Moqueca de Peixe: Grand Prix Gourmet, Brazil

Moqueca de Peixe: Brazilian Fish Stew. This has been a popular dish in Brazil for at least three hundred years. (Deservedly). It’s easy to make and when served with boiled rice, the quantity shown in the recipe below will feed at least eight people for a hearty meal. Make sure that there’s plenty of lovely fresh, crusty bread available too so that your guests can mop up the delicious sauce. I like to make sure that...

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Recipe: English Treacle Tart

English treacle tart recipe Oh, treacle tart!  Just find me an English person who wouldn’t enjoy a slice right now. In order to make this wonderful comfort food, you’re going to need real English Golden Syrup. If you can’t buy it locally –  and it’s in lots of American supermarkets now – it’s easily ordered online. You’ll love this scrumptious dessert and if you serve it to English...

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Mom’s Apple Pie: Grand Prix Gourmet, USA

There isn’t much sweeter than the aroma of an old fashioned Apple Pie baking in the oven.  Not only for the scent of the apples and cinnamon, but also for the reminiscing.  It always takes me years and decades back, to family times when we were all together.  Mom in the kitchen making crusts, Dad teasing about how many apples he had to peel to make the pies.  Happy moments laughing together. Besides, doesn’t an apple pie...

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Mexican Cabbage Salad

Mexican Cabbage Salad Mexican Cabbage Salad is another recipe I’ve tried to replicate from a favorite local restaurant in San Diego. Cinco de Mayo or anytime, it’s a family favorite. It brings back memories of leisurely dinners complete with margaritas, chips and salsa, and friends. We often enjoyed sharing one of these salads with our dinner order. Usually we make coleslaw with mayo, but this is so crisp and refreshing with oil and...

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Cauliflower Vegetarian Enchiladas: Grand Prix Gourmet, Mexico

Spicy, Light and Filled with Veggies Here’s still another way to enjoy fresh vegetables. I wanted to try an enchilada using mostly cauliflower–my new favorite vegetable to include when cooking. I’ve always enjoyed it plain, whether raw or cooked, but hadn’t used it as a supplement to different dishes. Since I discovered how versatile it is, I like to add it to anything. It somehow picks up the flavor of what...

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Beef Stroganoff: Grand Prix Gourmet, Russia

If you enjoy delicious stews, then this is a must! Beef Stroganoff is a traditional Russian dish made with strips of lean sirloin steak cooked in a sauce of onions, cream and mushrooms. The beef must be cut into thin strips that are half an inch thick and about 2 inches in length. All fat must be removed.   Save Print Beef Stroganoff Rating  5 from 1 reviews Prep time:  30 mins Cook time:  1 hour Total time:  1...

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Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce. Grand Prix Gourmet, Italy

Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce Recipe. Here’s my recipe for Italian tomato sauce taught to me by my grandma. It’s very simple but so tasty. The secret is to make sure you fry the onions and garlic well before adding the tomatoes. It’s such a versatile sauce, good for all sorts of dishes. I make a huge amount most weeks and freeze it in small containers so it’s ready to use. It’s vegetarian too. This recipe serves four with pasta...

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Moules Marinière: Grand Prix Gourmet, Belgium

Poor old Belgium gets a bad press when it comes to its cuisine because it sits under the shadow of France. However, my husband lived there for a few years, and he enjoyed so many delicious meals and he always tells me that he would very happily eat Belgian food every day! The most famous dish must be Moules Marinière served with fries, mayonnaise, and a tankard of wonderful Belgian beer. Belgium is a small country, but it boasts about...

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Hungarian Goulash: Grand Prix Gourmet

Hungarian Goulash. If you enjoy delicious thick stews and the taste of tomato and paprika, then this recipe is perfect! There are many different recipes for Goulash, but my dad taught me this one, and it is delicious. It is traditionally made outside in a cauldron, but this is not vital. The main thing is that you must not use flour to thicken the stew but tomato puree and potatoes. I have listed some root vegetables, but others can...

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Summer Pudding. Grand Prix Gourmet, Britain

Summer pudding with strawberries and blackberries. This was a popular dessert in our family when I lived in England and we still love it. It’s easy to make and inexpensive, especially when strawberries and blackberries are plentiful. In fact, you can use other berries too and the fruit will go even further if you add chopped apple. This recipe is incredibly versatile. It’s quick to prepare too. The pudding requires just a...

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Grand Prix Gourmet: Austrian Schnitzel with Chicken

When you think of Austrian food, what comes to mind?  Sacher Torte?  Knodel?  Perhaps one of the delicious cookies, like the linzer tarts with jam filling?  At our house Austrian meant Schnitzel with red cabbage. Most commonly made with pork or veal, we eventually switched to chicken.  Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cook in just a few minutes. My husband was the master of this process. One of the secrets is slicing the chicken...

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Grand Prix Gourmet: French Lemon Chicken

French Lemon Chicken recipe This recipe comes from the delightful book, How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are: Love, Style, and Bad Habits and is authentically modern French. This is not one of those classic French dishes that will have you slaving over a hot stove all day. This is the sort of food that today’s Parisian woman – stylish, busy and entertaining – cooks for her dinner party guests. This is so simple to...

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Grand Prix Gourmet: Azerbaijan – Dogva

Dogva recipe from Azerbaijan Until 2016 when the Grand Prix racing first went to Baku, I had no idea that there was such a place as Azerbaijan. As you can tell, I’m really shaky on matters geographical. But Baku, the largest city in Azerbaijan, is an incredible place. Dogva is a meat-free soup that can be served cold in the summer, warm in the winter, and is extremely tasty and easy to make. Traditionally, it is a soup served at...

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Grand Prix Gourmet: Quiche Monaco

Quiche Monaco recipe Everyone should have a great quiche recipe in their repertoire. Quiche is incredibly adaptable and you can vary the fillings depending on your taste and the ingredients you have to hand. This delicious version features wonderful goat cheese and some additional fabulous flavours. Use your favourite pastry recipe or, which is what I do these days, use frozen. The great thing about quiche is that it can be served as...

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Shrimp in Spicy Tomato Sauce, Grand Prix Gourmet, Spain

  Spain is famous for its delicious satisfying cuisine, with certain dishes in particular.  Paella, gazpacho, flan, to name a few.  But there are so many other wonderful dishes, many including shrimp or other seafood.  This is a favorite featuring shrimp in a rich tomato sauce, spiced up with red chili pepper. It sounds wonderful! Since their schedule is quite different from the usual American schedule, this main dish is usually...

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Hoth Chocolate from the Star Wars Cookbook

Hot chocolate recipe: Star Wars. Star Wars Drink Make a Star Wars hot drink on a rainy, chilly and wet day to warm you up. At least that’s what the rebellions that are hidden on Echo Base are thinking. It’s cold on ice planet of Hoth! They want to warm up with a nice chocolaty drink. Ok I bet you’re wondering where I came up with this? I have this really cool Star Wars Cookbook. It has really fun recipes in it and...

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Tomatillo and Onion Tart Recipe

This easy-to-make dish can be prepared using tomatoes or their more exotic cousins, tomatillos. These are available in several gorgeous colours – the ones I have used here are a deep purple shade and are a little sweeter than the green varieties. It takes only a couple of minutes to assemble this tart and then it needs about twenty minutes in the oven. It has a wonderful Italian flavour and is a great dish to cook instead of...

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May the Fourth be With You: Recipes

Star Wars recipes! May 4th is Star Wars Day and JAQUO writer Cheryl has put together a selection of recipes especially to celebrate this day. And oh boy, are they out of this world! Smoothies from the Star Wars Cookbook May the force of baking be with you in the kitchen! I was looking for an adventurous cookbook and stumbled across this Star Wars Cookbook. I was like I gotta have it. It looked so fun when I read the reviews about it....

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Famous last meals: The Titanic

Famous last meals: The Titanic Traditionally, when a prisoner is about to be executed, they can request whatever they wish for their last meal. What a tricky problem it would be to choose. I rather imagine that any pleasure derived from your favourite foods would be negated by the fact that you knew what was awaiting you in the morning. In the States, alcohol is not normally permitted for the last meal. Which is a shame because a good...

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How to Hull Strawberries

The best way to prepare strawberries. It’s so very easy to hull strawberries to prepare them for your favourite recipes. Use this method and you’ll have even more recipes at your fingertips. By removing that hard central core cleanly, you’ll be able to make strawberries stuffed with ice cream or chocolate or any other inventive ideas that will surely occur to you. See the image above – aren’t those...

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Medieval Ravioli from England

Medieval ravioli recipe from England Ravioli is an Italian dish, right? And probably a fairly recent invention. Form of Curye was written in England in the fourteenth century (yes, in 13-something) and includes recipes for lasagna and ravioli. Forme of Cury was the name given by Samuel Pegge to a roll of cookery written by the Master Cooks of King Richard II of England. This name has since come into usage for almost all versions of...

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Fried Cabbage with Bacon

A Tasty Cabbage Dish for a Delicious Dinner This time of year cabbage is usually available for excellent prices, just in time for corned beef and cabbage and St. Patrick’s Day. If you are like me, I usually end up with an extra head or two of cabbage after the dinner and the day are over. This is a perfect and easy recipe for that time–or any time. Fortunately cabbage is a filling addition to your diet all year long. The...

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Pie recipes – for Pi Day!

Pie recipes – tried and tested    CLICK HERE FOR PIE RECIPES Articles are added to JAQUO every day and many of those are recipes – because we love to eat. And we love to share our favourite recipes with you. There’s nothing like homemade food and that seems to apply particularly to pies. Twenty years ago,it was no longer fashionable to cook – we ate out or we zapped frozen meals in the microwave. Those...

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Japanese Shrimp: Grand Prix Gourmet

This is a recipe that I found in an old newspaper dating from the nineteen fifties. It had been supplied to the paper by a young Japanese woman, Reiko Takeda, who was an air stewardess flying regularly between her home country and the USA. She cooked this dish on a hibachi but I find that a charcoal grill works very well and gives the seafood that lovely smoky flavour. The shrimp need to marinate for a couple of hours before you cook,...

