Tag Archives: recipes

Baked Bruschetta Toasties

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Now that some of our green onions are mature enough to harvest, it’s time to make some Bruschetta toasties.  Later on in the season, I’ll be replacing a few more of the ingredients with homegrown. But for now, we have fresh onions and we’re happy with that. 🙂

Bruschetta can be used in many ways. It can be eaten like a small side dish or mixed in a salad. It’s makes a dandy pizza topping. We enjoy it made into toasties, the recipe is quick and easy. It goes well as toppings on baked chicken too. I’m figure there’s quite a few ways of using bruschetta to make  tasty foodies.

I’ve altered my 2012 Bruschetta Recipe to accommodate our new low sodium diet. I’ll post the original recipe under my new one.

If you try one of my recipes, I hope you’ll let me know how it turns out for you and any changes you made to it.

🙂

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Bruschetta Mix (2014)

1 can (14.5 oz) Hunts ‘No Salt Added’ Diced tomatoes with Basil, Garlic & Oregano – drained
1 can (8 oz) Mario ‘Low Sodium’ medium black olives – drained & chopped
1 cup chopped onions
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp Mrs Dash Garlic & Herb
1/4 tsp Morton ‘Lite’ salt mixture
1/8 tsp black pepper

Mix all these ingredients together and put them in an airtight bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Baked Bruschetta Toasties
Sara Lee Honey Wheat bread
Sargento 4 Cheese Mexican

Preheat oven to 350°
Place slices of Sara Lee’s Honey Wheat bread on a cookie sheet
Put Bruschetta mix on slices of bread and cover with shredded cheese.
Bake for 8 to 12 minutes until cheese is melted.
allow to cool
enjoy

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brd81
Bruschetta Mix (2012)

1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes – drained
(you can use chopped fresh tomatoes)
1 can (8 oz) medium black olives – drained & sliced
3/4 to 1 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 tsp basil
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
optional ingredients:
chopped mushrooms
chopped bell peppers

Mix all these ingredients together and put them in an airtight bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Baked Bruschetta Toasties
Preheat oven to 350°
For this you need your choice of sliced bread. (We like herb bread)
Place slices of bread on a cookie sheet
Put Bruschetta mix on slices of bread and cover with shredded cheese.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until cheese is melted.
allow to cool
enjoy

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Wishing you all a great week & delicious foods!chef

0rangespacer2

Flashback Friday – Egg-Free Dairy-Free Nut-Free Chocolate CupCakes

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Today I’ve chosen my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe to share on this Flashback Friday.
I hope you try it and like it as much as we do.

The recipe is called “Egg-Free Dairy-Free Nut-Free Cake“.
Wow! Isn’t that a tempting lure of a name for a cake recipe. It was more than this ol’ gal could resist.

This recipe is listed at Allrecipes.com. Here’s a direct link:
Egg-Free Dairy-Free Nut-Free Cake

I made a few miner adjustments to the recipe,
I used olive oil instead of the vegetable oil,
I used lite-salt instead of regular salt
and also I didn’t put chocolate chips in it.

I made the mix into cupcakes, so I can freeze most of them for snacks for another day. The first time I made these, I didn’t think they would look like a normal cupcake. I figured they’d be rather flat looking and flat tasting because the batter is somewhat thin. When I put them in the oven, I thought they may be a waste of time… I even frowned a moment or two… I’m pleased as peaches that these cupcakes proved me wrong and rose quite well.
They have a nice texture and taste really good too. I’m so nicely surprised.

edited in: *It occurs to me that a person could use a sweetener like Stevia and make this an even healthier snack
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If you try this cake recipe, let me know if
you made changes and how it did for you.

Here’s wishing you a weekend of yummy treats.

chef
3-spcbg

8 inch Soda-Pop Cake

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IMG_8501I’ve been wanting to try to make a soda-pop cake. It’s not something that was on my to-do list, but something I thought about from time-to-time (especially every-time there’s a certain commercial on)
The recipe’s really simple, but it’s way to big for me and my husband, so I halved it and made an 8 inch cake

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IMG_84748 inch Soda-pop cake

Put frozen fruit in the bottom of an ungreased 8 inch cake pan
*(You can use fresh or thawed fruit too)
Spoon 2 cups dry cake mix on top of fruit
Pour 1 cup of soda-pop on the cake mix

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes to 1 hour or until nicely brown and done.

*The reason for the broad baking time is that I used frozen fruit and it took my cake an hour to bake. I suspect if I had of used fresh or thawed fruit that it may have taken less time… but I could be wrong.
If you make this cake with fresh or thawed fruit and it takes less baking time, come back and comment and let me know.

The only thing I would do different with this cake is that I would take a small spoon and dip up some of the soda-pop and dampen all the cake mix so it wouldn’t have dry mix in spots on top.

This recipe is that it tastes a lot better than it looks.
My husband says it’s delicious and I agree.

Also, if a person wanted a smaller cake all you’d half to do is half the measurements, bake it in a smaller pan and watch the baking time carefully until it’s fully cooked.

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My Bff says her son-in-law told her that he recently had some orange crush cake and it was one of the best tasting cakes he’s had.
So, I guess you know what my next cake will be. 😉
Stay tuned…

Have you ever made a soda-pop cake?
What fruit and flavors of soft drink and cake mix did you use?

