Cheesecake Crescent Rolls 

2 cans of Pillsbury Crescent rolls
2 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter, melted
Cinnamon
Sugar
Local honey
Unroll and spread 1 of the cans of crescent rolls on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish (or 8 x 8 if you want to cut the recipe in half). Combine softened cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and vanilla. Spread over crescent roll layer. Unroll and layer remaining crescent rolls over cream cheese layer. Melt your butter and spread over top of crescent rolls. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and sugar. 
Bake for 20-30 minutes in 350 degree oven until bubbly and slightly browned. Drizzle with a little local honey. Let cool a bit, slice and eat.

Thanksgiving Veggie Tray

Just cut colored peppers, cucumbers, and carrots and arrange like this. 

Ruth Chris New Orleans Shrimp (Mock Recipe)

2 doz large (16/20) shrimp, peeled and de-veined

1 oz canola oil

3  tbs chopped green onions 

2 oz dry white wine

1 tsp fresh chopped garlic

4 tbs Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp Tabasco

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp paprika

2 sticks butter

Place a large cast iron skillet on a burner and heat over high heat. Add oil and cook shrimp until they are almost done. It’s best to prepare shrimp in batches if you do not have large skillet. Remove shrimp and set aside on a large platter.

Add green onions to the oil in the skillet and cook for 1 minute. Add white wine and let simmer until it is reduced by half.

When the wine is reduced by half, add chopped garlic, Worcestershire, Tabasco. cayenne pepper and paprika. Shake the pan well and cook for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low.

Cut butter into small chunks with the knife and slowly add into pan, shaking fast to melt butter.

Continue to add butter and shake until all butter is melted. Add shrimp back to pan and toss well to coat shrimp with butter and seasonings and to heat the shrimp. 

Rumaki

One of my Christmas favorites.
Wrap whole large water chestnuts in bacon
Drizzle with BBQ sauce cut with 10% Soy sauce
Bake at 375* for 30-45 minutes.

Beet and Carrot Pancakes

1 1/3 cups (packed) coarsely shredded peeled beets ( 2 medium beets)

1 cup coarsely shredded peeled carrots (2 medium carrots)

1/2 cup thinly sliced onion

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup all purpose flour

3 tablespoons olive oil 

Preheat oven to 300°F. Place baking sheet in oven. Combine beets, carrots and onion in large bowl. Mix in egg, salt and pepper. Add flour; stir to blend well.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Using 1/3 cup beet mixture for each pancake, drop 4 pancakes into skillet. Flatten each into 3-inch round. Cook until brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer pancakes to baking sheet in oven; keep warm. Repeat with remaining beet mixture, making 4 more pancakes.

Serve pancakes warm over sauteed greens with a dollop or sour cream.

Roasted Chickpeas

1 can organic chickpeas (drained)
1 tbs olive oil
Seasoning (I used Slap Yer Mama Cajun seasoning)

Preheat oven to 450*
Add Chickpeas to a bowl with olive oil, stir  and season
Place chickpeas on a sheet pan with foil
Roast 35-45 minutes stirring often after 20 minutes
Chickpeas will be done when crunchy
Season, cool, and serve

Tuna Noodle Casserole

1 tablespoon butter 

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1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced celery

1 can cream of * soup, undiluted

1/4 cup milk

Salt/ pepper

1 cup frozen peas

2 (6-ounce) cans tuna packed in water, undrained

1/2- 3/4 cup crushed potato chips or crushed Cheez-Its

8 ounces packaged vegetable spirals pasta, cooked just to Al dente

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a glass casserole dish rubbed with butter or olive oil.

In a saucepan, saute onion and celery in the butter or olive oil until vegetables are tender. Add cream of * soup, milk, peas, and black pepper. Bring to a simmer, stirring to blend. When it begins to boil, turn off heat and gently fold in tuna with liquid.

Add cooked pasta and toss to coat with sauce. Pour into prepared casserole and top with Cheez-Its or potato chips. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes until heated through and topping is lightly browned.

One Minute Eggnog

1 raw egg

1 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
Nutmeg
Alcohol, I use Jäger Holiday Spice
Add ingredients through cream to a glass and blend with an immersion blender incorporating air into the mix. It should increase by 30% or more. Add your choice of alcohol at this point. Stir, sprinkle with Nutmeg and serve.

