No Bake Natural Cookies

Invented by the Russo's

1 cup of Craisins

1 cup of pitted dates

1 cup of rolled oat

1 cup Adam's Natural peanut butter

1 cup of Nutella

Blend in food processor 

Thanksgiving Turkey

Submitted by the Russo's

Here is how we cooked the turkey on Wed.

1 cup of olive oil
1 cup balsamic vinegar
Mix & add:
1/4 cup of basil
1/4 cup of oregano
2 tablespoons of salt
Mix
3 tablespoons of crush garlic rubbed in cavity

Bake & cook as directed.

Easy Apple Pie by Kimberly Faerber

Crust:

1 ½ cup. Flour

1 ½ tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

½ cup vegetable oil

2 TB of cold milk ( I use rice milk)

Combine ingredients until well blended.  Pat in bottom of a 9 inch pie pan.  Do not roll out.

Filling:

4 cups Jonathan apples

½ c up sugar

2 TB flour

½ tsp. nutmeg

½ tsp. cinnamon

Combine sugar, flour and spice.  Pour over apples and toss lightly with a fork. Pour into pie shell.

Topping:

½ c. flour

½ c. sugar

½ c. butter

Mix ingredients together with fingers or fork until crumbly.  Sprinkle over top of pie.  Place the pie in a large paper bag and seal with a stapler or 3 large paper clips.  Bake in preheated over at 350 F for 1 hour 30 minutes.  No peeking!

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Submitted by Kimberly Faerber

Ingredients:

• 3/4 pound silken (soft) tofu
• 1 16 ounce can pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp molasses
• 1 pre-made pie crust

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients, except for pie crust, in a food process or blender and process until smooth. Pour into pie crust.

Bake for one hour.

Chill before serving and top with whipped cream or non-dairy whipped cream if desired. 

Sour Cream Blueberry Pie by Kimberly Faerber

 1 unbaked pie crust 

Filling

3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup sour cream (I used ¾ c. Tofutti soy sour cream and ¼ c. coconut milk yogurt
1 egg (I use 3 TB. of unflavored gelatin mixture)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Topping
1/2 cup flour
½ cup sugar
1/2 cup butter ( I use Earth Balance)

Directions:

1
Mix sugar and flour together in bowl.
2
Beat in sour cream, egg, vanilla and salt together until smooth (about 5 minutes).
3
Fold in blueberries.
4
Pour into pie crust, and bake at 400F for 25 minutes.
5
(May need to adjust temperature and time for frozen berries).
6
Meanwhile, combine topping ingredients.
7
Remove pie from oven after the 25 minutes, and sprinkle on topping.
8
Return pie to oven and bake 10 minutes more.
9
Chill before serving.

Arugula Salad Dressing

posted by Kimberly Felix

1 T. lemon juice

1 T. white wine vinegar

1/2 t. dijon mustard

1/2 t. honey

salt and pepper to taste

1-2 T. olive oil

Whisk together everything but the olive oil.  Then, slowly drizzle in the olive oil while you whisk.  Adjust seasoning as necessary. Serve over arugula with parmesan shavings.

* Optionally, you can use all lemon juice and no vinegar if you want a more lemony dressing.

This makes enough for probably around six servings? I'm not sure. I doubled it for that huge bowl at the party.

Allie’s sweet/yam/parsnip mash/fry/bake

Submitted by Allie Jones

Ingredients

·         1 stick butter J

·         2 large-ish red onions, thinly sliced

·         4 cloves garlic. minced

·         2 tablespoons (loose!, or could do 2 tsp packed) brown sugar

·         2  sweet potatoes, cubed (skins stay on)

·         2 yams, cubed (skins on)

·         2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch slices or pieces

·         1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or veggie broth, heated

·         2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped (or ~ 1.5 to 2 tsp, dried)

·         Parmesan cheese

What to do:

In a large skillet over med-high heat, cook onions and garlic with ½ of the butter and all the sugar, stirring occasionally, until onions brown, 20 to 25 minutes. If you need to, you can add a few tablespoons of water as you cook to keep onions from sticking or burning. Take about 1/3 of your parsnips and yams/potatoes and put them in a separate skillet with the other half of the butter, and also cook over med-high heat (uncovered), for also about 20-25 min until they are nicely fried (brown) in butter.  Fill a medium stockpot ¾ full with water. Add the rest of the yams, potatoes and parsnips; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes and parsnips are fork-tender (also 20 to 25 minutes), then drain. Put the parsnips/tatoes into a large bowl and mash with a masher.  Have the warm broth nearby and use as needed to get a nice creamy consistency (but you shouldn’t use all of it). Add thyme, additional salt if you want (to taste) and some pepper.  Now fold in the caramelized onions and the fried up potatoes, yams and parsnips.  Resist temptation to mash any more.  Put it all in a large casserole dish.  Grate parmesan on the top, and put in broiler long enough to crust/brown the cheese on top.  Serve.  Should serve at least 8 if not 12 I think.

Cajun Sweet Potatoes

Submitted by Kimberly Faerber

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 4 servings 

• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a small bowl, stir together paprika, brown sugar, black pepper, onion powder, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.
3. Slice the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. Brush each half with olive oil. Rub the seasoning mix over the cut surface of each half. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, or in a shallow pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven until tender, or about 1 hour.

Corn Okra Creole Recipe

Submitted by Joe and Dede Russo

YIELD: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped green pepper

• 1/2 cup chopped onion

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 2 cups fresh or frozen corn or 1 can (15-1/4 ounces) whole-kernel corn

• 1-1/2 cups fresh sliced okra or 1 package (16 ounces) frozen okra

• 3 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped (1-1/2 cups)

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

• Salt to taste

• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, optional Directions In a large skillet, saute green pepper and onion in oil until tender. Add corn and okra; cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, salt, pepper and pepper sauce if desired. Cover and simmer for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Fried  Green Tomatoes (From Allrecipies.com)

Brought to Blog by Allie Jones

Original recipe makes 4 servings

4 large green tomatoes

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Plenty of olive oil

Directions

1.    Slice tomatoes 1/2 inch thick. Discard the ends.

2.    Whisk eggs and milk together in a medium-size bowl. Scoop flour onto a plate. Mix cornmeal, bread crumbs and salt and pepper on another plate (note to RED group – for our southern/Cajuun night I added some Cayenne and paprika to the plate). Dip tomatoes into flour to coat. Then dip the tomatoes into milk and egg mixture. Dredge in breadcrumb mixture on plate to completely coat.

3.    In a large skillet, pour vegetable oil (enough so that there is ¼ to 1/2 inch of oil in the pan) and heat over a medium/high heat. Place tomatoes into the frying pan in batches of 4 or 5, depending on the size of your skillet. Do not crowd the tomatoes, they should not touch each other. When the tomatoes are browned, flip and fry them on the other side till that side ia also brown. Drain them on paper towels.

Peach lavender phyllo dough dessert

Submitted by Joe and Dede Russo

Submit

- 8 pealed and de-seeded peaches

- 1 cup sugar

- 2 Tablespoons lavender flowers

- 1 cup crumbled goat cheese

- Phyllo dough

(Vanilla optional)

Defrost phyllo dough overnight.

In a saucepan combine peaches, lavender flowers, and sugar. Simmer 10 min.

Once sugar is dissolved, let it rest another 10 min.

Place phyllo dough in a lightly greased 9x13 pan...I used coconut oil. Then Layer with a slotted spoon the peach mixture, use other thin layers for the remaining mixture. On the last layer add in the peaches and goat cheese and top with the rest of the phyllo dough. Use some more coconut oil between some of the layers to make it more crispy.

Bake 440 degrees for 25 min.

Enjoy!

