Apple / Kale / Raisin Salad

This is a salad - but i will also eat it as a dessert.

Ingredients

• 1 apple, cored and chopped
• 1 bunch kale, chopped
• 1 C raisins
• 1 to 2 T honey (adjust as you like it)
• 2 T lime juice
• 1 T olive oil
• 1/8 t pepper
• 1/8 t salt
• 1/4 C plain yogurt

Preparation

1. Core and chop the apple. Halve the cored apple vertically, then chop each half 4 x 4 - 32 pieces.
2. Wash the kale - then chop into thin ribbons, and cross cut into pieces sized similar to the apple chunks.
3. Mix honey, lime juice, olive oil, pepper, and salt. Pour over kale, and toss carefully.
4. Add the chopped apple and the raisins, and mix well.
5. Chill for an hour or so.
6. Toss again.
7. Serve.

Skillet Cooked Apples

This is a perfect way to use up apples, getting slightly ripe in my refrigerator. It's healthy (if you use margarine or oil) - but tastes decadent.

I like an old fashioned cast iron skillet, from time to time - but a non stick pan made the picture taking easier.

>> See it done!


Ingredients

• 1/4 C butter (margarine / cooking oil).
• 3 lbs (8 or 9) apples, cored and chopped.
• 1 C ripe grapes, or 1/2 C raisins.
• 1/4 C brown sugar.
• 1/4 t cinnamon.
• 1/8 t ginger.
• 1/8 t nutmeg.
• 1/4 C bourbon / rum (opt).

Preparation

1. Core then chop the apples.
2. Heat up a large skillet on high heat, add butter (margarine) to melt. Or use cooking oil for low cholesterol.
3. Reduce heat to medium, and add apples and grapes or raisins.
4. Stir fruit so each piece is lightly coated in melted butter (margarine).
5. Sprinkle fruit with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, stir to mix thoroughly.
6. Sprinkle with sugar, stir again.
7. Saute fruit mixture, stirring frequently, until apple pieces are soft. Cover, reduce to low heat, simmer 10 - 15 minutes. The pan will have a good amount (1/4 C or so) of juice in the bottom.
8. Drizzle with bourbon or rum, if interested.
9. Spoon cooked mixture into serving bowls, decorate lightly with ice cream - or Yogurt Sauce (opt).

See it Done!

Apples (cored), spices, raisins, sugar.

Chop the apples.

Melt butter in the skillet.

Add the apples.

Add raisins. Add spices, then sugar, stirring each time. The aroma fills the house.

Cook on medium, stirring occasionally, until apples are soft. Cover, simmer on low 10 - 15 minutes. Drizzle with bourbon / rum if desired.

Serve hot, from the skillet.

Chocolate / Oatmeal / Strawberry Breakfast Bar

Sometimes, I need an excuse for eating a load of sugar - and I'm out of ice cream.

• 1/2 C oatmeal
• 1 t brown sugar
• 1/2 t butter (margarine, if you want to be healthy)
• 2 t strawberry jam (grape jelly, what have you fruit + sugar topping)
• Chocolate syrup (Hershey's is best)

1. Mix oatmeal and brown sugar.
2. Mash butter / margarine / jam / jelly into oatmeal.
3. Pour / squirt chocolate syrup to top.
4. Bake in an oven, until dry / hard - or just eat with a spoon.
5. Instant sugar rush.

Christmas Jello Salad

I imagine the flavours - and colours - could be varied, too. Maybe lime gelatin instead of strawberry, for 1/2 the recipe.

• 2 C boiling water
  
• 12 oz Strawberry gelatin
  
• 32 oz frozen strawberries
  
• 20 oz can crushed pineapple
  
• 16 oz sour cream
  

1. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water.
   
