Tasty Tuesday ~ Pasta Salad

 This is Jeff's favorite pasta salad, inspired by a macaroni salad his mom makes, but perfected by an "oops" moment in my kitchen. ;)

Pasta Salad
Boil 8 oz. of pasta to al dente (we like medium shells the best = 2 c. of dry pasta)

While it's boiling prepare:

8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese cubed in small cubes
1/2 c. red pepper (or yellow)
1 small can of sliced black olives, drained

Mix the dressing: (I like to do it in a jar and shake it.)
3/4 c. lite mayo
1/4 c. milk
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. red cayenne pepper (to your taste)
1/4 tsp. dry mustard

When the pasta is done and stops steaming, drain it well and dump it in the bowl you'll mix it in. While it's still hot, sprinkle the cheese cubes (and I also do the peppers/olives) all over it, so that they melt just a little and stick to the pasta. Jeff says THIS is the secret. :) I discovered the "secret" when I was in a hurry, and went ahead and dumped the cheese in, so I could pop the bowl in the fridge and run. What I thought was an "oops" turned out to be a secret step ... and a time saver!   LOVE THAT!

After the pasta has cooled a little, pour the dressing all over it and mix well. Some of the cheese will clump together ... it's up to you if you want to break it up or leave it as a "bonus" for someone to find.

Chill the pasta salad in the fridge until it's very cold. I like to give it a few hours, so that the flavors blend really well. It's awesome if you make it in the morning and serve it that night.

This batch was served with barbecued pulled pork. YUM!

The BEST combination (Jeff's favorite warm weather meal combo) is Grilled chicken, this pasta salad, fresh corn, and fruit. Add a fresh focaccia bread with olive oil, and it's perfection on the patio!

Tasty Tuesday ~ Personal Peach Pies

If you need a unique, inexpensive, and quick dessert for Easter or any spring/summer event, this little recipe might just be your answer.  When Jo and Jeff first tasted these, they said, "Oh, wow! Yum. That's soooo good."  It was a winner!  I hope you'll enjoy them. :) This would be a great recipe for kids to help assemble.

These personal peach pies only require 6 ingredients, including the pie shells, and they prep fast and would even work to assemble ahead of time. They make a pretty presentation and make your house smell heavenly!

Personal Peach Pies

Start with 8 mini pie shells. (I think you could also use puff pastry cups, but you'll have to tell me how that goes.) I used store bought mini shells to save time; they cost me about $2.50.

Combine: 
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. white sugar

• Cut in 1/4 c. soft (NOT melted) butter until it looks crumbly. (Use a pastry cutter or 2 knives.)
• Put about 1 T of the crumb mixture into each pie shell. 

• Drain a 29 oz. can of sliced peaces.
• Fill each pie with peach slices, evenly distributed to all 8 pies.

• Carefully mound the remaining crumb mixture on the top of the pies.  You may have to press a little, but get it all on there. It's worth it!

• Bake them at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, until little bubbles are talking to you from under the amazing, lightly golden brown crumb top. 

Let the pies cool for about 30 min (while you're having supper) and then serve them with a little whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

These are peachy sweet and buttery rich, so it's really perfect that they are personally sized to keep you from eating too much. Then again, maybe they're just easier to pick up and run away to eat a 2nd helping all by yourself. YUM!

Tasty Tuesday ~ Becky's Chocolate Silk Pie

I associate most of my friends with food.  What would I associate with you if we had the fun of eating "real," non-blog food together!?!? :)

• Donna = creamy baked pork chops
• LeAnn = creamy chicken noodle soup
• Kim = creamed corn (There's a creamy theme going on too!?!?)
• Tara = Speculoos cookies
• Beth = homecoming day chili
• Melody = butter knot rolls
• Steph = Mt. Dew apple dumplings :) 

But when I think of Becky, who was such a mentor to me in many ways, there are too many recipes to pick from. When it's spring and time to celebrate Easter, her Chocolate Silk Pie is PERFECTION. I made it last Thursday for our small group, popped it in the freezer, and pulled it out Sunday evening. It's easy to make and freeze, if you want to keep one handy for last minute guests ... or moments when you want to remember your NEW FRIEND BECKY. ;)

Chocolate Silk Pie

• 1 c. butter (softened, but not melted)
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 4 squares of melted chocolate (I used unsweetened baking chocolate squares)
• Cream together these 3 ingredients.
•  
• Add 2 t. vanilla and blend.
• Add 5 eggs, one at a time, beating for 3 minutes after each. (Really ... don't skimp.)
• Fold in about 12 ounces (1 1/2 of the smaller containers) of Cool Whip (I used fat free ... made me feel better). Mix thoroughly. Save the other 4 ounces to top the pie when serving.
• To serve, top with some cool whip and shave some chocolate over the top. You could also use chocolate sprinkles or mini chocolate chips. 

