QuiltLady – Page 78 – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME

COPY CAT GRAMS BEEF & NOODLES

My Grandma made the BEST beef and noodles, a favorite of mine for Sunday dinners. It is the PERFECT comfort food, especially with the double carbs 😀 This recipe is the closest I’ve come to making it without it taking ALL day like hers did.

COPY CAT GRAMS BEEF & NOODLES

2 pounds stew meat, cut into bite sized pieces
FRESH ground sea salt & black pepper
1 can Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup + 2 cups water or beef bone broth
1 packet McCormick brown gravy mix
1 envelope LIPTON beefy onion soup mix
1 sweet Vidalia onion, halved & sliced
8 ounces sliced mushrooms

Whisk together the soup, water or bone broth, gravy mix and onion soup mix.
GENEROUSLY salt and pepper beef pieces with FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper.
Stir in beef pieces and onion slices, tossing to coat.
Spread into a 13 x 9 baking dish and cover. I like to use my enameled cast iron.
Bake at 300° for 3 hours with absolutely NO peeking! It will be worth it because the meat will be super tender and delicious!
Just before serving prepare egg noodles per package directions. Drain and fold into sauce.
Serve over mashed potatoes.

NOTE: For a bit of a change you can change the soup flavor with the same results. I particularly like cream of celery or cream of potato.

HARISSA CARROTS & ONIONS

HARISSA CARROTS & ONIONS adapted from Molly Yeh

2 pounds medium rainbow carrots, halved lengthwise
2 LARGE shallots, cut lengthwise into wedges
1/4 cup avocado oil for drizzling
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 +/- tablespoon Harissa paste (recipe below)
2 cloves garlic, FINELY minced
Zest of 1 LARGE lemon

Preheat a grill or grill pan over medium heat. (see notes)
Put the carrots and onions in a large bowl and drizzle with avocado oil.
Sprinkle with salt and toss to coat.
Place the carrots on the grill and cook, flipping halfway through, until fork-tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the avocado oil, harissa paste, garlic, lemon juice and black pepper in a small bowl.
When the carrots are almost cooked, brush with the harissa glaze.
Remove from the grill and transfer to a serving plate, then drizzle with additional harissa glaze.
Serve and enjoy!

NOTES:

You can alternatively roast the carrots in the oven by preheating the oven to 425° and lining a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Once the carrots and onions are salted, spread on a sheet pan and roast, tossing occasionally, until a fork pokes easily into the thickest part of the carrot; begin checking for doneness at 20 minutes for skinny carrots but for big thick carrots it could take up to 45 minutes.
Brush the carrots with the harissa glaze during the last 10 minutes of cooking. You can then continue to the next step in the same manner as in the grilling recipe.
If using the oven you can also slice the carrots.

HARRISA PASTE
Use this North African spice blend to add heat to dressings, sauces, soups, and more!

1 tablespoon +/- Harissa spice blend, depending on desired spiciness
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon QUALITY tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup avocado oil

Whisk spice blend into lemon juice and vinegar until you’ve achieved a paste.
Whisk in the tomato paste.
Stir in garlic.
Season to taste with FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper.
Adjust flavor as needed, adding more lemon juice or vinegar for acidity, paprika for smokiness, tomato paste for depth of flavor, or salt to taste.
Add paste to a jar. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

PICKLED BEETS

PICKLED BEETS
Quick pickling is just that, QUICK! It eliminates the need for a long canning process. All you do is pour a simple brine over the cooked beets and let them chill in the refrigerator. They are perfect for salads, but just as good straight from the jar! They’ll keep 6 weeks in the refrigerator.

You can prepare the beets any way you prefer before the pickling, but I prefer boiling them on the stove top. That way while they’re cooling I also use the same pan to make the brine pickling liquid while they cool.

3 – 3 1/2 pounds red or golden beets

QUICK PICKLED BEETS yields 2 quarts
Sliced or chopped cooked beets
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

Slice or chop the prepared beets to your desired size – I usually chop into 1″ cubes.
Add them to a mason jar and set them aside while you make the brine.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the water, vinegar, sugar, salt, allspice and peppercorns.
Bring mixture to a boil and cook until sugar and salt are dissolved.
Pour the brine (straining out the peppercorns if desired) over the beets, making sure to cover them completely.
Let cool to room temperature.
Seal the jar/container and place it in the fridge to chill. You will be able to taste the pickling in a very short time, but beets are best after 24-48 hours.

