Tiny Carrots with Dill Butter

This is found in the Better Homes and Gardens cook book (my staple). Anyway, my family loves these. They are a great side dish for just about anything. Enjoy.

1 16oz package tiny whole carrots (3 1/2 cups)
2 Tbs butter or margarine (or olive oil if you prefer)
1 Tbs fresh snipped dill or 1/2 tsp dried
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Cook carrots, covered, in a small amount of boiling water until crisp tender (usually 15 minutes or so at high altitude). Drain. Stir butter/margarine/oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper into carrots; toss lightly to coat. Makes 4 servings.

Ho Ho Trains

Fun for kids to put together.

For each train:
Chocolate frosting, architectural icing, or almond bark
1 Ho Ho (or Twinkie)
4 round peppermints or butter scotch candies
2 mini Recess Peanut Butter Cups
Twizzlers pull n peals (optional)

On paper plates or other portable surface, place the twizzlers strands like a train track (optional). Next, place the Ho Ho on the "tracks". Add the peppermints as wheels (two on either side) using icing or chocolate as glue. Cut one of the peanut butter cups in half. (eat the other half or use it for another train). Attach the half, larger side down, at the front of the "train" to create the "grill". Attach the other peanut butter cup to the top, front of the "train", small end down, to create the "smoke stack".

Other ideas:

Make box cars with Twinkies and Ho Hos using the same method but omitting the peanut butter cups.

Chocolate Cherry Mice

A cute little treat whenever you're in the mood.

For each mouse:

Almond bark (chocolate coating)
1 Chocolate Hershey Kiss
2 chocolate chip morsels
1 drained maraschino cherry with stem

Melt almond bark in microwave on high until melted, stirring every 30 seconds.

Dip cherry in chocolate by stem and coat evenly. Place on aluminum foil or wax paper to cool.

Dip one more time. Before it cools, press Hershey kiss into side of cherry point side out and place chocolate chips as ears, point side toward cherry. Let cool completely.

Eat and enjoy. Store at room temp in air tight container.

Fresh Tomato Soup

Here is one of our favorites, and it is so much better then the canned stuff.  Best part is that it really doesn't take much effort.  We like it best with grilled cheese sandwiches.

6 medium tomatoes, peeled and quartered or 2-14 oz cans tomatoes

3 cups water 

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

6 oz can tomato paste

4 Tbs snipped fresh parsley or 2 tsp dried

4 tsp instant chicken bullion granules

4 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp sugar

1. If desired, seed fresh tomatoes.  In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer about 20 minutes.  Cool slightly.

2. In a blender, blend half of the mixture until smooth.  Repeat with the rest.

Makes about 8 cups

Sushi Rolls

You can add whatever fillings you want to these rolls, but I'll given you some of my favorites and some other suggestions.

Possible Fillings: (use one to four)

* Sliced egg omelets (4 eggs, 2 tsp. sugar, dash salt, vegetable oil)
* Dried Shitake Mushrooms (12 mushrooms, 1 cup chicken broth, 4 tbs sugar, 2 Tbs soy sauce)
* Canned Salmon, drained and flaked
* Ripe avocado cut into thin strips
* Parboiled snow peas cut into thin strips
* Crab meat
* Strips of proiscuto cheese
* Bell pepper strips
* Cooked asparagus tips
* Whole green beans, blanched

Sushi Rice:

4 cups rice (long grain white or Cal rosé)
4 cups water
Vinegar Mixture:
1/2 cup vinegar
5 tbs sugar
1 tsp salt

5-6 sheet nori (seaweed)

Prepare one to four items for filling. (Our favorite combination is the egg, mushroom, salmon, and avocado.)

For Sliced Egg Omelet:
Break eggs into a bowl, and stir. Add seasonings and strain through a sieve. (This makes the texture more smooth and uniform). Heat an oiled frying pan and pour about 1/4 cup egg mixture, spreading to cover the entire bottom of the pan. When egg is almost cooked (it starts to loose its shine) roll up from one end. Remove from pan and cool. Repeat with remaining egg. Slice length wise.

For Shitake Mushrooms:
Rinse and soak in water. Cut off hard tips. Cook in chicken broth and sugar, skimming the scum, for 4-5 minutes. Add soy sauce and simmer over medium heat until liquid is gone (a bit syrupy in the bottom). Cool on a plate or cutting board. Discard stems and cut into thin slices.


For Rice:
Wash the rice before cooking. Add water and let it stand for 1 hour (a good time to prepare the fillings). Make vinegar mixture (put everything into a small bowl and stir) and set aside. Bring water to a boil and cook according to the directions on the rice package. After it's done cooking, leave it to steam for 7-8 minutes.

