Two-Step Chicken Pecan Salad

When I was in college, a close friend’s mom made this salad for us in big batches and put it into our care packages.  Now, this is what my friends ask that I bring with me every time we take a girls’ trip to the beach.  It’s one FANTASTIC chicken salad.  Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

3c diced, cooked chicken

1/2c diced celery

2T chopped parsley

1t salt

1t pepper

1/2t dried tarragon

2T oil

1/2c chopped, toasted pecans*

1/2c mayonnaise

Step 1: In a large bowl, combine chicken, celery, parsley, salt, pper, tarragon and oil.  Stir together until well mixed.  Cover, refrigerate at least 2hrs or overnight, stirring once or twice to blend ingredients.

Step 2: To serve:  About 1 hr bbefore serving, add pecans and mayonnaise to the mixture.  Stir until well coated.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

This is excellent on croissants!

*Hint: To toast pecans, heat oven to 325 degrees.  Place shelled pecan halves on baking sheet and bake 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally for even browning (chopped nuts take less time).  Or, microwave on HIGH 4-6 minutes, stirring after each minute.

Zucchini Bread

2 cups zucchini, grated, not peeled

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

3 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon  soda

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup nuts

Mix oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla together, then add dry ingredients, 1 cup nuts and zucchini.  Divide batter

into 2 portions in 2 greased loaf pans.  Bake in preheated 325 degree oven for 1 hour.

Denise’s Chocolate Fudge ~ Donna Hill

2 cups sugar
¾ cup evaporated milk
2 tbsp butter
½ salt
Hard boil for 2 minutes stirring continuously
Take off burner and stir in:
1 tsp vanilla
12oz milk chocolate morsels
2 cups chopped pecans

Pour in 8×8 or 9×9 dish
Put in refrigerator to set
Take out and cut into squares

Veggie Paleo Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients

1. 8 large free range eggs
2. 400g fresh spinach leaves
3. 1 small onion
4. 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
5. 12-14 cherry tomatoes, cut into quaters.
6. handful of fresh basil leaves
7. 1 tbsp of oil
8. 1 tsp salt
9. Pinch of fresh nutmeg
10. 1/2tsp fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees .
2. Finely chop an onion and sauté in a tablespoon of your favorite paleo friendly oil at a medium heat. Once the onion has softened and turned translucent, add two cloves of garlic and stir in. Keep the heat low, and once you can smell the aroma of the garlic, stir in 400g of whole spinach leaves.
3. Spinach will not take long to cook through, so toss them through the onion and garlic at a medium heat, until the leaves wilt and become bright green. Add half a teaspoon of salt and pepper, and a sprinkle of nutmeg to the spinach. The volume of the leaves will reduce quite a lot as they cook, so don’t worry if they fill up the pan to start with! Remove from heat and allow the spinach to cool.
4. Beat 8 large eggs in a bowl and add the remaining salt and pepper. Empty the cooled cooked spinach to a large ovenproof casserole dish. Before transferring it across, squeeze out the excess water – the spinach should not be soggy in the casserole, or else it will not keep its shape! You can retain the cooking water for use in a soup or casserole dish.
5. Quarter 12-14 cherry tomatoes, and layer them across the spinach. Roughly chop a handful of fresh basil leaves, and scatter these across the tomatoes. Pour the egg mixture over the casserole.
6. Bake the paleo breakfast casserole for around 25-30 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a knife – it should come out clean, but slightly wet.

Mountain Dew Apple Cobbler

Ingredients

2 granny smith apples, peeled and sliced into 8 sections each

2 can(s) crescent rolls

2 stick butter

1 1/2 c sugar

1 1/2 c mountain dew

1 dash(es) cinnamon

1/2 c chopped pecans

 

Directions Step-By-Step

1 Wrap each 1/8 apple section in crescent roll dough. Place in lightly greased baking dish. Melt butter and stir in sugar. Spread over apples. Pour Mountain Dew over apples. Do Not Stir.