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Singapore Sling: Grand Prix Gourmet

It’s said that bartender Ngiam Tong Boon invented the Singapore Sling over a hundred years ago at the Raffles Hotel. Some say that when he retired he took the secret ingredient with him. So whether the recipe I use to create this delicious drink is one hundred percent authentic I can’t say, but I can tell you that it’s refreshing, tasty and has a bit of a kick 🙂 It’s much better if you use freshly squeezed...

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Stuffed Cabbage Rolls: Vegetarian recipe

Stuffed cabbage rolls – delicious vegetarian or vegan entrée It’s time to rethink cabbage rolls! This is a wonderfully adaptable recipes that makes a splendid meat-free meal or can be served as a side, or even appetiser. Unlike traditional cabbage rolls, these are light and fresh, plus they are quick to cook. Preparation is easy too. You can vary the ingredients to suit your own tastes – for example,I often add...

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Simple Salmon

A simple salmon recipe So many times, fish is smothered in elaborate, rich sauces. If the fish isn’t quite perfect, then a sauce can really help but sometimes fish cooked simply can be far better. That’s especially the case if you’re cooking some lovely, fresh salmon. Below is a very simple to prepare salmon recipe from Scotland that I first found published in the nineteen seventies. Scotland of course, is famous for...

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Grand Prix Gourmet: Baku Kufte

Kufte: Azerbaijan meatball soup. This is a fabulous soup that is really more of a main meal. It certainly makes a hearty lunch, especially when served with crusty bread to mop up the soup. A simple watercress salad is an excellent accompaniment, particularly since it is an ingredient which is very popular in Azerbaijan. Walnuts are an often-used ingredient in Azerbaijan and adding them to the watercress salad is perfect. One of the...

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Cheese & Onion Pasties

Cheese and onion pasties recipe We used to buy frozen cheese and onion pasties from a local store – until I realised just how expensive they were and how easy they are to make at home. I don’t make pastry from scratch very often these days (when I do, this is a great recipe) and for this recipe I use ready-to bake croissant dough – it seems to be tastier that the commercial pastries you can buy. We don’t eat...

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Grand Prix Gourmet: Chinese Walnut Chicken

 Taking an authentic recipe from 1941 to 2015 Walnut Chicken is an “authentic recipe from Shanghai”  that was found in an old edition of the Milwaukee Sentinel (April 21, 1941).  Back then the article spoke of how few recipes Americans used for Chinese cooking, the main one being Chop Suey.  They introduced this recipe as a delightful way to combine of egg with chicken.  Thankfully, we have come a long way since then! If...

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Grand Prix Gourmet: Bahrain Chickpeas

Chickpea Stew Recipe. This is a lovely recipe that is ideal for a family meal – or to serve to a crowd; just adjust the ingredients accordingly. It takes a while to cook but needs little attention. It’s my interpretation of a recipe from my favourite cookbook. If I forget to soak the chickpeas beforehand, I use the canned variety but it’s an amazingly value-for-money, satisfying meal. Serve with a salad and crusty...

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Pavlova: Grand Prix Gourmet, Australia

Pavlova: Grand Prix Gourmet, Australia We know that this delightful confection was created in honour of the Russian ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova. This was at some time in the nineteen twenties when she had a successful tour of Australia and New Zealand. Both countries claim the dish as their own and the reality has never been one hundred percent established but what is certainly for sure is that the dish is delightfully sinful...

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Watercress, Pecan and Blue Cheese Salad

Watercress, pecan and blue cheese salad recipe. This is probably the easiest salad in the world and can be adapted easily to suit your own tastes. One of the reasons I like this so much is that it needs no additional seasoning. The blue cheese means that no extra salt is required and the watercress has its own peppery flavour. This makes it ideal for picnics too as it means there’s no need to take condiments along.  Pack the...

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Not Your Mother’s 7-Up Strawberry Pie Recipe

Not your mother’s 7-Up strawberry pie recipe He started this whole thing. He’d seen something somewhere (I think it was on a menu in a diner) for something called a 7-Up strawberry pie. He was intrigued. I was quite horrified. It sounded like the ultimate in junk food to me although I have to admit that just about anything with strawberries is pretty good. I looked up the recipe online (there are many) and as I’d...

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Victorian Food

Victorian food: Stodgy? ‘Stodgy’ is a word that is often used the describe the people who lived in the Victorian era. It’s used to describe their attitudes and also their food.But was that really the case? We’ve traditionally been led to think that yes, Victorian food meant tables groaning with stodgy pies and puddings but in fact, this is far from the reality. Take vegetarianism for example. The first...

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No-Fry Falafel: Grand Prix Gourmet, Abu Dhabi

Healthier, no-fry falafel. These delicious falafel are meat-free and unlike most falafel recipes, they do not need to be fried. You can optionally baste them with a little olive oil if you wish but most times, I don’t bother – they don’t really need it. You can eat these alone for a snack but I like to serve them in pita bread. Halve and split the bread to make pockets, add the falafel and some lettuce, chopped...

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Vegan Pumpkin Curry Soup Recipe

Vegan Pumpkin Curry Soup Recipe This recipe was originally served at the BonBon Cafe in Lewiston, Maine. The recipe was published in the Sun Journal and was given by the cafe’s manager, Bonnie Loubier. The original recipe was an old one, but Bonnie had added her own touches.   Save Print Vegan Pumpkin Curry Soup Recipe Rating  5 from 1 reviews Serves: 8 Ingredients 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil 1 large, sweet...

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How to Cook Rice

 The best way to cook plain rice I’ve found that one of the most common questions I am asked by new cooks is ‘how on earth do I cook plain rice?’ Even many experienced cooks find that their rice turns out to be soggy and not the white,fluffy deliciousness that they had envisaged on the plate. Once you have mastered cooking plain rice, there’s a whole wealth of recipe opportunities that are opened up to you....

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Mashed seagull recipe

 Mashed seagull recipe First of all, let me say that this isn’t really seagull. No  seabirds were killed in the production of this tasty snack. Tasty it is, and very quick to make but I have to say that the mixture looks a little odd, hence its name. That came from my ex-husband who thought it looked revolting. Ah well… Actually, this is a recipe for: A tasty tuna melt You can also use it as a toast-topper. Sometimes, if I...

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Grand Prix Gourmet: German Apple Cake

German Apple Cake. This recipe dates from 1931! And unlike other apple cakes, this features a dough rather than pastry. It’s a very adaptable recipe but I have written it below in its original version.  There are many changes you can make to suit your tastes. For example: Add a little nutmeg – I always find that it goes so well with apple dishes Top the cake with slivered almonds Sprinkle powered sugar on top before...

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New York City – Food Capital of America

New York City has always fascinated me. As a small kid living on a small island in the middle of the Pacific, New York city seemed bigger than life and I dreamt of the day I would visit the iconic city. My dream finally came true when I was 21 years old. I found myself being relocated for work to Philadelphia so after I getting settled, I took a weekend trip to New York. I still remember my first sight of the New York City skyline-I...

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Recipe: Mushrooms in red wine sauce

This is a splendid recipe which we often have as the main dinner course. We are a non meat eating household but I’ve served this dish to devoted carnivores who love it. If you wish, it’s excellent to serve as a side dish or even as an appetizer.Because these delicious mushrooms are cooked and served in a red wine sauce, it’s quite a rich dish that is perfect to serve with pasta or rice. Its very richness also makes...

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Spicy eggplant recipe from India

Spicy eggplant recipe from India Serve this fabulous eggplant dish as a side or an appetiser. It’s lovely as a meat-free meal too, served with rice and yogurt. Or serve with Indian flatbreads for a truly authentic touch.     Save Print Spicy eggplant recipe from India Rating  5 from 1 reviews Cook time:  1 hour Total time:  1 hour Serves: 6 Ingredients 1¾ pounds eggplant, cut into wedges about 2 inches...

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Scandinavian Potato Cakes Recipe

Scandinavian Potato Cakes Recipe These are a real treat for breakfast. Although the batter needs to be refrigerated for thirty minutes it could be made ahead and then each potato cake (which are actually more like pancakes) take two minutes each to cook. The potatoes add valuable nutrients to the dish and the entire recipe is low-cost. Although the original recipe calls for applesauce to serve (which is delicious and adds more...

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Galaxy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Galaxy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Recipe. A fun specialty sandwich from my Star Wars Cookbook is a Galaxy Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Now this isn’t your average plain jane grilled cheese sandwich. I has pickles on it. I like pickles but wasn’t sure of them grilled with cheese but to my surprise it was super tasty after I made and tried them. It’s just basically making your grilled cheese sandwiches as you normally do...

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Citrus Chicken Recipe

Citrus chicken recipe This is a recipe that I’ve had for ages and although we no longer eat meat,I often use this recipe to make the yummy sauce when we are having guests for a barbecued meal. The recipe is very tasty when made exactly as you see it below. When I’m making it as is, I just make a couple of changes — but it’s up to you. I serve the grapefruit and kiwi in separate bowls rather than using the fruit...

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Lamb & Chicken Gabonais Recipe from Marion Preminger

Lamb & Chicken Gabonais Recipe from Marion Mill Preminger Before we get to this African recipe,I’ll just explain first that Marion Mill was the one-time wife of movie director and producer, Otto Preminger. She then fell in love with a suspected Nazi spy, unsuccessfully, and then spent many years working with Albert Schweitzer in his hospital in Africa. By 1964, she was living in New York with her husband Albert Mayer, a...

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Spicy onion fritters

Spicy onion fritters – or use the vegetables of your choice. These vegetable fritters are so delicious.Part of the reason for that is the beautifully light batter. It’s truly fabulous and contains a special secret ingredient. I like to make onion fritters using this special batter – it’s really so light and tasty – but I’ve experimented with other vegetables too. Use whatever you have available...

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Poisoning Our Children, by Andre Leu

Spotlight:  Andre Leu and “Poisoning Our Children” Jaquo is pleased to be a part of the book tour for Author Andre Leu’s “Poisoning Ou Children: The Parents Guide to Myths of Safe Pesticides.  Such an important topic, this is a book you won’t want to miss. Hosted by iRead Book Tours, the author will be stopping in at various sites for reviews, articles and more.  Do drop in at some of the tour sites for...

