Last night

Last night was a lot of fun. There was lots of good food, and fun stories. I am very proud of Karlyn and Christa for demonstrating and preparing their dishes - Karlyn did bread and Christa did green cake. Great job!

The movie afterwards was good too. The soundtrack was terrible for some reason, so we all got free tickets to go back another time! :) Hurray!

Interesting new news: I have a job interview tomorrow. I might get a second job. It's part time work too, and the mom is very flexable. (Another nanny job.) I hope it goes well!



Here are the recipies that were used last night:


Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

1 15 oz can artichoke hearts (not marinated)
1 10 oz package chopped spinach, thawed and drained
4 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup ripe pitted olives
1 small jar pimento drained and chopped OR 1/2 diced red pepper

Drain artichoke hearts and cut into small pieces. Add remaining ingredients and mix. Spoon into greased 1 qt glass casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve warm with tortilla chips. Serves 12-20 depending on what else is served.



100% Whole Wheat Bread

1 T active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water
2 T molasses
2 T honey
1 T coarse sea salt or 2 t table salt
1/4 cup melted butter or safflower oil
2 T wheat gluten (optional: I find it helps the bread rise better)
4 cups wheat kernel ground or 6 cups whole wheat flour*

In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of the warm water. Stir in the molasses, honey, salt, butter or oil, gluten, the remaining water and the flour, cup by cup, until the dough becomes too hard to stir. Turn the dough out, using the same flour to dust your work surface. Let rest while you clean out and grease your bowl. Knead the dough, adding more of the same flour as required, until it becomes smooth and loses most of its tackiness--about 8-10 minutes. Return to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or towel. Let rise until almost double its volume--about 2 hours or more. Punch the dough down, then shape it into two 8-inch loaves and place in greased bread pans. Cover lightly with a towel and let rise until the dough almost reaches the top of the pans --about 1 hour or so. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove the loaves and cool on racks.
*4 cups wheat kernels ground will make 6 cups flour
Yield: two 8-inch loaves, 12-14 servings


Broccoli Salad

One large head of broccoli, washed and dried, cut into small flowerets
¼ cup diced onions
½ cup raisins
½ cup chopped walnuts
10 slices of bacon, crumbled

Mix all ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.

Dressing:
½ cup sugar
1 cup mayonnaise

Mix sugar and mayo together until sugar is dissolved. Take 2/3 of mayo mixture and combine with broccoli mixture. Pour the rest of mayo mixture over the top.


Lemony Leg of Lamb – Greek Style

1 leg of lamb, boneless
1 T grated lemon zest
1 T oregano
1 T rosemary, coarsely crumbled
3 cloves minced garlic
1/3 cup flour
6 T lemon juice
¾ water

Combine dry ingredients. Add lemon juice to form a paste. Make ½-inch deep incisions all over the leg. Rub paste into the leg. Pour water into roasting pan. Place lamb on rack and roast for 30 min. at 425. Reduce heat to 350 to finish cooking until button pops up.


Chilled Strawberry Drink

Serve this sweet drink as a starter or light dessert.

2-10 oz packages frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed
½ cup half-and-half
¼ cup unsweetened white grape juice
¼ sour cream

Place first three ingredients in a blender or food processor; mix until smooth. Cover and chill. Pour into mugs and top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream.

Yield: 4 servings of 3/4 cup each

Variation: Use recipe as chilled strawberry soup and ladle into bowls instead.



Green Cake

1 lemon cake mix
1 lemon jello mix
1 lime jello mix
½ cup oil
¾ cup water
4 eggs, separated

Beat together cake mix, jello mixes, oil, water and egg yokes for 4 minutes. Beat egg whites and fold into batter. Pour into 9x13-inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Icing:
Mix ½ cup lemon juice and 2 cups powdered sugar. Poke holes into the cake and pour the mixture over the cake while it is still warm.


Caramel Stripe Cheesecake

2
cups vanilla wafer crumbs

CARAMEL TOPPING:
1/3
cup butter, melted
12
caramels
3
pkgs (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
2
Tbl. whipping cream
1
cup sugar

CHOCOLATE TOPPING:
2
Tbl. flour
1/2
cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3
eggs
2
tsp. butter
2
Tbl. whipping cream
4
tsp. whipping cream
1
tsp. vanilla extract

Whipped cream and coarsely chopped pecans, optional

In a small bowl, combine wafer crumbs and butter. Press onto the bottom and 1-1/2” up the sides of an ungreased 9” springform pan. Bake at 400° for 10 mins. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce heat to 350°.

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Combine the sugar and flour; add to cream cheese and mix well. Add eggs, beating just until combined. Stir in cream and vanilla. Pour into crust. Bake for 40-45 mins. or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 mins. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hr. longer. Cover and refrigerate until completely cooled. In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir caramels and cream until melted and smooth. In another saucepan, cook and stir the chocolate chips, butter and cream until melted and smooth. Drizzle caramel and chocolate toppings over cheesecake. Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan before serving. Garnish with whipped cream and pecans if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.