Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri

I had oodles of strawberries last week and after making numerous desserts with the strawberries I decided to try something different. The kids loved this drink and I made it several times over a two day period much to their delight. I tried several recipes before settling on combining a few recipes together to make a drink we really liked. This may not taste like a traditional daiquiri and it might not be the perfect recipe for you but this is one that shows sometimes you have to combine a few recipes to get one that works for your family.

Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri

4 ounces fresh strawberries, roughly chopped
splash of sweet and sour mix (probably 1 ounce)
sugar to your taste, for us it was about 1 tablespoon (the strawberries were a tad sour)
4-7 ice cubes, the range is depending on how thick and icey your want your drink
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Blend everything but the ice cubes in blender. Add ice cubes one by one until desired consistency is reached.

Banana Bread

We love banana bread in our house which is good because I always forget to serve bananas until they have turned all black and brown. I've discovered that waiting to use these bananas until they are really black and brown and really really squishy is it magnifies the banana taste in bread. So this has been the perfect solution to forgetting all about the bananas. I've tried hundreds of different recipes and I always seem to really like the ones with some unusual ingredients. I love using sour cream or yogurt in banana bread. They add a flavor and a tenderness to the bread that can't be beat. However this time around I discovered I had neither on hand so I started looking on the internet for a recipe with an ingredient that's different. King Arthur Flour (I love their recipes and their flour!) helped me out with a recipe. It called for apricot jam or orange marmalade. I'm not a fan of orange marmalade and as it turns out my husband ate all the homemade jars of marmalade and the few store bought jars I had on hand so I used my homemade apricot jam. Now I seriously was worried it would taste weird but was willing to give it a try. You really couldn't tell it had jam in it but there was a hint of something different in the bread. In the end I was only able to get one piece cause the kids ate the whole loaf. Big hit in this house.

Banana Bread
King Arthur Flour

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
2/3 cup brown sugar, light or dark, firmly packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium or 2 large bananas)
3 tablespoons apricot jam or orange marmalade, optional but tasty
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
2 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional


Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.

2) In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, beating till smooth.

3) Add the mashed bananas, jam, honey, and eggs, again beating until smooth.

4) Add the flour, then the walnuts, stirring just until smooth.

5) Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top. Let it rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.

6) Bake the bread for 45 minutes, then gently lay a piece of aluminum foil across the top, to prevent over-browning.

7) Bake for an additional 25 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven; a long toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center should come out clean, with at most a few wet crumbs clinging to it. The tester shouldn't show any sign of uncooked batter. If it does, bake the bread an additional 5 minutes, or until it tests done.

8) Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Remove it from the pan, and cool it completely on a rack.

Hoosier Pork Tenderloin Sandwich

I noticed these in the latest Food Network magazine and showed them to my husband. He couldn't wait to give them a try. In the picture and in Indiana they make this sandwich to be oversized. I felt as a family we didn't need to have such a big sandwich so I used thin cut boneless pork chops instead of the pork tenderloin and making a big piece of meat. It worked great and probably helped cut a few calories out of this dish. This isn't something we will be eating on a regular basis, due to the high calorie count that I'm sure this dish had, but every once in awhile it will make an appearance.

Hoosier Pork Tenderloin Sandwich
Food Network Magazine May 2010
Made as listed in the magazine it is suppose to make 4 sandwiches. Done the way I made it I had enough meat to make 8 sandwiches.

2 pounds center cut boneless pork loin (I used 8 thin cut boneless center cut pork chops, if using the chops skip the pounding with a mallet)
2 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk
2 cloves garlic, crushed
kosher salt and ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used 1 teaspoon hot sauce)
2 sleeves saltines (about 80 crackers)
2 cups instant flour (like Wondra)
oil, for frying
4-8 hamburger buns, split
1/3 cup mayo
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
1/2 head iceburg lettuce, shredded
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
4-8 dill pickle slices

(No need for this step if you use chops) Cut the pork crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Put each piece flat on a cutting board and slice horizontally almost in half (stop about 1 inch from the other side). Open like a book. Sprinkle each piece with water, place between 2 pieces of heavy duty plastic duty and pound to 1/4 inch thick with a mallet or heavy skillet.

