Hidden Valley Oyster Crackers
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Category: <span>Josmo’s Cafe</span>
Red Lentil Soup
Red Lentil Soup
Healthy, easy, and delicious. Lentils are soft and cook quickly so this soup can be made at the last minute. The red lentils make for a very pretty soup.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 ½ cups dried red lentils
5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoons lemon juice, or to taste
Fresh chopped cilantro or parsley, for serving
Instructions
On the stovetop, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cumin and sauté for another minute, until the garlic becomes very fragrant.
Stir in the lentils, broth, and tomatoes.
Bring the liquid to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, and allow to continue simmering, uncovered, until lentils are soft, about 20 minutes. Thin the soup with some water if it becomes too thick while simmering.
Stir in the lemon juice. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
Ladle into bowls and top with parsley and/or cilantro.
Apple Squares
Apple Squares
My apple-loving husband John absolutely loves these sweet treats. I love them, too, since they are so easy to make. No electric mixer is needed!
Ingredients
- 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup chopped apple
- ½ cup finely chopped walnuts
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch square pan.
- Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon into a medium bowl. Stir 2 tablespoons white sugar and the remaining 2 teaspoons cinnamon together in a small bowl.
- Mix brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar, and melted butter together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in egg and vanilla. Blend in flour mixture until just combined, then stir in apple and walnuts. Spread mixture evenly into the prepared pan and sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture over top.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the top springs back when lightly pressed, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan before cutting into 16 squares.
From Allrecipes by BarbiAnn
Sweet and Easy Pulled Chicken
Sweet and Easy Pulled Chicken
This slow-cooker pulled chicken caught my attention with a unique ingredient – Italian dressing. The flavor combination of the all the ingredients is outstanding.
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 ¼ cup Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce
½ cup Italian dressing – I used freshly made Good Seasons Italian
2 T Worcestershire sauce – I used Lea and Perrins
½ cup light brown sugar
1 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Whisk together all the sauce ingredients. Pour mixture over and under the chicken breasts placed in the slow cooker. For easy clean up, use slow cooker liners.
Cook on high for 2.5 to 3 hours or on low for 5-6 hours. The chicken will shred easily. Serve as a sandwich in a hamburger bun or spoon it over a baked potato.
Greek Yogurt Lemon Baked Chicken
Greek Yogurt Lemon Baked Chicken
How do you know when a dinner main dish is a success? When you take it to a covered dish dinner and several people ask for the recipe! My friend Nan found the recipe on www.krollskorner.com.
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts – if too large, cut in serving size pieces
1 tsp each salt and pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup FAGE Plain Greek Yogurt
2 T lemon juice
2 T olive oil
¾ tsp thyme leaves – dried
½ tsp onion powder
3 T Panko breadcrumbs mixed with ½ tsp thyme leaves
Lemon sliced very thin – one slice for each chicken piece
- In a large bowl, season the chicken with salt and pepper.
- In another bowl, mix yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, thyme and onion powder.
- Add the yogurt mixture to the bowl with the chicken. Coat the chicken thoroughly with the yogurt mixture. Cover the bowl. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the coated chicken pieces in a greased or non-stick foil lined baking dish. Discard the yogurt mixture left in the bowl.
- Place a lemon slice on top of each chicken piece. Sprinkle with panko and thyme mixture.
- Bake the chicken for about 40 minutes. Check that internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Potato Wedges
Potato Wedges
What to do with leftover baked potatoes? After you make these, you’ll start to make extra baked potatoes to make these tasty potato wedges.
4 cooked Baked Russet Potatoes
1-2 T olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T Italian seasoning
½ tsp salt or more to taste
¼ tsp black pepper or more to taste
- Cut leftover cooked baked potatoes in half, then cut each half into 3 wedges. Potatoes will cut easily if they have been refrigerated at least a day.
- Mix together the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add the potato wedges and gently toss to not break the wedges.
- Place wedges on a greased baking sheet or baking sheet lined with non-stick foil.
- Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, turning once, until golden brown.
Note: Use other seasonings instead of Italian to change things up.
