Southwestern Salad

1 bag romaine lettuce
1-2 packages pre-cooked grilled chicken such as Hormel
1 small green pepper (chopped)
1 samll red pepper (chopped)
1 small orange pepper (chopped)
1 small can corn
1 samll can black olives
1 ripe avacado (cubed)
1 container feta cheese crumbles
Ranch dressing

Open bag of lettuce and pour in a  large bowl. Add chicken, chopped peppers, can of corn, olives, avacado, and feta cheese. Toss and serve with Ranch dressing.

Options: Add a small can of black beans, or chopped red onion.

Enjoy!

Barb

Tempura Fish Batter

1 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
pepper to taste
2 egg whites beaten stiff
1/4 tsp. lemon extreact
1 cold can of beer
1/2 cup seasoned flour (flour, salt, pepper, & cajun to taste)

Mix ingredients together in large bowl to form batter. Place fish in seasoned flour first, and then into batter mixture. Place carefully in fryer and remove when crisp crust is formed. Serve warm with tartar sauce, lemon, etc.

Tartar Sauce

1-1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayo
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 T. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. hot sauce
1 Tbsp. worchestershire sauce
1/3 cup diced onion
3/4 cup black olives
3/4 cup dill pickled diced
1 T coarse ground pepper

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Chill. Serve with fish.

Enjoy!

Barb

I don’t know how many of you out there have visited a local Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream, but if you have, your tasty treat was prepared on granite. And why not? Granite is one of the most durable surfaces for countertops and works great not only for rolling cookie dough, or bread, but also for mixing nuts, fruit, and candy into ice cream. Unlike other countertop materials, granite can also take on some of the temperature properties of what is placed upon it, keeping the ice cream cold, or those freshly baked cookies warm.

If you stop by a Cold Stone Creamery, you will notice the “ice cream artists” chopping, cutting, and concocting your favorite ice cream creation. Yummy—I can almost taste mine (Chocolate Devotion) of course. I can’t wait to visit them again.  Otherwise—I might have to just make my own on my own granite! How about you?

Thanks for reading!

Barb

Berry Tart

Tart Crust
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup ground almonds
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
4-6 Tbsp ice cold water

Filling
1 cup (8 oz) mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup cold heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup raspberries
1 1/3 cup blueberries
1 1/3 cup strawberries – stems removed and quartered
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp berry liqueur (if available)

In a food processor, combine flour, ground almonds, salt and sugar, pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add almond extract to 4 Tbsp of ice water, then add the almond water to the flour and pulse a few times to incorporate. Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, until the dough begins to clump together. Remove the dough from the food processor and form into a ball onto a lightly floured surface. Shape the dough into a disc, 5-inches wide. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour.

Remove the dough disc from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle some flour on top of the disk. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12 inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, use a metal spatula to check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. Add a few sprinkles of flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Carefully place dough into a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Gently press dough into pan; have the dough come up 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the tart pan. Put tart pan in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Take tart pan out of freezer and poke the bottom in several places with a fork. Line with aluminum foil, with enough extra foil off the two of the sides to use for lifting. Fill with pie weights – beans, ceramic or stainless pie weights. Place a shallow baking pan on the bottom rung of the oven to catch drippings. Put the tart pan in the oven on the middle rack. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and remove the pie weights. (I lift the hot beans out by holding on to the aluminum foil and place the foil and beans into a large bowl to cool before storing.) Return the tart pan to the oven for 10-15 more minutes – bake until lightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

In a medium bowl, using a hand electric mixer or stand mixer, beat together the mascarpone, cream, and sugar at high speed until stiff peaks form, about 1 minute. Scoop mixture into tart crust, and spread so that it is level.

Combine lemon juice and liqueur into a small saucepan and heat on medium heat until well mixed. If you are using a liqueur that is not sweet, you might want to add a teaspoon of sugar. Cook down to 3 Tbsp. Put berries into a bowl and pour the marmalade mixture over the berries. Use a large rubber spatula to gently mix the berries so they are all well coated with the marmalade mixture. Use a slotted spoon to lift up the berries from their bowl and place on the mascarpone cream.

Remove the rim of the tart pan before serving. (You may need to use a knife to gently separate the edges of the tart from the pan.)

Enjoy!

Barb

German Chocolate Treasure Bars

Crust
1 package German chocolate cake
1 cup butter melted

Topping
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup coconut
1 package Nestles chocolate chunks
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 Tbsp. flour

Spray a 13 x 9″ pan with Pam cooking spray. Mix cake mix and melted butter together. Press in the bottom of the pan. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, vanilla,  flour, baking powder, coconut and chocolate chunks together. Spread over the top of the crust. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Let cool. Cut and serve.

Enjoy!

Barb

Salsa Cheese & Chiles Dip

8 oz. cream cheese softened
14 oz. can green chiles
1 cup Pace picante salsa, or other variety
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Blend the cream cheese with the chiles; mix in the salsa and cheese. Chill for 1 hour before serving. Serve with chips, or crackers.

Enjoy!

Barb

Here it is!

Barb’s Perfect Margarita

1 Shot Tequila
Club Soda
Splash of Triple Sec
1 packet Truvia, or Stevia in the Raw, or to taste. (All natural sweetener)
lemon
lime

Put salt on the rim of a tall glass. Fill with ice. Pour in tequila. Add club soda to almost the top. Add the sweetner. Stir. Add splash of triple sec. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon wedge and 1 lime wedge and then throw in drink.

Enjoy!

Barb

Happy Memorial Day to all!

Rhubarb Marshmellow Cake

3 cups chopped rhubarb
2 cups mini-marshmellows
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 box Betty Crocker yellow cake mix

Gread 13″ x 9″ pan. Put 3 cups chopped rhubarb and 2 cups mini-marshmellows on bottom of greased pan. Over this, add 3/4 cup brown sugar. Prepare yellow cake mix as directed on package. Pour over the rhubarb mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Serve with ice cream, or whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Barb

Peanut Butter Paisley Brownies

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

2. Beat butter and peanut butter in large bowl. Add sugar and brown sugar; beat well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in vanilla.

3. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt; mix into peanut butter mixture, blending well. Stir in peanut butter chips. Spread half of batter into prepared pan; spoon syrup over top. Carefully top with remaining batter; swirl with metal spatula or knife for marbled effect.

4. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares. About 36 brownies.

Subsitution: If you don’t have the chocolate syrup, try substituting chocolate chips. Just mix the chips in the dough and spread in the pan. This is how I made them, and were great!
Enjoy!

Barb

Mexican Layered Dip