Whisk the eggs, buttermilk, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, and the cayenne (or hot sauce) in a shallow bowl. Add the pork, cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Pulse the crackers into coarse crumbs in a food processor, then transfer to a shallow dish. Put the flour in another dish. Remove each piece of pork from the marinade, letting the excess drip off. Dredge both sides in flour, dip in the buttermilk marinade again, then coat with the cracker crumbs.

Heat 1/4 to 1/2 inch oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat until a thermometer registers 360 degrees. Fry the pork in batches until golden and cooked through, about 3-5 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.

Spread both halves of each bun with mayo and mustard. Layer the lettuce, tomatoes and onion on the bottom halves. Add a piece of pork and a few pickles slices. Cover with bun tops.

Kitchen Tip: Pepperoni on Pizza

If your like my family our favorite part of pepperoni pizza is the extra crispy pieces. Whenever we order pizza its a fight for those slices that have the extra crispy one on them. Cook's Country magazine talked about how to make those extra crispy pepperoni's on homemade pizza and it's worked well for us. Now every piece of homemade pizza has several pieces of the much loved pepperoni and an added bonus doing this removes some of the fat from the pepperoni. It's simple and takes just a minute to do this.
Place a doubled paper towel on a plate. Add pepperoni to the paper towel to cover the plate or as many pieces as you think you will need. Add another doubled paper towel to the top. Place in microwave for about 1 minute. Now you can use the pepperoni on your pizza and it's minus some of the fat and already started to crisp up.

Winner of the Cooking Light Magazine Subscription

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Cobb Salad Sandwiches

I think these are all the rage right now. Everyone seems to be talking about these. I should have posted this months ago and been the one to introduce them. I love Cobb salad. A few years ago you wouldn't have been able to talk me into trying one because I didn't like egg or blue cheese. Amazing how your tastes change as you get older. I've done sandwich as a chopped dish served inside of a pita which makes a fun dish to serve at a potluck or a party. The possibilities are really endless. I won't give exact amounts as each person will make it different so this is just a rough guideline to build you a really delicious sandwich that has flavors that blend together wonderfully.

bread (in the picture I used Harmon's roasted garlic bread but any bread will do)
lettuce (I prefer romaine but iceburg or even spinach works)
tomato, sliced
bacon (turkey or real doesn't matter)
avocado, sliced
deli turkey (I get the Boar's Head peppered but even leftover turkey from Thanksgiving works)
slice of cheddar cheese (only because dh thinks a sandwich isn't a sandwich without cheese)
one half a hard boiled egg, chopped
Roquefort dressing or if you don't like blue cheese Ranch dressing

Layer the sandwich in the order listed or however your heart desires. Enjoy!

Vegetable Pasta Salad

This dish turned out to be a huge hit with everyone in the family. It was simple and easy and will be perfect during the summer with farm fresh vegetables. The recipe called for napa cabbage and a purple cabbage and I didn't have either on hand so I used a bag of coleslaw mix that had been sitting in the fridge for a week. I can't wait to try it with Napa cabbage but the coleslaw mix was a great substitute. I left the bean sprouts out since I hate bean sprouts. This dish is going to be a regular in this house.

Vegetable Pasta Salad
Kristen at Coloring Outside the Lines

1 package linguine noodles, cooked, rinsed, and cooled (I used the Smart Choice noodles in a yellow box)

1/2 head sliced Napa cabbage, or more to taste ( I used 3/4 of a bag of coleslaw mix)

1/2 head sliced purple cabbage, or more to taste

1/2 bag baby spinach, or more to taste

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thinly

1/2 yellow bell pepper, sliced thinly

1/2 orange bell pepper, sliced thinly

1 bag bean sprouts (or a generous handful) (DID NOT USE)

1 bunch cilantro

4+ green onions, sliced,

1 can cashews, lightly toasted in skillet

Dressing Ingredients:

1 whole lime, juiced

8 Tbsp. olive oil

8 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. sesame oil

1/3 c. brown sugar

3 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated (MUST be fresh)

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 - 2 fresh jalapenos, chopped

chopped cilantro

Mix salad ingredients together. Whisk dressing ingredients and pour over salad right before serving.

