Nachos

Warm up a can (or two--however much you need) of refried beans.  Then add the toppings you like.  Grab a bag of chips and you're done, unless you want to make it all pretty like a sunflower.  :)

Kristen and Kathryn like beans, grated cheddar, and olives, shaped into a sunflower.

Sarah likes just beans and grated cheddar, shaped into a sunflower.

Mom likes beans, salsa, sour cream, and avocado--and, yeah, she likes it shaped into a sunflower.

Dave ... would probably just eat the beans cold out of the can.  :)

I have no idea how Jeff likes them.

Dad would put all the chips out individually on a baking sheet, scoop some beans, salsa, and cheese on each one, and broil the tray until the cheese is bubbly.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Man, there's so much description around those ingredients it's hard to tell what you need! Just make sure you have:

3 chicken breasts
garlic
ginger root (1 inch)
1 orange
red bell pepper
water chestnuts
green onions
Hoisin Sauce
Iceburg Lettuce

Okay, on to the recipe! :)

2 cups, (4 handfuls) fresh shiitake mushrooms (Kathleen didn't use these and neither did I, but they would be good in here if you like mushrooms)
1 1/3 to 1 1/2 pounds thin cut chicken breast or chicken tenders (cut them into a large dice)
2 TB lightly colored oil, such as vegetable oil or peanut oil (LouAnn's Coconut Oil)
coarse salt and coarse black pepper
3 cloves garlic, chopped (minced garlic from the fridge)
1 inch ginger root, finely chopped or grated, optional (first cut off the skin, then grate using a microplane grater)
1 orange zested (using a microplane grater)
1/2 red bell pepper, diced small
small tin, 6-8 ounces, sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
2 scallions, chopped (green onions, white and green part)
3 TB hoisin, Chinese barbecue sauce (available on Asian foods aisle)
1/2 large head iceberg lettuce, core removed, head quartered
wedges of navel orange--platter garnish (Here are good instructions on how to do this. You could just use mandarin oranges if you want to, but if you're going to zest an orange, you might as well section the orange.)

Remove tough stems from mushrooms and brush with damp towel to clean. Slice mushrooms. Chop chicken in small pieces. Preheat a large skillet or wok to high. (Okay, this cooks so fast, unless you are super fast at chopping and grating and don't have any children/pets/husband/phone/wandering mind to distract you, you'd better do all the chopping and grating before heating up the pan.)

Add oil to hot pan.

Add chicken to the pan and sear meat by stir frying a minute or two.

Add mushrooms and cook another minute or two.

Add salt and pepper to season, then add garlic and ginger. Cook a minute more.

Grate zest into pan (Since I did all the grating before the cooking began, my ginger and orange zest were all mixed together and I added them with the garlic. It was all good.), add bell pepper bits, chopped water chestnuts and scallions. Cook another minute, continuing to stir fry mixture.

Add hoisin sauce and toss to coat the mixture evenly.

Transfer the hot chopped barbecued chicken (that's what this dish is really called, but I'll never remember that name, hence, Asian Lettuce Wraps) to serving platter and pile the quartered wedges of crisp iceberg lettuce along side. (Believe it or not, both Mat and I ate almost an entire wedge of lettuce with dinner--we thought for sure a whole quarter wedge would be too much, but it wasn't--and it was delish!)

Add wedged oranges to platter to garnish.

To eat, pile spoonfuls into lettuce leaves, wrapping lettuce around fillings and squeeze an orange wedge over. (There's juice that drips as you wedge your orange so catch that into a bowl and squeeze the leftover orange into the bowl as well. During the demonstration, the chicken browned a little too much and Kathleen used some orange juice to deglaze the pan which I thought was a fabulous idea.)

Mixed Berry Fruit Compote

16 oz bag of frozen berries (I used raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries)
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt (I like kosher salt)
juice of half a lemon
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Pour berries, sugar, salt and lemon juice into a medium saucepan. Over medium heat, bring to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes. This will release lots of juices. Take a few tablespoons of that juice and put it in a small bowl. Mix in the cornstarch until it is completely dissolved. Pour mixture back into the pan and cook a few more minutes, until it has thickened slightly.

