Strawberry Napoleons

My kid made these and we loved them so much, we made them weekly for a while. Delicious and a very easy recipe for kids. You could make them with other fruit or mixtures, depending on what you have or what’s in season. You could also add other flavors to the cream filling, or color it pink (or whatever color you like) to get creative and make it even more special.

Ingredients

1 box frozen puff pastry sheet (or homemade)

1 box instant vanilla pudding, 3-oz size

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups whipped topping (like Cool Whip) or sweetened whipped cream

1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries

Powdered sugar for dusting at the end (optional)

Melted chocolate, sprinkles, or other topping for drizzling at the end (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Prepare the frozen puff pastry by thawing it and cutting it into 12 equal rectangles, using a pizza cutter or knife. You could also use a ruler if needed.

3. Add the puff pastry rectangles to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or silicone mat. Bake for 13-15 minutes until the rectangles puff up and are golden brown.

4. Remove the puff pastry rectangles from the oven and allow to cool. Split them in half to make 24 rectangles.

5. In a bowl, mix the vanilla pudding with the milk. Let it set for 5 minutes. Fold in the whipped topping, to create the pastry cream.

6. Wash and slice the strawberries. If you use frozen strawberries, thaw them out and drain away most of the juice so they’re not too drippy.

7. Using a spoon or piping bag, put some cream on a rectangle, place some strawberry slices on the cream,   Add a little more cream, and then add a puff pastry rectangle on top.  Like a little sandwich.

8. On top of each little strawberry cream pastry sandwich, top with a little more cream and a few more strawberry slices.

9. At this point, you could drizzle them with melted chocolate or dust with powdered sugar, if you want.

10. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  They are best eaten fresh, but can be stored for a couple of days in the refrigerator.

Easy, Kid-Friendly Blueberry Vinaigrette

My kid is working on learning to enjoy eating green salad, because healthy.  So we found a way to use the blueberries that we picked and froze last summer to make a super tasty and very PURPLE salad dressing that makes eating salad fun awesome. You simply blend the 4 ingredients together, using a regular blender or immersion blender, food processor…or any machine that will purée the ingredients into a smooth dressing.

Ingredients

1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, thaw)

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup honey

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil

Directions

1. Combine all of the ingredients with your blender

2. Strain, if you want.

3. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.  Shake before pouring.

Oh my stars, Pickled Red Onions, I love you. Jump on my food.

Quick and Easy Pickled Red Onions:

You will need:

1 good sized red onion, sliced into super-thin, longish strips

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

1 head of garlic - use as many cloves as you like, from 3 to the whole head.  Peel, crush, and chop the garlic.

1 bay leaf (optional)

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

black pepper (optional)

crushed red pepper (optional)

In a medium saucepan, pour in the vinegar and water.  Add the salt and sugar, black pepper, red pepper, bay leaf, and garlic.  On medium-high heat, stir the mix until the sugar and salt are dissolved.

Add the onion slices and toss everything around lightly.  Keep the heat on medium-high and cook the onion mixture for 3 minutes - no longer than that.  You want the onions to still have a little crunch, but not be raw.  I set a timer to keep myself on track, and also because I am one of those set-the-timer-for-everything people.  It's just my way.  I'm Time Girl,

Stir the onions slightly while they heat up.

Turn off the heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer the onion/garlic pieces to a clean, dry, pint-sized mason jar.  Then, pour in as much of the spiced vinegar liquid into the jar as will fit to cover the onions.  Leave about 1/2" space from the top of the jar.  (Do not overfill.)  Screw the top on, finger tight.  This is not true canning, by the way - this is just a refrigerator recipe.

There you have it.  The tastiest, tangiest, and sassiest condiment you have ever made yourself.  You can put pickled onions on hot dogs, tofu dogs, hamburgers, bean burgers, sandwiches, potato salad, frito pies, chili, tacos, fish, tuna salad, you name it. Any munchies that need to be gussied up, really.