Ramen Crust Pizza

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• 2 packages Ramen noodles, without chemical packet.
• 1 tablespoon pizza seasoning
• 1 tablespoons  olive oil
• 12 ounces grated pizza cheese
• 3/4 cup  pizza sauce
• Toppings 
• Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 450°F. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook, breaking them apart with tongs, until flexible but not completely softened, about 2 minutes. Drain carefully.
• Heat olive oil in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Reduce heat to low. Add noodles and press with the bottom of a spatula into an even later that completely covers the bottom of the skillet. 
• Spread half of cheese evenly over noodles and allow to melt in oven. Spread sauce, going all the way to the edge of the pan. Spread remaining cheese on top. Top pizza as desired, adding some cheese to top, then place in oven. Bake until top is browned and bubbly, about 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then use a thin metal spatula to loosen edges from skillet. 
• Rest for 3-5 minutes. Carefully slide pizza out onto cutting board, slice, and serve immediately.

Oven 'Fried' Swai Fillets

Swai, beets, and greens.

3/4 C Panko
1/4 C real mayo
Seasonings of choice
1# Swai fillets

Preheat oven to 400*
Lightly brush fillets with mayo.
Roll in Panko crumbs until coated well.
Bake on sprayed sheet pan 10-12 minutes.
Turn oven to Broil and raise rack to top.
Broil until Panko is nicely browned and serve with lemon wedges. 

This can be adapted to Chicken, Pork, Duck, or Lamb as well.  

Peel Garlic Easy

I use this technique to peel an entire bulb in just a few seconds. 

Palm your bulb on the counter to separate the cloves.

Place the whole mess in two bowls inverted to cover one-another. 
Shake hard, I mean hard, and at a quick pace for about 20- 30 seconds. 

You'll get a bowl of peeled garlic and papers that are easy to grab out and toss. 

Baked Zucchini Chips

Cut zucchini into1/4" chips. 
Using a Misto sprayer, apply a fine mist of olive oil onto both sides.
Dredge into a mixture of Panko and seasonings of your choosing. 
Spray lightly with olive oil in your Misto sprayer. 
Bake in toaster at 425* for 20-30 minutes. 

Cheeseburger Pie

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1.5#s ground round 
1 medium onion, chopped
5-6 mushrooms chopped
1 tbs granulated garlic
Salt/ Pepper
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
6 oz plain beer
1/3 block Veleveeta, chopped into pieces
1/2 cup Jiffy baking mix
2 eggs
1 cup milk

Brown ground round, adding mushrooms, onion, and seasonings 1/2 way through. 
Drain and continue over medium heat. 
Add beer and cook down until most of the liquid is reduced. 
Remove from heat and stir in Worcestershire sauce.
In a separate bowl whisk baking mix and milk until smooth. 
Add eggs and whisk until blended.
Add meat mixture to a glass casserole or pie pan, stirring in 3/4 of the Velveeta. 
Pour the baking mix over the meat/ cheese mixture and top with the remaining Velveeta.
Bake in a preheated 400* oven for 30-40 minutes or until browned and bubbly. 

Grill baking

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We enjoy a fresh baked bread from time to time. Sometimes in the summer we like to use our Weber gas grill in place of our oven. Today we bought a take and bake Artisan bread and decided to bake it outside. This is easy and you just need a few things. You'll need a grill capable of 400*, a heavy cast iron skillet or pan, and a smaller grill rack.
Place the skillet over the burner with the grill rack on top. Turn grill 25* past where you need it. Turn down after your bread is in grill. Bake your bread or what-have-you and bake for desired time. Remember, no peeking as when you lift the lid, your temperature goes down fast. 

Foil Fish Packets

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We took 6 large Swai fish fillets and placed them on an olive oiled piece of foil. Season with sea salt and cracked pepper, or whatever you like on your fish. A fresh lemon slice would be good here. 
We topped them with fresh green beans, carrots, two butter pats, and folded them tightly on top and one end. Add a couple Tbs of white wine to your packet and seal.
We grilled them on 400* grill for 25 minutes, but you could do in a 425* oven as well. They were remarkably delicious. 