Watermelon Salad with Feta and Basil
1 small seedless watermelon (or 1/4 of a large one)
1/2 of a red onion
16 leaves fresh basil sliced into ribbon thin strips
1/4 cup (2 ounces) crumbled Feta cheese (I used 4 ounces)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Cut watermelon into bite-size pieces and place in a large bowl or in a high-sided serving platter. You should get about 8 cups.
Slice the onion into very thin half moons and scatter over the watermelon. Then scatter the basil strips over the top.
Crumble the Feta over the salad. Drizzle with the oil and lime juice (whisk together first). Sprinkle with the salt and pepper (about 6 turns on pepper mill).
Prepare about two hours before serving. Cover and refrigerate so flavors blend together.
It’s a pretty presentation, so do not toss before serving.
Adapted from the Do it Delicious recipe with Jessica Seinfeld
Raspberry Crumb Bars
Raspberry Crumb Bars
My neighbor Pam and I frequently share sweet treats with each other. Lucky for us, she and her husband are both particularly good bakers.
These cookies are perfect. Not too sweet with a good texture of both crunchy and gooey. Vanilla ice cream on top is not necessary, but certainly makes it more festive and delicious!
Ingredients
1 ¼ cups flour
1 ¼ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
¾ cup brown sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
¾ cup cold butter cubed
8 oz raspberry preserves
¾ cup frozen raspberries (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line an 8×8 baking dish with a parchment sling and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix together until evenly combined. Add pieces of butter and work into the dry ingredients using hands or a pastry cutter. Squeeze butter and dry mixture between fingers until the mixture crumbles and sticks together for easy handling.
- Pour two cups of the crumb mixture into the prepared baking dish. Lightly press to form an even crust. Spread raspberry preserves over the crust. Sprinkle with frozen raspberries. Top with remaining crumb mixture. Do not press crumbs, just sprinkle over the top.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the top turns slightly browned and puffed in the middle, 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool at least four hours before slicing into serving-size bar cookies.
Pie Crust Cookies
Pie Crust Cookies
North Carolina Our State magazine recently published a few retro recipes. I learned these pie crust cookies were the kind of small bites offered to travelers in the first half of the 20th century at roadside tea rooms. I used a refrigerated pie crust and can’t imagine that a homemade pie crust was any better. They are delicious!
Yield: 2 to 3 dozen cookies.
1 (2-roll) box refrigerated pie crust
1½ cups light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1½ cups pecans, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
- Thaw pie dough according to package instructions. Place pie dough rounds on a lightly floured surface.
- Mix together sugar, eggs, pecans, and vanilla.
- Spoon mixture on top of pie dough rounds, making sure to spread to the edges.
- Using hands, roll each pie dough round into a log and cover with plastic wrap, twisting at both ends to seal. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Overnight is better.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375°. Remove plastic from dough logs. Slice logs into ½-inch thick rounds, and place slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Be sure to use parchment paper on the baking sheets or you’ll have a sticky hard-to-clean mess.)
- Bake for 15 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned.
- Once cool, cut off excess sugar around the edges or leave on for a more rustic look.
Tip: Cut the recipe in half using only one pie crust.
Strawberry Cream Jello Dessert
Strawberry Cream Jello Dessert
6 oz strawberry Jello
1 ½ cups boiling water
1 cup cold water
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
8 oz Cool Whip
Instructions:
In a bowl, dissolve the strawberry Jello in the boiling water; stir for 2 minutes. Then add the cold water.
Add sliced strawberries to your Jello mold or Bundt pan then cover with about 2 cups of the Jello mixture. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Place the bowl with the remaining gelatin in the fridge as well until it cools and starts to thicken. Check in about 20 minutes.
After the plain Jello is thickened a bit, blend it with the Cool Whip.
Pour Cool Whip mixture on top of chilled and firm layer of Jello and strawberries. Put it back in the fridge and chill for an additional 4 or more hours before serving.
To unmold the Jello, submerge the mold in warm water for about 20 seconds. Loosen around the edges with a warm rubber spatula. Place the serving platter on top of the loosened Jello mold and flip it over. The Jello mold should release on the plate easily. If not, use the spatula to loosen it again and give it another try.