GRANDMA'S FRUIT SALAD

RECIPES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE THE SMARTEST, CLEVEREST AND MOST AMAZING COOK IN THE WORLD

This is one of those fruit salads that make me feel all nostolgic and sentimental because it's one that my mother used to make when we had 'company coming'. She loved to entertain and, in fact, was almost required to have business people come to dinner who worked with my Dad and who came from out of town. Dad wanted to make sure they had one of my mom's good 'home cooked' meals before they left and went back home. This was back in the days people traveled across the country by train and travel was difficult and time-consuming. Mother always made sure they were well-fed and entertained before they got back on the train to take their long ride back to Chicago or Pittsburgh or Miami or whever they came from. It was called 'hospitality' and, even though it was something she needed to do in order for my Dad to be successful in his job, she was very good at it and she also enjoyed doing it. I loved watching her and sometimes she would even let me help. My job was to open the cans of fruit and drain off the juice using a strainer. Sometimes she would let me slice up the bananas as long as I was careful with the knife, but my favorite was to lick the cream from the beaters when she had finished whipping it. She used an old-fashioned hand beater because she didn't really trust an electric mixer. She was always afraid it would whip the cream too fast and turn it into butter.

To make this salad, you will need:

2 cans fruit cocktail

1 can mandarin oranges

1 can pineapple tidbits

1 large apple, peeled, cored and cut into small chunks

1 C. sliced strawberries

2 cups small salad marshmallows (optional)

2 small bananas, cut into small chunks

1. Drain the juice from the fruit into a small bowl. Make sure the fruit is well-drained or your salad will be gloppy.

2. Put the apple chunks into the juice so they can soften while you do everything else

3. Put the fruit into a nice serving bowl, then make the dressing:

1 C. pineapple juice

3 T. lemon juice, squeezed from lemons

1 T. flour

1 egg

4. Put the above ingredients into a small saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until it comes to a bowl.

Immediately remove from the heat and allow to cool.

5. After it has cooled, fold in 1 C. whipped cream or Cool-Whip

6. Take the apples out of the juice and drain well, then add them to the other fruit in the bowl.

7. Fold in the dressing with the cream carefully.

Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serves about 6-8 people. My mother used to make a 'lettuce cup' using iceberg lettuce on a small salad plate and put the fruit salad in the lettuce. You could also serve it in small glass serving bowls or however you want to do it. I'm always surprised how much everyone LOVES this simple salad that is so easy to make. Enjoy!

PEGGY PIE (POTATO EGG PIE)

RECIPES THAT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE THE SMARTEST, CLEVEREST AND MOST AMAZING COOK IN THE WORLD

This is one of those ideas that I just had to try to see if it would work and, much to my surprise, it actually did. The reason I wanted to make this is because sometimes you don't happen to have a pre-made pie crust on hand and you don't weant to go to the trouble of actually making one, but you do want to make a quiche-type pie that is easy to put together and pop into the oven with all the ingredients you just happen to have on hand. Since most of us usually have a potato or two lurking around somewhere, it's easy to grate them, fry them up just like hash browns and pop them into a pie dish to use as your crust. Here is how I did it:

1. Wash and grate 2 good size Russet baking potatoes.

2. Heat about 2 T. oil in a good-size skillet and put in the potatoes, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Fry the potatoes on both sides until they are crispy and brown.

4. Put the potatoes into the bottom of a glass 9" pie dish.

Set aside. Then, in the same frying pan, you will:

1. Chop 1 small onion and 1/2 green pepper and slice 1 C. mushrooms

2. Add 1 T. oil to the frying pan you used for the potatoes and fry the vegetables until soft. Set aside

3. In the same frying pan, cook 1/2 lb. sausage until browned through with no pink showing. Drain well. (I use sausage if this is for breakfast, but if for dinner then I use hamburger.)

