Double Tomato Bruschetta

Double Tomato Bruschetta (Kellie Hood)

Ingredients

• 6 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, stems removed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 French baguette
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven on broiler setting.
2. In a large bowl, combine the roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt, and pepper. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes.
3. Cut the baguette into 3/4-inch slices. On a baking sheet, arrange the baguette slices in a single layer. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly brown.
4. Divide the tomato mixture evenly over the baguette slices. Top the slices with mozzarella cheese.
5. Broil for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Asian Style Lettuce Wraps

Asian Style Lettuce Wraps  (Amy's)

4 Heads of Romaine lettuce leaves
2tsp toasted sesame oil
2 lbs ground sausage or spicy italian pork
1/4 head of purple cabbage
1/2 head cabbage

Prep: Heat oil in skillet and then add ground meat. Stirring continually, break up into small bits as it cooks. Chop cabbage thinly then add to cooked meat. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally for 2-3 miutes. Turn off heat and cover with lid.

Spicy Sauce:
1 c corn syrup
1/2 c rice vinegar
1/2 Tbs peanut butter
1/2 crushed red chili pepper
1/3 c. soy sauce

Bring ingredients to a boil and cook 3-4 minutes. Heat before serving. Place spoonfuls of meat on lettuce leaves and pour heated sauce over them.

Caramel Apple Salad

Caramel Apple Salad
From Taste of Homes Cookbook

3 Granny Smith or other green apples, diced
3 red apples, diced
6 bars (2.07 oz each) Snickers
1 tub Cool Whip

Mix apples and chopped candy bars in large serving bowl until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 20 servings.

Crab Brushetta

Crab Brushetta
From: Taste of Homes Magazine

1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp plus 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
2 can (6oz each) lump crab meat, drained
1 cup chopped seeded plum tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh basil or 1/2 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp minced fresh oregano or 1/4 tsp dried oregano
8 slices Italian bread (1/2 inch thick)

In a large skillet, saute shallots and garlic in 2 tbsp oil until tender. Add the crab, tomatoes, basil, and oregano; cook and stir for 5-6 minutes or until heated through. Removed from heat. Brush both sides of each slice of bread with remaining oil. In another large skillet, toast bread for 1-2 minutes on each side. Cut each slice in half; top with crab mixture. Yield: 16 appetizers.

Spinach Salad

1/2lb fresh mushroom, sliced
1 red onion
2-3 bunches of spinach (bagged)
1 head of lettuce (romaine)
1/2lb grated Swiss cheese
1 pkg cooked bacon, broken into bite sized pieces (or bacon bits)
1/2 c. chopped celery

Dressing
3/4 C. sugar (Splenda works too)
1 tsp dry mustard
1tsp salt
1 1/2 T poppy seeds
1 C. Oil
1/2 C. apple cider vinegar
1 T. Grated onion

Place all salad ingredients in a bowl. Toss refrigerated dressing over salad and serve.

Just a wee bit....

A wee bit of me...How is that even possible. There isn't anything wee about me. Unless it is a Wii bit about me...but I digress. I will give you a little at a time...don't want to overwhelm anyone.

how often do you do laundry?

A better question is, "Do you ever stop doing laundry?" With 5 kids you can imagine. Then add to that Hubs who really likes a fresh pair of pants/shorts and refuses to use a towel more than once...yeah. Between the people in my house and the beds and towels and hand towels and wash clothes and rags....there is almost always a load running.

what is your favorite type of cookie?

Pretty much if you have just taken it out of the freezer, I will devour it. I don't love fresh hot cookies. I will eat them, of course, because who turns down a cookie? But take them out of the freezer, watch out. And just a side note, raisins should never be cooked. Ever. Especially not in a cookie. I'm just saying.

What would you do with an extra $2000 per month?

Oh, the possibilities. With that much more, I am sure that I would pay someone to do some of my deep ugly cleaning...dusting, mopping, wall cleaning, vents, LAUNDRY, etc. But I ain't paying some-one the whole $2000 for that. I think I would save up for a fun vacation. And we could fly. And stay in hotels. And eat out everyday for a week!!  But my reality is it would probably go to debt and food and clothing and field trips for my kiddoes. BORING!

