Hummus

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This hummus below I added other spices. You can experiment and make it as you wish. Roasted red peppers are great in it, crushed red pepper, some people even put spinach in their's. 

The recipe below is just for a basic hummus. The sky is the limit. 

Hummus

1/4 cup of fresh parsley (or 1 T dry)

1 teaspoon orange or lemon zest

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Four cloves garlic

One jalapeno

Four cans of chickpeas drained (15.5 ounces each)

1/4 cup tahini

1/3 cup water

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Quarter cup olive oil or avocado oil

In food processor combine parsley lemon zest salt garlic and jalapeno. Process for 6 to 10 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl and repeat. 

Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth about one minute. Scrape sides of bowl and process again. 

Enjoy on pita chips or veggies or whatever you like your hummus on. It's also delicious bread on a tortilla as a veggie wrap spread. 

Collard Green and Black Eyed Pea Soup ~pressure cooker alert!

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I made this in the pressure cooker for New Years and it was so good, I had to add it to my recipe section so I can make it again.  Make this, doesn't matter that its healthy, its delicious!  Do it!
I used dried beans, put them in the pressure cooker in the morning and cooked them,drained them and added everything else,  I made the mirepoix seperate and threw that in also at this stage...cooked it in my pressure cooker on the veggie setting for five minutes and it was done!

Mirepoix in the works

I still have fresh thyme and some other herbs growing in my garden...in Dec after snow! 

The bread is really good too, but if you are dieting, skip it, its a lot of calories..We've been eating the bread nightly as a tv snack...yikes!  At last I am working out!

Collard Green & Black-Eyed Pea Soup

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/collard_green_black_eyed_pea_soup.html
From EatingWell:  January/February 2008Antioxidant-rich collard greens and fiber-packed black-eyed peas have a starring role in this nutritious soup. There's no need for loads of ham or salt pork—just a small amount of bacon gives it a wonderful smoky flavor. You can skip the bacon and substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth for a great vegetarian dish.
6 servings, about 1 1/3 cups each | Active Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 1 stalk celery, sliced
• 5 cloves garlic, (4 sliced and 1 whole), divided
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 5 cups chopped collard greens, or kale leaves (about 1 bunch), tough stems removed
• 1 15-ounce can black-eyed peas, rinsed
• 6 1/2-inch-thick slices baguette, preferably whole-grain, cut on the diagonal
• 6 tablespoons shredded Gruyère or Swiss cheese
• 2 slices cooked bacon, finely chopped

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring, until just tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add sliced garlic, thyme and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Increase heat to high and add broth, tomatoes and their juice. Bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in collard greens (or kale), reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens are tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Discard the thyme sprig. Stir in black-eyed peas; remove from the heat and cover.
2. Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler.
3. Place baguette slices on a baking sheet and broil until lightly toasted, 2 to 4 minutes. Rub each bread slice with the remaining garlic clove. (Discard garlic.) Turn the slices over and top with cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted, 1 to 3 minutes. Serve the soup topped with the cheese toasts and bacon.

Nutrition

Per serving : 192 Calories; 6 g Fat; 2 g Sat; 3 g Mono; 13 mg Cholesterol; 23 g Carbohydrates; 12 g Protein; 5 g Fiber; 518 mg Sodium; 253 mg Potassium
1 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 vegetable, 1/2 medium-fat meat, 1/2 fat

    

Hot Stuff Honey Cheeseball

Visit Sue Bee Honey's site

Sue Bee's Hot Stuff Honey Cheeseball

Cheesball

Ingredients

1/4 cup Sue Bee Honey

2 packages (8 ounces) cream cheese

1 package (8 ounces) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

4-6 green onions, chopped

1 can (4.5 ounces) diced jalapeno peppers

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in bowl and roll into ball.
2. Refrigerate overnight. Serve with your favorite crackers.

    

Peanut Butter Pie

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You can make this with a store bought crust...graham cracker, oreo etc..but I get slack for using anything but Chips Ahoy cookies for my crust.  My hub, sons and brothers in law all insist this be at the family functions.  I don't like it...but that's a good thing. If I make things I don't eat, I won't get fat. I used Creamy PB today because I bought a gigantic PB for my kids power shakes.

