Friday Friend Recipe #37 -- Cottage Fruit Salad

Making my way thru my Friday Friend Cookbook, one recipe at a time.

What is the Friday Friend cookbook:   I have about 50 of my closest friends and family on an e-mail forum which I called the Friday Friends (from all over the county).  At first, most of them didn't know each other, (they knew me) but over the past 15 years, we've answered and shared silly--and serious---questions,  exchanged Secret Santa Christmas gifts,  had a dieting contest in which we paid a $1 a week and that money went to a scholarship fund for a Friday Friends son's memorial scholarship, and we went on a great vacation for my 52 birthday.

AND,  we contributed recipes for a cookbook.

Which brings me to this... recipe #37

Linda's 

Cottage Fruit Salad

As I said before-- jello salads are hard to photograph.

And as I said before--The Handyman is going to have to suffer thru the 'jello' section of the FF Cookbook, because he is not a jello fan.

Interesting tho.

I made this.

He tasted it. ( I have no idea why or when)

He said -- That Jello is good.

I said -- really?

He said -- it's the first jello salad I've ever tasted.

I said -- are you kidding me? You've been saying for years how you only like plain jello and HATE all other types of jello salads?

He said -- yep.

So, this peach Jello Salad has the stamp of approval from the Handyman.

That's worth a LOT!

Maybe he loved the peaches*.

Look how lovely they look in the photo below.

You can see all those peach chunks, right?

OKAY!!  I cannot tell a lie.

I could not find peach jello ANYWHERE in this town.  It's small, remember?  And there. was. no. peach. jello. to be found.

so I  used the new Mango flavored jello and mangos.   Mmmmmmm.

It was soooo good!

It does say  "fruit' salad.  So I figure one can substitute any fruit, right?

Do you have peach jello in your town?

Cottage Fruit Salad

Linda Ornelas, Walla Walla, WA

1 large carton cottage cheese

1 pkg peach jello

1 can drained peaches

1 small container of Cool Whip

Thoroughly mix cottage cheese and dry jello.  Add peaches and cool whip.

Chill at least 1 hour. 

OOPS!

Never mind.

(it says peach.  I just left the store)

Okay, so there is such a thing as peach jello.

And I'm sure it would be great.

But.... .try the mango. 

(sorry Linda)

This is Linda with her 2nd showing in the FF cookbook!

(click here for all of her recipes)

She has lots more to go, so lets see if I can think of a story to tell.

Well last time I said that I danced in a Go-Go cage in a bar on my 13th birthday--with her permission!!

Whhhattt?

???

She and her husband ran a janitorial service and my brother and I got to go with them one evening to clean.

Bars closed up at 2am, so of course no one was there.

My cousin put a dime in the juke box and let me dance while the rest of them cleaned.

Linda was living in Southern California at the time and we were on a 

2-week Southern Cal vacation.

Yes, I do remember going to  Disneyland, but I what really stands out was getting to wear my white go-go boots and dance in a cage!

This is what I thought I looked like:

Me and Linda.

Linda and I.

I hope you can forgive the peach/mango jello mix up Linda.

AND, the story is more about me, than you.

sorry.

But, I had fun!

I always had fun with you.

Soup! Soup! Spanish Style Split Pea Soup! And Cookbook Countdown #70

Cookbook Countdown -- Potage de Guisantes Barcelona

Spanish-Style split pea soup

This will be Cookbook #70!

on my slow, very slow, countdown  of  my own

personal cookbook shelf.

I will be linking up to

At Kitchen Flavours

and

at Months of Edible Creations

(I know it's not Wednesday---but her linky is still open---and I love her blog.  so--sue me)

(don't really sue me please)

and

Weekend Cooking at Beth Fish Reads!

As well as Souper Sundays at

Kahakai Kitchen

Because...  IT IS SOUP after-all!!

I love split pea soup.  

I especially love the smokey flavor from the ham or ham hocks it cooks with, but this soup from the Dairy Hollow House Soup and Bread, has a pea soup made with no meat.

Perfect for vegetarians OR anyone who wants a good soup!

