Knorr’s Spinach Dip

1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, drained and squeezed dry
1 pkg Knorr’s vegetable soup mix
1 small can water chestnuts, chopped
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
3 green onions, minced (optional)

Mix the sour cream and mayonnaise together in a bowl. Pour in the soup mix, water chestnuts, spinach, and green onions (optional). Mix thoroughly and refrigerate for at least four hours. Stir before serving.

Cranberry Sauce

1 cup cranberry juice
1 cup white sugar
1 bag of fresh cranberries (12 oz or 3.5c)
1 Golden Delicious apple, peeled & diced
1 Anjou pear, peeled & diced
1/4 cup of frozen orange juice concentrate
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cornstarch mixed into 1 tbsp cold water

1. Put water & sugar in a medium pot and bring to a boil, dissolving sugar.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring back to a boil.
3. Turn heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Add cornstarch/water mix. Simmer for 30 minutes
4. Let cool to room temperature and serve it warm or chilled.

The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup diced nuts and 1/2 cup of whatever dried fruit you like. Add at end but I omit them.

Peanut Butter Buttercream

1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Strawberry Lemonade

From Emeril Lagasse on Foodnetwork.com Next time strain the strawberries.

2 cups water
1 cup sugar
The peel of one lemon in strips (used a veggie peeler)
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
4 cups cold club soda


In a medium saucepan, melt the sugar in the water over med low or low heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon peel and lemon juice, stir, and remove from the heat. Let cool and remove lemon peel.

In a blender, puree the pint of strawberries and add to the pitcher with the lemon juice. Stir well to combine and refrigerate until well chilled.

Add the club soda and some ice to a pitcher and stir well.

Lemon herb marinated feta

I never would have looked at this recipe from Whole Foods website and decided to make it but a block of feta was the Friday special at Whole Foods one day and while I was walking through they had this dish to try. It was very tasty and full of flavor. Even those in the house who were not really feta lovers thought it was great. Changes - I did not use whole peppercorns since I didn't want to buy a whole bottle just for this dish (we aren't pepper lovers) and I used a little extra lemon peel since we love lemon.

1/2 pound feta cheese, drained, patted dry and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 to 3 sprigs fresh thyme and rosemary
4 to 5 wide strips lemon zest (removed with a vegetable peeler)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Olive oil

Put feta cheese into a glass pint jar or plastic tupperware container. Gently tuck thyme, zest, bay leaf and peppercorns into jar then cover contents with olive oil. Seal tightly and chill for at least 2 days or up to 1 week. Bring to room temperature before serving. Drain and save olive oil before serving. Serve over some lettuce with mini toasts.

Roasted Broccoli

You could almost eat this broccoli as a main dish it is so good. I try and use the good parmesan since that is a lot of the flavor in this dish.

2 large bunches of broccoli, cut into florets and dried thoroughly
3 tbs olive oil
1 tsp salt
4 garlic cloves, sliced
Zest and juice of one lemon
2 tbs basil, chopped
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan

Toss broccoli with olive oil, salt and garlic. Roast at 425 for 20-25 minutes until some florets are a little brown.

Zest and juice the lemon over the broccoli, add the basil and sprinkle with parmesan.

Crockpot Pork chops and Apples

The apples do fall apart into a kind of applesauce for the pork so you can peel the apples if you like it better that way. I like to shred the pork to soak up the extra sauce when I eat it. Yummy over brown rice.

6 boneless pork loin chops
3-4 medium Golden Delicious apples, sliced
4 tbl brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt (optional)

Place apples over the pork in crockpot, sprinkle remaining ingredients over the top. Cook on low 6-8 hours.

BBQ Pineapple Chicken Packet

For each packet:
1 chicken breast
2 pineapple rings
2 pepper (green, red or yellow) rings
1 tbsp BBQ sauce

Use heavy duty foil and make a packet for each chicken - fold the top and ends to seal the packet but leave some room for heat circulation inside.

Grill 20-25 min or 30 mins at 350 in the oven.

Crockpot Pulled Pork

Spice Rub:
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp oregano
4 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

5-6 lb pork roast
1/4 cup water
2 cups BBQ sauce plus extra for serving

Rub the spice mix into the meat (on top of saran wrap and a sided cookie sheet - may leak). Wrap tightly in 2 layers of saran wrap and refrigerate overnight to 3 days.

Place in crock pot, add 1/4 cup of water. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Discard liquid, shred meat and place back in crockpot with BBQ sauce. Heat on low for 3-60 minutes until hot.

Spaghetti Sauce

This is double the recipe but I rarely make any less. Just freeze half if you don't use it within a few days.

1-2lbs of ground beef or turkey
2-28oz cans Crushed or ground tomatoes
2-6oz cans tomato paste
~30 leaves of fresh basil
~1/2 cup fresh parsley
1tbl dried marjoram
5 cloves of garlic, minced

Brown meat together with garlic and drain.

Add crushed tomatoes and spices. Bring to a boil then simmer for 1 hour.

Add tomato paste plus 6 cans of water (helps rinse out the cans since the paste is sticky). Bring to a boil and simmer with lid slightly off for 2-3 hours.