Scrambled Egg in Microwave

I cook up one egg at a time for 80 seconds.
The egg is round and set up the way I like.

Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon butter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon cold water
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a 2 cup glass measuring bowl
butter the bottom and around the
inside of the cup a little bit.
Crack the egg into the cup add in
the cold water and stir to combine.
Microwave on high power for 80 seconds.
Remove tp plate and season to taste.
Repeat process for desired amount of eggs.

Bake Your Bacon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Lay the bacon strips on baking sheet.
Bake in the oven for 13-15 minutes,
depending on crispness desired,
turn bacon slices over for even cooking.
Remove from the oven and lay slices on a
paper-towel lined plate to drain excess oil.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

The bottom crust is made with
honey shredded wheat cereal.
This is one amazing tasting
easy to make cheesecake.
It takes a little time but
it's well worth making it.
One bite and I know you will
agree and thank me for it.

Ingredients:
Vegetable shortening to prepare pan
Flour to prepare pan
Honey flavored Mini Wheat Cereal
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
3 large eggs
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
4 squares baking chocolate

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Prepare a 10" springform pan by coating
bottom and sides with shortening and flour.
Arrange the mini wheat cereal around entire bottom
of springform pan in one layer side by side.
In a small bowl combine the milk, sugar,
ground cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
In a mixing bowl cream together the sugar mixture
and the cream cheese until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time then add in the vanilla.
Stir in the chocolates and pour mixture over cereal
in the springform pan to bake for about 1 hour.
Test for doneness, remove to cool before serving.

Candied Citrus Peels

Use orange, lemon, lime or grapefruit peels,
some sugar, water and a little time to make
colorful and tasty candied citrus peels.
Dip them in melted chocolate for a treat.
In this recipe I used orange peels.

Ingredients:
4 oranges
4 cups or more water
2 cups sugar

Directions
Peel oranges and cut peels in 1/8" strips.
Place the peels in a saucepan with 1 cup
water and bring to a boil, drain water and
add in another cup of cold water, bring to boil.
Drain water and add in another cup of cold water.
Bring to a boil and remove water and peels from pan.
Place 1 cup sugar in pan with 1 cup water, bring to
a boil and add in the orange peels to the pan.
Simmer for 15 minutes or until the water has evaporated
and a sugary syrup is coating the orange peels.
Place 1 cup sugar on a baking sheet and place peels
all around on the sugar, cover peels with more sugar.
Use your hands to move candie peels around the sheet
to sort of keep themseperated to dry and cool.
This took mine about 15 minutes and then I placed
the candied orange peels in an air tight container.

Portabella Caps Hamburger Buns

With grilling season coming upon us
I thought it would be good to share
this recipe for using portabella caps
in place of bread hamburger buns.
You can use the outdoor grill or bake
them in the oven for a few minutes.

Ingredients:
Portabella mushroom caps
Olive or Canola oil
Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat up a gas grill or oven.
Wipe the portabello mushroom caps
with paper towels and remove the
stems and gills for another recipe.
Rub the mushroom caps with oil
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Arrange the mushroom caps stem side up
on grill grate or baking sheet.
Grill them 2 or three minutes on each side
or bake them in the oven at 425 degrees F.
for 10 minutes until they're browned.

Chimichurri Sauce

This sauce is good on beef ribs and also
goes well with chicken and pork.

Ingredients:
1 cup flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup corriander leaves
1 shallot, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 red chili pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of one lime
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

Directions:
Place ingredients in a blender
or in a food processor and mix
until well combined into a sauce.

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

Hard cooked eggs are easy to prepare.
Older eggs are easier to peel the shells.

Ingredients:
Large eggs
Water to cover eggs by 1"
Water to cool cooked eggs

Directions:
Place eggs in a saucepan and cover
the eggs with cold water by 1".
Cover saucepan and bring to a
slow boil on high heat.
Shut heat off and start timing.
Six minutes for soft boiled eggs,
10 to 12 minutes for hard cooked.
Drain hot water from saucepan and
fill with cold water to cool eggs.

Ricotta Cheese Cannoli Filling

Simply smooth and sweet and chocolate.
This is the best cannoli filling I know.

Ingredients:
Ricotta Cheese
Honey
CocolateChips

Directions:
Amounts are depending on how many
cannoli shells you want to fill.
In a mixing bowl combine the ricotta
cheese, honey and chocolate chips.
Use mixture to fill cannoli shells.