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Mint Lime Grilled Mahi-Mahi

Mint Lime Grilled Mahi-Mahi This recipe will work well with any firm white fish but the author recommends mahi-mahi. I suspect that many of us could do with more fish in our diets and this is a wonderful way to serve it. It’s perfect for summer grilling or for those of us who are lucky enough to live somewhere where we can cook outdoors all year round. Save Print Mint Lime Grilled Mahi-Mahi Rating  5 from 1 reviews...

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Pear and blue cheese pizza recipe

 Pear and blue cheese pizza – delicious recipe We love pizza. I don’t think I’ll ever be bored with it. I’m pretty convinced that I could eat pizza every day if I had to. But, well,there are other considerations such as calories and cholesterol and all those boring things. Boring yes, but we do have to pay attention. This doesn’t mean that I will ever (hopefully) have to give up a delicious Pizza...

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Fresh Lobster and Salmon Ravioli

Fresh Lobster and Salmon Ravioli recipe. This recipe is extremely delicious and very special. They make these ravioli in Genoa, on the Ligurian coast in Northern Italy, where my parents were born. If you’re looking for something really impressive for a special occasion, then this is the perfect dish. The very special main ingredients, lobster and salmon, speak for themselves, and anyone who loves seafood will love these. If you...

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Chicken Dijon with Snap Peas

A Delicious, Fast Chicken Dijon Dinner Tender, moist chicken breast with fresh sugar snap peas and mushrooms in a tasty light sauce. Sound interesting? It tastes wonderful! My husband was the creative cook in our household. He made a dish very similar to this. We would seriously sigh through every bite, it was so delicious. This recipe is similar only I’ve added vegetables and a slightly different flavor with dijon. I was so...

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Green Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I saw this recipe I just had to try it. Mint chocolate chip is a favorite in our house. With St Patrick’s Day coming I thought I’d make a batch to see how they’d go over in case I need to make more. They turned out delish! I even shared some with my a neighbor who looks forward to my treats since I started sharing with them. These were fun to mix up. I’ve never made cookies with the green coloring in them...

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Irish Ice Cream and Chocolate

Irish Ice Cream and Chocolate recipe This is our absolutely favourite dessert. And that’s not just because it’s delicious. It takes only a few minutes to make and yet it’s elegant enough to serve at your next dinner party. It’s also a wonderful finale to a romantic dinner a deux. You can make this ahead by assembling the ice cream and the chocolate in attractive glassware and then keep them in the fridge...

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Cauliflower, Spinach and Turkey Meatballs

Delicious in a Submarine Sandwich. Suggestion for the day: Add cauliflower to meatballs next time you make them! It’s fantastic! Adding fresh vegetables to ground meat is an excellent way to use less meat yet have more servings. It is also a great way to get more veggies into your diet. Wednesday was one of my marathon cooking days. While I was cooking up a few dishes using ground turkey to stash in the freezer, I decided to...

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Giant Heart Valentine Chocolate Chip Cookie

Giant Heart Valentine Chocolate Chip Cookie I made this giant heart cookie for the first time believe it not. I’m impressed it came out really great. It’s even kind of healthy; it’s gluten free. It’s a Pillsbury brand package that was given to me. Not often I get those because I like to make cookies from scratch. It sure made it easy though to make! Spray your heart pan with a cooking spray. Just take dough out...

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An Interview with Shinichi Mine of Tabieats

Shinichi Mine of Tabieats has developed quite a following both for his articles and his YouTube videos.  His articles often feature his travel experiences and those experiences nearly always feature food!    He has a way of writing that make  as you feel like you are right there, traveling along with him, and enjoying every minute. Then he started cooking.  No doubt he has cooked for a long time, but when he started featuring recipes...

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Vegetable Soup With Zucchini Noodles

Enjoy noodle soup without pasta, courtesy of the Spiral Slicer. At last, a healthy, fresh, and natural spaghetti noodle! Doesn’t that sound perfect? Noodles and soup belong together I think. Of course noodles seem to well with most everything. But I’m trying to eat more vegetables and less pasta. When I bought one of these little spiral vegetable slicers, it became much easier. I was delighted at how easy it was to use the...

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Burns’ Night: Scottish celebration

What is Burns’ Night? Burns’ Night is a Scottish celebration that commemorates the eighteen century poet Robert Burns. Scots all over the world celebrate their heritage by having a supper of traditional Scottish food, traditional clothing is often worn and Scottish music played. For most Scots, this will mean that the men wear kilts, bagpipes are played and the main focus of  the meal is haggis. The necessary drink is, of...

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Bacon Pea Soup

As soon as the fall temperatures show up, soup goes on the menu at my house.  The chilly nights are so perfect for a hot, comforting soup.   It’s nice too, since the vegetables of summer, served cold then, now can be tossed in for a hot and nutritious dinner. We each have our favorites.  Mine vary from week to week, but nearly always include Beef Barley Soup, Chicken Brunswick Stew, and Spinach with White Beans. This week, it’s been a...

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Ham and Bean Soup for Dinner Tonight

Ham and Bean Soup for Dinner Tonight Leftover ham after the latest holiday? I had a lot left this year at my house. So it was time for some soup. My ham was boneless, so it was an easy task to dice a few slices. Aside from the time it tool to soak the beans overnight, this is very quick to assemble. You can use a food chopper, like my favorite Ninja Master Prep Professional, to have the vegetables ready in seconds. Toss all the...

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Langoustine Bisque

Langoustine Bisque or Soup. Have you tried my delicious recipe for Langoustine Hollandaise? You can see the recipe here. Don’t be tempted to throw away the langoustine shells, you can make a delicious and creamy soup using them as a base.It’s truly delicious. Because you discard the shells when you eat langoustine, it is really wise to make a soup or bisque with them. This is also one of those quick and easy recipes that...

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Lentil Bean Soup

Lentil Bean Soup Lentil beans are so good for us. They, along with other beans and legumes, are usually in the top 10 for healthy eating. Good for the brain, good for the heart, an excellent source of protein, and just plain delicious. Turmeric and cumin have both recently been shown to be good for a healthy brain as well. It’s so easy to combine them both into this tasty soup. Always looking for the perfect Lentil Soup recipe, I...

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Easy red lentil soup

Quick & easy red lentil soup This is simply delicious. Although the soup needs to cook for about forty five minutes, it’s incredibly quick and easy to prepare. The ingredients are items that you may normally have in your pantry and in addition to being so very tasty, this soup is nutritious and very inexpensive. To serve 4, you’ll need: 6 oz (1 cup) rinsed and drained red lentils 4 cups vegetable stock 2 tablespoons...

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Wurst Soup Recipe

Wurst Soup Recipe Wurst Soup is a family tradition that is made around the holidays especially on cold days on my fiancée’s side. It is a German soup made with sausage, potatoes and dumplings along with a sour cream mixture to make it creamy. When I first learned about this soup I thought the name of it was kind of weird. Is it the worst soup ever or is it good? Turns out it’s really good and Wurst is a German word meaning sausage. I...

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Hot breakfast treat recipe

A hot breakfast for special occasions When there’s a special occasion, such as a family get-together or a house party, it’s a great idea to serve a breakfast treat – something your family and friends would never think about cooking at home for themselves. This recipe combines a pancake with an omelet (almost!) along with fruit and delicious flavourings. Serve it with freshly-squeezed orange juice (or maybe even...

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Baked Brie Cheese

It’s the holiday season and we are in full swing for a Christmas that will just be the best one ever. Who doesn’t love all the food and friends, the excited chatter and family rekindling old times as the new times are happening. It is the best part of the whole “Christmas Scene”. The other best part is all the food that is brought by friends and family to share. Food has to be one of the best ways of telling people that you love them....

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Quiche for Christmas

Quiche for Christmas What’s versatile enough, filling enough, and tasty enough to tide your family over ’til Christmas dinner? Why, quiche, of course. What’s perfect for a quick breakfast, a formal Christmas brunch, a simple lunch, or a light supper after a busy day? Once again, quiche comes to the rescue! With our simple quiche recipe you can bake it the day before and reheat to serve, or put the ingredients...

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My Mum’s Christmas Pudding Recipe

My Mum’s Christmas Pudding Recipe. We’re quite traditional with our Christmas meal but, our Christmas pudding is a little different. A lot of people don’t like it; it can be dense, have lots of crunchy currants, taste burnt or overdone and perhaps seem steeped in too much alcohol. That’s the difference, though similar in some ways, my mum’s Christmas pudding recipe is light, full of juicy, tasty fruit and...

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Curried Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

You will think you have died and gone to heaven after tasting this soup. For our Thanksgiving meal, my son called to say ‘Mom, don’t make any soup! Amy and I will bring it already made!’ Well, I never pass up an opportunity to try something new, so I accepted their offer graciously. To say it was delicious, is an understatement! This soup was a knock out! It presented beautifully and tasted divine. I’m thinking that my son...

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Pumpkin Spice Eyeball Cupcakes

Make pumpkin spice cupcakes with eyeballs for Halloween! These were fun to make. I cheated and used a box mix which you can pick up at your local grocery store or if you shop online at Amazon Grocery. It comes with the mixtures for the cupcakes and the frosting. The frosting is orange is a decadent color for fall and the Halloween holiday. Making these cupcakes are really pretty easy. Just follow the directions and you can’t go wrong....

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Spooky Spider Cupcakes

Spooky beady eyed spider cupcakes are a fun Halloween treat. Everyone will love these spooky but cute creatures. Making these cupcakes was a lot of fun. I’ve never made anything like them before; not even the type of frosting on these. I’d never have thought to use Kool-aid in my frosting. Sure enough it turns out with a lighter, fluffier consistency with a fun flavor. This frosting was a orange dream; tasted like orange...

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Grand Prix Gourmet: Malaysian Peanut Sauce

Malaysian Peanut Sauce This versatile recipe can be used as a dipping sauce or as marinade. If you’re going to use it to marinate foods, they’ll need to be in the sauce for about half an hour so that the flavours can mingle. Longer is even better. If you’re intending to grill the food, use bamboo skewers.Soak them in water for about an hour before you cook. This way, they won’t catch on fire. This sauce keeps...

