Caramel Crumb Bars (I think from Saveur)

20 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
2 1/2 cups flour, plus more for pan
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Heat oven to 350ð. Line a 9" x 13" baking sheet with parchment paper; grease and flour. In a mixer fitted with a paddle, beat together 16 tbsp. butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until fluffy. Add 2 1/4 cups flour; mix. Transfer 3/4 dough to pan; press into bottom; chill. Rub remaining dough and flour into large crumbles; set aside. Combine remaining butter, brown sugar, syrup, and milk in a 2-qt. saucepan. Cook, stirring, over medium-high heat to make caramel, 8-10 minutes. Pour over dough; scatter crumbles over top. Bake until golden, 25-30 minutes. Let cool. Cut into bars.~~

Recently due to a veritable plethora of tomatoes from our garden I looked up recipes for Gazpacho, but most of the ones I found listed canned tomato juice as a main ingredient. No thanks.

Eventually I found a recipe on a blog titled "You're Doing it Wrong : Gazpacho"

I've made this a few times a think I'm finally zeroing in on a tried and true version of this recipe. My version is as follows:

Gazpacho

1 large Red Bell Pepper (seeded and roughly chopped)
1 large Vidalia Onion (roughly chopped)
1 to 2 Jalapeno Peppers (seeded and chopped)
1/2 cup Olive Oil
4 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
2 slices bread
2 tsp Crushed Garlic
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

3 lbs Fresh Tomatoes
1 large Cucumber (peeled and seeded)
1 tsp salt
Optional: sour cream, plain greek yogurt, or sliced avocado

Dice the peeled and seeded cucumber into 1/4" pieces, place in colander, sprinkle with the salt, set aside. (this will draw bitterness out of the cucumber)

Place all ingredients before the tomatoes in a blender and puree until smooth.

Remove cores from tomatoes and roughly squeeze out and discard the bulk of the seeds. Reserve the best looking tomato and place the rest in the blender and pulse until fairly smooth. Chop remaining tomato fine, and stir into gazpacho.

Add diced cucumber, stir well.

Chill, serve. (Optionally topped with a dollop of sour cream, a dollop of plain greek yogurt, or with a slice or two of ripe avacado)

Yes. I have made this a few times now and we really liked it. I added my personal touch. I used the directions but made 6 instead of 8,I added sliced black olives and chopped green onions and I used Colby jack because that is what I had. I bought pepper jack for the next batch. I used the bagged prepared fajitas chicken meat but rotisserie chicken would be good too. I added the olives and green onions inside as well as on top. I sliced avocado to put on top of the servings.

Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas

1 (16 oz) jar Salsa Verde
2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
3 cups (12 oz) cooked, chopped chicken
8 medium (soft taco size) flour tortillas

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9ÃÂ13 baking dish with cooking spray. Spoon a thin layer of salsa verde into the bottom of the dish.

2. Combine chicken, 1 cup salsa verde, and 1 cup cheese in a bowl. Spoon about 1/3 cup mixture down the middle of a tortilla. Fold sides over and place seam side down in prepared baking dish. ItâÂÂs okay if they overlap a bit.

3. Top with remaining salsa and 1 cup shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes until bubbly. Serve and enjoy!
Makes 8 enchiladas. Click here for Nutritional Information. Nutritional Information is per enchilada.
See link for pictures.

Super easy and fast!
Edit to add picture of my enchiladas before going into the oven.

Here is a link that might be useful: Salsa Verde enchiladas

This post was edited by ravencajun on Fri, Aug 15, 14 at 18:52

And since I am making this tonight I thought I would add this long time tried and true original meatloaf recipe of mine. Not your regular meatloaf!

Saucy stuffed meatloaf:
3Lbs lean ground beef(can use less meat)
1/2cup raw oatmeal
2Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2Tbs Cajun seasoning (I prefer Tony Chachere)
2Tbs mustard(yellow)
4-5 chopped Roma tomatoes(fresh not canned)
1lg chopped onion(purple if possible)
1jar RAGU Roasted garlic Parmesan sauce**
In mixing bowl add meat,oatmeal,worst sauce,seasoning,mustard. Mix well with hands.
In a large rectangular baking dish spray pam (NOT a loaf pan). Add the meat and form into loaf shape, then make a well down the length in the center of the loaf. In the well add some of the chopped tomatoes and onion. Squeeze the meat closed over the top of the well. Pour remaining tomato and onions around the loaf. Pour the RAGU sauce over it all. You can add a tiny bit of milk to the jar to"rinse" it and get all out (not much don't want to water it down). Bake at 350 for an hour- check for doneness(clear juices or meat thermometer). Let cool for 5 min or so then skim off excess oil or soak it up with bread and discard bread.
*Optional ingredient chopped mushrooms.
*Optional sprinkle top with grated cheese
**If you can not find that specific RAGU sauce one of the other white RAGU sauces can be used like the Alfredo, and add garlic.
Roasted Garlic Parmesan

Thought I would take a picture of my stuffed meatloaf.

