Garlic Dills (Betty Crocker)

Note - the outside jars contain the garlic dills, the center jar contains Nana's pickles.

36 to 40 pickling cucumbers (3 - 3 1/2 inches)
7 1/2 cups water
5 cups vinegar (5 - 6% acidity)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons pickling or non iodized salt
12 cloves garlic
6 heads fresh dill
6 slices onion, 1/2 inch thick

Wash and scrub cucumbers carefully. Cut 1/4 inch slice from blossom end of each cucumber. Heat water, vinegar and salt to boiling in Dutch oven. Place 2 cloves garlic, 1 dill head and 1 onion slice in each of 6 hot jars. Pack cucumbers in jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Covering with boiling brine, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe rim of jars. Seal and process in boiling water bath 10 minutes.

For regular dills, omit the garlic.

Cherry Salad

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 can cherry pie filling
1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple - undrained
1/2-1 cup nuts (use your favorite variety)
16-20 oz container cool whip

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Chill and serve.


This recipe was given to me by Carol Harvey who is the mother-in-law of my neice, Lindsey Smith Harvey.

Steak Marinade - for 2 steaks - Recipe from McCormick/Schilling

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon Lemon and Pepper Seasoning Salt
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

Marinade steaks in ziplock bag 2-3 hours or for a stronger flavor overnight. Broil or grill to your liking, enjoy!

Note - Blaine and the kids don't like to eat steak unless it has been marinated because they think it's flavorless. In fact, there is no need for steak sauce when you use this recipe.

Linguine with Sicilian Tuna Marinara -- Recipe from Rachael Ray

3 Tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic minced
A couple shakes crushed red pepper flakes
1 can - 12 oz. Albacore tuna, packed in water, drained and broken up with a fork
1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
A palmful chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 pound linguine, cooked al dente

In a deep skillet, heat olive oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper over medium heat until garlic speaks. Add tuna meat and sauté until tuna is completely flake and warm through. When the bottom of the pan is covered with nice fishy mush, add
crushed tomatoes and the chopped parsley. Heat through and reduce heat to low until pasta is cooked and drained. Dump cooked linguine into the pasta and toss thoroughly with sauce. Turn out onto a serving dish or serve right from the hot pan
with crusty bread and a green salad. Feeds 4


Note: I use a lot of recipes from Rachael Ray. I chose this one in particular because it was surprisingly delicious, doesn't require many ingredients and is very affordable. If you keep these few items stocked in your pantry you will always be
ready to serve those unexpected dinner guests.

Deviled Potato Salad (Rachael Ray)

5 all-purpose potatoes, peeled and diced
Coarse salt
1/4 onion
3 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
1/2 cup mayonnaise, eyeball the amount
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon hot cayenne pepper sauce (recommended: Tabasco or Frank's Red Hot)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish

Boil potatoes in water seasoned with coarse salt until they are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain cooked potatoes and return to the warm pot to dry them out. Let the potatoes stand 2 minutes, then spread potatoes out on to a cookie sheet to quick-cool them.

In the bottom of a medium mixing bowl, grate 1/4 onion using a hand grater. Add mustard and mayonnaise, paprika and cayenne pepper sauce to the grated onion and stir to combine. Add potatoes to the bowl and stir to evenly distribute dressing. Season potato salad with salt and pepper and taste to adjust your seasonings. Top servings of salad with chopped scallions.

Yield: 4 servings
Preparation time: 10 to 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10 to 12 minutes
Ease of preparation: easy

Super Sloppy Joes (Rachael Ray)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
1 1/4 pounds ground beef sirloin
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 crusty rolls, split, toasted, and lightly buttered
Garnish: sliced ripe tomatoes, pickles, Deviled Potato Salad, recipe follows

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and meat to the pan. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up. Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning. Add sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and combine. When the meat has browned, add onion and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with meat for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 5 minutes longer. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy meat onto toasted, buttered bun bottoms and cover with bun tops. Serve with your favorite sides or sliced tomatoes seasoned with salt and pepper, dill pickles and Deviled Potato Salad. Have plenty of napkins on hand

Apple Streusel – from Jr. League of Salt Lake

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
Apple Filling
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
4 cups sliced, pared baking apples
Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
Light cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
In a medium-size bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; cut in butter. Stir in egg to moisten. Mixture will be fairly dry. Divide in half. Press one half in the bottom of a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar, flour and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir in applies and arrange over bottom crust. Crumble remaining dough over apples. Bake for 40 minutes and cool.
In a small bowl combine powdered sugar, vanilla, and enough cream to make a thin glaze. Drizzle over top and cut into 2x2 inch squares.

Extra garlicky Caesar salad dressing

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

6-8 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup mayonnaise

3 Tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tablespoons minced fresh flat leaf parsley

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon anchovy paste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, pour over romaine lettuce, tomatoes and sliced red onions and garlic croûtons.

You can add Tyson grilled chicken strips for a grilled chicken Caesar salad.

Just a note - make sure that you and your husband eat this when it is made or you won't be gettin' any lovin'!

To make lighter - use non fat sour cream and mayonnaise.