Tangy Cucumber Salad

This salad is one I make frequently, once I am able to buy locally grown tomatoes. This salad was a part of our 4th of July cook out yesterday !!!

2 small cucumbers, thinly sliced  {I always use one english cucumber}
2 medium tomatoes, chopped 
1 small onion, diced {I prefer a shallot}
Combine the above in a bowl...Then mix up the dressing ingredients:
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp oregano

Pour over the cucumber mixture and toss. Cover and refrigerate for several hours.

Turkey and Swiss salad

I just made one of my favorite summer salads for the cook out this afternoon. This is one of the easiest salads to put together and I love it that there is no mayo in it , when you have to serve it outside.

I am just guessing at the measurements..... add as much or as little of the ingredients as you like!

 Half of a 1# box of elbows {or any pasta you love... I used Pipettes!}-cooked & drained
1 slice oven roasted deli turkey , sliced 1 inch thick, then diced up
4 oz. swiss cheese, diced
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrots
1 jar diced pimentos, drained
1/2 cup Italian dressing

Mix all together , then chill... I use my favorite salad dressing which is Garlic Expressions, that I buy at Hannaford ... and we fight over the cloves of garlic in the bottom.....

Candy bar Chocolate Chip cookies

This recipe makes a BIG batch but they will be gone before you know it!

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
Cream together with mixer till well blended . Then add
2 eggs, beating after each
1 tsp vanilla
Then comes all of the dry ingredients... slowly add them, mixing well after each addition:
2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats, that you pulverize in food processor ,till powder like
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
12 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips
4 oz. Hersheys chocolate bar, finely grated {I toss it in the Vita Mix!}
1 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

When well combined, roll into small balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheets 2 inches apart.

Bake at 375 degrees for 6 min. Remove from cookie sheets and cool on racks..

Italian Chicken Soup

This soup is one of my favorites... not just because it is super easy or because it so delicious. It is one of my favorites because it has a history. I came across a similiar recipe in a magazine 25 years ago and with some tweaking, made it my own. It became my sister Bonnie's favorite soup. She battled breast cancer for 12 years. In the final years when eating was often difficult, she would request this soup , sometimes several times a week. This is not your typical chicken soup but I believe it has comparable healing qualities!!!
A friend had surgery yesterday so this is what I took over for their dinner today. The all powerful quick and easy chicken soup!!!!!

In 2 Tbsp. of olive oil  saute
2 chicken breasts that have been cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced 
until the veggies are tender and the chicken is done.
Then add:
1 tsp basil
1 cup water
1 can chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer , covered for 5 minutes. Add
1 cup frozen corn
1/3 cup vermicelli, broken into pieces
 Cover and simmer 10 minutes more

 Garnish with grated Italian cheese ...

Upside Down Rhubarb Cake

It's spring in northern New York and the rhubarb is plentiful!!! My friend Donna brought me some of the smallest, sweetest rhubarb I have ever had. I came across this recipe and decided to give it a try and after having a piece, I think this is my new favorite rhubarb recipe!!!!

Crumb topping:
4 Tbsp. butter, melted then add
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
dash of salt
Combine until crumbly... set aside

Butter a 9 inch round cake pan, then cut up  4 Tbsp. of butter and place them all over the bottom of the cake pan.

In bowl, combine 3 cups rhubarb, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
and 3/4 cup sugar.
Let stand a few minutes.

In another bowl combine
1 stick of butter, softened
1 cup sugar
with electric mixer until  it is pale and fluffy then add
1/2 tsp orange zest
1 Tbsp. orange juice.
When combined add
2 eggs, one at a time
Then mix in:
 1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
dash salt
When that mixture is well incorporated fold in
1 cup sour cream
until it is well combined.

Put the rhubarb mix on top of the butter in the cake pan. Carefully spread the cake batter over top. Then sprinkle the crumb topping on last.
Bake at 350  about an hour till the center tests clean with a toothpick. 

 Let cool for ten minutes then invert on a wire rack to cool.

Snickerdoodles!!!

Isn't it funny how a taste, a smell , even a sound, can take you back decades in a flash?? Well that's what baking and eating snickerdoodles does for me. It is one of the cookies that I remember that my grandmother, Mema, made all of the time.  If I was lucky to be at her home when she was baking, then I got to eat one when they were warm!!! Now that I am all grown up , and the boss of me, I always get to eat the warm cookies !!!!
I do not have Mema's recipe, but this is the one that I have used for years. It is quite different because it uses butter and crisco. I am sure Mema's were made with just crisco because fifty years ago , that is what people used when they baked!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
In small bowl combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp. cinnamon . Set aside to roll the cookie balls in .
In large bowl combine
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup crisco
1 1/2 cups sugar
Beat with electric mixer at medium speed  until light and fluffy.
Add
2 eggs, one at a time, until well combined.
Reduce speed to low and add
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Just mix until all the dry ingredients are combined.
Roll 2 Tbsp. dough  into a ball, then roll into the sugar/cinnamon mix until coated on all sides.
Put on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.
Bake 10-12 minutes until edges are beginning to brown ... centers will be soft ....
Let cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before putting on a rack to cool.

Chicken and Spinach Lasagna

I was so anxious to try this new recipe I had just come across, that it did not matter that it was warm and sunny outside.  It was the perfect day for grilling, but instead our meal came from a crock pot!!!

1 pkg. [10 oz.] frozen chopped spinach, thawed and water squeezed out of
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 cups matchstick carrots
2 [10 oz.] packages refrigerated Alfredo sauce
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp pepper
4 cups Italian blended cheeses, shredded
uncooked lasagna noodles
1/4 cup fresh basil

Combine spinach, chicken, carrots, Alfredo sauce, soup, broth, pepper and 3 cups of the cheese.
 Put a quarter of the sauce in a greased 6 quart crock pot. Then put a layer of uncooked lasagna, breaking them to fit. Repeat layers two more times, then end with a layer of the sauce. Sprinkle the 1 cup of cheese over the top.
Cook on Low for 3 1/2 hours until noodles are soft and the mixture is bubbly and browning around the edges. Remove cover and cook for 30 more minutes. Sprinkle with fresh basil before serving..

Okay... I used my 6 quart crock pot but this was done in closer to 3 hours... than 3 1/2 and the bottom was pretty crunchy. It also only filled the crock pot maybe a little more than half way. The next time I think I will make it in the 4 quart crock pot and hope that the bottom doesn't brown !  I did not use matchstick carrots but instead cut small carrots in small rounds. They were a little on the crunchy side. Matchstick carrots probably would have been cooked all of the way through. 

We absolutely loved this casserole!!!!  It is very rich, but so full of flavors and so easy to throw together. This is also the first time I have ever come across a crock recipe that calls for cooking with the top off for a certain period of time.