Use It Up - Quick and Easy Summer Dessert

This isn't really a recipe, but I'll name it for you. :-D

Fruit and Cake Jumble

As I recall, we had had some friends to dinner some years back and she brought this yummy fruit mixture, among other things. She left the remnants with us afterwards and I had some cake on hand so I crumbled the cake and mixed the fruit with it. Then I put a few scoops of ice cream on top and it looks like I put some strawberry freezer jam over that. It was really good! 

This is a very simple way to use up stale-ish or leftover cake and chopped fruit. If you don't have enough liquid from the fruit, you can sprinkle it with bottled fruit juice of your choice or even soda. 

Whipped cream or vanilla pudding could substitute for the ice cream.

You could also make this with canned of frozen fruit if you don't have fresh. You might want to thaw the frozen fruit at least partially.

It's really just about being a little inventive with what you have. :-) Be creative and adventurous! And Enjoy!

Crock Pot Reuben Sandwich Filling

I had this years and years ago and it was really good. With more healthy versions of some of these ingredients available today, it would be possible to make this with organic ingredients or something similar. Also, this would probably be really good served with a savory version of Irish Soda Bread.

Reuben Sandwiches

1 Cup Thousand  Island salad dressing
1 Cup Sauer Kraut
1  12 ounce can corned beef (drained)
10 ounces grated Swiss cheese (or cheese of your choice)
Cook on high or medium in a crock pot 2 hours or more.
Serve on rye bread or potatoes (mashed, baked or boiled).

-- Thanks to Denise of South Dakota

Loaded Chips and Cheese

You can make chips and cheese into a fully balanced meal! This is one of the great things about it – that and melted cheese. What cheese lover can resist that? :-)  (Note of our foreign friends – the kind of chips used for this are corn tortilla chips, just in case you don’t know that.)

To make the loaded chips and cheese pictured above I fully cooked some chicken breast strips and seasoned them with Mexican type seasoning (garlic, onion, red pepper, cumin, oregano) and salt.

Then, after spreading the corn chips on a baking sheet, I added the chicken, sliced black olives and grated cheese.  I added some more spices to make the entire batch more flavorful. I baked it in the oven (350F-375F)  just till the cheese melted and then sprinkled it with fresh, diced tomatoes before serving it. Supper in one pan! :-)

Pinto or black beans from a can or precooked (rinsed and well drained) could be used here in place of the chicken meat, or added to it to “stretch” it. You could also use cooked, drained ground beef.

Other toppings you could use to make a complete meal of it:

- mozzarella; pepperoni; fully cooked, crumbled sausage (drained and patted dry with paper towel); mushrooms; olives and other pizza toppings (use the sauce for dip if you want it, or sprinkle basil, garlic and oregano on top of the cheese before baking).

- good melting cheese of your choice, thin sliced steak (fully cooked); chopped, canned artichoke hearts (well drained and patted dry); and sautéed garlic cloves (drained). Add fresh chopped tomatoes after removing it from the oven. Season with herbs of your choice – maybe fresh, chopped basil? Mmmm.

- fully cooked, drained ground beef (drain on paper towel); garbanzo beans; pitted kalamata olives; lightly sautéed garlic; crumbled feta cheese.  (You could use mozzarella with this as well.)  Top this with fresh, shredded lettuce, chopped cucumber, and/or tomatoes.  You could also spray the top lightly with olive oil before to add flavor.

- cheddar cheese; cooked, drained ground beef; and finely chopped dill pickles. Add chopped, diced tomatoes; shredded lettuce; and diced onion or chopped green onions after it is finished baking. "Sprinkle" ketchup and mustard over it. (This is for a cheese burger type taste.) :-)

Notes:

Obviously all the cheese needs to be grated, or in the case of feta crumbled, before use.

You could use leftover meat for this such as shredded chicken, turkey, beef, or pork.

Anything you want fresh needs to be added after removing from the oven.

I have not tried all these toppings. I’m just thinking these through as I write. Be adventuresome and think up some of your own that sound good to you. Just remember not to use anything very wet or oily or the chips may get soggy.

Also, using safe cheese and other ingredients, this recipe can be made gluten free.

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First published here 1/2011. Edited.

Cheesy Baked Portabellas

 

Some time back I made this simple, but elegant side for a dinner I was giving for family.  It is a little more expensive than some things, but really easy to make!

You will need:

whole portabella mushrooms
round cheese, sliced
seasonings of choice
salt to taste

Remove the stems and wash off dirt from portabella mushroom tops.  Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil (optional) and lightly grease/oil it.  Lay the portabellas top side down on the sheet.  Bake at about 350F till they are approximately halfway done – a little of the juices should be coming out (see photo above).  (Keep an eye on it as it doesn’t take terribly long.  Sorry, I can’t give an exact time.)

