Antipasto

This zesty Italian salad is a perfect addition to any Italian dish, or makes for an excellent healthy lunch. "Homemade" Italian dressing really adds a kick, and meshes nicely with pepperoncinis. If you like spice and zest, you'll love this Italian salad! 

Salad Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp of croutons
• 2 tbsp of pepperoncinis--sliced
• 3 slices of salami, cut into strips (I used turkey salami)
• 2 cups of mixed Romaine lettuce--chopped
• 2 tbsp of Parmesan cheese cubes

Dressing ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. of Roquefort, ranch or blue cheese dressing
• 1 tsp of balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp of olive oil
• A dash of black pepper

Salad:

Toss ingredients in a large bowl, or arrange separately in a carry container, like above. This is best if the salad won't be served right away. 

Dressing:

Combine all ingredients, and whisk well with a fork.

Whole jar of dressing for refrigerator storage:

• 3/4 jar of blue cheese, Roquefort, or ranch dressing
• 4 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• 4 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tsp black pepper

Add all ingredients to jar, cap tightly, and shake well. 

Shake well before serving. 

Optional

• We keep a couple of glass salad dressing jars handy for mixing our own dressings. 
• Raspberry dressing: Substitute 1/2 jar of raspberry balsamic vinaigrette dressing for balsamic vinegar, and add to 1/2 jar of of your choice of creamy dressings listed above. Omit olive oil, and add 1 teaspoon of black pepper. 

Spooky Pumpkin Liqueur Cake

This spooky pumpkin cake is perfect for your Halloween party. Don't let its ghoulish exterior scare you! This cake is made from scratch, and one of the softest, moistest cakes you'll sink your fangs into. 

This cake would be perfectly presented with plastic spooky spiders and slimy slugs. 

Creepy Cake Ingredients:

• 2-1/2 cups sugar
•   1-1/4 cups canola oil
•   3 Eggs
•   3 cups all-purpose flour
•   2 teaspoons baking soda
•   2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
•   1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
•   1 tablespoon of maple extract
•   1/2 teaspoon salt
•   1 can (16 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
•   ½  cup pumpkin cream liqueur 

Ghoulish Glaze Ingredients

•          2 tablespoons of melted butter
•          2 cups of powdered sugar
•          2 tablespoons of pumpkin cream liqueur
•          Green, red, and yellow food coloring

Deadly Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine sugar and oil until blended thoroughly with an electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, vanilla, maple extract, pumpkin cream liqueur, and salt; add to egg mixture alternately with pumpkin, beating well after each addition. If mixture seems stiff, add a bit more oil.

Transfer to a greased 10-in. Bundt pan. Bake 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before inverting onto a plate.

Ghoulish Glaze Directions:
Combine melted butter, powdered sugar, and pumpkin cream liqueur, and whisk well. Reserve 3 heaping tablespoons of glaze to a separate small dish. Add 1 drop of red, and 3 drops of yellow food coloring to larger bowl of glaze. Mix well. Add more yellow and one drop of red for a more orange color. 

Add 8 drops of green to smaller dish of glaze, and mix well. 

Using your whisk, drizzle peach colored glaze over cake, allowing it to run down the sides. Drizzle green glaze just over the top of the cake. Some will run down the sides, but that's the idea. ;-)

Optional: 

• Garnish with plastic spiders. 
• Add more food coloring to orange icing for a deeper orange color. 
• Add one upside-down green ice cream cone to center, as a stem.

Yield: 12-16 servings. 

Simple Harvest Soup

Fall is here! Warm your taste buds with this easy-to-make harvest soup. Rich, buttery autumn flavors of yam, carrot, and spices melt in the mouth with this cozy creation!

Ingredients:

2 15oz cans of yams

1 14.5oz can of sliced carrots, drained

1 clove roughly chopped garlic

1 1/2 cups nonfat milk (or cream, if you desire)

1 Tbsp. butter or margarine

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. fine ground pepper (depending on how much heat you like)

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Place the two cans of yams, juice and all, in a blender or large food processor. Drain the carrots and place those in as well, with the chopped garlic, and blend until smooth.