2 Sprinkle with cinnamon and chopped pecans.

3 Bake, uncovered at 350 for approximately 45 minutes.

4 Can be served with ice cream or whipped cream.

 

Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert

18 ice cream sandwiches
Caramel sauce or Milky Way sauce
Nuts
Cool whip

Layer 9 ice cream sandwiches in the bottom of 9×13 pan (flatten them a little or use additional sandwiches to fill pan.)
Pour the caramel sauce over sandwiches
Sprinkle with nuts
2^nd layer of ice cream sandwiches
More caramel sauce
More nuts
Spread with Cool Whip
More nuts
Freeze until hard.  Cut into squares.

Easy Low Fat/Calorie Barbeque

Pork Butt or Pork Loin

Combine in Crock pot with 2 parts water (1 cup) to one part (1/2 cup) Apple Cider Vinegar

Cook on low in crock pot 8-10 hours

Drain off Liquid. Shred off the bone removing fat.

Pour on George’s Hot or Mild Barbeque Sauce.   Cover to taste.

Can Freeze and/or keep in fridge.

 

 

Squash Casserole

2lb fresh or frozen yellow squash
1 tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
3 tbs flour
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 cup milk
3 tbs margarine melted
½ lb cheddar cheese grated
Cracker crumbs

Cook squash and onions together in bacon grease(or for lower calories and fat, cook in water). Cook off or drain excess liquid. Add salt, sugar and flour, mix together. Then add eggs, milk and margarine. Mix well. Set aside enough cheese for topping, stir in the remainder. Pour into greased casserole dish. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Take out and cover with remaining cheese and cracker crumbs(can substitute crush croutons or Pepperidge farm dressing)   Return to oven and heat for 5 minutes or until browned.

~Donnicia Pepper

Classic Tomato Pie ~Janis Matthews

Ingredients for one 9-inch pie:

10 biscuits from a 7.5 oz package 2 large, perfectly ripe tomatoes, thickly sliced Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper Fresh basil leaves (as many as you like), sliced into thin strips 1 cup mayonnaise 1 cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Lightly spray a 9-inch pie plate with non-stick spray. Then press the biscuits against sides and bottom of plate to form a crust. Layer thick slices from 2 large tomatoes on the dough, and give them a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Then toss on a handful of freshly-chopped basil. Top the pie with one cup mayonnaise combined with one cup shredded cheddar cheese. Bake for 30-35 minutes on the lower-middle rack of a preheated 375-degree oven. To insure a firm, not runny pie, let rest for 30 minutes before serving.

 

San Francisco Chops

Amazing super-delicious yumminess, without a tremendous effort!  It’ll take you about 10 minutes prep time, and about 40 minutes of simmering.

4 pork chops (or more, if your family is like mine…just double the sauce)

1T oil

1 clove garlic, minced

Sauce:

2t oil

4T dry sherry or broth

4T soy sauce

2T brown sugar

1/4t cayenne pepper (scale up or down, depending on your love for spice)

2t cornstarch

2T water

• Tips:  Sandwich your chops between two pieces of plastic wrap and give them a quick pound or two with a meat mallet.  It’ll make them fall apart on the fork after they’re cooked.
• This dish is excellent over rice or pasta.

Trim chops of fat.  Heat oil in a skillet.  Brown chops on both sides.  Remove chops and set aside.  Add a little bit more oil, if needed.  Saute garlic for a minute, being careful not to burn it. Combine oil, sherry or broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, and red pepper.  Place chops in a skillet.  Pour sauce over them.  Cover tightly.  Simmer over low heat until chops are tender and cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes.  Add a little water (1-2T) if needed to keep sauce from cooking down too much.  Turn once.  Remove chops to a platter.  Stir cornstarch dissolved in water into the sauce.  Cook until thickened.  Pour sauce over chops and serve.