Allie's  cream cheese stuffed grilled peppers

Submitted by Allie Jones

I don't really have a recipe - I just finely chop up some white onion (so
like a 'handfull worth shopped) and garlic (Maybe one big clove? Or 2?),
sauté them in olive oil, and then mix them into a chunk of (block, but not
cold) softened cream cheese, with a healthy dash of cumin and salt.  Then
cut tops of chiles - Anaheim best -  and gets seeds out, then use a narrow                                                           spoon or small cheese spreader to get the stuff in there, cap them with tinfoil                                                           held with a toothpick, and grill both sides on med high grill till blackened on both
sides

Grilled Corn with Spicy Miso Butter

Submitted by Joe Russo

serves serves 4, active time 35 minutes, total time 40 minutes

• For the Miso Butter:
• 8 tablespoon butter, softened
• 2 tablespoon white miso paste
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 4 ears corn
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

(Joe didn't include cooking instructions, so assume you mix up the sauce and serve it with however you like to cook your corn - boiled or on grill)

Chicken Souvlaki

Submitted by Kimberly Felix

Ingredients (chicken part)

• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons olive oil 
• 1/2 teaspoon sal
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into (1/2-inch-thick) slices
• Cooking spray

Tzatziki Sauce:

• 1/2 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded, and shredded 
• 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 garlic clove, minced

1. To prepare souvlaki, combine the first 5 ingredients in a zip-top plastic bag; seal and shake to combine. Add chicken to bag; seal and shake to coat. Marinate chicken in refrigerator for 30 minutes, turning once.
2. Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Thread the chicken and zucchini, alternately onto each of 4 (8-inch) skewers.
3. Heat a grill pan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add skewers; cook 8 minutes or until chicken is done, turning once.
4. To prepare tzatziki sauce, combine cucumber, yogurt, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 garlic clove, stirring well. Serve the tzatziki sauce with souvlaki.

Kimberly's potato Tacos

Posted by Kimberly Felix

The insides of this recipe could use some tweaking but as you know, the avacado sauce is amazing.http://allrecipes.com/recipe/central-american-tacos/detail.aspx

5 large potatoes, cubed 1 pound lean ground beef 1/2 onion, chopped salt and pepper to taste 4 tomatillos, husked and quartered

1 clove garlic, peeled 1 jalapeno chile pepper, diced 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, or to taste 3 avocados, halved with pits removed 10 (6 inch) corn tortillas

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Place potatoes into a large saucepan, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain.
2.	While the potatoes are cooking, crumble the ground beef into a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook for a few minutes, then stir in the onion. Cook until meat is no longer pink, and the onion is tender. Drain excess grease, and gently stir in the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3.	Place the tomatillos, garlic, jalapeno, and cilantro into a blender. Squeeze avocados out of their skins into the blender. Process until smooth.
4.	Heat tortillas in a skillet until warm and flexible. Spoon on some of the meat mixture, and top with the sauce. Roll up, and enjoy.

Sarah's energy bars

Put into a cuisanart:

2 cups dried cherries
2 cups halved cashews (can be salted or not - I use a blend of both kinds.  If you go with unsalted I would throw in a few dashes of salt)
3 tblsp coconut oil
3 scoops protein powder
a healthy dash of cinnamon

Cuise.  scoop mixture into a pan or baking dish and press into it till flat.  Freeze for a little while.  Then cut into squares and "roll them" in a plate of powdered sugar (or half powdered sugar half flour).  Then put squares into a container in the freezer and store there until you're ready to take them out for your exercise bouts.

Asian style pickled cucumbers

Asian style pickled cucumbers

Start with 2 quarts of skinned, seeded and sliced up (cubed) cucumbers, put them in a fairly large bowl and toss with 4-5 tblsp (yes that is tablespoons) of salt.  Then boil about 2.5 cups of water and add to the cukes to cover.  Let sit 30-40 min.

While they are soaking you can make the sauce.  Add together:

1 cup water
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (1/2 tsp if you want them extra spicy)
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp grated ginger (best to grate ginger when frozen with small-holed grater)
5 tblsp sugar

Rinse the cukes in cold water.  Put into one large container or a few jars and cove with sauce )in theory this amt of sauce should cover them perfectly but I often find I come up a little short).  Store in fridge.  Best to eat next day.

