Gone to the Beach

We are truly enjoying summer in our home! Be back this fall with some great new recipes to try!

Sweet Slaw

1  16 oz bag cole slaw

1/3 cup diced sweet onion

2/3 cup mayo

3 tablespoons canola oil

1/3 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon white vinegar

3/4 teaspoon celery salt

1 Tablespoon honey

Chop up the cole slaw

In a large bowl mix together all ingredients (minus the slaw and onion)

Add chopped slaw and onion to dressing and place in fridge for four hours before serving

In my house this serves 4- so I often double it since it's great the next day too!

Enjoy!

Cookies 2 Ways

I don't make cookies often- they aren't my dessert of choice.  But today I felt differently- I really wanted to make some yummy cookies.  But alas, I couldn't decide what to make so . . . I made two kinds with newly created recipes.  They came out great!!!  Check them out . . . 

Double Chip Pudding Cookies

You will need

2 1/4 cups of flour

1/4 tsp of salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup room temp butter

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup special dark chips

The how to

Heat oven to 350 degrees F

In your mixer cream together butter, brown sugar, and white sugar.  Add instant pudding till blended.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Add is salt, baking soda, baking powder, and flour.  Finally stir in all of the chocolate chips.

Drop cookies with scoop or teaspoon on to parchment lined cookie sheets- bake 10 minutes till cookies are golden brown.  Let cool before devouring! 

Cake Mix Lemon Cookies

you will need

1 box lemon cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

zest of a lemon

juice of a lemon

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/3 cup powdered sugar

The how to

Pour cake mix into mixer.  Add eggs, oil, zest, and lemon and mix until well blended

Stir in white chocolate chips

Place cookie dough in fridge for at least two hours if not over night

When ready to bake heat oven to 375 degrees F

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls into a bowl of powdered sugar and roll them around till lightly covered. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets and cook till bottom is light brown, about 8 minutes.  Let cool completely before devouring. 

**** Cookie making tip, if you put dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours or so dough will not be sticky when you are making the cookies on the sheets****

Jalapeno Popper Dip

I get asked for this recipe every time I make it.  I've altered it from the version on allrecipes.com to suit my tastes.  Enjoy this easy party dip!

2 packages cream cheese (room temp)

1 cup mayo

1 can (4oz) chopped chilies

2 oz chopped jalapeno peppers ( I use the canned ones)

1 cup of parm cheese

1/2 cup panko

olive oil

Stir together cream cheese and mayo till smooth.  Stir in chilies, peppers, and 1/2 cup of the parm.  Pour into an oven safe plate and top with panko and remaining parm.  Finally drizzle with olive oil and bake at 350 degrees F till golden brown and bubble, about 30 mins.

Serve with toasted baguette slices or your favorite chips!

Enjoy

Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent . . The Bynes' Falls Blend

Well I finally tried it and so far I am thrilled with the results!!!!  I made my own powdered laundry detergent- wahoo!!!!  I picked powdered over liquid simply for storage reasons.  I still pre treat stains as clothes go in the hamper with Zout- and so far this concoction of all natural cleaners has passed the test!

You will need . . . 

 2 cups of ivory snow (if you can't find snow, grate 2 cups of an ivory bar into the mixture)

1 cup of borax

1 cup of washing soda

1/2 cup powdered Purex 2 (or any color safe bleach)

Mix together in a sealable container and add two heaping tablespoons to the water in your laundry machine before adding clothes.

 ***shake it up every time you use it***

Also pour a cup of vinegar into your machines fabric softener dispenser to get soft clothes every time- with no extra smells!

The best part of this was a years worth of all of the ingredients cost 10 dollars!!!  Imagine the savings over the year.  

I found all of my ingredients at a local large supermarket chain.

Chocolate Cognac Tart

I was watching Giada make  a chocolate tart the other day on her food network show.  I thought the way she put it together was so simple and easy- I wanted to try it- but I changed around the ingredients so that I could use this vanilla cognac that is burning a hole in my cabinet.  Interested? Read on!

You will need

4 Tablespoons butter plus enough butter to grease the pan (room temp)

9 chocolate graham crackers (the whole piece, not halves)

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup honey

12 oz chocolate chips

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Tablespoon espresso powder

1/2 Tablespoon chili powder

1 Tablespoon vanilla Cognac (ok, if you didn't want to splurge on this you could leave it out, but oh my does it make this tart incredible) 

The how to

Heat oven to 350 degrees F

Butter bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan

Place chocolate graham crackers in the food processor- mix till crackers are fine crumbs.  Add butter and pulse until it's all mixed together.  Press the crumb mixture in the bottom of the pan and bake for 12 minutes.  Cool to room temperature.

While crust is cooling, in a small saucepan, whisk together cream and honey over low heat till combined.  Place chocolate chips, cinnamon, vanilla, chili powder, espresso powder and cognac in another bowl.  Pour the hot cream mixture over and stir until the chips are melted and mixture is smooth.  Pour over crumb crust and refrigerate overnight.

The next day loosen tart from pan with a knife and place on serving plate.  Cut into wedges and serve well chilled!!!!

Quick and Easy Chicken Satay App

I needed a a quick appetizer to make for an afternoon with the ladies.  Problem being I just didn't have time to fuss over it.  I had all the ingredients at home and quickly put together this fantastic chicken satay.  The peanut sauce was out of this world- check it out below!

Chicken Ingredients-

1 lbs chicken cutlets (cut them in strips)

equal amounts of lime, lemon, grapefruit, and orange juice (fresh)

2 grate cloves of garlic

dash red wine vinegar

salt, pepper, and a few seasonings of your choice (I used thyme and oregano)

Chicken How to-

Throw all the above in a bowl, place in fridge for two hours (or so)

soak wooden skewers in water while the chicken is marinating

place chicken on skewers, grill 3 minutes on each side

place on serving plate 

Peanut Sauce Ingredients-

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/8 cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon red chili paste

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 lime juiced

1/2 lemon juiced

1/4 cup hot water

Peanut Sauce How to-

throw first 6 ingredients in food processor and blend blend blend

thin out sauce to your liking with hot water

place in bowl

Enjoy!