One more for today

another dessert :) This is so light, so yummy and again easy!!

Biscuit Tortoni

¾ cup chilled whipping cream
2 Tablespoons sugar
½ cup macaroon cookie crumbs
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 Tablespoons chopped maraschino cherries
¼ cup chopped, toasted almonds

Line 6 muffin cups with paper cupcake liners. Beat whipping cream and sugar in a chilled bowl until stiff. Set aside 2 tablespoons macaroon crumbs. Fold rest of crumbs, almond extract, cherries, and almonds into whipped cream. Spoon mixture into prepared cups and sprinkle with remaining crumbs. Cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and freeze until firm-about 4 hours. Serves 6

Special Strawberry Spinach Salad

Everyone likes this and it too is easy. Dawn makes a few changes to it when she makes it but I'll let her tell you about them.

Special Strawberry Spinach Salad

9 cups baby spinach
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
½ cup slivered or sliced almonds, toasted

Dressing
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon chopped onion
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
¼ teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Place dressing ingredients in a blender; cover and process until combined. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately. Serves 6-8

Almond biscotti cookies

These are yummylicious and really easy to make. I was surprised.

Almond biscotti cookies

1 ½ cups slivered almonds, chopped
1 ¾ cups flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chopped almonds in a baking pan. Bake 10 minutes or until almonds are lightly toasted, shaking pan occasionally. Set aside to cool. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, butter, eggs, almond extract, and toasted almonds. With fork, stir mixture until combined. With hands, knead mixture until it forms a large ball. Grease large cookie sheet. Shape dough into two 12-inch-long logs, about 2 inches wide on the cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake longs 25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven. Carefully cut each log into ½ inch-thick slices. Using a wide spatula, carefully place slices, cut side down, on a cookie sheet. You may have to use an extra cookie sheet, or bake in two batches. Bake 6-8 minutes longer until slices are lightly toasted. Place on wire racks to cool. Makes about three dozen.

Mrs. Wenger’s Pot Roast

This is soo yummy, especially over brown rice.

Mrs. Wenger’s Pot Roast

2lbs Chuck roast cut into 2 inch squares
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg. onion soup mix
1 c Sprite, 7 up or beef broth

Spread meat over bottom of roaster. Pour soup over meat and s sprinkle with onion soup mix. Pour soda over meat and soups and bake covered for 4 hours at 275 degrees. Let sit 30 minutes before serving

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

So a while back, Tracie and I tried to make a pineapple upside down cake because it is Matt's favorite and we were having a student worker party. It failed miserably. The inside of the cake was all frothy when we turned it onto a plate and no amount of rebaking or anything would fix it.

I tried it again today. Different pan. Different climate. Different oven.

Still, the middle came out frothy. Thankfully this time I didn't mess with it. I made sure the platter was oven safe and stuck that sucker back in the oven and just left it. I washed the dishes. I took a shower. I got ready for Matt to come home. THEN took it out of the oven because it looked as close to done as it was going to get.

And it is DELICIOUS! Anyone know why on earth the middle of a pineapple upside down cake comes out frothy unless you double the baking time? Has anyone been successful with this cake?

Classic BBQ Sauce

Pampered Chef

Yes. I, Dawn, am posting a BBQ sauce recipe. I am proud and thankful to say I have successfully acquired a taste for basic barbeque. Why did I attempt this? Because my husband loves it so much. :-) I have made BBQ baked chicken twice and loved it both times. I even put a little extra sauce on a few bites last time. This recipe perfectly fits its name...Classic.

1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp chili powder

1) Combine all ingredients in small saucepan. Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Reduce heat to med-low; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2) When getting ready to bake or grill, portion out just the amount of sauce needed for brushing on meat. Cover and refrigerate unused sauce for later use.
3) Using basting brush (or spoon for thicker coating), brush sauce over surface of meat every 5 minutes during last 10-15 minutes of baking, broiling, or grilling. Discard any remaining sauce used to baste raw meat.

Yield: 2 1/2 cups, enough to baste 4-5 lbs beef or pork ribs or cut up chicken pieces.

