in the broiler to melt the cheese. Take it out, add a little A1 (if you like it) and smear some good ole mayonnaise in the bread...mmmm.

Basic Baking Mix and Pancakes recipes

Homemade pancake mix...I have been thinking about doing this for a while, so I am giving myself a deadline: this weekend. I love this stuff! It has been a while since I have made it and I just need a little kick in the pants to get it done so I can enjoy all the yummy goodness! Make sure you grab a big bowl because the basic baking mix makes 13 cups.

Basic Baking Mix

9 C all purpose flour
1/3 C baking powder
1 C plus 2 T instant or non-instant milk powder
4 t salt
1 3/4 C shortening

Combine flour, baking powder, milk powder and salt, stir to mix well. Cut in shortening with two knives or work with fingers until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Store at room temperature in a tightly covered container for 4-6 months or in the freezer up to 1 year. Stir lightly before measuring. Do not pack down in measuring cup. Makes 13 cups.

Busy Morning Pancakes & Waffles

1 t sugar (I confess, I use about 1/4 cup to get it to taste right)
2 C basic baking mix
1 egg, beaten
1 C water or milk

Stir sugar into Basic Baking Mix. Stir egg into water or milk then stir into sugar and Basic Baking Mix until moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Cook as usual. We like to use reall butter when cooking them. They are so light and fluffy, you will not want to go back to the package mix from the store!

Candy Cookie Cups

I can't believe I forgot about these for so long! They are seriously some of my favorite treats and so easy to make! Taken from a magazine from somewhere, recipe by Sarah Vasques.

Candy Cookie Cups

1/2 C finely chopped macadamia nuts
1 pkg (18 oz) individually portioned refrigerated white chip macadamia nut cookie dough
24 miniature peanut butter cups

Sprinkle macadamia nuts into 24 greased miniature muffin cups, 1 teaspoon in each. Cut each portion of cookie dough in half; place each half in a muffin cup. Bake at 325 degrees for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately place a peanut butter cup into each cookie; press down gently. Cool completely before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 dozen.