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Macadamia White Chocolate Dessert Bars, Made with Coconut Oil

Macadamia White Chocolate Dessert Bars, Made with Coconut Oil. It is always a delight to have a sweet taste of dessert for a snack or after a meal.  Often at our house that will include Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars  or cookies of some kind.  In the mood for something different, I decided to make a cookie recipe into a dessert bar. Using coconut oil for baking has also been a goal of mine.  It worked great for these bars. You don’t...

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German Sunken Apple Cake Recipe

German Sunken Apple Cake Recipe When my son got back from his school trip to Germany he was very excited for two reasons, firstly he had a broken leg –which meant he could miss school, and secondly because  the family he was staying with baked him a sunken apple cake for his birthday. That was exciting because we had already baked one ourselves here at home. We got the recipe from his German teacher at school and it felt very nice to...

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Easy Classic Stuffed Peppers

An easy and tasty recipe. It’s that time of the year when fresh produce is ready in the garden. Pepper plants can produce quite a few peppers. So what to make with them is the question, right? There are many different things you can make with them but stuffed peppers are quite a delight. Especially since I haven’t made them in ages and my brother gave me some from his garden. So I looked up recipes online to which there are many...

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Campfire S’mores

Campfire S’mores. I love to sit around a campfire on a nice cool evening making S’mores. It is so fun to put a marshmallow on a stick and put it over the fire. Sometimes I even burn it by accident instead of getting it a light brown. Either way it still good! Sometimes we’ve added a peanut butter cup along with the chocolate bar and marshmallow in between the graham crackers. It’s so good but the traditional is...

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Tuna Melt Calzone

Melted Cheese Delicious The other day while I was making bread dough for cinnamon rolls, I cut off a piece to try making a calzone.  It was a delicious spinach and cheese calzone  that you can see here. Then a friend and I were talking about forming an official Tuna Melt Association, so I had to try it in a calzone.  It is delicious!  I used bread dough made in my bread machine again, but a thinner crust, such as a pizza crust is...

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Mick Jagger: Food and fitness

How Mick Jagger stays fit and energetic For those of who remember the earlier days of the Rolling Stones, it might come as a shock to realise that Mick Jagger was born in 1943 – we are more inclined to remember him as you see him above. That baby face is long gone and we see wrinkles now but there’s no denying, at time of writing, that he’s in a great shape and has boundless energy. How? Mick was brought up to be...

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Cauliflower Potato Salad

Cauliflower in Potato Salad. Really. When the weather warms up and the grill comes out, potato salad starts to sound so good. To me, it is such a tradition for picnics, barbecues–really any party or gathering. Doesn’t it seem like nearly everyone loves it? Chilled, with just the right blend of ingredients, it is so satisfying. Maybe it reminds me of my childhood, since the recipe I normally use is the one from my mother....

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Jello Fruit Cocktail

Fruity desserts are a very refreshing summer treat. Especially this simple jello dessert. Doesn’t it look yummy! This is super easy to make. All you do is pick your flavor of jello out and make it as directed on the package. Then you add a fruit of your choice either canned or fresh. Mine is made with a strawberry flavored jello with canned fruit cocktail. I topped it with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. A mixture of...

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Barbecued Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Are you barbecuing chicken this weekend?  Just the thought of it brings to mind summer picnics, with potato salad of course, after a swim in the lake. If you have any leftover, here is a very tasty use for them.  You could use any leftovers actually, from hamburgers to the potato salad.  Anything tastes yummy in a lettuce wrap. Rotisserie chicken is wonderful fixed this way too.  Seems every time I get one there is a little bit left....

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Chilled Cucumber Soup

With summer nearing, it is time to plan some dishes that will be cool and refreshing without spending a lot of time in the kitchen.  It’s also the time of year when we hope to have a lovely supply of freshly grown vegetables right from  our own gardens. One of the easiest vegetables I’ve grown in past years is a cucumber plant.  I love to make marinated cucumbers, with or without tomatoes and onions.  Of course they are wonderful in a...

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Preparing for Safe Summer Dining

It won’t be long now until summer is here.  With summer comes picnics, camping trips, pool parties, barbecues, and a desire to eat outside in the sunshine and fresh air. With thoughts of how fun each sounds, dining outside requires some additional preparation to keep your family and the food safe. We’ve all seen tubs of ice containing sodas and beer.  Excellent, since both taste best icy cold. In the heat it’s even more important to...

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Vegetable frittata recipe

Delicious frittata for breakfast or lunch This recipe will serve four people as a breakfast dish. For lunch, it’s ideal served with fresh crusty bread and salad. We often have this for dinner and it serves the two of us – we are both very greedy – and it makes a quick and easy meat-free meal. Of course, if you do eat meat or fish,this is a beautifully flexible recipe. Seafood is a great addition as is small slices of...

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Boston Bake: A recipe to use up leftovers

Use your leftovers to make this delicious and easy meal. I hate wasting food, don’t you? This is a recipe I developed many years ago when I ran a health food store. We sold takeout lunches and invariably had leftovers. A business can’t afford those losses. So Boston Bake was the result. It’s incredibly adaptable. Although the original version is meat-free, you can include chopped leftover ham, turkey … anything...

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Bangers & Mash: A la Rolling Stones

Keith Richards’ bangers & mash recipe Should you ever find that Rolling Stone, Keith Richards, is dropping in for a bite to eat, this is his favourite food made in the exact way he prepares the dish himself. As he says, he has been cooking sausages all his life but it’s only recently that he discovered the real secret to truly excellent bangers. He discovered the secret from a ‘lady on TV’. He says that it...

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Muffin Omelets

  Here’s an easy, versatile recipe for a brunch or a simple family breakfast.  They also work great for something to grab on-the-go. Chop a little onion, some ham or bacon, any vegetables you would like to add.  Try spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers… It doesn’t take very much.  Sprinkle some cheese in with the egg, and bake them up. If you serve them immediately, they are nice and high.  If they will be served...

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Salmon and spinach lasagna

Salmon and spinach lasagna recipe This special recipe comes from Belgian chef, Dirk De Cuyper. Now a resident of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Dirk was formerly a sought-after chef creating delicious meals aboard luxury yachts. This recipe features homemade lasagna (you’ll find the recipe here) but of course,you can use a fresh, high quality, commercial brand if you wish. The chef recommends this as a main course for lunch,...

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Vegetarian White Bean and Soy Chili

White Bean Chili. Our family loves a bowl of chili on a cold winter night. Our favorite used to be the traditional chili with the basic ground beef. Now that I’m trying to eat less meat and finding more vegetarian dishes, my goal was to see what I could create with my favorite white beans. I’ve tried it with ground turkey too. That’s very tasty, but this time I wanted to go totally vegetarian. That’s how this...

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Cheese recipes

Cheese recipes What could be more delicious than cheese?  Whether you’re thinking about a delightful recipe or looking for a simple treat to serve after after a dinner party, there’s no doubt that cheese will almost always fit the bill. For a long time it bothered me that vegetarian cheeses were not adequate but today there is a wonderful range so delicious cheese recipes are suitable for everyone. Most cheeses are...

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Mohammed Ali’s favourite knockout pie

Mohammed Ali’s favourite knockout pie recipe This recipe was printed in the Toledo Blade newspaper in September 1979. The recipe was created by Lana Shabazz. Whether it helped him to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee is mere conjecture. At the time of publication of the recipe,Lana had been Ali’s dietician for fifteen years. In 1971, Mohammed Ali lost a fight to Joe Frazier. The story does that was because he had...

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Homemade Pasta

Making fresh pasta at home. If you’ve never made pasta at home you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes. Gourmet pastas can cost a fortune at speciality food stores and delis – so why not make your own? Using this recipe, from top chef Dirk Du Cuyper, you can make your own special pastas at home. Flavour your pasta, if you wish. Try basil, sun-dried tomatoes, olives or garlic for truly Mediterranean tastes. Add...

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Fruit Filled Green Salad with Citrus Dressing

Fresh Fruit and Lots of Greens This may be the most refreshing salad I’ve ever made! Who says fruit and green salad should be separate dishes? Combined, they are perfect for a hot summer day, though it would taste good any time of year. It’s been unusually hot here in my little town on the Southern Oregon Coast. Seems like it has been an exceptionally hot season this year across the entire country. When temperatures soar,...

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Make your own Hamburger Buns with a Bread Machine

Make your own Hamburger Buns with a Bread Machine Now that I have a bread machine I try to avoid buying bread at the store. The machine makes it so easy and inexpensive to prepare it at home, and the aroma of bread baking spreads through the house. My review of this fantastic invention is right here. At first I stuck with loaves of bread, not sure I would do well making rolls. But the first time I tried them I found they are so easy...

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Mom’s Cherry Cobbler

Mom’s Cherry Cobbler Today it was time to go back in time to when my mother used to make this basic, light cobbler for our family.  It is so easy to stir up, takes little time to bake, and makes a wonderful, colorful dessert.  There is barely any sugar in the mix, but it is just enough to add a slight sweetness to the Bisquick mix.   Compared to some of the heavier, richer toppings, this is just right. I served it with whip...

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Indian Cauliflower Rice with Spinach

Fresh, vegetarian, and healthy!  When I first saw a recipe on Food and Wine for Indian Cumin Rice, I knew I had to try with riced cauliflower instead. Cauliflower, either run thru a blender or grated into rice size bites with a grater, make an excellent substitute for regular rice.  It’s lighter, healthier, and very adaptable in so many dishes.  It works wonderfully in Fried Rice  and in Spanish Rice, so why not with an Indian flair....

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Eggplant rolls recipe

Eggplant rolls – quick and easy recipe. This is an easy dish to make and is a delicious meat-free meal. You could also serve these tasty rolls as a side dish or an appetizer. It’s a very flexible recipe too, as you can add leftovers, or flavourings of your choice, to the stuffing. The recipe uses a commercial pasta sauce but it’s even tastier if you make your own. I’ve also made this using a quick, simple sauce...

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The Simplest Asparagus Recipes are Always the Best

I can’t resist asparagus and although there are many delicious asparagus recipes the one I’m going to show you here is my favorite. My father loved it too and he was a professional chef. Luckily it is very easy and quick to prepare and it can be served as a delicious lunch or evening meal. Asparagus is so delicate and nutritious that you really don’t need to do much more than boil, roast or grill it for a few minutes to have a...