BOILED BEETS

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Trim and scrub the beets, removing any greens.
Add the beets to the boiling water and cook for 30 minutes, or until completely tender. A paring knife should slide in and out of the beets easily.
Beets vary greatly in size and because they are a very dense root vegetable, size will definitely determine how long you need to cook them.
Transfer the beets to a bowl of ice water.
Peel away the skins with your fingers which will be super simple if you’ve cooked and cooled them perfect.
Cut or slice as desired.

ROAST BEETS

Trim and scrub the beets, removing any greens.
Drizzle with avocado oil (has avocado oil neutral flavor) and wrap in foil.
Bake on a baking sheet at 400° for 45 minutes, or until completely tender.
Allow to sit for 10 minutes or so, then peel away the skin and cut or slice as desired.

MUSHY PEA RICOTTA STUFFED SHELLS

MUSHY PEA RICOTTA STUFFED SHELLS

These mushy pea and ricotta stuffed shells are a TRUE comfort food for a crisp fall evening!

18 to 20 JUMBO shells
1-2 tablespoons avocado oil
3/4 cup mushy peas – from leftovers preferably
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated pecorino cheese + extra for garnish
2 LARGE garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound QUALITY sweet Italian sausage
1/2 pound LEAN ground beef
3-4 green onions, sliced thin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3/4 teaspoon sea salt, more for the pasta water
FRESH ground sea salt & black pepper, to taste
2 cups homemade tomato marinara sauce (you can use jarred sauce, but we prefer homemade from the garden)

Preheat the oven to 425°.
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta shells for 10 minutes, until al dente. Drain and drizzle with a little avocado oil to keep them from sticking together.
Brown sweet Italian sausage, ground beef and green onions until meat is cooked through and crumbly. Drain off grease well!
In a large bowl, combine the mushy peas with the ricotta, pecorino, garlic, oregano, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, salt, FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper.
Spread the marinara in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.
Stuff each shell with the filling and place in the dish.
Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
Uncover and bake 5 minutes more until cheese is browned and bubbly.
Serve with more marinara on the side.

NOTE: This recipe freezes well for an easy weeknight meal!

After assembling the shells in the baking dish, cover tightly and freeze.
To thaw, transfer the dish to the fridge about 10 hours before you plan to serve it.
Remove from the fridge and let sit at room temp while the oven preheats.
Bake, covered, for 30 minutes, or until thawed and warmed through.

ALL THINGS AUTUMN tag questions

YAY FOR AUTUMN! I first saw this over at Jean’s blog and was then also tagged by Carrie from Northwoods Scrapbook. So, Ive decided it was fate I join in. It will take me a bit to catch up, but I’ll get there! The ALL THINGS AUTUMN is being hostted by Deb over at It’s Always Something and you can find her post here. 😊 I would also love it if any of you would like to join in the fun too! Just copy mine and put in your own answers. Yay for this wonderful season! 🧙‍♀️🕸🌾🍁🧡

1. What is your favorite thing about fall?

Weather, nature, pumpkins, spice……When the first geese fly over heading south I jump for joy. Shortly thereafter the mornings and evenings both turn cool and crisp and the fireplace smoke brings a fragrant layer of wood smoke to the valley. And of course all the cute sweaters and flannels come out to play. Oh and don’t let me forget about the apples, and pumpkins and spice… This is truly my favorite time of year. If I could have to Autumns, a winter and a spring I’d be sooooo happy.

2. Do you get fall colors where you live?

I used to live in the Upper Peninsula and REALLY miss the fall colors from there, but we also get them here in the Pacific North West, just a bit differently.

3. Favorite fall scent? (wax melts, candles, anything)

I do change out my wax melt and candle scents to everything apple or pumpkin spice.

4./9. Favorite fall food or drink? Cider or hot chocolate?

When I was a kid I hated cider and it was hot chocolate all the way, but as I got older I fell in love with apple cider! Of course it has to have the perfect spice blend with a lot of cinnamon sticks and oranges. A cup of this with a slice of pumpkin pull apart bread or baked apples is such a treat.

5. Football . . . yay or nay?

YAY OF COURSE!!!

6. Do you rake, jump in, or burn piles of leaves?

Rake. I’ve never been one to jump in, but my dogs always have been.