I loved the addition of caramelized onions and tomatoes.

I have to confess here, that I pureed them also, but I wasn't supposed to (note to self:  read directions carefully).

The taste was still great, but I am anxiously awaiting until enough time has passed where I can make it again and have little chunks of onions and tomatoes in each spoonful.

I also love the addition to spinach to any soup.

I took the photos the 2nd day and the soup did thicken quite a bit so I added a dash of cream, but if you used vegetable stock this would be completely vegetarian.

Take out the smokey ham flavor, but add the caramelized onions?

It's a trade off that works for us!

I have had this cookbook on my shelf for quite some time, but have not pulled it out in---well---quite some time.  

It's a great winter time cookbook to use.  

I've not seen one bad review-- just a lot of praise for good soups and good breads.

Spanish Style Split Pea Soup

Pam Cooking Spray

2 cups dried split peas  

2 quarts any well-flavored vegetable stock

1 large onion sliced

2 carrots, scrubbed and sliced

5 cloves garlic, peeled

2 bay leaves

1 box (10 oz ) frozen spinach, thawed

salt to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

3 onions, chopped

6 fresh tomatoes, chopped

2 T chopped fresh basil leaves or 2 t dried

2 T minced fresh parsley

freshly ground pepper to taste

1. spray a large soup pot with Pam and in it combine the stock, split peas, sliced onion, carrots, 2 cloves of garlic and the bay leaves.  Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to low, and simmer, partially covered, 1 hour.  Add the spinach and season with salt (at least 1 tsp).  Continue to simmer another 30 minutes.  Let cool slightly and remove the bay leaves, then puree the soup in a food processor.

2. Meanwhile in a 10-inch skillet heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the chopped onion and saute until they start to soften.  

Turn down the heat to medium-low and continue to saute until the onions are wilted, another  6-8 minutes.  Turn down the heat further to very low and cook, stirring often, until the onions are caramelized, about 10 minutes more.  (watch so they don't burn)

3. Add the tomatoes to the onions, increase the heat to med-low and cook down until very thick, reducing the heat as the liquid evaporates. Remove from heat and put in the three remaining 3 cloves of garlic thru a garlic press and add to the tomato mixture.  Stir in the fresh herbs and plenty of freshly ground pepper.

4. Stir in the tomato-onion mixture into the pea puree and heat through. Serve at once, garnished with additional parsley or let stand overnight and reheat the next day.

Friday Friend Recipe #36 - Sausage Balls

This is post #1000!

I didn't do anything special to mark this occasion.

No give-aways,  no blog hop, no invites to visit.

Just wanted to say that it's been fun to meet a few of you (most on line, but a couple in person), read your blogs and be able to use this "non-category" blog as a place to  be me!

Happy 1000th to me!

Now on to the next one...

Making my way thru my Friday Friend Cookbook, one recipe at a time.

What is the Friday Friend cookbook:   I have about 50 of my closest friends and family on an e-mail forum which I called the Friday Friends (from all over the county).  At first, most of them didn't know each other, (they knew me) but over the past 15 years, we've answered and shared silly--and serious---questions,  exchanged Secret Santa Christmas gifts,  had a dieting contest in which we paid a $1 a week and that money went to a scholarship fund for a Friday Friends son's memorial scholarship, and we went on a great vacation for my 52 birthday.

AND,  we contributed recipes for a cookbook.

Which brings me to this... recipe #36

Barb's

Sausage Balls

These are not new.  I'm sure everyone has seen a version of these before.

But the thing is, THEY ARE GOOD!  And this cookbook is full of good, tried and true recipes.

I like them warm, right out of the oven.

This would be great on Christmas Eve, during our game playing, waiting for Santa to arrive marathon time!

Sausage Balls

Barbara Brown

Buckeye, AZ

3 c. Bisquick

1 lb. bulk sausage

10 oz sharp cheddar

Grate cheese into bowl.  Allow sausage to become pliable.  Mix all 3 ingredients well.  Shape into balls about the size of a quarter. 

Bake at 375F for 15 to 20 minutes.