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Strawberry, Cream Cheese Pie

Sweet, Sweet Memories. As long as I can remember, my mother made the best pies! Everyone always loved them, and asked her to bake one kind or another. Naturally she made her own wonderful flaky crusts for each of them too. When we had our apple trees, she would make a bunch to freeze. Dad would always tease that he was the one always peeling apples so he should get credit for the pies. Apple, Banana Cream, Lemon Meringue, an...

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Smoothies from the Star Wars Cookbook

May the force of baking be with you in the kitchen! I was looking for an adventurous cookbook and stumbled across this Star Wars Cookbook. I was like I gotta have it. It looked so fun when I read the reviews about it. I thought my other half would get a kick out of it since he’s into Star Wars; even my boys! So I ordered it! It’s a hoot with all the silly pictures of the characters with food and drinks. It is a nice spiral...

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Garlic Shrimp and Spinach Sautéed in Coconut Oil

Garlic Shrimp and Spinach Sautéed in Coconut Oil. Large fresh shrimp sautéed two ways, one in butter, one in coconut oil.  Both scrumptious. Since I had a pound of fresh, uncooked shrimp, it seemed a perfect time to experiment.   I am happy to report it was a huge success! It seems over the years I had gotten into the habit of buying cooked shrimp, mostly to save the time and effort, but also to have it on hand in the freezer for a...

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Zucchini Bread

One of my favorite bread recipes I look forward to making in the Fall is Zucchini Bread. My mom use to make this all the time but since she isn’t about to now I carry on the tradition of making it. I do, however, leave out one ingredient which is the nuts that she always put in it. I’m not too fond of nuts in my baked goods. This recipe calls for vegetable oil but since I didn’t have in my cupboard I decided to try...

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Spanish Cauliflower Rice

Have you ever tried Spanish rice without any rice?  Try this method using riced cauliflower instead! Ever since I first tried using riced cauliflower in fried rice , I’ve been experimenting with it in other rice dishes.  It’s surprising how well it substitutes for regular rice, in texture and even taste. By the time you blend it with a sauce, the taste is very similar.  Sometimes I will do half and half, like I did my the fried rice...

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Pecan pie recipe from 1964

Pecan pie recipe from the White House This recipe was published in the Free Lance Star newspaper in 1964. It was said to be the favourite of Lady Bird Johnson. The recipe was devised by their chef, Zephyr Wright, who had at that time been working for the Johnson family for over twenty years. It’s said to be incredibly rich so small portions are recommended. Therefore I’m rather surprised that it is served with whipped...

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Romanesco Mozzarella Tart

Italian Romanesco, Mozzarella & Garlic Tart: Meat free recipe. Have you come across the wonderful Romanesco cauliflowers? You can make this lovely tart with a regular cauliflower and that’s super-tasty but for something really special, try the Romanesco. You can make your own pastry – here’s my favourite recipe – or use a ready-to-bake pastry if you’d prefer. This makes a lovely meat-free meal for two...

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How To Make A Whimsical Easter Bunny Cake

When I was younger my Mom made this really neat Easter Bunny Cake. I thought it would be fun to share with you how to make it. It’s really pretty simple and fun to make. It’s quite whimsical looking which is perfect for Easter. That’s me in the picture way back when. We made our cake a chocolate flavor then decorated it with white frosting. Topped it with coconut all over and made pink coconut and sprinkles to put on...

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The Real Junk Food Project

I hate to see good food dumped. This goes back to my 1950s childhood when rationing still affected Britain so there was very little food to waste. It was also bought on as-needed basis from local shops and cooked that day or the next. But today food waste is prolific – and shocking. One third of all the food in the world gets dumped, amounting to a staggering 1.3 billion tonnes a year. Yet nearly 8 million of the world’s population...

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Chicken and Turkey Recipes

Chicken & turkey recipes for Poultry Day Yes, there is an official Poultry Day. That’s hardly surprising when you consider that chicken and turkey recipes are popular throughout the world. Did you know that the United States produces 20% of the world’s poultry? And that there are sixteen billion birds produced as food every year? It’s hardly surprising that chicken and turkey recipes are so very popular –...

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Asparagus and new potatoes in butter lemon sauce with fresh herbs

Asparagus and new potatoes in butter lemon sauce with fresh herbs. A quick and easy recipe. This is a wonderfully fresh and clean tasting recipe. It’s lovely to serve as a meat-free entree with crusty bread.  It also makes a great dish for lunch.If you don’t eat dairy, it’s still delicious if you omit the butter and cheese (but I prefer the dairy version, I must admit). It’s such a versatile recipe because you...

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Why don’t more of us take lunch to work?

Why don’t more of us take lunch to work? A recent British study has shown that we could be saving £1,300 per year – that’s over $2000 at time of writing – if we took packed lunches to the office rather than buying our midday meals. That’s a huge saving. And we know that in most cases, the lunches we take to work ourselves will be healthier, especially if we’re now relying on fast foods to keep us...

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Henry Lie: The Norwegian Skater and his Meatball Recipe

Skating star Henry Lie and his meatballs It’s difficult to find out biographical details about Henry Lie. But we do know that he was a champion skater who was originally from Norway where he was the Men’s National Champion. He had previously been atop chef and his cooking talents remained in demand. He was well-known for his meatball recipe. You can see him in the photograph below, which dates from 1948. He liked...

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The Most Amazing Pound Cake Ever!

The Most Amazing Pound Cake Ever! If you are looking for an easy, quick and versatile recipe for cake that can be made to look ordinary or extraordinary, this is for YOU! Not only is this recipe one of the easiest to follow, it also lets you add almost anything to it to make it different or special. My family has been baking a variety of this cake for the last 50 years or more and they always ask for it again and again. Maybe because...

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Banana Fritters Recipe

Banana fritters with maple syrup – recipe from 1975  I admit that I’m fascinated by older recipes. 1975 doesn’t seem terribly long ago (to me anyway) but this recipe for banana fritters surprised me. This is mainly because, when I think about this dish, I imagine bananas dipped in batter and deep fried. These are different. Although the original author doesn’t specify, I like to serve these garnished with more...

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Japanese Rice with Mixed Vegetables

Japanese Rice with Mixed Vegetables The Easiest Vegetarian Dish Ever since I started working out of my home, I made it a point to cook my own meals as much as possible. There are times when things get too hectic that I succumb to the occasional take-out food, but if I can manage, I’d always rather make my own meals. This way I know exactly what goes into my body, especially important when I’m trying to stay healthy. But...

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Homemade Vegetarian Chili

I learned to make this recipe from my sister. She made this while we were visiting her. Everyone had gotten sick in the house so she wanted to make something that we all could just easily eat as we got better. Although this soup isn’t your get better kind, it does have healthy ingredients in it. Plus when it’s chilly out it will warm you up! As she made it the smell made me hungry! She is such a good cook. To my surprise when I tried...

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Gluten Free Banana Bread

Save Print Gluten Free Banana Bread Rating  5 from 1 reviews Prep time:  20 mins Cook time:  60 mins Total time:  1 hour 20 mins Serves: 1 loaf Ingredients 3 or 4 ripe bananas, mashed 1-1/4 cups white sugar ½ cup real butter 2 whole eggs ½ cup milk, any kind 2-1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Baking Flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon Salt 3 teaspoons Bob's Red Mill Xanthan...

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Raspberry, White Chocolate Scones and More

Raspberry, White Chocolate Scones and More Basic Scones all Dressed Up Scones make a perfect brunch treat. Actually they are good for breakfast or a snack anytime. What’s so fun is that you can add such a variety of fruit to them as well. My favorite is raspberry, though blueberry comes in a close second. And adding white chocolate chips to any variety is always a taste sensation. Here’s my favorite basic recipe. They come...

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Frosted Cherry Squares

Yum A Delicious Cherry Treat This is one of my favorite new recipes. It makes a bar like cookie, but with fruit filling it is moist, sweet, and so tasty. It reminds me of the Cherry Cobbler my mother used to make when we were growing up. I originally saw it in a Taste of Home magazine, but have made a few changes. It’s an easy recipe to assemble, and makes such a pretty, colorful presentation. It also freezes very well, if you...

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Mexican Cabbage Salad

Mexican Cabbage Salad Mexican Cabbage Salad is another recipe I’ve tried to replicate from a favorite local restaurant in San Diego. Cinco de Mayo or anytime, it’s a family favorite. It brings back memories of leisurely dinners complete with margaritas, chips and salsa, and friends. We often enjoyed sharing one of these salads with our dinner order. Usually we make coleslaw with mayo, but this is so crisp and refreshing with oil and...

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Strawberry Pink Camouflage Cake

Strawberry Pink Camouflage Cake Make a fun pink camouflage cake topped with strawberries for Valentines Day! I’ve never made a cake like this or a layered cake before so it was a new experience for me. It was different making the camouflage design but fun. I dropped each color of batter by spoonfuls into the pan. It looked really cool. Wait til you see the photos in the instructions. Tools you’ll need: Large mixing bowl...

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Cajun Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles

Cajun is a favorite flavor with a yummy bite to it.  It’s delicious with any fish actually.  Did you know it also makes a great pasta sauce?  The sauce included here will make you smile if you enjoy spicy food.  The lemon juice and the creole seasoning in the olive oil are wonderful with our healthy zucchini pasta. Using zucchini instead of pasta makes for a low calorie, healthier meal.  You can use any kinds of squash, but zucchini...

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New Orleans Beignets recipe

New Orleans Beignets recipe. If you’ve been to New Orleans,then the chances are that you’ve visited the Café du Monde in Jackson Square. And if you have, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that you enjoyed a plate of beignets. There are many very excellent reasons to visit New Orleans and the beignets are certainly on this list. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to recreate them at home? Or maybe you haven’t...

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New Orleans Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

New Orleans Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce Oh, this is so delicious. It’s remarkably easy to make and the bourbon sauce elevates this from a family meal to a dessert you’ll be happy to serve to your guests – and they’ll love it. The crowning touch is by far the bourbon butter and this can be made in advance. The pudding itself takes about forty minutes to bake in the oven but only  few minutes to prepare....

