Cool Cucumber Salad

4 cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 small white onion, thinly sliced
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon dried dill, or to taste

Directions

Peal and thinly slice cucumbers and put them in a bowl. Sprinkle the cucumbers with about 1/2 - 1 tsp. of salt. Let sit for at least 30 minutes with some kind of a weight on top. This helps bring the "water" out of the cucumber which gives a better texture and flavor. Pour out the excess water. Toss together the cucumbers and onion in a large bowl. Combine the vinegar, water and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, and pour over the cucumber and onions. Stir in dill, cover, and refrigerate until cold. This can also be eaten at room temperature, but be sure to allow the cucumbers to marinate for at least 1 hour.

pioneer woman's artichoke pasta sauce

I DIED over how good it was. so so good!!! And very easy and quick!! I used fettuccine, which I like better. I also didn't put chives, I put dried parsley while the sauce was cooking. I also added a pinch of red chili flakes and a little garlic powder when tasting at end. I diced up my artichokes becasue I didn't want one big bite of it, I wanted it throughout the sauce. The pic of this is Pioneer woman's, I will get an original when I make it again, I ate it too fast!!
Here is the link http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/10/wednesday-night-dinner-spaghetti-with-artichoke-hearts-and-tomatoes/



* 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
* 2 Tablespoons Butter
* 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
* ½ whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
* 1 can Artichoke Hearts (14.5 Oz. Quartered Or Whole) Drained
* 1 can Diced Tomatoes With Juice (14.5 Oz.)
* 1 cup Heavy Cream
* ½ cups Chicken Broth (More As Needed)
* ½ teaspoons Nutmeg
* Salt And Pepper, to taste
* 1 pound Thin Spaghetti
* 1 cup Parmesan Cheese, Freshly Grated
* 2 Tablespoons Fresh Chives (or Other Herbs) Chopped

Preparation Instructions

Cook spaghetti till al dente. Drain and set aside.

Melt olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add artichoke hearts and tomatoes. Stir and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cream and chicken broth. Add salt and pepper to taste (do not undersalt!) Cook over low heat until heated through, then turn off heat.

Place drained pasta in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1 cup Parmesan. Pour sauce over the top. Add chives. Toss lightly to combine and coat; add a tiny bit of reserved pasta water if sauce seems too thick.

I served this with sauteed zucchini and my FAVORITE bread my french bread

weelicious zuchinni muffins

I made these this morning and YUM!! I got the recipe from weelicious.com. I love that site!

1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Eggs, whisked
1 Tsp Vanilla
1/3 Cup Vegetable or Canola Oil
2/3 Cup Agave Nectar
1 1/2 Cups Zucchini, shredded (about 2 small zucchini)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Place the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk to combine.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just until the ingredients are combined.
5. Pour the zucchini mixture into large or small muffins cups (I like to use a small ice cream scooper to make spooning into the muffin cups easier).
6. Bake 15 minutes for small muffins and 20 minutes for large ones.
7. Cool and serve.

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Bread

I saw this on pioneer women's web site and had to make it and it it delicious!! http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/08/homemade-cinnamon-bread/
I however forgot to look at her pics of her making it and rolled it out a bit differently. this recipe is for 1 loaf, but I rolled it horizontally (like rolling the dough for cinnamon rolls) and realized it was double the length of my bread pan! so I cut it in 2 and put one roll in 2 bread pans. it turned out perfect, but were just smaller loaves. so do what you will!



* 1 cup Milk
* 6 Tablespoons Butter
* 2-½ teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
* 2 whole Eggs
* ⅓ cups Sugar
* 3-½ cups All-purpose Flour
* 1 teaspoon Salt
* ⅓ cups Sugar
* 2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
* Egg And Milk, Mixed Together, For Brushing
* Softened Butter, For Smearing And Greasing

Preparation Instructions

Melt butter with milk. Heat until very warm, but don’t boil. Allow to cool until still warm to the touch, but not hot. Sprinkle yeast over the top, stir gently, and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Combine flour and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix sugar and eggs with the paddle attachment until combined. Pour in milk/butter/yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add half the flour and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the other half and beat until combined.

Switch to the dough hook attachment and beat/knead dough on medium speed for ten minutes. If dough is overly sticky, add 1/4 cup flour and beat again for 5 minutes.