4. Add the sausage and vegetables to the pie dish on top of the potatoes.

5. Cover with 1 C. grated cheese of your choice.

Then in a small bowl, whip together:

4 eggs

1/2 C. half and half

salt and pepper to taste

1. Pour the egg mixture carefully over the cheese and vegetables.

2. Bake in a 350 degree oven until the eggs are set and the top is lightly browned, approximately 40-50 minutes.

3. Remove and serve immediately. Serves 4-6. Enjoy!

WORTH THE WAIT CAKE

RECIPES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE THE SMARTEST, CLEVEREST AND MOST AMAZING COOK IN THE WORLD

Every good cook needs a few tricks up his or her sleeve or a recipe that they can rely on absolutely and completely to come through for them and this is one of those recipes. I like it because it never fails to turn out and it's always good meaning it's hard to ruin it, even if you're a first-timer or have always had trouble getting a cake to live up to your expectations. This is one of those cake ideas that you can fall back on when you're looking for something to impress and delight when you're cooking on a tight budget and with definite time constraints. I love to make cakes probably because I love to eat cake and it's always nice to have a cake that you can count on to come through for you whatever the situation you might happen to be in. It's like money in the bank or a good friend you can call on at the last minute who will be there for you no matter what that will spice up your life which is exactly what this cake is--a spice cake or, more to the point, an apple walnut spice cake that you will love.

And so, without further ado, is the Cake that is Worth The Wait.

To begin with, you will need:
1 box Betty Crocker yellow cake mix
2 C. shredded apple (a good crisp Jonagold or Honey Crisp is good, but any good apple will do)
2 Teas. cinnamon
1 C. apple juice
3 eggs
1/3 C. oil

Make the cake according to package directions and bake in a greased or sprayed 9" X 13" pan for approximately 30 minutes. (The time will depend on your oven)

Meanwhile, in a heavy saucepan on the stove, melt together:

1 cube butter
1 cube margarine
1 C. sugar
1 teas. vanilla

Bring to a boil and then cook down. Take a small wooden stick, the kind you use to make kabobs with, and poke holes all over the baked cake when it comes out of the oven. Then pour the melted butter mixture slowly over the cake, allowing it to seep down into the holes. This makes a warm, buttery, sugary, irresistibly delicious cake.

Allow it to set for a few minutes while it absorbs the syrup, then cut the cake into 12 pieces and put them into pretty glass serving dishes.

Whip some cream (you can use Cool-Whip but it isn't as good) and put on the top. Garnish with nuts or whatever you choose. Enjoy!

CHICKEN CACCIATORE

RECIPES THAT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE THE SMARTEST, CLEVEREST AND MOST AMAZING COOK IN THE WORLD

Just saying 'Chicken Cacciatore' makes you feel like a real dyed-in-the-wool Italian. Actually, it's not as fancy as it sounds; it's just chicken and vegetables in a tomato sauce over pasta or noodles. It's easy to make but here's the thing--it just got even easier. McCormick, the company that makes spices and packaged gravies and such, has come out with these nifty little packets that have all the spices you need to make a great meal and they are all pre-measured for you along with the recipe so it's practically fool-proof. This is what the package looks like. But just in case you don't happen to have one on hand and don't see any chance of getting one in the foreseeable future, here is the recipe that is on the package. This is assuming that you already have all of these spices on hand, of course.

½ tsp. coarse ground black pepper

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. marjoram leaves

½ tsp. oregano leaves

½ tsp. crushed rosemary leaves

½ tsp. thyme leaves

You will need:

¼ C. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 lb. chicken tenders

1 T. olive oil, diluted

1 pkg. (8 oz.) mushrooms finely sliced

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

1 medium green bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1 can (14 ½ oz.) diced tomatoes

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce

1. Fry the vegetables in the oil until they are tender. Set aside.

2. In a dish or on a plate, add the salt to the flour and then add the chicken to it until it is well covered on both sides. Fry the chicken in 1 T. oil until it is lightly browned and cooked through. You will need to add 1 T. water, turn down the heat to medium-low and cover the pan for about 10 minutes to get the chicken to cook completely.

