Romanian Tomato & Avocado Salad/Dip

Can be used as a salad or a dip

10 Roma tomatoes diced
1 onion chopped
1 chopped red bell pepper
1 bunch of parsley chopped
(1 bunch of cilantro optional)
Salt/Pepper
Basil
4 chopped avocados

***Chop and add avocados last.  Chill.

Romanian Potato Salad

Grill 3 lbs of chicken (dark meat best for this recipe, legs or thighs)
Boil 6 large potatoes
Boil 10 eggs
2 handfuls of baby carrots (boil carrots for no more than 5 minutes)
1 1/2 chopped onions
2 jars of cornishon pickles (small dill pickles)
2 handfuls of black olives
Bunch of fresh parsley
2 Tbsp Dill
Garlic powder and salt to taste.
2 big spoons of mayonnaise
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup vinegar

Mix and chill

Romanian Meatballas

1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground beef
hand full of baby carrots
an entire bulb of garlic cloves
1 big onion
1-2 Tbs dill
8 eggs 2 bunches of parsley

Mix, roll into balls.  Dip in flour and fry. (Meat can be prepared in advance and frozen--everything EXCEPT eggs and onions.  Add those when thawed.)

Crescent Rolls & Cinnamon Rolls

Here is a great recipe my friend shared with me! I LOVE these rolls!

Crescent Rolls

yeast (in separate cup): 

1 C warm water

2 TB yeast

2 TB sugar

-----------

(in mixer)

2 C warm milk (microwave 2 min or less)

3/4 C butter (melted)

--add yeast--

2 tsp salt

2 TB sugar

~8 1/3 C flour - add a little at a time (you don't want it to be sticky)

Mix 5 min

Separate into 4 balls, roll out using cooking spray

Bake at 400° for 12-14 min (Not too browned on top, then they'll be to hard. I use glass pans and check the bottoms to see if the bottoms are brown, then they're perfect. :))

**Also I like to spray a pan and line them up tight together and freeze them.

Then after they're frozen I put them in a bag to be easy and quick in the future! :)

Cinnamon Rolls

Same recipe as above.

Roll out into rectangle. Spread on soft butter, thick layer of brown sugar, sprinkle on cinnamon and pecans, and raisins (optional). Roll up then use floss to cut into ~1.5 inch slices. (Enjoy Natalie's lovely singing in the background! haha)

Let raise for 3-4 hours. (cover with a towel and heat oven to 170° or so, so the heat comes thru and raises them quicker.)

Bake at 400° for about 14 min. (or I sometimes freeze these the same way as the crescent rolls! :))

Icing:

2 C pwd sugar

2 oz cream cheese

2 TB butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 TB milk, add little at a time


~Rachel

Raspberry Balsamic Chicken

1 Tbsp Oil

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/2 tsp salt, divided

1/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves

1/4 tsp pepper

1 1/2 tsp thyme

4 chicken breasts, halved

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Heat oil and saute onions for 5 minutes. Combine thyme and 1/4 tsp salt. Sprinkle over chicken. Add chicken to skillet and saute until done. Remove chicken. Reduce heat to medium low. Add 1/4 tsp salt, preserves, vinegar and pepper. Stir until preserves melt. Spoon over chicken. Serve with rice and steamed veggies.

Apple Cinnamon BBQ Sauce

I like to do this with pulled pork sandwiches.

I want to get a rub that matches this sauce, that is still in the works.

Here is the sauce:

This makes enough to serve 8-10 people depending on how liberal you are with your sauce.
In a large frying pan, mix the following ingredients and bring to low simmer.

1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Cup Ketchup
Just less than a full cup of mustard (5/6 cup)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 Teaspoon of kosher salt
1/2 Teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 Teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons of honey
1 Teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 garlic clove minced

Apple Sauce:
Put into food processor or blender
2 peeled, sweet apples, I use brae burn
1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon
4-7 Tablespoon water
2 Tablespoon packed brown sugar

Mix apple sauce into sauce, stir continuously and simmer for 10 - 15 min to let flavors blend.

(If the pulled pork is done when you are making the sauce adding a little bit of the drippings to the sauce is a good idea too.)

Put on pulled pork, beef, or chicken.

Freaking good stuff! Enjoy!

Cherry-Almond Muffins

Personally, I think these are wonderful and they're a hit for the whole family! It does make about 35 dozen muffins so you might want to 1/2 the recipe.

4 1/2 Cups flour

2 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 Cups sugar

3/4 Cups softened butter (I use 1/2 cup butter & 1/4 cup shortening)

4 eggs

1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract

1/2 Tbsp almond extract

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

3/4 Cups milk

2 Cups sour cream

1 cup slivered almonds

4 cups pitted and chopped cherries or 1 lb. of dried cherries re-hydrated (I take the dried cherries and soak them in hot water then drain off the water. It's a lot less work and it's cheaper!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin tin or use papers. Mix butter, eggs, vanilla and almond extracts, lemon juice, milk and sour cream until blended. Add flour, baking powder, salt and sugar and mix. If using an electric mixer fold in nuts and chopped berries and mix by hand or you'll smash the cherries too much. Bake for 27 to 30 minutes. You might want to check at 20 minutes just in case your oven cooks hotter than mine does. You can serve with cream cheese frosting if you want, but I like them without.