Salsa

 I've been making this recipe for years. My friend's Dad gave it to me when I was in high school, and I adapted it a little over time. It won second prize in a contest a few years ago! 

If you prefer to make it from all fresh ingredients, you can. Just sub chopped fresh tomatoes (seeded) and leave out the tomato sauce. 

Salsa:

1/2 to 1 green bell pepper (or a can of diced green chilis)

1/2 large onion

2 cloves garlic

Jalapenos to taste (fresh or canned will work)

Cilantro to taste

Salt

Lime juice

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 small can tomato sauce

Last time I made it, I added about 1/2 tsp each of whole coriander and cumin seeds to the food processor. Delicious! 

Cut vegetables and put in bowl of food processor - process until roughly diced. Add to tomatoes and tomato sauce in a bowl. Stir in 1 tsp salt and 1 Tbsp lime juice. 

Let sit for at least one hour before using. Makes one quart.

I've made this using the food processor or by hand, using fresh tomatoes or canned, and it's always great! I usually add more garlic and cilantro. Experiment to your heart's content!

Lefse

 

Our recipe:

Mix up 8 servings of instant potatoes:

2-2/3 cups potato flakes

2-2/3 cups water

1 cup milk

salt and butter per directions on box.

While potatoes are still warm, add flour as needed till stiff, but not too dry. Use the Kitchenaid or don’t, it’s up to you. (opinions differ)

Roll thinly into circles (you will need plenty of flour to keep from sticking, and roll it on a dishtowel, not marble or countertop, because it sticks to those.), and cook on a hot, dry iron pan(stove on medium-low to medium). Dump out the accumulated flour from time to time. They should have brown spots on them but not burn. As they are done, put on a plate covered by a damp towel so they don’t dry out.

Serve with butter and sugar. Store leftovers in the fridge covered by the damp towel – check the towel and keep it damp.

 This recipe made a ton. If you have less people you could reduce the recipe.

If any of you remember anything I forgot, please let me know and I will update this.

 11/2010 We used 3-1/2 cups plus a little more flour.

 This made about 20 very large (larger than usual) lefse.

NOTE: we rolled it on the countertop, because we thought using a dishtowel sounded rather silly, and also because we don't own the right kind of dishtowel, and also because our dishtowels smell like Bounce and we didn't want the lefse to taste like Bounce. Our bare, clean countertop worked great.

 12/24/10 we used 4+ cups of flour.

 We stopped at 22…I think it would have made 30 or more!

 I really think the skillet we use (flat round cast iron) and gas stove make a big difference.

Caramel Apple Dump Cake

If I ever enter another dump cake cobbler contest, this is what I will make! This was a hit at Thanksgiving and many times since.

Ingredients:

2 cans apple pie filling
1 box cake mix - spice or vanilla flavored
1 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 c pecans, halves or chopped


Dump pie filling, caramel sauce and cinnamon in a 9x13 pan. Mix and spread evenly.

Dump cake mix over apples and carefully spread evenly.

Sprinkle pecans evenly over all.

Pour melted butter on top and spread evenly as needed.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes until top is golden.

Easy Vanilla Ice Cream

This is THE easiest ice cream recipe ever. It also happens to be my favorite, because I love condensed milk!

You can upgrade it with any kind of flavor you want.


Ingredients:

4 cups of half-and-half
1 can (14 oz) Sweetened condensed milk
2 Tbsp vanilla extract

Mix ingredients well and add to your ice cream freezer. Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.

ENJOY!!!

Dijon Cream Sauce

I had a lot of mustard in my fridge and went looking for a recipe to use it. This is adapted from a couple I found. Everyone loved it and asked for it to be a "keeper". What I'm posting here is a double of the original recipe, and was barely enough for the 6 of us. Next time, I'll double this!

I served it with ground beef patties; the original had it with steak. I used the pan I browned the beef patties in. I think it really added to the flavor.

Brown 6 beef patties and remove to the oven to finish cooking (about 20 min at 350).

