Tasty Tuesday Tuscan Cheese Spread!

I made my usual cookout goodies for Mike's graduation party on Sunday, but my sister-in-law said that this was the best thing on the table. I happen to agree. I figured this one out by reading the ingredients on a label and coming up with my own version. I don't have any pictures of it because there isn't any left to photograph!

Tuscan Cheese Spread

6 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
6 oz Gorgonzola cheese (room temperature)
2 tsp pesto
2 Tbsp chopped sun-dried tomatoes (I use the kind that's packed in oil with herbs, but the dry kind is okay, too)
2 Tbsp chopped roasted red bell peppers (I use Merzzetta)
Two or three dashes of salt, pepper, and garlic powder
Mayonnaise

Mix well, creaming the cheeses together and then add enough mayo to make it a good spreading or dipping consistency. This is great on any kind of chips, crackers, or bread, but I like it best on those little pretzel twists. It's also good on a hamburger or a sandwich.

Tasty Tuesday Morning Glory Muffins!

Donna sent me this recipe a while back, and since the Cat Master has done nothing creative in the kitchen for some time now, I was glad to have it ready to go!


Easy Morning Glory Muffins (Healthy Recipe) That My Men like

"These easy and tasty muffins are a glorious way to start any day. They combine the great taste and chewy texture of carrots with the wonderful flavors of apple, raisins, coconut, walnuts, and cinnamon." Cook Time: 20 Min Ready In: 45 Min. Makes 12

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
• 1 apple - peeled, cored and shredded
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil (Substitute 1 cup unsweetened applesauce)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the carrot, raisins, nuts, coconut, and apple.
3. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, oil, and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into the carrot/flour mixture, just until moistened. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.
5. Butter them up and enjoy!

Tasty TuesdaySpicy African Chickpea and Sweet Potato Stew

This recipe comes to us from our very own Exotic Erotic Expert, Leslie! I haven't tried it yet, but it looks to be pretty tasty!

Spicy African Chickpea and Sweet Potato Stew (makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

· Spice paste (recipe follows)

· 1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

· 2 cups of vegetable broth or water

· 1 can (16 oz) plum tomatoes, undrained, chopped

· 1 can (16 oz) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drain and rinsed

· 1 ½ cups sliced fresh okra or 1 package (10 oz) frozen cut okra, thawed

· Yellow Couscous rice (recipe follows)

· Hot pepper sauce

· Fresh cilantro (optional)

Instructions

· Prepare Spice Paste

· Combine sweet potatoes, broth, tomatoes with juice, chickpeas, okra and Spice Paste in large saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Uncover; simmer 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

· Meanwhile, prepare yellow couscous.

· Serve stew with couscous and hot pepper sauce. Garnish with cilantro if desire.

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Spice Paste

Ingredients

· 6 cloves garlic, peeled

· 1 teaspoon coarse salt

· 2 teaspoons sweet paprika

· 1 ½ teaspoons cumin seeds

· 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

· ½ teaspoon ground ginger

· ½ teaspoon ground allspice

· 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Instructions

· Process garlic and salt in blender or small food processor until garlic is finely chopped. Add remaining seasonings. Process 15 seconds. While blender is running, pour oil through cover opening; process until mixture forms paste.

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Yellow Couscous

Ingredients

· 1 tablespoon olive oil

· 5 green onions, sliced

· 1 2/3 cups water

· 1/8 teaspoon saffron threads or ½ teaspoon ground turmeric

· ¼ teaspoon salt

· 1 cup of precooked couscous (precooked semolina)

Instructions

· Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add onions; cook and stir 4 minutes. Add water, saffron, and salt. Bring to a boil. Stir in couscous. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand 5 minutes.

Enjoy :)

Tasty Tuesday Bottle of Pop Pie!

Donna sent me this one, which is probably something I should NEVER eat, but it sounds plum scrumptious!

