My book club met for a brunch potluck today, so I thought this cereal mix would be a great dish to share. Everyone enjoyed the crunchy, vanilla-scented mix! It was incredibly easy to throw together; I loved that I only needed to use my microwave for cooking.
Ingredients
6cups Rice Chex cereal (I used Wheat Waffles from Whole Foods)
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 T pure maple syrup
2 t pure vanilla
Directions
1. Measure cereal and pecans in large microwaveable bowl.
2. In 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave butter uncovered on high for 30 seconds or until melted.
3. Add brown sugar and maple syrup; microwave uncovered on high for 30 seconds, until mixture is boiling.
4. Stir in vanilla. Pour over cereal and pecans, stirring until evenly coated.
5. Microwave uncovered on high for 3-4 minutes, stirring every minute. Spread on waxed paper or foil (I didn’t have time so I skipped this step). Store tightly covered.
From Chex
I’m not much of a mixologist, but this was easy enough for me! I bought a dry wine so it would not be too sweet and everyone loved it. This is a great drink for a hot day!
Ingredients
1 (750 milliliter) bottle white wine
3/4 cup rum
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup white sugar
1 lemon, sliced
1 lime, sliced
1 green apple, cored and sliced
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle lemon-lime soda
Directions
1. Slice lemon, lime and apple. Place in a large pitcher and mix with white wine, rum and sugar. Refrigerate for up to a day (I made mine the night before).
2. Before serving, stir in the lemon-lime soda (I used 7-up).
From AllRecipes
I made this earlier in the month when I had some friends over, including a few vegetarians. This dish got a good reaction from veggies and meat-lovers alike. The cheesiness will win everyone over, and this tastes especially good in the summer with local, fresh zucchini.
Ingredients
6 medium zucchini (thinly sliced)
1 medium onion (chopped)
1 large fresh tomato (chopped)
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 t Italian spices
1 T olive oil
1 t garlic salt
Shredded Parmesan (if desired)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and chop all veggies.
2. Heat oil in large skillet.
3. Add zucchini, onion, tomato & garlic.
4. Cover & cook until desired tenderness, about 10 minutes. Drain if needed.
5. Stir in tomato sauce & seasonings.
6. In a 13 x 9-inch baking dish, place a layer of the zucchini mixture, then top with shredded cheese.
7. Continue layers until pan is full, ending with the remaining cheese (just one more layer in my case).
8. Bake uncovered, in a 350°F oven, for 25 minutes.
9. Top with shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese, if desired.
From food.com.
I love one-pot recipes, especially in the summer when I don’t want to stand near a hot stove all day! This easy brownie recipe is rich, chewy and sooo chocolatey. It came from the May 2014 issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray, which included ideas on how to spruce them up – such as adding pecans or kettle corn. I think they would go well with the add-ins, but they are great on their own too!
Ingredients
1.5 sticks butter
1 ¾ cups sugar
1.5 t vanilla extract
¼ t salt
3 eggs
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup flour
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line an 8-inch (I used 9-inch) square baking pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang.
3. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, remove from heat.
4. While the pan is off heat, whisk in the sugar, vanilla and salt. Whisk until creamy, about 1 minute.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking between additions.
6. Add the cocoa powder and flour; stir until just blended.
7. Pour into baking pan and bake for about 40 to 45 minutes.
8. Cool in pan set on wire rack.
From Rachael Ray.
I’ve been on the look-out for light summer recipes, so when I saw these tuna-salad stuffed tomatoes I could not resist giving them a try. This recipe is easy to make and tasty, but I bet they will be even better in the summer when I can get local, fresh tomatoes!
Ingredients
2 (5oz) cans tuna, drained
1 T drained capers
1 chopped green onion
2 T chopped parsley
½ cup light mayo
¼ t ground pepper
4 large tomatoes
Directions
1. Chop green onion and parsley, add to medium bowl. Stir in mayo, tuna, ground pepper and capers.
2. Slice off the top of the tomatoes. Finely chop them and add to the tuna mixture.
3. Hollow out the tomatoes, throw away seeds and such.
4. Fill each tomato with tuna mixture.
I made the pineapple upside-down cake in the iron skillet last weekend and it was a huge hit, all of my friends wanted the recipe and two slices! Since only about 2/3 of the batter fit in my 10” skillet, I used the remaining 1/3 to make 6 upside-down cupcakes. This way, I would not be tempted to break into the cake before the party, which is tough because I like to let it set for a day before serving. The cupcakes were a very cute treat!
Ingredients
3 slices of canned pineapple, drained and cut in half
1/3 prepared white cake mix, using pineapple juice in place of water and apple sauce in place of oil
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
6 maraschino cherries
Directions
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line 6 muffin cups.
2. In small bowl, stir together melted butter and brown sugar. Spoon 1 1/2 teaspoons butter mixture into each muffin cup.
3. In each cup, top the butter mixture with half a pineapple slice and a cherry. Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each cup.
4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes.
Adapted from Betty Crocker
This rich, beefy pasta dish was a big hit with my boyfriend. He said it reminded him of Hamburger Helper without all the salt, and I agree! This dinner comes together quickly and doesn’t require too many dishes.
Ingredients
8 oz fettuccine noodles
12 oz white mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced (I use the kind from a jar)
2 T butter
1/2 pound ground beef (I used a full pound)
1/3 cup red wine (use good wine…not cooking wine!)
2 T tomato paste
2 T grated Parmesan
Directions
1. Boil water for the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook mushrooms and garlic in butter over medium-high until browned, 5 minutes.
3. Add beef to skillet; cook until browned, 5 minutes.
4. Add wine and tomato paste to skillet; simmer 5 minutes.
5. Add pasta and reserved cooking liquid to skillet; toss to coat. Top with Parmesan.
From Rachael Ray
