My first big job out of high school was at a local steakhouse. We made a cranberry salad around the holidays that was so sweet/sour/addictive I had a hard time not eating myself sick on it. This recipe I found in an old cookbook that was a gift from my boss at that time-I don’t think it was the same exact salad, but I have the same difficulty not eating the entire batch in one night.

Cranberries are so intensely sour and coupled with the sweet pineapple and marshmallows, creates the ultimate combination.

1 package fresh cranberries

1 cup sugar

1 cup drained crushed pineapple

4 cups mini marshmallows

1 cup whipped cream or cool whip

process cranberries in food processor until finely ground. add sugar and pineapple, then marshmallows.

*At this point you can allow it to set overnight if you want/need to.

Add whipped cream just before serving

As always, I think all the food at Thanksgiving should be home cooked from scratch. A little biased there, my family makes a killer dinner. Reality check says many people don’t have the time or don’t know how. So my thought is, you probably just never knew how EASY it is to make your own sauce. Alright, some people love the jelly in a can, but I just don’t think your jello should be in the shape of a can.

Now I know I’m a little late for Thanksgiving, but I guarantee this is good other times like Christmas or any other time you make turkey. Turkey sandwiches are lovely with a good spoonful of cranberry sauce!

Try this easy recipe, and be proud that you did it your self! A little extra can go a long way, and people don’t have to know it only took you 15 minutes!

Ingredients:

1. One bag of fresh cranberries-you find these in the produce section this time of year. If you like them and want them for throughout the year(like me) buy a bunch and put them in the freezer. They last so well you will never notice they were frozen.
2. 1 cup sugar
3. 1 cup water
4. 2 round slices of orange (I always scrub when I am going to use the peel so it’s really clean)

Ok. Put all ingredients in a saucepan and cook on medium heat until cranberries pop and it’s sauce. Remove orange slices. If you want jelly, strain through a sieve of some kind, I prefer it will the pieces in it. Chill for a couple hours (I make this the day before, one less thing for the day of). And that’s it. Seriously. It’s that easy.

Put it all in the saucepan-pretty pretty!

Simmer to saucy texture, until the cranberries pop!

Remove the pretty orange slices!

I love bread. Yeah, I know, I love food. But nothing beats the smell of freshly baked homemade bread. I don’t make bread in the summer because of the heat, but come fall and winter, I love to start up my baking again. This recipe is very simple. I don’t do anything fancy, just mix, rise and bake.Yes it takes some time to rise, but the prep and baking time is short. So while it’s rising, take the time to do some cleaning, play with your kids, or pay some bills. I made 24 of these, and they lasted 2 days for a family of 4. They are wonderful fresh, hot with butter, maybe  jam, or just cold. It’s practically dessert on it’s own. You can also reheat leftovers. Just wrap in tinfoil and place in preheated oven (350′) for 10-15 minutes.

Oh yeah! Don’t want the rolls? This is some of the other things you can shape with this exact same recipe!

Ok. The old way was hard, these days the Kitchen-Aid Mixer is the ultimate in kitchen devices.(http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/index.asp)

In mixer bowl mix:   ( with beater attachment on about 3)

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 pkg yeast, or 2 1/2 tsp= 1 pkg

2/3 cup oil

1 egg

1/2 sugar or honey

1 3/4 cup warm-hot water from your tap. ideally about 100′-120′

Beat smooth. Put dough hook on mixer.  Add 3-3 1/2 cups flour. I use the ‘2′ setting on mine, and mix then knead for around 2-3 minutes. It’s a fairly sticky dough, so I often dip my fingers in flour to help keep it from sticking on me too badly.

grease a nice big mixing bowl, turn out dough into it. Cover lightly with plastic wrap, and let it rise until doubled in bulk. One trick is I put it in a cool oven and place a bowl of boiling hot water on the rack below.

Grease 9×13 glass pan, preheat oven to 375′.

Punch down the dough, then start forming the rolls. I usually start by separating into four pieces, then make the rolls, etc. until there are 24 even size balls. As I form each ball, I place it in the greased pan, they should just fit. After the pan is ready, set it in a semi-warm place (on top of the stove can be good as long as it doesn’t actually get hot) and let rise again, until up to the top of the pan. Then brush with egg wash (1 beaten egg with a little water added) gently, and pop in the oven for about 30 minutes. The rolls should sound kind of hollow when tapped, and beautifully browned on top. Loosen sides and invert to take out of pan. I like to serve in a basket it two large pieces, and let everyone pull off their roll.

