Pickle Dip

Dill Pickle Dip
recipe from Foodie with Family
1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened to room temperature 
1- 1 1/2 cups chopped dill pickles (I used my mini food processor - it was a snap!)
1/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion 
2- 4 tablespoons pickle juice (use less for thicker dip or more for thinner dip) 
1 teaspoon dried dill weed 
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Use a wooden spoon to press into the cream cheese then stir until loosened up and smooth. Stir in all of the remaining ingredients until evenly distributed. Transfer to a serving dish and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. 

This dip is good for up to a week when stored tightly covered in the refrigerator. It may become thinner as the week draws to an end.

Mashed Potatoes - Make Ahead!

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

5lb potatoes

1 egg

1/2tsp garlic powder

3tbs butter/margarine (softened)

1tsp salt

8oz cream cheese (softened)

Peel and quarter potatoes.  Cook in h2o till tender.  Drain Well.  In cooking pan or LARGE bowl, combine remaining ingredients and mix with electric mixer till smooth.  Freeze in Quart size baggies.  Reheat in Microwave until warm.  You may add cheese and or more garlic salt  mid way through micro waving.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Roll

Ingredients

• CAKE
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar (plus extra for rolling)
• 2/3 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
• FILLING
• 1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)

Directions

FOR CAKE:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with granulated sugar.

COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.

BAKE for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. (If using a dark-colored pan, begin checking for doneness at 11 minutes.) Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

FOR FILLING:
BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

COOKING TIP:Be sure to put enough granulated sugar on the towel when rolling up the cake so it will not stick. 

Northern Minnesota Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Northern Minnesota Chicken Wild Rice Soup

3 (10 ounce) cans condensed chicken broth
2 cups water
1/2 cup wild rice
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 cups half-and-half
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken (rotisserie or smoked the best)
8 slices cooked bacon
2 tablespoons dry sherry
½ cup minced celery

½ cup minced carrots
water, if needed

Directions:

Sauté chicken with light seasoning, 4 minutes each side until lightly browned

Set aside chicken and keep warm

In same pan sauté sweet onion in tablespoon butter until golden brown

In separate stock pot, combine broth and water

Add wild rice and onion

Simmer, covered, 35-40 minutes until rice is tender

In saucepan, melt butter on low heat and stir in flour, salt, chicken seasoning and pepper.
Stir constantly, to prevent burning, until smooth and bubbly.
Add half and half and cook until thickens-about 2 minutes.

Slowly add half and half mixture to the rice, stirring constantly.
Add remaining ingredients, stirring until thoroughly heated.

Add water at the end if you find this to be too thick

Artichoke Zucchini Boats

Artichoke Zucchini Boats

6-8 lg. zucchini

1 can drained artichoke hearts (diced)

1 cup mayonnaise

1tsp minced garlic

1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Fresh cracked black pepper to taste

 Slice each zucchini in half lengthwise. Place in boiling water 5 minutes to soften. Scoop out each half to form hollow "boats". (Discard insides of zucchini or place in freezer for zucchini bread.)

In a bowl place artichoke hearts and remaining ingredients.  Mix well and place in prepared zucchini boats.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Crockpot Chicken Supreme

You can substitute different types of cheese and different flavors of condensed soup to change the flavor of this fabulous, easy slow cooker recipe.
Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours

Total Time: 6 hours, 15 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

5 slices bacon
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
10 oz. can condensed cream of chicken soup OR 10 oz. jar four cheese Alfredo sauce
4 oz. jar sliced mushrooms, drained OR 1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup diced Swiss or Havarti cheese
Preparation:

In large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet and drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon and set aside in refrigerator.
In bacon drippings in skillet, cook chicken over medium heat 3-5 minutes or until light brown, turning once. Place in 4-6 quart slow cooker. Top with mushrooms. In skillet, heat soup and pour over mushrooms and chicken. Cover and cook on low setting for 4-5 hours, or until chicken registers 160 degrees F on a meat thermometer.

Top chicken with cheese slices and sprinkle with bacon. Cover and cook on high for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Note: I've recently started cooking this dish using frozen chicken breasts. Brown them, as directed, in the bacon drippings, then cook on low for 6-8 hours, until no longer pink in the center.

Zucchini Boats

ZUCCHINI BOATS

6-8 lg. zucchini 2 c. mozzarella, grated 1 onion, chopped 2-3 Italian sausage, mild (browned & drained) 1 egg 1/2 c. Progresso bread crumbs Parmesan cheese Slice each zucchini in half lengthwise. Place in boiling water 5 minutes to soften. Scoop out each half to form hollow "boats". Combine zucchini pulp with cheese, onion, egg, bread crumbs and sausage; mix well. Spoon into boars. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls

Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls

Recipe by Sue Doeden O suedoeden@gmail.com

1 bunch romaine lettuce, leaves separated 1 bunch fresh mint leaves
and ribs removed 2 avocados, ripe but firm, peeled, sliced

2 to 3 carrots, cut into long matchsticks thin
1 red bell pepper, seeds removed, cut into Cooked brown rice or quinoa, optional

matchsticks 12 round rice papers 8 ounces mung bean sprouts

Prepare all vegetables, sprouts, mint leaves and avocados and set aside.

