Category: OKK MEMES & PRIOR CONTRIBUTORS

Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad

This is a fantastic low calorie tasty salad. I used to make the super fattening broccoli cauliflower with tons of mayo, sugar, sunflower seeds and tons of bacon. Delicious yes, but so fattening, you can eat such a tiny portion compared to this salad. The red wine vinegar is so good in this. It’s a nice make ahead salad but I wait until about an hour or two before serving time to add the dressing.

Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad

3 roma plum tomatoes

1 pound fresh broccoli florets, about 8 cups
1 small head of cauliflower, about 1/2pound
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup light sour cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup Splenda

Dice tomatoes, chop broccoli and cauliflower. Mix veggies together in a large bowl. Mix mayo, sour cream, salt and pepper, Splenda and red wine vinegar together in a small bowl. Add to veggies. Stir thoroughly and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, stirring often. Keeps in the fridge for about 24-36 hours nicely in my opinion.


Total calories = 791

13 loose filled cups

Soda Pop Dumplings

 Soda Pop Dumplings

This dessert is not new, you can find it in many places, out here in blogland. But this dessert is different, because it does not call for any prepackaged foods or ingredients, except the Ginger Ale. These delicious little bites of apple pie flavored dumplings are made with a convenient homemade biscuit mix. Not just any mix, a mix that calls for oil instead of hydrogenated vegetable shortening.  You can find that original recipe here, and remember it makes a lot of great stuff, just like any other biscuit mix will do. You won’t regret the few minutes invested to make up a batch. And now on to those little morsels shown above!

Soda Pop Dumplings
by the seat of my pants
350 degree oven

Dough:
2 1/2 cups all purpose mix
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup warm water
1 package yeast
small amount of all purpose flour for kneading and rolling

Dissolve the yeast in the water, set aside to proof. Combing the all purpose mix, sugar and cinnamon, combine well. Add the proofed yeast and stir to moisten.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and easy to handle.

Roll out into a rectangle approximately 1/4 inch thick. Cut in half down the center, then crosswise to make quarter sections. Each quarter section will be cut into 9 strips.

3 apples, peeled, quartered and each quarter cut into 3 slices,

Wrap a strip of dough around each apple slice as shown, place into a prepared baking pan.

Syrup:
1 cup ginger ale
1 cup sugar
1 cube butter
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Bring to a boil, stir to dissolve sugar, pour over dumplings (they will begin to puff up and float, it is OK!)

Bake 35-45 minutes.

Serve warm with a little vanilla ice cream.
As always, thanks for taking a moment to stop and say hello. I appreciate your time and your wonderful comments.

MARVELOUS MINI-MEATLOAVES

I found tonight’s main dish on a blog, Gourmet Meals for Less, and I knew that Scott liked meatloaf so I thought I would give it a try. 

Marvelous Mini Meatloaves–
makes 12 meatloaves

l pound extra-lean ground beef (1.69)
1 pkg. (6 oz.) Chicken flavored stuffing mix (use the cheapest you can find)
1 cup water

and choose from your favorite of the following combinations:

1 teaspoon italian seasoning, spaghetti sauce, shredded mozzarella
2 teaspoon chili powder, chunky salsa, mexi-cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder, bbq sauce, cheddar cheese

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 375°. 
  • Mix meat, stuffing mix, water and preferred seasoning until well blended.  
  • Press into 12 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray. 
  • Make indentation in center of each with back of spoon; fill each evenly with spoonful of preferred sauce.
  • Bake 30-40 min. or until meatloaves are done (160°F). 
  • Top each meatloaf with sprinkle of cheese; bake 5 min. or until melted. 
  • Let stand 10 min.

Make Ahead and Freeze:  Bake meatloaves as directed. Remove from muffin cups; cool completely. Place in single layer on baking sheet; freeze 1 hour. Transfer to airtight container. Store in freezer up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator, and then reheat in 375°F-oven 20 min. or until heated through.