Heat a metal or glass mixing bowl so it’s warm. Drizzle in a little canola oil, then toss the dough in the oil to coat. Cover bowl in plastic wrap and set it in a warm, hospitable place for at least 2 hours.

Turn dough out onto the work surface. Roll into a neat rectangle no wider than the loaf pan you’re going to use, and about 18 to 24 inches long. Smear with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Mix sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle evenly over the butter-smeared dough. Starting at the far end, roll dough toward you, keeping it tight and contained. Pinch seam to seal.

Smear loaf pan with softened butter. Place dough, seam down, in the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix a little egg with milk, and smear over the top. Bake for 40 minutes on a middle/lower rack in the oven.

fresh tomato soup

3-4 tomatoes diced
3 or so tablespoons olive oil
about 4 tablespoons small diced purple onion
a few shakes of dried minced garlic (I ran out of fresh minced you could use that a 1/2 - 1 teaspoon or so)
splash of white cooking wine
a few shakes of dried onion
a few shakes of italian seasoning
3 fresh tomatoes; diced
1/2 can of diced tomatoes (it was in my fridge and needed to be used)
about 4 basil leaves chopped
salt
pepper
heavy cream

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until onions are tender. then add the seasoning and cook another few min. add the tomatoes and heat through. once hot, put into a blender and blend all up until smooth. pour back into the pot and add salt and pepper to taste and about 1/4 c. cream or however much you like....to taste.

serve with grilled cheese or crusty bread!! yum!

Applesauce Granola

not very much oil, the only sugar is honey or agave! Now, I followed this recipe exact, and it was not sweet enough to just eat with milk. if I was to make it to eat with milk, I would do more honey. maybe not quite double. I love tasting the oats/nuts etc, and you know my sweetness meter, so you can gauge based on that. BUT, all that said, it was PERFECT sweetness for on top of yogurt with just the granola or with some strawberries or other fresh fruit. then I wouldn't want it any sweeter. anyway, try if you want! I liked it! **I'm not sure the time becasue of our humidity here it took a lot longer to crisp up!!


6 c large flake oats
1/4 c flax meal
1/2 c wheat germ
1 T cinnamon
large pinch of nutmeg
1/2 t kosher salt
3 c whole almonds
1 c unsweetened shredded coconut
3 T olive oil
2 c applesauce
1/3 c honey or agave syrup (increase if you like a sweeter granola)
2 c dried cranberries or raisins or dried apple bits

Preheat oven to 300F. In a large bowl, mix together the first 8 ingredients. Add in the oil, applesauce and honey or agave syrup and mix well using your hands until everything is well coated. Spread mixture between two baking sheets lined with silpat or parchment paper and bake, turning mixture frequently and rotating pans until the mixture is dry and golden. For me, this took about 1 hour or a bit more. Add the dried fruit as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let cool and then store in a sealed container.

OAT CAKES

**So I got this recipe from a blog that I absolutely love called tiny-morsels, and she actually got it from one of my other favorite blogs called the happy foody. I made these yesterday and absolutely love them! They are yummy and way easy. Anything is good on top of them although I really like sour cream, brown sugar, and blackberries or blueberries. They are also good with just butter and syrup or butter and powdered sugar. The tiny-morsel lady said that her daughters favorite is almond butter and syrup, sounds yummy to me but i am out of almond butter!

Just a heads up: these ARE NOT like the fluffy pancakes you get at IHOP. These are dense little cakes, with more texture. And they taste like a bowl of oatmeal. Also, since they don't contain any flour, they don't knock-you-out and drag-you-down like traditional pancakes do (Nobody needs that, especially first thing in the morning).

2 cups rolled oats
2 cups milk
2 large eggs
2 tbsp. melted butter
1/2 tsp. fine grain sea salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
coconut oil (for cooking) (I just used butter)

*the recipe doesnt call for it but i put in about 1/4 tsp. of vanilla**

• Use a food processor (I used my blender) to grind the oats to a flour-like consistency.
• Mix the ground oats with the milk, cover, and let the mixture soak
  overnight (12-24 hours).
• Stir in the eggs, butter, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Mix well.
• Cook over medium/low heat. Oat cakes take longer to cook than regular pancakes, and burn easily, so go slow.