Friday, April 5, 2013

"ROCKIN' RECIPES"--Each recipe takes a favorite ingredient and uses it in an unexpected variation. The result is a lot of flavor without a lot of extra effort.





Chicken Salad Stuffed Tomatoes


2 pints (4 cups) chicken salad (homemade or premium deli)
6 to 8 firm, ripe medium tomatoes
lettuce leaves for garnish
hard-boiled egg wedges for garnish

Place a couple of lettuce leaves on each serving plate for garnish. Top each bed of lettuce with one tomato that has been quartered but not cut entirely through to form a cup for the chicken salad. Scoop chicken salad into the tomato cups. Add a couple of hard-boiled egg wedges to each plate for garnish.



Creamy Roquefort Dip & Fresh Vegetable Platter


1 medium clove garlic
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 lb. Roquefort cheese
1 pint sour cream
1/4 cup heavy cream
assorted fresh vegetables such as yellow, green, and red bell pepper strips; yellow and red grape or cherry tomatoes; celery, carrots, and green onions; radishes; broccoli and cauliflower florets
toasted baguette slices; baked pita triangles; assorted savory crackers and breadsticks


In a medium bowl, mash the garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt. Add the Roquefort cheese, roughly mashing the cheese with the back of a spoon. Stir in the sour cream and several grinds of pepper, and then add the cream until the consistency is slightly thinner than sour cream. (It should cling to the vegetables nicely but not be too thick) Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Refrigerate until shortly before serving. (The dip will thicken in the refrigerator but will return to its original consistency as it comes to room temperature.) Wash and drain vegetables and allow to dry on paper towels. Cut larger vegetables into long thin strips. On a large platter, place bowl of dip in center and surround with prepared vegetables. Serve with crispy breads and crackers.



Carrot Cake Cuties


2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, undrained
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup shredded carrots
powdered sugar


Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in large bowl. Add undrained pineapple, eggs, butter, raisins and carrots; stir until just blended. Spoon evenly into 36 mini-muffin cups sprayed with nonstick vegetable cooking spray. Bake at 375°F., 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove muffins from pans onto wire rack to cool. Before serving, sprinkle muffins lightly with powdered sugar.



Quick Coconut-Almond Macaroons


2 packages (7 ounces each) flaked coconut (about 4 cups)
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract


Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix coconut, sweetened condensed milk and almond extract in large bowl. Drop teaspoonfuls of mixture onto greased baking sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Immediately remove from baking sheets to wire racks; cool completely.



Buttery Baked Shrimp & Bread


2 lbs medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, rinsed, drained
1 16oz bottle Italian dressing (oily style, not creamy)
1 stick real butter, sliced
1 long loaf French bread, halved lengthwise & cut in wedges for dipping


Preheat oven to 350 F. Spread shrimp evenly in a 13in X 9in baking dish. Cover shrimp with Italian dressing and dot with butter slices. Bake for about 10 minutes, until shrimp are no longer gray. Serve immediately with bread wedges for dipping.  Mix pretzel crumbs, sugar and butter; press onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate. Refrigerate until ready to fill. Mix next 3 ingredients in large bowl. Gently fold in 2-1/2 cups whipped topping; pour into crust. Freeze 6 hours. Remove from freezer 15 min. before serving; let stand at room temperature until slightly softened. Top with remaining whipped topping and grated lime peel.



Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Savory Dip

 
4 or 5 Medium Sweet Potatoes
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
seasoned salt
ranch dressing or French onion dip

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and peel sweet potatoes. Cut in half lengthwise, cut each half into 1/4” thick slices. Pour olive oil into a large bowl. Place the fries in the bowl with the oil and toss until all fries are thoroughly coated. Spread the fries out on a large baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle fries lightly and evenly with seasoned salt. Bake for 30 minutes, turning half way through. Serve with ranch dressing or French onion dip.


Cake Mix Cookies


1 (2 layer size) cake mix, your favorite flavor
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup of one or two of the following: chocolate or other baking chips, mini candy-coated chocolates, nuts, coconut

Combine cake mix, oil and eggs in a bowl and mix well. Stir in chips and/or other add-ins, if using. Drop by teaspoons onto a nonstick cookie sheet or regular baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Upon removing from oven, let the cookies stand on sheet for two minutes, then cool on racks.


Bodacious Beef Brisket


1 jar (16 ounces) chunky-style salsa or picante sauce
2 cups water
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 large onion, sliced (about 1 cup)
1 trimmed beef brisket (3 to 4 pounds)


Stir the salsa or picante sauce, water, molasses, sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire and onion together in a 5-quart slow cooker. Add the beef, trimming to fit, if needed, and turn to coat. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours, or HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, or until the beef is fork-tender.


Margarita Pie with Pretzel Crust


1-1/4 cups crushed pretzels
1/4 cup sugar
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
**1/2 cup lime juice
1 envelope. Lemon Lime Unsweetened Soft Drink Mix
1 tub (8 oz.) nondairy whipped topping, thawed, divided
**use a fresh lime for juice; finely grate lime peel for garnish before cutting and squeezing lime for juice


Mix pretzel crumbs, sugar and butter; press onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate. Refrigerate until ready to fill. Mix next 3 ingredients in large bowl. Gently fold in 2-1/2 cups whipped topping; pour into crust. Freeze 6 hours. Remove from freezer 15 min. before serving; let stand at room temperature until slightly softened. Top with remaining whipped topping and grated lime peel.

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