Easter Eggs to Dye For

This is the best for making Easter eggs.
Use white shelled eggs for best colors.
Ingredients:
6 fresh large white eggs
Cold water to cover eggs
Ice water to cool the eggs

Directions:
Place eggs in a sauce pan and pou in
enough cold water to cover the eggs.
Heat over high heat to a full rolling boil,
turn off the heat and cover the saucepan.
Let cooked eggs sit for about 8 minutes.
Then drain the hot water and pour in cold water.
Let the eggs cool and remove to peel and dye.

Onion Skins Dyed Easter Eggs

This is an old recipe for dying eggs but
I just learned about it so it's new to me.
There's no food coloring involved in this.

Ingredients:
12 white large eggs
3 fresh red onions
3 fresh yellow onions
3 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
aluminum foil to wrap eggs
4 cups cold water

Directions:
Cut top and bottoms off off the onions and
then remove the peels from the onions.
Set aside peeled onions for another use.
Chop peels in a food processor with salt.
Place red wine vinegar in a small bowl,
dip one egg at a time in the vinegar
and then coat with chopped onion peels.
Wrap up each egg in aluminum foil.
Place wrapped eggs in a sauce pan
and cover eggs with cold water.
Bring to a boil on high heat then
remove from heat and let sit for
about 20 minutes to color the eggs.
Remove eggs from water and unwrap foil.

Pasta in Tomato Sauce

The tomato sauce is thickened by using
the water that the pasta is cooking in.
This is an amazingly thick pasta sauce.
Season with your favorite pasta herbs.

Ingredients:
4 cups cold water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup dried pasta
6 ounces tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon sugar
dash of cayenne pepper

Directions:
Place water in a sauce pan on high heat,
add in salt and bring water to a boil.
Stir in pasta and bring back to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium high and cook pasta
for 8 minutes then add in tomato paste
and seasonings of your choice.
Stir to desolve tomato paste and cook
until pasta is done to your liking.

Squash Scrambled Eggs

Scrambled eggs taste great with squash.
You can use any squash even pumpkin.
Also you can add in a pinch of seasoning,
fresh rosemary, oregano, or thyme.

Ingredients:
4 large eggs
1/4 cup butternut squash, pureed
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:
In a mixing bowl whisk together the eggs
and squash until smooth and well combined.
Heat a skillet over medium-low heat.
Add the butter to melt, add the egg mixture.
Using a wooden spoon, stir occasionally
to break apart the curds of scrambled eggs.
Serve warm with melted butter if desired.

Baked Stuffed Shrimp Scampi

This is a five star restaraunt quality recipe
that I've been making for over thirty years.

Ingredients:
12 extra jumbo shrimp
2 cups dried bread crumbs
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
4 tablespoons white granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried chopped chives
1 pinch ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1/4 cup white wine
1 fresh lemon for juicing

Directions:
In a bowl combine bread crumbs, minced garlic
sugar, butter, cheese, Worcestershire sauce
chives, black pepper, Old Bay Seasoning and
enough white wine to form a stuffing mixture.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Butterfly the shrimp and arrange back side up
on aluminum foil in a baking dish.
Stuff shrimp with heaping tablespoons of mixture.
Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven,
until breading mixture is lightly browned,
shrimp are opaque, and the tails have curled.
Drizzle with lemon juice and serve.

All American Apple Pie

Easy as apple pie to make a good pie.
I can make my own crust but here I used
store bought ready made pie crust.
Using the correct apples is key for
having a firm and not mushy filling.
Look for Ida red, Golden delicious or
for a more tart tasting pie Granny Smith.
Ingredients:
2 9" ready made pie crusts
6 Baking apples
6 tablespoons flour
6 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter

Directions:
Remove pie crust from refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Peel and slice apples around the core.
Place apple slices in a bowl with
flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt
mix well and set aside while you
place the bottom crust in pie pan.
Fill pie crust with apple slices.
Dot top of apple slices with butter.
Place top crust on pie and crimp the crust
edge around rim with fingers or fork.
Cut a few holes in top crust to vent steam.
Bake for abour 45 minutes or until crust
is browned and filling is bubbling.
Remove pie to cool before cutting.

