Cheese and Garlic Salad

Here's another Russian recipe for you!  Another one of my favorites.  This is absoloutely wonderful served on fresh, sliced tomatoes or rye bread.  You can adjust the garlic to your liking.

Cheese and Garlic Salad

Ingredients:
3 large carrots, finely grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Mayonnaise

Directions:
1. Place carrots, garlic, and cheddar cheese in a medium bowl.  Add mayonnaise just until moistened.

Fruit Salsa

When I make fish, I don't like to do much to it.  I enjoy a good piece of grilled fish any day.  And if I do compliment it with anything, it's usually with a light sauce or this recipe for fruit salsa.  It is fantastic and best eaten within a few hours of making it so it retains the flavor of the fruit.

Fruit Salsa

Ingredients:
½ small red onion

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and quartered
1 cup frozen mango cubes, defrosted
1 Tbs. orange juice
1 Tbs. lime juice
3 Tbs. fresh cilantro
1 cup papaya, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and diced

Directions:
1. Place onion and pepper in food processor and pulse to dice – DO NOT PUREE!

2. Add mango cubes, juices, and cilantro. Pulse to dice and combine.
3. Pour mixture into medium bowl and add papaya and avocado, gently stirring to combine.
4. Refrigerate any unused portion for up to three days.
(Note: the longer this is left sitting, the stronger the onion will become)

Frozen Fruit Cocktail

Here's another recipe to use when you have peaches that you just don't want to can. My mom has made this since I can remember. It's really fun to serve it in nice glasses when you're having a formal dinner. And it's so refreshing in the summer. I have scaled the recipe to a smaller batch of peaches, and it makes 8 quart size baggies of cocktail.

Frozen Fruit Cocktail

Ingredients:
16 medium to large peaches
8 cups green seedless grapes (1 large bag should be enough)
8 quart size freezer baggies

Syrup:
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 cup sugar
1 can crushed pineapple
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. Fruit Fresh (you can find this in the canning isle)

Directions:
1. Label baggies with contents and date.
2. Mix the ingredients for the syrup and allow to sit for 10 minutes to allow sugar to dissolve, mixing occasionally.
3. While syrup is sitting, separate and wash grapes, putting 1 cup in each baggie. Peel and slice peaches, placing 2 peaches in each baggie (should be equivalent to 2 cups sliced peaches).
4. Pour 1/2 cup of syrup in each baggie. Seal baggie and shake to combine fruit and syrup. Squeeze the air out of the baggie, reseal, and place flat in freezer.
5. Keep in freezer until ready to serve. Serve in a small juice glass, brandy glass, or other small cup with lemon lime soda poured over it. You can also add other fresh fruit when you serve it, such as sliced bananas, strawberries, blueberries, etc.

Crescent Wrapped Raspberry Brie

My friend, Shelby, told me about this recipe, and then I found it on another friend's blog (Karyn). I am posting it because it sounds SCRUMPTIOUS to me, even though I haven't tried it yet (emphasis on yet).

Crescent Wrapped Raspberry Brie

Ingredients:
1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 round (8 oz) brie cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbs. raspberry jam

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. Unroll dough; separate crosswise into 2 sections. Pat dough and firmly press perforations to seal, forming 2 squares. Place 1 square on ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Place cheese on center of dough. Spread 1 Tbsp raspberry jam on top of the cheese. Place remaining square on top of cheese round.
4. Press dough evenly around cheese; fold bottom edges over top edges. Gently stretch dough evenly around cheese; press to seal completely. Brush with beaten egg.
5. (Optional) Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes & top it with shapes before cooking to decorate it.
6. Bake 20 to 24 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes. Serve warm.

25 Days of Christmas Recipes - Spinach Dip

We're having this as an appetizer on Christmas Eve. I love this dip because you can have it with vegi's or crackers.

Spinach Dip

Ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning

Directions:
1. Mix mayonnaise and sour cream in medium bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover.
2. Refrigerate several hours or until chilled.

25 Days of Christmas Recipes - Salmon Cheese Ball

Day five and counting...here's another appetizer for New Year's Eve. If you can't tell, we love to just do munchies on New Year's Eve. This is a great alternative to your plain old cheese ball, and wonderful if you like salmon.

Salmon Cheese Ball

Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh salmon filets
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 Tbs. prepared horseradish
2 tsp. lemon and pepper seasoning
½ tsp. onion powder
¼ tsp. ground red pepper
Parsley flakes

Directions:
1. Place salmon in lightly greased vegetable steamer and steam 10 minutes. Cool. Flake, being careful to remove skin and bones.
2. Combine salmon with the remaining ingredients, except parsley flakes, in a food processor. Process until smooth. Remove onto flat surface and shape into a ball and lightly sprinkle with parsley flakes.
3. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until ready to serve.

