Cranberry Fluff

EDITED 11/23/11: It is best to mix with an immersion blender in a very deep bowl, otherwise the counter, the floor, the chef, the dog, etc. are pink!

EDITED 12/8: Well, I found Cranberry Jello (yes, you have to but the brand name, which is more expensive, but hey, it's the holidays and a little treat every now and then is ok).

The cranberry jello is even better than the raspberry. This recipe is a "keeper" -- and next tme I want to do cranberry jello with cranberry juice for half of the water -- or maybe some of the cranberry flavored Sierra Mist soda that I saw advertised last night.

I'll keep you informed!

There's something about Thanksgiving that just seems to bring out the jello molds!

I really wanted to try something different this time, and since it was to be just two of us for dinner, and the DH is a willing guinea pig, this is what I came up with.

Since I wasn't making cranberry sauce, I wanted to have some cranberry ingredient, I went through the cupboard and found the craisins -- PERFECT!

Here then is what I did:

Ingredients:

1 small package sugar free raspberry jello (this would be even better with cranberry jello!)
1 cup boiling water
1 cup ice water
4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup craisins

Directions:

Spray a small mold with cooking spray

Add jello powder to boiling water and stir until totally dissolved

Using a whisk, beat in cream cheese until well blended

Add ice water and craisins, mix well

Pour into mold and chill until set


Notes: next time I'm going to try this with cold cranberry juice instead of the ice water, and I think I'll pre-soak the craisins to "plump" them too

I'll let you know how that turns out!

Lentil and Rice salad

I'm part of a quilt group that meets monthly and at the end of our morning meetings we have a pot luck lunch.

One of our members can't eat anything with wheat, so I've been trying to come up with recipes that she can eat too.

This one was what I took this month, and I really like it, so I thought I would share the recipe here.

Ingredients:
For Salad
3 cups water
1 cup dry lentils
1/2 cup long grain rice (note: I used basmatti, brown rice would NOT work here without serious cook time changes)
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup finely diced carrot
1/4 cup sliced green onion (or finely diced red onion)
1 cup diced tomatoes (I used a can of ready cuts)
lettuce leaves

For dressing
4 Tbls olive oil
4 Tbls lemon juice
2 tsp snipped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt

Preparation:
Rinse and drain lentils.

Transfer lentils to a medium saucepan and add water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer with the lid on for 5 minutes.

Add uncooked rice, cover and simmer 15 minutes more.

Remove pan from heat and let stand for 10 minutes.

Drain, rinse with cold water and let drain again.

In large bowl, combine lentil/rice mixture, red pepper, carrots, onions and tomatoes.

For dressing, mix together in a jar or plastic shaker: olive oil, lemon juice, salt and basil. Shake well.

Pour dressing over salad, stir gently to coat.

Chill for 4 to 24 hours (like many of these kind of salads, it improves with time to "meld")

Serve on lettuce leaves (a romaine leaf with some of the salad rolled inside is a tasty "salad burrito")

In defense of Jello

Its summer

Its HOT

we're on low fat diet

we're on a low sugar diet

we need a salad

we need a desert


what's the answer?

JELLO!!

now just plain jello (especially RED jello) is a staple in the winter when one of us has a "bug" of some sort, and that's not what I'm talking about here

I'm talking about using jello as the base for some wonderfully cool salads/deserts that hit the spot when its hot

and I'm not talking about just the brand name stuff either -- my grandmother used to swear by Royal -- now days I buy whatever is the least expensive, and I recommend you do like wise!!

Here then are some of my favorite jello concoctions:


Lime Jello #1

1 pkg lime jello
1 small can crushed pineapple
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

drain the pineapple (I usually drink the juice as a "cook's treat" when I do this)
mix jello according to package directions
add other ingredients
chill


Lime Jello #2

1 pkg lime jello
1 small can pear chunks

drain the pears
prepare jello according to package directions
add pears
chill


Orange Jello #1

1 pkg orange jello
1 small can mandarin oranges

drain oranges
prepare jello
add oranges
chill


Orange Jello #2

1 pkg orange jello
2 medium carrots
1/2 cup raisins

grate carrots
prepare jello
add carrots and raisins
chill


Tomato Aspic (Lemon Jello)

1 pkg lemon jello
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp worchestershire sauce
1/4 cup finely chopped celery (optional)
1 cup cooked salad shrimp

prepare jello by substituting the tomato sauce for the cup of cold water specified on the jello package
add all other ingredients
chill


Anybody got any other versions?