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Football Peanut Butter Cookies

Football Peanut Butter Cookies A fun thing to do for Super Bowl Sunday is to make treats for the gang. I thought it would be fun to make my own creation of a football decorated on top of peanut butter cookies. So I attempted to do just that. Here’s my story: I cheated and didn’t make the cookies from scratch. I used one of those store bought packages and followed the directions on the package to make them. I did, however, make...

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Spinach Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Spinach Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms Whether an appetizer, a main course, or a side dish, stuffed mushrooms are a popular dish to serve at a meal. They look special, taste wonderful, and can be stuffed with your favorites, like cheese, olives, or other veggies. Or, if you love spinach as much as I do, you can stuff them with spinach. Any mushroom is delicious when stuffed, but the Portobello mushroom is large enough to be a meal. With...

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Celebrate Homemade Soup Day

Celebrate Homemade Soup Day February 4th is officially designated as Homemade Soup Day. What a wonderful holiday to celebrate, at least here in the U.S. where it’s COLD almost everywhere and definitely perfect soup weather. Whether you go all out with a totally made-from-scratch homemade soup or if you cheat just a little by embellishing a can of store-bought soup (I call that a “homemade up” recipe), it’s easy...

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Spinach Quesadillas

 Spinach Quesadillas In another one of those “why didn’t I think of that” moments, I happened to see a recipe for a quesadilla that included spinach.  Spinach on a quesadilla sounds perfect, and I had never tried it.  As soon as it was lunch time, I remedied that. After all I am never one to pass up a spinach recipe.  You can browse some of my other spinach recipes here on Jacquo. In the recipe I liked that they included spinach, of...

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Quick asparagus soup recipe

Yum Quick & easy asparagus soup When asparagus is plentiful, it’s easy to make this tasty, delicious soup. It has a wonderful flavour and although it tastes very creamy, it contains no dairy. (Sometimes I use butter in this recipe but you can substitute the oil of your choice if you wish.) I’ve made this soup with home made vegetable stock but also I’ve used plain water instead –  the asparagus has such a...

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Authentic French Onion Soup

Authentic French Onion Soup French onion soup is not difficult to make but the onions do need special attention and they have to be cooked properly before you make the soup otherwise they will be too sweet. French onion soup is eaten in France all year round and it is served with croutons and gruyere cheese, which makes it a very filling and nutritious meal. The beauty of this delicious soup is that once it is cooked it does not taste...

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National Corn Chip Day

Corn Chips Chili Pie In 1986 an American food company was trying to discover the origins of a certain recipe. Frito-Lay were keen to discover the origins of the corn chips chili pie. The company thought they knew – they had an ‘official version – but wanted to be sure. This version said that it was the mother of the founder of the company who had first devised this recipe in the 1930s. This is rather quaint in that...

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Yukon Gold Potato Soup and Gluten Free Cornbread

Yukon Gold Potato Soup. This Yukon Gold Potato soup is gluten free as it does not use any wheat flour to thicken the sauce. It uses Yukon gold potatoes, pork sausage and leeks. You can use red potatoes and I have even used Russet potatoes as well as White Rose potatoes. I make my potato soup like my mother did without milk or cream as my brother was severely allergic to milk and dairy. So I learned how to make my potato soup with the...

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Pumpkin Patch Soup

My daughter Miss Norway made this great Pumpkin Patch Soup and I told her to take photos and I would write about it for Jaquo Magazine. This soup is so yummy for fall and winter! Save Print Pumpkin Patch Soup Rating  5 from 1 reviews Ingredients 2 teaspoons olive oil ½ cup raw pumpkin seeds 3 slices of thick bacon cooked 1 onion chopped 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder or equivalent ½ teaspoon...

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Baked Potato Soup

On a rainy or snowy day there isn’t much more satisfying than hot soup for dinner. Something hot warming you from the inside out. That’s when it feels like a requirement to experiment with soups. Which is how the recipe for Baked Potato Soup became a favorite of mine. Usually I use a crockpot for soup. It’s so easy to toss in whatever ingredients you like and let them simmer all day, enjoying the scents wafting from...

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Tipsy Laird Recipe for Burn’s Night

Tipsy Laird Recipe for Burn’s Night There’s nothing more romantic than Burns night in Scotland. It certainly celebrated around the whole country, and if you are lucky enough to be in a Scottish highland hotel, then you’ll be celebrating in style too. Haggis, tatties, (potatoes) and turnips or neeps are served, there should be a piper in traditional Scottish dress, and of course a Ceilidh, so that everyone can dance and be merry after...

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Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps

Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps Have you tried lettuce wraps yet? Pretty much anything that you can put in a sandwich or a tortilla works well in a lettuce wrap too. So if you are cutting back on your bread or carbohydrates, they make a great substitute. You might have seen my article on Chilled Lettuce Wraps  here on Jaquo. These are three of my favorites. They were definitely not good choices for vegetarians. So today’s wraps are. The...

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Savory Red Lentil Soup Recipe

Savory Red Lentil Soup Recipe The nice thing about lentils is that they cook up rather quickly, and they don’t need to be pre-soaked; just rinsed and drained. I have made various bean soups before, and did the pre-soaking thing. Then one day I came across a lentil recipe in The Oh She Glows Cookbook. The lentils didn’t require any pre-cooking and once the soup came to a boil; it only needed to cook for another 20 – 25 minutes. The...

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Peach Melba: Nellie Melba and her Prince

Peach Melba – Nellie and her Prince. Sadly, many of the recipes we see for Peach Melba today use canned peaches. These are all very well and good but when this recipe was developed by Auguste Escoffier in 1892 or thereabouts, the lovely, fresh fruit was used. Famously, the dish was created for Australian Dame Nellie Melba, a celebrated opera singer of the day. At the time, she was having a torrid affair with Prince Philippe, the...

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Spicy Parsnip and Potato Soup

Spicy Parsnip and Potato Soup This is one of the most delicious and warming winter soups I make for my family. The ingredients are basic and extremely good for you because root vegetables are high in fiber and a good source of roughage. If you’re not sure what a parsnip is I can understand because they are not available everywhere. Here in Britain they are very common. We usually eat them roasted in the oven with potatoes when...

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Pear and blue cheese pizza

Pear and blue cheese pizza recipe. We love regular cheese and tomato pizza but for something different, try this tasty, healthy and easy-to-prepare pizza using the delicious and unusual combination of luscious pear and French cheeses. If you make your own pizza dough, this recipe would probably be even more scrumptious but for the sake of speed and ease, I use the ready-to-bake dough that comes in tubes.You need one tube for this...

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Chunky Vegetarian Potato Soup

Chunky Vegetarian Potato Soup I love the flavor of the vegetarian potato soup. Before becoming a vegetarian, I used the older version of this recipe with chicken broth. Since then I’ve changed out the broth, and replaced and/or eliminated some of the other ingredients. For instance, I now add diced mushrooms to my potato soup for an extra savory flavor. My preferred mushrooms for this are the Baby Bella mushrooms, although I...

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Pea soup recipe from Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton’s fresh pea soup recipe It wasn’t until I came to the States that I realised just how much the British love peas. I would be surprised to find out the peas head to list of Britain’s favourite vegetables. So when I discovered this recipe for pea soup from Eric Clapton, that didn’t surprise me either. Often, pea soups are made from marrowfat peas or split peas but this delicious soup is make using...

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Our Low Fat Hot and Sour Soup

Our Low Fat Hot and Sour Soup. Hot and Sour Soup variation by Sherry Atbutterfly and my daughter IoBlue [her pen name]. I LOVE Hot and Sour soup! I cannot remember when I first had it but I am guessing I was about 30ish when my boyfriend and I started to go to the local and extended area restaurants trying out their ‘house’ Hot and Sour soup. Each restaurant had their own version! It was the one soup that he loved to order...

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Slow Cooker Refried Beans

Refried beans a favorite at our house, since they are easy to grab to make a quick and easy dinner.  Mexican food always sounds good, but as you probably know, restaurant meals can be terribly high in calories. So more and more I am trying to create my own dishes in a healthier fashion. There are now fat free brands available at the grocery story.  Still, I like to know just what ingredients are included in a dish, so I decided it was...

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Cream of Broccoli Deluxe Soup

Homemade Soup. What a fabulous broccoli soup. My sister made this while I was visiting her and I thought ‘I’ve got to get this recipe’. It is from a cookbook called Forks Over Knives that has plant-based recipes it. I gathered the ingredients, my blender and pans. I had to make the cashew sauce in a blender. The recipe calls for raw cashews but unfortunately my local store didn’t carry them so I looked for unsalted...

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Lettuce Soup

Quick and Easy Vegetarian Recipe: Left-Over Lettuce Soup. This recipe for lettuce soup is part of my frugal cooking series, providing cheap, easy and healthy recipes for vegetarians. Soups are always great value both in health and cost terms and I am always experimenting with whatever I have in the house. So when I had half a head of iceberg lettuce left just beginning to go limp the obvious choice was to make a soup.   I tend not to...

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Bacon Spaghetti

The Irresistible Bacon. What is it about bacon that always appeals, even when we are trying to eat less meat? The word alone brings the wonderful aroma to mind, along with thoughts of each crispy bite. It’s no exception is this recipe. When I was growing up, and in need of comfort, mom would make Bacon Spaghetti. Something about it always made me feel better. The recipe must have been my Norwegian grandmother’s since my...

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Ten tips for a healthier diet

Ten ways to improve your diet We all know what we should be eating. We’re bombarded with advice and I doubt there’s anyone reading this who doesn’t know what  good, healthy diets consists of. But knowing what you should be eating – and actually putting it into practice – are two very different things. Even though we know what foods  are ‘good’ and which are ‘bad’, well, we only...

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Easy Chunky Vegetarian Chili Recipe

Easy Chunky Vegetarian Chili Recipe Are you looking for a vegetarian recipe for chili that doesn’t use veggie crumbles, and just more vegetables? Congratulations; you have found it. Years ago, I was looking for the very same thing myself. I did find some different variations, and have finally modified the recipes to be more personalized to what we like. This chili recipe has colorful bell peppers in it as well as two intriguing...