You're making me awfully hungry, Raven!!!

Ginger - SO NICE to 'see' you again! I have missed your posts.

Orange Creamsicle Cake

1 box of white cake mix
6 oz. of greek yogurt
1 c. orange juice

Mix all 3 ingredients. Pour into an 8" sq. pan. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Can dust with 10X sugar or top with whipped cream or whatever!

Thanks, Kayjones!

Tomato/Basil/Mozzarella Crepes
The Crepe mix:

3 eggs, slightly beaten
6 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

Tomato, cheese and basil:
seed and chop a tomato
shredded mozzarella cheese
basil leaves, cut up

Mix the crepe ingredients and chill for one hour. Heat a 7 inch pan on medium and add a little olive oil. Take ü cup of batter and while holding pan, pour and swirl around pan. Cook till edges are a little crisp and top appears dry, then flip, sprinkle on cheese and cook for a short time more. Put tomatoes and basil in a line down the middle and roll up or fold sides towards the middle.

I didn't write the amounts of the cheese, tomato or basil down because you put on what suits your personal taste.

This is where I found the original recipe, but I've modified it a little: http://www.food.com/recipe/anthonys-tomato-mozzarella-crepes-31390

This post was edited by carabubble on Wed, Aug 13, 14 at 23:32

My newest obsession:
My notes at the bottom.

Pioneer Woman
Simple Sesame Noodles

Ingredients

12 ounces, fluid Thin Noodles, Cooked And Drained
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Sugar
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
3 Tablespoons Pure Sesame Oil
1/2 teaspoon Hot Chili Oil
4 Tablespoons Canola Oil
4 whole Green Onions, Sliced Thin

Preparation Instructions

Whisk all ingredients (except noodles and green onions) together in a bowl. Taste and adjust ingredients as needed.
Pour sauce over warm noodles and toss to coat.
Sprinkle with green onions and toss.
Serve in a bowl with chopsticks. Yummy!

* I slice some boneless, skinless, chicken thighs and stir fry them real quick with zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, snow peas and bean sprouts and toss it all in with the noodles.

bob thanks..my kids have tomatoes gone wild! they're taller than sil...am sending you recipe to her!

I love rice noodles, angelaid! We have them quite often. That seems like a lot of sesame oil....it's not over powering? I love your suggestion about adding the other ingredients.

Bob, I'm going to make your gazbacho tomorrow for an appetizer for guests. There's no way it can't be great.

Carabubble,, your crepes recipe sounds terrific, too.

Great recipes, everybody! I'll have to come up with something good to share with you.

I'll have to look at my notes tonight when I get home. I don't think I adjusted the sesame oil though. I know I have been using crushed red pepper flakes instead of hot chili oil, because that is something I never think of to pick up at the store.

Thanks rhizo.

I made it again two days ago, but didn't have any Vidalia Onions and only had yellowish green peppers from my garden rather than a red pepper. I don't think the pepper substitution hurt the taste of the recipe, but it did make it a less striking red color. The substitution of a 1 1/2 medium yellow onions for the Vidalia onion did make the soup sharper and a little too bitingly onion-y.

Perhaps using a red onion like the original recipes suggests would work, but using plain yellow onions was not quite as good.

Carabubble,

That sounds pretty good, but their recipe for the crepe seems to have more egg and less flour than what I usually make. I seem to recall the one I make calls for 3/4 cup of flour, 1 egg, and 1 cup of milk (plus a few other ingredients)

Angelaid,

I sometimes make a recipe that I'd have to call: Even Easier Asian Noodles
It uses Ramen noodles, finely chopped green onions and a sauce made from commercial peanut sauce, teriyaki sauce, and ginger/miso salad dressing.

We had this for dinner this evening, and we just love it. It's SO easy and so good. I make it in a very large nonstick skillet.

I'm writing the original recipe and I'll put my comments in brackets. I've seen versions of this recipe using just water, but broth adds another layer of flavour.