7. Haunted house or corn maze?

I’ve done both and when I was younger they were fun with groups of friends, but now I prefer to decorate the house and wait for all the sweet faces of the trick or treaters. I love seeing their costumes.

8. Have you ever gone on a hayride?

When I was in girl scouts we did several and they were really fun!

10./17. Carve a pumpkin or eat pumpkin pie? 17. Apple pie or pumpkin pie?

We no longer carve pumpkins and I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin pies. 🙁 Now I do make an awesome Cranberry Apple slab pie for the season.

11. Do you dress up for Halloween?

Not since I was a kid, but I would if the right reason came alone. 😀

12. Candy corn . . . yay or nay?

NOPE, never been a fan.

13. Favorite Halloween season movie?

Definitely like the fun ones that aren’t too gory or scary. The movies like Nightmare before Christmas, Hocus Pocus, Practical Magic and the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown are the best!

14. Scariest movie?

The Omen, Amitville Horror, The Exorcist, Halloween, The Shining…

15. Halloween or Thanksgiving?

BOTH! They are the gateway to Christmas 😀 My favorite months, the “BER” months each have a major holiday in them full of my favorite 3 F’s – fun, family and food.

16. Do you watch the Macy’s parade?

EVERY year for as long as I can remember and always followed by watching Miracle on 34th street.

18. White or dark meat?

I like them both – but I tend to grab more white meat.

19. Jellied or real cranberry sauce?

My oldest stepson LOVES the canned sauce only! He says it isn’t a holiday without it, but I prefer the homemade so I make it for the rest of us and buy a can for him. 😀

20. Will you host or travel for Thanksgiving?

This year it will be just the 2 of us and for the first time ever we’re going to go out. 😀

I hope you enjoyed and will join in! I look forward to reading the answers of others. 🎃

NO BAKE CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL BARS

NO BAKE CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL BARS
1 cup butter
½ cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups rolled oats
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips
¾ cup chunky peanut butter

Line a 8-inch-by-8-inch baking dish with parchment paper, and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract over low heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has completely dissolved.
Add the oats, cinnamon and kosher salt, cooking and stirring constantly for 4-5 minutes.
Pour half of the oat mixture into the prepared baking dish.
Spread out the mixture evenly, pressing down.
In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and the peanut butter. Heat on high in the microwave, in increments of 30 seconds, stirring in between each increment, until melted and fully combined.
Pour MOST of the chocolate mixture into the pan over the pressed oats, reserving about ¼ cup for drizzling.
Top with the remaining oats and drizzle with the remaining ¼ cup chocolate mixture.
Refrigerate AT LEAST 4 hours, but preferably overnight until set.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU PLANS & RECIPE LINKS week 40 of 2022

I absolutely LOVE doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively that it helps keep me on track and it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for me to follow this week. Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

Sorry I was so late getting around to visit everyone last week. For some weird reason a week that had absolutely nothing planned turned busy!

I finished my 3rd quarter LIST update. Thank you Jean for getting me started with this! I have found it really helpful to stay on task this past year! I’m already working on my 2023 list. I hate that life has to be so planned these days, but reality is that by planning I actually end up with more QUALITY free time in the end.

I’m excited that we’re actually getting away for a few days this week. I got the suitcases out and will pack in a bit. The hardest part of packing this time of year is the layering required for late evenings and early mornings. 😀 Not to mention we plan on doing some hiking so will need extra shoes.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING Laundry is done and everything else will wait!!
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’ll worry about this next weekend at the earliest, but will probably push it out til next week.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS & PROJECTS NOPE, not this week.
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Planned through the 3rd week of October.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

CABLE – The DVR will fill up and we’ll worry about it later. 😀

I’m almost finished with STATE OF THE UNION by Marie Force #3 in her First Family series. Next will be a THE LAST SUMMER AT CHELSEA BEACH by Pam Jenoff.

I didn’t get many pictures last week. I know I’ll make up for that this week 😀 The mums my friend gave me for my birthday are looking wonderful and were worthy of a quick pic. I just love the vibrant fall colors.

And we had lunch out on Saturday at a favorite haunt that is in an old railway station. It’s a local pacific north west chain, MCMENAMINS that buys up old historic building and turns them into amazing farm to table restaurants, each with their own specials based on location.Their seasonal specials are ALWAYS fun and I had an amazing truffled Brie Mac & Cheese with mushrooms.

They even have their own breweries and distilleries and have included hotels into the mix. They are ALL different and unique. A couple of my favorite locations are the OLD Catholic school and convent ST. Francis School which is also a hotel and the Cornelius Pass Road House an old Italian Farm. We go out of our way to search out new locations that we haven’t been to before when we’re traveling about. We’ve now been to most of them for at least lunch including the Edgefield location that has not only a distillery, but also a glass blower and lots of gardens as well as MANY other fun things. Many locations are so large they have multiple pubs and restaurants as well hotel rooms like the HUGE Elks Temple in Tacoma, Washington.

There will be two locations, Boon’s Treasury, which was an old general store turned beer parlor after the end of prohibition and Thompson Brewery & Public House, which was an old German country home turned preschool, near where we will be this week that we’ve never been to before so we will see about being at least one of them for a lunch or dinner.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night/you’re on your own	OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN	CHICKEN ENCHILADA BAKE & REFRIED BEANS	RED PEPPER CHICKEN and TATER TOTS
LUNCH		OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN
DINNER		OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN
DESSERT		OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN	OUT OF TOWN

HEARTY TUNA CASSEROLE

HEARTY TUNA CASSEROLE
CASSEROLE
3 cups cooked and cooled egg noodles
1 can Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup WHOLE milk
1/3 cup FINELY grated white cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons Duke’s hint of lime mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon Coleman’s dry mustard (optional)
8 ounce can petite baby peas, drained well
8 ounces sliced mushrooms, lightly sauteed.
1/4 cup chopped roasted sweet red pepper or pimientos, drained
2 cans white tuna, drained well

Preheat oven 400°.
In a large bowl combine the soup, milk, mayonnaise and mustard if using.
Stir in drained tuna and red pepper.
Fold in noodles, cheese, peas and sauteed mushrooms.
Transfer to a greased 8×8 baking dish.

TOPPING
1/4 cup Panko crumbs
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon paprika
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper

Combine topping ingredients until well blended.
Sprinkle over casserole.
Baked uncovered 30 minutes until bubbly.

NOTE – Crushed potato chips (I like sea salt and vinegar) make a great alternate topping.

2022 LIST UPDATE ~ 3RD QUARTER

I joined up with Jean over at Chit Chat with Jean to do an accomplishment list for 2022 and a word for the year. This is my 3rd quarterly update. I wondered if I would be successful? I’m impressed that I’m doing really well. I’m also looking forward to doing this all again in 2023. I seem to FINALLY be falling back into my more organized ways. The minimalizing lifestyle has helped tremendously!!

My list for 2022 is:

Do a Happy Homemaker Monday post each and every week. This keeps me more on track and organized about my home life. Doing Happy Homemaker Monday so extensively helps keep me on track as it summarizes the past week and lays out a fairly concise plan for this week. DONE
Do 1-2 devotionals every day. DONE, but not as consistent as I’d like 🙁
Follow a nightly skincare regime – DONE
Complete 4 quilts – at least 1 for each quarter. 1 Christmas quilt wall hanging done almost done, 2 batik table runners in opposing colors are done and but I’m still working on one more quilt, a batik table runner.
Finish indexing the recipes on my Food blog, Savory Kitchen Table. This is a serious work in progress that will probably take ALL year into next year also.
Finish indexing the recipes on my Life blog, Chasing MY Life. When I merged my old blogspot blogs into this single blog it duplicated many things and added an “ALL” category that I am having to eliminate one by one so it’s taking a LONG time. This is a serious work in progress that will probably take ALL year into next year also.
Make a better effort to reach out and connect with friends and family more regularly. This is a work in progress.
Learn YOGA or Pilates or both! These are a work in progress.
Take at least a 2 mile walk daily. DONE most days
Continue to downsize and declutter EVERYTHING. This is a serious work in progress that will probably take ALL year, but be done by next March when we are planning a HUGE garage sale.
Clean out photo files that date back 13 years! I’m working on it, but it’s really hard. This is a serious work in progress that will always take ALL year, mainly because I keep taking pictures 😀
Create Shutterfly photo albums for 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016. Yet to do 😀
Go through scrap recipe tote and eliminate all the recipes I will never try – they’re just not worth saving. DONE
Do more drawing and painting – at least one per month. I’m still working on a few of these, but did complete several, one of which was for a Ukranian fund raiser. And hubby and I did one for a date night outing where we went to the afternoon class then dinner out 😀 Neither one of us liked it though so I’m not even posting it 🙁 I’m scheduled for one more “Santa Gnome” this year the first week in November. Isn’t he adorable?
Focus on rewriting more recipes to work for only 2 people with NO leftovers. This is a work in progress, but doing REALLY well so far. It has been seriously complicated by the increase in grocery prices 🙁
Volunteer at least once a month for a community project. DONE TO DATE
Do a date weekend once a month – exploring a new place we’ve never been before. I’d like to say we’ve been really good about this, but it’s only happened 3 times so far this year 🙁 1) RICOTTA class at a local winery 2) BURGERS & BEER at a local brewery that opened a new BURGER BOMB food truck 3) Romantic dinner at a favorite Italian restaurant. 4) We spent 2 days at a resort near Lassen National Park hiking and exploring 5) We spent 2 more days at Mt. Shasta also hiking and exploring 6) hubby and I are doing one tomorrow. We’ll go to an afternoon paint class then dinner out 😀 7) We were putting together a trip not to far from home for our anniversary in August, but changed it to one after school started for my birthday and then changed it yet again – we leave on Tuesday! 😀
Clean out old files and recycle or destroy old papers. This is still an ongoing work in progress, but I’ve made seriously good progress and will finish through the winter and spring.
Clean out craft cabinets and donate craft parts no longer needed. DONE
Eat at least 1 piece of fruit daily. DONE
Do at least 1 random act of kindness every time I leave the house. DONE
Read 36 books. Was hoping for double, but this was a realistic goal and now looks like I’ll actually reach that original hope of double. Since I’m now 3/4 of the way through the year I have high hopes of making that double number. 60 so far — 1) State of Grace by Marie Force, 2) Swamp Sweets by Jana DeLeon, 3) Beside Golden Irish Fields by Ava Miles, 4) What Child Is This by Rhys Bowen, 5) Women and Children First by Gill Paul, 6) Return to Sender by Jennifer Peel, 7) The Cape May Garden by Claudia Vance, 8) South of the Buttonwood Tree by Heather Webber, 9) A Home for Unloved Orphans by Rachel Wesson and 10) All My Loving by Marie Force 11) Wild Widows by Marie Force 12) Return to Sender by Jennifer Peel 13) In Name Only by Jennifer Peel 14) Flame & Fortune by Jana DeLeon 15) The Restaurant by Pamela Kelley 16) Here, There & Everywhere by Marie Force 17) Someone Like You by Marie Force 18) Beach House Romance by Cora Seton 19) Return to Sender by Jennifer Peel 20) In Name Only by Jennifer Peel 21) Silent Partner by Jennifer Peel 22) The Wedding Charm by Susan Hatler 23) The Girl From the Channel Islands 24) Breakfast at the Honey Creek Cafe by Jodi Thomas 25) The Book of Sorrel by Jennifer Peel 26) Written in the Stars by Noelle Fox 27) The Restaurant by Pamela Kelley 28) Secrets Hidden in the Glass by Cate Beauman 29) Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger 30) The Woman with the Blue Star by Pan Jenoff 31) The Lost Girls by Pam Jenoff 32) The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin 33) The Resistance Girl by Mandy Robotham 34) The Stationmaster’s Cottage, #1 Rivers End by Phillipa Nefri Clark 35) Accidentally Matched An Alaska Matchmaker Series by Cathryn Brown #1 36) Finally Matched An Alaska Matchmaker Series by Cathryn Brown #2 37) Hopefully Matched An Alaska Matchmaker Series by Cathryn Brown #3 38) A Fire Sparkling by Juliane Maclean 39) The Resistance Girl by Mandy Robotham 40) Jasmine Sea, #2 in the Rivers End series by Phillipa Nefri Clark 41) Palmerston House, #3 in the Rivers End series by Phillipa Nefri Clark 42) Last Known Contact by Phillipa Nefri Clark 43) The Honey Bus by Meredith May 44) Deadly Falls #1 Charlotte Dean Mysteries by Phillipa Nefri Clark 45) #2 Charlotte Dean Mysteries by Phillipa Nefri Clark 46) #3 Charlotte Dean Mysteries by Phillipa Nefri Clark 47) #4 Charlotte Dean Mysteries by Phillipa Nefri Clark 48) Hickory Lane by Heather Webber 49) Swamp Spirits #23 Miss Fortune series by Jana DeLeon 50) UNMISSING by Minka Kent 51) The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent 52) When It Falls Apart by Catherine Bybee 53) The Brighter the Light by Mary Ellen Taylor 54) Snowflakes and Coffee Cakes, Winter Series #1 by Joanne Demaio 55) Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 56) The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman 57) The Woman with Two Shadows by Sarah James 58) The Lost Girls of Paris by Pan Jenoff 59) Beyond the Moonlit Sea by Julianne MacLean 60) State of the Union – First Family #3 by Marie Force 61) The Silent Woman by Minka Kent 62) Waking Kate by Sarah Addison Allen 63) Real Bad Things by Kelly J. Ford
I’ve added a “SEASONAL” list too. I started with fall that you can see here.