We interrupt this commercial for the Maison de Gateau...

(not to be confused with the Maison des Lunes -- or perhaps they are the same!).

It has been brought to my attention that the cookbook has been devoid of any recipe content for a while now, and I need to make amends!

So today I will share another summer dinner salad recipe.

This one is direct from my good friend in California, and I have noted my own additions/changes.


Amma's Taco Salad
1 pound ground beef browned, drained and cooled (I usually add some chili pepper to the meat while I'm frying it)
1 head of lettuce, shredded
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 avocado, diced (this isn't mandatory, but its really nice to have)
1 chopped onion (I usually use green onions)
3/4 to 1 pound grated sharp cheddar cheese (or Mexican blend)
1 15 ounce can kidney beans, drained
4 to 6 ounces thousand island dressing (ranch dressing is very nice too)
sliced black olives
hot sauce or salsa
1 bag tortilla chips, broken into pieces

Generally at our house this is served in a buffet "make it yourself" style so each person can create their own version.

This is a meal that can be put together in less than half an hour and will easily feed 4 to 6 people.

Summer Salad Time

In the summer there are a lot of days when I just don't want to cook.

One of the easiest ways to handle this for us is a pasta salad. On a recent weekend I used it as a side dish the first night with bar-b-que, then put in the protein additions the next day for a full meal salad. It is also one of those things that you can use to clear out little bits and pieces of fresh veggies that are hanging out in your crisper since you can toss in a lot of different veggies.

This is also a great thing to make and take to an outdoor event in the summer as there is no mayonnaise (so you won't be killing the guests!)

Here's the way I do it:

Required Ingredients:
1 pound of shaped pasta -- fusilli (twisted), farfalli (bowties), shells -- I like the ones made with veggie paste because they are pretty too, but just plain is fine

1 small bottle of Italian dressing (I like the low fat variety best)

Cook the pasta to slightly more than al dente, and use some salt in the water or the pasta will taste "flat", when its done, rinse with cold water until its all room temperature or cooler

Add in veggies:
carrots
celery
mushrooms
pepper
olives
broccoli
zucchini
peas (fresh are great, but defrosted frozen ones work good too)
radishes
green onions

Cut the veggies in small pieces. Try to use a variety of shapes and colors for visual interest too.

Add in proteins:
cheese -- cubed or shredded
ham pieces
salmon
tuna
grilled chicken pieces

When all of the ingredients are in the bowl, pour the bottle of dressing over the salad and mix well.

This gets better the longer it marinates together, so having some left to take in a lunch the next day is a good thing.

If you think of something that makes a good addition, let me know what it is in the comments!

No more bad leftovers.....

I can just hear the chorus out there saying "leftovers, EWWWWWWHHH!"

Trust me here, there is a major difference between what I'm talking about and those 3 week old containers of stuff from the restaurant meal that are turning into a science project at the back of your fridge (yes, I know they're there, I'm a mom after all!)

What I'm talking about here is leftovers that are PLANNED!

When the weather gets hot I just hate to heat up the kitchen every single day to cook something, so we shift into "batch mode". One of our favorites is to cook extra chicken. Depending on what the other meal plans for the week are, it may be worth while to cook a whole extra chicken just to make up chicken salads later in the week.

Here then are two recipes to use left over chicken in:

Chinese Chicken Salad

1 small head of cabbage, finely shredded
1/4 red onion thinly sliced (or use 1 bunch of green onions)
1 large chicken breast, cooked, deboned and shredded (I use a fork to do the shredding)
1 package Ramen noodles, broken into pieces (throw the seasoning packet away)

Toss these items together until well mixed

Dressing
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp chicken bullion base
1 cup sesame oil
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup sesame seeds

In a small skillet toast the sesame seeds until they are golden brown.

Blend together all of the other ingredients, then add sesame seeds

Pour dressing over salad and top with 1/4 cup sliced (or slivered) almonds


Any left over salad makes a great lunch the next day!




Chicken Waldorf Salad

1 large chicken breast, cooked, deboned and cut into small cubes
2 inner ribs of celery, chopped into small dice
1 medium red apple (braeburn or gala taste best), seeded and diced
1/2 cup pecan pieces
1/4 to 1/3 cup mayonnaise

Mix chicken, celery, apple and pecans.

Begin with 1/4 cup of the mayonnaise. If the mixture seems dry, add the rest of the mayonnaise.

This is really attractive if arranged on a lettuce leaf with tomato wedges, pecan halves and black olives as garnish.


See, if you plan for those leftovers, there are no bad ones!