Cucumber Salad

This is an easy salad that tastes good with any kind of spicy/heavy food like Indian curries or bean dishes. I don't really use a specific recipe, but this makes a decent amount for 3-4 people and is easy to double:

1 cucumber, coarsely chopped
fresh cilantro or parsely, chopped
yogurt or sour cream (whole milk yogurt is best if you happen to have some on hand)
salt and pepper
fresh or dried dill

Mix everything together in a dish; use enough yogurt to make it nice and moist. I make my own yogurt so I usually have some on hand. It also tastes good if you add some chopped tomato, and you can add some onion if you want more flavor.

Curried Garbanzos

Curried Garbanzos (Originally from Meatless Monday, but I've altered it a little)

1 large onion, coarsely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbls. oil
1-2 tsp. curry powder
2 15 oz cans garbanzos (chickpeas), one drained and one not
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tbls. tomato paste
2 tbls. peanut butter

Saute onion and garlic in oil over medium heat until soft. Add the curry powder and cook for a minute or two until it gets nice and fragrant. Add the garbanzos (including liquid from one can), lemon, and tomato paste. Cook for about 5 minutes. Take out about half the mixture from the pan and puree it in a blender (or if you have a hand blender, stick it in the pan and blend up part of it--you want some garbanzos left whole, but some puree to make the sauce thick). Keep cooking for another five minutes or so, then add the peanut butter and cook just a few more minutes. Serve with rice. This tastes really good with a carrot salad or a nice cucumber/yogurt salad.

Middle Eastern Rice & Lentils, Greek Salad

Middle Eastern Rice and Lentils

1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 tbls. olive oil
1 cup brown rice (has to be brown)
1 tbls. tomato paste
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup lentils
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup slivered almonds or pine nuts, toasted

In a large saucepan, sautee the onion in the oil until it is soft (medium heat). Add the rice and cook and stir for a few minutes until it is toasted. Add the water, tomato paste, cinnamon, and lentils. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir the salt, raisins, and nuts into the rice. It should still be a little watery, add 1/4 cup water if it's dry. Place in a greased 9x13 pan, cover with foil, and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes.

Trust me, this is a very tasty recipe. I've served it for several different friends and they have all raved. It's kind of sweet, chewy, and crunchy all at the same time. It goes really well with a hearty salad. I like to serve it with this one:

Greek Salad
1/2 head romaine or green leaf lettuce
2-3 tomatoes, quartered
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
1/4 red onion thinly sliced
6 oz. feta cheese, broken in chunks
Black Kalamata olives (the recipe specifies 16, but I just buy a bunch and throw them in because I like them. You want the really strong olives here)

2 tbls. red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Tear the lettuce into bite size pieces and mix together with everything else (you don't have to be super exact, and I personally like to use more lettuce, tomato, and cucumber, because it makes a lot of dressing and I don't like my salad to be too "slimy"). Whisk together the vinegar, garlic, and seasonings, then slowly pour the olive oil in while whisking to combine. Immediately add the dressing to the salad and mix well.

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

This is one of our favorite meatless meals. It's really easy to double the recipe too. I like to serve it with baked sweet potatoes and a nice green salad.

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed & drained
1 c. sour cream
1 c. small curd cottage cheese
1/2 c. Bisquick baking mix
1/4 c. margarine or butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tomato peeled & sliced thin (optional)
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8 x 8 x 2 inch baking dish and spread broccoli in dish. Beat sour cream, cottage cheese, Bisquick, margarine and eggs with mixer for 1 minute or until mostly smooth. Pour over broccoli. Arrange tomato slices on top; then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake until golden brown and when a knife is inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Serves 6-8.

new category

alrighty, we have several requests for the next category to be VEGETARIAN MEALS.

Savory Ranch Chex Mix

My mom makes Chex mix every year; it's a good munchy to have on hand to cut the sweetness of all those cookies and candies. I made this ranch-flavored mix for book group a few months ago and it was so delicious.

9 cups Chex (Corn, Rice, Wheat or a combination of all three)
2 cups mini pretzels
1 bag cheddar Goldfish (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (grated, not shredded)
1 packet ranch dressing mix

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Melt the butter in the microwave, stir in the dressing mix and the cheese. Combine the other ingredients in a large pan with sides and pour the butter mixture over them. Stir to coat everything well, then bake for about 20 minutes, stirring at least once. Cool before serving. The last time I made this I left out the pretzels and added a few cups of popcorn after baking it. That was yummy too.

Chocolate Truffles

I just got this recipe from a friend. I haven't tried it yet myself, but it sounds good and looks really easy considering the potential product...

8 oz. softened cream cheese
8 oz. room-temp butter
4 C. powdered sugar
4 C. semi-sweet chocolate
4 oz. dark bittersweet baking chocolate
3 tsp. Vanilla or other flavoring


In a large bowl, beat 8 oz. softened cream cheese and 8 oz. room-temp butter until smooth. Gradually beat in 4 c. powdered sugar. Stir in 4 c. melted semi-sweet morsels, 4 oz. melted dark bittersweet baking choc., and 3 tsp. vanilla or other flavoring. Stir until no streaks remain. Refrigerate for one hour. Form into 1-inch balls. Roll in cocoa, coconut, ground nuts, or powdered sugar. Keep refrigerated. Makes about 100 truffles. Freezes up to 1 year!

Easy Frango Mints:

*1/2 c. butter * 3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
*1 1/2 c. powdered sugar * 2 tsp. vanilla
*2 eggs * 1 tsp. peppermint extract

Line a 8 by 8 pan with foil, then using a stick of butter, coat the foil with a thin layer of butter. Melt 2 c. chocolate chips (set aside the extra 1 c.) in the top of a double broiler. In mixing bowl cream butter & pwd. sugar together. Add eggs and beat well. Add melted chocolate, vanilla, and beat until smooth. Add peppermint and mix well. Chill in foiled pan. When completely stiff, melt then melt 1 c. chocolate chips and spread a thin layer on the top. Chill again. (If desired, you can flip, and add another layer on the bottom.) After hardened cut into small squares. These make great neighborly christmas gifts.


Hot Wassail Pot:

*46 oz. orange juice *1 Tbs. whole cloves
*46 oz. pineapple juice *6 cinnamon sticks
*6 c. apple juice *1/2 c. cinnamon candy
*1/2 c. sugar *1 tsp. all spice

Combine all ingredients in a 5 qt pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil, cook 5 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain before serving. Great for parties. I like to use my crockpot and instead of using the spices I use mulling spices (Williams & Sonoma) and a tea infuser. This makes your house smell of Christmasy goodness!

cranberry salsa

this is one of my very favorite recipes, and probably one that is most requested. i make is at least every thanksgiving and christmas. serve with tortilla chips.


Cranberry salsa

1/3 c. fresh lime juice
12 ounces fresh cranberries
2 jalapeno peppers seeded and minced (i usually only do one)
2 tablespoons grated onion
½ cup sugar
4 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Blanch cranberries. Cover and cook until they pop open. Drain immediately. Add all other ingredients and process or blend. Chill until cold.

here we go again

not very many people were posting, so i didn't know if there was a desire to continue or what. BUT, by popular demand (and a 2 month hiatus), we are back!

the new category is CHRISTMAS GOODIES. (thanks kim)

i realize that we already have a cookies/bars section, so you can just remind people of the recipe that you already submitted. but think of foods that you like to have around the holidays, it doesn't necessarily have to be sweet. the possibilities are endless, so get cooking! (and submitting)