Deglaze the pan with 2 T sherry.

Add to the pan:

2 green onions (reserve top 2 inches of green part), chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

Saute for about 30 seconds.

Add 2 cups beef broth. Bring to a boil for about 5 minutes.

Add:
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sherry
1/4 cup dijon mustard

Boil until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Serve over beef patties.

Serves 6

Oriental Noodles

This is a recipe I created based on many others we've tried. Usually I just throw it together, and it's different every time. Last time I made it, I wrote it down so I wouldn't forget! This is a great version, although I will probably tweak it every time I make it.

2 pounds ground pork
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 banana peppers, chopped (or about 1/4 cup any chopped mild pepper)
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 Tablespoons sesame oil, or more to taste
1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
6 Tablespoons soy sauce
6 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 packet Splenda (or 2 tsps sugar)
1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
2 cups chopped spinach, kale or cabbage (or combination)

1 pound angel hair pasta

Brown ground beef in olive oil, making sure to chop finely. Add vegetables and sesame oil and stir-fry until veggies are tender and meat is completely cooked through.

Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients besides greens. Whisk together.

Just before serving, stir in uncooked greens (they will wilt beautifully from the heat of the dish) and sauce. Stir into pasta, or serve on top or alongside.

Award Winning Bread Pudding

 This is my own bread pudding recipe, after tweaking the one I originally got from a friend. This evolved over time, starting out as a way to use up leftover hamburger buns from the high school concession stand.  I played with the original recipe quite a bit - more eggs, less milk, more vanilla. This version won First Prize in the Desserts division of a cooking contest! Several people who have never liked bread pudding, like this recipe.

Enjoy!

1 loaf of bread (your choice. We've even used stale hamburger buns. My go-to is the $1 French loaf from Walmart.)

6 eggs
1-1/4 cups of Sugar
4 cups whole milk
1 Tbsp pure vanilla

1/2 stick real butter (I use salted), melted

Break the bread into small pieces, and put it in a deep 9 by 13 baking dish. Mix eggs, vanilla,
sugar, and milk well with a mixer or whisk. Pour over the bread. Melt half stick of butter and pour over bread mixture. Press bread into the pan to absorb the liquid.

I believe the secret to this recipe's success is that it's extra custardy and not too sweet. So don't use too much bread. I use a little less than a whole Walmart French loaf. You might want to use less at first and add a little more if you think you need it. When ready for the oven it shouldn't look really liquidy, but there shouldn't be any bread poking out.

Bake for 50 minutes @ 350 degrees. Check with a knife and see if it's done. The knife should look shiny (from the butter).

Drizzle with sauce before serving (recipe below).

Variations: 

* Add a small handful of any flavor baking chips, about 1/2 cup. Mix in lightly before pouring custard mix over the bread.

* Cinnamon Raisin: Add 2 tsp Cinnamon to custard mix. Sprinkle 1/3 cup raisins before pouring custard. Mix in a bit and make sure they're covered by custard, or they'll burn. At the end of baking time, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and broil just until the mixture bubbles. Watch it very carefully so it doesn't burn!

* King Cake: **Reduce sugar to 3/4 cup.** Use a medium grocery-store king cake. Stale is fine. If there's not quite enough cake, fill in with small bread pieces and be sure to mix them in well!  Insert baby into the pudding after baking. When cool, drizzle with a medium-thick glaze of powdered sugar and milk. Sprinkle with Mardi Gras colored sugar. You won't need the sauce with this.

I've never done this, but you could use glazed donuts! Reduce sugar as in the king cake recipe.

Sauce:

Vanilla

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 Tsp vanilla

Melt the first three ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

The sauce can be divided in half if you're going to use it as a glaze before serving. This is how I do it for the concession stand. The full recipe is enough to spoon over each serving.

White Chocolate

Follow the recipe for vanilla sauce. When you remove from heat, add 1/3 cup white chips and stir until melted.