Remove from oven.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and lay slices of a round cheese on top.  You can use whatever you like: Provolone, etc.  I used a Mexican melting cheese.  I had to cut the slices in half to get them to fit nicely on top. 

Then sprinkle with whatever seasoning, herbs or toppings you want.  Use your imagination.  I used French’s onion crisps and parsley here.  You could also use a number if different fresh or dried herbs, caramelized onions, seasoning blends, fully cooked bacon bits or sun dried tomatoes.  You could even make them into miniature pizzas and serve as a main dish!  Yum!  (Note: Adding more toppings may require longer cooking time, so take the portabella tops out sooner so they don’t get overdone.)

Return to the oven and finish baking just till the cheese is melted.  Serve whole, or cut in half.

Quick Meals – Hearty Pizza Quesadillas

 

Here is a simple and quick meal to make.  If you make your own tortillas and meat fillings you will need to have them cooked ahead of time.  If you store pre-cooked meat or tortillas in the freezer you need to have them thawed as well.

First heat the tortilla in a frying pan with a little oil or butter.  Spread some Italian/pizza sauce on the top.  (This is our homemade sauce, by the way.) :-)

To one half of the tortilla add some grated mozzarella, your favorite fully cooked pizza meat, and sliced black olive and mushrooms if desired.  Fold the tortilla over on the fillings and cook, turning once, till the cheese is melted and the other ingredients are hot.  That’s it!  Serve with a salad if desired.

Quick and Easy Recipes - Special Dietary Needs Recipe Finder

 

WHFoods: Over 100 Quick and Easy Recipes

Here is a recipe finder that allows you to add specific ingredients, exclude specific ingredients, and include a specific nutrient.  You can select more than one item in the first two columns by following their instructions.  By doing this, you can find quick recipes for special diet needs!  What a useful tool! 

And, the recipes are quick.  They say, “The majority of recipes we offer can be both prepared and cooked in 30 minutes or less, from start to finish.”

The recipes are also flexible.  They tell us, “We realize that if our recipes are going to fit your individual tastes, schedule and lifestyle, they can't just dictate exactly which ingredients you need and the exact amount of each one to use.”

If you have no special diet needs, you can also just browse through their recipes and select ones that interest you.  Or, if you like to cook healthy, nutritious meals and are just looking for a quick and easy recipe for a specific ingredient, this is a great way to locate something.

A friend of mine whose son is on a very specialized diet right now got this link from his doctor and passed it on.

Quick Meals – BLT Quesadillas

 

Here is a quick meal that does required a few precooked items.  You can use your own, previously cooked ingredients.  The amount of what you will need will vary depending on how many you are cooking for, the size of your tortillas and how much you like bacon. ;-) 

You will need:

Cooked flour tortillas  (We actually buy raw flour tortillas at Costco and I cook them at home because they have the fewest ingredients of all the store bought tortillas, they don’t bother my “attentive stomach”, and they taste and smell incredibly better this way.  See more info below)

You will need:

Cooked bacon – Plan ahead: Cook extra when you’re cooking bacon anyway, and reserve what you need to make this meal later (pre-cooked bacon can be frozen for later use).

You will need:

Fresh tomatoes
Lettuce
Cheese, sliced
Mustard and/or mayonnaise if desired
Garlic powder, optional

Fold the tortillas in half.  Spread the inside with mustard or mayo and sprinkle lightly with garlic powder, if using.  Add sliced cheese and bacon inside the tortilla.  Cook on a hot griddle or in a frying pan.  It should be fine to do this in a dry pan, but if the pan tends to stick at all wipe it with some oil first.

Cook, turning at least once, till the cheese is melted and all the layers are heated through.

Just before serving open one side and add the tomato slices and lettuce.

These would be great with guacamole on the side.

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Regarding the tortillas: The raw flour tortillas that we purchase from Costco come in a large quantity. (NOTE: We Do Not Recommend the corn tortillas.  We had a bad experience with those, but never with the flour ones so far)  To deal with this quantity, we take them out of the packages; separate the tortillas, putting a small square of waxed paper between each one; place them in freezer bags; date them and put them in the freezer.  The reason we go to all the trouble of inserting waxed paper between each tortilla is that we found they stuck together after they thawed if we didn’t do this.  With this method we’ve had little trouble with that and they keep well in the freezer for several months.

MMmm.  I think I need to make these again soon! :-)