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Party Hearty and Healthy

Party Hearty and Healthy: You can with these three recipes. Christmas may be over, but there are more parties in your future! In a few more days you may be celebrating New’s Year Eve. If not then, I bet many are gathering to enjoy football all day long (and into the night too). Before long it will be Superbowl Sunday. Clearly many reasons to party and celebrate. If you are like me, you have had plenty of treats the past few weeks,...

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Tangy Lemon Pie

Lemony, Cream Cheese Goodness. Tangy lemon pie with cream cheese has been a hit with my family for over fifteen years. I’d been looking for another pie recipe using cream cheese, since Mom’s Strawberry Pie—also using cream cheese—is my favorite. I was pleased when I found this one. This recipe provides the tart lemon flavor much like you would find in a lemon meringue pie. Instead of the meringue, which I’m not crazy...

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White Chocolate Berry Muffins

White Chocolate Berry Muffins. These fruity muffins are a sweet delight for breakfast, an afternoon snack or anytime! Rasberries, blueberries, and melted white chocolate bits. Yum! I was looking for a recipe that would allow me to use up some frozen raspberries I had on hand, when I ran across this one. It’s an old Betty Crocker recipe I had in my book, but with a few changes. Rasberries are always a treat, however they are...

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Vegetable Cooking Tips

Vegetable Cooking Tips. It’s nice knowing some vegetable cooking tips. Tips can save time, improve flavor, improve shelf lifetime, and more. Here you’ll find some tips on preparing, storing, and cooking vegetables. Carrots in cucumbers To cook carrots faster, provide a larger cooking surface – Carrots can cook a little faster by having a larger surface area. How to do this is to slice the carrot diagonally at a 45...

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Christmas Bazaars and Bake Sales

For anyone who belongs to a group, be it of seniors, church groups, ladies crafting clubs and the like, you know as well as I do, that Christmas is a time when people are not only out shopping for handmade items, but they are also on the look out for Classic Bake Sale Goodies. I think one of the reasons this is so, is because everyone get invited to house parties or some sort of get together and we all feel the need to “bring...

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Festive Cheese and Garlic Bread

Quick and easy cheese garlic bread. Use one of my favourite convenience foods to make this simple but delicious garlic bread. It’s so easy to make, it fills your home with the gorgeous aroma of freshly-baked bread and it makes any meal into a special occasion. It goes well with so many meals as an accompaniment but often we make this the focus of our dinner — with a bowl of delicious homemade soup it makes a scrummy and...

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Time to Bake Cookies!

It’s National Bake Cookies Day I just noticed that today, December 18th, is Bake Cookies Day. I’m not sure where this is celebrated, but in my kitchen, or yours, would be a very good place to start. Here are some ideas to get you baking. Or, in some cases, not baking. Follow the links: Cookies from Cake Mix If you’re like me, you’re all about “easy” when it comes to baking cookies. That’s why...

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Blue cheese butter recipe – simple & tasty

Blue cheese butter recipe – simple & tasty Blue cheese butter adds a great wonderful flavour to so many different foods and is also delicious eat on its own, spread onto high-quality crackers. I first saw this on a very long and complex recipe for a steak dish by Heston Blumenthal. Even though we don’t eat meat, the combination of blue cheese and butter was irresistible! For steak, the chef recommends you use Stilton....

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Zoodle Stroganoff

Spiralized Zucchini in Beef Stroganoff. “Zoodles” may be a fairly new creation but I can see them sticking around for generations now they are here.  Versatile, healthy, low calorie, filling, and delicious are only a few of the reasons. As I continue to try them in different dishes, it makes me think of still more ways to serve them.  Today’s recipe is in stroganoff.  Beef Stroganoff is a dish loved by the majority,...

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Recipe: Cinnamon rolls

Recipe: Cinnamon rolls Christmas Morning. I can picture it now……the excited children running into your room, begging you to get up to see what Santa brought, anxious to open family presents. The next scene, everyone in cozy robes make their way downstairs. Then comes the coffee brewing. Who can resist the aroma of freshly made coffee? To perfect your Christmas morning, why not put a batch of cinnamon rolls in the oven? The scent of...

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Mandarin Cauliflower Salad

The Adaptable Cauliflower This vegetable is continually surprising me. From the first time I tried using it in fried rice, added it to burritos, meatballs, even chicken salad, I have been so pleased with the resulting good taste. The added nutrition and lower calorie count were bonuses.   After using it in so many cooked meals I wanted to try some using it raw. This particular one is unique. I first tasted one similar at the assisted...

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The Cabernet Slush, An Adult Beverage

A Refreshing Slush with An Adult Taste   Wine Adds a Lovely Taste With the holidays approaching rapidly, entertaining moves into overdrive. Many of us will be hosting parties, dinners, gift exchanges, or simply enjoying some time with our families. Spice up your party with a cocktail like this one. It’s easy, pretty, and so flavorful. Something cold can taste so refreshing while sitting in front of the fireplace. Plus it is so...

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No Bake Oatmeal Cocoa Cookies

 Oatmeal Cookies Recipe: No Oven Required. A no bake cookie that is easy to make even for kids. There is no using a oven to make these cookies just a mixing bowl and spoon. All kids love to help so these would be perfect for that. You can have them mix the dry ingredients together while you warm a few of the other ingredients up in a saucepan on top of the stove. These are perfect to make on a hot day since no oven is required. Who...

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O Come, O Come, Emmanuel and Don’t Forget the Cookies

As we have entered into the Advent season waiting for the arrival of Christmas most folks are preparing for the big day with lots of preparation in their homes. Decorating, wrapping gifts, and holiday baking are just a few that top the list. What holiday recipes are you baking this year? Do you have traditional dishes and goodies you make every year that say Christmas in your home or do you like changing it up trying new recipes to...

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Sour Cream Cranberry Bars

Are you looking for a dessert that is good for Fall? Well I have just the one for you! They are Sour Cream Cranberry Bars. They use dried cranberries. I wasn’t so sure about this recipe at first but after making them and trying one I was hooked. What an amazing taste! This is a fairly easy to make. Just follow the steps in the recipe. That’s all I did since I’d never made it before. I didn’t have regular dried...

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Candied Sweet Potatoes

Old Fashioned and Delicious. Family dinners never seem complete without a serving of Candied Sweet Potatoes.  I can’t remember a time when it wasn’t there on the table, along with a turkey dinner especially.  The sweet potatoes add a delightful, sweet flavor to a dinner.  So much so that you almost don’t need dessert. Need a last minute dish?  This is a perfect choice. The recipe is so easy to make, with items you...

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Mom’s Sheet Cake Brownies

Brownies To Die For! These homemade sheet cake brownies are super delicious! My mom use to make these all the time when my boys were younger. She liked to make them for mostly holidays but could made anytime of the year. I loved them so much they became a favorite of mine. She always made them just right. One of the things that made them so good was that she’d keep them in the freezer. After she was done frosting the cake...

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German Chocolate Cake Bars Recipe

German Chocolate Is To Die For! I’ve been a huge fan of German Chocolate all my life so I fell in love with this recipe right away when I found it. I just had to make it! I gathered my ingredients, mixing bowls, and utensils to put these bars together. I keep pecans in my freezer so all I had to do was get them out and chop them up for the coconut mixture. A good alternative is walnuts if you don’t have pecans. The...

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Pumpkin Pie Dessert

Pumpkin Dessert A delicious pumpkin pie dessert is just as good a pumpkin pie! I learned to make this dessert from my oldest sister. We have a big family so making a whole pan of dessert goes over really well and sometimes isn’t enough especially if they all love it. It’s turned out so good now that it’s a family favorite for the Fall holidays. My younger son loves pumpkin so this is his all time favorite dessert...

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Pumpkin Spice Bars

These super easy pumpkin spice brownies are a new favorite of mine.  I call them a brownie, though I know a bar would be the proper description.  But since I first tried the two ingredient brownies using pumpkin and cake mix, brownie seems appropriate here too. It still amazes me how quick it is to make either of these recipes.  For this one I used a spice cake mix and one 15 oz can of pumpkin.  The very first time I made them I had a...

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Super Light Pumpkin Muffins

Today when you do a search for a light pumpkin muffin recipe, most of what you find will be a combination of pumpkin and a cake mix.  I use the recipe for my favorite pumpkin bars so I know it’s a good one. Still, using a cake mix always makes me wonder how many ingredients are included that I would rather avoid.  These days if you are trying to eat less sugar and less flour, it feels healthier to fix from scratch.  That brought me...

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Mom’s Blueberry Dessert

My Mom made the BEST blueberry dessert when I was growing up. It is my very favorite dessert besides German chocolate cake of course! Mom started making this Blueberry Dessert for family gatherings when I was a young girl. It became such a hit and a to die for dessert each time it was served. The flavor of this is so rich and blueberry tasting! It’s not to hard to make. I have a hard time making the carton whipping cream up so I...

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Edamame in 3 Sauces

I’ve been trying to find some different recipes using edamame for an appetizer. This delicious soybean is very good for a healthy brain as well as the body. As another option that might help prevent Alzheimer’s disease, I try to fix it more often these days. Filled with protein, fiber, and many other vitamins and minerals, it makes a tasty, healthy, and low calorie snack. Of course, it makes a perfect vegetarian dish also. Once...

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Brownies Made With Pumpkin

Lighten Up Your Brownies with this Two Ingredient Recipe Ever since I discovered this brownie recipe, it’s the only way I make them. I found it in the Hungry Girl dessert cookbook shown below. It’s not only simple, but she’s made it much healthier by using pumpkin instead of oil and eggs. And best of all is it’s rich chocolate taste! Her cookbook offers many different versions that all look yummy, but for...

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Caramel Nut Clusters

The name alone is drool worthy, don’t you think? Going through one of my mother’s old cookbooks, I found this recipe tucked within the pages.  Actually her recipe is called peanut clusters.  Since I wanted to try walnuts, and perhaps next time, pecans, thought it would be better to generalize. Any kind of nut would work beautifully in this recipe, including peanuts.  Nice too, that you can use salted or unsalted nuts....

