White Bean Soup with Greens

Simple and Lovely.

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over med-hi heat. Add 1 1/2 pounds of swiss chard and cook 7 minutes. Drain greens, squeezing out as much water as possible. Can be done several hours before cooking soup,
2. In a large pot, bring 6 cups of chicken broth to a boil. Add 1 clove of crushed garlic and greens.Rinse and add 1 cup cooked or canned white beans.
3. Simmer gently, partially covered, for 10 minutes.
4. At the table - 1/2 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp. white pepper, grated parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes.

Cherry Cheese Pie

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese
1 14-oz can condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1 21-oz can cherry pie filling, chilled
1 graham cracker pie crust

Method:
1. Soften cream cheese and beat until light & fluffy.
2. Add condensed milk and blend thoroughly.
3. Stir in lemon juice & vanilla.
4. Pour into crust and refrigerate 3-4 hours or until firm, do not freeze.
5. When ready to serve, top with cherry pie filling.

Lemon Poppyseed Cookies

1. In a medium bowl combine:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. ground coriander
2 TBSP. poppy seeds
Mix with a wire whisk and set aside.

2. Cream:
3/4 cup salted butter
1 cup sugar to form a grainy paste

3. Add:
2 egg yolks
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp lemon extract
Beat until light and fluffy.

4. Add flour mixture and mix until combined. Do not overmix.
5. Drop by rounded tablespoons, 2" apart for 23-25 minutes.

Pineapple Cream Pie

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 20-oz can crushed pineapple
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 12-oz container of cool whip

1. Combine these ingredients by mixing well. Do not whip.
2. Fill 2 graham cracker crust pie shells, then sprinkle with coconut.
3. Chill for 24 hours.

Pico de Gallo Pilaf

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 c. orzo pasta
1 c. white rice
2 c. chicken broth or vegetable broth
4 plum tomatoes, finely chopped
1 small onion, red or white, finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
A handful of cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1 lime, zested and juiced
salt

Method:
1. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pot over medium heat.
2. Add the orzo and toast until deep golden.
3. Stir in the rice and broth and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and simmer for 17-18 minutes.
5. In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes, onions, jalapeno, cilantro and lime zest and juice. Season with salt, to taste.
6. When rice is cooked, fluff with fork and stir in the salsa.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:
2 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
zest of one lemon
1 egg
1 c. milk
1/2 c. butter (not margarine)
1 c. frozen blueberries

1. Mix dry ingredients and set aside.
2. Beat eggs, milk, butter and lemon zest.
3. Add dry ingredients and stir gently to combine.
4. Stir in blueberries.
5. Bake at 375º for 20-25 minutes.

Topping:
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
sugar

Combine butter and lemon juice.
While the muffins are still warm, dip the tops in the butter and lemon juice mix and then dip in sugar.
Makes about 12 muffins.

Puff Pastry Cinnamon Buns

 Ingredients:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1.5 ounces light brown sugar, packed
1 12x12 inch sheet frozen puff pastry, defrosted

For the filling:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Method to the Sweetness:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place a standard cupcake tin on a cookie sheet lined with parchment.
3. Lightly spray 6 - 7 of the wells with non-stick spray.
4. With a hand-mixer, combine the 5 tablespoons butter and 1.5 ounces brown sugar.
5. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of this mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups.
6. Lightly flour a cutting board or stone surface (I did it directly on my cleaned granite countertop). Unfold puff pastry & brush the whole sheet with the melted butter.
7. Leaving a 1-inch border around the edges of the sheet, sprinkle with the 1/3 cup of brown sugar & the cinnamon.
8. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down. If needed, trim the edges to make it a nice flat end.
9. Slice the roll in 6 (or 7 if you did not need to trim, like me) equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in the cupcake wells, on top of the buttery mixture.
10. Bake for 25 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top.
11. Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, scoop the buns out with a spoon and invert onto the parchment paper. Best enjoyed while still warm!

Root Beer Pulled Pork

Ingredients

1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin (pork shoulder or butt can also be used)

1 (12 ounce) can of root beer

1 (18 ounce) bottle of barbecue sauce

8 hamburger buns

Directions

1.Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker and pour the can of root beer over the meat.
2. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until pork shreds easily with a fork.
3. After pork has cooked, drain and discard the root beer.
4. Shred the pork and place it back in the slow cooker.
5. Pour the barbecue sauce over the pork and stir to combine.
6. Serve immediately or keep warm in slow cooker until ready to serve.
7. Serve on hamburger buns.

Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

2/3 Cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 Cup brown sugar

1/4 Cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1 2/3 Cups All purpose flour
1/2 Tsp. Baking soda
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Cup Toffee bits
1/2 Cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Method to the Madness

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter with both sugars until fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla
3. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; stir into butter mixture until combined.
4. Toss in toffee bits and chocolate chips.
5. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto parchment paper lined baking sheets.

6. Bake in oven until golden about 9 minutes so they stay soft and chewy.

Let cool on pan and then transfer to cooling rack.

Thank you Zesty.

S'mores Cookies

You will need:
11 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 ½ cups flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
3 regular sized Hershey’s bars, broken into pieces
1-2 packages graham crackers, broken into squares

Method to the Madness:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line baking pans with parchment paper. I used one 11x17 pan and one 9x13 pan but you can really use any sized pans you want.
2. Lay out graham crackers side by side on the pans as close as possible (they should be touching). I used 16 graham cracker squares on one pan and 10 squares on another. You may have to add or remove graham crackers according to how much dough you have. If you want your cookies thicker you will use more dough and less graham crackers.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon to combine. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter with white and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
5. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixer and combine on low speed.
6. Fold in the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Chill dough in refrigerator for 1 hour to overnight (I did one batch right away and another after chilling overnight and found there was no difference.)
7. Place tablespoons of dough on graham crackers about 1 – 1 ½ inches apart. I averaged about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough per graham cracker square as seen in the picture above. Press down slightly with fingertips.
8. Bake for 5 minutes then remove from oven to press Hershey’s bar pieces on to the top. You can place as many pieces or as little as you want depending how much chocolate flavor you want.
9. Bake for 5 – 7 more minutes or until dough is beginning to turn golden brown at the edges. Remove to a wire rack to cool. For clean cutting make sure cookies are completely cool and cut with a sharp knife.