FIESTA SALAD

 

Ingredients:

1can black beans

1cup salsa

2-4 tomatoes peeled and chopped

1 head lettuce 1 iceberg 0r romaine

1lb frozen corn thawed

1 ½  cups cheddar cheese shredded

1 ½ cups Monterey cheese shredded

1  tbs. oil

1  tbs. vinegar

1  tbs. minced green onion

1  tbs. finely chopped red pepper

Salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions:

Mix corn with red pepper

Mix beans with salt, pepper, vinegar, oil, and minced onions

Toss the tomatoes with the salsa

Toss the lettuce with ¾  cups of the dressing

Layer in trifle bowl:

Beans, lettuce, Cheddar, Tomatoes, Corn, Lettuce, Monteray 

Garnish with dollops of sour cream, cheddar cheese, olives or cilantro

Creamy Lime Dressing

·         2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves

·         1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

·         1 teaspoon lime zest

·         1/4 cup lime juice

·         1/2 cup sour cream

·         1 clove garlic, smashed

·         1 tablespoon honey

·         1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

·         Salt and freshly ground black pepper

·        

Blend all the ingredients except the olive oil until smooth. While machine is running, slowly drizzle in the oil until incorporated. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

WHITE CHOCOLATE and LIME SUGAR COOKIES

Ingredients:
Cookies
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
juice of 2 limes and zest of 1 lime (zest of other lime reserved for topping)

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup rolled oats (i used regular slow cooking oats)
3/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup white chocolate chips
Topping
2 cups melted white chocolate
3/4 cup toasted coconut
zest of 1 lime

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the baking powder, baking soda, flour and salt.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy with mixer. Beat in the eggs and vanilla and lime juice.

3. Add the dry ingredients and beat until just combined. Fold in the oats, shredded coconut, grated lime and white chocolate chips.

4. Drop tablespoon sized batter 2 inches apart onto parchment paper-lined sheet pans. Bake in a preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown. (ovens vary so much. the one in my apt takes nearly twice as long to cook things as recipes usually call for. Just use your best judgement.)

5. While cookies are cooling, toast coconut in a pan over medium-low heat and remove immediately when done. When coconut is cooled mix in the zest of one lime.

6. When cookies have cooled completely, melt white chocolate for topping according to directions on package.

7. Spread approx. 1 teaspoon of white chocolate on top of each cookie and while chocolate is wet sprinkle with coconut/lime topping.

BERRY CHEESECAKE

Berry Cheesecake Recipe (adapted from the Taste Of Home Magazine July 2011 issue)

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

3/4 cup cold butter

2 egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:

5 packages ( 8 ounce each) cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup half and half cream

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 egg yolk

1 cup crushed strawberries

1 cup crushed blueberries

Assorted berries for topping, optional

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and lemon peel.  Cut in butter until crumbly.  Whisk egg yolks and vanilla; add to flour mixture, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball.

Press onto the bottom and 3 in. up the sides of a greased 9-in. spring form pan.  Place pan on a baking sheet.  Bake @ 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool on a wire rack.

For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Beat in the cream, flour, lemon peel, salt and vanilla.  Add eggs and yolk; beat on low speed just until combined.

Divide batter in half.  Fold crushed strawberries and crushed blueberries into half of the batter.  Pour into crust.  Top with remaining batter.  Return pan to baking sheet.

Bake @ 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake 60-70 minutes longer or until center is almost set.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer.  Refrigerate overnight.  Remove sides of pan.

Garnish with assorted berries.

BLACK BEAN AND CORN SALSA

•  1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz) can of sweet corn, drained and rinsed
• 2 (10 oz) cans of Ro
• Rotel tomatoes and green chilies
• The juice of 3 limes ( 3 Tbsp)
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1/2 C chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2 C diced red onion

1. Drain and rinse 1 can of black beans and one can of corn
2. Mix the corn and black beans with 2 cans of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies/drained.
3. Dice the onion, chop the cilantro leaves and mix with the beans and corn.
4. Juice 3 limes and pour/squeeze over the mixture
5. Add in 1 Tbsp cumin
6. refrigerate for at least 1 hour
7. Serve with tortilla chips

NO BAKE STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE

 Ingredients

2 packages, or blocks, 8 oz each, cream cheese, at room temperature
1 – 8 oz tub cool whip, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups fresh chopped strawberries
1 – 2 tablespoons strawberry preserves (optional)
1 graham cracker crust (recipe follows) 

Graham cracker crust ingredients

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs or about 1 1/3 packages graham crackers
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar

Method

1. Place graham crackers in food processor and turn on until crumbs are very fine. Add butter and sugar and pulse until well combined. Press in a 8 inch spring form pan or 9 inch pie plate.

2. Combine all ingredients for cheesecake, except strawberries, in a large bowl and mix with hand mixer. Mix until well combined and smooth. Fold in strawberries. Spoon into pan over crust. Top with a strawberry

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE IN A JAR

 Compote:
 Slice the strawberries and cooke them with sugar.Bring them to a boil, then let them simmer about 10 minutes.  Mash the berries with a potato masher but leave chunky.