A tip

I will post some recipes later. Dawn is right about making menus. One thing I have done to help me plan menus is I have a list of dinners we really like. Right now I think there are about 20 or so dinners on the list. I just look at the list, look at our week and decide what would be good which night, depending on our schedule. I try a new recipe a few times a month. This is very helpful and seems to take some of the stress out of meal planning :)

Southwest Taco Pie

Crust:
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs cornmeal, divided
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
1 Tbs vegetable oil

Filling:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 cup chunky salsa
1 cup (4 oz) shredded Co-jack cheese
1 cup shredded lettuce
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup slice, pitted ripe olives
Sour cream (optional)

Preaheat oven to 450. Butter 9" pie plate. Sprinkle 1 Tbs of cornmeal evenly onto bottom and sides of prepared pie plate.

For crust, combine 1/4 cup cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add milk and oil; stir with fork until mixture forms a ball. Transfer to lightly floured surface. Using lightly floured roller, roll out crust to 10-inch circle. Place in prepared pie plate; shape edge to form rim.

For filling, cook and stir ground beef over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink; drain. Stir in salsa. Spoon beef mixture into pie crust; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 12-15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Top pie with lettuce, tomato, and olives. Garnish with sour cream and additional salsa, if desired. For a crowd, serve with refried beans, Spanish rice, and tortilla chips.

6 servings

Tips:
~You may need more than 1 Tbs cornmeal to evenly dust pie plate.
~Cheddar is a great subsitute for Co-jack cheese. Most if not all of the ingredients are on-hand. This is a quick and easy dish to make and is delicious...even the next day!

Welcome!

For all you women out there who have experienced the brain trauma of figuring out what to have for dinner (you should be making weekly menus!) or need helpful hints and tips...this blog's for you! Women from the Savary family will post great recipes that we love or that we try. We will post hints and tips dealing with food preparation that we know...or discover. :-) It's a family thing, and we hope this will be beneficial to us as well as you!

Lentil & Spinach Soup

Here's another recipe using lentils. Some people are unfamiliar with this economical nutritional powerhouse, but you should try it! Seasoning is key, or you probably won't enjoy lentils. This recipe makes quite a large amount which is great for leftovers.

LENTIL AND SPINACH SOUP

1 Tbsp oil
2 medium onions, diced
1 tsp. minced garlic
4 stalks celery, plus hearts, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 large bay leaf
2 cups brown lentils, washed
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4 cups spinach leaves, washed, coarsely chopped

Heat oil in soup pot over med-high heat and saute onions, garlic, celery and dried herbs until the vegetables begin to soften. Add lentils and 2 quarts of water to the pot. Raise heat to high and bring to boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook 15-25 minutes, or until lentils are done.
Add salt, pepper and spinach. Mix well. Taste soup and adjust seasonings as desired.

Oregano Chicken

I e-mailed this recipe to some friends after it got rave reviews at our dinner table. It continues to get rave reviews!

1/4 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. garlic powder
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Combine the melted butter (or Smart Balance, etc.) lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, oregano and garlic powder. Mix well.
3. Place chicken in an ungreased 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour the butter/oregano mixture over the chicken. Bake for 15 minutes. Baste or spoon the juices over the chicken. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and serve the pan drippings over hot cooked [brown] rice, if desired.

Brown Rice & Lentil Pilaf

This is quite easy to put together and is a great vegetarian dish. I usually serve plenty of steamed or raw veggies with it! Sometimes I make hummus, too, because the kids love to dip their veggies in it. And did I mention that is is CHEAP!?!?

BROWN RICE AND LENTIL PILAF

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 med. yellow onion, diced
1/4 tsp. dried red chili flakes
1 1/2 c. uncooked long-grain brown rice
1/3 c. dried brown lentils
1/2 tsp. salt
1 large bay leaf

Saute the onion and chili flakes in oil in a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add rice and lentils, stir and cook 5 minutes to toast them slightly. Add 3 1/4 cups water, salt and bay leaf and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to very low, cover, cook 50 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and set aside, without disturbing the lid, for at least 5 minutes. Toss with a fork to break up any clumps. Serve hot.