I used a purchased graham cracker crumb crust; you could also use a baked pie shell, if you prefer. This is a beautiful dessert that keeps well, can be made ahead (even frozen) and is a rich end to a meal.

I love to make the celebration of the Resurrection a special meal that reflects the New Covenant made possible by Jesus' sacrifice and the great gift of God's grace.  What will you make for your Easter dinner?

Valentine Steamer

Here's some love for your Valentine's Day!

First of all, I have to share a "sweet" from my online friend Celia. She makes inspirational notecards, magnets, bookmarks, wearable art, and more and sells them in her Etsy Shop, celiacurrinart. She'll donate 25% of her sales to my upcoming Women's Missions Team to Thailand when customers (any of you!) enter (Julie) in the message to seller area. She's offering this sweetness until May 30th, 2012.  I would love for you to be inspired by her work and to support our team of women and girls to Thailand.  Thanks for the love Celia!

Here's a sweet way to show some love to yourself or a loved one today. It reminds me of the Starbucks Vanilla Steamer. Make a Valentine Steamer.

Valentine Steamer

• Fill a mug with milk (Lactaid also works if you're lactose intolerant.)
• Heat the milk for about 90 seconds in a microwave.
• Add a sweetener option:   1 packet of splenda OR 1 spoon of sugar (adjust to your taste)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• Add 1 or 2 drops of red food coloring (or green for St. Patrick's day ... )
• Stir well. 

Optional:  Add a dollop of whipped cream on top and sprinkle with red sugar crystals. Love this touch on Valentine's Day!

Enjoy the taste of a little love today. ;)

Tasty Tuesday ~ Cinnamon Crescent Roll Heart

 Would you love a sweet and easy recipe for Valentine's Day? Since you start with crescent rolls, these are quick and rich. I added some red sprinkles to the icing, so it turned a light pink color, with festive red flecks.


Follow these simple steps:

You need one tube of Crescent Rolls. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray that with non-stick cooking spray. This way, you can lift the heart and move it to a platter for serving.



Roll out the crescent dough and gently press the perforations together, forming a single pastry sheet with sealed cuts.






Soften about 3 T of butter and spread gently over the crescent roll dough.






Evenly sprinkle about 1/3 c. brown sugar over the buttered dough.  Over that, sprinkle cinnamon evenly over all of the sugar.



Carefully roll up the dough from the long side, tucking in the filling as you go and gently pinching a little at the end, to seal the roll.




Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the roll into 15 pieces. Arrange them on the foil covered baking sheet in the order shown. (1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 4 - 1/2s)
I put a half of a roll on the top of each side, just to round off the heart.



Bake at 375 for about 12 - 14 minutes. Don't let it over brown. Cool on the pan for just a couple of minutes, and then ice.




Icing: 
1 T of soft butter
1/2 c. + 1 T. confectioners sugar
about 1 T. of milk (don't want it to be too runny)
Add a little red food coloring or red sprinkles





Ice the rolls and then carefully trim away the excess foil from the heart shape. Voila! Amour. :)



Serve this for Valentine's Day for someone you love.  It's so quick and easy, but really rich and sweet. I suggest making a pot of coffee or tea before it's ready. :)


And speaking of coffee ... I'm looking forward to my next of the 7 Days in a Cafe!

Tasty Tuesday ~ Real Homemade Pancakes

These pancakes say "Saturday morning" to our family. Sometimes they also say "supper." I've been using this recipe since before I thought to write down where recipes came from. They've been served to toddlers, kids watching cartoons, men in plaid shirts, and teenagers sucking them down like sugar in  a dust buster. (Same kids who gave me the Teen Reality Check)

Don't let the "buttermilk" in the name scare you; I've substituted plain milk and even water, depending on where I am in my grocery budget for the month. This recipe is a cornerstone in my kitchen. I hope you'll make it and love it along with my family!

Buttermilk Pancakes
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
2 t. baking powder
3/4 t. salt (I use Salt Sense to lower sodium)
2 T. sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 c. buttermilk or your sub.
3 T. oil
(Options: chocolate chips, nuts, banana, blueberries ...)

• Combine the dry ingredients and make a slight well in the center. Add liquids and stir well. You might see and leave a few lumps.  
• Heat your pan  with a little bit of oil in it. Don't use much;  you're not trying to fry them. If you use too much oil, the first cake will soak it up and develop crisp, brown edges. Not a disaster ... but you probably won't get requests for an encore. 
• Once the pan radiates heat (not smoke!) from the pan, pour in about 1/2 c pancake batter, depending on the size of your pancake eaters. :) 
• NOW is the moment you want to plop some chocolate chips around the batter IF you want it to be truly "Sanders-ized."  I ALWAYS make my cakes with a few chocolate chips, except for when I make them for Jeff; he likes his with pecans and a little fruit like blueberries or bananas. (I hear "Valentine's Day" in my pancake future.) 
• Wait until the cake looks a little smooth on the outside and the center shows slight bubbles. Gently lift the cake all around the edges, until it's all "free" and you can flip it. If some batter runs out, don't fear. Just use your spatula to "tuck it" back in to the side of the cake, and it will bake right in. If you don't care about a circle shape, just let it run and call it "creative cooking."