3. Add the tomatoes and sauce and the spices to the chicken. Add the vegetables. Simmer over low heat until all the flavors are well combined.

4. Serve the chicken over cooked pasta and top with Mozarella and Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE DESSERT CUPS

RECIPES FOR DAYS WHEN TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE AND YOU NEED TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT WILL NOURISH AND NURTURE WITHOUT TAKING ALL DAY LONG TO MAKEThis is a great dessert to make for a crowd of people. It's easy and looks amazing and tastes good, as well. I think that probably makes it a winner. There is just something about fresh strawberries that makes everything look better. What would life be without these sweet, juicy little berries that are so easy to take for granted because they're almost always available. I once heard a very wonderful woman say that if she ever has a chance to create her own world someday, she is going to make all the strawberries as big as a watermelon because they are her favorite thing to eat. It seems as though strawberries really do have that remarkable ability to make you feel like 'God is in his heaven and all is right with the world'. Hooray for strawberries!

First, you will need to have some small, clear (6 oz) glasses for these little desserts. You start by making some cupcakes.

You can either use a plain white cake mix, which I recommend, or here is a recipe that works well, too.

2 1/2 c. sifted cake flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. Crisco
1 tsp. vanilla
3 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. milk
2 eggs

Stir shortening to soften. Add the dry ingredients, 3/4 C. of the milk and vanilla. Mix until the flour is dampened. Beat 2 minutes with electric mixer. Add eggs and remaining milk (1/4 C.). Beat one minute longer. Pour into greased and floured muffin tins or use Pam Baking spray. You can use the cupcake papers, but you don't really need them. Bake about 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven. This recipe makes about 24 cupcakes. One thing I found is that it works much better if you use aluminum baking pans. I don't know why, but the cupcakes baked much higher and lighter. When the cupcakes have cooled, divide them in half and place them in the bottom of the cups. Pour 1 T. Hershey's Strawberry Syrup over each one and allow it to soak in.

2. Take 4 Cups of strawberries, wash and cut them into small pieces. Sprinkle 1/4 C. sugar on the berries and allow them to sit in the fridge. They will form their own juice.

3. Make the cheesecake filling as follows:

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened

1 C. powdered sugar

1 8 oz. pkg. Cool-Whip, thawed

Cream the cheese with the powdered sugar until they are well mixed together. Gradually add in the Cool-Whip and beat well.

4. Layer the cake, filling and berries in the cups, ending with the cheesecake filling and strawberries. Chill before serving. Makes 10-12 servings.

MAKE ME AN OMELET

RECIPES FOR DAYS WHEN TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE AND YOU NEED TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT WILL NOURISH AND NURTURE WITHOUT TAKING ALL DAY LONG TO MAKEThere is really something almost 'other-worldly' about eating an omelet. It makes you feel so continental and sophisticated, like you're sitting at a sidewalk cafe on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, watching all the beautiful French girls walking by with their cute little French poodles. Every French person knows how to make an omelet; I think it is in their genes In France, an omelet is not a breakfast dish, but something they eat for lunch or even dinner with a fresh green salad and a peach or a pear on the side along with a 'baguette', the traditional crusty and delicious French bread. But even if you don't have any French genes, you can still make a very passable omelet and the more you make them, the better you'll get until voila!, your omelet is good as they come and that's why you keep trying it over and over again until you get the hang of it. They're fun to make and always good to eat. Also, an omelet is something you can whip up on the spur of the moment that looks spectacular. You'll feel like you've accomplished something monumental and, in reality, you have. So here is how it's done:

1. Chop up some mushrooms, onions, peppers or whatever fresh vegetables you want to have in your omelet, say about 1/2 C. mushrooms and 1/4 C. onion and pepper.

