• Strawberry Torte
• Best Ever Egg Salad Sandwich
• Sloppy Joes
• Clam Chowder
• Caramels
• Buttermilk Cinnamon Rolls
• Melon Salad
• Italian Chopped Salad
• Baked Spinach Artichoke Yogurt Dip
• Additional Resources

Strawberry Torte

• 11 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
• 2 (12 ounce) packages ladyfinger cookies
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen strawberries
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions:

1. Strain strawberries and set aside, reserving juices. In a saucepan bring cornstarch and strawberry juice to a gentle boil. Remove from heat and let cool.
2. Whip cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together.
3. In a separate bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture.
4. Arrange ladyfingers around sides and bottom of the 8 or 9 inch spring form pan, standing ladyfingers lengthwise around sides of pan. Pour 1/2 of the filling into the pan, then place a layer of ladyfingers on top of filling. Pour remaining filling over ladyfingers.
5. Spread strawberry sauce over top of cake and place the whole strawberries on top. Refrigerate and remove from pan once thoroughly chilled.

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Best Ever Egg Salad Sandwich

• 12 bacon slices
• 8 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled, coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/4 cup chopped pimiento-stuffed green olives
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 12 slices white sandwich bread, toasted
• 12 red leaf lettuce leaves

Directions:
Sauté bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Cut bacon slices crosswise in half. Combine chopped eggs, celery, and olives in bowl. Mix in 1/4 cup of mayonnaise and mustard. Season with salt and pepper.  Place toast slices on work surface; spread lightly with remaining mayonnaise. Divide egg salad among 6 toast slices. Place 4 bacon pieces, then 2 lettuce leaves atop egg salad on each. Cover with remaining toast slices, mayonnaise side down. Cut sandwiches diagonally in half and enjoy! 

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Sloppy Joes

• 12 ounce(s) 90%-lean ground beef
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 2 cup(s) finely chopped cremini mushrooms (about 4 ounces)
• 5 plum tomatoes, diced
• 2 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup(s) water
• 1/4 cup(s) cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup(s) chili sauce, such as Heinz
• 1/4 cup(s) ketchup
• 8 whole-wheat hamburger buns, toasted if desired

Directions

1. Crumble beef into a large nonstick skillet; cook over medium heat until it starts to sizzle, about 1 minute. Add onion and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until the vegetables are soft and the moisture has evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes and flour; stir to combine. Stir in water, vinegar, chili sauce and ketchup and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened and the onion is very tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve warm on buns

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Clam Chowder

• ¼ pound salt pork or bacon, diced
• 2 medium onion, sliced
• 3 dozen hard-shell clams, shucked, with liquid reserved
• Water
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 large potatoes, diced (3 cups)
• 2 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp celery salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 3 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine

Directions:
In 3 quart saucepan over medium heat, cook salt pork until lightly browned; add onions and cook until  tender, about 5 minutes. Add enough water to clam liquid to make 2 cups. Stir flour into onion mixture until blended. Gradually stir in clam-liquid mixture and cook, stirring constantly until slightly thickened. Stir in potatoes, salt, celery salt and pepper; cover and cook until potatoes are tender. Chop clams; add clams, milk and butter to pan; cover and cook until heated through, about  5 minutes-constantly stirring. Makes 10 cups.

Caramels

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup white Karo
• 1 pint ‘good’ whipping cream
• ½ lb. butter
• 1 tall can condensed milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp salt

Directions:
Start by cooking over medium heat in a large kettle, cream, sugar, and Karo. Add condensed milk SLOWLY. Bring to a boil and keep stirring until you get to 256 degrees or a firm ball. Remove from heat incorporate butter, ,vanilla and salt. Pour into lightly greased pan. Size of pan depends on the thickness of the caramel you desire. I use an 13x9 glass baking dish.

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Buttermilk Cinnamon Rolls

• 2 packages active dry yeast
• ½ cup warm water
• 1 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 ¼  cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 ½ 2 tsp ground cinnamon 

Directions:
Dissolve yeast in warm water 105 to 115 degrees. In a small saucepan heat buttermilk until warm, about the same temperature as the water. Combine yeast and buttermilk in a large bowl; stir in flour, oil, sugar, salt and baking soda. Mix until a ball forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until elastic. Return to bowl, loosely cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Press out air and roll dough into a 10 x 18-inch rectangle. Let rise again for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size. While dough rises, prepare topping in a bowl by mixing together, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. Grease a 10 x 15 jelly roll pan. Press air out of dough and spread topping evenly leaving a ½ inch border on one of the long sides. Firmly  roll up, starting from one long end and ending on the end with the border. Pinch lightly to seal. Slice 1 ½ inches thick. Place on prepared pan and let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Serve warm.  Makes 12 rolls.

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Melon Salad

• 1 -1/2 cups boiling apple juice
• 1 pkg. (8-serving size) or
• 2 pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O Brand Lemon Flavor Sugar Free Low calorie Gelatin
• 2 cups cold club soda or seltzer
• 2-1/2 cups assorted melon balls, such as watermelon, cantaloupe or honeydew

Directions:
STIR boiling apple juice into dry gelatin in large bowl at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Stir in cold club soda. Refrigerate about 1-1/2 hours or until thickened. STIR in melon cubes. Spoon into 6-cup mold. REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until firm. Unmold. Store leftover gelatin mold in refrigerator.

How to Unmold Gelatin:
Allow gelatin to set several hours or overnight until completely firm. Before unmolding, dip knife in warm water, then run knife around edge of gelatin to loosen.   Dip mold in warm water, just to rim, for 15 sec.   Lift from water and gently pull gelatin from edge of mold with moistened fingers.   Place moistened serving plate on top of mold.   Invert mold and plate, then shake to loosen gelatin.   Gently remove mold. If mold is still not ready, place in warm water for another 5 sec.

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Italian Chopped Salad

Salad

• 6cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 2cups shredded cooked chicken breast
• 1medium yellow or green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
• 1medium unpeeled cucumber, chopped
• 3plum (Roma) tomatoes, chopped
• 2oz Genoa salami, chopped
• (1/3 cup)1can (15 oz) Progresso® chick peas, drained, rinsed
• 1/2cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
• 1/4cup very thinly sliced red onion
• 1/2cup torn fresh basil leaves
• 1oz Parmesan cheese, shaved

Dressing

• 3tablespoons olive oil
• 3tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1teaspoon sugar
• 1/8teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 1clove garlic, finely chopped

Directions:

1. In large bowl, toss all salad ingredients except cheese.
2. In small bowl, beat dressing ingredients with wire whisk until blended. Pour dressing over salad mixture; toss to
    coat. Top with cheese

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Baked Spinach Artichoke Yogurt Dip

• 1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 (8-ounce) container low fat plain yogurt
• 1 cup (4-ounces) shredded part-skim Mozzarella cheese  
• ¼ cup chopped green onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped red pepper 

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except red pepper and mix well. Pour mixture into 1-quart casserole dish or 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through and sprinkle with red peppers. Serve with toasted bread or whole grain crackers. Makes 8 servings.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

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Additional Resources

• Kitchen Checklist
• Cooking Tips

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