Caprese Corn Salad

A pretty side dish with cheese and corn - my favorite foods all in one recipe. Oh My.

Ingredients:
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 ear corn, husked and cleaned
8 ounces tomatoes or 1/2 pint grape tomatoes or 1 chopped tomato (drain the excess water after chopping)
3 ounces fresh mozarella (we used shredded)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Directions: You can boil the corn cob but we love the extra flavors when it is grilled. Scrape corn kernels into a medium bowl.
Cut tomatoes, drain and add to bowl.
Cut cheese into dice a little larger than corn kernels (or use shredded cheese). Add to bowl.
Toss with oil and basil. Season with salt and pepper.

Makes 2 servings.

Note: Grilling corn brings out such nice flavors. The recipe for grilling vegetables is on page 100 Tastes & Treasures cookbook. Lon's at Hermosa Inn share easy instructions for Grilled Fennel. It works for most vegetables.

White Pizza

White Pizza makes a very impressive presentation when topped with fresh sliced tomatoes and basil. And basil is so healthy, full of Vitamin K.

Ingredients:

1 large low-fat, high-fiber, burrito-size tortilla (about 100 calories)
1/3 cup fat-free ricotta cheese
1 tbsp shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced onion
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp salt
Dash black pepper
4 thin slices plum tomato
4 fresh basil leaves

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put tortilla on a baking sheet sprayed lightly with nonstick spray. Bake in the oven until slightly crispy, 3 - 5 minutes per side. Leave oven on.

In a small bowl, mix ricotta cheese with mozzarella cheese. Set aside.

Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat on the stove. Add onion and, stirring occasionally, cook until softened and slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Immediately stir onion into cheese mixture. Add garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and mix well.

Spread cheese-onion mixture evenly on top of the tortilla. Top with tomato slices and basil leaves. If you like, sprinkle with a dash of salt.

Return pizza to oven and bake until hot, about 5 minutes.

Makes 1 serving.

PER SERVING (entire recipe): 200 calories, 3.25g fat, 930mg sodium, 33g carbs, 7g fiber, 7g sugars, 17g protein

Silent Auction of Phil Mickelson Pin Flag from 2010 Masters

What a wonderful silent auction item. Phil Mickelson has been very generous to donate a signed Pin Flag from the 2010 Masters. It will be available to bid on at the Children's Holiday Party on Dec 17 at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel.

The Historical League always has wonderful silent auction items but this is one of the most popular in the 29 years it has held the Children's Holiday Party. For more information www.HistoricalLeague.org. Thanks to John and Leslie Christiansen for getting this one-of-a-kind auction item.

Shrimp and Corn Fandango Salad

Shrimp & Corn Fandango Salad

Love the spicy dressing, it adds a nice kick.

Tastes & Treasures cookbook has a Green Salad with Shrimp recipe on page 174 but it is a little heavy. My favorite is to combine ingredients from both of these and make it your own special dish.


Ingredients:
3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup dry coleslaw mix
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1/3 cup chopped red onion
2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. Mexican hot sauce
1/2 cup frozen yellow corn (or grill some of that wonderful fresh corn on the cob)
3 oz. cooked and chilled ready-to-eat shrimp (since you have the grill on, roast some shrimp for an even better flavor)

Directions:
Combine lettuce and slaw mix in a large bowl. Top with tomato, cucumber, onion, and cilantro. Set aside.

To make the dressing, combine vinegar, lime juice, and hot sauce in a small bowl, and mix thoroughly. Set aside.

Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to high heat on the stove. Add corn and cook until thawed and slightly blackened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the large bowl.

Add shrimp to the large bowl and drizzle dressing over the salad.

MAKES 1 SERVING

PER SERVING (1 salad, entire recipe): 260 calories, 2g fat, 622mg sodium, 39g carbs, 8g fiber, 15g sugars, 24g protein

Yummy additional ingredient: Toss 1/4 cup chopped avocado onto this dish. (Adds 320 calories, 7.5g fat, and 10.5g fiber). Recipe from www.hungry-girl.com.

What to do with left-over salmon?

Who likes left-over salmon? . . . but I hate to throw it away. This recipe on page 166 of Tastes & Treasures is delicious and impressive for company. Just remember to make ahead of time to chill 6-8 hours. The flavors blend and it tastes so much better.