Oatmeal Raspberry Scones

These are easy to make in only a few minutes.
Try this recipe for making good tasting scones.
You will be amazed at how easy scones are to make.
The butter adds in a nice background flavor.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup flour, more for dusting
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold butter
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 cup white granulated sugar
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Place oatmeal in a food processor
and pulse into a flour or powder.
In a mixing bowl combine the oatmeal
with flour, baking powder and salt.
In another mixing bowl cream together
the butter, shortening and sugar.
Add in the flour mixer and mix to
form a wet dough, add in the
ricotta cheese and the raspberries.
Place dough on a floured work surface
and form into a 7" x 1" circle.
Use a knife to cut dough into triangles.
Place thiangles on a parchment paper
lined baking sheet and bake for about
20 minutes or until starting to get brown.
Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet.

Cream of Mushroom on Toast

This is a really warming comfort food,
cheap to make and tastes great anytime.
Make this on rainy days for a easy lunch.
Served along with cooked frozen corn or peas
makes this a quick and all around meal.

Ingredients:
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup cold water
4 slices white bread

Directions:
Toast bread to dark color and cut the
toasted bread into about 1" squares.
Devide toasted bread squares onto serving plates.
Open can of soup into a microwave safe bowl,
add water and mix with a fork to combine well.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and microwave soup
on high setting for 3 minutes or until boiling.
Pour soup over plated toast squares and serve.

Cream Puff Pastry

These are super easy to make and bake up good.
Tasty golden and crispy puff pastry that you
cut open and fill with sweatened whipped cream.
Don't be afraid to try and bake these thinking
they are too difficult to prepare at home.
This is one of the easiest pastries to bake.
Ihis recipe makes about 12 puff pastries.

Ingredients:
1 cup water
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
Pastry cream filling

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Bring water, salt and butter to a boil in a
saucepan and then add in the flour all at once.
I use a wooden spoon and stir, stir, stir
until the flour is well incorperated and a
somewhat creamy dough is formed.
Remove saucepan from heat and add in eggs
one at a time again, stir, stir, stir.
A silky dough is what your looking for.
Place batter by tablespoonfuls 2" apart on
a baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes.
Open oven door and turn off oven heat.
Let the puff pastries slowly cool in oven.
Remove to cut open and fill with pastry cream.

Herbs De Provence Crackers

A simple to make cracker that tastes great.
Dip in sour cream for a balance of flavors.
This is like a pie dough but is crispier.
I like the darker browned crackers best.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons Herbs De Provence
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup cold water
flour for rolling out dough
salt on top to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place flour in a food processor,
add in sugar, Herbs De Provence,
1/2 teaspoon salt, pulse to combine.
Pour in olive oil and pulse while adding
in just enough cold water to make dough.
Flour a work surface and roll out dough
as thin as you can with a rolling pin.
Sprinkle top of dough with salt to taste.
Place dough on a parchment lined sheet pan.
Use a pizza cutter to cut dough into squares.
Bake in oven for about 12 minutes to brown up.
Check crackers and remove any that are browned
before the others do with a spatula.
Continue baking until all crackers are done.

Banana Custard

Quickly made using the microwave oven.
You're going to like this easy custard,
it's soft, creamy with sweet banana flavor.
This recipe makes one serving.

Ingredients:
1 large egg
1 ripe banana
1/2 teaspoon butter

Directions:
Beat egg in a mixing bowl and then peel
banana and mix it with the egg in bowl.
Microwave on high setting for 2 minutes.
Remove and top custard with a little butter.
Serve warm.

Banana Pancakes

With just two ingredients these pancakes are
easy to prepare and tastes sinfully good!
I like them plain, with fresh berries or
with a dollop of orange marmalade on them.
One banana and one egg per serving.

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana
1 large egg
cooking spray for pan

Directions:
Preheat a skillet to medium heat.
Break egg nto a mixing bowl and beat well.
Peel banana and cut into 1/2 inch slices,
place in the bowl with beaten egg and
stir mixture well to make a batter.
Pour batter into skillet to the size
of pancakes you desire to make.
I like silver dollar sized pancakes.
The batter will puff up but will not spread.
Let cook until bubbles appear on top and
flip with a spatula to cook other side.
Remove pancakes to serve warm.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Using two kinds of chocolate in these
makes them extra chocolaty and special.
Possibly the best chocolate chip cookies.
This recipe makes about 32 cookies.