4 graham cracker squares, smashed
1 8 oz block of Philly cream cheese, room temp
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 T. half and half
1/4 t. vanilla
strawberry compote* (see above)

Mix together cream cheese, sugar, half and half and vanilla until smooth.
Use 4 small mason jars
In each jar, cover bottom with smashed graham crackers.
Top with a spoonful of cream cheese mixture.
Spread and even mixture with the back of a wet spoon.
Top with a spoonful of strawberry compote.
Repeat cream cheese and strawberries.
Top the jar with lid and store in the fridge.
*use fresh strawberries in place of the compote or blueberries or any other fruit that suit your fancy.

These go great for a picnic or camping

BANANA TREATS

To make these yummy frozen banana treats, slice bananas in half, and skewer on a stick. 

{I used corn skewers}

Then, dip in melted chocolate.

An easy and delicious recipe for dipping is:

1 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips

1/4 cup butter, cubed

3 Tablespoons Evaporated Milk

Combine and heat till mixture is smooth.

Next, sprinkle {or roll} your chocolate-coated banana with sprinkles, crushed oreos or candy bars or whatever else sounds good.  You could also get extra creative and coat the banana in peanut butter before dipping it in chocolate, etc.

After your bananas are assembled to your liking, place in the freezer.  In the name of science, we tested several of these snacks during various stages of freezing, and concluded that the bananas were nice and cold  after about 30 minutes but weren't frozen solid for several hours...and that even after a few days in the freezer, the frozen banana snacks maintained their deliciousness.

VANILLA BEAN BUTTERMILK CUPCAKE

This recipe is the best cupcake you'll ever taste. Moist and packed with flavor. Brought to you by "Sisters Cafe."

Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperture
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 scraped vanilla beans OR 2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste OR 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 for light aluminum or silicone muffin pans or 325 for dark, nonstick muffin pans.  Line about 16-24 muffin cups and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.  In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix in eggs and egg yolk one at a time and then mix in the vanilla.  Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.  Combine.  Add 1/2 of the buttermilk.  Mix.  Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients.  Mix. Add the final 1/2 of the buttermilk.  Mix and then add the final 1/3 of the dry ingredients.  Mix until combined and the batter is smooth.  Spoon out batter into lined cupcake pan, filling only halfway or just barely over halfway.

Bake for about 15-18 minutes (depending on the heat of your oven based on the type of muffin pan you have), until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out with moist crumbs.  Don’t over bake!

Remove the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enchanted Vanilla Bean Frosting

*Note: this frosting takes a bit of advance planning since the frosting needs time to cool so plan ahead! Also, the frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week. When ready to use, let the frosting stand at room temperature until softened, about 2 hours. Beat with stand mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about one minute. Chill this frosting for 30-60 minutes prior to piping.  I chilled it about 40 minutes, and it worked great!

*Makes about 4 cups frosting (plenty for two 9-inch cake layers)

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk (I used skim milk, and it was fantastic)
2 vanilla beans scraped OR 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste OR 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, cut into 24 pieces and softened at room temperature

In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Slowly whisk in the milk until the mixture is smooth. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a medium saucepan and pour the milk mixture through the strainer into the saucepan. Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture boils and is thick enough that it starts to become difficult to easily whisk. This could take anywhere between 5-10 minutes, depending on your stove, heat, etc. It should bubble quite a bit at the end (be careful of the splatters) and thicken considerably.

Transfer the mixture to a clean bowl and cool to room temperature – this is extremely important! If it is even slightly warm, the frosting won’t beat up properly. I refrigerated my initial mixture overnight. If you do this, make sure to pull it out in time to let it warm back up to room temperature. If you try to proceed with the rest of the recipe and the mixture is too cold, the butter won’t absorb into the frosting like it should.

Once the frosting is completely cooled to room temperature (it should have no hint of warmth at all!), beat the mixture with the vanilla on low speed until it is well combined, about 30 seconds (a stand mixer will work best for this). Add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat the frosting until all the butter has been incorporated fully, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and let the mixer work it’s magic. Beat the frosting for five minutes, until it is light and fluffy. Let the frosting sit at room temperature until it is a bit more stiff, about 1 hour. Chill 30-60 minutes before piping.

STUFFED FRENCH BREAD

 

 This bread is addicting with buttery, cheesy, toasted slices of goodness.

 Ingredients

1 cup shredded medium cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded parmesean cheese

1 cup shredded mozzerella cheese 

1 cup mayonnaise

1 can Frenchs= french fried onion rings

1 loaf french bread

Cut french bread down the middle evenly and lay open. Spread each half with butter.

In medium bowl stir all other ingredients and pile on each half of bread. Place on cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool a few minutes before cutting.

OREO CHEESECAKE COOKIES

 

These are very rich! You may want to remove the wrapper and put on a plate and eat with a fork. Try it with double filling Oreos too.
from Martha Stewart
What You Will Need:

• 42 Cream filled oreos (30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped.)
• 2 pounds cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1 cup sour cream
• A pinch of salt

What to Do:

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Arrange standard muffin tins with paper liners and place one whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.
3. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the cream cheese until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  
4. Gradually add sugar and beat until combined.
5. Beat in the vanilla.
6. Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating until combined.
7. Beat in sour cream and salt.
8. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.
9. Divide batter evenly among the cookie-filled cups, fillings each almost to the top.
10. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes.  Transfer tins to wire racks to cold completely.
11. Refrigerate in tins at least 4 hours (or up to overnight.)
12. Remove from tins before servings