Loaded Greek Salad

 Delish!  I didn't add the sugar into the dressing.  

Loaded Greek Salad

prep time 15 MINUTES total time 15 MINUTES

An amped up version of a classic Greek salad with avocado, artichokes, garbanzo beans, and more!! The tangy Greek salad dressing is ready in seconds and is a major flavor booster! Naturally gluten-free and vegetarian!!

INGREDIENTS

Salad

•  1 small red onion, sliced into thin strips

•  1 medium English cucumber, diced small

•  2 medium Roma tomatoes, diced small (another type of tomato may be substituted)

•  2/3 cup black kalamata olives, pitted

•  12 ounces artichoke hearts

•  1- 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

•  4 ounces feta cheese

•  1 medium Hass avocado, cubed

Greek Dressing/Vinaigrette

•  1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for final drizzling if desired

•  2 to 3 tablespoon red wine or balsamic vinegar (balsamic is stronger and will give more bite)

•  2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice

•  1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

•  1 teaspoon dried oregano

•  1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

•  3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

•  2 to 3 teaspoons granulated sugar (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

For the Salad:

• Add all ingredients to a large bowl; set aside.

For the Greek Dressing:

• Add all ingredients except sugar to a small bowl and whisk vigorously to combine. Taste, and optionally add the sugar. I personally couldn't go without it because I use the higher end of the spectrum of both vinegar and lemon juice. As desired, add more oil, vinegar, salt/pepper, etc. as desired. Tweak the ingredients to make it your own and suit you.

• When you're happy, pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to coat evenly.

• If desired, add a final drizzle of olive oil over the salad, and serve immediately.

• Yield; 8 servings

NOTES

• After being dressed, I suggest consuming salad as soon as possible, but it will keep airtight for up to 3 days in the fridge noting that it will become more watery as the vegetables release their juices and the avocado oxidizes.

https://www.averiecooks.com/loaded-greek-salad/

Strawberry Cheesecake Biscoff Ice Cream

 Strawberry Cheesecake Biscoff Ice Cream

Ingredients

·        1 quart fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered

·        2 ¼ cup granulated sugar, divided

·        ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar

·        8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

·        1 ½ cups whole milk

·        1 cup heavy cream

·        2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

·        4 tablespoons light corn syrup

·        ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

·        3 teaspoons vanilla extract (real)

·        ½ package Biscoff cookies, chopped or lightly pounded with meat mallet (about 12-20, depending on your preference)

Directions

1.     Freeze metal container to make ice cream.

2.     Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

3.     Toss the strawberries with 1/4 cup sugar and the balsamic vinegar. Spread strawberries into one even layer on the prepared baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes, or until the strawberries have darkened in color, are soft, and their juices have released. Transfer the strawberries (and juices!) to a medium bowl and mash until only small pieces of fruit remain. Cover and refrigerate the strawberries until chilled about 1 hour.

4.     Meanwhile, in the bowl of a blender or food processor, puree the remaining ice cream ingredients except the biscoff cookies until smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl and press plastic wrap against the surface. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 day.

5.     Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker. During the 5 last minutes of freezing, gradually add the roasted strawberries and graham crackers.

6.     Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container, and freeze until firm at least 2 hours.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream https://handletheheat.com/strawberry-cheesecake-ice-cream/ April 8, 2020

 

Cream Cheese Chicken Casserole

 Cream Cheese Chicken Casserole

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

·        12 oz bag of frozen hash browns, thawed

·        2-3 cups cooked chicken breast cooked, chopped

·        4 tablespoons butter

·        1/2 cup chopped celery

·        1 cup chopped onion

·        2 cups chopped carrots

·        1 teaspoon salt

·        1 teaspoon pepper

·        1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

·        1 teaspoon dried tarragon

·        1/4 cup flour

·        8 oz cream cheese cut into cubes

·        21/2 cups milk I use 2 cups milk, 1/2 cup 1/2 and 1/2

·        2 cups chicken broth

·        few dashes of hot sauce Tabasco

·        2 cups grated cheese cheddar or Colby Jack

Instructions

1.       Pre heat oven to 350 degrees and place rack in center of oven.

2.       Grease a 9x13 or 4 quart casserole pan.

3.       Place the grated potatoes into the pan. The amount of potatoes should equal about 6-7cups.

4.       Sprinkle the chicken over the grated potatoes in the pan, set aside.

5.       Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the chopped celery, onions and carrots. Cook over medium high heat for about 4-5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

6.       Add the salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and dried tarragon leaves. Sprinkle with flour and mix well until flour disappears into the butter and vegetable mixture. Reduce heat to medium and cook for about 1-2 minutes.

7.       Add cream cheese to pan. Mix until cream cheese melts.

8.       Add milk, a cup at a time, waiting for sauce to thicken a bit after each addition. Use a large whisk to stir the sauce and smooth out any clumps of flour.

9.       When mixture is thickened and bubbly, add chicken broth a cup at a time. Cook for an additional few minutes. Taste sauce and add salt and pepper if additional flavor is needed. Add a few drops of hot sauce.