You know Barbara.

She's the one why typed up the FF Cookbook.

I'm not sure how that came about?  But she did.

Anyway... here she is. 

Here we are.

With our husbands.

And my son Mark.

Remember in my last post I said it was going to be fun to use random photos?

Well, this is one of those times.

For some reason, during this weekend,  we wanted a group photo, but it wasn't working out.

We were having trouble getting organized.

And the flash was being reflected in the mirror.

So, my daughter-in-law must have said to scoot over.

And so we did!

As a group.

We shuffled.

And then it dawned on Barb and me that we 

were doing the same thing the gang on

Mary Tyler-Moore did on their last show --shuffled as a group.

And we thought it was hysterical!

Not so sure the guys did.

Especially Marcus, as he had never seen the Mary Tyler-Moore show!

The fun thing about Barb and Doug?  We laugh like this whenever we get together.

Usually over similar hysterical things.

Maybe you needed to be there.

When new ownership takes over WJM-TV, the entire Six O’ Clock News Crew is fired, except for Ted, the one truly expendable member of the team. To cheer up a despondent Mary, Lou arranges for Phyllis and Rhoda to visit, and in the famous final scene, the WJM news crew group hugs, moves as a unit to retrieve tissues, and exits the newsroom singing “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary”. It’s an ending that’s been spoofed and referred to in several shows since (notably parodied in MAD-TV, and referenced in the final episode of another MTM Enterprises show, St. Elsewhere, in which the group hug and shuffle to the tissue box is reenacted).

Friday Friend Recipe #35 -- Santa Fe Chicken

Making my way thru my Friday Friend Cookbook, one recipe at a time.

What is the Friday Friend cookbook:   I have about 50 of my closest friends and family on an e-mail forum which I called the Friday Friends (from all over the county).  At first, most of them didn't know each other, (they knew me) but over the past 15 years, we've answered and shared silly--and serious---questions,  exchanged Secret Santa Christmas gifts,  had a dieting contest in which we paid a $1 a week and that money went to a scholarship fund for a Friday Friends son's memorial scholarship, and we went on a great vacation for my 52 birthday.

AND,  we contributed recipes for a cookbook.

Which brings me to this... recipe #35

Shelly's

Santa Fe Chicken

I will definitely be making this one again!

Super simple and  the Handyman liked it too.

Chicken chunks in a slightly spicy sauce over a bed of rice, topped with some cheese.

Wah-la!  You have dinner.

Santa Fe Chicken

Shelly Noble

Winnemucca, NV

1 lb chicken breasts, cubed

1 cup salsa

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

Spray skillet with Pam and cook chicken.  Add rest.  Mix well and heat thru. Serve with rice. top with shredded Jack cheese.

And now,  Friday Friend Shelly Noble!

You've met her before  (click here to see )

This countdown is fun for me to go thru all those candid photos and use really random ones.

Like these...

Here is Shelly cutting brownies -- we are having a dinner at her house.  

I thought it appropriate that I share a picture of Shelly and food.

but wait--what is that yellow cylinder on the counter?

It looks like a can of Pledge (dusting spray) 

Hmmmm?? 

It can't be, can it?

I don't know---perhaps this is Shelly in shock, after Cindy tells her she left a can of Pledge on the counter.

(I'm just cracking  myself up today)

Like I said, this is a GREAT way to use all my random photos.

Post #998

Yesterday I linked my blog to my Facebook page and said, that was the scariest drive I have ever taken,

See previous post and the dead trees?  We had to drive up a mountain, and part of the way was a 16% grade, one lane, dirt road, with a cliff on my side!!

The Handyman read my my Facebook status and asked me,  "really? That was the scariest drive you've ever taken?"

He sounded surprised.

I guess he couldn't tell by my laying down in the seat screaming at him to slow down!

(he was only going 15 miles an hour)

I would do it again.

It was beautiful once you got to the top.

I'll just know to take medication next time. 

~grins~

The top is Hat Point, Oregon.