2. Fry 1/2 C. fresh sausage until it is well browned or 3 strips of good quality bacon, crisp and crumbled. Drain on paper towels.

3. Grate 1/2 C. good quality cheese of your choice. I usually use cheddar, but any kind will do.
Fry the fresh vegetables in 1 T. oil

Set these all aside.

4. Take 2-3 eggs and beat them well with a fork in a small deep bowl. Add 1 T. water.

Pour the eggs into a 10" Teflon frying pan. Allow the eggs to cook well on one side before carefully lifting up the omelet so the uncooked eggs run underneath it, then turn it over to the other side. Allow it to cook for about 30-40 seconds or until it is slightly browned and set.

5. Place the cheese, meat and vegetables on one side of the omelet and fold over the top so it makes a sandwich. Add more cheese to the top and garnish with parsley or whatever you want to make it look even better.

6. You might want to serve your omelet with some fried red potatoes. Here is the easiest way to make them: Take 2-3 potatoes, poke them with a fork and put them in the microwave for 2 minutes. Take them out, cut them into chunks and fry them in 2 T. oil until they're lightly browned. Season with seasoning salt, garlic salt and parsley. Enjoy!

PULLED PORK SANDWICHES

RECIPES FOR DAYS WHEN TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE AND YOU NEED TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT WILL NOURISH AND NURTURE WITHOUT TAKING ALL DAY LONG TO MAKEI love making these sandwiches because they are so easy.

Recipe:

1 pork roast, approx. 2 - 3 lbs.

The secret of success to this recipe is to cook the pork roast overnight in your crock pot. I usually put it on about 9:00 PM and let it cook on low for 12 hours. Then in the morning I cut the strings, pour off the juice and discard it, remove the fat from the top of the roast and do just what the recipe says and pull it apart with a fork. By this time it is fork-tender so it isn't hard to do that. Make the sauce and pour it over the pork, turn the crock pot down to 'warm' and it will keep all day or until you are ready to use it.

Sauce:

2 C. tomato ketchup

1 C. water

1/4 C. brown sugar

1 envelope Sloppy Joe seasoning mix

4 T. dry onion flakes

1 T. Rranch dressing powder

Or, if you would rather,

add one large bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's original bar-b-que sauce.

This recipe makes a lot of pork so you can freeze the leftover meat and use it for another meal.

It isn't necessary or required, but if you want you can make your own buns for the sandwiches. I have a bread maker that I use to mix my dough in. Here is the recipe I use:

1 1/2 C. warm water

1/4 C. sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 T. oil

Put this in the bread maker and add:

4 C. flour

2 1/2 t. dry yeast

I let the bread mixer knead the dough and let it rise once. I take it out and form it into 16 balls on a cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes in a 350 degree oven or until they are browned. Enjoy!

PASTA FASTA SALAD

RECIPES FOR DAYS WHEN TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE AND YOU NEED TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT WILL NOURISH AND NURTURE WITHOUT TAKING ALL DAY LONG TO MAKEOne of nice things about a pasta salad is that it's cheap to make and almost everyone likes it. You will have to adjust the kinds of vegetables you decide to put into it according to your family's tastes or whomever you might be making it for. With a pasta salad, it's fun to be creative and put in all kinds of things that go together. Think 'pizza' and what you like to have on a pizza and this will give you an idea of what you might like to have in your pasta salad. Some people like to add mayonnaise to their pasta salads, but I prefer to eat it in a more pure state using a good quality olive oil for the dressing. Pasta salads are usually reserved for summer meals, but they are actually good any time of the year. I can't picture eating it for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, though, but other than that I can't see why a good pasta salad wouldn't be a welcome addition to any meal. You can add a little cooked chicken to it, put it over a bed of lettuce and it makes a great main dish, as well. Bet you didn't know that, did you?

In a big pot of salted water boil a box or a bag of colorful pasta, like Rotini.

