tex mex "ranch" dressing

*from food network.com
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced white onions (or I did 2 t. dried onion)
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch chili powder
Pinch red pepper flakes

In a blender, combine all the ingredients. Blend until smooth. Adjust the seasoning, to taste, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

I put this on some shredded red cabbage and carrots for a cole slaw!

birthday chiffon shortcake

*from smitten kitchen

Cake layers:
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
1 1/2 cups superfine or regular sugar, divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 large egg yolks at room temperature
8 large egg whites at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar


1. Make cake layers: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Have two 9-inch round cake pans ready, lined with parchment paper that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray, but otherwise ungreased. (Alternatively, this recipe yields on classic tube chiffon cake. Leave the cake pan ungreased, and use one with a removable bottom.)

2. Sift the flour, 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking powder and salt together twice into a large bowl.

3. In a another bowl, beat the yolks, water, oil, zest and vanilla on high speed until smooth. Stir into the flour mixture until smooth. In another large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks are formed. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and beat on high speed until the peaks are stiff but not dry.

4. Use a rubber spatula to fold one-quarter of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remaining whites. Do so gently, only until the egg whites are no longer visible. Overdoing it will deflate the egg whites, and yield a denser, shorter cake.

5. Scrape the batter into the two prepared pans and spread evenly. Bake them until the top springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean 40 min

6. Let cakes cool on a cooling rack for at least an hour (or, if in a tube pan, upside down over a bottleneck or resting the pan on four glasses for at least 1 1/2 hours). When completely cool, run a knife around the sides to release, then flip out onto a plate and then another plate.

7. then cut each cake in half. ( I only did a 3 layer, and I will probably freeze the left over for a trifle sometime. but you could do all 4 too)

I made this whipped cream, but intead of brown sugar, I did powdered sugar and added a bit of lemon zest.

I took a little of the whipped cream mix and added chopped strawberries and added that to the middle of the layers.

Steak Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Leftover or rested steak cut thin (I like this recipe)
Lettuce of choice
mushrooms
tomatoes
peperanchini peppers
cucumbers
red onion
Parmesan cheese

*really any veggies you want!

Balsamic Vinaigrette:

1/4 c. Balsamic vinegar
1 T. minced garlic
1/2 t. salt
1 t. raw honey
1/2 t. fresh ground pepper
1/2 c. olive oil

- put first 5 ingredients in a blender. once blended, SLOWLY add the olive oil while blender is mixing.

Toss all salad ingredients, exept meat, together. lay meat on top of salad and enjoy!!

Ground Turkey Asian lettuce wraps

*say that 5 times fast! ha! Couldn't think of a better name!
*From Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Yield: 6-8 servings

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
(I added 1 shredded carrot)
1 cup minced mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 8 oz. can water chestnuts, minced(didn't do this cause I don't like them!)
1/2 cup minced green onions
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 lemon, zested and then juiced. (I didn't have any lemons so used bottled juice)
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 head iceberg lettuce (I used Romain, but iceberg would hold up better)
*Dipping Sauce recipe to follow

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot add minced garlic and ginger. Saute for a minute just until fragrant and then add in the ground chicken, minced mushrooms, and salt. Cook until turkey or chicken is cooked through.

Add in the water chestnuts and green onions. Add in the soy sauce, sesame oil, juice and zest from the lemon, and hot sauce. When everything is cooked through, remove from heat and stir in the cilantro.

To serve, carefully separate the whole leaves from the lettuce. Wash the lettuce leaves and wrap them in paper towels and put them in the refrigerator so they are cold and crisp when serving. Spoon chicken filling onto the lettuce leaf and then roll it up and serve with dipping sauce below- or any other favorite Asian dipping sauce.

Lettuce Wrap Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
(I added a few drops of sesame oil)
Combine all ingredients and serve with lettuce wraps.

apple fritters

*From allrecipes
*I do 1/2 recipe for breakfast for me and my girls. Makes about 20 in a 1/2 recipe.

2 C. Flour
1/4 - 1/3 c. sugar
1 T. Baking powder
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
2 Eggs
1 C. Milk
Granny Smith apples, chopped

Canola oil for frying
Powdered sugar/cinnamon mix for dusting

Mix dry ingredients together. in separate bowl mix milk and eggs then add to dry ingredients and mix together until smooth. add chopped apples.
Drop a tablespoon of batter into hot oil and cook until golden brown on all sides. dust with powdered sugar! best to eat immediately.

Spicy Pickles

1 bushel of pickling cucumbers = about 40-45 quarts
45 cloves garlic
45 jalapeno peppers
45 red peppers
45 sprigs of dill

Boil:
10 cups water
6 cups vinegar
1 cup pickling salt, kosher salt, or Real Salt

Put garlic, peppers, dill and cukes in jar. Pour brine over everything in jar.

Add:
1/2 tsp. alum to each jar

Screw hot lids onto the jar. Put jars out in the sun for 3 days, turning each jar each day and one day turning them upside down. Bring in the house and put on the shelf. They will be ready in 3 months.

Bottled Peaches

Select ripe firm peaches, remove peel and pits. If peeled fruit is to stand several minutes before packing, drop it into a mild salt solution to prevent discoloration (i.e. a bowl of water with some salt sprinkled in it). Drain.

RAW PACK: Pack, halves or slices into jars to within 1/2 inch of top. Fill to within 1 1/2 inches of top of jar with boiling syrup. Slide a knife down the edges of the inside of the bottle to let out any air bubbles that may be in between the peaches. Add more syrup if necessary. Put on cap, screw band firmly tight.

HOT PACK: Boil for 3 minutes in medium syrup. Pack into Kerr jars to within 1/2 inch of top. Fill to within 1/2 inch of top of jar with boiling syrup. Slide a knife downt he edges of the inside of the bottle to let out any air bubbles that may be in between the peaches. Add more syrup if necessary. Put on cap, screw bank firmly tight.

Process Pints 20 minutes
Quarts 25 minutes
Boiling water bath

Syrup Recipe:
Make syrup according to sweetness desired. Boil sugar and water together until sugar is dissolved. Juice of the fruit may be used in place of water. Keep syrup hot but do not let it boil down.
Sugar Water
(cups) (cups)
Thin 1 6-8
Medium 1 4-5
Heavy 1 1-3

Syrup should be boiling when poured over fruits.

Bottled Tomatoes

Wash tomatoes. Scald in boiling water long enough to remove peel (1/4 minute). Plunge into cold water. Peel, core, quarter and firmly pack into Kerr jars to within 1/2 inch of top. Add no liquid. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 2 Tablespoons lemon juice to each quart jar. Put on cap, screw band firmly tight. Process in Boiling Water Bath.

Process: Pints 35 minutes
Quarts 45 minutes

NOTE: Open kettle Method of canning should not be used for canning tomatoes. This method seldom sterilizes tomatoes. Without sufficient heat to sterilize the food, or if the food is contaminated while transferring it from kettle to jar, spoilage will result. Getting a seal on jars and caps will not prevent this spoilage. There is considerable loss of Vitamin C when the Open Kettle Method is used.