Dandelion Jelly and a Special Offer

I was sitting in my office at my day job the other day looking out the window. With the beautiful weather on that particular day, I was wishing I was outside instead of in my office working. One thing I noticed was all of the dandelions in the yard. It looked like a yellow blanket had been spread over the whole lawn. The landlord actually came later that day to mow the grass and all of the dandelions succumbed, too. The next day, I turned my desk chair around to look out of the window again and there they were. The dandelions had returned strong as ever. Don't you just hate that?

So, today I give you my way of revenge over the ever mortal dandelion with my recipe for Dandelion Jelly. The main thing to remember when harvesting the dandelion blossoms is to not use them if they have been treated with any type of insecticide or fertilizer, and it wouldn't hurt to make sure the dog or cat haven't watered them in their own special way either. Lastly, please check below the recipe for a special offer for my cookbook, Masters & Disasters of Cooking.

Dandelion Jelly

1 quart dandelion blossoms
2 T. lemon juice
4 1/2 c. sugar
1 pkg. Sure-Jell
1 pkg yellow food coloring

De-stem and rinse dandelions thoroughly. Boil them in one quart of water for 3 minutes. Strain out 3 cups of the water and return it to the stove. Discard the blossoms. To the water, add the lemon juice, food coloring, and Sure-Jell. Stir well and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the sugar and stir. Boil again for more 3 minutes. Pour into jars and seal.

Special Offer from my publisher:
From now until April 30, 2011, my publisher is running a special offer for free shipping (up to $4.99) on orders of my cookbook, Masters & Disasters of Cooking. This would make a great gift for Mother's Day. To find out how to get this special offer and to order, visit this page on my web site.

Thanks,
Carol

Potato Soup

I think I've mentioned before what a wonderful cook my husband is. Well, I'm going to remind you again and share a recent recipe of his. Here at home, we share the cooking duties for our dinners. As with most other families, we get into a rut by preparing the same things all the time. It gets old and we are always looking for something new to try. This past week, my husband decided to fix some potato soup before our potatoes went bad. I could not stop myself from telling him over and over how good his soup was.

When he decides on a new dish, he usually searches online for a recipe, even though I have hundreds of cookbooks on the bookshelf to look through. Sometime ago, he found a recipe for potato soup. It was good, but nothing to really brag about. This week, he pulled that recipe out and found that we didn't have all of the ingredients. Being the good cook that he is, he improvised and the result was the wonderful delicacy that I am bragging about. The only thing I added was a small amount of shredded cheese to my bowl. But, even without the added cheese, it was still good. I took some to work the next day for my lunch and forgot the cheese. Even without the cheese, I think it was even better the next day. Below is his final recipe after changing a few of the original ingredients and amounts.

Steve's Potato Soup

1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 C. celery, chopped
2 T. chopped parsley
5 T. butter or margarine (we use butter)
4 T. flour
2 1/2 C. chicken broth
1 1/2 C. whole milk
4 potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
dash of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. chicken bouillon powder
pepper, to taste

In a large pot, saute onion, celery, and parsley, in the butter until soft, but not brown. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes. Still stirring, slowly add in broth.

Add the rest of the ingredients and allow to simmer and thicken. Stir frequently to keep from burning for about 25 minutes until the potatoes are cook thoroughly. (My addition to the recipe is to add shredded cheese to each bowl and stir until melted.) Serve warm.

Product Testing

For the next two weeks, I will doing product testing with Miracle Whip Salad Dressing. I filled out an online survey last weekend and since I apparently answered the questions like they wanted, I was asked to do a product test. FedEx delivered the jars just a few minutes ago. I haven't had a chance to look over any of the material that came with it yet, but did see two boxes inside of the bigger box.

What I know from the survey last weekend is that I am to use one jar this week as a dressing on sandwiches, mixed for tuna salad, chicken salad, or egg salad, and finally in potato salad or some other dish calling for Miracle Whip. At the end of the week, I fill out another survey, then the next week I do it all over again, but with the other jar. Strict rules prohibit me from even opening the box for the second week until the first week is over and survey filled out.

