Green Beans Gremolata

Ingredients:

1 pound French green beans, trimmed
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
3 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (chopped almonds are OK)
2 ½ tablespoons good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

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Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the green beans and blanch them for 2 to 3 minutes, until tender but still crisp. Drain the beans in a colander and immediately put them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and preserve their bright green color.

For the gremolata, toss the garlic, lemon zest, parsley, Parmesan and pine nuts in a small bowl and set aside.

When ready to serve, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Drain the beans and pat them dry. Add the beans to the pan and saute, turning frequently, for 2 minutes, until coated with olive oil and heated through. Off the heat, add the gremolata and toss well. Sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and serve hot.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Directions:
1. Clean large baking potatoes and poke with a fork to release the steam
2. Bake potatoes in oven (350 for about 1 hour) or microwave (on high for 5 minutes per potato
3. Cut in half and let cool
4. Scoop out insides leaving the crusts - scrap well to reduce amount of potato left, try not to rip skins
5. Mix potato meat in a bowl with salt, pepper, butter, sour cream, and cheese. Enough sour cream to make smooth like mashed potatoes.
6. Scoop back into potato crusts
7. Top with cheese, bacon or other toppings.

Bake in oven at 350 for 15 min (or until cheese is melted)

Stephanie notes:

For really crisp skins anytime you bake potatoes rub with lard (or Olive oil or butter) and sprinkle with rock salt. I think Sea Salt would also work but have not tried it. Bake in a hot oven, 375-400. They will take less than 1 hour depending on the size. Note: The skin will soften as they cool but will be crispier than not doing this.

You can top with lots of things. I like chives and blue cheese dressing. Real bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled is really good.

Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients:

2 Containers 8 oz plain yogurt
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill
2 cloves garlic

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Directions:

In a blender combine yogurt, cucumber, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, dill and garlic. 

Process until well combined.  Transfer to a seperate dish and cover.  Refrigerate for at least one hour

Greek Cous Cous

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup pearl couscous
1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
1/4 cup sliced Kalamata olives
2 Tablespoon crumbled feta
1 cup canned garbanzo beans
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions:
Pour chicken broth and water into a saucepan , stir in the garlic, and bring to a boil.  Stir in the couscous, cover pan and remove from heat.  Allow couscous to stand until all water has been absorbed,  about 5 minutes.  fluff with for,.  allow couscous to cool to warm temp.

In a large serving bowl,  lightly toss the couscous, sun  dried tomatoes, olives, feta and garbanzo beans.  Mix oregano, black pepper, white vinegar and lemon juice in a small bowl, and pour over couscous.  Toss and serve.

I Love My Pear Salad

Ingredients:

1- 15 oz pear halves
1- 3 oz pkg lemon jello
1- 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1/2 c chopped pecans
2 cups cool whip (thawed)

Instructions:
Drain pears and reserve 1 c syrup (if needed add water to equal 1 c)
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine syrup and gelatin.  Bring to a boil and stir until gelatin is dissolved.  Remove from heat and chill until partially set.

In a lage bowl, blend the cheese and pears until smooth.  Add gelatin mixture, pecans and whipped topping.  blend until smooth.  Pour into mold or leave in bowl. chill for 3 hours until firm.

Thanksgiving, 2013

Green Beans with Caramelized Onions and Almonds

Kosher salt
3 lbs green beans, trimmed
1/2 cup skin on Sliced Almonds
3 Tablespoons unsalted Butter
5 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Large Onions, sliced thin
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh Thyme
Pepper

Fill a skillet with water (1 inch from the top).  Bring to a boil.  Add salt and the green beans.  Cook for 5 minutes. The beans should still be crisp.  Drain the beans and run them under cold water to stop cooking. Reserve the beans. Return the skillet and add the almonds and toast, stirring until golden, about 3-5 minutes.  Remove almonds.  Add the butter and olive oil to the skillet and heat until the butter has melted.  Add the onions and season with salt & pepper, cook, stirring frequently until the onions are caramelized, 20-25 minutes.  Add the thyme and cook another 5 minutes.  Add the beans and almonds.  Stir until combined.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.  Enjoy!

Macaroni Salad

6 cups (1 box cooked) elbow macaroni

2 large eggs

3/4 cup mayo

1 Tablespoon dijon mustard (optional)

salt & pepper

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced

1 small green pepper chopped small

1 jar pimento or roasted red pepper, diced

2 scallions, sliced thinly

Cook the pasta according to directions.  Drain. Cook eggs, cool. (You can cook the pasta and eggs together to save a pan.)

Mix everything in a large bowl. Chill and serve.

This recipe is in the LoseIt App
Entire recipe is 2,884 calories
1 cup is 360 calories

Strawberry Sour Cream Jello Salad

Ingredients:
4 boxes strawberry Jello
1 lb. frozen strawberries, whole or mashed
2 fresh bananas, sliced
1 pint sour cream

Directions:
Mix 2 boxes of Jello with 2 cups water (1 cup hot, 1 cup cold). Mix it in half of banana slices, with strawberries (mashed or whole), in 9 x l3" Pyrex dish. Refrigerate two hours or until hard. Spread sour cream onto hard Jello. Mix remainder of ingredients (2 boxes Jello, prepared as above; leftover fruit), and pour second layer. Refrigerate again until hard. Serve with whipped cream as a dessert; or on lettuce to accompany an entree.