This will impress your family or guests. No preservatives, you can do honey so no sugar, and they taste like heaven. The smell of freshly baked bread can make anyone ready to eat!

I highly recommend this when you make something simple like a crockpot soup. That way you don’t have too much else work to do. Great for a Saturday or Sunday early supper.

Sweet Bread Version::::::::

Make dough as directed but add 1 tsp orange extract.

after first rising, knead in 1 1/2 minced dried fruit (if too dried out to mince, soak in OJ then drain before using)

knead and braid.  After you braid and let it rise again, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with minced, sliced almonds.

Bake for about 30 inutes at 375′

braided on flat cookie sheet or braided and baked in loaf pan

I tend to make only one pasta salad, so today I thought I would try creating an italian version. I always use rotelle noodles, and cook slightly al dente. I also used fresh garden cucumbers and tomatoes (it’s that time of year) and I am pretty happy with the result. I didn’t take any pictures today, but trust me. It’s yummy.

Noodles: cook 1 package rotelle noodles according to directions. After straining, run cold water until cooled, stirring to make sure all the noodles quit cooking. I leave them in the strainer while I make the dressing.

Dressing: whisk together in large bowl

1/2 cup veggie oil (I’m out of olive oil, I would have used that instead)

1/2 red wine vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp pesto (I use a very nice pesto, or make my own)

2 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp oregano, rub fine between palms as you put it in-grinds it finer

1/2 tsp dill, rub as you put it in

dash celery seed

Then add:

1 cucumber, diced small

1/4 cup minced green bell pepper (I want to try this with my grill red peppers instead sometime)

1/2 cup tomatoes, small bite size

On tomatoes: I used grape tomatoes and quarterd them, I would dice regular size.

Then add in the noodles and stir to coat well. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, stirring often. At this point I have a small cup on the counter that I have been putting sample spoonfuls in to taste test. I found that before the cheese it was a little strong on the vinegar-the cheese actually mellowed it out a little. I had to put it away in the fridge or there would have been nothing left after all my ‘tasting’.

For best results chill at least one hour before serving, stirring occaisonally if you can. Dressing will collect in the bottom.Stir and lightly sprinkle with more parmesan before serving and enjoy!

Last night was one of those nights my hubby and I both felt like cooking. He mans the grill, and I do the inside stuff. We decided on grilled chicken, had a fresh zucchini out of the garden, and some red bell peppers that wouldn’t last another day. I decided to steam some rice and we were lucky to have found some fresh Morel mushrooms, which if you have read my other post, is by far our favorite.  There are only two ways to prepare Morels, my other post is one, and sauteed in garlic butter is the other. The combination of this meal was beautiful and deliciously complimentary.

Grilled Bell Peppers are this simple. Heat grill, cook meat first-these only take minutes. Grill them hot on each side for a minute or two until marked/slightly blackened/grilled looking. They get soft and sweet. My son is almost 4 and he loved them.

Grilled Red Bell Peppers (& Zucchini)

I love this time of year. My little backyard garden struggles with consistency with the exception of the zucchini. I can never give any away, either others have more than they can handle or they don’t like it. Woe is them! Not like zucchini??! Zucchini is one of those veggies that has to be cooked properly-as in don’t cook it until it’s mush. Generally the small tender ones are best, before the seeds get big. This is a matter of preference because the following recipe is better when using the larger ones. I like these about 4 inches in diameter. If using smaller ones, slice lengthwise  1/4-1/2 inch, large ones I love to slice rounds, same thickness.

Grilled Zucchini

Preheat grill to high

Slice zucchini 1/4-1/2 inch thick (1 huge or 3 little zucchini’-serving will be about 2-3 slices/person)

whisk together :

1/3 cup Olive Oil, 1/3 cup lemon juice, 1/3 cup honey, 1 TBS freshly grated ginger, 1 TBS soy sauce

dip each slice gently, let excess drip, then place on hot grill. BEWARE the FLAME! Oil will catch fire! Keep grill open and grill about 2 minutes each side. They should be just slightly soft, not impossible to pick up, with beautiful grill marks.

Absolutely delicious! Leftovers make a tasty cold snack too.