One-Pot Pasta, Tomatoes, Olive Oil and Seasonings
12-oz pasta (we like whole-wheat spaghetti, and I've also used regular linguine)
28-oz can diced tomatoes with liquid
1 large onion, halved and sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
(I like to add a handful of green beans.....tonite I used the pole beans, sliced in half lengthwise)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp dried oregano
fresh basil chopped (I also add chopped kale)
1 carton vegetable broth
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Place all of the ingredients, including the Uncooked pasta in a large pot or skillet. Pour vegetable broth over top and drizzle with olive oil.

Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring frequently to distribute the liquid until pasta and veggies are cooked. (I like to leave some liquid in the bottom of the pot for extra sauce, and the pasta will absorb it as it sits.

I made these for my Wine and Dine group Wednesday night and am planning on making them for my bridge group Monday. A little different from the traditional Deviled Eggs and everyone loved them.

Avocado Deviled Eggs

6 hard cooked eggs, halved
1 avocado, diced (peeled and pitted)
3 slices cooked turkey bacon, diced
2 1/2 T. mayo
2 tsp. fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
sea salt to taste
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded & diced
1 dash hot pepper sauce or to taste

Scoop egg yokes into bowl. Add diced avocado, 2/3 of diced turkey bacon, mayo, lime juice, garlic, cayenne, salt and jalapeño. Mash mixture until evenly combined. Spoon or pipe filling into egg halves, top with remaining turkey bacon.

Salsa Verde enchiladas just out of the oven. Yum!

Lots of nice recipes gals, keep them coming. Yesterday I made the Golden Angel Food Cake and gave it to my daughter who is having a rummage sale. I went out at lunch time and stayed. The cake was a hit, everyone there really liked it. I put a butter cream icing on it and had made a fruit salad to go with it too.

Sue

I made the Pioneer Woman's noodle recipe a while back and it was absolutely disgusting! All you could taste was the sesame oil. I don't know if I bought the wrong "sesame oil" but I bought a bottle at the grocery store new and the label read "sesame oil" so I don't know what else she meant but it was almost not edible. I'd think about a teaspoon of sesame oil would be enough.

I'm going to make that stuffed meatloaf, it sounds wonderful!

Bob, I made your soup yesterday for guests and it was a hit. I tweaked it the tiniest bit....used English cuke so I didn't have to peel or seed or steep, I had to add some more tomato juice, and I used a little fresh basil as part of the garnish. I served it with puff pastry cheese straws (per Ina Garten).

It made a wonderful first course.

Jasdip can you tell us what the size of chicken broth? Here we have it in cans and various size cartons. I want to make that dish.

I just made these biscuit ham egg and cheese in a muffin tin. Very good and easy.
I have the jumbo 6 muffin tin so I can make 6 at once.
Spray tins with oil or butter them.
I used Grands biscuits the whomp kind. I pushed the biscuit down into the cup and up the sides, I cut my ham up into little pieces and put into the cup, I added a sprinkle of grated cheese, next break an egg into the cup, I added another sprinkle of grated cheese and a sprinkle of pepper or whatever seasoning you want.
Put in 350 - 400 oven for 20 - 30 minutes, check them for egg whites doneness.
Take out of the tins.

Oh do you little egg cups ever look good!!!

I use a litre carton of chicken broth, roughly a quart, in the pasta dish Raven.

OH boy do they ever look good! I'll have to make those too!

My mother used to make this on days too hot for much stove cooking.

Garden Tomato Stuffed with June Pea Shrimp Salad

1 can Le Seur Early Peas, drained (in the silver foil label)
3-4 chopped hard boiled eggs
1/4 to 1/2 c chopped or mini shrimp cooked in salted water
1/2 c diced celery
1/4 c chopped pecans

Dressing
1 c mayonaise
1/3 c Del Monte brand only Sweet Pickle Relish
1/2 tsp prepared mustard
1/2 tsp paprika

Mix dressing in a small bowl. Mix other ingredients in a larger bowl and add enough dressing to moisten ingredients to your taste.

Slice a garden fresh tomato into wedges, place in a circle on a plate and fill the center with a cup of the salad. Voila.

Those egg muffins look very good. Substitute hollandaise sauce for cheese and you have a form of eggs benedict. You could even replace the ham with crab for crab benedict.

If you're using the biscuit products found in the store refridgerated sections, be watchful because many still contain dangerous transfats. The same is true of many brands of packaged hollandaise sauce.