I am going to use raspberry jello and only make a 1/2 batch using 1 large of box jello

Red, White and Blue Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

2 pounds red new potatoes, quartered 
2 cloves garlic, smashed 
5 to 6 strips bacon 
1/4 pound Gorgonzola cheese, room temperature 
1/4 cup heavy cream, room temperature 
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Add potatoes and garlic to a medium pot and fill with enough cold water to cover the potatoes by an inch. Season with salt and bring water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, fry bacon in a skillet until crisp. Set aside on a paper towel to drain. Roughly chop and reserve. 

Drain potatoes and garlic and place them back in the pot with the cheese, heavy cream, butter and chopped bacon. Roughly mash, adding more cream if needed. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Au Gratin Potatoes

Ingredients:

5 pounds (approximately 6 large) potatoes, sliced
4 ounces yellow onion, diced
6 ounces Asiago cheese
6 ounces sharp Cheddar
1 cup heavy cream
4 ounces egg yolks (requires approximately 5 eggs)
Salt and pepper, to taste


Directions:

Mix egg yolks, cream, and salt and pepper to create custard. In a Pyrex® or other oven‐safe dish, place alternating layers of potatoes, custard and cheese. Cover and bake 1 hour at 350°F. Uncover and cook for an additional 15 minutes.Yields 4 servings.

Spanish Rice

1/4c chopped onion
1/4c chopped green bell pepper
1/4c chopped celery
2T melted butter
2 1/2c cooked rice
1 16oz can crushed tomatoes with juice
1/2t salt
1/8t pepper
1/4-1/2c shredded cheese

In a large skillet over low heat, melt butter, saute onion, green pepper and celery until tender.  Add rice, tomatoes, salt & pepper, simmer 5 minutes.  Remove rice from heat, stir in cheese.

Serves 4

Crock Pot Beans "Marilyn's"

1 303 c Kidney Beans
1 303c butter beans
2 303c pork n beans
*1 onion
*4 slices bacon (cubed)
*1 lb hamburger
*2 sticks linguica
2T liquid smoke
1/2c catsup
1/4c brown sugar

*Fry & Drain

Combine ingredients & crockpot & cook all day

Thanks to Aunt Marilyn

Crustless Quiche

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1/2 pint cottage cheese
1/2 pint sour cream
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
4 Tablespoons flour
1 Tablespoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 drops tobasco sauce
2 cup monterey jack cheese

Directions:
Blend in blender, pour into quiche pan,

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes until golden brown.

Green Glop

12 oz can crushed pineapple
1 lg. pkg lemon jello
1 lg. pkg lime jello
20 lg marshmellows
7 c water
1 pt whip cream
8 oz cream cheese

Make jello with water & marshmellows.  Heat until melted.  Add pineapple w/juice, chill,  Beat whip cream & cream cheese.  Mix together and chill

This was Amy's first "real" food!

Pea Salad

2 cans peas
1 carrot (grated)
2 celery
cheese
4 boiled eggs
Pickle relish or sweet pickles (grated)
Mayo, mustard, sugar and salt.
Chopped green onions.

Mix to taste and serve

Thanks to Aunt Marilyn

24 hour Salad

2 cups pineapple chunks (drained)

2-3 lg. oranges diced

1 lb seedless grapes, halved

1 pkg (10oz) mini marshmellows

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped

lemon juice to taste

1 cup old fashioned dressing (below)

Combine fruit, marshmallows, nuts.  Fold whipping cream into boiled dressing and season to taste with lemon juice.  Pour over fruit, mix and chill 24 hours.

Boiled Dressing

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cayanne pepper

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup milk

1/3-1/2 cup vinegar (heated)

1 tablespoon butter

In a double boiler mix together, flour, sugar, mustard,  salt, cayanne, eggs & milk.  Add heated vinegar.  Place over boiling water and cook, stirring constantly about 10 minutes until thick  Remove & add butter.  Beat briefly w/beater to insure perfect smoothness.  Chill.  Thin with fruit juice , milk or cream fold into fruit mixture.

From my Grandma Mckean

Low-Fat Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
• Kosher salt
• 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup low-fat milk (1%), at room temperature
• 1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 cup grated gruyere cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 3-quart baking dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the potatoes and cook until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return to the pot.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon to make a paste. Cook, stirring, until the paste puffs slightly, about 1 minute. Graduallywhisk in both milks and simmer, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and the nutmeg. Pour the sauce over the potatoes and gently toss to coat.

Transfer the potato mixture to the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the gruyere. Bake until heated through, about 10 minutes. Switch the oven to the broiler setting and broil the potatoes until browned on top, about 5 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Per serving: Calories 290; Fat 7 g (Saturated 4 g); Cholesterol 22 mg; Sodium 546 mg; Carbohydrate 46 g; Fiber 3 g; Protein 10 g

A great choice for Scalloped Potatoes that are not so grease/calorie filled!