Here’s what you’ll need: 
(we went with the Italian Seasoning, spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese)
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  
  • Put the hamburger meat in a bowl and add the stuffing.
  • Add 7-8 good dashes of Italian seasoning and 1 cup of water.  Mix together. 
  • Spray a muffin pan with Pam and then stuff each pan with the meat.

  • Push a little hole in the middle of each. 
  • Scoop in 1 Tbsp of spaghetti sauce in each (if you are making the Italian-style).
  • Bake for 40 minutes.

  • Once the meat is cooked through, pull out and add cheese to the top.  Put back in for 5-6 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Here’s what you’ll end up with:

This is the type of meal, too, in which if some of the people in your family like Mexican and some like Italian then it would be easy to make 6 of each.  Plus, I love how the recipe tells you how to make ahead and freeze, too.

If I could have changed one thing, I think next time I won’t get a chicken flavored stuffing.  I think, instead, I would look to see what other varieties there were.  For me, there was still just a hint of the taste of stuffing instead of traditional crumbled up crackers or I guess you could even use just bread crumbs as a binding.
Either way, we will definitely be having this meal again!

Hope you enjoy!
April

CHILE LIME CHICKEN PATTIES with LIME REMOULADE SAUCE

Good morning everyone! We had these little yummies this past week and hubby is already asking for them again so I think they were a hit!

CHILE LIME CHICKEN PATTIES with LIME REMOULADE SAUCE
2 cups rotisserie chicken. chopped small
2 tablespoons chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped parsley, fresh
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 cup Panko crumbs, divided in half
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 egg, lightly beaten
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons Franks Chile hot sauce
1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons butter

SAUCE
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
salt and pepper
Juice of 1 lime
Several drops Franks Chile Hot Sauce

  • Process chicken until just ground, or choppy VERY fine.
  • In a large bowl mix together chicken, celery, parsley, green onions, 1/2 cup Panko crumbs, mayonnaise, egg, lime juice, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce until well blended.
  • Form into 6-8 patties and coat with remaining Panko crumbs.
  • In a large skillet melt butter over medium heat.  Cook patties slowly until browned, about 10 minutes, turning halfway through.
  • For the sauce, whisk together all ingredients until well blended and smooth.
  • Serve with lime wedges if desired.

Deano Jalapeno Burger – Fire Day Friday

Don’t you just love those Durkee Fried Onions?  Yeah, those ones that you put on top of green bean casserole.  Yes, the ones you guiltily snack on when you think no one is looking.  
Imagine the same thing but instead of onions, imagine it made out of thin sliced jalapenos.  I received a fiery care package from my friends at Hot Sauce Daily (a blog about all things hot and spicy) and one of the items was a mysterious gold foil package of Deano’s Jalapenos brand Jalapeno Chips.  
One taste and Alexis said they were like super spicy fried onions.  I loved them too and immediately knew I had to use them as a burger topping.  To offset the heat, I made a ranch dressing with cilantro and avocado spread to help cool it off.  
Deano Jalapeno Burger
source:  NibbleMeThis
Ranch dressing adapted from Barefeet In The Kitchen
Ingredients
  • 2 lb ground beef
  • 4 teaspoons burger seasoning*
  • 6 buns
  • 6 oz monterey jack cheese, thin sliced
  • 2 cups shredded lettuce
  • 1/2 cup fried jalapeno slices*

For the cilantro and avocado ranch spread

  •  3.5 oz heavy cream
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp dill
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 ea Haas avocado, diced

Instructions

  1. Mix the cream and lemon juice together and rest for 5 minutes.
  2. Mix together the sour cream, mayo, garlic, cilantro, dill, salt and pepper.  Stir in the cream mixture.
  3. Place the diced avocado and half of the dressing mixture in a blender or food processor and blend until the avocado is broken down, about 30 seconds.  Fold this batch back into the rest of the dressing.
  4. Mix together the beef and burger seasoning.  Divide into 6 third pound portions and form into 5″ patties.  
  5. Preheat a charcoal grill to 450f.  
  6. Grill the burgers for 4 minutes.  Flip and grill another 4 minutes.  Top with the cheese slices in the last minute.  Remove and let rest for 5 minutes.
  7. Top bun bottoms with shredded lettuce, a cheese burger, a handful of jalapeno chips and slather the but top with a healthy bit of the ranch dip. 

