Cold Cucumber Soup with Dill

I know...my pictures of food aren't nearly as good as Dacia's, but the soup did turn out well. Although, if your name is Joe you probably won't like it!

2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and finely chopped

2 t salt

2 cups plain yogurt

1 T fresh dill

1 clove garlic, minced

2 T olive oil

Sprinkle salt on cucumbers. Set aside for 15 minutes. Rinse salt off and combine cucumbers (reserving a little) with yogurt, dill, garlic, and olive oil. Puree but leave a little bit chunky. Add salt to taste and chill for at least 1 hour. Garnish with reserved chopped cucumber.

NOTE: Alan said it reminded him more of a dip than a soup, but he still liked it and it's pretty refreshing after a very hot day.

Summer Berry Trifle

1 c. boiling water

1 pkg. (8 serving size) Strawberry JELL-O

Ice cubes

1/2 c. cold water

2 c. mixed berries

1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese

1 pkg (4 serving size) Cheesecake or Vanilla Instant Pudding
1 1/4 c. cold milk, divided

1 tub (8 oz.) Strawberry Cool Whip

1 pkg. (12 oz.) pound cake, cubed

Directions:

1. Stir boiling water into dry gelatin in large bowl at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Add enough ice to cold water to measure 1 cup. Add to gelatin; stir until ice is complete melted. Let stand for about 15 minutes or until thickened. (Spoon drawn through gelatin leaves definite impression.) Stir in berries. I just chopped up some strawberries and raspberries and stuck them in.

2. Place cream cheese in large bowl, beat with wire whisk until creamy. Gradually add 1/4 cup of th milk, beating until well blended. Add remaining 1 cup of milk and dry pudding mix; beat 2 minutes or until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping. Set aside. I didn't want to buy strawberry cool whip, so I just added a T. of raspberry jam and about 1/4 c. of lemon juice to make it tart.

3. Place about half of the cake cubes in bottom of large serving bowl, cover with half of the pudding mixture. Top with layers of the gelatin mixture, remaining cake cubes and remaining pudding mixture. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

This was SOOO good and was courtesy of the Kraffoods.com site. Everyone thought it was yummy and it worked great in the little trifle dishes that I bought.

Zucchini Crescent Pie

I didn't take a picture (but I should have!). Dacia is a much better blogger than I am! This is the 2nd or 3rd time I've made this recipe and I tweaked it a bit this time and I liked it a lot better.

4 cups zucchini, thinly sliced (I had a HUGE zucchinie, so I cut it into fourths before thinly slicing)
1 cup onions, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup margarine or butter (I used about 1/3 cup)
1/2 cup chopped parsley or 2 T dried
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t garlic powder (I used garlic from the fridge and just added a bit)
1/4 t basil
1/4 t oregano (I didn't measure any of the spices, I sprinkled a bunch of Italian Seasoning on and then some salt and pepper)
2 eggs, well beaten
8 oz grated mozzarella (didn't have this, so I subbed grated colby-jack)
1 can crescent rolls

Cook zucchini and onion in butter in a 10 inch skillet until tender (about 10 minutes). Stir in seasonings. Blend eggs and cheese, stir into vegetable mixture. Press crescents in 12x8 pan or 10 inch pie pan. Pour in vegetable mix. Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes until knife in center comes out clean. You can cover crust edges with foil for last 10 minutes to keep from getting too brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

NOTE: If you are making this for Joe, be sure to add a hunk of meat on the side.

Anya and Aaron both loved this!!

Easy Apple Pie Foldover

I have a subscription to the Pillsbury recipe booklets and this month's issue was on Easy Pies. I thought since I haven't cooked once in the last week that this sunday I would make a great dinner and dessert to accompany it! This recipe looked easy and it looked like the perfect size for 2! It was SOO good and so simple-Joe was even a big fan since I served it with vanilla ice cream. I added a bunch more cinnamon as well - to the apple mixture and the cinnamon sugar mixture on top. So here it is:

1 1/2 c. thinly sliced apples
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 T. water
1 t. lemon juice
1 T. flour
1 T. sugar
1/4 t. salt
1 T. butter or margarine
1/2 t. vanilla

CRUST:
1 Pillsbruy refigerated pie rust, softened as directed on box
1 egg
1 T. water
1 t. sugar
1/8 t. cinnamon

1. In 2-quart saucepan, mix apples, brown sugar and 1 T. water and the lemon juice. Cook over medium heat, stirring occassionally, until bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occassionally, until apples are tender.

2. In small bowl, mix flour, 1 T. sugar and the salt. Graduallystir into apples mixture, cooking and stirring until mixture thickens. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Cool 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat oven to 375. Unroll pie crust on ungreased cookie sheet. Spoon cooled fruit mixture evenly onto half of crust to within 1/2 inch of edge.

4. In small bowl, beat egg and 1 T. water; brush over edge of crust. Fold untopped half of crust over apple mixture; firmly press edge to seal. Flute edge; cut small slits in several places in top crust. Brush top with remaining egg mixture. In another small bowl, mix 1 t. sugar and the cinnamon; sprinkle over crust.

5. BAke 25-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool on cooling rack at least 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with ice cream! Yum!!!

Jen's Delicious Veggie Lasagna

4 cups of zucchini (chopped into 1 inch or so chunks)
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can tomatoes, cut up
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
2 t basil
1 t oregano
6 dried lasagna noodles
1 beaten egg
1 15-oz container ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
3 T parsley
6 ounces sliced or shredded mozzarella
Grated Parmesan

For sauce, in a medium saucepan, cook zucchini, onion, and garlic with a little bit of olive oil. Add tomatoes, sauce, paste and seasonings. Cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Meanwhile cook noodles for 10-12 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, drain well.
For filling, combine egg with ricotta and parsley.
Layer half the cooked noodles in a 9x13 pan. Spread with half the filling. Top with half the sauce and half the mozzarella. Repeat layers. If desired, sprinkle with additional grated Parmesan. Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes or till heated through. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

SUBSTITUTIONS: I don't always have mozzarella on hand, so I cover it with shredded colby jack and Alan never seems to mind.

Amazing Vanilla Berry Dream

This stuff really is dreamy. So, so, so good and super easy. The perfect Summer treat.

1 small pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1 quart vanilla yogurt
8 oz. whipping cream, whipped
1 bag frozen raspberries (or any berry mixture... I definitely prefer the raspberries)

1. Mix the pudding mix straight into the yogurt. Stir until well blended. You may have to use your hand mixer.

2. Fold the whipped cream into the yogurt mixture.

3. Right before serving, fold your partially defrosted berries in. If you mix them in any sooner, they'll discolor your pudding mixture and it won't look as pretty. And you want your pudding pretty!

Chicken Panini

2 1/2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1/4 cup mayo
2 T bacon bits
2 T thinly sliced green onion
2 T Ranch dressing
8 slices of bread
1 tomato cut into 8 thin slices
4 slices cheese

Mix chicken, mayo, bacon bits, onion, and ranch. Spread on 4 of the bread slices. Top with tomato and cheese and other bread. Grill on a George Foreman type grill (sprayed with PAM) until golden brown.