Sara's Vanilla Pudding

I just stole this recipe from my friend Sara's blog!  It was so yummy!

Mix in a saucepan:
2/3 cups sugar
dash of salt
2 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. flour

Gradually stir in:
2 cups milk (1%-whole)
1 cup sweetened condensed milk

Cook over medium to medium-low heat, stirring contstantly--and I mean constantly! Mixture will thicken. Boil one minute; remove from heat.

Slowly stir half of the mixture into 3 beaten egg yolks in a separate bowl. Then pour egg mixture back into the pan and boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Blend in:
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. butter
Cool. Serve with vanilla wafers. :)

Kale Salad

4-6 cups of kale, washed and ripped into bite sized pieces
juice of one lemon (about 2 Tbsp.)
3-4 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
crushed red pepper (about 1/2 tsp.)
pepper (to taste)
salt (to taste)
1/4 cup bread crumbs (I toasted 2 pieces of small bread in the oven and blended them in my blender)
2/3 cups Asiago, Tuscano (sp?) or parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Place kale in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oil, garlic, red pepper, salt and pepper. Pour over kale and toss. Toss in cheese. Toss in bread crumbs.

Kale can be purchased at Sprouts or other health food/farmers' market type stores.

I got this recipe from my friend Allison! :)

Sesame Chicken with Orange Ginger Sauce

3 cups cooked rice

Chicken:
6 boneless chicken breasts (I use fillets because they cook faster)
3/4 cups sesame seeds
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. canola oil

Dip chicken in sesame seeds to coat. Season with salt. Saute chicken in oil until light golden brown. Place chicken in a baking pan and finish baking for 20-30 minutes (depending on size of chicken pieces) at 350*.

Sauce:
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 tsp. peeled and finely chopped ginger root
1 tsp. minced garlic
2 cups orange marmalade
1/2 cup water or orange juice
2 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce

Saute the ginger root and garlic in a saucepan with oil for three minutes. Add remaining sauce ingredients and stir on low heat until bubbly. Serve over chicken with some rice. Serves six.

Graham Crackers

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I grind my own)
1 1/2 cups graham flour (I used about 1/2 cup white flour, 1/4 cup whole wheat flour and 1/4 wheat germ)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup butter, softened (1 and 1/2 stick)
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Cream the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add honey, egg and vanilla. Beat until combined. Gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing until incorporated. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes. Roll out dough on a floured surface. Cut out shapes. (I used mini animal cutters, or you can cut them into 2" X 2" squares with a pastry cutter and poke with a fork.) Place on baking paper lined baking pans. Bake at 350* for 7-8 minutes for small cookies or 10-12 minutes for 2" cookies. Cool 5 minutes on the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack. Eat straight, serve with milk, or make s'mores out of them!

Veggie Quiche

Crust: Use the same crust as the mini asparagus quiche recipe from April of this year. Spray pie plate with cooking oil spray. I also roll my pie crusts out on baking paper; then I fold the crust into quarters, using the baking paper it's on. It makes it easier to transport the crust to the pie plate. Bake 10-12 minutes at 375*.

Filling:
4 cups finely chopped veggies (I used asparagus, broccoli and zucchini.)
1 Tbsp. dried onion

5 eggs, beaten
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Mix dried onions with the veggies.  Place veggie mix into the cooled pie shell. Mix salt and pepper into the eggs, beating swiftly. Pour egg mixture over the veggies. Put parmesan cheese on top. Top off with cheddar. Bake at 375* for about 40 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Serves 6.

Asparagus Mini Quiches

Crust:
1 1/4 cup flour
6 Tbsp. cold butter
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2-3 Tbsp. water


With a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until crumbly. Add cheese and water. Mix with fork until soft dough forms and is able to be rolled out onto a floured surface. After dough is rolled out to 1/4 inch thick, cut large circles out of the dough that will fit into your greased tins. (I used a 4 inch diameter cutter for my 3 inch diameter tins.) Pat dough into greased tins. (Mine made 12 quiches.) Bake at 375* for 10-12 minutes.

Filling:
1/4 pound asparagus, blanched (boiled for a minute or so) and cut into pieces 1/2 inch in size (I used asparagus that had been blanched and then frozen.)
About 2 tsp. chopped dried onions

3 eggs
1 Tbsp. milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, freshly shredded
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Place asparagus pieces into the bottom of the cooked crusts. Put a pinch of dried onion into each crust. Beat the eggs, milk, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Pour about a tablespoon or more of the egg mixture into each crust. Put a heaping teaspoon of each of the cheeses into each crust. Bake at 375* for 16 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean when inserted into the center of a quiche. Makes 12 quiches if using 2 inch diameter tins.  May be modified for larger or smaller quiche tins. Enjoy!!

Chicken Strips Milano

12 oz. linguine
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
4 1/2 tsp + 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
3/4 tsp. dried parsley flakes
3/4 tsp. pepper, divided
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips

Cook linguine according to package directions. Meanwhile, saute garlic in 4 1/2 tsp. of oil in a skillet for 1 minute or until tender. Stir in parsley and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Remove to a small bowl and set aside.
Combine flour, basil, salt and remaining pepper in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Whisk eggs in another shallow bowl. Dredge chicken in the flour mixture and then in the eggs.
Cook chicken in the remaining 4 Tbsp. of oil over medium-high heat in the same skillet for 8-10 minutes or until no longer pink.
Drain the linguine and place on a serving platter. Stir in the garlic mixture over the linguine and toss to coat. Top with chicken. Serves 6.