STONE FRUIT TOMATO SALAD

STONE FRUIT TOMATO SALAD serves 6-8

DRESSING
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon avocado oil
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar and oil.
Season to taste with FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper. Set aside.

SALAD
2 peaches, chopped
3 plums, chopped
1 1/4 cups halved grape tomatoes
1 cup halved cherries
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup FRESH chopped parsley
3 LARGE green onions, sliced thin

In a large bowl toss together everything above.
Drizzle with dressing, tossing to coat well.
Let stand 5 minutes.

RUSTIC TOMATO TART

RUSTIC TOMATO TART
1/2 package Pillsbury pie crust or homemade
1 tablespoon avocado oil
2 tablespoons tomato or basil pesto
3/4 cup shredded Havarti cheese
1-2 LARGE heirloom tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch slices
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon FRESH thyme leaves
1-2 green onions, sliced thin

Preheat oven to 400°.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll out pie dough and shape into baking sheet dimensions creating an edge.
Brush with oil and pesto of choice.
Sprinkle 2/3 of the cheese onto the crust.
Arrange tomato slices over the cheese.
Season with FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper.
Top with remaining cheese.
Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes.
Garnish and serve.

CRACK CHICKEN CASSEROLE

One of my grandmothers used to say there were two ways to things – Her way or the wrong way. This “attitude” became a family “sore” spot a good deal of the time as there are always multiple ways to reach the same end results. For me it always seemed to resonate with recipes… LOL fast forward to this recipe and she was in my head about the best way to write this up.

There really are two ways to make this, the short way and the LONG way, which is my preferred method because I find it the most flavorful is to make the chicken in the slow cooker the day before you want to assemble the casserole.

Not much to look at, but SUPER delicious!

CRACK CHICKEN CASSEROLE (the short way)
8 slices thick cut bacon cooked crispy and crumbled
4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken (or crock pot crack chicken)
2 cups dried egg noodles, cooked per directions on box and drained
1 package dry ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup red or orange pepper, diced
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
1/2 cup Darigold Mexican sour cream
8 ounces cream cheese, softened (omit if using crock pot crack chicken)
1/3 cup Duke’s mayonnaise
1 1/2 cup corn chex, crushed
1/4 cup butter melted
2-3 green onions thinly sliced for garnish, optional

Preheat the oven to 350°.
Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray, set aside.
In a large bowl combine the bacon, chicken, cooked noodles, ranch seasoning, onion, red pepper, cream cheese, 1 cup of the cheddar, sour cream and mayonnaise until well blended.
Spread into the baking dish.
Top with the remaining cheddar.
In a small bowl mix together the corn chex with the butter and top the casserole with this mixture.
Bake for 40-50 minutes until bubbly.
Let cool slightly, garnish with optional green onions and serve.

CROCK POT CRACK CHICKEN
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders
1 package ranch dressing package mix
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar or cheese flavor of choice – Nacho, sharp, Vampire Slayer, etc…

Add chicken to crock pot in a single layer if possible.
Sprinkle with ranch dressing powder.
Place cream cheese block as a whole on top.
Cover and cook on low 6-7 hours.
Remove cover and shred chicken while stirring in cream cheese at the same time.
Add cheese and stir to mix.
Serve on buns, croissants, tortillas, in the above casserole or use it to make tacos next Taco Tuesday!

Author: QuiltLady