What was/is your favorite subject in school?

Choir was probably my favorite, but if my boyfriend was in the class, I was happy. I know, I know. Lame. But what teenage girl isn't at least a little bit lame. (Yes, I know lame is such an '80's term...but hey, it works!)

Have you ever ridden in a hot air balloon?

I would have to say no. There isn't enough hot air to lift me off anything. Plus, it's a basket. 100+ feet off the ground. With fire blowing right above you. No seat belts. No parachute option. I would say that's pretty unsafe. But that's just me. That being said, we live where the largest hot air balloon festival is hosted every year and that is quite an amazing sight to see. I'm glad someone is willing to risk their life for my enjoyment.

What was your high school mascot?

Me! I was the mascot. Okay, so that lasted about 2 months, but it was fun being a Bobcat. Fun having 13 and 14 year old pull your tail, and making little kids cry. Mocking the cheerleaders and not getting in trouble. Getting to be the center of attention for a few hours. It was great. But, it also gets really hot in there. And messes up my teenage girl hair. So I stopped.

If you had the chance to go into space, would you?

If you promised that the spaceship wasn't a Southwest made vessel, I might consider it. Who am I kidding. I remember seeing what happened to the Challenger. Yeah, I don't want to leave my 5 kids motherless. For what? To be able to get a really cool window seat. I'm good.

How often do you go dancing?

Ummmm....never. Hubs is Deaf. Meaning, he hears nothing. Nada. That includes music. I wrote about that here. So dancing will have to wait.

Would you rather drive or fly?

If it's just me, I would rather fly. Faster. Easier. Plus someone brings me peanuts and half a soda. Awesome. If it is with Hubs, driving is a lot of fun...an extended period of uninterrupted time. If we have all 5 kids, that's a tough call. Would we have our own personal jet? Because even though the flight is faster, we have to deal with all those grouchy, impatient co-passengers. I don't handle rolling eyes very well. Driving is a little crazy, and I lose a lot of hair and I am pretty sure there is a place on my brain with a bunch of scar tissue from our last trip. But it is do-able...and affordable.

Have you ever been caught re-gifting?

I have never been caught. But I have only re-gifted once. Well, as long as you don't count handing down clothes to my kids..."Hey, look! Mommy got you some new pants! Oh, the hole? It's the style these days. I know. They do look like Kobe's old pants. Nice." If you don't count that, then once...a few weeks back. But they were unused baby clothes. Never worn...not even once. But caught, never.

And there you have it. My long winded answers to all those questions.

Hey, I rarely post on this blog. So if you like what you read, check out my main blog, Ooops...There Goes My Mind.. Would love to see ya there!!


Thanks, Leigh Ashley, for letting me share a wee bit of me!

English Toffee

English Toffee

2 ½ cups sugar

½ cup water

¼ cup light corn syrup

¼ teaspoon salt

1 lb. butter (4 sticks)

3 cups nuts, toasted and finely chopped

(pecans, walnuts, or almonds)

1 large (6-7oz) milk chocolate bar,

Chopped into small pieces

Spread chopped nuts on large cookie sheet, keeping one cup aside for topping.  Combine sugar, water, corn syrup, salt and butter in medium heat to hard crack stage, or 300 degrees on candy thermometer.

Remove pan from heat, stir well and pour in thin stream over nuts, covering pan and nuts evenly.  Place chopped chocolate over toffee, allow to men l and then spread evenly to cover.  Sprinkle with remaining nuts, pressing nuts lightly into chocolate with wax paper.  Allow to cool completely (several hours).  When cool, break into pieces with knife and store in airtight container. 

Variations: 

Grate chocolate and sprinkle half on bottom of pan with half of chopped nuts.  Place remaining halves of each on top of hot toffee

Increase nut quantity to four cups.

Nuts may be chopped more coarsely for bigger nut pieces.  Take special care to press these into chocolate while cooling.