Food Nanny's Breadsticks

I really love these breadsticks; they are very easy and tasty.

by Liz Edmunds, the Food Nanny

1 T. active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

2 T. olive oil

1 T. honey

1/4 tsp. salt

3-4 c. flour

1/3 cup melted butter

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Parmesan cheese

1. Mix the yeast and water in a small bowl, cover, and let stand until foamy, 5-10 minutes.

2. Mix the oil, honey, salt, and yeast mixture in a large mixing bowl. If using a food processor, add 1 cup of flour at a time, up to 3 cups, mixing well after each addition. You may have to stir in the third cup of flour by hand, depending on your machine. Or mix in all 3 cups of flour by hand with a wooden spoon.

If the dough seems too wet, mix in more flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough is soft. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead in more flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough is moderately stiff and somewhat firm to the touch, about 6 minutes.

3. Grease a sheet pan and pinch off balls of dough to equal about 2 T. and roll between your hands to form small breadsticks. Lay them on the prepared pan.

4. Mix the butter and garlic in a small bowl. Brush onto the breadsticks, reserving some for later. Sprinkle the breadsticks with parmesan cheese. Let the breadsticks rise until doubled in bulk, 15-20 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

5. After the breadsticks have risen, bake about 10 minutes or until they are golden brown. If you want to brush on additional garlic butter halfway through baking and again when they come out of the oven you can. The recipe says to do this, but I never do and they still taste fine.

Strawberry Cream Crepes

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• I don't know what took me so long to make these. They are my new favorite dessert ever. I topped them with hot fudge sauce. You can add ice cream and whipped cream too. LOVE THESE!
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• BATTER:
• • 4 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 1/3 cups milk
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • dash of cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
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• FILLING:
• 16 oz. Mascarpone cheese
• 4 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
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  STRAWBERRY TOPPING:
• 2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 teaspoon strawberry or vanilla extract
• Dash salt
• 4 teaspoons butter, divided

Directions:

In a blender, combine the batter ingredients. Meanwhile, for filling, in a small bowl, combine the cheese, confectioners' sugar, and lemon juice. Gently fold in strawberries. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. For topping, in a small bowl, combine the strawberries, sugar, orange juice, extract and salt. Let stand for 30 minutes. Melt 1 teaspoon butter in an 8-in. nonstick skillet over medium heat; pour about 1/4 cup batter into the center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to coat bottom evenly. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing skillet as needed. When cool, stack crepes with waxed paper or paper towels in between.

Cowboy Caviar

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (optional)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 cup of frozen corn
• 1 (8 ounce) bottle zesty Italian dressing
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 bunch chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together onion, green bell pepper, corn,green onions, jalapeno peppers, garlic, cherry tomatoes, zesty Italian dressing, black beans, black-eyed peas and coriander. Cover and chill in the refrigerator approximately 2 hours. Toss with desired amount of fresh cilantro to serve.

Strawberry Shortcake with Almond Glaze

Another great recipe from here. I just made it for a birthday cake and it was sooooooo yummy.

1 yellow cake mix

1 cup sour cream

4 eggs

1 small vanilla pudding mix

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

2 tsp almond extract

Mix all the above ingredients together for a few minutes until well combined. Pour the batter into 2 round cake pans. I used 9" and it was perfect. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until done. Let cool for a few minutes and then gently remove from pans.

Almond Glaze

4 cups powdered sugar

1 stick of butter, melted

4 tsp almond extract

6-7 Tb milk, or enough to make the consistency like a glaze.

Mix the glaze ingredients together while the cake bakes. Once the cakes are out of their pans, prick the cake with a large fork or the back of a wooden spoon. . Spoon the glaze over the two round cakes letting it sink in. It works better if your cake is still a little warm so the glaze will soak in. Save about 1/3 or so of the glaze and set aside.

1 pint whipping cream

powdered sugar to sweeten

1-2 pounds of fresh strawberries, sliced

Whip cream with 2 Tb powdered sugar, using a mixer. Wash dry and slice the starwberries and set aside.

Assembly:

Place one of the glazed cake rounds on a cake stand or large plate. Top with freshly whipped cream and a layer of strawberry slices. Follow with the second cake, more whipped cream and arrange more fresh sliced strawberries on top in a pretty pattern. Next drizzle the more of the almond glaze over the top and down the sides. Store in fridge until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Key Lime Pie

1 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice

4 egg yolks

2 cans sweetened condensed milk

Crust:

1 1/2 c. crushed graham crackers

1/3 c. sugar

6 T. butter, melted

1/2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

Combine all the ingredients for the crust and press into a pie plate. Combine lime juice, egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk with a few drops of green food coloring if you'd like. Pour pie into crust and bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Cool before serving.

Pad Thai

I have been on the hunt for the last five years to find the best Pad Thai recipe. I want the real stuff from my favorite restaurants. Well, this is it! You need to go to an Asian store if you want to do this right.

1/2 pkg. medium size rice noodles, soak 20 minutes in warm water then drain

1 bunch green onions

1/2 of a red onion, chopped

7 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 pound fresh shrimp

1/2-1 pound of chicken cut in strips

3 eggs

1/2 lb. mung bean sprouts

shredded carrots

chopped peanuts

Pad Thai sauce

In a wok or skillet add 1/4 c. vegetable oil over medium high heat. Saute red onion for a few minutes until translucent. Add garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add three eggs and scramble them. Stir in shrimp and chicken and cook until done. Add rice noodles and cook for about two minutes, until soft. Add bean sprouts and stir in Pad Thai sauce. Garnish with green onions, carrots, and peanuts.

Pad Thai Sauce:

4-5 T. palm sugar (get it at the Asian store in a jar)

1 c. tamarind sauce (get it at the Asian store in a jar)

5 T. fish sauce

You can add 2 T. of peanut butter if you like.

Cook over the stove on medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.

You can also garnish your Pad Thai with additional peanut sauce.

2 jars of Satay peanut sauce

2 or more T. peanut butter

2 T. broth if too thick

1/2 lemon, juiced

Warm the above ingredients over stove.

I'm telling you, this is the BEST we've had--we got this recipe straight from our friend in Thailand.

Sausage and Spinach Penne Dinner Skillet

Another great recipe from here. You will love this and wow your family. My kids ate it up. If you are in a rut, try this dinner tonight.

1 pound Italian-style turkey sausage, casings removed (I couldn’t find turkey sausage so I substituted mild pork sausage)

3 medium garlic cloves, minced finely
3 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 ounces (about 3 1/2 cups) penne pasta
1 (6-ounce) bag baby spinach
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot and add in the sausage. Cook until lightly browned and no longer pink about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in the water, broth, sun-dried tomatoes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, then add in the pasta. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook at a strong simmer, stirring often, until the pasta is tender and the liquid has thickened, about 15-18 minutes (if you find the liquid is absorbing too quickly and the pasta is still undercooked, add a bit more water in small amounts until the pasta is cooked thoroughly).

Stir in the spinach, a handful at at ime, and cook until wilted. Off the heat, stir in the cheese and pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper to taste adn serve immediately.