Here's another magical thing about pickled onions:  You can amend the spices in the vinegar mix any way you like.  You can add pinches of cinnamon, cloves, coriander seeds, lemon zest, lime juice...anything you like, and it will still be AMAZEBALLS.  I personally like it peppery but still on the plainish side, because I like to taste the garlic and onions.  But that's me.

Try this on some fish tacos and fall in love.  You're welcome.

Jacquie's Hearts of Palm Dip

Ingredients:

1 (14.5 ounce) can or jar of hearts of palm, drained and chopped

12 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese 

3/4 cup mayonnaise (regular or light)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup sour cream (regular or light)

1 green onion

Combine all ingredients.

Spoon into lightly greased 9" pie pan.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Serve with crackers or pita chips.

Roasted Cauliflower, yummmm.

Wash and slice your head of cauliflower into bite-sized chunks.
Toss with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, or whatever oil you've got.
I sprinkled a little Rosemary Lemon Sea Salt on the florets, that I recently made.
Spread the florets onto a baking sheet. Bake for about ten minutes at 450° F, which will be approximately the halfway point of cooking.  Then use a spatula and stir/turn the pieces.
Cook for another 7-8 minutes.
Sprinkle some parmesan cheese on, and maybe some chopped herbs.  I added some fresh basil and oregano from the yard.  Also, Trader Joe's has some awesome cheese, called Unexpected Cheddar, which is like a cross between a sharp white cheddar and parmesan.  Try that for a treat.
Bake until everything is melty and roasted.
That's it.  Yum.

Homemade baked black bean burgers: with or without avocados, they are superb

These are baked and delicious.

Once you eat these, you'll be hooked and not want to buy the frozen ones (that will suddenly taste way too salty and overprocessed) anymore.

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped fine
• 1/2 onion, chopped fine
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped fine
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon (or as little/much as you like) chili powder
• 1/2 (or more) teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco or other hot sauce
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• Salt to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
3. Finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic (you can also use a food processor).  ***At this point, I suggest the optional step of sauteeing the peppers, onions, and garlic in a pan with a little olive oil and letting them cool.  It makes the burgers taste great this way, but you can also keep them raw when you add them to the black bean mash mix.***
4. Stir the vegetables into the mashed beans.
5. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and hot sauce.  Add a little salt at this point, if you like.
6. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together (we use our hands). Divide the mixture into four patties.
7. Place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10-11 minutes on each side.  Keep an eye on them until they feel thoroughly cooked.

Stuff we like to top the burger with, in various combinations:

Cheese
Avocados
Lettuce
Thinly sliced bell peppers - red or green
Sauteed mushrooms
Mayonnaise
Ketchup
Mustard
Thousand Island Dressing
Pickles or relish
Fresh tomatoes

Sometimes we toast the buns.  Sometimes we like them soft and squishy.

Tommie Lu's Spinach Casserole

I love spinach!  What's great about this simple recipe is that you taste the delicious spinach - you don't taste a bunch of other things overpowering and covering up the taste of the main ingredient.

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning or dried thyme
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 pieces diced bread (we use keto bread and lightly toast it before dicing)
• 1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1. Stir everything together in a large bowl.
2. Grease a 9x13" casserole dish with olive oil and pour the spinach mixture into it.
3. Bake 45-60 minutes at 350 degrees F.
4. Top with more parmesan cheese.

Tasty Vegan Chocolate CRAZY CAKE

I am told that this was one of the recipes from the Great Depression, when many cooking ingredients were hard to find, such as eggs.

My ex-mother-in-law taught me this recipe.  She glazes the cake with a powdered sugar and milk mixture.

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup cooking oil
• 2 cups cold water

You will need a very large bowl.  Mix all of the ingredients together and quickly pour into a 9x13" pan.
Bake for 35-40 minutes.  Do not overbake, or it will taste disgusting. 

***VERY IMPORTANT:  Be sure that your baking soda is fresh for this recipe.***