heaven and hell

Today was our annual may day celebration at school and in true mayday fashion the entire small town of Benton poured out onto the soccer field (the wet, squishy soccer field) to watch the elementary students dance to Beatles songs and see the May Queen receive her crown. Not that I was able to see any of it from the concession stand. I am the student council advisory and that means the concession stand was all mine. My feat hurt, my head hurts and I am dog tired. Normally this would mean that I am in no mood to cook. Today it made me hungry for red meat. London Broil and a beautiful vegetable strata. Unfortunately I was so hungry, I forgot to take a picture.  But the recipes are as follows.

Marinade for London broil:
1/4 cup Patron Cafe Tequila
2 tsb parsley
1tbs cilantro
1 tsp red pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1tbs worchestershire sauce
1tbs soy sauce
salt and black pepper to taste


Veggie Strata:
use a mandolin to slice all of the veggies
1/2 cup carrot
1/2 cup potato
1/2 cup leek
1/2 cup fennel bulb)
1/2 cup zuccini
1/2 cup Firm (semi ripe) roma tomato
1/4 c shredded parmesan
Hawaiian volcanic salt
1 tsp garlic powder

In a large deep 9" baking dish layer veggies. In between each layer sprinkle small amounts of cheese, and garlic powder. Sprinkle salt on top to taste. Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Bridal Shower Buffet

 For my future sister in law's bridal shower we created a tea party atmosphere with finger sandwiches and hors d'oeuvres. The buffet was a hit but I will never again make that many mini three tiered cakes. They were a pain, particularly when my dog decided to help himself to a few.

 Sausage Balls:

3 cups of Bisquick
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1 lb breakfast sausage (loose)
1/2 cup water

Directions:
combine all of the ingredients until it forms a crumbly dough. On a non stick baking sheet drop 1" balls of the dough. Make sure to roll it between your palms so that it sticks together well. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes or until light brown.
Serve!

 

Hawaiian Chicken Sandwiches:

2 small cans of chicken

1/2 cup crushed pecans

1/2 cup mayo

1 lb cooked crisp bacon, chopped

1 small can of crushed pineapple

1 loaf of marbled rye

1/2 cup onion

Combine all ingredients, reserving the bread. Spread a thin layer of chicken mixture on half of the bread, Top with the other half of the bread and slice into 's or use cookie cutters for fun shapes.

 Cheater's Spice Cakes:

1 box of Duncan Hein's butter cake mix
2 tbs of 5 spice powder

Directions:
Mix the cake batter by the directions on the box. Add in the 5 spice powder. Bake according to the box directions.  Ice if desired.

Cucumber Sandwiches:

1 large English seedless cucumber
16 slices of white bread crusts removed.
8 oz of cream cheese
3tbs of parley chopped fine
1 stick of softened salted butter
salt and pepper to taste

Slice the cucumber very thin. I use a mandolin for this.Spread 8 slices of the bread with cream cheese and 8 slices with the butter.  Place cucumbers in an even layer on the cream cheese bread slices. Sprinkle with parley and top with the buttered bread slice. Slice into 4 triangles and serve. parsley and a touch of salt and pepper and top off with a buttered slice of bread. Cut each into 4 triangles.

Cheese and Bacon Finger Sandwiches:

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1 loaf bread with crust removed

Mix:

1/2 lb. shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 lb. fried bacon
1 sm. onion chopped
1 sm. pkg. sliced almonds
1 c. mayonnaise
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Pepper to taste

Spread mix onto slice of bread and then cut into thirds. Place onto foil covered cookie sheet. May freeze until ready to cook. Cook uncovered at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Cheese Cake Wantons:

1 package wantons
2 packages of cream cheese
1.5 cups of sugar
2 tsp of vanilla extract
1 can of cherry pie filling

In a bowl combine the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Using a non stick mini muffin pan press each wonton wrapper into the muffin forms. Bake the shells for 10 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown. Cool the cups and fill with the cream cheese mixture. Put a dollop of cherry pie filling on top of each. Serve

 Walnut Chicken Salad in Wanton Cups:

1 package of wanton shells
1 large can of chicken
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 tbs parsley
8oz of cream cheese
1/2 cup minced onion

Combine the cream cheese, onion, walnuts, chicken and parsley in a bowl and set aside. Using a non stick mini muffin pan press each wonton wrapper into the muffin forms. Bake the shells for 10 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown. Cool the cups and fill with the chicken mixture.  Do Not Refrigerate! Fill these right before serving, otherwise the wontons will get soft.



Deviled Eggs:

2 dozen eggs, Hard Boiled
2 tbs mayo
2 tbs sour cream
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1tbs horseradish
Chopped chives

Cut each egg in half,  pop out the yolks into a blender. Add the mayo, sour cream, Dijon mustard and horseradish. Blend until smooth. If needed add a bit more mayo for creamy texture and a bit more Horseradish for zing.  Put the yolk mixture in a plastic zip lock bag. In a bowl of water gently wash off each egg white. Pat them dry with paper towels and place on a serving tray. Cut a small bit of corner off of the zip lock with the yolk mixture. Squeeze a generous amount into each egg shell. Sprinkle small amounts of chives on top of each egg half. Serve.

Baked Lemon Picatta Sole

1tbs butter
1 sole fillet, about 4 to 6 ounces
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons capers
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
tin foil

1.season the sole with salt and pepper and place on tin foil. Build the foil around the sole to  create a "bowl".
2.Add all the other ingredients to the tin foil "bowl".
3. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until fish is cooked.


This is my version of quick food. Some people do McDonald's or pop in a frozen Pizza. In the time it takes to get either of those I have made this wonderful fish entree.  Serve it with a baked potato or over pasta. Delicious!!

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

These were a bit of an experiment based off of a dessert I had seen a picture of in a magazine. No idea what the actual ingredients of that dessert were, only the picture was available I tried it out and LOVED it. So i decided to make these for my future sister-in-law's bridal shower. They are elegant, delicious and an instant hit!.

1 lb strawberries (as big as you can find them)
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tsp of  vanilla extract
8oz block of cream cheese


1. Wash the strawberries.
2. cut the tops off of each strawberries and reserve.
3.In a bowl mix vanilla, sugar and cream cheese.
4.With the handle of a spoon hollow out the center of each strawberry.
5. Spoon the cream cheese mixture into the center of the strawberries with a bit extra on top.
6. Place the tops back on the strawberries so that a bit of cream cheese shows.

7. Serve!

The Beginning

Stuffed Artichokes

Ingredients:

3 Artichokes (medium to large)
6oz of Herbed Goat Cheese
6oz of feta cheese
Fresh Mozzarella cheese 6 oz
2 tsp of garlic powder

1. Cut the stems off of the artichoke so that they sit flat.
2. With a pair of scissors cut the sharp tips off of each leaf.
3. Gently open each artichoke and clear out the choke (the feathery part at the center of each choke).
4. Wash the articokes in a bowl of lemon water.
5. Stuff the center of the artichoke with  2 oz of mozzarella.
6. In a bowl mix garlic powder, feta and goat cheese
7. Stuff small amounts of the cheese mixture inside of each leaf of all three artichokes.
8. Wrap each artichoke in tin foil and place on baking sheet.
9. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes.

This is a great appetizer its gorgeous to look at and simply delicious! To eat it simply peal off a leaf and eat. Note: you cannot eat the whole leaf only the thicker part at the bottom and the cheese.