The recipe is a little rich for our tastes so we modified it to be a little more health conscious. Try it both ways. It's good . . .

Smoked Salmon Pate

Ingredients:

2 (7 ounce) cans smoked salmon, or 1 pound hot smoked salmon (We used the left-over salmon and cut it up fine. The potato masher worked really well to produce a fine consistency.)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted (We used about 2 tablespoons butter, melted.)

1 cup sour cream (We used Chobani low-fat sour cream.)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoon dried dill weed

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:Combine the salmon, butter, sour cream, lemon juice, dill weed, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and beat until combined. Chill, covered, for 8 to 10 hours. Bring to room temperature and garnish with lemon slices. Serve with seasoned crackers. You may store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Bread bowl dip with fresh vegies

Fast and quick, this dip was made with Knorr dry seasoning vegetable soup mix and low-fat sour cream. The presentation is fun when you scoop out the sour dough bread and fill it with the dip.


Dip ingredients: 4 ounces goat cheese crumbles
2 cup low-fat sour cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 small tomato chopped

Directions: Mix well and chill. Makes 2 1/2 cup dip.

Cut the bread into cubes for dipping. Add lots of fresh bite size carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, yellow, red and orange peppers. Healthy and delicious.

Since the Historical League loves history, I had to research the beginnings of this German company. www.knorr.com. Wonder if Barry Goldwater's mother ever used this seasoning in her recipe page 142 Tastes & Treasures cookbook, Jo Jo's Black Walnut Stew?


Carl Heinrich Knorr is born on May 15, at Meerdorf near Braunschweig, Germany, the son of a schoolteacher. In school, he studies commerce and afterwards he becomes a wholesaler of agricultural produce.

C. H. Knorr builds a factory in Heilbronn for the purpose of drying and grinding chicory for the coffee trade.
With the spread of industrialization, C. H. Knorr realizes the need for a quickly prepared and nutritious meal among factory workers.
He starts experimenting with drying vegetables and flavourful seasonings. In cooperation with nutritional experts, he develops a preservation process to maintain the natural values of the ingredients and their flavours and also reduce their cooking times. This knowledge is the basis for the development of the dried soups.

The KNORR Company begins packaging and selling soup mixes in food shops. Founder Carl Heinrich Knorr dies in Germany two years later.

The KNORR Company introduces the "Erbswurst", another convenience product. It is seasoned pea soup concentrate packed in a sausage casing, which can be eaten dry or, more likely, added to boiling water to make soup.
This product became very popular due to its light weight and easy preparation. By 1900, this product is available in 40 varieties.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink in this Salad. . .

Garland's Oak Creek Lodge has a refreshing Mixed Salad with Celery Seed Vinaigrette on page 43 of Tastes & Treasures cookbook.

We like salads that are creative so we often add additional ingredients. Perfect for summer meals.
Try grilled chicken breast, roasted asparagus, candied pecans sprinkled with cinnamon, blueberries, yellow baby pear tomatoes, sliced apples. What is your favorite combination for a summer salad?

Mixed Greens with Pears, Roquefort and Pecans with Celery Seed Vinaigrette from Garland’s Oak Creek Lodge page 43

Celery Seed Vinaigrette

1/3 cup raspberry white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon chopped yellow onion
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup walnut oil
1/3 cup canola oil
½ teaspoon celery seeds

Salad

1 cup pecans, chopped
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
4 large red Bartlett pears or Anjou pears
4 quarts mixed salad greens, rinsed and spun dry
1 cup crumbled Roquefort cheese

For the Vinaigrette, combine the vinegar, sugar, dry mustard, onion, salt, walnut oil, canola oil and celery seeds in a 2-cup glass measure and blend until smooth. Use a hand-held blender, if desired.

For the salad, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Toss the pecans with the olive oil and salt in a bowl and spread on baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted. Pour 1/3 cup of the vinaigrette into a 1-quart bowl. Quarter and core one pear at a time and slice each quarter lengthwise into ¼-inch wedges into the vinaigrette. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Place the mixed salad greens in a large bowl and toss with the remaining vinaigrette. Divide among eight salad plates. Sprinkle the cheese around the salad greens. Arrange five pear wedges on each salad and sprinkle with the toasted pecans.