Quick Rolls

2 pkgs yeast
1 c warm water
1/4 c sugar
1/3 c oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp butter, softened
3-4 c flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix yeast, water, sugar, and oil and let stand for 5 minutes. Add salt, egg, and butter. Mix in flour 1 cup at a time until dough pulls away from sides of bowl and is soft but not sticky. Knead 5-10 minutes. Form into 12-18 rolls (place in 9x13 pan or cupcake pans). Cover with kitchen towel in warm place and let rise for 10 minutes (or longer if you have time, up to 45-60 minutes). Bake 10-12 minutes.

TIP: Consider brushing with milk or melted butter before baking.

Summer Fruit Salad

1/2 tsp orange zest
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2/3 c fresh squeezed orange juice
1/3 c lemon juice
1/3 c brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

About 8 cups of fresh fruit (strawberries, blueberries, grapes, bananas, pineapple, orange, etc)

Simmer all ingredients, except vanilla and fresh fruit, in saucepan until thickened and reduced (about 5-10 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Let cool. Pour cooled mixture over fresh fruit and refrigerate for 2-4 hours before serving.

Cornbread Muffins

1 c milk
1 tsp vinegar
1/4 c butter, melted
2 eggs
1 1/4 c cornmeal
1 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat together milk, vinegar, butter and eggs. Gradually stir in the remaining ingredients, just until moistened. Pour into muffin tin lined with liners (or lightly greased muffin tin). Bake 20 minutes or until lightly browned and toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean.

TIP: Can substitute buttermilk for the milk and vinegar.
TIP: Can bake in 9" pie plate for about 25 minutes.

Basic Potato Salad (Hawaiian inspired)

4 large potatoes
2-3 pickles, chopped
3-4 TBSP pickle juice
3-4 TBSP zesty Italian dressing
1/2 c mayonnaise
1 TBSP prepared mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
Dash curry powder
Ground black pepper to taste

Optional add-ins:
3-4 slices of ham, chopped
2-3 hard boiled eggs
1 c. frozen peas
2 celery stalks, chopped
1-2 carrots, chopped
2-3 thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup finely diced red onion

Bake and then peel & chop the potatoes (or peel, chop, and then boil the potatoes). Once cooked, and cut into cubes, top the potatoes with pickle juice and Italian dressing while still warm - stir to coat. Allow potatoes to cool and then mix in the remaining ingredients.

TIP: I like the basic version without add-ins (as does my daughter) - the add-ins require more time and more ingredients, but it also tastes great with some or all of the add-ins.
TIP: Add 1 c. of cooked macaroni (measured dry) to make a potato mac salad. You will need to increase the amount of mayo, pickle juice, and dressing accordingly (perhaps even doubling the.amounts of each).

Roasted Honey Glazed Carrots

12-15 small carrots (or 24-36 baby carrots)
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and peel carrots. If carrots are thin, roast them whole, if they are thick, slice in half lengthwise. Toss carrots with olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper. Place in sheet pan and roast in preheated oven for about 25 minutes until carrots are just tender.

Wild Rice and Arugula Salad

1 c wild rice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c toasted sliced almonds
4 c arugula
1/2 c chopped fresh basil
1/2 c dried sour cherries, chopped
1/2 c crumbled feta

Dressing:
3 TBSP olive oil
3 TBSP lemon juice
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground pepper, or to taste

Cook wild rice according to directions on package, adding 1/2 tsp salt to water when cooking the rice (or boil rice in about 2 cups of water for 35-45 minutes until tender, drain any excess water). Let rice cool. Combine all ingredients of dressing. Mix rice, almonds, arugula, basil, sour cherries, feta, and dressing.

Roasted Broccoli

2 heads of broccoli, cut into small/medium florets
olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
2-3 cloves garlic, minced (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle olive oil over broccoli and sprinkle with salt/pepper. Mix until broccoli is well coated. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, stirring 1-2 times. If using garlic, add it in for the last 5 minutes of baking.

TIP: This is also good with 1/2 lemon squeezed over top after it is roasted, and then 1/4 c shredded parmesan mixed in at the end. Could add 1/4 c roasted pine nuts as well.

Easy Eggplant Pizza

1 medium eggplant, thinly sliced
1 TBSP olive oil
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
1/3 c shredded parmesan cheese
1/3 c tomato sauce (or pizza sauce)
1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 1-2 baking sheets. Lightly coat eggplant slices with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Place in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes. Flip the eggplant slices over and top with parmesan cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes. Spread a small spoonful of tomato sauce on each eggplant slice and then top with mozzarella cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

TIP: Slice the eggplant about 1/8-1/4 inch thick
TIP: If you want to get the cheese golden brown, you can broil on high for 1-2 minutes at the end.

Crustless Broccoli Quiche

1 TBSP oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
10-15 white mushrooms, sliced
1 c broccoli pieces
4 eggs
1 c mozzarella cheese
1 c swiss cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
dash Tabasco

Preheat oven to 350 F and lightly grease a 9" pie pan.
Heat oil in frying pan over medium heat. Stir-fry onion, garlic, mushrooms for 2-3 minutes. Add broccoli and cook until softened.
Beat eggs in large bowl. Add cheeses, salt, pepper, tabasco. Stir in onion, garlic, mushroom and broccoli mixture.
Pour into greased 9" pie pan.
Bake 30 minutes at 350 F. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Potato Salad

4 med potatoes
1/2 lb bacon
2 large pickles, finely chopped
1/4 onion, finely chopped
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. pickle juice (pour from pickle jar)

Cook potatoes (I microwave them using the potato button on my microwave), then peel them and cut them into bite-sized pieces. (You can also peel and cut the potatoes first and then boil them for about 15 min.) While the potatoes are cooking, fry bacon in a frying pan until crispy.
Pour pickle juice over potatoes while they are still warm and stir. Add pickles, onion and mayonnaise and mix well. Crumble bacon into potato salad and mix again. Refrigerate until serving.

TIP: I like to wait until I am ready to serve the potato salad before adding the bacon, so the bacon will still be crispy.
TIP: You may need to add more pickle juice or mayo after the salad has cooled to obtain the right consistency.
TIP: The bacon will cook more quickly if you cut it into small pieces before frying it.

Tuna Salad

1 (6oz) can of chunk white tuna or albacore
1-2 tbsp mayonnaise
1-2 tsp vinegar (or pickle juice)
1 tbsp pickle, finely chopped (or dill relish)
1 tbsp onion, finely chopped
dash black pepper
(optional: 1 tbsp celery, finely chopped)

Mix all ingredients.

TIP: Serve between two slices of bread to make a tuna salad sandwich. Or place on one slice of bread, sprinkle cheddar cheese on top and cook in toaster oven or oven to make a tuna melt. Or serve on a bed of lettuce with fresh sliced tomato.
TIP: I use tuna or albacore packed in water, if you use one that is packed in oil, you may want to use less mayonnaise.

Macaroni & Cheese

2 c. macaroni or pasta
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 c. milk
2/3 pkg. cream cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/4 tsp dijon mustard
1 1/3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
optional: dash Worcestershire, dash garlic powder, dash hot sauce

Preheat oven to 400.
Cook macaroni as directed on package. Drain.
Heat butter in saucepan over med heat. Add flour to make a paste and cook for about 2 min.
Slowly stir in milk. Add cream cheese, salt, pepper, mustard, and other seasonings. Cook until thick.
Stir in macaroni and cheddar.
Pour into 2qt baking dish.
Bake at 400 for 15 to 20 min.