Thai Style Ground Beef

Submitted by Becca Leeper, from the following.....http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/thai-style-ground-beef-10000001141966/

Ingredients

Cooking spray

1 cup thinly sliced leek

1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic

1 pound lean ground sirloin $

1 teaspoon red curry paste (such as Thai Kitchen)

1 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup light coconut milk

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon grated lime rind

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce

3 cups hot cooked short-grain rice

Iceberg lettuce wedges (optional) 

Chopped cilantro 

Chopped green onions (optional) 

Preparation

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add leek; sauté 5 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add beef; cook 7 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in curry paste and tomato sauce; cook until half of liquid evaporates (about 2 minutes). Add milk and next 4 ingredients (through fish sauce); cook 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Serve with the rice and lettuce wedges, if desired. Garnish with cilantro and green onions, if desired.

Andes Chocolate Cookies

Submitted by Becca Leeper, but I got it from here.....http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/04/andes-mint-cookies.html




This is my go-to cookie whenever I need to bring cookies to something or take cookies to a neighbor. They are AMAZING! (And very rich . . . warning- you WILL need a glass a milk to go with them!)

1 Devil's Food Cake Mix
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 package of Andes Mints

Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs together. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-9 minutes. Don't cook any longer than that! You don't want them to be overdone!
Take sheet out of oven and while the cookies are still very hot, place an Andes Mint on top of each cookie. In about 5 minutes, the mint will be melted. Take a spoon and smooth out each mint like frosting.
These are so yummy when they are warm and gooey!! They are also delicious when they set-up for a little while . . . who am I kidding? They are divine no matter their temperature . . .

Green Monster Hummus

Submitted by Becca Leeper, but I got it from here.....http://www.namelymarly.com/2012/04/green-monster-hummus/



Ingredients
1 can chickpeas
¼ cup tahini
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 -2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Bragg (an alternative to soy sauce)
½ cup water
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups raw spinach
Directions

Pour all hummus ingredients into a food processor and pulse until well-combined.
Scrape down the sides of the food processor bowl and then process until you achieve a fine consistency.
Pour the hummus into a serving bowl and garnish with olive oil, pine nuts, and sliced black olives. Serve with pita bread or your favorite crackers.

Black Bean & Feta Dep

Submitted by Becca, but I took it from here...http://dainty-chef.com/2012/02/black-bean-feta-dip.html


Ingredients:
2 cans black beans (drained and rinsed)
2 cans shoe peg corn (drained)
8 oz. feta cheese
1 bunch green onions (chopped)
1 red pepper (chopped) – optional
½ cup sugar
¾ cup apple cider vinegar
¾ cup vegetable oil
Garlic – to taste
Salt – to taste
Pepper – to taste

What you’ll do:
Mix all ingredients and refrigerate overnight. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.

Source: Patty Jarnigan

Corn Crack

Submitted by Mary Stanley
Ingredients:

3-4 ears of corn with the kernels cut off
Olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1c heavy whipping cream
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add garlic and sauté till it blooms (=becomes fragrant). Add fresh kernels and sauté till roasted along with salt and pepper. Slowly add shipping cream and reduce heat. Cook till cream begins to bubble. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
The end.

Buddha Balls

Submitted by Allie Jones

Actually, in the Moosewood cookbook – it is called “Buddha’s jewels”

Ingredients

Dumplings:
36 ounces firm tofu , mashed 
2 tablespoons peanut butter 
3 tablespoons Braggs liquid aminos 
8 scallions , chopped 
1 green pepper , diced 
1 1/2 cups mushrooms , chopped 
1/4 cup water chestnuts , diced 
Sauce:
1 1/2 cups juice , see note 
1/4 cup cider vinegar 
1/4 cup Braggs liquid aminos 
1 garlic clove , minced 
2 tablespoons cornstarch 
2 tablespoons cold water