Mixture will be thick.

Pour the mixture into a medium or large sauce pan on medium heat. As the soup heats, stir while adding the milk and margarine. 

Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and parsley and stir until well combined. Simple, easy, and yummy in the tummy!

Banana Bread

This tasty recipe is copied from one we found on www.foodnetwork.com, but has been altered to our liking. We used 3 very ripe large bananas (brown skins). We also added a teaspoon of almond extract, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and an extra teaspoon of cinnamon. It turned out wonderful! Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 cup granulated sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
3 large overly ripe bananas
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. 
Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk, vanilla and almond extract, and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes. Remove bread from loaf, place onto plate, and cool completely before slicing.

Original recipe can be found at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/banana-bread-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

This tasty pizza pie is completely wheat-free! A great alternative for those watching their carbs, or for those with wheat allergies. For this recipe, we made a white pizza, and used ricotta cheese instead of traditional tomato sauce. However, top with whatever you like! 

We found this crust was the consistency of a light bread, and was easily cut into with a fork. To make a cauliflower crust that provides slices that can be picked up, simply shape the "dough" into a smaller, thicker pizza, and maybe add an extra egg to really bind the "dough". Our recipe covered most of our medium-sized pizza stone. 

Crust Ingredients:

• One head of cauliflower--cut up, and stems removed
• 2 cups of water
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese
• Oregano
• Salt

Toppings:

• 1 cup of ricotta cheese
• 2 Roma tomatoes--sliced
• 1/2 brown onion-sliced
• 1 large handful of fresh spinach
• One handful of mozzarella cheese
• A dash of salt
• A dash of oregano 
• Olive oil

Weapons of Choice:

• One large baking stone or pizza pan, greased with olive oil
• One medium mixing bowl
• Pizza cutter
• Chef's knife
• Metal spatula
• Blender
• Strainer, dish towel, or cheese cloth

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Start by removing the stems from the cauliflower:

Chop cauliflower until crumbled.

Add cauliflower and water to blender and blend on high speed into a shake-like consistency. The water allows for easier blending. You may need a wooden spoon to help push the cauliflower toward the blades. 

Pour mixture into strainer and strain well. Press the cauliflower until all of the water strains from it. Cheese cloth or a dish towel also work well. The cauliflower should now be the consistency of mashed potatoes. 

Transfer the cauliflower to a medium mixing bow. Add Parmesan and mozzarella cheese, one large egg, and a dash of salt and oregano. 

Mix ingredients well:

Take the cauliflower mix and place on your baking stone or pizza pan. Shape the mixture to resemble pizza crust. Make sure the mixture is evenly spread to the thickness of pizza crust. 

Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until browned. Remove from the oven and drizzle a little olive oil over the crust. Add toppings, including another dash of salt and oregano. 

Bake again for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven, slice, and using a spatula, serve immediately. 

Enjoy! 

Colby Jack Corn Chowder

This yummy corn chowder is made without heavy cream, so your waistline will thank you. And unlike canned corn chowder, you control the sodium! However, healthy does not mean tasteless. Made with Colby Jack and cream cheese, this soup is plenty hearty, and perfect to make on a cold day. And best of all, it's quick and easy. 

Ingredients:

• 1 can of creamed corn
• 1 large Russet potato--sliced
• 1 large brown onion--diced
• 1 red bell pepper--diced
• 1 bunch of green onion--chopped
• 1/4 cup of flour
• 1 cup of skim milk
• 2 tablespoons of low fat cream cheese
• 3 or 4 slices of Colby Jack cheese
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• Salt 
• Pepper
• Red pepper flakes

Weapons of Choice:

• 1 soup pot
• 1 medium sauce pan
• 1 long-handled spoon
• Potato masher
• Vegetable strainer

Directions:
Add potato and red bell pepper to medium pan of water. Boil until potatoes soften. Remove from heat and set aside. 

