Recipes

August 9, 2017, posted by Gina -At long last I have the Peach Hand Pie recipe to share! I think I mentioned that I am not that fond of fruit desserts but these little pies are delicious. This recipe came from a chef and I feel fortunate that it was shared with me. You could use just about any fruit in this recipe but peaches are in season right now so it seems we should enjoy their bounty while we can. Let’s get started.

PEACH FILLING
3 ripe peaches, sliced very thin
1 cup water
¾ cup sugar
½ cup orange juice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Combine peaches and all remaining ingredients in saucepan and cook on low for 1 hour. Cool. Place in refrigerator until ready to prepare pies.

PIE DOUGH
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tbs. sugar
9 tbsp. frozen unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
¼ cup vodka
¼ cup cold water

Combine flour, salt and sugar in food processor and pulse 10 times. Add frozen butter and process until mixture resembles cornmeal. Combine water and vodka. With food processor on, let liquid stream into dough mixture until combined. Place food processor bowl in freezer for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, divide dough into 12 equal portions. Shape each dough portion into a ball. Roll each portion to a 5-inch circle. Cut dough with a 3-inch biscuit cutter.

To assemble, top one of the 3-inch circles with the peach filling then top with another 3-inch circle of dough. Press edges together with a fork to seal. Place 3 – 4 slits in each pie.

EGG WASH
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk

Combine egg and milk and brush over tops of pies.

SUGAR TOPPING
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over each pie.

Bake at 425 degrees for 18 minutes or until lightly browned (this was at 12 minutes in my oven).

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July 26, 2017, posted by Gina – For this week’s What to Cook Wednesday I’m sharing a very easy snack recipe for Spicy Ranch Pretzels. The recipe calls for Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn oil but I used the store brand. I also threw in a bit more dill and red pepper flakes. So, feel free to adjust this one according to your taste and enjoy!

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July 19, 2017, posted by Gina – I don’t know about where you are, but where I am it is HOT! When it is this hot, I make meals on the lighter side. Also, my basil is growing like crazy so I’m trying to think of ways to use it. Enter the Wedge Salad with Basil Green Goddess Dressing. The dressing recipe is from none other than Ina Garten. What would I do without her? I love her recipes because they are easy to follow and always fabulous.

While the dressing is Ina’s, I decided to take a slight departure from the bibb lettuce she suggests using. I love iceberg lettuce and the wedge it makes. On top of the iceberg I put tomatoes, green onions and crumbled bacon. So simple but oh so good.

The first time I made this for my family my younger son absolutely loved it and asked why I had never made it and when would I make it again. My older son did not like it because in his mind lettuce in a salad should always be chopped. I would love to hear about reactions from your family if you serve this to them. Let us know what they think of this. In the meantime, enjoy!

July 12, 2017, Posted by Gina – It’s another Wednesday and that means we are sharing one of our favorite recipes. Looking for a delicious dish that everyone in your family will love? Then try this parmesan chicken. The chicken is moist and the flavor is outstanding. Just about any vegetable goes well along side this winning meal. This recipe calls for thinly sliced chicken breast. You can use regular sliced chicken breasts but you will need to pound them until very thin. So, if you can find the thinly sliced ones, it saves you a bit of time and effort. We like to serve this alongside fresh vegetables and salad. We hope this becomes a recipe your family enjoys as much as ours does.

July 5, 2017, posted by Gina – It’s BBQ season and with that all types of baked bean recipes come to mind. Over the years my taste buds have changed a bit. While I used to love baked beans with lots of mustard and ketchup and a little brown sugar baked in, I now have a new favorite and it’s a savory cannellini bean recipe.

My family loves these and they truly are a perfect, healthy addition to any meal. The starch in the beans combined with the other ingredients makes for a bit of a saucy, brothy texture adding to the great taste.

I served these with BBQ chicken and my family and I decided that that the savory taste was a great compliment to the sweet BBQ. Give these a try! They are easy, healthy and delicious.

June 28, 2017, posted by Gina – Over the years I have tried several recipes for French Potato Salad. I created this one using certain ingredients from a few other versions. I absolutely love it because the flavors are so wonderful and it does not contain mayonnaise. Don’t get me wrong, I love mayonnaise but this recipe takes away some calorie worries as well as concerns about serving it outdoors. Since the 4th of July is right around the corner, I thought this recipe would be timely. You should give this a try and if you do, make sure to tell us how you like it.

Start with a 3-pound bag of red new potatoes and a vegetable scrubber. Clean the potatoes.

Place the potatoes in a pan of water and bring to a boil. Boil for about 25 minutes or until tender. Don’t boil them too long or the potatoes will turn to mush. Turn them into a colander and place on a cutting board.

Once cooked, cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces. Return the potatoes to the pan and toss with the cooking wine and beef broth. Let them sit for a few minutes allowing the potatoes to soak the wine and broth in and to cool off.

Make the dressing by whisking the remainder of the ingredients together.

Pour the dressing over the potatoes and toss.

Place the potatoes in a serving dish and top with fresh basil or whatever fresh herbs you have on hand. Enjoy!

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June 27, 2017, posted by Gina – I wrote a post detailing the tablescape I pulled together for our 4th of July gathering and shared the menu. But here, you’ll see all the recipes (or links) for each dish. The blue and white Spode cup on each place setting that you see above will be the recipient of the first dish…delicious Watermelon with Balsamic and Feta.

Tequila Lime Chicken from Ina Garten

Fresh Corn on the cob, cooked and served with butter, salt and pepper.

I have been making Balsamic Roasted Potatoes for years. I no longer need a recipe but wanted to give credit to whoever created this delicious dish. I thought it was Giada but I could not find anything. Then I thought it was Ina and again, I could not find anything. So here goes the recipe straight from my memory and I give thanks to whoever shared it with me.

June 5, 2017, posted by Gina – We’re taking a little break this week from our regular manners and moods posts to share a few simple recipes. This meatloaf is one of Mr. GDFC’s favorite meals. If you are rolling your eyes over meatloaf, you might want to give this recipe a chance; I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Chicken Salad…as pretty as a centerpiece. This is the same chicken salad recipe that we posted HERE but this presentation is quite different. We took our favorite chicken salad recipe and tripled it for a large crowd. We topped it with a bit of fresh parsley and radish rosettes to give it a little color. Serve alongside crackers or fresh French bread.

Well, if these aren’t just the prettiest thing! We found this recipe for Buttered Rosemary Rolls in The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond. We followed her infamous step by step instructions in the link above and were mighty proud of these when they popped out of the oven. It kind of makes you look like a real chef. Thanks, REE!

May 23 2017, posted by Gina – The colors in this salad are so pretty you could almost skip having a centerpiece on the table. The best part is that this is one of our all-time favorite salads. Easy and healthy!