Strawberry - Blueberry Pasta Salad

This is a newer salad recipe I ran across.  It really is good and easy to prepare.

8 oz. cooked pasta

4 cups strawberries and blueberries.  Slice the strawberries

2 cups fresh spinach

1/4 of a small red onion, sliced

4 oz. feta cheese

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine the cooked pasta, the berries, spinach, and onion.  Mix together the dressing ingredients and combine with the salad.  Sprinkle the feta cheese over the top.  Chill before serving.

Cranberry Cheese Bread

This is a quick bread I make often.  My daughter in law, many years ago, gave me this for Christmas.  I loved it and asked for the recipe.  Turns out it is in my old Betty Crocker Cookbook.

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon soda

2 teaspoons grated orange peel

2 tablespoons Crisco

juice from one orange

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 egg beaten

1 cup cranberries, halved

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease loaf pan.  Measure flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, salt and peel into bowl.  Cut in Crisco.  Add water to juice to measure 3/4 cup, mix in with cheese and egg.  Stir in cranberries and nuts.  Combine all ingredients and pour into loaf pan.

Bake 60 to 70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cool on wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn out onto plate.  Best if not served for 8 hours.

Old Fashioned Tuna Custard Pie

My long time blog followers know I have a ton of cookbooks!  Although I haven't counted all of them in recent years, they number probably somewhere around 300 plus or minus!  I never set out to collect cookbooks.  I was raised in a home where the dinner menu was bland and repetitive, probably no more than 5 or 6 different recipes all the years I was growing up.  As I got older, I gradually saw that there are so many different cuisines and recipes.  I was captivated!  Admittedly, when I first married, I was not a good cook by any stretch of the imagination.  I could scramble eggs or fry a hamburger.  A roast hung out in my freezer for weeks (okay, months) because I didn't know what to do with it and didn't want to ruin it! But I persevered!  Today I love going through cookbooks in my collection and looking either for something I've never cooked or an old one that I haven't made in many years.  This tuna custard pie is one I had forgotten about but one that was a part of my repertoire back in the 70's and 80's.

1/2 lb bacon

1 small onion, sliced

1/4 lb Swiss cheese, slivered

1 9 inch pie shell

1 small can tuna

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/4 cup light cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

Dash of hot sauce

Nutmeg

Fry bacon until crisp, drain and crumble.  Reserve bacon drippings.  Fry onion in reserved drippings until tender.  Place cheese in pie shell.  Top with bacon, onion and tuna.  Mix eggs with cream, salt and hot sauce.  Pour over tuna mixture.  Sprinkle with nutmeg.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 325 and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.

Brussels Sprouts

Yeah, I know, brussels sprouts would hardly make anyone's list of favorite vegetables.  But with a little creativity, they really can be a tasty and healthy food.  Try this one.

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 pound brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced thin

2 shallots, sliced thin

salt and pepper

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 pound whole wheat rotini

1 cup Parmesan, grated, plus extra for serving

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

(I prefer to use a cast iron skillet for this)  Heat oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat.  Add brussels sprouts, shallots, salt and pepper and cook until they begin to soften, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Stir in broth and cream, cover, and simmer about 3 more minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in peas.  Cover and let sit about 2 minutes, till heated through.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil.  Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt.  Cook, stirring often, until al dente.  Reserve 1/4 cup cooking water, then drain pasta and return it to the pot.

Stir in Brussels Sprouts mixture, parmesan and walnuts.  Toss to combine.  Adjust consistency with reserved water if needed.  Season with extra salt and pepper.