Molly's 4th Birthday

Mika's Salsa

I ate this whole batch myself over the course of a day and a half!

Blend in a food processor:
1 large can diced tomatoes, drained
1 can rotel tomatoes with juice
1 medium onion
1/2 bunch cilantro
juice of 1 lime
3 spoons of jarred jalapenos
1 T garlic salt
1 1/2 t cumin

Fattoush

This is a flavorful Middle Eastern salad recipe from my friend Rachel.  I make it whenever fresh tomatoes and cucumbers are abundant.  Enjoy!

1 cucumber, chopped and peeled
1 tsp salt
Mix and let stand to drain 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 deg.  Open 2 7-inch pita and bake until lightly browned.  Break into bite-sized pieces.  Press water from cukes.  Rinse and blot dry.  Combine cucumbers with:
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
6 scallions, chopped
1/3 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 T chopped cilantro
1 T. chopped mint

Whisk together:
1/3 c. olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 t. salt 
Pour dressing over veggies and toss.  Add pita, toss.  Serve immediately.

I also like to add a healthy sprinkling of sumac, a Middle Eastern spice. 

Super Cute Easter Nest

I wanted to share this post from my friend Tricia's site, onceamonthmom.com.  This is a chocolatey Easter nest perfect for adorning the table.  Check it out here.

Stuffed Peppers

This is one of my favorite stuffed pepper recipes.  It uses Jennie-O Italian turkey sausage and great northern beans in place of rice.  This recipe is copied from Jennie-O.com.  Delicious!!!

Italian Sausage & Bean Stuffed Peppers


Total Time  More than 1 Hour
Preparation Time  Under 30 minutes
Serving Size 4
Preparation Method Stove-Top
Level of Difficulty Moderate

Ingredients

4 bell peppers, any color or a combination

2 teaspoons garlic-infused or extra-virgin olive oil

1 package JENNIE-O TURKEY STORE® Sweet Lean Italian Turkey Sausage

1 (15-ounce) can Italian-style or regular tomato sauce

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil leaves

1 (16-ounce) can great northern beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese

Directions

Heat oven to 375ºF. Cut peppers lengthwise through stems keeping stem halves intact to hold stuffing. Discard seeds and veins. Cook in boiling salted water 5 to 6 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain well and place cut side up in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Heat oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Remove sausage from casings; crumble into skillet. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomato sauce and basil; continue to cook 5 minutes. Stir in beans; heat through. Mound mixture into pepper halves. Sprinkle cheese evenly over filled peppers. Bake about 25 minutes or until filling is hot and peppers are tender. Makes 4 servings.

No Bake Cookies!

Both of these recipes are from my childhood.  They are both yummy.  The first, Haystacks, is from a beloved neighbor, Carole.  It has coconut and no peanut butter.  The second is similar, except with peanut butter.  It cools and solidifies really quickly.  I remember once I made this growning up, and it cooled too much before I got it onto the waxed paper.  My mom encouraged me to scrape it out of the bowl and eat it as a decadent granola in a bowl with milk.  It did, and it was so good!

Haystacks

2 c. sugar
1/3 c. cocoa
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. butter

Melt butter in a saucepan and mix in other ingredients.  Bring to a full boil.

Sti in:
1 c. coconut
1/2 t. vanilla
3 1/2 c. oatmeal

Drop by spoon onto wax paper.

Cocoa and Oatmeal Cookies (no bake)
2 cups sugar (1 brown and 1 granulated)
1/2 cup milk
3 teaspooons cocoa
1 stick butter or margarine

Stir over heat until thoroughly mixed.  Bring to a boil- let boil for 1 1/2 minutes.  Take off heat and add 3/4 cup peanut butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 3 cups oatmeal. 

Drop by spoonfuls before they cool onto wax paper. 

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

Noshing

I also made some yummy sandiwches inspired by the basil in my garden.  These were also inspired by a Real Simple recipe.  I used the small Archer Farms ciabatta loaves from SuperTarget (99 cents each) and topped them with basil, proscuitto slices (I purchased this at the deli at SuperTarget also- a cheaper alternative to presliced proscuitto), and avocado slices.  It would be great on slices of a country bread also.

We also just enjoyed these Shrimp Summer Rolls from the Rachael Ray magazine.  It was refreshing and very healthy.  Instead of using the jarred peanut sauce called for in the recipe, I found a recipe on a food blog.  The day I made them, they were very hard to eat.  After they sat in the refrigerator overnight covered in plastic wrap, the rice paper wrapping had shrunk a little, making them much easier to eat.