Chef John's Bottle of Pop Pie

Crust: 1 ¾ cups graham cracker crumbs 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, firmly packed Pinch of regular or sea salt 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted Crisco butter flavored cooking spray Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray pie plate with cooking spray and set aside. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Using your fingers, mix together. Add the butter and incorporate well, mixing first with a fork, then with your hands, rubbing thoroughly to form evenly dampened crumbs. Spread the crumbs evenly and loosely in the pan, pressing them into the bottom and up the side. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on a rack. Refrigerate 15 minutes before filling. Makes one 9-inch graham cracker crust. Filling: 2 ¾ cups Coca Cola soda 1/3 cup granulated sugar 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin 1 tablespoon gourmet cola extract 2 large egg whites, at room temperature 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream 1 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted In a mixing bowl, combine soda and sugar. Let rest for 10 minutes. Put ¼ cup of soda in a medium-sized bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Set aside for 5 minutes to dissolve. Meanwhile, heat ½ cup of the soda in a small heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat to a near boil. Whisk the hot soda into the dissolved gelatin. Pour the remaining 2 cups soda into a large bowl and stir in the gelatin-watermelon juice mixture. Stir in extract. Place in the refrigerator. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites in a medium-size mixing bowl until stiff peaks form. Set aside. Clean and dry the beaters. Using a chilled medium-size bowl and chilled beaters, beat the heavy cream with the mixer until it hold soft peaks. Add the confectioner’s sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate. When the cola mixture starts to firm up, add about one-quarter of the whipped cream and beat with the electric mixer until smooth. Add the beaten egg whites and remaining whipped cream and gently fold them in with a large spatula. Use a whisk, only if necessary and gently, to smooth the mixture. Pour the filling into the cooled graham cracker crust. Place in a tightly covered pie keeper or with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferable overnight. Serve with Sweetened Whipped Topping and slices fruit or cherries. Serves 8-10

Tasty Tuesday Spaghetti Sauce!

Well, at least Donna is cooking these days and sends us another great crockpot recipe!

MEAT LOVERS slow cooker spaghetti sauce

Tastes like you slaved all day. And gives you free time to Enjoy your favorite Men.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 1/4 pound bulk Italian sausage
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon white sugar

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onions and Italian sausage until the sausage is browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer the sausage and onions to a slow cooker. In the same skillet, cook and stir the ground beef, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, and marjoram, breaking the meat up as it cooks, until the meat is browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer the ground beef into the slow cooker.
2. Stir in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, thyme, basil, oregano, and 2 teaspoons of garlic powder. Set the cooker on Low, and cook the sauce for 8 hours. About 15 minutes before serving, stir in the sugar. Serve hot.

Tasty Tuesday Hawaiian Pork Roast!

This one is one of the easiest and tastiest things I've made in ages. I used a 3 pound roast and cooked it for about 8 hours and it was wonderful! Recipe and pics are courtesy of Diva Donna!

HOT HAWAIIAN KAHLUA PIG ROAST

Ingredients

• 1 (6 pound) pork butt roast
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Hawaiian sea salt
• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke flavoring

Directions

1. Pierce pork all over with a carving fork. Rub salt then liquid smoke over meat. Place roast in a slow cooker.
2. Cover, and cook on Low for 16 to 20 hours, turning once during cooking time.
3. Remove meat from slow cooker, and shred, adding drippings as needed to moisten and enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday Scottish Shortbread!

A friend of mine brought back this shortbread mold for me when she visited Scotland many, many years ago. The recipe that was attached to it is long gone, but here's the recipe I have used since then. It's a variation of the recipe in the King Arthur Flour Cookbook. It's very simple and very good!

Scottish Shortbread

2 sticks of butter at room temperature
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Cream together the butter and sugar in a food processor and then add the flour and salt and process it until well mixed. The dough will be dry and crumbly. Spray the mold with a little cooking oil and then dust it with sugar to keep the dough from sticking. Press portions of the dough into the mold and then turn onto a greased cookie sheet. If you don't have a mold, you can use a small pan to press the dough into. Make it about 1/2 inch thick. Bake the shortbreads until they're firm and just beginning to turn golden brown--about 30 minutes or so. This recipe will fill up my mold four times, but it's pretty easy to cut the recipe in half if you want. You can cut it into squares, but I prefer to break it into pieces since it tends to crack anyway.























Enjoy!!!!!