Lemon Bars

Submitted by Melissa Maxwell


1 cup soft butter or margarine

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar; add flour. Mixture should be pea-sized gravel looking for easiest spreading. Spread in 9 x 13" pan and pat down. Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes (until edges start to brown). While crust is baking, prepare next layer:

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

4 T. flour

4 T. lemon juice

Grated rind of 1 lemon

Beat eggs til foamy, then add sugar, flour, lemon juice and rind. Mix well and pour over hot crust after it comes from oven. Now bake for 15-20 minutes at 325 degrees. Remove from oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar (I put powdered sugar in a small strainer to sprinkle over the top). Cool slightly before cutting.

You can do half the recipe in an 8x8 pan, but it's never enough. Also, this crust works for raspberry bars, putting thinned raspberry jam over the crust and sprinkling some of the crust mixture over the jam.

Orange Cranberry Granola

Submitted by Mandi Cooper



4 cups oats

3/4 cup wheat germ or Grapenuts cereal

3/4 c sliced almonds or other nuts

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup dried cranberries



Mix together in a big bowl. In a saucepan (or in the microwave), bring the following ingredients to a boil:


1 cup honey

1/2 cup orange juice

1 tsp shredded orange peel

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon



Pour sauce over the dry mixture. Stir to coat evenly. Spread evenly on a baking sheet. Bake at 300 for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool at room temperature.

Greek Couscous

Submitted by Emily Daniel

1 1/2 C Couscous (I used white, but next time I'm going to try a mix of white and wheat)


2 1/4 C Chicken Broth

1 can garbanzo beans

1/2 C Feta Cheese, crumbled

diced tomatoes

diced cucumber

diced red bell pepper

fresh basil, parsley and oregano, minced

Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper

Fresh Lemon juice

Greek Vinaigrette



Bring chicken broth to a boil and add couscous. Remove from heat. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff thoroughly with a fork and refrigerate. When couscous is cold, toss with drained and rinsed garbanzo beans, feta, vegetables, and herbs. Squeeze juice of half a lemon and salt and pepper to taste. Next time I'll try adding a little Greek Vinaigrette for a little more flavor. But it was delicious anyway!

Fruity Pasta Salad

Submitted by Beth Johnston

1/2 c. vanilla yogurt

2 T. honey

1 T. lime juice

lime zest (optional)



1 1/2 cups (uncooked) rotini pasta, cooked and chill

1 c. strawberries, quartered

1 c. pineapple tidbits

1 c. red grapes, halved

2 kiwis, cut in bite size pieces



Cook pasta, drain and chill in refrigerator. Slice fruit and put in bowl. Mix yogurt, honey, lime juice and zest in a separate bowl. When ready to serve mix pasta, fruit and sauce together. Don't mix too early, it's not the type of salad you want to sit for long.

Spinach and Chick Pea Dish

Submitted by Emily Daniel

1. Put 1 T Canola oil in a large skillet. Heat at medium high heat and add a pinch of whole cumin seeds. Cook until seeds start to sizzle. (Side note: I usually have major issues with cumin, it’s just not a flavor that I love, but the whole cumin seeds are WAY better than the ground powder.)

2. Add half a roughly diced onion. Cook until soft. Be careful not to burn!

3. Add 1 can of diced tomatoes with juice.

4. Add 2 minced cloves of garlic and 1 T minced ginger. (You are going to put the mixture in the blender eventually, so don’t stress about finely mincing anything.) We also threw in a pinch of red pepper flakes for a little heat.

5. Add 1 package of semi-thawed frozen spinach. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until spinach is warmed through.

6. Add pinch of Turmeric.

7. Let mixture cook and then blend in the blender until you have a coarse mixture. Do not puree! Add water if the blender is struggling to process the mixture. Just not so much that you dilute the flavors.

8. Rinse and dry skillet. Reheat, add ½ T butter and ½ tsp of gara marsala. Pour mixture from blender. Heat through.

9. Add one can cooked chickpeas (we made ours fresh in a pressure cooker for the sake of cheapness, but Anamika said canned are fine.)

