Summer Garden Salad

Ok, ok…I admit it. None of this actually came from my real live garden…yet.

Oh, but it will. Soon…very soon.

And when it does–

oh…my-my.

Summer Garden Salad

Ingredients:

Roma tomatoes–cut in chunks

Cucumbers–seeded and cut in chunks

Snap Peas

Ranch Dressing

Italian Dressing

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

There are no amounts listed because it’s all relative. Normally, if I’m making this just for me–I’ll cut up one cucumber, 2 tomatoes, add a handful of Snap pea pods and toss. Mix equal amounts of Ranch and Italian dressing together and drizzle lightly over vegetables. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese.

This is one salad that stores and travels much better than wilty old lettuce. In fact, it will just make you glad to be alive.

Oh, and Michele M. and Patty Ann–this recipe was for your suggestion to use veggies and snap peas. Hope you like it.

Mini Shepherd Pies

Just perfect individually or by the fistful–so, if you go about it daintily you could nibble on them for a few days. But if your house is full of big burly brutes then….well then–expect them to disappear a bit more quickly.

Either way–everyone’s happy.

 

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups water
3 tablespoons butter
1-1/4 cups mashed potato flakes
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
1 batch Bisquick biscuit dough
1 cup shredded cheese

Directions:

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat til meat is browned. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute or until tender; drain. Stir in the ketchup, vinegar and salt; set aside.

Make the biscuit dough and shape into tablespoon sized blobs.

Press 1  dough ball onto the bottom and up the sides of each of 10 greased muffin cups.

Fill with beef mixture.

In a small saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. Pour into a small bowl. Whisk in potato flakes until blended. Beat in cream cheese until smooth.

Spread potato mixture over beef. Sprinkle with cheese; press down lightly.

Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve to the dudes.

Mini Shepherd Pies
 
:
Ingredients
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
  • ½ teaspoon minced garlic
  • ⅓ cup ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1-1/4 cups water
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1-1/4 cups mashed potato flakes
  • 1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
  • 1 batch Bisquick biscuit dough
  • 1 cup shredded cheese
Instructions
  1. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat til meat is browned. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute or until tender; drain. Stir in the ketchup, vinegar and salt; set aside.
  2. Make the biscuit dough and shape into tablespoon sized blobs.
  3. Press 1  dough ball onto the bottom and up the sides of each of 10 greased muffin cups.
  4. Fill with beef mixture.
  5. In a small saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. Pour into a small bowl. Whisk in potato flakes until blended. Beat in cream cheese until smooth.
  6. Spread potato mixture over beef. Sprinkle with cheese; press down lightly.
  7. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Peachy Peach Cake

Peaches–don’t they just go along with summer? And if indeed, summer is actually here–then I say we start off with a peachy little ritual called Peachy Peach Cake.

One of these days, perhaps I’ll get out the “Eggplant and You” cookbook—but right now–anything with summer fruit is going to work very nicely…and we’ll get to the veggies later.

Dang…doesn’t that just look…well…peachy?

Peachy Peach Cake

Ingredients

2 cups white sugar
1 (3 ounce) package peach flavored jello
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs–separated
2 3/4 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup canned or fresh peach puree

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour 9×13 cake pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and dry jello until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the batter alternately with the milk. Blend in vanilla and peach puree. Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a small knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes, before cutting. Serve with peach puree and whip cream.

Dude.

Peachy Peach Cake
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 1 (3 ounce) package peach flavored jello
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 4 eggs--separated
  • 2¾ cups flour
  • 2½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • ½ cup canned or fresh peach puree
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour 9x13 cake pan.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and dry jello until light and fluffy.
  3. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each.
  4. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the batter alternately with the milk.
  5. Blend in vanilla and peach puree.
  6. Pour batter into prepared pans.
  7. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a small knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  8. Allow cake to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes, before cutting.
  9. Serve with peach puree and whip cream.

 

The Cursed Lamb Cake

My daddy made this cute little lamby cake because he was a professional chef and he had a very cool, cast iron mold and…well…he knew what he was doing.

About fifteen years after this photo was taken I was thinking that I was pretty darn smart and persuaded my mom to sneak the lamb mold out of my dad’s shop and let me borrow it for my Foods class. It would be incredible and we’d certainly impress everybody and get an A+ for our efforts. Seriously, how hard could it be? I mean after all, my dad was a chef. Surely some of his skills would have rubbed off on me–wouldn’t you think?

Yeah…

It was all going quite nicely and according to our plan. The lamb cake baked up just fine and came out of the mold pretty well–except for that one part of his left foot. No big deal, we’d just fill in the hole with frosting and no one would be the wiser. All three of food class girls pitched in to ice the darn thing and even threw a few wads of coconut on for extra effect. Oh, yeah, it was perfect. So in our haughty delight, we skipped up to the teacher for our grade but just as we approached her desk–you know–to be handed our A+, the wretched lamb’s dopey frosted, coconutty head fell off. Plop. Just like that.

There must be some kind of adrenalin or endorphin or something that floods the system in a crisis such as this, that causes uncontrollable, manic laughter–you know, the wheezing, snorting kind. We whirled around and ran back to the prep table and tried, through our hysteria, to paste the cake head back in place with more…frosting. Oh, hush. It seemed like a good idea at the time. But no. The ugly thing slid right back off and this time it broke in half besides.

One of the girls–Debbie, I think it was–came up with the brilliant idea to poke it all back together with toothpicks–and that seemed to do the trick. Never underestimate the holding power of 750 carefully placed toothpicks. Just when we finished our masterpiece the teacher came by and made an attempt to slice a piece of the ear off to taste. We screamed at her…all of us…at one time. Scared the poor lady half to death. But we were imagining the school newspaper headlines, reading, “Home Ec Teacher Impaled By Pick Infused Lamb Head…” and we just couldn’t risk it. I think she thought that we were protecting the cuteness of our creation with no idea we were actually saving her life. So, to be more considerate, she took a slice out of the foot–the left foot and buzzed from our kitchen.

That afternoon, we received a note from the teacher which read:

“Other than the fact that the left foot was made entirely from frosting, I have to say that your lovely lamb cake held up quite well. Usually, the head falls off.
But then, your father is a chef, afterall. B+”

We laughed all the way home.

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Summer Cookies

Since “chanting” for Spring didn’t really work–remember last week’s snow episode?–I figure we’ll jump right ahead and try sliding gracefully into summer. I mean, seriously…what have we got to lose ?

These little diddies should help—don’t you think?

Summer Cookies

Boil for 1 minute the following:

½ cup butter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

¼ tsp. salt

3 T. cocoa

1/2 cup milk

Remove from the heat and stir in the following:

3/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup marshmallow cream

1 tsp.vanilla

3 C quick oats

Drop by tablespoons onto wax paper and allow to cool.

Be on the lookout for cookie tornadoes–they are everywhere and can quickly cause cookie devastation…of sorts.

Store whatever you have left…

in an air tight container…

in another country.

heh.


Summer Cookies
 
Ingredients
  • ½ cup butter
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 3 T. cocoa
  • ½ cup milk
  • ¾ cup peanut butter
  • ½ cup marshmallow cream
  • 1 tsp.vanilla
  • 3 C quick oats
Instructions
  1. Boil for 1 minute the butter, sugars, salt, cocoa and milk.
  2. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining ingredients.
  3. Drop by tablespoons onto wax paper and allow to cool.