Notes

  • I used a commercial burger seasoning tonight but you can make a simple one of 2 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp onion powder.
  • I used Deano Jalapenos’ Jalapeno Cheddar chips.  I have made my own before by doing a standard flour, eggwash on slice jalapenos and deep frying them in 350f oil.  It was a lot easier using theirs.   
  • The recipe makes about twice the amount of ranch dip that you will need, but you will be glad.  Use the rest for a great dip for chips or thin it with some milk to make a great ranch dressing.
The thick creamy avocado dip helps cool the heat of the jalapeno chips.

Grilled burgers, a sign that summer is coming soon!

The ranch makes a great dip for spicy fries too.

FTC Disclaimer:  I have no affiliation with Deano Jalapenos and didn’t receive any compensation for this post.  I did get the sample for free but it was a care package from some friends of ours. 

ITALIAN LEMON BUTTER CHICKEN

I found this recipe at ALLrecipes and it was amazing!!  I did make a few changes for my family’s likes so go check out the original recipe.

ITALIAN LEMON BUTTER CHICKEN

Lemon Butter Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup white wine*
  • Juice of 2 large lemons
  • 5 tablespoons heavy cream❉
  • 1 cup butter, chilled❉
  • salt and pepper to taste

Chicken and Pasta:
1/2 pound dry farfalle (bow tie) pasta
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
1 tablespoon safflower oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces bacon – OPTIONAL
6 ounces mushrooms, sliced – OPTIONAL
6 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and halved – OPTIONAL
chopped fresh parsley for garnish

  1. To make the sauce, pour the wine and lemon juice into a saucepan over medium heat. Cook at a low boil until the liquid is reduced by 1/3. Stir in cream, and simmer until it thickens. (TONIGHT DIDN’T WANT TO THICKEN!) Gradually add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time to the sauce, stirring until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and keep warm.
  2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside. (TONIGHT I MADE RICE – A GREAT SUBSTITUTE)
  3. To make the chicken, heat oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. In a bowl, stir together flour, salt, and pepper. Lightly coat chicken with flour mixture. Without crowding, carefully place chicken in hot oil. (If necessary, cook in batches.) Fry until cooked through and golden brown on both sides. Remove the chicken to paper towels. OPTIONAL – Stir the bacon, mushrooms and artichokes into the oil; cook until the mushrooms are soft.
  4. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size strips, and return them to the skillet. Stir half of the lemon butter sauce into the chicken mixture.
  5. To serve, place pasta in a large bowl. Stir the chicken mixture into the pasta. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Stir in additional lemon butter sauce as desired. Toss well, and garnish with parsley. 

*a dry blush works well also.
❉I didn’t want to use so much butter so substituted 3/4 cup buttermilk this time and was pleased with the results.

DEVIL’S FOOD ORANGE CAKE with ORANGE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING


OOPS NO PICTURE OF IT FROSTED – IT WENT TOO FAST!
CAKE

4 medium navel oranges, room temperature
3 squares unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 Jumbo eggs
1 cup whole milk
2 cups flour

  • Heat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Generously grease a Bundt pan (I like a decorative Nordicware or Wilton pan)
  • Squeeze oranges, saving pulp
  • Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Then add 1/2 cup of the sugar, the cinnamon and 1/2 cup of the orange juice, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Cool.
  • Mix the baking soda into 2 teaspoons of orange juice.
  • In a large mixing bowl cream the shortening with 1 cup sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
  • Alternate the milk and flour, sifting the flour into the cream mixture and blend until smooth.
  • Add the baking soda mixture and blend well.
  • Add the cooled chocolate mixture and blend well.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
  • Level pan by dropping on counter top to remove air bubbles.
  • Bake until springy 55-60 minutes.
  • Cool 10 minutes and then invert onto platter.
  • Cool before frosting.
FROSTING