The majority of people in our household like their cakes with butter and a sprinkle of sugar, but I go the butter and syrup route. I have not rehabilitated anyone!

These are so light and easy, and they make a great entree morning or night. Long ago, I should've started counting the cakes made with this recipe, but I didn't. The taste is what matters, along with the statement, and these real homemade pancakes definitely say "home!"

Next time you have a craving for pancakes, but no "mix" in the pantry, whip these up in a few minutes and enjoy the real homemade taste!

Tasty Tuesday ~ Crescent Roll Chili Cups

What's more "real life" than leftovers? :) My life off line includes a lot of leftovers AND making simple (usually also cheap) ingredients go a long way. 

Since this past weekend here was frigid, I did what any self respecting Appalachian-dwelling woman should do ... I made a large pot of chili, heavy on the beans. :) I'll admit that the chili wasn't award winning, but it was the leftovers-inspired creation that got the rave reviews!

On Saturday I took store brand crescent rolls and wrapped each one inside a muffin tin I had sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. I put in a couple of spoonfuls of my less-than-stellar-chili and topped it with a generous clump of Monterrey Jack/Cheddar mixed cheese. I popped those cups in the oven at 375 for 12 and a half minutes, and called them "Crescent Roll Chili Cups!" 

 

The family gobbled them up for lunch, and a certain bottomless pit of a teen boy asked if I would make another batch. I did what any real, self respecting Appalachian-dwelling woman would do ... I made another batch and smiled as my boy gobbled them up! 

That's what's going on off line in my kitchen. What's happening in yours?

Tasty Tuesday ~ Zucchini Bread

 
More than food comes out of the kitchen. In years past, it also stirred up mentoring, learning, friendship, accountability, wisdom, and modeling. Cooking and kitchens still make those good things, if we're careful not to ignore the rich resource of real friends and the fun of sharing real food together. And if we find an awesome recipe on line, let's share it with an off line friend!

Today's Life Off Line Challenge:

1. Make double a dinner & take 1/2 to a friend. Better yet, have them come share!
2. Ask a friend for a recipe or use one you've been given; make it; let her know how it turned out. She'll love it that you used her recipe!

So many of my best recipes come from great friends around the world. I love making something given to me in another state or country, savoring the thought of my friend, and praying for them as I cook. A sweet friend recently asked me for my zucchini bread recipe, so I want to share it here ... for my "local" friend and my on line friends here at Come Have a Peace. I hope you'll make a loaf & enjoy it for real! And let me know if you do. ;)

Julie's Zucchini Bread

(I first saw this at allrecipes.com & modified from there... )

Combine & blend:
3 eggs
1 c. vegetable oil
2 c. sugar
3 t. vanilla
2 c. shredded zucchini (take out the seeds 1st)
Add to that:
3 c. flour
1 t. salt (I use a salt substitute)
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
3 t. cinnamon
Grease 2 pans. (You can also line with foil, if you want to be sure you can pull it out without leaving "chunks" stuck in the pan.) Pour batter into pans and bake in a 325 degree oven for 45-60 minutes. Cool the bread in the pan for about 15 minutes before removing.
Other Zucchini recipes I've shared that you might like: (All can be made with frozen, shredded zucchini)

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Zucchini Cake

Tasty Tuesday ~ Cocoa Bar & Life Off Line GIVEAWAY

In case I feel like I miss the holidays, a few extra pounds are with me as a reminder. It's funny how too much of a good thing produces the opposite of what we want and celebrate - health & happiness. Online information about food and recipes also fit in to the "good things" category, but too much leaves us unhealthy, if all we do is take it in without getting out of the virtual kitchen and into the real one.

How has your "online life" affected your real life "offline"? The topic usually stirs us strong feelings, mostly based on our own experience. When it comes to my real  life kitchen to table, I admit I have access to more recipes and tutorials than I EVER did before ... but I'm afraid that a hidden camera might reveal that I actually cook less. That doesn't make sense! If you have cable tv you can access a wide range of "chef mentors" on the Food Network and pick the personality that most appeals to you. New apps for iphones literally let us carry recipes with us. It's funny that, despite all of the help online and electronically, it seems like people in general cook less and know less about making food a good part of life. 

