Green Bean Salad

We have a ton of green beans at our house this year. Only some of my family will eat them steamed but EVERYONE enjoys this side salad--- a great side for burgers on the grill!!! Often if I have leftover, fresh green or yellow beans, I will throw this together for the next day!



Green Bean Salad



Green beans, steamed lightly ( yellow beans can be used too)

tomatoes ( plum or cherry work well for this)

green onions

fresh mozzarella,cubed

fresh basil (optional)

Basic Salad Dressing from my last posting



Mix all together in a bowl and refrigerate for several hours or overnite. Make sure to include some dill here to enhance the flavor of the beans!!

Aunt Alice's Birthday!!

This is a special day!!! Today is our Aunt Alice's birthday!!! Anyone who knows Aunt Alice knows that she is a fantastic cook and has been an inspiration to me forever!!! They also know that Aunt Alice doesn't go ANYWHERE without bringing her favorite brand of homemade, Slovenian kielbassi-- Pittsburgh style!!!! It just wouldn't be a holiday without having kielbassi on the menu!!! Sometimes we serve it as an appetizer- cut into small rounds and heated-- sometimes as an addition to ham or turkey, or sometime as the middle of a sandwich served with fries or mac n cheese................... In any event, if you need an idea for dinner tonite, you might serve kielbassi sandwiches in honor of Aunt Alice--

the candles are optional!!! :)

basic salad dressing

With all of the wonderful fresh vegetables and fruits available now, salads are a great addition to any meal! My family loves salads at this time of year made with all kinds of garden vegetables. I have a basic dressing recipe that I found in an old cookbook a number of years ago and I adapt it for a number of differnent vegetable salads and even pasta.












Basic Salad Dressing





1/3 c. cider vinegar (white vinegar doesn't have the flavor that cider does for this recipe)


2/3 c. salad oil( I use canola oil-- heart healthy and has a good flavor for this recipe)


1 tsp. salt


1 tsp. sugar


Add any of the following to suit your own taste and to compliment the vegetables you are using:


garlic-- powder, salt or minced


onion - powder, salt or minced ( I keep minced onion on hand to add flavor when I don't have time to cut them fresh)


season salt


pepper


lemon pepper


Italian seasoning


paprika


dill


celery- dried


Hot sauce ( my daughter, Maria's favorite addition!!)


Parmesan or Romano cheese





You can adjust the seasonings to match the basic vegebles of your salad. With lettuce and/or tomatoes, I add a bit more Italian seasonings like oregano and basil. For potato salad or green bean salad, I make sure to add dill. It is a great compliment to them!!! This is even a great dressing for Pasta salad---- pasta and lots of fresh garden vegetables make for a nutritious, healthy addtion to any meal!!! Try this dressing and come up with your own family favorite combinations of seasonings!!

Stawberry-Mallow Cake Roll

One of my favorite summertime fruits is the strawberry. At this time of year, I just can't seem to get enough of these sweet, healthy berries. The posting today is a dessert that I found in a Taste of Home magazine this spring. I made it for a group of Master Gardeners that met at my house in June and it was a big hit.

Strawberry-Mallow Cake Roll

4 eggs, separated( let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes)

2/3 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 c. sugar, divided

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 cartons(8 oz. each) spreadable strawberry cream cheese

1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme

3 c. sliced fresh strawberries, divided

Powdered sugar
Chocolate syrup (optional)

1. Line a greased 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan with waxed paper and grease the paper; set aside

2.Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks until slightly thickened. Gradually add 1/4 c. sugar, beating until thick and lemon-colored. Beat in vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix well.

3.In a small bowl, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Gradually beat in remaining sugar, about 2 tbl. at a time, on high speed. Fold a fourth of the egg whites into the batter; fold in remaining whites.

4. Gently spoon into prepared pan. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool for 5 minutes. Turn cake onto a kitchen towel dusted with powdered
sugar. Gently peel off waxed paper. Roll up cake in the towel, starting with a short side. Cool completely on a wire rack.

5. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and marshmallow creme. Unroll cake; spread cream cheese mixure within 1/2 in of the edges. Top with 2 1/2 c. strawberries. Roll up again. Place seam side down on a platter. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

6. Just before serving, garnish with remaining strawberries. Serve with chocolate syrup if desired ( can't imagine why you wouldn't!! :) ) Refrigerte leftovers.

Serves 10.

Grilled Pizza

Nothing says summer like using the grill!!! This summer we discovered the technique of using the grill (ours is gas) to make individual pizzas!!! You can make your favorite crust recipe or use thawed, frozen dough. I found fresh pizza dough at a local market and found that it works very well. I usually put together a topping bar with various sauces and meats and vegetables so everyone can create their own special pizza.

Grilled Pizza

1 large pkg pizza dough-cut into fourths
pizza sauce
alfredo sauce
pepperoni
mushrooms
green pepper
olives
mozzarella cheese shredded
Italian cheese blend

Let dough out on the counter so that it warms up and is easy to work.
Shape each piece of dough into a circle.
Heat grill to a medium temperature. Spray grill with cooking spray. Place dough on grill for a minute or 2 til dough firms. Flip dough on the otherside and cook for another minute or two.
Take off of grill and put toppings on. Place dough back on the grill and put lid down over the dough till the toppings are heated through. Makes 4 individual pizzas.

This has been one of the best recipes that we have discovered this season!! and the most fun:)

Welcome!!!!

Welcome to my new Blog!!!!

On this site, I will be posting recipes--- some new, some old that I have been trying at home and at school. These recipes will be from a variety of sources: Kraft Foods website, Food TV, random food magazines or ones that are favorites of family and friends.



Hopefully you will find some interesting ideas to try for your family.

The following recipes were prepared last weekend for a friend's graduation party. Easy to do and tasty at this time of the year!!


Mozzerella Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

Cherry Tomatoes (Grape tomatoes don't work well)

Fresh Mozzerella cheese cut into pieces

Small fresh basil leaves for garnish

Scoop out the seeds of the cherry tomatoes with a melon baller. Place small piece of cheese in tomato. Garnish with basil. Refrigerate til ready to plate.

Turkey Spinach Wraps

Multi grain soft tortilla shells

Garden vegetable cream cheese spread ( you can make your own by adding seasonings to cream cheese-- use low fat !)

Red Bell pepper cut into thin strips

Deli sliced turkey

Spinach, washed and drained

Place tortilla shell on plate. Spread a bit of cream cheese mixture over tortilla. Place a few strips of pepper on the shell. Layer a couple of slices of turkey, then spinach. Roll tightly and refrigerate. Before serving, cut rolls into 1 inch circles.

We covered our serving plate with leaf lettuce and placed the Cherry tomatoes and Turkey rolls attractively .

These are GREAT heathly appetizers to serve at your next gathering!!!!