Directions

-Preheat oven to 375.
-In a large bowl mix all dumpling ingredients. Shape into 2 dozen 2-in balls and place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed generously with non-stick cooking spray.
-Bake at 375F for 45 minutes or until golden and firm. 
-Combine all the sauce ingredients except corn starch and cold water in a saucepan. Bring to boil. Dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water and then stir in and simmer. Continue to stir until thickened and clear. Pour over dumplings and serve immediately. 
-Can serve with rice and steamed veggies. 
-Makes four generous servings (6 meatballs in a serving)

NOTES:
-For the juice: You can use orange, pineapple, or apple (or a combination) I use straight pineapple juice.
-The tofu should be firm or extra firm and water-packed. Silken tofu is too soft for the meatballs to keep their shape.
-Braggs Liquid Aminos: can be found at a health food store. It’s a wheat free version of soy sauce

Salmon Tartare Spread

Submitted by Emily Williams

Ingredients:

1/4 capers/green peppercorns

8 oz smoked salmon

2 tbls virgin olive oil

2 tbls fresh dill

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1/4 finely diced red onion

Directions:

If not smoked salmon and you have fresh bake at 350 for about 30-45 min. Depending how big a piece of salmon

Cool salmon and refrigerate ( break it up all messy and such)

Mix in food processor onion and caper/peppercorn combo

After salmon cold mix everything together in processor until finely chopped and well mixed

Serve with crackers or kettle style potato chips

Tofu/Vegis Teriyaki Kabobs

Submitted by Allie Jones

(NOTE: Either night before or morning of get things soaking in the terriyaki marinade for best results!)

about a dozen kabob skewers

1 rather large or 2 smaller containers tofu (maybe a pound total?)

1 red bell pepper

1 gr bell pepper

1 can pineapple (already chopped into cubes best)

one white onion

veg oil

3/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup mirin

2 cloves garlic 

ginger root (frozen), grated enough to make about 1 tsp, packed

Start with tofu - (don't need to press for this recipe) cut into about 1 inch cubes.  you need to firm it up to make sure it doesn't disintegrate from the skewers on the grill.  The best way to do this is to fry it.  Start tofu simmering in a generous splash of oil in a large skillet over med-high heat.  You might want to cover to keep oil from splattering, but not necessary.  Only need to fry two sides of cubes  (but try to make those sides be the ones with most surface area, if the cubes are not perfect cubes).  Flip when underside is a light golden brown (remove when both sides of all cubes are light golden brown).  

While tofu is cooking you can chop rest of veggies and prep the terriyaki sauce.  Chop all veggies into ~ 1 inch pieces so will fit on skewers The basic terriyaki recipe is 3 parts soy sauce to 2 parts white sugar to 1 part mirin.  For this recipe I would use a 1/4 cup for those parts (see exact measurements above).  Put these 3 ingredients in a sauce pan on low heat to melt sugar.  While that's happening finely mince the garlic and grate the frozen ginger and stir those in - as soon as sugar is melted its done.  Put in a glass jar and put in freezer for a bit, b/c you don't want to immediately add the boiling sauce to your veggies to marinade b/c it will start cooking them.

Put all veggies (but I would hold off on the pineapple for now) into one large ziploc, put all tofu cubes in another.  Add enough of the cooled T. sauce to each baggie so the veggies/tofu are more-or-less covered up with sauce (you will have extra T. sauce - which is good to have around - especially for marinating salmon for the grill - FYI).  I reckon you will use between 1/2 to 2/3 of all your sauce for this recipe between the two bags.  Place bags in fridge until time to assemble kabobs

When time to assemble kabobs, add pineapple to the marinating veggie bag and start soaking the skewers and give both things about 15-30 minutes.  Then pre-heat your grill to med heat.  If you forget to soak the skewers or only have a minute to soak them, its OK just line the top and bottom of the grill with aluminum foil to keep the very top and bottom (exposed, without veggies) parts of the skewer from burning.  Grill for about 6-8 minutes, flip over once to grill other side for same amt of time, and serve (for people who like extra sauce on their kabobs you can use the extra terriyaki sauce to drizzle on them, or even a sweet thai chili sauce for a nice compliment, but they shouldn't really need either)