Where's the gap between all of the awesome motivation online and the actual pots and pans in our cabinets? Yesterday our 17 yr old JoHanna had a younger friend over to do some "wear an apron-flour on your face-read the recipe" cooking. I'll admit, ingredients had to be thrown out, windows had to be opened, and the smoke alarm did go off ... but a lot of "real" things happened in our kitchen offline. The recipe book was splattered with batter .... and memories. Notes were written on the page about discoveries ... in 17 yr old handwriting. Problem solving. Experimenting. Talking. Laughing. Creating (they modified the recipe, of course). Mentoring. Friendship. And not least of all ... some great food. And when it was all over and cleaned up (floor and counters), I posted pictures on Facebook and shared them with friends who wanted to know what ebelskivers are. I sent the pictures to my mother-in-law who gave the gift that inspired the cooking, but lives too far away to see the real thing. Life Online complements Life Offline.


Perhaps the kitchen is the perfect place to show us that the best recipes are those that use good portions of a variety of ingredients. Life online can infuse and inspire real cooking and real relationships in healthy, even delicious, ways off line. Proverbs 31:14 tells us that excellent women get their "food from afar," so this is nothing new!  Let's not lose our motivation, our creativity, and our confidence somewhere between virtual ideas and actual kitchens. 

Recipe carnivals, food blogs, coupon blogs, and meal planning sites are awesome resources. Do you have favorites? Let's be good stewards of this richness we have access to. Let's feed our families, our friends, our guests, the needy, and ourselves well. 

Here's a picture of a great winter party idea that I saw at a real friend's December open house. CUTE way to serve hot chocolate!

Do you need to get back to REAL COOKING?

Ideas to take virtual to real:

• Print out a recipe you find online and make it.
• Does a recipe make you think of a friend? Forward it with a note of encouragement.
• Get together & cook with a friend, each bringing a new online recipe & ingredients.
• Use digital scrapbooking software or online publisher & make a family recipe book.
• Choose one new recipe each week to try out & serve.
• Use online resources to find the best recipes to take to needy friends & then take one.

Today's Life Off Line Challenge:

• Virtual resources complement real ones. Take out a hard copy recipe book and rediscover some "oldies." Look for splatters reminding you of when you cooked and who you served. See what the handwriting reminds you of. 
• Have a favorite online resource? Write a recipe you discovered there on to an index card or paper, then include it in your recipe book or box, or mail it to a friend in a "real" envelope. ;)

REAL GIVEAWAY ~ 
Leave a comment today telling me what your favorite online food resource is ... recipe blog, meal planning site, cooking carnival ... what online resource motivates you? You'll be entered to win a 2012 Family Meal Planner/Calendar from the Gooseberry Patch. I'll announce the winner Thursday! 

Tasty Tuesday ~ Orange Chocolate Muffins ... BAKE AND BLESS!

Any times our hearts turn to gratitude, it's a good time to bless someone else. November is the perfect time to "Bake and Bless." I've been the recipient of sweet gestures of blessing accompanied by sweet baking in the last few weeks. Look at what our neighbors the Allins brought to me this weekend! 

The homemade card came with a loaf of yummy banana bread that we all enjoyed, but you don't have to start from scratch. You don't even have to take a whole loaf or a whole dozen of anything; wrap up a "one" thing with a ribbon on top or a tea bag attached, and let that be your blessing. Something we make says "Blessing" in a uniquely warm way. Is there someone who lives alone? Someone ill? Someone discouraged? Someone grieving?  Someone lonely? Someone new?  Who in your life could benefit from a little baking and blessing?


 Now that you have someone in mind .... (stop and think of someone if you're not ready  ;))  let me give you a simple recipe you can use to Bake and Bless. This was inspired by a recipe that I modified from an old Taste of Home Holiday cookbook. They are light and moist, and the combination of chocolate with orange is delicious and perfect for upcoming holidays.

Orange Chocolate Muffins
Cream together:
1/2 c. softened butter & 1 c. sugar
Add:  2 eggs, 1/2 c. sour cream, 1/2 c. orange juice, 1 t. vanilla and 2 T. grated orange peel (I use dry)


Add:  2 c. flour, 1 t. baking powder, 1/2 t. baking soda, 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips roughly chopped












Mix until well combined, but don't overmix. It will become dry. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray and then line with baking cups (makes for easier clean up - I hate washing muffin pans!).

Fill 14 muffin cups.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, until muffins are light and spring back when gently touched. Cool  a few minutes before removing, cutting and smearing with butter .... or cool a little longer before packaging a couple to take to someone else to "Bake and Bless."

I took one of my biggest muffins, put a special tea bag with it, arranged them in a fall themed plastic bag, then tied it all up with 3 strands of curled ribbon. All ready to deliver a personal coffee break and a blessing to a friend in need!


I hope YOU enjoy these, but more than that, I hope you BAKE AND BLESS!