While it's boiling, saute in 2 T. oil

1 C. chopped onion

2 cloves garlic

Set this aside when the onion is lightly browned.

Then chop into small chunks:

4 T. red pepper

4 T. orange pepper

4 T. red pepper

Optional:

1/2 C. fresh sliced mushrooms

1/2 C. grape tomatoes

1/2 C. small broccoli florettes

Put these all together in a large bowl, then add:

1 can of ripe olives, sliced and chopped.

When the pasta has cooked enough to be tender, drain it in a large colander and allow it to cool.

Then put it into the bowl and stir all of the vegetables into it.

Then add:

1 C. grated Parmesan cheese

To this add:

1/2 C. Olive oil

4 T. Balsamic vinegar

1 T. water

1 t. garlic powder

1 t. seasoning salt

1 t. sugar

Mix well and pour over the pasta.

Or, just add a small bottle of your favorite vinegar and oil salad dressing such as Newman's Own. Enjoy!

PINEAPPLE MANGO SALSA

RECIPES FOR DAYS WHEN TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE AND YOU NEED TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT WILL NOURISH AND NURTURE WITHOUT TAKING ALL DAY LONG TO MAKE

Sometimes it's just so nice to make something that's different, but not too different. Maybe that's because we all have a secret desire to be that ourselves--unique but still within the mainstream. This salsa is exactly that and besides being really good. it's something you could take to a neighborhood bar-b-que where it would be an immediate hit since it's so colorful and so delicious. Mangos and pineapple go well together and when you add the tomatoes and avacados along with the cilantro, garlic and onions, it's truly mouth-watering. The lime juice is what brings it all together and gives it the tang that it needs. It will keep for a day or possibly two, but it's best when eaten fresh.

Recipe:

Cut into small cubes:

2 fresh peeled mangos

1 1/2 C. fresh pineapple

2-3 small tomatoes

1 ripe avacado sprinkled with 1 tsp. lemon pepper

Mince:

4-5 garlic cloves

1/2 C. red onion

3/4 C. fresh cilantro leaves

Juice:

3-4 fresh limes

Combine all the above ingredients folding them together gently. This salsa is wonderful when used as a dip but you can also use it on grilled meats, especially chicken. Enjoy!

SKINNY YOGURT FRAPPE

RECIPES FOR DAYS WHEN YOU'RE SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD AND YOU FEEL LIKE EVERYTHING'S COMING UP ROSES

However you slice it or whatever way you look at it, summer is just summer and whether you love it or hate it, it can always be made better when you have a drink that cools you down and tastes delicious at the same time. But this isn't just just some ordinary summer drink--this one is actually skinny, meaning it is completely fat and sugar-free which means it is also guilt-free, as well. One of the nice things about this drink is that you can make it so many different ways, but it's always good and it always goes over well even among the non-skinny people who don't really need to worry about fat grams or calories or what have you. Having the frozen yogurt cubes on hand in the freezer makes it easy to put this together when you only have a few minutes to grab something that's healthy and satisfying.

Recipe:

5 cubes of frozen plain non-fat yogurt (directions below on how to make these)

1/2 C. non-fat milk

1/2 C. fresh or frozen fruit (strawberries, raspberries, bananas, peaches, blueberries, pineapple or apricots work best)

4 T. sweetener

1/4 C. whey or powdered protein (optional, but with it you have a lot more nutrition)

1. Place the frozen yogurt cubes in a food processor or blender. Add the milk, fruit and sweetener and protein. Process until smooth and without lumps. Add additional sweetener if desired. Serve immediately. Garnish with whipped cream or fruit or both.

2. Place plain yogurt in ice cube trays and freeze for 24 hours. Keep the frozen cubes in a Zip-lock bag in the freezer until you're ready to use them.

3. I like to use a processor with a vertical blender stick to make these drinks. They seem to work best and make a wonderful, smooth drink.

Voila! Amazing and so easy to make.