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Spicy Pumpkin Soup

This fall it seemed appropriate to buy a pumpkin to use for cooking.  In past years we’ve always carved one or more for Halloween, but aside from the pumpkin seeds, we wouldn’t use the rest. It’s easy to cook them.  More involved to prep them for cooking. Still it is a lovely feeling to know you’ve used the whole pumpkin and made puree for cooking from scratch.  When you are cooking pumpkins it is suggested you...

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White Bean Tuna Salad

A salad with bean and tuna has to become an instant favorite.  Dressed up with capers and apple cider vinegar, it become heavenly.  That, and it is so easy to make.  It’s a Tuscan salad.  It looks rather Tuscan, don’t you think? So many healthy ingredients too!  Beans, tuna, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar are known for their nutrition and benefits.  Good for brain health, and heart health as well.  This recipe is an...

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Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe

Cinnamon rolls are a favorite with coffee anytime but wait until you try them as cake rolls. This recipe is a cross between a coffee cake and cinnamon rolls. Lets Get Started! I had this recipe laying around for a little while waiting to make it. Gee, what was I waiting for. It turned out so fantastic! After it is was baked; it came out looking like a cake this is cracked on top. I thought I’d done something wrong at first but...

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Glazed Lemon Jello Cake

If you like lemon, you will love this extra moist, extra lemony dessert. Lemon Jello Cake was one I always requested when Mom would ask what cake I would like for my birthday. Without traditional frosting, it is lighter, yet with the lemon jello in the cake and juice in the glaze, it has such a moist sweetness in every bite.  Every bite offers that tart lemon taste that is simply delicious. It’s simple to put together too, and takes...

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Spinach Fettuccine and Zoodles

Add Zucchini Noodles to Your Pasta! This low calorie, easy, vegetarian recipe just came together because of a new gadget I found. It is so much fun to use that I’m already checking the fridge for something else to try it on. The new toy is the GEFU Spiral slicer, but more about that below. This is about the recipe. Basically, I spiral-sliced one zucchini and one yellow crookneck squash. The spirals came out looking like...

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Strawberry Rhubarb Dessert Bars

Garden Rhubarb Memories As a little girl I loved going to the garden with my Grandma to pick rhubarb. After we’d pick some we go back to her kitchen and get it all washed up. Then first and foremost after that we’d dab some of the smaller thinner stalks into sugar and eat it just like that. They were so good that way. That’s one of my most favorite garden memories with my Grandma. Making This Recipe With this recipe...

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The Spiral Slicer: Make Zoodles and More

Spiral Slicing Vegetables into Healthy Noodles When my daughter first told me about a spiral slicer that would make spaghetti style noodles from zucchini, I was instantly intrigued. I went straight to Amazon and found it, the GEFU Spirelli Spiral Slicer. It looked useful for so many recipes, from slaw to soup, and pasta of course! That’s the reason I especially wanted one–pasta. After watching a video like the one below, I...

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Are you ready to become a vegetarian?

Are you ready to become a vegetarian? Vegetarian Day is officially October 1, but you can become a vegetarian any day of the year. Some people also transition into becoming a vegetarian, perhaps giving up one type of food item at a time. Some transition more quickly; others take months and even a year or more to fully change their eating habits. October is also the first day of Vegetarian Awareness month. Vegetarians eat fruits,...

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The World’s Easiest Almond Bark

Dark, Milk and White Chocolate Almond Bark. At Holiday time, everyone is rushed and time is one thing that everyone doesn’t seem to have enough of! Having said that, I love recipes that are easy, look real nice, are flavorful! It’s a bonus when it doesn’t take up too much of that precious time, and still lets your friends and family know that you care about them! This recipe fits all those categories to a “T”!...

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Dr Pepper Chocolate Cake

Pop Flavored Cake If you haven’t tried Dr Pepper in your cake you’re missing out! Thought I’d try making a cake with pop in it. I choose Dr Pepper for for my pop. I used it in the cake batter and frosting. Making this cake is pretty easy; not hard at all. You can’t taste the Dr Pepper flavor per se but it sure amplifies the flavor of the cake plus the frosting too. It makes it moist and bit heavier so...

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Creamy Cauliflower Enchiladas

Vegetarian or Not, You’ll Love these Cauliflower Enchiladas I’m all for quick and easy meals that can be made at the last minute. This enchilada fits right in to that! This enchilada in a creamy cauliflower sauce is a tasty treat without many ingredients. Using no oil or butter keeps it lighter too. Cauliflower is a natural to add to any Mexican recipe.  After trying the Cauliflower Vegetarian Enchiladas, it sounded interesting...

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Cauliflower Buffalo Bites

Hot Sauce + Cauliflower = Yum After using Frank’s hot sauce on another dish, I decided we needed another recipe using the tasty, spicy sauce.  When the search suggested chunks of cauliflower, I knew I had to try it for myself. What a great find!  Once again cauliflower blends in perfectly, this time with the flavors of the hot sauce.  Since it is so low in calories, it makes for an excellent snack that tastes rich and filling,...

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Easy French Toast

This morning I woke up to a beautiful day without a single cloud in the sky. On days like these, there is nothing better than to have a leisurely breakfast at home. I went to my kitchen to see what I had and realized I had some bread that was about to go bad in a day or two. I also had exactly two eggs and a small amount of milk in the milk carton. If at this point, you’re thinking French Toast, you’re absolutely right...

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What is Food Synergy?

Supercharging Nutrients We often hear that many foods are best combined to provide better nutrition. Probably the most common is beans and rice.  Served together they form a complete amino acid, especially important in vegetarian diets. That is what is called ‘food synergy.’ Foods that go together for health benefits.  The vitamins and minerals each contains work best with another food to maximize the benefits.  The pairing of...

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Cauliflower Crust Slices

Snack or Pizza–It’s Delish! Cauliflower Pizza Crust has become very popular today, so I decided it was time to try one for myself.  It’s a fun process, especially using the Ninja Master Prep Professional to ‘rice’ the cauliflower.   This particular vegetable adapts so well in so many recipes.  When you think of the strong aroma it has while cooking, you would expect it to overwhelm, but it doesn’t....

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Pasta with Cauliflower

Fast and Filling. That is exactly how this dish can be summed up.  Prep a head of cauliflower, cook up a package of noodles–in the same pot besides–and you have a tasty, nutritious meal that will suit vegetarians and non vegetarians alike. Cauliflower is so nutritious, not to mention very low calorie.  It is also very filling.  Mixed with pasta and seasonings it makes a meal.  For the version pictured here, I used ziti, so...

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Blueberry Bran Muffins

Blueberry Bran Muffins   Save Print Blueberry Bran Muffins Rating  5 from 1 reviews Prep time:  20 mins Cook time:  15 mins Total time:  35 mins Serves: 12 to 16 Ingredients 1½ cup wheat bran 1 cup low fat buttermilk ⅓ cup vegetable oil ¼ cup egg substitute (or 1 egg) ⅔ cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon...

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Fire Boy Cookies

Basler Leckerli/Laeckerli. This cookie comes from my native country Switzerland and it is delicious. The picture does not do justice for the flavour of the cookie when you take that first bite. It is a little bit of heaven when you are able to indulge in this specialty cookie and a hot cup of coffee or tea.   Save Print Fire Boy Cookies Rating  5 from 1 reviews Ingredients 450 grams honey (16 ounces) 300 grams of sugar (10.5...

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Baked chocolate dessert

 Delicious baked chocolate recipe. This recipe dates from the late nineteen seventies and I’ve reproduced it here just as it was originally given. I rarely cook with salt though and find that I don’t need it in this delicious, chocolate-y recipe. It’s easy to make and I like to serve it in individual glasses or ramekins. The originator of the recipe suggests serving it with whipped cream but I find that a little rich...

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Berry Frozen Yogurt Bites

Looking for a healthy frozen treat instead of ice cream?  Here is a recipe that has so many good-for-you ingredients you can eat it every day!  It makes a flavorful, sweet, satisfying dessert or snack any time of day. Check out these healthy ingredients: Coconut oil—good for so many things, including brain health Berries—one of the top 10 foods for brain and body health Nuts—another top brain food, and a healthy fat Greek Yogurt—Great...

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Highland scones recipe

Highland scones recipe I have to admit that baking is definitely not my forte.But even I can handle these easy-to-make scones. They take only eight minutes in the oven and are simplicity itself to mix – no blenders, whisks or things-that-need-cleaning are used. Once you have the basic recipe, it opens up so many ideas. The recipe below contains currants, as these are traditional but you could omit these and other ingredients...

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Quick and Easy Recipes: Spinach for Breakfast

Quick and Easy Recipes: Spinach for Breakfast Today in the continuing series of spinach recipes come two of my favorite breakfasts. Both are fast and easy. So easy that you really don’t even need a recipe. Add as much as you like of the spinach and the eggs. You can feed a bunch. The first recipe especially is perfect for taking to a brunch. Because it is fast and easy yet still colorful and filling, I will often take it to morning...

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Russian Kasha Rice: Grand Prix Gourmet

While I was looking for a Russian meal to cook for a different international menu, I ran across this simple recipe for rice, called Russian Kasha. It is very tasty, easy to prepare, and offers you an authentic Russian recipe. It is inexpensive to prepare too since the main ingredient is rice.  You could add other vegetables as well if you choose.  I would probably toss in some chopped spinach for the nutrients spinach contains and for...

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Crème Caramel Authentic French Recipe

Crème Caramel Authentic French Recipe Crème Caramel is a very famous and delicious pudding style desert from France, which is also enjoyed in many other parts of Europe. There are many varieties of this egg custard pudding, for example a very famous sweet in Portugal known as Bolos de Nata, is just like crème caramel, the only difference between them is that the crème caramel does not have a pastry base. Here’s the recipe:  ...

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Pie Crust Cookies

Pie Crust Cookies My mom should have awards for baking the most wonderful pies. Her crusts were always perfect. Light, flaky, and even the correct shape in the pie pan (a personal problem I have with pie crust making). Whenever she made the crusts, she would put the leftover scraps of dough in an extra tin, sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar, and bake them too. We loved them. The other day when I was once again trying to make a pie...

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