1/2 cup butter, softened
5 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, pulp and all
2 teaspoon orange zest

  • Beat butter until fluffy.
  • Beat in 1/2 of the powdered sugar until smooth.
  • Add orange juice, vanilla and orange peel. Blend until smooth.
  • Slowly add the remaining sugar and blend until silky.
  • Adjust sugar and orange juice until desired consistency and flavor is reached.
If you don’t have this mess in the end, you did it wrong!

Island Peas & Rice – Fire Day Friday

I am trying to kick winter on it’s way by cooking summery dishes like Bahamian Grilled Chicken and the Caribbean classic side dish, peas and rice. 

Island Peas and Rice
adapted from Steven Raichlen’s The Barbecue Bible

  • 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/4″ slices
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
  • 1 tsp Gourmet Garden Basil Blend* or 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
  • 2 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper, fresh cracked
  • 2 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 3 cups uncooked long grain rice (not instant)
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 15.8 oz can crowder peas, drained

Instructions

  1. Crisp the bacon in a large 3 quart pot over medium high heat.  Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel covered plate.  Remove all but 2 Tbsp of the grease.
  2. Saute the onion, bell pepper, garlic, basil, thyme, salt, and pepper for 5 minutes.  Stir in the tomato paste and sugar, cook another 2 minutes.
  3. Add 5 and a half cups of water and 1 Tbsp of lime juice and bring to a boil.  Add the rice, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
  4. Stir in the crowder peas and cook covered another 3-5 minutes. 
  5. Remove from heat and let stand covered 5 minutes.  Then fluff with a fork and serve.

*I have NO affiliation with these people.  But I LOVE fresh basil in the summer when we grow it in our yard.  Dried basil just depresses me.  I tried this stuff for the first time this week and it’s the best “winter” basil option I have stumbled across.

CHICKEN SALAD STUFFED AVOCADO with LEMON GARLIC VINAIGRETTE

CHICKEN SALAD STUFFED AVOCADO with LEMON GARLIC VINAIGRETTE
2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken
4 green onions, sliced thin
1 stalk celery, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon blood orange vinegar*
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1 avocado or tomato per person

  • Combine chicken and celery in mixing bowl.  
  • Salt and pepper generously.
  • In a small food processor blend garlic, green onions, lemon juice, vinegar, oil and sugar until well mixed.
  • Pour vinegar mix into mixing bowl and toss well.
  • If using tomatoes carve out centers with sharp knife.  Slice insides onto plate.  Salt and pepper generously.
  • If using avocados carefully scoop out of shell with a large spoon and arrange on plate with tomato slices.  Salt and pepper generously.
  • Fill centers with chicken salad.
  • Serve with garlic toast points.

*or flavor of your choice

Vegetable Ranch Pizza

This is a healthy recipe that I modified from a Pampered Chef recipe from long ago. I only took one photo.  This is the pizza going in the oven. I forgot to take an “after” picture!  So sorry.

This is a really tasty substitute for regular pizza that is usually laden with grease and heavy meats.  I hope you enjoy it!  Vegetarians should love it, but so do my meat-eaters!