Wishing you all a sweet rest of the week.
🙂

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graphic from picgifs.com

.3-spcbg

Just Hanging Around (clippy hanger hints)

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1-hngrYesterday I gathered ingredients together to make a loaf of strawberry bread.  I set my recipe & stuff up like I always do and then it occurred to me that I wanted to make a post about a few of my favorite hints for re-using/recycling clippy hangers or pant hangers.

These are not my ideas and they’re not new ideas. You may have seen them or read of them before. I still want to share them since they’ve been a help to me.

I’m very grateful to clever folks who shared these hanger ideas on the web. I surfed around and tried to find the earliest posting of these hints on the web. I posted the links and dates with the hints. (If you know of an older posting, let me know and I’ll edit it in.)

Now without further ado, here’s a few clippy hanger hints.
~*~

Use the clippy hanger as a recipe book holder. Just clip it on the book and hang it from your cabinet door.
It keeps the book off the counter and helps to allow more counter space to use for making foods.
I really enjoy this hint. I use it alot.
2-hngrThe hanger cookbook holder – February 06,2009
~*~

Cut the clips off the hangers and use them for bag clips or like clothes pins, paper clips, chip clips or clips to help hold things together in crafts, such.
I tried and failed miserably to cut the clips off with huge industrial scissors and with a wire cutter. My compliments to whoever designed the hangers, they are super sturdy and hard as the heck to cut. I didn’t have a saw, so I used my craft drill to cut the clips off with it.
I really like having these inexpensive clips, they’re super handy to clasp on to a bag or hold a craft together or papers together. There’s so many uses for them.
3-hngrUnexpected chip clip – August 19, 2009
~*~

Cutting the clips off the hanger came from a forum and as I read further down the thread, someone suggested putting magnets on the back of the clips for refrigerator clips. There was mention of how to decorate them, but I chose to wing-it and do it my own way.
flwrlmI got out my flower loom and made a flower. I intended on having one simple flower on the clip… well seeings how it’s the unwritten duty of a crafter to over embellish, whenever the opportunity is there, and I take my crafter duties seriously, I made a couple more flowers and crocheted 4 leaves. I’d of added more, but I ran out of room on the clip. lol It’s quite cheerful looking and I’m surprised happy with the gawdy fun results. (I may decorate my recipe book hanger too. )
flwrs01  Refrigerator clips – August 19, 2009
~*~

I think those hints are clever ways to recycle and reuse clippy hangers. I used the leftover part of the hangers to hang up a couple plastic bags of craft supplies in the closet. Storage space is dear in my craft room and I’m always happy to figure out new ways to hoard store supplies.
I’m fortunate to have dozens several of these hangers on hand from buying clothes for my grandson over the years.
I’ve given several away while passing on the hanging recipe book hint. My grandson really got a kick out of that idea and even took a couple hangers home to his Mom to show and give to her. I love that he enjoys sharing fun helpful ideas. He’s such a sweetie.

Next time you have some extra clippy hangers laying around, I hope you’ll consider giving one of these hints a try.

Do you know any helpful for re-using or recycling hangers? You’re welcome to share them, if you want.
Here’s hoping that you’ll have an enjoyable rest of the week hanging out waiting for warm weather.

🙂
spcr1

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie & chicken broth

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The other day I saw a photo of  Bisquick chicken pot pit and of course that made me want to make one. I’d never made it before. Thankfully the recipe isn’t too complicated and I had all the ingredients on hand. It turned out really pretty and mighty tasty.

Here’s a link to the recipe: Bisquick Chicken Pot Pie

Here’s my adjustments and changes to the recipe:
I used Pict Sweet frozen vegetables
I used 1% milk
I used Egg Makers (liquid eggs)
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp thyme
I baked my chicken pot pie in a deep baking dish (about 8-inch x 2-inch deep). I didn’t think any of the pie plates or pans I have would have worked very well.
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The recipe calls for cooked chicken. It didn’t specify how to cook it. I needed to make some broth anyhow so I took care of 2 food stuffs at once and boiled the chicken with some herbs, onions & sweet peppers. The chicken turned out beautiful and tasted really good. It worked great for the pot-pie. I was going to make chicken salad with part of it, but my husband and Shelibean decided that it was the perfect snack to nibble on in front of the tv. lol

Even though I used skinless boneless chicken breasts, I still strained the broth 3 times through 8 layers of cheesecloth.
(Then the next day it occurred to me that I should have used a coffee filter to strain it through. It would have been less work. I hope I can remember the coffee filter the next time I make broth.)

I let the broth cool and pour one cup portions into square plastic containers then freeze them. I take the frozen broth ice cube out of the plastic container and put them in vacuum pack bags, date them and put them in the freezer for future use.
I love the way these look.
(Does that make me odd? lol)
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We use alot of broth in recipes and since salt is a problem in the processed foods, salt-free homemade broth is a welcomed staple to have on hand.

The sun is shining and the temps are warming up. It’s 57°, if the wind would stay calm, it would be a lovely day to go for a walk and look for signs of green.

I’m so happy to finally dare-to-hope that maybe Spring-like weather might be here soon.

Hope you all have a lovely day!
🙂

spcr1