25 Days of Christmas Recipes - Artichoke and Spinach Dip

Here ya go, day four! I make this recipe as an appetizer on New Year's Eve. It is a favorite of mine and Jon's, and is great eaten with crackers or sourdough baugettes.

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip

Ingredients:
6 oz. Asiago cheese
2 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
½ jalapeno pepper, seeded and cut into quarters
1 clove garlic
1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained
1 small package frozen spinach, defrosted
¾ cup mayonnaise
3 oz. cream cheese, cut into 1 inch pieces

Directions:
1. Using shredding disc in food processor, process cheese to shred. Set aside.
2. Using multipurpose blade, process onions, pepper, and garlic until finely chopped. Add artichoke hearts and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add mayonnaise, cream cheese, and ¾ of the Asiago cheese. Process until blended.
3. Pour mixture into greased 9-inch quiche pan or pie plate. Sprinkle remainder of Asiago cheese on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until hot.
4. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Southwest Egg Rolls

This is one of our favorite dishes at Chile's. I've done my own version, using egg roll wrapers rather than tortillas. This recipe makes a ton (a whole package of wrappers to be exact), so I portion them off into five groups of 4 egg rolls and freeze them for later (just make sure you defrost them before you fry them up). When you make these, also make sure you have plenty of time for preparation as it can take a while to chop up the vegetables (or if you have a food processor, I highly recommend using it!).

Southwest Egg Rolls

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 bunch green onions, diced
1 can (15 oz.) corn, drained
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 package (10 oz.) frozen spinach
1 can (4.5 oz.) green chilies
2 Tbs. minced fresh parsley
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 dash cayenne pepper
3 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese
1 package (20 count) egg roll wrappers

Directions:
1. Preheat broiler or grill to high heat. Rub chicken breasts with vegetable oil, then cook, salting each side, until done. Put chicken aside and allow to cool. Dice chicken into small cubes or shred.
2. Preheat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add red pepper and onion. Sauté until tender. Add the chicken and cook until warm.
3. Add the corn, black beans, spinach, green chilies, parsley, cumin, chili powder, salt, and cayenne pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes or until warmed through. Stir well so that the spinach separates and is incorporated into the mixture. Remove pan from heat and add cheese. Stir until cheese is melted.
4. Put a large spoonful of mixture into the center of each egg roll wrapper. Fold in ends, burrito style. Arrange the egg rolls on a cookie sheet, lined with wax paper. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours.
5. While egg rolls freeze, prepare dipping sauce by adding all ingredients in a food processor and puree.
6. In a large skillet, preheat 1 cup of vegetable oil to 375 degrees and fry the egg rolls until a deep golden brown.
7. Cool on a plate lined with paper towels to drain the oil. Serve with dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:
1 avocado
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
2 Tbs. buttermilk
3 tsp. white vinegar
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. fresh parsley
¼ tsp. onion powder
1 dash dill weed
1 dash garlic powder
1 dash pepper

Directions:
1. Place all ingredients in food processor and mix until combined and smooth. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
2. Spoon onto plate to avoid thinning out sauce. Refrigerate leftovers.

Awesome Guac

I love guacamole - I love it on tacos, fajitas, salads, you name it! Avacados are so good for you too. The only problem is, I don't like the premade stuff you buy at the store. Not enough avacado for me. So, I've created my own recipe. It's had some tweaking, some testing, and some lovin'. Here's my final version. I use my Kitchenaid to make it so that it's nice and creamy and every ingredient has been incorporated.

Cat's Guac (a-mole)

Ingredients:
2 avacados
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1 Tbs. lime juice
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. chile powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper

Directions:
1. Slice and pit avacados. Place in food processor with cilantro. Pulse to chop.
2. Place remaining ingredients in processor and puree until combined. Refrigerate left overs.

Hummus

While we were in Wyoming, we decided to have a little Greek night of our own. And I was kicking myself when I noticed that I hadn't posted the recipe for Hummus or Lemon Rice on here. I love all of these recipes, and they go so well together that I am posting these two to go along with the Souvlaki and Tzatziki recipes.

Hummus

Ingredients:
1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup canned artichoke hearts, drained
½ cup mayonnaise
2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 clove garlic
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. chili powder
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. onion powder

Directions:
1. In food processor, puree chickpeas. Add the artichoke hearts, mayonnaise, cheese, lemon juice, garlic, and seasonings and blend until pureed.