Southwestern Bean Salad

Mix together

15 oz can Casa Maita southwestern Bean Salad
roughly chop following and add
1 large onion
1 garlic clove
1 stick celery
green pepper
1/2 cucumber
2 tomatoes
1/2 - 1 cup chinese or regular cabbage, bok choy, or romaine lettuce

Can eat right away or serve cold

Turkey A La King, sort of

I looked up the recipes on line but boy do they use a lot of butter. I don't remember my mom using that much butter. Actually she probably used margarine. I thought she just made a white sauce and put a small can of mushrooms and a small jar of pimientos in.

This is how I made it but next time I'm cutting the butter down to 1/2 tablespoon. I didn't have any mushrooms or pimientos on hand so didn't put them in. I also didn't have milk or chicken stock so just used yogurt and water.

Melt in pan

• 1/4 cup butter (Probably could use a lot less, like 1/2 tablespoon.)

Saute in butter (Cut & chop as you go)

• 1 large onion
• 1 carrot 
• probably could add some raw mushrooms here but I didn't have any.
• 1 celery stalk
• 1/2 green pepper
• 1 small sweet red pepper
• 1 garlic clove

Then add

• 1/4 cup flour
• salt (about 1 teaspoon)
• fresh ground black pepper

Slowly add

• 6 oz yogurt
• 12 - 18 oz water

Bring to a boil and cook about 2 minutes or so until it thickens. Stir occasionally so it doesn't burn

Add and heat through

• 1 - 2 cups Turkey pieces, broken in large pieces or coarsely chopped
• My husband added some frozen corn at this point. Hominy might be a good addition too.

We served it like this;
Toasted bread with a handful or so of salad on top, then covered with Turkey A La King (Also known as Smooey on Toast)

Apple Baklava

A twist on Amy's version http://www.amybites.com/?p=1962

I wonder what would happen if you chopped instead of slicing the apple but my husband said he like being able to identify the apples. I didn't think the phyllo was that difficult to handle but I could see where it could be. We have high humidity right now so it probably wasn't drying out so fast.

My husband's friend who is a chef said it was apple strudel. http://chefinyou.com/2009/05/austrian-apple-strudel/ . From the picture it appear that the dough is rolled around the filling rather than being built in layers in a 13x9 like baklava. Strudel appears that it may be sprinkled with powdered sugar and doesn't seem to have the sugar syrup put on after coming out of the oven.

OK so here is my version. I bet if I used rice paper I could make the recipe gluten free. I don't think you need to be all that exact with the amount of ingredients in the recipe. I bet you could use other nuts and other seasonal fruit too.

Butter 13x9 pan
Bake 45 min at 350F
Use butter flavored oil spray between layers
1 roll of 20 sheets of phyllo dough (Thawed. Follow directions on package.)

Process in food processor then divide into 3 parts

• 16 oz bag walnuts
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 t cinnamon

Chop up 4 apples (Don't need to peel)
Sprinkle with some fresh lemon juice to keep from browning
Combine with 2/3 of nut mixture.

Sugar syrup - To put on after baklava comes out of oven. Helps hold it together so want it to be sticky. Can make while baklava is cooking in oven. Make syrup in microwave in large mixing bowl.

Microwave in 1 minute intervals until sugar dissolves

• 1.75c sugar
• 1/4 c brown sugar (I didn't have honey which might help syrup be stickier.)
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1 c water

 Add and microwave in 1 minute intervals until syrup thickens

• 1 t fresh lemon juice

Now put the baklava together.

Layer 1 - Bottom

• Lay 1 phyllo sheet in bottom of 13x9pan. Don't worry if it's too big. Just fold it over. Spray with butter flavored vegetable oil.
•  Repeat with 4 more sheets
•  Put down 1/2 of apple/nut mixture

Layer 2 - Middle; Repeat Layer 1




Layer 3 -

• 5 sheets phyllo dough, sprayed in between with butter flavored vegetable oil
•  Put down remaining 1/3 of nut mixture

Top Crust

• 5 sheet phyllo dough, sprayed in between with butter flavored vegetable oil

Slice into squares
Bake 45 min/ 350F. Will lightly brown in last 5 minutes.
Pour over sticky sugar syrup when you remove baklava from oven
Someone told me they used phyllo dough to roll around a meat filling. 

baked meat balls

grate the following or process in food processor (veggies keep it more moist)
4 carrot
2 celery sticks
green pepper
onion
2-4 garlic cloves

Add to
2# ground beef
about 2-3 cups oatmeal
2-3 eggs lightly beaten
salt
pepper

form into small balls, bake 20 minutes at 350F

can store in freezer and use as needed. Makes about 100 small meat balls.

can put in tomato sauce, BBQ sauce, mushroom soup, white sauce with mushrooms.......

whatever you feel like 

Crustless onion potatoe quiche - naturally gluten free

• Cook a sliced onion in good olive oil in paper towel covered pie pan until softens and loses sharp taste
• Cook about 4 peeled sliced potatoes in good tasting olive oil in pie pan until tender.
• Combine cooked onion and potatoes together
• Season with salt and pepper
• Beat about 6 or so eggs in bowl. 
• Combine with cooked onion and potatoes in pie pan
• Cover with foil.
• Cook about 1 hour at 350F until center is cooked.
• Can serve in pie pan or turn out onto a plate once cool.

Some food I cooked for my niece's graduation party

Prepped a lot food last night.
meatballs baked in oven to be covered in BBQ sauce in crockpot
crustless potato onion quiche based on spanish tortilla
deviled eggs - see deviled eggs.com for the best way to make boiled eggs

rice krispy treats with and without melted chocolate topping
apple baklava

My husband cut up veggies and made chicken wings.

My sister is taking care of the rest.

Chopped Cabbage Salad in oil & balsamic vinegar (Coleslaw?)

Mix to taste in a bowl

• Balsamic vinegar (2 parts?)
• Olive oil (2 part?)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Celery seed
  
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Brown sugar (about 1 tsp)

Then add & mix in

• 1/2 finely chopped cabbage
  
• 1 very small onion finely chopped
  
• 2 carrots finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk finely chopped (optional)
• 1/2 green pepper finely chopped (optional)