Peanut Butter Pie


Crust:
18-25 chips ahoy chocolate chip cookies
1/3 c melted butter

Filling:
1 8oz package cream cheese
1 C powdered sugar
½ c peanut butter (smooth or chunky, I use chunky)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1½ C cool whip

Crumble cookies to make fine crumbs and combine with melted butter.
Pat firmly and evenly into 9” pie plate and chill in the refrigerator

Beat cream cheese, with an electric mixer until smooth.
Beat in sugar, then peanut butter and vanilla

Fold in cool whip with spatula.

Empty filling into chilled cookie crust

Top with shaved chocolate, chopped peanuts or sprinkles

Place in freezer and freeze for a few hours

Remove from freezer about ½ hour before serving to make cutting easier.

Homemade Eggnog

My mom always made homemade eggnog

Martha's Shutter Organizer...cute!

Wooden shutters can be just as functional and good-looking indoors as out. This refinished trio hangs on the wall over a hallway console. Their louvers are a perfect (not to mention plentiful) spot to tuck invitations, display artwork, or hang a message pad. Vintage coat hooks also get a new use; they are mounted on a wooden plaque and put to work corralling the daily mail.

Shutter How-To
Wooden shutters come in a variety of shapes and sizes. If using multiples, you'll want them to match in size and style. You'll also need a hammer and brads, medium-grit sandpaper, primer, latex paint, a paintbrush, a level, a pencil, a drill, and mounting hardware appropriate for your wall. If shutters have adjustable louvers, lock them in the "up" position by driving a brad through the tilt bar and into the frame (left). Sand, prime, and paint shutters; let dry. Use level to mark position for middle shutter. Drill pilot holes in shutter and the wall; mount with hardware (we used screws and stainless-steel finish washers for a clean look). Repeat with side panels, butting them snugly against middle shutter.

  

Coat Hook How-ToPaint or stain a precut plaque, available at crafts stores. Paint hooks to desired color (we chose the same shade of green paint that was used on the shutters to unify the two elements). Secure the hooks side-by-side with 1/2-inch wood screws. Repeat to form additional rows to separate your mail.

    

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Entryway Organizers - Martha Stewart Home and Garden

Site Origin

Homemade Lasagna Noodles

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I freakin love homemade pasta!   I made Lasagna yesterday....two days prior made homemade ricotta and had to contain myself from eating that out of the jar as is..its so good.

Make the pasta dough about a half hour before you are going to roll it out and put it in the frige

In the food processor:

3 cups flour (I used AP but have cut it with some Semolina when making it in the past, just didn't have any, and I made due)
4 eggs
1 T kosher salt (I really don't measure this, I just throw some in)
1 T olive oil

Whirl it up...add a few drops of water to make it just wet enough to be able to dump out and knead.  (check it first, it may be wet enough, take the lid off and squeeze it, it looks dryer than it is)

After kneading it for a few mins, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate to make it easy to handle.

Cut a piece off and put a tiny bit of flour on it so it doesn't' stick to the pasta machine. I prefer to roll mine out by hand with this, rather than have a motorized one.  I can control it on my own.

Roll  it on the largest setting...which on mine is the SMALLEST number.  Go through twice, and then keep moving it until you get to setting four. Stop at four for lasagna.  This is perfect thickness.
Lay them out on the counter, its okay if they start to dry some..I usually roll them all out and clean up and take a break while the water is coming to a boil.

Big pot, lots of water, lots of salt in the water....even a drop of oil in it if you want.  Bring to boil.

Slowly add them to the water, one at a time and give them a stir after adding a few...mine did not stick at all, but just to be sure, I did this.
Cook four or five  mins, drain and run under cold water for easy handling...and proceed to make your lasagna as you usually do.
Make some homemade ricotta cheese...it makes a huge difference...its so much better than store bought and cheap too.  Here is the recipe I use...simple!  I promise!

My son's friend left me this on our refrigerators facebook page..I've had this on the fridge for years and love the notes my kids and their friends leave me.