EZ Salsa

• 2 lbs. tomatoes
• 2 fresh Jalapeno or Serrano chilies
• 1/4 medium onion, white
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1½ tbsp. fresh lime juice

Deseed and finely dice peppers, set aside.

Dice tomatoes and place (with juice) in large bowl.  Dice onion and cilantro.  Add peppers, onion, cilantro to tomatoes and mix.  In a small bowl, mix: garlic sugar, and lime juice. Add mix to tomatoes.

Tastes best if you let set up over night, but can be eaten immediately.

Its Tomato week here at BCdc!

I was talking about fried green ‘mators on facebook this weekend and several folks requested some tomato recipes!  So this week our feature food will be mators!

Welcome to Mator Week!

 

Tomato Bread

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour


• 2 tsp baking powder (NOT SODA!)


• 1 1/2 tsp salt


• 1/2 tsp baking soda (NOT POWDER!)


• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk


• 2 eggs, beaten


• 1 TBSP granulated sugar


• 3/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (chopped)*


• 2 TBSP oil from the sun-dried tomatoes


• 1/4 cup green onions (chopped)


• 4 tsp+ basil (chopped) -  HEAEPING


• 4 tsp+ parsley (chopped) -  HEAEPING


• 3 tsp oregano (chopped)


• 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic


• 1/2 cup grated Provolone or Moz


• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 350 (f).

Spray (or grease) a 4 by 8-inch loaf pan

In a large bowl sift together all your  “powdery” ingredients: the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda.

In a separate bowl, whisk together: the buttermilk, eggs, and oil.

Gradually mix the powder into the bowl containing the liquid ingredients.  I think a whisk works the best.  Doing it gradually will help keep the lumps away.  If you just dump it all in at once you wont be able to see where the lumps are and what not, so SLOW AND STEADY WIN THE RACE. =D

Whisk in your veggies and spices: the tomatoes, onions, basil, parsley, oregano, and garlic.

I find by now I have had to lose the whisk and use my big wooden spoon.   Dump in the cheese and mix well.

Bake for about an hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and let sit for about 10 minutes in the pan.   This will allow the loaf to shrink away from the pan some, so you can get it out and put on a wire rack to cool.  Once its  room temp you can slice it.

 

*I found these in a little jar at Walmart.  They weren’t down the tomato isle though, they were down the “healthy food” isle.

**I like to sprinkle a little SHREDDED PARM on it while its still piping hot – before I cut it.  It just makes it real pretty to see those little white bits of cheese on the top.

Nana Bran Bread

• 1 – 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking POWDER
• 1/2 tsp baking SODA
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup margarine, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups Bran flakes (crushed to abt a cup)
• 1 1/2 cups ripe bananas (abt 3)

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350(f)

Sift together all DRY ingredients except sugar and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat sugar and margarine.  Add the egg and mix well.  Mix in the cereal and mashed bananas.  Add the flour mixture, mixing only enough to combine it.  Dont over beat it or you wont have any banana chunkies left in your bread! 

Spread the batter in a buttered loaf pan, and bake at 350(f) for abt 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Let cool abt 10 minutes before trying to remove from pan, and then remove from pan and let cool on a cooling rack completely before trying to slice.

 

source: Nana’s recipe box

**this is the best smelling bread…  Nothing like waking up to this cooking in the morning.  It just fills the entire house and feels like HOME.  *sigh*

Grandma’s Lazy Cake

cake:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

frosting:

• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup butter (melted)
• 1/4 cup whipping cream or milk

Preheat oven to 350(f).

In a 1-qt saucepan combine 1/2 cup butter and 1/3 cup whipping cream.   Cook over low heat, stirring until butter melts; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine sugar and eggs.  Beat until creamy.  Add butter mixture, flour, baking powder and salt.  Continue whipping until well blended.  Spread batter into greased and floured 16x9 pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Set the cake to the side and turn on your broiler. 

In a bowl combine all of the frosting ingredients.   Spread over cake, and broil for 2 to 4 minutes or until bubbly.

Can be served warm or cool.

**I like the fresh served hot with a little scoop of ice cream.  Then the leftover – cold cake – is AMAZING with the morning coffee!!!

 

source: clipping from  Nana’s box

Easy Banana Nut Bread

• 3 Cups Bisquick
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup mashed bananas ( abt 2 med)
• 2/3 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350(f) and grease and flour a loaf pan (9x5x3)

Mix all ingredients.  Once incorporated stir vigorously for 30 seconds!  Pour batter in pan.

Bake 55 – 60 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool 10 minutes and then remove from pan.  Let cool to room temp (preferably on a cooling rack) before trying to slice.

source: Clipping from Nana’s box

Ugly Snowman Cheeseball

We LOVE these!  I make them every year around the holidays.  Kids love to eat his arms n legs, and then start picking off his other parts.  LOL!  He is super easy to make!