Homemade Butter

I try to buy organic dairy goods when I can but the price on organic butter is really high so I started thinking about making my own. I found a great cookbook titled The Home Creamery which has recipes for all kinds of dairy items you can make at home. I've been playing with making all of the items in the book. So back to my quest of serving organic dairy goods and I've discovered that our local grocery store marks down organic heavy whipping cream Sunday nights to between 25 cents and $1 which makes for some really cheap organic dairy items. Yes this means I have to use the whipping cream right away but for organic butter, buttermilk, sour cream, ricotta cheese, and others its a steal of a deal. Homemade butter is the first of these items I've made that I'm featuring here. It's really easy to make and honestly now I have a hard time using store bought butter.

Homemade Butter
The Home Creamery

4 cups (2 pints) heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt

For best results your cream should be about 60 degrees F when you begin. If it's too warm, your butter will be soft and won't keep well; if it's too cold, your butter will never form.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle, process the cream until it turns to fine, solid pieces. It will go through several processes to get to this point, from frothy to soft whipped cream to coarse whipped cream to solid bits, and the color will change from off white to pale yellow. This can take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes.

Let the butter stand about 5 minutes. The liquid, called buttermilk, will separate from the butter during this time. Set a fine meshed sieve over a medium bowl. Scrape the butter mixture into the strainer and let the buttermilk strain. Strain the buttermilk again through a fine meshed sieve and save for another use if desired.

Transfer the butter to a colander and knead it with a wooden spoon, potato masher, or two forks to remove excess water and blend granules. Pour off the water occasionally, and continue kneading until most of the water has been removed and the butter becomes firmer. This will take about 10 minutes. Mix in salt; this will help retard spoilage as well as add flavor. Keep working until the butter is dense and creamy and all liquid has been worked out, about 10 minutes.

You can form the butter into any shape you wish at this stage: You can make it a simple block or press it into ramekins or molds. When your done wrap the butter in wax paper and keep it in the refrigerator.

Peach Glazed Ham

I made this for Easter Sunday. Ham is a tradition in our house on Easter. We usually buy the spiral cut ham and use the sticky glaze that sort of just runs off the ham when applied so I was very interested in this recipe from Cooks Country. The original recipe called for Peach Schnapps which we didn't have on hand so I just left it out.

Peach Glazed Ham
Cooks Country April/May 2010

1 (7 to 10 lb) spiral sliced bone in ham
1 (12 oz) jar peach perserves
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Remove ham from packaging and discard plastic disk covering bone. Place ham in oven bag. Tie closed and cut 4 (2 inch) slits in top of bag. Transfer bagged ham to large roasting pan and let stand at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours.

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Bake ham until internal temperature registers 100 degrees, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, bring peach preserves, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until mixture is very thick and reduced to 1/3 cup, about 45 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter.

Combine remaining brown sugar and cayenne pepper with the dry mustard in a small bowl. Remove ham from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Cut open oven bag and roll back. Using a pastry brush, paint ham with glaze. Carefully press sugar mixture onto exterior of ham with hands. Return to oven and bake until dark brown and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Transfer ham to cutting board, loosely tent with foil, and rest 15 minutes.

Grilled Ham and Cheese

I love a little local diner called The Burger Stop. It's a cute little place done in a 50's theme and they have old car shows throughout the summer. However my favorite thing about this place is the grilled ham and cheese sandwich they have. Its the perfect blend of flavors and is just plain good. However driving over and dropping $25 every time I get a craving for this sandwich gets to be expensive and a time killer. So I've worked on making it on my own and think I've finally perfected it.

Grilled Ham and Cheese

2 slices bread, I prefer wheat or sourdough but white works too
1 tablespoon mayo, I use Best Foods but you could probably sub whatever you have or like
2 teaspoons honey mustard
2 slices of tomato
4 pickles slices
about a palm's worth of shredded lettuce
butter, to spread on the bread
about 3 ounces deli ham, I get my deli meat shaved so you may need more or less depending on how you get your meat sliced
2 slices deli cheddar cheese, I also like using horseradish cheddar
garlic salt

To assemble and cook:
Butter one side of each piece of bread and sprinkle with garlic salt.
Place butter side down on griddle or nonstick frying pan, heated over medium heat.
Add one slice cheese, ham, pickles, tomato, lettuce, and remaining slice of cheese.
On the other slice of bread butter and sprinkle one side with garlic salt. Mix together mayo and mustard. Spread the other side of the bread with the mayo/mustard mixture and place the mayo/mustard side down on the cheese.
Cook on one side until golden brown then gently flip over and cook until cheese is melted and the other side is golden brown.