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Chicken and Dumpling Casserole

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Ingredients

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, boiled and shredded

2 cups chicken stock (from boiling the breasts above)

1 stick of butter

2 cups Bisquick or Jiffy mix

1 1/2 cups sauteed mixed vegetables

2 cups milk 

1 can cream of &*%$ soup

1/2 t. sage

Salt/ pepper

Directions: Preheat oven to 350*.

Place boneless, skinless chicken breasts in sauce pan with enough water to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat; place a lid on your pot and allow sitting for 10-15 minutes to finish cooking. Remove chicken from stock (reserve the stock) and allow to cool, and then shred the chicken.

When building the layered casserole, do not mix the layers.

 In a large casserole dish, melt 1 stick of butter. Spread shredded chicken over butter. Sprinkle black pepper and dried sage over this layer. Add layer of vegetables.

 In small bowl, mix milk and Bisquick. Slowly pour over chicken.

In medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups of the chicken stock (strained, if needed), chicken granules and soup. Once blended, slowly pour over the Bisquick layer. 

Bake time varies by oven and the size pans you decide to use, therefore, bake until the top is golden brown- approx. 50-60 minutes.

Easy Oven Salmon

Lightly rub salmon with olive oil and season with your favorite seasoning. Put salmon fillets on parchment lined sheet pan into in a cold oven. Turn oven to 400 degrees. Set timer for 20 minutes or 25 for well done. Salmon is moist, flaky, and delicious. This is a great method when inclement weather has you cooking indoors.

Broccoli Bites

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1# cooked, finely chopped broccoli (leftover broccoli is great for this.)

1 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese

2 beaten eggs

salt & pepper/ herbs/ seasoning of choice

1 cup of breadcrumbs, Panko or stuffing mix run through food processor 

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

Form small patties and lay on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake at 375* F for 25-30 minutes or until nice and browned. 

Cool slightly and enjoy.
These are great in a toaster oven as leftovers. 

Easter Eggs

Easter Deviled Eggs

Make sure you boil your eggs with vinegar. This softens the shells for easy peeling.  

Ingredients

12 hard boiled eggs

Food coloring

1 tsp vinegar for each color you are using

Water

1/4 cup mayonnaise

Remove the shells from the hard boiled eggs and slice each egg in half.

Remove the yolks from the egg halves and place in a bowl. 

Set the yolks aside.

Get enough glasses or mugs for the number of colors you want to use. Fill the mugs or glasses ⅔ of the way full with cold water.

Add 6 drops of desired food coloring along with 1 tsp vinegar to each mug or cup.

Place egg whites in the mugs until desired color is reached.

Remove whites from dye and drain on a plate lined with a couple of paper towels.

Take the reserved yolks and mash them with a fork. Then mix in the mayonnaise with the mashed yolk. 

Pipe the yolk mix into the colored egg whites.

Makes 24 Easter Eggs.

Tequila Bars

1 12-ounce box vanilla wafers

1/2 cup pine nuts

3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted

1/3 cup tequila + more for sampling

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

5 large egg yolks, plus 2 egg whites

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Pulse the wafers and pine nuts in a food processor until well ground up. 

Add the butter and blend until evenly mixed. Set aside 1/4 cup of crumbs; press the rest evenly into a 9-by-13 baking pan. 

Bake until golden brown, 16 to 18 minutes. Let cool.

In a medium bowl, thoroughly whisk together the tequila, lime juice, egg yolks and condensed milk.

In another medium bowl, beat the egg whites and sugar with an electric mixer until they hold soft peaks. 

Gently fold the egg whites into the tequila mixture. 

Spread the filling evenly over the crust and bake for 25 minutes; cool. 

Sprinkle the reserved crumbs and some orange or lime zest on top. 

Chill in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight before cutting.

Dominick's Garlic Dressing clone

If you loved Dominick's like we did, I'm sure you remember, all too well, their House Dressing. We loved it; and with help from friends, we've created a clone.

1/2 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white sugar
5-6 large garlic cloves
Pour into processor and blend until smooth and thin.
Make a large salad for 6, pour 1/2 - 3/4 cup dressing over salad, 1 small jar pimentos, chopped, toss and serve.