In the past, I did product test for mascara, but I think this one will be more rewarding just from the fact that it's food and my husband once did a product test for Pam Cooking Spray. Check back and I will report my finding at the end of the two weeks.

Carol

Amaretto Chicken Salad

Yesterday, I had lunch with some old friends at Christie's on the Square and it was wonderful. Good conversation and fantastic food made for a very enjoyable day. The photo on the left is not my actually food, but it was the meal that I had. I highly recommend it for anyone who lives or visits the Salem, Indiana area. My selection was Amaretto Chicken Salad, Frozen Strawberry Salad, and Poppy Seed Bread. What a wonderful combination of food. I can't wait until I go back and will definitely have the same thing again.

Amaretto Chicken Salad

2 c. cubed chicken, cooked
1/4 c. mayonnaise
1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
1 t. salt
2 T. toasted almond slivers
1 T. amaretto

Mix the first four ingredients together and serve chilled on lettuce leaves. Sprinkle almond slivers on and around chicken salad and dribble amaretto over all.

Frozen Strawberry Salad

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple drained
1 8 oz. pkg. frozen strawberry, thawed
1 lg carton Cool Whip
1/2 c. sugar

Combine all of the ingredients together, except for the Cool Whip. Mix well and then add in the Cool Whip. Pour the salad mixture into a 9x13 inch pan and freeze until solid. Cut into squares before serving.

Poppy Seed Bread

2 1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 1/8 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. milk
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1 1/2 t. almond flavoring
3 c. flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
3/4 t. salt
1 1/2 t. poppy seed

Combine the first five ingredients and set aside. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and poppy seed. Gradually add to the first mixture and mix until well blended. Pour into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 350° f. for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Pork Chops and Tuna Casserole

Tonight, I announced to my husband that we were having baked pork chops, baked potatoes, and butter beans for supper. He then tells me, he is a little tired of pork chops. WHAT! How could he be tired of pork chops? I only fix them once a week, along with everything else that we fix once a week. Yes, he does a lot of the cooking, too.

Okay, in his defense, he already fixed pork chops earlier this week, but this was an emergency. My mom called me today and said she had thawed a tray of pork chops, but couldn't fix them because my brother decided not stop stop by her house for lunch. She always fixes us a great lunch on the weekends. I wasn't going to stop by because I wasn't feeling well today. She couldn't fix them tomorrow because she already planned on making vegetable soup. She couldn't refreeze them, so to not let them go to waste, I told her I'd take them. My husband said to go ahead and fix them anyway and he would figure something else out to eat. Which actually works out well, I can have one for supper tonight and another for lunch tomorrow, but I have a feeling the other three may be dog food by the end of the day.

Now on to the Tuna Casserole. My husband told me the other night that he'd like to have a tuna casserole. I am used to cold tuna on my lettuce salad or mixed with mayo for a sandwichv. The thought of eating hot tuna really doesn't appeal to me, but I'm willing to try. So, today I am asking for my readers' help. Do you have a really good tuna casserole recipe that your family loves? If so, could I please have the recipe to try? You can put in the comments sections for everyone to see, or you can email it to me at carolsfoodbites@hotmail.com

Thanks,
Carol

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm cheating today and am going to give you a link to a very good recipe. The reason I am cheating is because I am sick and stayed home from work. I have errands to run tomorrow and wanted to get this done today.

I subscribe to the Betty Crocker email newsletter and it is always full of some great recipes. The one I received this week had several recipes in honor of St. Patrick's Day. One of them was the one to the left, Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies. This is a really easy recipe using Betty Crocker's Sugar Cookie mix and adding a few drops of food coloring and mint extract. You know when you're sick, you want and need comfort food and I would love to have some of these cookies right now. But, I started a diet this week and am going to try and be good, which means staying away from the cookies. So, someone bake these cookies and tell me how good they are.

Carol
(who is heading back to bed)

Skippy Peanut Butter Recalled

The FDA and Unilever has issued a recall of Skippy Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter Spread and Skippy Reduced Fat Super Chunk Peanut Butter Spread. It is suspected that the products may be contaminated with Salmonella. Other Skippy products are not included in the recall. You can read the press release and check the Best-Used-By-Dates here.