On medium heat, add oil and onion to soup pot and saute' until onions soften. Add about half of the milk and stir. Slowly add flour (just a little at a time) until mixture is completely smooth, and free of lumps. Add the rest of the skim milk to the onion/flour mixture. 

Add creamed corn and green onions and stir. Fill the empty corn can with water and add to pot. Stir well. 

Drain potato and red bell pepper through strainer. Return to pot and mash well. Add mashed potato/bell pepper mixture to soup pot and stir well. 

Lastly, add Colby Jack cheese to soup and stir until completely melted through. Add cream cheese and stir until completely dissolved in soup. Add a dash of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. 

Pistachio Pudding Pie

If you're a fan of pistachios, this dessert is for you! This creamy pistachio pie is delicious and easy to make. Its pretty green color adds a festive touch to any holiday dinner. 

Ingredients:

• 1 small package of pistachio pudding and pie filling mix
• 1 3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 2 cups of graham cracker crumbs 
• 1/2 cup of melted butter or margarine
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 50 shelled pistachios--ground (crust)
• 20 shelled pistachios--chopped (garnish)

Weapons of choice:

• 2 medium mixing bowls
• 1 large pie dish or pan
• Electric mixer
• Measuring cup
• Icing spreader
• Large chopping knife

Directions for the Crust:
Add graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, brown sugar, and ground pistachios to bowl. 

Mix well until crumbs are well-saturated. 

Press crumbs into pie dish and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Set aside and let cool.

Directions for the Pie Filling:
Add 1 3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream and package of pudding/pie mix to bowl. Beat on medium speed until filling stiffens. 

Putting the Pie Together:

Carefully spoon pie filling onto cooled pie crust and spread evenly. Add chopped pistachios to top of pie to garnish. 

Place pie in refrigerator for one hour to cool. 

Potato Chip Cookies

These were so easy, we feel almost guilty blogging them! However, they were so tasty, we couldn't keep them from you. Shortbread cookies with potato chips crumbled into them--that's it! You can make them into cookie balls, or flatten into the pan for a traditional cookie shape. 

Ingredients:

• 1 package of shortbread cookie mix
• 1 lb. of butter or vegetable shortening
• 1 cup of crumbled potato chips

Weapons of choice:

• Two cookie sheets or baking pans
• 1 medium mixing bowl
• 1 teaspoon

Directions:
Prepare shortbread cookie mix per the package's directions: we used one package of vegetable shortening, and using our hands, mushed it together with the shortbread mix. Add potato chips and mush together again.

Using a teaspoon, drop rounded dough onto sheet. You may leave them rounded, or press down for a flatter cookie shape. Shortbread is a dry dough, and does not flatten out on its own, while baking.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes, or until slightly tanned around the edges.

Pasta: Quick, Light, Fresh, and Healthy

This healthy pasta dish is tossed in olive oil, and other fresh ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve with a side salad or whole wheat garlic bread. Whole wheat noodles are high in fiber, and much healthier than traditional, starchy durum wheat pasta. However, if flavored with Italian seasonings, you'll hardly notice the difference, and your waistline will thank you for it! In fact, with the calories saved, you'll have room for dessert, or a nice glass of wine. 

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat pasta noodles (1/2 a package)
• 3 Roma tomatoes (diced)
• Fresh basil (3 large leaves)
• 1 garlic clove
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Dried Basil

Weapons of Choice:

• Medium sauce pan
• Medium skillet
• Spoon
• Noodle scoop

Directions:
Fill sauce pan with water and bring to boil. Add a bit of salt and olive oil to the water, then add noodles. Cook until al dente. Drain well.

On medium heat, saute' garlic in olive oil in skillet until lightly browned. Increase to medium-high heat; add tomatoes and cook five minutes, or until tomatoes soften. Add basil and cook until lightly basil lightly softens. Add noodles to skillet and toss with a bit more olive oil. Add salt, pepper, and dried basil to taste.

Add fresh grated Parmesan cheese, and serve with side salad, or whole wheat garlic bread.

*Pair with our yummy Fresh Mozzerella Salad!