• 2 boxes Philadelphia Cream Cheese (Fat Free works too!)
• 1 bundle scallions (greens chopped)
• 2 packages of CORNED BEEF (chopped)
• 1 small jar green olives, diced (save a few pimentos for decorating!)
• 1 1/2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
• 2 good shakes of garlic powder
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar (OPTIONAL)

for decorating: 2 black olive slices, 2 pretzel sticks, 1 baby carrot, and a few pimentos.

Using your hands, mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  If your mix is too soft, refrigerate for abt 20 minutes to firm it back up.   Form 3 different sized balls with your mix, place on platter in snowman format and decorate with your olives and pimentos.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  Give him his arms and nose when you serve him.

Notes:

• Can be eaten immediately BUT tastes way better if you let it set up overnight.
• super cute if you serve him on a pile of baby spinach
• Great with Ritz crackers, veggies, melba toasts, and/or biscotti!

Cheese n Spinach dip

• 1 10-oz package chopped frozen spinach, thawed, drained
• 8-oz Velveeta cheese {cubed}
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 4-ounces Philadelphia (or Neufchâtel)cream cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
• 1/2 cup sliced black olives

 

Combine all ingredients (except olives) in crockpot.   Cook on LOW for abt 1 hour. After the first hour, stir well making sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the crockpot, and then on LOW for 1 hour more.  Stir in the olives right before serving.

Great dip for raw veggies and even CHIPS!  I love it with TOSTITOS!

Creamy Party Poppers

• 1 package refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls
• 1 package Philadelphia Cream Cheese
• 1/2 heaping tsp. Dill Weed
• 1 Egg Yolk, beaten

In a bowl, mix the cream cheese with the dill.

Unroll the  crescent rolls and separate the “triangles” just like if you were going to make the crescent rolls.  Place some of the cream cheese mixture in/to cover half the triangle. About a heaping teaspoon.  Then, instead of rolling up into crescent shape, just fold the triangle in half and pinch edges to lightly seal the edges.   Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Brush the edges with the egg yolk.  (You can sprinkle with dill as a lovely garnish.)

Bake at 350°, for 15 to 18 minutes or until lightly browned.

Kibbles n Chips (chocolate chips!)

Kibbles n Chips (chocolate chips that is! hehee!)

• 1 stick of butter
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 12 oz package of chocolate chips (I like Nestles brand the best!)
• Lrg box of RICE Chex cereal
• bag of pretzels (small bag, like 10-12oz)
• peanuts (optional)
• 1 cup walnuts (optional)
• 1 lb powered sugar

In a LARGE cookie sheet, lined with wax paper, layout the chex, pretzels, and nuts. 

In a saucepan, melt and mix together butter, peanut butter, and chocolate chips.  Once mixture is all melty and mixed up pour it over the dry ingredients.

Dump this mess into a large paper bag, or container with a lid that you can shake.  Add the powdered sugar and shake.

Super EASY and everyone will love it!

Edinburgh Tea Squares

I love collecting OLD recipes.  This one comes from a newspaper clipping dated June 4th, 1976.  I imagine I got it in some recipe book I got at a yardsale somewhere since I was only 2 then.  lol. 

Even though it has dates in it, its actually pretty good.   What's funny is the clipping says… and I quote “…so good you’ll have to hide em from the men folks.”   hahaha.  Welcome to Kentucky y’all!

Filling:

• 1 cup dates
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Pastry:

• 1 cup butter ( I use Land O Lakes)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats (I use real oats not quick cooking)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

What to do:

For the filling: 
(Im going by memory here, because my clipping has fallen apart and all I have is the ingredients list. LOL)   If you didn’t buy the dates that are already pitted, then you need to cut the pits out.  Then simmer them in the water over low  heat until it gets like pastey/gooey. (abt 30 minutes as best I can remember) Set it to the side.  When it starts to cool add the lemon juice.

then you make the pastry stuff:
Its pretty easy, in a big bowl cream together the butter and sugar.  This is easier if your butter is “softened” ie: room temp.  Add to this the flour, rolled oats, and salt.  This mix should make a doughy type ball in your bowl.   Place half the mix in either a high sided cookie sheet or a cake pan and moosh it out flat.  Should only be like 1/4 inch thick.  Then you are going to smear the filling onto it  Kind of like a lasagna and layers. LOL.  So: dough, filling, dough. 

Bake 30 minutes at 325.  And then remove from heat.  I go ahead and carefully cut mine NOW because its easier to cut THROUGH when its hot, but its also easier to tear it up and make it ugly so be careful if you cut now.    I also refrigerate mine because they taste better cold to me.