Watermelon Granitas

Taste like a watermelon snowcone!

Ingredients

• 4 cups seedless watermelon chunks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Puree until smooth. Pour into a shallow, wide pan and freeze for 1 hour. Rake mixture with fork and freeze for another hour. Rake and freeze for one more hour. Rake and serve in cups.

Watermelon Salsa

Amazing salsa!  Very refreshing.....just make sure to remove the seeds before mixing with everything.

Ingredients

• 2 cups finely chopped watermelon (do not puree)
• 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained well
• 1 cup sweet onion, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco, or to taste

Directions

1. Stir the watermelon, pineapple, and onion together with the cilantro, orange juice, and hot sauce in a bowl. Cover, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.

Amazing Cinnamon Toast :-)

Adding Vanilla makes a world of difference in Cinnamon Toast!

 

Ingredients

• 8 slices Bread (whole Wheat Is Great!)
• 1 sticks Salted Butter, Softened
• 1/2 cup Sugar (more To Taste)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoons Vanilla Extract (more To Taste)
• Small dash of Ground Nutmeg (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Smush softened butter with a fork. Dump in sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg, if using. Stir to completely combine.
Spread on slices of bread, completely covering the surface all the way to the edges.
Place toast on a cookie sheet. Place cookies sheet into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil until golden brown and bubbling. Watch so it won’t burn!
Remove from oven and cut slices into halves diagonally.

Lipton Onion Soup Mix Onion-Roasted Potatoes

The most amazing potatoes ever!

Ingredients

• 1 envelope Lipton Recipe Secrets Onion Soup Mix
• 5 red potatoes, cut into large chunks
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 425.  Put cut up potatoes into a ziplock, add olive oil and onion soup mix.  Shake well.  Pour onto medium sized greased baking sheet.  Bake, stirring occasionally, 35 minutes or until potatoes are tender golden brown.

Pasta Sausage Supper

I used a frozen blend of red, green and yellow peppers and onions. 

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package penne or medium tube pasta
• 1 pound fully cooked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 medium green pepper, julienned
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, julienned
• 1 medium onion, halved and sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (26 ounce) jar seasoned meatless spaghetti sauce, warmed

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in large skillet, saute the sausage, peppers and onion in oil until vegetables are crisp-tender. Drain pasta and set aside.  Serve pasta as the base, add spaghetti sauce and then top with sausage mixture.               

Santa Fe Grilled Chicken Soft Tacos

Amazing chicken tacos!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and pounded thin (about 4 large breasts)
• 16 taco-size soft flour tortillas

Preparation

• 1. In a small bowl, combine chili powder, cumin, paprika, red pepper, salt, pepper and brown sugar. Stir in oil; mixture will be moistened but crumbly.
• 2. Generously rub chicken on all sides with chili mixture. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to marinate (or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day).
• 3. Preheat gas grill to medium, or preheat broiler to high and set rack 6 to 8 inches from source of heat. Grill or broil chicken until firm, about 5 minutes per side. Let cool for 5 minutes, then cut into thin strips.
• 4. Serve chicken with tortillas.

Rugelach

Rugelach is a traditional Jewish food that is eaten any time of year, including, but not limited to Shabbat.  

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup all-purpose flour 
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup raisins (optional)
• 1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons orange marmalade (optional)
• 1/2 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions

1. Combine cottage cheese and 1 cup of butter in a bowl. Mix thoroughly, then gradually stir in the flour. Dough will be sticky. Divide dough into thirds and wrap with waxed paper. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
2. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
3. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup of butter with the brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans, and raisins. Set aside. Roll one ball of dough at a time to a 9 inch circle on a floured surface, while keeping the remaining dough chilled. Cut the circle into wedges.  Spread 1 tablespoon of the optional orange marmalade over the circle. Gently press 1/3 of the nut mixture into the dough.  Roll each wedge tightly, starting with the wide end. Place the cookie point-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Beat the egg white with the water in a small bowl, then brush the mixture onto each cookie.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.

Homemade Orange Marmalade

Very easy recipe! 

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Oranges
• 1 cup of sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Slice oranges into eight slices getting rid of stems and unwanted white membrane pieces.  Put oranges in a food processor and process until mush.  Add sugar and pulse to mix. 
Place mixture in an uncapped glass container (a clean glass jar works great if you've kept the lid) and place in microwave. Cook on high for 2 minutes. Stir, and cook for another minute. Stir again.
Watch carefully so the marmalade doesn't scorch or boil over and microwave for 1 minute more. Repeat a 4th time. Cool, then cap and store in the fridge.

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese courtesy of Paula Deen

This recipe is supposed to be for 12 servings,  but I adjusted the ingredients for 6 servings. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni 
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 5 ounces grated sharp Cheddar Cheese  
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan in plenty of water until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain. In a medium saucepan mix butter and cheese soup. Stir until the cheese melts. In a slow cooker, combine cheese/butter mixture and sour cream, grated cheese, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well. Then add drained macaroni and stir again. Set the slow cooker on low setting and cook for 30-45 mins, stirring occasionally.  I added more milk right before serving to have it nice and gooey!

Slow Cooker Carnitas

Watch out!  This will make your place smell delicious :-)

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 (4 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups chicken broth

Directions

1. Mix together salt, garlic powder, cumin, oregano and cinnamon in a bowl. Coat pork with the spice mixture. Place the bay leaves in the bottom of a slow cooker and place the pork on top. Pour the chicken broth around the sides of the pork, being careful not to rinse off the spice mixture.
2. Cover and cook on Low until the pork shreds easily with a fork, about 10 hours. Turn the meat after it has cooked for 5 hours. When the pork is tender, remove from slow cooker, and shred with two forks. Use cooking liquid as needed to moisten the meat.  I also then put on a baking sheet and placed in oven on 300 degrees to get it to a kind of crispy texture and bake in the yummy juices!