10.     Pour the sauce over the potatoes and chicken in the casserole pan and top with grated cheese.

11.     Bake for 30 minutes, uncovered.

 

https://abountifulkitchen.com/cream-cheese-chicken-casserole/

Easy Cookie Icing/Glaze

This is so easy to use and looks great!  I definitely recommend using a squeeze bottle or piping bag.   

Easy Cookie Icing/Glaze

3 C. confectioner’s sugar

½ tsp. Pure vanilla extract

2 tsp. Light corn syrup*

4 ½ - 5 Tbsp. room temperature water

Pinch of salt

Using a fork, stir the sugar, vanilla, corn syrup and 4 ½ Tbsp of water together in a medium bowl.  It will be very thick and almost impossible to stir.  Switch to a whisk and whisk in ½ Tbsp water.  If you lift the whisk and let the icing drizzle back into the bowl, the ribbon of icing will hold shape for a few seconds before melting back into the icing.  That is when you know it’s the right consistency and ready to use.  

If desired, stir in gel food coloring.  You can pour some icing into different bowls if using multiple colors.  Use 1 to 2 drops at first and add more as needed, remembering that color darkens as icing dries.

Spoon icing into squeeze bottles or piping bags fitted with Wilton tip #4.  Decorate your cookies as desired.  I usually outline the cookies with icing first then fill in the middle.  If adding sprinkles, add them right after applying the frosting to your cookies.

The icing takes 24 hours to set.  Once the icing is set, these cookies are great for gifting or sending.  

This recipe is enough for icing 2 dozen cookies. 

*Corn syrup is what gives the icing fabulous shine.  You may leave it out if you aren’t concerned about shiny, glossy icing.  

Recipe from https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/easy-glaze-icing/

The Best Sugar Cookies

 These sugar cookies are delish.  The dough is softer than what I was used to but I love that I don’t have to refrigerate the dough or make it ahead of time.  We baked these on Monday and didn’t have time to frost until Friday and they were still soft and delicious. We frosted them with the glaze recipe from Sally's Baking Edition, which worked beautifully.

The Best Sugar Cookies

2 C. salted butter (softened)

2 C. granulated sugar

2 Large eggs

2 Tbsp Vanilla extract

4 tsp. Baking powder

6 C. All-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350°.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add butter and sugar and cream together on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the vanilla and eggs.  Mix for another 3 minutes until light and fluffy.  Add the baking powder and mix.  Add the flour two cups at a time.  Don’t over-mix the dough - just mix until the flour is incorporated.

After the flour is added, the mixture should be firm but not dry or crumbly.  If the dough seems too dry, add a tiny bit (about a teaspoon at a time) of vanilla or milk and mix again.

Roll and handful of dough out onto a lightly floured surface until it’s about ⅜” thick.  Cut shapes with cookie cutters and transfer shapes to cookie sheets.  They will not spread so they can be placed pretty close together.

Bake at 350° for 6-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the cookies.  They should be set and just barely starting to brown around the edges.  Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.  Let cool completely before frosting them. 

Enjoy!

Recipe from twosisterscrafting.com

Leftover Mashed Potato Soup

 Leftover Mashed Potato Soup

4 Tbsp bacon drippings

1 C diced onion

1 C sliced mushrooms

1 bag frozen peas and carrots

1 tsp kosher salt

½ tsp black pepper

1 tsp paprika

4 cups leftover mashed potatoes

1 cup cheddar cheese

4 green onions, sliced

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 Tbsp sour cream

3 Tbsp half and half or cream

 

Cook bacon, and set aside to crumble.

·        In a large saucepan, cook onion in butter or dripping until softened.

·        Add chopped mushrooms and cook until tender and onion is golden.

·        Add chicken broth, salt, pepper, and paprika, stirring to mix.

·        Blend in mashed potatoes, stirring until lumps are gone.

·        Bring soup to a boil, add peas and carrots, then lower heat and cook 10-15 minutes on low. Add cheddar cheese, stirring until it is melted and smooth.

·        Mix in scallions, crumbled bacon, sour cream, and cream/half and half, stirring to heated through but not boiling.

 

Gulliver's Creamed Corn

 Gulliver's Creamed Corn

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

 

Ingredients

·        2 Tablespoons Butter

·        2 Tablespoons Flour

·        1 teaspoon Salt

·        1 ½ Tablespoons Sugar

·        1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese grated

·        1 lb. Frozen Corn

·        12 ounces Heavy Cream

·        6 Bacon Slices (optional)

Instructions

·        Cook corn according to package instructions (better on stovetop than microwave).

·        In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Once butter is melted, add flour, salt, sugar, and parmesan cheese.

·        Add cooked corn to paste and stir to coat.

·        Add heavy cream and stir to combine.

·        Cook for 12-15 or until thickened. Stir often. May want to reduce heat to low.

·        Cook bacon according to package instructions.

·        Crumble crispy bacon on top of creamed corn.

 

https://www.modernhoney.com/gullivers-creamed-corn/