Cheese Blintzes

recipe from How to be a Domestic Goddess


Ingredients:
12 crepes

Filling:
1 ½ c cottage cheese
7 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
3 Tbsp sugar
½ lemon- zest only
Few drops of vanilla

Blueberry Sauce:
7 oz blueberries
3 Tbsp sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp arrowroot or cream of tartar

Accompaniment:
2 heaping tsp powdered sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
1 ½ c sour cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 and butter a baking dish.

Mix all of the filling ingredients until smoothly combined. Fill crepes with 1 Tbsp of filling and fold. Place in dish and brush all crepes with melted butter. Bake 20-30 minutes until golden and puffy.

Meanwhile, make sauce by bringing berries, sugar, and lemon juice to boil over medium-high heat. Let bubble about 3 minutes until berries give a copious juice and cook down slightly. Stir in arrowroot and cook about 30 seconds until sauce is thick and glossy.

Remove blintzes from oven. Push powdered sugar and cinnamon through fine sieve to dust well. Serve with sauce. Serve sour cream on the side.

Pork and Apple Kebabs

These kabobs are tangy and zesty, and slightly sweet as well. I know there is tomato in the recipe, but it is not your ordinary barbeque sauce. Just give it a try to see what I mean!

For the glaze:
1/2 c apricot jam

2 T cider vinegar

1 T tomato paste

1 T olive oil


For the kebabs:

1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

2 white onions, cut into wedges

2 fruity apples, such as gala or fuji, peeled and also cut into wedges

1 T olive oil

coarse salt and ground pepper

Heat your grill to medium high. Mix the sauce ingredients in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Assemble the skewers in the following pattern: pork, onion, pork, apple - repeating so you have 4 pork cubes, 2 apples, and 2 onions per skewer. Brush with the olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Oil the grates and place kebabs on the grill - cover and cook, turning occasionally until grill marks are visible (about 6 - 8 minutes). Bast the kebabs with the sauce and cook, turning the skewers and basting occasionally with more sauce, until pork is fully cooked and the outside is nicely glazed, about 4-8 minutes.

Be sure to get a little onion, apple, and pork with each bite!

Tandoori Chicken

This is a delightful Indian marinade* that is very light, not at all overwhelming, and perfect for summer!

Sorry, I forgot to take a picture until after most of the chicken had been consumed, so you're just getting the pitiful little dredges. It looks a lot better than this. Oh well, what can you do?

For the marinade:

2 chicken breasts, cut in half thickness wise, and in half again, making 4 peices each

1 c plain yogurt

2 T lime juice

1 T fresh minced gingerroot

2 t minced garlic

1 t ground turmeric

1/2 t ground coriander

1/2 t ground cumin

1/2 t garam masala**

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Mix all ingredients from yogurt to garam masala well in a large ziplock bag or a baking dish. Add about 1/2 t of the salt and 1/4 t pepper to the bag and mix. Add chicken peices (you could also use thighs). Let sit in the marinade an hour to overnight, depending on the strength of flavor you want (I marinate mine usually around 6 hours). Oil and heat your grill. When it comes time to grill, turn off one of the burners so you have a "cool spot" on your grill. If you are using a charcoal grill, bank the coals to one side. Remove chicken from marinade and wipe off excess and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken over the direct heat, 3 minutes per side. Once the chicken is nicely colored on each side, move to the "cool spot" on your grill and close the lid to cook the chicken with indirect heat (this will keep your chicken from drying out) for 8-10 more minutes, or 15 minutes if you're using thighs. Enjoy!

*You do not actually need to grill this chicken - you could bake it or griddle fry it as well. It just has such a nice flavor when it's grilled. But really this marinade could be used for whatever.

**If you live in a small town like me where garam masala can never be found, you can make your own spice mix that tastes identical. Just put the remainder in a tupperware container or ziplock bag and refrigerate up to 6 months.

Do it yourself garam masala:

1/2 t cumin

1/2 t paprika

1/4 t crushed bay leaves (about 2)

1/4 t cinnamon

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1/8 t ground cloves

Herbed corn on the cob

This is the best grilled corn on the cob ever. Really. And it's super easy!

What you need:

however many ears of corn you want, husked and shucked

butter

thyme (please use FRESH!! Your tastebuds will thank you)

salt

pepper

aluminum foil

Combine softened butter and thyme leaves (for 4 ears of corn I use about 1/4 c butter to 2T thyme leaves). Slather all over the ears of corn. Wrap in foil individually. Grill for 3 minutes on each side, rotating 1/4 of a turn for each side. Unwrap the foil, sprinkle with coarse salt and fresh ground pepper. Grill for an additional minute on each side without the foil, just enough to give the corn grill marks, or "color". Eat.

Strawberry Watermelon Lemonade!

I was craving lemonade today but didn't have enough lemons, so I made Strawberry Watermelon lemonade- it was so good and refreshing! It would be great on a sweltering summer day.

How-To:

Blend together
- watermelon cubes
- strawberries
- lemon juice
- sugar
- water

I didn't measure anything, sorry, I am guessing equal parts watermelon and strawberries and the other stuff to taste. It would be a good idea to use frozen strawberries, I think.

Best Crock Pot Roast

This is my favorite roast, hands down. And it's the easiest one ever!

Most roasts call for lots of water, but this one doesn't. I didn't leave it out, I promise. It just doesn't use it.

2-4 lb roast, whatever cut you prefer
1 packet lipton onion or beefy onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 onion
horseradish (optional)
8 oz mushrooms (optional)

Mix the soup mix and cream of mushroom soup (concentrate, do not add water) in the bottom of your crockpot. Rub both sides of the roast with the horseradish (this is a natural meat tenderizer so it's really good on the roast, but not necessary. You will not taste it at all in the finished product so don't be afraid of the spice). Place the roast in the crockpot and turn, covering both sides with the "sauce". Top with onion cut into 8 wedges. Add the mushrooms if you're using them. Cover. Cook 4-6 hrs high or 6-8 hrs low. It will cook in its own juices and you will be left with a tender roast and a gravy. So yummy! It's the perfect Sunday meal - just throw it in before church and when you come home dinner's ready!

Serve with mashed potatoes for best results! :)

My favorite mashed potatoes:
red russet potatoes, boiled till tender
butter
mayo
chicken bullion
cream or milk
parsley
parmesan cheese

I don't know the amounts, I just eyeball it. But mix it all together for a creamy, flavorful potato. for 15 potatoes, I use about 1/2 c butter, 1/4 c mayo, 2 tsp bullion, 1 c cream, 2 tbs parsley, 1/4 c parmesan cheese. Maybe. Just adjust them to your taste. Then I add milk until I have the desired consistency, and salt and pepper to taste. Sorry, this is a really pitiful excuse for a recipe, but if you try it you'll like it. I'm sure of it!