10. Heat through and salt to taste.

11. Serve with Chipatti bread, pita bread, or whole wheat tortilla.



Or I think Melissa's Pita Crisps would be delicious with this. I usually serve this alongside Jasmine rice, and baked chicken thighs that have been marinated in soy sauce, honey, fresh ginger and garlic.

Pita Crisps

Submitted by Melissa Maxwell

2 whole wheat pitas, split to make 4 rounds
4 tsp. vegetable or olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 350 degrees.

Place pitas on a baking sheet large enough to hold them in a single layer.  Drizzle oil over pitas and spread with a dull knife.  Mix seasonings and sprinkle evenly over pitas.  Bake until crisp and golden brown, 8-10 minutes.  If pitas are brown but not completely crisp, turn off oven, open oven door, and allow to stand for 5 minutes.

Chicken and Rice with Coconut Milk and Pistachios

Submitted by Mandi Cooper

4 (5-6oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 c flour

3 T oil

1 med onion, minced

1 1/2 tsp curry

1 1/2 c long grain white rice

3 med garlic cloves, minced

2 3/4 c low-sodium chicken broth

1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk

1 c frozen peas

1/2 c chopped pistachios, lightly toasted

1/4 c minced fresh cilantro leaves


Pound each chicken breast between two sheets of plastic wrap to a uniform 1/2". Place the flour in a shallow dish and pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel, then season with salt and pepper. Dredge each chicken breast in the flour, shaking off excess.

Heat 2 T of oil in a skillet over medium heat until the oil is rippling. Carefully lay the chicken breasts in the skillet and cook until lightly browned on both sides, 6-8 min. Transfer to a plate.

Add the remaining 1 T oil in skillet and return to medium heat until rippling. Add the onion, curry, and 1/2 tsp salt and cook until the onion is softened. Stir in the rice and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 sec.

Stir in chicken broth and coconut milk, scraping up any browned bits. Nestle the chicken into the rice and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to med-low and cook until the chicken is done, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a clean plate, brushing off any rice back into the skillet. Tent the chicken loosely with foil to stay warm. Cover the skillet and continue to cook the rice over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender, about 10 minutes.

Off the heat, sprinkle the peas over the rice, cover, and let warm through, about 2 min. Add the pistachios and cilantro and gently fold into the rice. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with the chicken.

Snickers Cookies

Submitted by Katie Ericksen




1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

11/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

30 mini Snicker's candy bars



In a large bowl combine sugar, brown sugar, butter and peanut butter. Add vanilla and egg. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the peanut butter mixture. Shape dough around a Snickers, covering completely (without having too much more dough).

Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Cool 1 minute on sheet then remove to cooling rack.

Chocolate Chip Cheeseball

Submitted by Wendy Holt

carton of cream cheese (sorry, no low fat stuff)


1 stick or 1/2 cup of butter (whatever makes you feel better.)

1 cup of powdered sugar

3 T brown sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

1 cup of mini chocolate chips (I wish I would have used more)

a bag of toffee chips



Soften butter and cream cheese to room temperature.  Cream butter and cream cheese together.  Add powdered sugar brown sugar and vanilla.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Cover and chill in fridge until firm.  Wrap in plastic and shape into a ball.  Chill again.  Roll in toffee chips. (I didn't use the whole bag, *gasp* you could also use chopped pecans)

I served with honey teddy grahams and chocolate teddy grahams and those were good but I LOVED it with the pretzel sticks.

Cheesecake-Marbled Brownies

Submitted by Lea McEwan


I used a box brownie recipe


For cheesecake batter

• 8 ounces cream cheese, well softened

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 1 large egg yolk

• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla



Preparation

Make brownie batter:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan.

Heat butter and chocolate in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, whisking occasionally, just until melted. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar, eggs, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until well combined. Whisk in flour until just combined and spread in baking pan.

Make cheesecake batter and bake brownies:

Whisk together cheesecake batter ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Dollop over brownie batter, then swirl in with a knife or spatula.

Bake as directed on box, about 55 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature.