Red Berry Vinaigrette

My mom started making a few salad dressing recipes. A couple days ago I decided to follow suit. Wow! I think I agree with her; I don't know that I'll ever go back to store-bought dressings.

Here is a delicious Vinaigrette. It calls for Raspberry, but I had strawberry. Voila! Delectable and delightful.

Red Raspberry Vinaigrette OR Strawberry Vinaigrette

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup seasoned rice vinegar

1 (10 ounce) jar seedless raspberry jam/ strawberry

Directions

Combine the olive oil, rice vinegar and raspberry jam in the container of a blender. Process

until smooth. Store in a jar in the refrigerator.

For smaller quantity half the recipe

1/8 c olive oil

1/2 c rice vinegar

5 oz jam (1/2 c?)

I think I want to try this with apricot jelly too.

Spinach and Orzo

Prep and cooking time: 20-30 min



orzo

spinach
garlic
fresh ground pepper
salt
parsley
basil
milk/water
sundried tomatoes (softened by soaking in olive oil (sped up by microwaving 30sec)

feta


Directions:
1. Cook Orzo pasta

2. While orzo cooks, another pan saute thawed spinach with one large minced garlic clove in olive oil. Put in a dash of parsley and basil. Add a TINY bit of milk or water if needing extra moisture. Grind a little pepper over the top and put a pinch of salt. Add sundried tomatoes and saute a little more.

3. Put spinach over orzo and top with feta.




My inspiration from a few different recipes  (Treasure Cave feta recipe and )
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/mediterranean-orzo-salad-with-feta-vinaigrette-10000001065540/


http://allrecipes.com/recipe/greek-orzo-with-feta/


http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/orzo-with-feta-and-tomatoes-recipe/index.html


http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Orzo-Feta-and-Tomato-Salad-with-Marjoram-Vinaigrette-108235

Apple Pie

Delicious Apple Pie.

I used three kinds of apples and the apple pie recipe posted on an earlier upload, with the pumpkin pie crust recipe.

Pumpkin Pie for fall

*Libby's Pumpkin Pie recipe with the easiest crust ever!
(Makes one 9-inch deep-dish pie crust)

Crust:
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t salt
1/3 c vegetable shortening
2-3 T cold water

COMBINE flour and salt in medium bowl; cut in vegetable shortening until crumbly. Sprinkle with water; blend until mixture holds together.

SHAPE dough into ball; place on lightly floured surface. Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Line pie plate with pastry. Turn edge under; crimp edge as desired.

(I rolled between two sheets of wax paper and then took off the top sheet and using the bottom sheet flipped the crust into the pan)

Note: to make two crusts, double all ingredients, follow procedure above and divide dough in half.

No need  to pre-bake crust. Simply dump in pumpkin pie filling.



LIBBY'S FAMOUS PUMPKIN PIE

3/4 c sugar
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/4 t cloves
2 eggs
1 can (15 oz) 100% pure pumpkin
1 c evaporated milk (can make your own using powdered milk--see previous entry)
1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie shell


MIX sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

POUR into pie shell

BAKE in preheated 425 degree F oven for 15 min. Reduce temperature to 350 degree F; bake 40-50 min or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

(2) Sweet and Condensed Milk substitutes

I haven't tried this one yet.

Sweet and Condensed Milk

If you don't have sweetened condensed milk on hand, this simple recipe will make the equivalent of a 14-ounce can.

Ingredients

1/2 cup boiling water

1 cup nonfat dry milk

2/3 cup sugar

3 tbsp melted butter

1. Pour 1/2 cup of boiling water into a blender.

2. Add 1 cup of nonfat dry milk.

3. Add 2/3 cup sugar.

4. Add 3 tablespoons of melted butter.

5. Add a few drops of vanilla.

6. Cover and blend on high speed for 30 seconds or until smooth.

7. Remove from the blender.

8. Use in a recipe immediately or store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

[southern food @about.com]

Sweet and Condensed Milk

Original Recipe Yield 1 1/3 cup

Ingredients

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup water

1 1/8 cups powdered milk

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine all the ingredients. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and cook until thick about 15 to 20 minutes.

[All recipes.com]

Evaporated Milk Substutute

I used this in a pumpkin pie recipe because we had no evaporated milk and Simon reallllly wanted pumpkin pie. The pumpkin can was staring at him.

Evaporated Milk Substitute

http://frugalliving.about.com/od/makeyourowningredients/r/Evaporated_Milk.htm

No need to pay a premium for those little cans of evaporated milk. You can make your own in two minutes or less.

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Total Time: 2 minutes

Ingredients:

* 2/3 cup non-fat dry milk

* 3/4 cup water

Preparation:

Mix the water and dry milk powder together. Then, use in place of the evaporated milk in any recipe.

Yield: 1 cup (8 ounces)

San Antonio Rice

I found this recipe online or my mom gave it to me a couple years ago. It's really easy and pretty tasty.

San Antonio Rice

Add a Southwest kick to your rice.

Prep: 5 Minutes Total: 30 Minutes

1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1 12-ounce jar fresh salsa, mild or hot
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup fresh or canned corn kernels
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
- Fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 1/4 cups water
- Minced fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Add all ingredients, except cilantro, to the inner pot, stir, close the lid and press the White Rice button. When rice cooker switches to Keep-Warm mode, open the cooker, quickly stir and re-cover. Allow to stand for 8-10 minutes before serving. Spoon onto a serving dish, garnish with fresh cilantro and serve.

Makes a flavorful supper or side dish for grilled chicken or fish.