The Forest Service says:

Located on the ridgeline above Hells Canyon the Hat Point Overlook and Day Use Area offers fantastic views of canyon and the Wild and Scenic Snake River. The site has interpretive panels of the canyon resources and several scenic overlooks of the canyon below. A climb up the fire lookout tower allows better views of the river and rugged canyon landscape.

Did you see that?  RIDGELINE!!

and:

ADVISORY: Forest Road 2640 is very steep, and narrow. Low clearance vehicles, RVs and vehicles pulling trailers are advised to use caution when traveling the lower sections of this road. The road can also be slippery when wet or frozen and is not recommended for trailers in the late fall and winter.

It was a scary drive.

But don't let that stop you.

It was beautiful.

This is the 998th post.

I feel as if I should do something for my 1000.

I'm cutting it close because I am posting another FF cookbook countdown this afternoon.

Saturday Snapshot

Today is Saturday and it's time for 

Saturday Snapshot

hosted by 

West Metro Mommy Reads.

To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

For some reason, dead trees have always attracted me.

1 dead tree calls to me, but this summer when we took a drive up to Hat Point, there were many dead trees.

Products of a forest fire a few years prior.

Forest Fires make me sad and I hate that the trees are gone...

....but the photos are still kinda cool.

 

Amazing that the old fire lookout station was not burned.

Friday Friend Recipe #34 -- Seafood Pizza

Making my way thru my Friday Friend Cookbook, one recipe at a time.

What is the Friday Friend cookbook:   I have about 50 of my closest friends and family on an e-mail forum which I called the Friday Friends (from all over the county).  At first, most of them didn't know each other, (they knew me) but over the past 15 years, we've answered and shared silly--and serious---questions,  exchanged Secret Santa Christmas gifts,  had a dieting contest in which we paid a $1 a week and that money went to a scholarship fund for a Friday Friends son's memorial scholarship, and we went on a great vacation for my 52 birthday.

AND,  we contributed recipes for a cookbook.

Which brings me to this... recipe #34

Mitzi's

Seafood Pizza

This will be the first time I have ever said  "depth of flavor".

Why am I saying it, you might be asking?

Because, I've made something just like this which I call "shrimp dip"  that we all loved, desired and wanted more than any other appetizer ever....

...until I made this one!

The one I make just has cream cheese,cocktail sauce and shrimp.

This one---this one, ahhh, this one has a real 'depth' of flavor.

You flavor the cream cheese with some lemon juice, onion and Worcestershire sauce.

It makes all the difference in the world!   And also you can see by the photos, you add a bit more toppings, which are a bonus too.

Seafood Pizza

Mitzi Storm

St. Charles, MN

12 oz cream cheese

1 T lemon juice

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 small onion--grated

1/2 bottle cocktail sauce

1 can tiny shrimp

12 black olives --chopped or sliced

1/2 cup grated mozzarella

1/2 cup grated cheddar 

Mix cream cheese w/worcestershire and lemon juice; blend in onion. Spread on a 12-inch plate.  Pour cocktail sauce over, then add shrimp.  Next add olives, then grated cheese.  Chill til ready to serve with chips or crackers.

And now,  I will introduce you to Mitzi!  A new Friday Friend!  NOT new to me, but this is recipe #34 and this is  the first one I've done of  her's.  

Weird, because she is a GREAT cook.    I probably didn't nag her enough to send in very many.

My bad.

(okay, that just sounds weird to me... I don't do slang /trendy talk well)

Anyway...

MITZI!

She is a Bird Nerd.

She is like the nerdiest bird nerd I know.

Nerdy = smart.

She is the teacher's pet of bird tours, as she knows all the answers!

She would say that's not true, but I think  she knows everything there is to about birds.

So, we go on a birding weekend every spring.

(see our birding weekends here)

And sometimes we see other things.

Such as Llamas.

Or snakes.

And when we see snakes, we have to stop the bus and let Mitzi and the tour guide  get out and see the snake up close.

Everyone else stayed on the bus.

Except for me, who got out to take pictures of Mitzi, getting up close to the snake.

(her photo of the snake was much cooler than mine--as you can imagine )