Michael’s Quinoa Salad

Our first introduction to this salad was when Kaylee’s husband, Michael was helping with the food for her baby shower.  It’s so good, and travels well, so it has become kind of a staple at Jeff’s 4th of July parties.  Prep time: 30 minutes  Cook time:  cook quinoa the day before according to package directions.  …

Quinoa Salad with Black Beans

Prep time: 20 minutes  Cook time:  cook quinoa a day ahead according to package directions.  Difficulty:        Serves: 4 This is a great main dish salad.  It is full of protein even though it is meatless. Great diet fare! Salad 2 cups quinoa, cooked 1  1/2 cups black beans, cooked 1 mango 1/2 bell pepper…

Spinach Salad

Prep time: 30 minutes  Difficulty:   Serves 8 1 large bag fresh baby spinach 1/2 red onion, sliced thin 8 raw mushrooms, sliced thin 2 hard-cooked eggs, sliced or chopped 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted 5 slices bacon, cubed and fried until crisp Combine in salad bowl and top Honey Poppy-Seed Dressing

Seafood Tartlets

This filling is very versatile.  We have used it with fillo wrapped around it, or  on a slice of French bread: ie,  Bruschetta   It’s  as good with fake crab as it is with the real stuff!  Save yourself some money 🙂 

Shrimp Crepe

Here’s your chance to use the outstanding crepe recipe found on the blog. This is a great first course for a special  dinner, or can be used as a nice lunch entrée. It is also delicious if you want to use half and half crab and shrimp. Go ahead, knock your guests’ socks off!!! Prep…

Potluck Potato Salad

This is Grandma Sutherland’s recipe.  It went to many Country Club parties. This recipe is easily doubled , etc. depending on the size of your crowd. I have used it a lot and love it.  You can leave the peel on the red potatoes for a little more color.  Cook’s choice. Prep time: 1 hour  Refrigerate…

Strawberry Filo Napolean

The preparation time on this dessert is lengthy because of it’s many steps There are some do- ahead tips to help you out.  Filo  can be tricky to work with and you might want to find a more simple recipe for your debut into working with it  Every step is worth it as it is an…

And so it goes…..

    A grandmother and her grandson walk into a bar… No, this isn’t a joke.  Jake and I went out for a drink yesterday afternoon.  The mission was  party planning, you should have guessed that by now.  We started by meeting at Party City, for inspiration, but as I drove up Grandpa was speaking in…

Orange Glaze

  Prep time:  10 minutes, cool time 1 hour minimum     Servings: 24 tartlets or 1 fruit pizza Use this glaze over any fruit dessert that you want to sparkle like jewels.  It tastes good, complements the fruit, is a feast for the eyes as well as your taste buds. 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon plus…

Crepes

Crepes are a delicious and versatile “wrap” for a variety of ingredients and menu designations from appetizers to dessert and everything in between.  Most cuisines have a crepe, think Mexican taco, Italian calzone, Asian won ton, French crepe!!! This is the basic recipe.  The beauty is they can be made and frozen or kept in…

Perfect Frying Pan Steak

Prep time: 5 minutes  Cook time: 15 minutes  Difficulty  Servings: 1 – 2 For this recipe you need a cast iron frying pan, and  a steak that is about 1 1/2 inch thick. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.  Get the cast iron pan very hot, on top of stove. Season steak to your preference. Place…

Florida Baked Beans

This recipe was given to us by a dear friend during our last stay in Florida, and so the name. These quantities easily serves 8 to 10 , it is easy to multiply and good for pot-lucks for large crowds.  Actually our friend made it in 2 gallon batches that took 3 hours to cook and…