2. Add strawberries, cut into small cubes to help unfreeze faster.
   
3. Dump in pineapple.
   
4. Work quickly before gelatin thickens.
   
5. Pour half of gelatin mixture into a 16" x 2" flat pan.
   
6. Spread sour cream over top.
   
7. Pour other half of gelatin mixture over sour cream.
   
8. Refrigerate.
   

Forgotten Cookies (aka Meringues)

• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 - 2/3 Cup sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 C chocolate chips / crushed nuts

1. Warm eggs to room temperature.
2. Separate eggs, religiously keeping any egg yolk out of the egg whites.
   • I separate each egg into an empty cup, examine the white carefully, and ever so gently deposit the yolk in another cup.
   • If the yolk sits, unbroken, in another cup, then it's likely that the white is clean.
   • If the yolk breaks when deposited, then I set the white aside, and only use that one if I run out of eggs.
3. Beat / blend egg whites, until stiff and they form peaks.
4. Fold in sugar, vanilla, and nuts / chocolate chips.
5. Preheat oven to 325.
6. Drop egg mixture using a very clean teaspoon, onto a very clean cookie sheet. The cookies will not expand, so you can put them on the sheet as closely as necessary. Each cookie should be about one teaspoon of cookie batter. One batch = one 11" x 16" cookie sheet.
7. For best results, plan that all cookies are directly exposed to the heating elements in the oven. Only use one shelf in the oven, and place cookie sheets side by side, as best possible. Two 11" x 16" cookie sheets just barely fit beside each other, in a 16" deep oven.
8. Put the cookies into the oven, as soon as possible after putting them on the sheet.
9. If necessary, turn the oven temperature up, until it lights again. This is very important.
10. Leave the oven on for 5 minutes - no more - then turn the oven off. If you catch any odor of burning, turn the oven off immediately, but do not despair, and do not open the oven door.
11. Leave the cookies in the oven, and do not open the door, 4 hours to overnight. 8 to 12 hours is not too long, noting that you have turned the oven off. The cookies dry (harden) slowly - meringue bakes very gradually.
12. If time is short, you can accelerate the drying of the cookies. A couple hours before you are scheduled to remove them from the oven, turn the oven back on, and bring the temperature up to 200 or so for 5 minutes. Don't forget to turn it off after 5 minutes!
13. Remove the cookies from the oven, and from the trays, and place in an airtight container, stacked between sheets of wax paper.
14. Serve when ready (if you can keep folks from serving themselves).

Fudgies

• 2 C sugar
• 1/2 Cup OleoMargarine
• 1/2 C milk
• 3 T cocoa
• 1/2 C peanut butter
• 3 C rolled oats
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 t vanilla

1. Put sugar, oleo, milk, cocoa in saucepan, bring to boil, boil 5 minutes.
2. Remove from heat, melt in peanut butter, rolled oats, salt, vanilla.
3. Drop by spoonsful onto wax paper.
4. Cover, and cool in refrigerator.

Marshmallow Fudge

1/4 C butter / margarine
13 oz (1 can) evaporated milk
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 C sugar
12 oz chocolate chips
3 C miniature / 24 full size marshmallows
1 C chopped nuts - pecans / walnuts
1 t vanilla

• Combine butter, milk, salt, and sugar in a 3 quart casserole or mixing bowl. Loosely cover with lid or plastic wrap.
  
• Microwave on High (100%) for 3 to 4 minutes, or until boiling. Uncover.
  
• Microwave on High (100%) for 12 to 20 minutes (depending upon power of oven), testing every 2 or 3 minutes, looking for soft ball stage.
  
• When soft ball stage is reached, stir in additional ingredients, until cholcolate and marshmallows melts evenly.
  
• Pour mixture into a well greased baking dish, 12" x 7' x 2" size or thereabouts.
  
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours (at least) or overnight (best results).
  

Kahlua Cake

Kahlua, and everything else, is not healthy - but it has chocolate. Enough said.

Allow 2 days to make this, the results are worth it.


Ingredients

• 1 Cake, German Chocolate or Dark Chocolate
• 1 C Kahlua
• 1 - 2 7 oz Cans whipped cream
• 6 - 8 Heath bars

Preparation
I highly recommend using genuine Kahlua - accept no substitute.

1. Cook cake until dry (add 1/3 extra cooking time over instructions).
2. Let cake cool overnite in pan. (That's one day).
3. Poke holes in cake thoroughly, pour Kahlua over cake.
4. Let Kahlua seep into cake well (Overnite is best - and that's the second day).
5. Cool Heath bars overnite in refrigerator (they crumble better).
6. Crumble / crush Heath bars into crumbs.
7. Crumble cake with fingers (the fun part), and layer in glass bowl (3 - 4 layers), each layer in proper order.
   
   • Cake.
   • Whipped cream.
   • Heath bar crumbs.
8. Lick fingers when done (the best part of preparation).
9. Serve quickly (if you can wait).