Indredients
1 package of refrigerated pizza crust
flour
1/2 cup Canola Mayonnaise
1/2 package of ranch salad dressing mix (I always use Hidden Valley brand)
3 garlic cloves, pressed
2 cups shredded, low-fat mozarella cheese
1 cup broccoli, chopped fine
1 red bell pepper, chopped fine
5 baby carrotts, chopped fine
1/2 small can of ripe olives, sliced
Parmesan cheese to taste

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2.  Unroll the pizza dough onto a lightly floured pizza stone.  Shape into a circle using a rolling pin, adding flour as needed to keep it from sticking.  Press the edges of the circle a little thicker to make the crust.
3.  Combine Canola Mayonnaise, pressed garlic, and ranch dressing mix in a bowl until creamy.  Spread mixture evenly over crust to within 1/4 inch of edge.
4.  Sprinkle chopped/sliced vegetables evenly around the pizza dough:  brocooli, red bell pepper, carrots, and olives.
5.  Top with mozarella cheese.  You may add grated parmesan if desired.
6.  Bake for 22-25 minutes until edges are golden.  Remove from oven and let it stand for about five minutes.
7.  Slice and serve!

Serves four people. 500 calories, 50 carbs, 25 grams of fat, and 20 grams of protein per serving.

Baked Potato Soup

Baked Potato Soup Recipe

8 slices Smithfield Naturally Hickory Smoked Bacon
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
5 potatoes, baked, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
2 cups half & half
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup sour cream
Salt & pepper to taste (optional)
Directions:  In a Dutch oven cook bacon until crisp; remove and crumble, reserve drippings.
Cook onion in bacon drippings until tender; stir in flour and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add chicken broth; cook, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Put in the diced potatoes, parsley, bacon and half & half; cook for 10 minutes. Stir in cheese and sour cream. Garnish with cheese, bacon and sour cream.
Modifications:
-I used turkey bacon instead of pork bacon. Because turkey bacon doesn’t have as much fat, I put some olive oil in so that the bacon would get crisp.
-I added some artificial bacon bits.
-I added some minced garlic.
Here’s how I did it:
#1 I peeled, washed and cut up about 6 potatoes (sorry for the shadowy picture).

Here’s what I started with:

  • Cook bacon in a dutch oven along with some olive oil.
  • Peel and dice up an onion.
  • While the bacon cooks, pour 2cups of half and half.
  • Once the bacon is crispy, pull it off and throw the onions in the same pot to cook for about 1 minute.

  • Measure out1/2 cup of all-purpose flour and pour it in with the onions. Add a little more olive oil.

  • After the onions and flour cook for about 1 minute, slowly stir in 2 cans of chicken broth. The recipe called for 3 cans but 2 worked just fine.

  • Let it thicken up.
  • While the stock thickens, chop up the bacon.

  • After it thickens, put in the potatoes, parsley, bacon and half & half.

I noticed that it didn’t seem like a lot of bacon so I put about 1 T of artificial bacon bits in the pot, too.

The recipe said to let all of the above cook for 10 minutes but I didn’t think that it was enough time because the potatoes were still hard. I let it go for about 15-17 minutes and then I added 1/2 cup of light sour cream and 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese.

Here’s what you’ll end up with:

Review:I only have one word to describe this soup–DELICIOUS! This soup only took about 40 minutes with prep and cooking time. It had great flavor and I love the fact that cheese was actually added to the soup and not just an after-thought as a topping.

I don’t know if you can tell or not in the pics but I left pretty big pieces of bacon and it added great texture. I wish that I would have cooked up a couple of more pieces and then saved some to put on top, too.

If you like potato soup, this is for you!!

Quick Chicken and Dumplings

INGREDIENTS
  • 1 tablespoon butter
    1/2 cup pre chopped onion
    2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts
    1 (10-ounce) box frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
    1 1/2 cups water
    1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
    1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1/4 teaspoon black pepper
    1 bay leaf
    8 (6-inch) flour tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch strips
    1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

  1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in chicken and vegetables; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly.
  2. While chicken mixture cooks, combine water, flour, and broth. Gradually stir broth mixture into chicken mixture. Stir in salt, pepper, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes. Stir in tortilla strips, and cook 2 minutes or until tortilla strips soften. Remove from heat; stir in parsley. Discard bay leaf. Serve immediately.

From My Recipes.com…

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Happy Eating…