Transfer rice to a large, deep baking pan. Pour the vinegar mixture over the rice and stir with vertical cutting movements, cooling as much as possible while doing this. Let sit until it reaches skin temperature.

Lay a bamboo mat down and place a sheet of nori, shinny side down, on it. Spread 1/5 to 1/6 of the rice on the nori leaving about 3/4 inch at the far edge. Lay the fillings in long horizontal strips across the rice. Using the bamboo mat, bring the bottom edge of the nori to the top and join together. Using bamboo mat, press to shape, rolling to tighten. Cut into eight equal slices (a sharp knife and water for rinsing are useful). Repeat until done.

Meatball Stew

This stew is one of our favorites, and it’s really colorful. If you don’t feel like making the meatballs, you can also use store bought ones. Just heat them up according to the package directions and add to the stew at the end.

Oven 350F      Prep 10 min.    Bake 20 min.    Cook 20 min.

8oz. Lean hamburger
1 slice bread, crumbled
1 egg while
1 Tbs. Dry minced onions
¼ tsp. garlic powder

3 ½ C. water
1 can Garbanzo beans/chick peas, rinsed and drained
1 can Italian style stewed tomatoes
1 4oz. can sliced mushrooms
1 tsp. beef bullion
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
½ cup bowtie or other small pasta
5 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1. Heat oven to 350F. Mix hamburger, bread, egg white, onions, and garlic powder together in a bowl. Shape into ¾ inch balls, place on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, heat water, beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, bullion and Italian seasoning on stove to boiling. Add pasta and cook until tender but still firm. Add spinach and meatballs. Heat through. Makes about six cups (4 main dish servings).

Tahini (Sesame Seed Paste)

Can be used in Hummus, on sandwiches, or whatever.  Has a bit of a kick to it.

5 cups   Sesame seeds

1 1/2 c. Olive oil

-OR-

2 1/2 c.  Sesame seeds

3/4 c.     Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350F.  Toast sesame seeds 5-10 minutes, shaking seeds frequently with a spatula.  Do not brown.  Cool 20 min.

Pour into a food processor or blender and add oil.  Blend for 2 minutes, until thick but pourable.  Add more oil if needed.

Gyoza (Chinese Dumplings)

I've made these a number of times, and they’re always a hit. They're really fun for parties. Just make the meat mixture before hand and have everyone help make the dumplings (the most time consuming part). Cook them up in minutes, and you have yummy, impressive appetizers. For the sauce, you can also just do half and half rice vinegar and soy sauce.

Prep 50 min.     Cook 5 min per batch

Sauce:
1/2 C. soy sauce
1-2 Tbs water
2 tsp. sugar
2 Tbs. rice or white vinegar
1 green onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. sesame oil (optional)
1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Filling:
1 C. minced cabbage
1 tsp. salt
1 lb. lean ground pork or beef
3 Tbs. soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. minced gingerroot
2 green onions, minced
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. sesame oil (optional)
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. sugar


1 (10 oz) package gyoza skins (the round ones found by the egg roll skins in the produce section)
Water
4 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/2 C. water

For sauce, in a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Allow to stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

For filling, mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

Place 1 rounded tsp. filling (a bit larger then a marble) in the center of each gyoza skin. Paint the edge with water. Fold the skins over forming a semi-circle. Press tightly to seal and pleat edges if desired. Place on a tray, pressing bottoms to flatten slightly. Cover dumplings loosely with plastic wrap.

In a large non-stick skillet with lid, heat 2 Tbs oil over medium-high heat (medium for high altitude). Fry half of the dumplings until the bottoms are browned. Cover with lid, leaving a crack open. Carefully pour 1/4 cup water in the crack and close lid. Steam 2-3 minutes, shaking pan occasionally. Remove cover and cook until the liquid evaporates. Fry a few seconds longer to crisp the bottoms. Place dumplings on a serving platter. Repeat process to make remaining dumplings.

Serve warm with dipping sauce.

Hummus without Tahini

This is a Middle Eastern dip that can be served with crackers, pita bread, beagle chips, fresh vegetables, or whatever else you like. This hummus is more mild then most. My kids don't like the strong taste of tahini (sesame paste), but they love this version.  You can also try using other varieties of beans such as great northern or black beans.

1 can Garbanzo beans/chick peas, rinsed and drained (or 1 1/2 cups soft cooked beans)

1/4 C. Olive oil

1 Tbs. Lemon juice

1 tsp. Cumin (ground)

Blend all ingredients together until smooth and creamy. If needed, thin with 1 Tbs. water or olive oil until desired consistency is reached.