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 squares Hershey's baking bar chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Use a knife to chop up the baking bars,
to be about the same size as the chips.
Cream together the butter and sugars.
Add in the egg and vanilla, mix well.
In a seoerate bowl combine the flour
along with the baking powder, soda and salt.
Add the flour mixture to the batter and mix
just long enough to form a cookie dough.
Mix in the chocolate chips and baking chocolate.
Roll dough into walnut sized balls and place
them 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.
Bake for about 12 minutes or until just browning,
remove to cool before eating and storing.

Caraway Seed Crackers

Easy to make the cracker dough in a food processor
then roll out the dough as thin as you can and bake
until the crackers get nice and golden and crispy.

1 cup flour
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degress F.
Grind the caraway seeds in a food processor
then place caraway seeds in a mixing bowl
along with the flour, sugar, salt,
baking powder and ground pepper.
Mix to combine then pour into food processor.
Cover and pulse while pouring in the lid
the oil and water to form a dough ball.
Roll dough out on a floured work surface
as flat as you can get the dough to be.
Tranfer to a parchment lined baking sheet
and cut dough into squares using a pizza wheel.
Bake until brown and crispy for about 15 minutes.
Sprinkle with additional salt if desired.

Quick to Make Pasta with an herbed Tomato Sauce

Boil up some water and cook up some pasta and
make a tomato sauce using canned tomato paste.
This is a good for you fast food for you to make.
It's cheap, tastes great and fills you up.
Add in some herbs and spices to the tomato sauce
and you've got a quick meal in only minutes.

Ingredients:
1 cup dried pasta of choice
4 cups cold water to cook pasta
1/2 teaspoon salt for cooking water
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 cups cold water
1 dash of dried oregano
1 dash of granulated sugar
1 dash of salt or to taste
1 dash of garlic powder
1 dash of onion powder
1 dash of cayenne pepper
grated parmesan cheese

Directions
In a soup pot bring water to a boil,
add in pasta and cook for 12 minutes.
While pasta is cooking place in a microwave
safe mixing bowl mix up really good
(I use glass mixing bowl) the tomato paste,
water, oregano, sugar, salt, garlic powder,
onion powder, and cayanne pepper.
Microwave on high power for six minutes,
or until the sauce is hot and heated through.
Drain the cooked pasta, place in a bowl and toss
with the microwave cooked seasoned pasta sauce.
Serve with grated parmesan cheese to taste.

Strawberry and Tomato Salad

An interesting combination of flavors.
Strawberries dressed in balsamic vinegar
and tomatoes with extra virgin olive oil.

Ingredients:
1 pint fresh strawberries
1 pint fresh cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
dash of salt
dash of black pepper
dash of sugar
dash of dried oregano

Directions:
Wash tomatoes, cut in quarters and
place them in a mixing bowl.
Remove stems from strawberries, cut
in half of quarters if they are big
place in bowl with cut up tomatoes.
Dress with vinegar, olive oil, and season
with salt, pepper, sugar and oregano.
Mix with a spoon and let sit for about
15 minutes before serving.

Spiral Sliced Cooked Ham

An easy way to heat up a cooked ham.
The moisture stays in and it's tender.

Ingredients:
1 cooked ham
Ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 Degrees F.
Line a roasting pan in both directions
with aluminum foil using pieces
big enough to fold over top of ham.
Remove ham from packaging and place
ham on top of foil cut side down.
Sprinkle ham with black pepper to taste.
Bring up foil to cover ham and seal tightly.
Bake ham in oven for 12 minutes per pound.
Remove ham and let rest 15 minutes before serving.

Skillet Made Apple Chips

These are crazy good tasting and easy to make.
Thinly sliced apple rings toasted and crispy.
Done right these are better than potato chips.

Ingredients:
1 Gala apple
salt to taste

Directions:
Preheat a dry cast iron skillet on low heat.
Peel, core and slice apple as thin as you can.
Using a mandoline for this makes it easy.
Place apple slices in a single layer in skillet
without letting them touch together.
Toast until starting to turn brown and carefully
turn the apple slices over to toast other side.
It's o.k. if some don't get crisy as you like
they with crisp up on the platter.
Remove to a platter and salt to taste, serve.