Believe it or not, after googling lots of fruit compote recipes, I just made this recipe up myself. (sob) I'm so proud! :)

Pecan Pie

9-inch pie crust - unbaked

3 eggs
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter - melted
1 t vanilla
1 c pecan halves

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl with wire whisk, beat eggs well. Beat in corn syrup, sugar, butter and vanilla until well blended. Place pecan halves in single layer in bottom of crust. Pour egg mixture over pecans carefully. Bake 1 hour or until knife inserted 1 inch from edge comes clean.

I'm pretty sure I got this recipe here. I loved looking at this cookbook, but you'll have to buy it or go to Grandma's if you want to check it out. :)

Lasagna Florentine

1/4 cup minced dried onion (or grated fresh)
1 clove minced garlic (I probably use about 3 cloves)
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (not just drained, squeeze all the water out--yes, with your hands)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus more to sprinkle on top)
2 cups ricotta cheese (full fat version, please)

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 28 oz jar spaghetti sauce (I used a 24 oz jar and everything seemed fine)
3/4 cup water

1 8 oz package wide lasagna noodles, uncooked

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, combine onion, garlic, spinach, nutmeg, parmesan, and ricotta. In another bowl (a 1 quart measuring cup with a pour spout works great here), combine spaghetti sauce and water. In a 13x9-inch glass baking dish, layer 1/3 of sauce mixture, 1/2 of the uncooked lasagna noodles (I use three length-wise and break one more to fit cross-wise), 1/2 of ricotta mixture (fingers are the best tool here), and 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers, ending with sauce mixture. Cover tightly with foil. Bake 1 hour. Uncover, sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Cheesecake

from Kraft Foods

prep time: 15 min
total time: 5 hr 25 min (This does not include complete cooling before the 4 hours of refrigeration. Add several more hours for complete cooling.)
makes: 16 servings, one slice each


What You Need:
1-3/4 cups HONEY MAID Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/3 cup Margarine or butter, melted
1-1/4 cups Sugar, divided
3 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened (ONLY Philly Cream Cheese--if you're going to make a cheesecake, use the good stuff.)
1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream (I don't know about those sour creams, they aren't available at my store. They would be fine if there is only one ingredient: Grade A Cultured Cream. No other additives. I use Daisy Sour Cream. It's heaven.)
2 tsp. Vanilla
3 Eggs
1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling

Make It:
PREHEAT oven to 350°F if using a silver 8- or 9-inch springform pan (I used a 9-inch) (or to 325°F if using a dark nonstick 8- or 9-inch springform pan). Mix graham cracker crumbs, margarine and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Press firmly onto bottom and 2-1/2 inches up side of pan; set aside.

BEAT cream cheese and the remaining 1 cup sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add sour cream and vanilla; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until blended. Pour into crust.

BAKE 1 hour to 1 hour 10 min. or until center is almost set. Turn oven off. Open oven door slightly. Let cheesecake set in oven 1 hour. Remove cheesecake from oven; cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Loosen cheesecake from rim of pan; remove rim. Top cheesecake with pie filling just before serving. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.


Kraft Kitchens Tips

Substitute
Prepare as directed, using PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese. (I don't think so.)

How to Easily Cut Creamy Desserts
When cutting creamy-textured desserts, such as cheesecake, carefully wipe off the knife blade between cuts with a clean damp towel. This prevents the creamy filling from building up on the blade, ensuring nice clean cuts that leave the filling intact. (This is a good idea.)

MM Specs

Dilly Panned Summer Squash

from the 1981 Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

1 pound zucchini or yellow crookneck squash
2 tablespoons butter or margarine (or what? no, no, no--or olive oil, or coconut oil, but NOT or margarine)
1 tablespoon snipped parsley (I usually just use dried or leave it out)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried dillweed
Dash of pepper

Slice unpeeled squash (if you have the typical giant home grown zucchini, cut it in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds--and the skin is probably not very tender, so you'll want to peel it too--so learn to pick your squash while it is young and tender!) to make 3 cups (not too thin or they will be overdone and mushy). In a medium skillet melt butter or margarine (see above). Add squash; sprinkle squash with parsley, salt, dillweed, and pepper (be brave, don't measure). Cover and cook over medium-ow heat 8-10 minutes or till tender, stirring frequently. Makes 3 or 4 servings.

MM Specs