Pour lukewarm water into a large shallow dish. A large pie plate works well. One at a time, soak rice sheets in warm water to soften. It will take just 20 to 30 seconds.

Lay a rehydrated rice sheet on a clean kitchen-towel covered work surface. Working quickly, place a lettuce leaf at the edge nearest to you, leaving about 1 inch to fold over. Place a mixture of the carrots, peppers, sprouts, mint leaves and avocado on top. Add rice or quinoa, if desired.

Fold the edge nearest to you over the filling, tuck in the sides, and roll up tightly.

Place filled rolls on a plate and cover with plastic wrap so they don’t dry out. Serve with Peanut Dipping Sauce or dipping sauce of your choice. Makes 12 spring rolls.

1⁄4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated ginger, or to taste 2 tablespoons honey
Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until smooth and creamy.

Peanut Dipping Sauce

􏰀Once the package of rice papers is opened, store it in a zip-top plastic bag in the cupboard where the papers will last for several years. I speak from experience.

Tips from the cook

􏰀Cooked shrimp is a nice addition to these Spring Rolls.􏰀Heat up the Peanut Dipping Sauce with a bit of chili paste or sriracha.

Apple Crisp

Crispy Apple Crumble Recipe

Yield: 2 servings

2 Granny Smith apples, cored and diced
2 tbsp Brown sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon (I much prefer grating a cinnamon stick with a microplane to get the most potent fragrance)
2 tbsp / 30g / 1oz. cold butter, cut into cubes

Topping:
½ cup oats
½ cup flour
1/4th cup granulated sugar
1/4th cup brown sugar
1/4th cup walnuts, chopped
5 tbsp / 75g / 2.65 oz. cold butter, cut into cubes

Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.

In a bowl, toss together apple, brown sugar and cinnamon, until well coated.

Grease an ovenproof dish with butter and transfer the apples to it. Dot with cold butter. Set aside.

In another bowl mix together the ingredients for the topping. Cut the butter into the mixture with a pastry cutter. Refrigerate this for about 10 minutes if you’ve got the time.

Spread chunks of the topping mixture over the apples and bake for 35-40 minutes until the apples are done.

If the apples are rather juicy, you might have to drain off the excess juices halfway through baking.

Sneak in a few bites while still in the oven, under the pretext of making sure there isn’t too much liquid in there.

Serve the apple crumble with vanilla icecream with caramel sauce or even better, Dulce de Leche.

Pesto Cheese Blossoms

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Prep Time:

20 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

--

Level:

Easy

Serves:

15 to 20 servings

Ingredients

• 1 (8-ounce) package sliced provolone cheese
• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 20 pistachios, shelled
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 ounces oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

Directions

Line a medium bowl with plastic wrap, leaving enough overhang to cover the top. Reserving 3 slices of the provolone, line the bottom and sides of the bowl with the remaining provolone, overlapping the slices. For the cream cheese layer, process the cream cheese, pistachios, and 1 of the garlic cloves in a food processor until blended; scrape the mixture into a bowl and set aside. For the pesto layer, process the basil, parsley, pine nuts, and the remaining garlic clove in the food processor until blended. Dissolve the salt and pepper in the olive oil and mix well.

With the machine running, add the oil in a fine stream. Scrape this mixture into a second bowl and set aside. For the tomato layer, drain the tomatoes, reserving the oil. Puree the tomatoes with a small amount of the reserved oil in a food processor. Spread some of the cream cheese mixture over the cheese slices lining the bowl. Layer the pesto mixture, half of the remaining cream cheese mixture, the sun-dried tomato mixture, and then remaining cream cheese mixture in the bowl. Cover with the remaining provolone. Bring the edges of the plastic wrap together over the top and secure with a twist tie. Freeze until firm. Remove the plastic wrap and invert the mold onto a serving platter. Serve with party crackers. This will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

Banana’s Foster

Banana’s Foster

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

3 1/2 tablespoons rum

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 bananas, peeled and sliced lengthwise and crosswise

1/4 cup pecans

1 c crushed vanilla wafers

1 pint vanilla ice cream

Directions

In a large, deep skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in sugar, rum, vanilla and cinnamon. When mixture begins to bubble, place bananas in pan. Cook until bananas are hot, 1 to 2 minutes. Place vanilla wafers and pecans in bottom of serving dish. Top with vanilla ice cream and Banana’s Foster. Enjoy!