Kool-Aid Play Dough

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 package Kool-Aid (any color, makes it smell good)
1 tablespoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup salt
1 cup boiling water
Directions
1Mix all dry ingredients in bowl then oil, then pour boiling water in and mix thoroughly.
2Wrap in cellophane or air tight container and store in fridge.
3. Should keep for a few months.

This is what fruit punch flavor looks like!

And this is "Berry Blue"

It smells really good, and I think both he and the dog were a bit disappointed that it doesnt taste as good as it smells...btw...DON'T let your dog "clean up" what falls on the floor....eew! Learned that one the hard way!

jalapeno pepper freezer jelly

Ingredients
2/3 cup jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped (or more if more spice is preferred)*
2-1/2 cups bottled apple juice
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 drop green or red food coloring
5-1/2 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl
3/4 cup water
1 box SURE.JELL Fruit Pectin

RINSE clean plastic containers and lids in boiling water. Dry thoroughly.
MEASURE exactly 2/3 cup prepared peppers into large bowl. Add apple juice, vinegar and food coloring; mix well. Stir in sugar. Let stand 10 min., stirring occasionally.
MIX water and pectin in small saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 min. Add to fruit mixture; stir 3 min. or until sugar is dissolved and no longer grainy. (A few sugar crystals may remain.)
FILL all containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops. (This filled up 8 of those small plastic containers with the purple screw on lids fyi) Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Peppers may float to the top....the will eventually settle...don't worry about it! Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. (The recipe claims that it could take up to 1 week to set...) Jelly is now ready to use. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or freeze extra containers up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator before using.

*Remember, leaving the seeds and ribs will cause the flavor to be much hotter...I took the seeds and ribs out of at least 1/2 the peppers I used and my jelly still had plenty of ZING...but wasnt painful to eat!


****PS-This recipe didn't work for me the first time I made it....but I THINK I screwed it up in that I may have jostled it too much just after I poured it into the jars. If your jelly stays syrupy here is how to redo HALF of the recipe:
Pour 4 containers of thawed unset pepper jelly into a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups sugar and 3 more chopped peppers. Mix well and let sit for at least 5 minutes. In a saucepan mix 3/4 cup water with pectin and bring to a boil. Stir constantly at a rolling boil for 1 minute. Add to pepper mixture and stir 3 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Pour into clean containers (it took 5 of the same containers this time) and allow to sit at room temperature for 24 hours. (This time it set IMMEDIATELY!!)


**My favorite way to eat this is poured over a block of cream cheese served with crackers as an appetizer! YUM!!

Jamaican Pork Tenderloin

This marinade would be delicious on chicken or even fish..simiar to Jamaican Jerk seasonings.
6 servings
INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion chopped
1 cup chopped green onions
1 jalapeno pepper
2 teaspoons dried thyme (or 3 Tbsp fresh)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teasoon EACH ground allspice, sinnamon and nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (or 2 teaspoons minced fresh gingerroot)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 pork tenderloins (1 pound each)

In a food processor combine all ingredients (EXCEPT the pork). cover and process until smooth. (I dont have a food processor so I combined all the marinade ingredients into a large bowl and used a hand blender to combine) Pour marinade into a large resealable plastic bag and add pork. Seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate overnight (or at least 8 hours). Coat grill rack with nonstick grill spray before startingthe3 grill. Drain and discard marinade from pork. Grill covered over indirect medium heat for 20-25 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees (it took us around 30 minutes.) Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

Tomato Bruschetta

INGREDIENTS:
10 cherry or large grape tomatoes
3 Tbsp evoo
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
16 fresh basil leaves shredded
3 cloves of garlic peeled
8 slices of fresh ciabatta bread
salt and pepper to taste

Chop tomatoes into small pieces. Place in a bowl with evoo, balsamic vinegar and basil leaves. Mince one of the cloves of garlic and add to bowl. Toss to mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Allow flavors to meld while you cook the rest of dinner.
Cut remaining garlic cloves in half and with cut side down, rub over both sides of lightly toasted ciabatta bread. I like to serve the bruschetta in a bowl with at spoon and the bread to the side so that people can construct their own. Be sure you eat this with loved ones who won't mind your garlicky breath! :)

chicken pineapple stirfry

tweaked from a Mr. Food Cookbook
2 servings
INGREDIENTS
1 large onion cut into wedges
1 large red bell pepper cut into 1 inch chunks
2/3 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch chunks
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 8 ounce can pineapple chunks, drained (or fresh pineapple)
2 servings steamed rice

Coat large skillet with non stick cooking spray and heat over high heat. Add the onion and red pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until browned stirring occasionally. Season the chicken with the garlic salt and ginger. Add to the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the chicken is browned, stirring occasionally. Add the pinaeapple chunks and mix well. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until heated through and the chicken is no longer pink inside. Serve immediately.

steak and potato soup

tweaked from a Mr. Food cookbook
6-7 servings
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons butter
one 8 ounce strip steak well trimmed and thinly sliced
1 large onion or 2 small
5 cups beef broth or stock
1 package (24 ounces) frozen steak fries, broken into bite sized pieces
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Melt the butter in a soup pot over high heat. Add the steak and onions and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the steak is no longer pink. Add the remaining ingredients; mix well. Bring to a boil and boil for 6-8 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese before serving.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

tweaked from my friend Tish C.
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion chopped
1 small can chopped green chiles, drained
8 oz cream cheese softened
3 1/2 cups chopped grilled chicken breast
1/2 box of chopped frozen spinach thawed and drained
8-8 inch flour tortillas
2 cups mexican blend shredded cheese
1 small carton whipping cream

1. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute 5 minutes. Add green chiles, saute one minute. Stir in cream cheese, chicken, and spinach, cook, stirring constantly, until cream cheese melts.
2. Spoon 2-3 tbsp chicken mixture down center of tortilla. Roll tortillas and place, seam down, in a lightly greased 9x13 dish. Sprinkle with cheese and drizzle with whipping cream.
3. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Then take off foil and bake an additional 15 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned.

Sometimes these seems a bit bland to me, so I serve with salsa....might also be good with a chopped fresh jalapeno or a bigger can of chopped green chiles.

Black Bean "Hummus"

from a cooking Class at the Viking Store (which I tweaked a bit..)

serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

3 Tbsp evoo

1 small white onion peeled and chopped

1 small green bell pepper

4 cloves of garlic, minced (recipe only called for 2, but we like garlic....)

1 tsp dried oregano

two 15-ounce cans of black beans, rinsed and drained (or 1/2 pound dried beans that have been soaked and cooked and drained)

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)

1 small bunch of cilantro coarsely chopped (recipe only called for 3 Tbsp, but we also like cilantro!)

2 tsp Tabasco sauce, or to taste

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

warm water as needed to thin

green onions, green tops only very thinly sliced for garnish

1. Place a medium saute pan over medium high heat; add the oil and heat through. Stir in the onion and bell pepper and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and dried oregano, and cook two minutes more. our in the beans, and continue cooking, stirring often until just warmed through, about 2 minutes.
2. Remove the pan from the heat, then transfer the bean mixture to the work bowl. Using a hand blender pulse to combine. While still blending, add the lime juice, cilantro, and hot pepper sauce; continue blending until the dip is completely smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning to taste with salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce. If the dip is too thick for chips, thin with a little warm water, adding it one tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is achieved.

I served this with baked plantain chips which were very disappointing! I'm going to try again with the plantains and hopefully post the recipe once it is perfected. In the meantime, this is good with store bought plantain chips, tortilla chips or veggies such as baby carrots! ENJOY!