Recipe collection: Frog Eye Salad

Give it a chance, it tastes better than the name eludes to ;)

Serves 12-16 – great salad to take to a picnic or backyard BBQ.

Recipe collection: Ranch Dressing & Dip (plus Crab Salad!)

Homemade Ranch Dressing & Dip

Choose one:
1-1/2 cups mayo (I can’t eat sour cream so this is what I use)
1 cup mayo + 1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp (rounded) dried chives
1/2 tsp (rounded) dried parsley
1/2 tsp (rounded) dried dill weed
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Milk to thin as needed

In a small bowl, add the mayo (add sour cream if desired), mix in all the spices and use as is for dip, or slowly add milk while constantly stirring til desired thinness is reached for salad dressing.

Let set 30 minutes to blend flavors.

Crab Salad

Super simple crab salad that my kids love -

Ranch Dressing from above
16 oz bag noodles (like small shells, corkscrews, etc)
1-2 lb imitation crab (some people like lots, some not as much)
16 oz broccoli florets

Make the dressing first, cover and keep in fridge. Cook the noodles until al dente, drain under cold running water and place in large bowl.

While the noodles cook, steam the broccoli until just tender, then drain under cold running water and place in the bowl with the noodles.

Do not let the noodles or broccoli get mushy.

Chop the crab into small bits and add to the bowl.

Pour the dressing over the top, mix in, and refrigerate for an hour or more to completely cool and allow flavors to blend.

Recipe collection: Twice Baked Potatoes

Good stuff right here, you won’t be disappointed!

4 baking potatoes – wash, wrap in aluminum foil, and baking in a 350F oven for about an hour
1 lb bacon – fry, drain, cool and crumble
1/2 c milk
4 Tbsp butter
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 green onions, sliced
Sour cream

Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl. Leave 1/4 inch of flesh on the skin. Set potato “bowls” on a baking sheet. To the potato flesh add milk, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese, 1/2 the bacon, and 1/2 the green onions. Mash the mixture. Spoon into the potato skins. Top each with remaining cheese, green onions and bacon. Bake for an additional 20 minutes. Serve immediately with sour cream if desired.

Recipe collection: Zucchini bread

I posted last year with some zucchini recipes. I recently dug the year old frozen zucchini out of the freezer and made a few loaves of zucchini bread and wanted to note that the recipe is great with thawed (and drained! don’t forget to drain it!) zucchini. I modified it slightly and it’s even BETTER. So get thee to your garden (or farmer’s market or heck, even the store!) and grate and freeze some, so you can enjoy this all winter long – warm bread on cold days is SO nice!

3 cups all-purpose flour (make it healthier with 1/2 of that whole wheat)
1 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini

DIRECTIONS

1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugars together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Recipe collection: Enchiladas

This was an instant hit. My recipe differs from almost all of the ones on the net because I can’t eat “Cream of” soups (all have MSG) or sour cream, but the family is able to add sour cream to their own servings. I use flour tortillas because one, I prefer the flavor and 2, we have a 3 year old with a corn allergy who LOVES to eat! Start this the morning of!

Amy’s Enchiladas

1 recipe Meat Filling, below
Flour (or corn) tortillas
Oil and fry pan big enough to fit 1 tortilla at a time
La Victoria Enchilada Sauce Green 28 oz
Shredded cheese
Olives

Once the meat is prepped, heat enough oil in the fry pan to make it 1/4-1/2″ deep. Pour half the sauce in a pie plate. Lightly fry each tortilla just until it’s limp, then dredge through the sauce. Place tortilla in the final pan, and add meat filling (around 1/2-3/4 cup, spread from one side to the other), then lightly roll up. Repeat. Pack as many as you can into the pan, then cover with the rest of the sauce, spreading it as evenly as possible. Cover with olives, then cheese. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

To get an idea of amounts, to serve 6, we used a little over half the meat filling recipe, around 10 tortillas, a 28oz can of sauce and 2 small cans of olives, plus a ton of cheese.

Meat filling

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 lbs pork roast or meat marked for “carnitas”
2 bay leaves
3 cups chicken broth

Place bay leaves in large pot, top with pork then sprinkle the spices evenly over the meat. Carefully so the spices stay in place, pour the broth into the pan (around the edges, in between chunks of meat). Cover, cook on lowest heat for 8 hours. After 4 hours, turn (ignore otherwise). Remove meat from juice and use 2 forks to pull/shred the meat. Juice can be added back in, a little at a time, if the meat seems dry (haven’t had to do that myself). Can be used for any dish calling for pulled pork, makes GREAT BBQ pork sandwiches.

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Recipe collection: Bread Machine Pizza Dough

I make 2 rectangle pizzas with this recipe. SO EASY!

Have your bread machine ready with paddle in place and in this order, add:

2 tsp dry yeast
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 T sugar
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 cup + 2 T water

Set your machine to dough cycle, hit start and walk away.

When it lets you know it’s done, grease a large mixing bowl, place the dough inside, turn over, then cover and let rise about 30 minutes, or til nearly double.

Next, knead the dough lightly, let rest 5-10 minutes then roll out to your pan shape/size.

Add your toppings and bake in a 400F oven for 8-20 minutes (depends on your toppings, so keep an eye on it!)

Let your pizza rest for 5-10 minutes after baking to let any cheese “set” and not be runny. Enjoy!