Something Delicious

[PaPa]

Delicious was tonight's dinner of homemade strawberry shortcake.

Funny story to go with it....
My mother has always made sweetened drop biscuits instead of a cake. My sister-in-law had asked for the recipe and when she picked strawberries where she lives down in North Carolina, she invited the ladies from the church over for a luncheon. I must admit the older Southern women take their biscuits seriously. She was informed they should NEVER be served like THAT. Haaahaa! Guess us Northerners don't know what we are doing....
*Wonders if she will ever do that again.....

[~baby~doll~]

Summer Borscht and Lithuanian Borscht


5 medium fresh beets 2 pounds topped
salt
2 cups chicken stock or broth
16 ounces sour cream, plus extra for serving
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Champagne or light wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 cups medium-diced cucumber, seeds removed
1/2 cup chopped scallions complete
2 tablespoons dill extra for serving

Directions

boil beets for 30 to 40 minutes or until tender. Remove from water and let cool. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve and also set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups of the beet cooking liquid, the chicken stock, sour cream, yogurt, sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt, and the pepper.
Peel the cooled beets.
Cut the beets in small to medium dice. Add beets, cucumber, scallions, and dill to the soup. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. Season, to taste, and serve cold with a dollop of sour cream and an extra sprig of fresh dill.

Add five sliced hard boiled eggs for Lithuanian Borscht.

[cinnamongrrl]

Admittedly, I like the idea of these even more since they were named after me! Not really...lol



Cupcakes
1 box french vanilla cake mix
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Frosting
1 16oz container buttercream frosting
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine cake mix, water, oil, eggs and cinnamon. Fill each lined cupcake tin 2/3 full and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. While the cupcakes are baking combine buttercream, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg and cornstarch using a hand mixer on medium speed until well combined. If frosting is too thin, add more cornstarch. Allow cupcakes to cool before frosting. Garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg.

[cinnamongrrl]

Christmas cookies! Never too soon to plan....





Candy Cane Cake Batter Cookies


makes 24 cookies

---------------------------------------------------------

1 cup flour

1 cup yellow cake mix

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened


1/2 cup white sugar


1 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons milk

24 candy cane Hershey's kisses




Preheat your oven to 375 f degrees. Beat together your softened butter and sugar using an electric mixer until well combined. Add cake mix, flour, salt, almond, and mix thoroughly. Add 3 tablespoons of milk or more if needed to make a dough consistency. Chill dough for one hour. Roll out dough and cut with a circle cookie cutter (about 1.5 in diameter). Place one Hershey's candy cane kiss in the middle of each cookie and roll in to a ball. Place onto a baking sheet. I like to use a rubber baking mat so that the bottoms don't burn. Bake your cookies for 11 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack. Enjoy!

[cinnamongrrl]

Baked Cream Cheese & Crab Ragoons

5 oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened (1/3 less fat)

1 tablespoons Light Hellmann's Mayonnaise

2 sticks imitation crab meat, shredded and diced (about 1/4 cup)

3 stalks green onion, diced (I like lots of green onion)

A few dashes of garlic powder to taste

1 box Filo cup shells (15 cups - found in the frozen pastry isle)

duck sauce for dipping




Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, green onion and garlic powder. Fold in shredded crab meat until well combined. Fill each Filo cup with mixture and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 13 to 15 minutes. I find that it is best to move your baking rack to the top so that the tops brown and the bottoms don't burn.

[Scots_On_The_Rocks]

This is one of my favourite recipes to make in the tagine...so am sharing here (can't believe I just NOW found this thread). Enjoy


KEFTA MKAWRA
Serves 6


Meatballs:

1 1/2 lbs ground bison or ground lamb
2 cups finely chopped shallots
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper


Sauce:

3 cups chopped onions
4 cups (about 1 1/2 pounds) chopped tomatoes*
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
3 large eggs or 6 quail eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

To make meatballs: combine ingredients in a medium bowl. Shape mixture into 1-inch meatballs; place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400°F for 12 minutes or until done.

To make sauce: heat a large Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato, sugar, 1/2 t. salt, garlic, and jalapeno; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add meatballs and stir in parsley and cilantro.

To finish: Gently break eggs over simmering liquid; cover and cook 10 minutes or until eggs are set.


*NOTE: I often use fire roasted tomatoes for this