Candied Walnut Salad

• Share

Candied Walnut Salad

courtesy of sisterscafe.com

2 heads of leafy greens; 1 can be a bag of spinach (1 bag of spinach and a head of Romaine or just 2 heads of Romaine)
3/4 c. Craisins
2 crisp apples
Orange juice (enough to toss apples in to prevent browning and add a little flavor)
2 oz. blue cheese or Gorgonzola
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1/4 c. sugar

Combine walnuts and sugar in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir constantly. After a few minutes, the sugar will liquify. Pay close attention; at this point stir to cover walnuts with the sugar coating. The syrup will begin to darken and will coat the nuts. When they reach a golden brown color, remove from heat. Stir occasionally as the nuts begin to cool. After a few minutes, spread candied nuts onto a greased piece of parchment or wax paper or a greased cookie sheet and allow to cool completely. Set aside.

Chop apples and toss in orange juice.

When ready to serve, toss lettuce, cranberries, walnuts, apples, and blue cheese in a large bowl. Toss with the dressing. (FYI – You may not want to toss the entire salad with the dressing if you think you will not eat all of it. The dressing will wilt any leftovers.)

Honey Red Wine Vinaigrette

1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1/2 c. honey
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 c. canola oil

Mix In a blender.

Stromboli

You will need one defrosted Rhodes bread dough rolled out to roughly a 9x13 size, cornmeal, salami slices, sliced deli ham, large pepperoni slices, grated mozzarella cheese, provolone slices, Italian seasoning, olive oil and water.

Start by layering the meat--ham, salami and pepperoni, then sprinkle with a little Italian seasoning.

Follow that with the provolone slices and shredded mozzarella. Give it another little sprinkle with Italian seasonings.

Fold over dough and wet edges with water.

Once completely sealed, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. Transfer to baking sheet cornmeal side down. Then repeat with the top side--brush with olive oil and sprinkle with cornmeal.

If you have big hungry family of boys like me, you will need to make two:) It is really good and goes fast, trust me!

Bake in a 375 preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce and enjoy! My favorite sauce is a 5 Minute Marinara found here.

Stromboli

Rhodes bread dough

1/4 lb ham, sliced

1/4 lb hard salami slices

1/4 lb large pepperoni slices

1/4 lb provolone

1-2 cups mozzarella cheese

1 tsp Italiam seasoning

olive oil

cornmeal

Set out bread dough to thaw. Once thawed, spread the dough out on a cookie sheet or silpat (which works perfect). Layer the ham and then the salami and pepperoni along the middle of the dough going lengthwise. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp each of basil and oregano then layer on cheeses. (I used approximately 1 cup shredded mozzarella but it’s entirely up to you how much you want!) Sprinkle with remaining basil and oregano. Wet edges of the dough and fold over the long edges and roll up the ends. Brush olive oil over dough and sprinkle lightly with corn meal. Carefully flip stromboli over and repeat on other side. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes. Serve with hot marinara sauce for dipping. Enjoy!

courtesy of the sisterscafe!

My fabulous homemade potato salad

6 Red potatoes, boiled, peeled and cubed

3 tsp pickle relish

1 sm onion, finely chopped

3 stalk celery , finely chopped

2 tbsp vinegar

4 tbsp oil

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tbs sugar

2/3 cup mayo

Combine potatoes, relish, onion and celery in a large bowl.

Blend well the vinegar, oil, salt, pepper and sugar, then mayo

Pour over potato mix and refrigerate.

KFC cole slaw

No joke it tastes the same!

The quick version:

1 bag coleslaw mix-regular size

family size bags need about 1 1/2 of the dressing

Dressing:

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup mayo

1/4 cup buttermilk (reg milk works fine also)

1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar

2 1/2 tbs lemon juice

Mix it all and pour on coleslaw mix and refrigerate several hours before using.

Sour cream chocolate chip cake

Sour Cream-Chocolate Chip Cake

Cake:

3 cups cake flour

1 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used Milk Chocolate)

Glaze

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut up

2 tablespoons corn syrup

1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Garnish

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips ( I used a chocolate bar)

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Spray 9 1/2 - or 10 inch tube pan with fixed bottom and 3 3/4-inch-highsides with nonstick cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment paper; spray paper.

2. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until blended.

3. In large bowl, beat eggs and sugar at medium speed 2 minutes or until thick, fluffy and lightened in color. Beat in oil and vanilla at low speed until blended. Beat in flour mixture just until blended. Beat in sour cream until blended. Stir in 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips. Spoon batter into pan.

4. Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until wooden skewer inserted in center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. (If toothpick penetreates chocolate chip, test another spot.)

5. Cool in pan on wire rack 15 minutes invert cake onto wire rack; remove parchment. Leave bottom-side up for glazing; cool completely.

6. Meanwhile, heat cream, butter and corn syrup in medium saucepan over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes or until butter melts and mixture is hot. Remove from heat; add bittersweet chocolate chips. Let stand 1 minute. Stir until chocolate melts and glaze is smooth. Let stand at room temperature until slightly thickened.

7. With small spatula, spread glaze over top and sides of cake. Let stand 30 minutes or until glaze is set. Press 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips onto sides of cake. (Cake can be made up to 1 day ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.)

Homemade Chalupa's

Homemade Chalupas

• 4 c. flour
• 1 1/2 t. salt
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 c. evaporated milk
• 1 c. water
• 3 t. oil
• Additional oil for frying

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the evaporated milk, water and 3 t. oil. Stir until combined then form into a ball with hands. Knead for 2 minutes and let rest at least 15 minutes. You can make this ahead of time and then leave the dough in the refrigerator until dinner time. Just let it come to room temperature before rolling.

2. Divide dough into 8-10 pieces and roll out into circles the size of taco-sized tortillas. While rolling out the dough, heat an inch of oil in a small skillet.

3. Add the dough to the hot oil one at a time. Cook until brown and crispy, about 3 minutes per side. Fill with desired taco fillings and enjoy!

Potato-sausage foil packs

1 pkg turkey kielbasa, sliced

2-3 large potatoes, cut into wedges

1 green, yellow and red pepper cut into 1 inch pieces

1 onion, chopped

4 tsp lemon juice

4 tsp EVOO

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp salt

Divide the sausage, potatoes, peppers and onion among 4 double lined foil sections-about 12x18 inches. Drizzle with lemon and oil. Sprinkle seasoning.

Fold the foil and seal tightly. Grill, covered, over med heat for about 30-35 min or until potatoes are tender.

Open carefully to allow steam to escape.