These Mason jars hold pure delight: BLT Turkey Salad

I thought it was just the cutest idea ever—serving a salad in Mason jars. That’s how the colorful recipe card depicted it. Then I read that the menu item would appeal to the pickiest of eaters. I know a few of those. So I had to get busy and round up the ingredients to see how this all worked out.

The recipe was intended to use turkey (BLT Turkey Salad was its name), but I subbed cubed cooked chicken. Typically I would have subbed the darker leafy spinach for the called-for romaine lettuce, but then it wouldn’t have been a BLT! Lettuce, tomato, and bacon were joined by healthy green pepper, cucumber, and red onion. I suppose if I had had leftover avocado, green onion, or black olives, I could have tossed those in as well. The dressing was amazing and tied everything together. My recipe card suggests pairing the salad with a slice of garlic bread.

This was an absolutely darling salad that Hubby and I devoured down to the last piece of shredded cheese.

BLT Turkey Salad

6 cups torn romaine or leaf lettuce

4 cups cubed cooked turkey

1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes

1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

10 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled (I used turkey bacon)

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup chopped cucumber

Dressing:

1 cup (8 ounces) plain yogurt

1 cup mayonnaise (I used lite mayo)

1/4 cup sugar (I used sugar substitute)

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

In a large salad bowl combine the first nine ingredients. Just before serving whisk the dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing mixture over turkey mixture; toss to coat. Makes 12 servings. (Recipe courtesy Taste of Home Thanksgiving Recipe Cards.)

Happy that this fresh guacamole is so healthy; orange you?

I’m not sure I’ve ever enjoyed any guacamole recipe any more than I did this Fresh Orange Guacamole. It was thick, chunky, and indulgent.

Only problem was, that hint of orange that drew me to preparing this dish was nowhere around.

Perhaps another cook would achieve a different outcome. But, to me, the recommended addition of 1 large navel orange, peeled, sectioned, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces, plus the 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice didn’t have a great deal of impact on the flavor. My taste buds are a wee bit dulled from sustaining an upper-respiratory infection since the first of the year, so, thinking I might not be the best judge, I asked Hubby for his take on it. He wasn’t picking up an orange taste either. Bummer.

On the other hand, this dip was absolutely amazing when you consider the content—no mayo, no sour cream, nothing to add unnecessary calories. With the mashed avocados, chopped red onion, jalapeno pepper, and seasonings, plus the orange additions, it needed nothing else in terms of ingredients. Low-calorie, healthy—and the orange, while it didn’t bowl you over with flavor, sure couldn’t hurt in terms of healthy composition.

We served with fresh chips, although the source (Southern Living December 2011 issue) mentioned that Fresh Orange Guacamole would be a wonderful addition to a buffet spread of taco-makings.

Orange we glad we tried it?

Fresh Orange Guacamole

4 medium-sized ripe avocados, halved

1 large navel orange, peeled, sectioned, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 garlic clove, pressed

3/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

tortilla chips

garnish: fresh pomegranate seeds

Scoop avocado pulp into a bowl; mash pulp with a fork just until chunky. Stir in orange and next 5 ingredients. Cover and chill 1 to 4 hours. Serve with tortilla chips. Garnish, if desired. Makes 4 servings.

Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce great January-blahs buster

Unlike with yesterday’s recipe, from the start I expected to be wowed by this dish; it even exceeded my expectations. But how can anything with apple as its main element be far from spectacular?

This Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce was just way terrific—easy to make, with lots of chunky, fresh apples. It baked in an 8-inch square pan and cut into nice-sized squares. Atop it went a thick caramel sauce. You could serve the cake either warm or cold as long as the caramel sauce was a warm top layer. Splendid! People normally think fall or Christmas when apples are mentioned, but to me this dessert was a great January-blahs buster.

Interestingly my sauce turned out to look nothing like the sauce in the photo of the recipe. Mine was decadent and creamy; the recipe photo had sauce resembling pancake syrup—clear and much thinner than mine. Yet I checked the recipe carefully and determined I hadn’t missed a step. Either way seemed as though it would be tasty.

Hubby enjoyed a tablespoon of sugar-free whipped topping on top of the caramel sauce on top of the cake. He really got into this dessert! And while it lasted, which for us wasn’t long, Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce was a terrific end-of-meal treat to anticipate.

Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)

1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups chopped peeled tart apples

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Caramel Sauce

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup evaporated milk or half-and-half

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1 egg lightly beaten (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)

In a small bowl cream butter and sugar until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Gradually add to creamed mixture. Mix well. Stir in apples and pecans. Pour into a greased 8-inch square baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center emerges clean. Meanwhile for caramel sauce combine brown sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, about 3 minutes. Serve cake warm or cold with warm caramel sauce. Makes 9 servings. (Recipe courtesy Taste of Home Thanksgiving Recipe Cards).

(Amended post from earlier) A dash of apple, a dash of bacon—this red-cabbage side really sings

(See amended ingredients below. Original post left out amount of red cabbage.)

Ever cooked something when you didn’t have very high expectations? I was intrigued by the recipe for Red Cabbage with Apple—I thought it looked pretty in the bowl. Quite frankly, it wasn’t something I expected to see recommended for a holiday table (in my little Taste of Home holiday recipe cards book I’ve been using), except that its ruby-red color seemed festive. But I had some leftover turkey bacon and thought I’d make smart use of it by trying out this cabbage dish.

How nice to be pleasantly surprised! Hubby, too—he kept remarking, “Wow, I REALLY like this red cabbage dish.” With his emphasis and intonations on the word REALLY, I knew what he probably was thinking was, “And I didn’t expect to be.” Me, too!

The tangy tartness with the hint of bacon mixes with the sweetness of the apple to create a wonderful flavor. We used this dish as a side with broiled salmon filets, but I can imagine it being great with turkey or chicken as well.

How nice to start the new year off with a good surprise—even one of the food variety!

Red Cabbage with Apple

3 bacon strips, diced (I used turkey bacon)

1 medium apple, peeled and chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 small head of red cabbage, chopped

1 cup water

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar (I used sugar substitute)

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

In a large saucepan cook the bacon over medium heat until it is crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon to paper towels to drain. In the drippings sauté onion and apple until they are tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until tender. Stir in reserved bacon. Makes 6 servings. (Courtesy Taste of Home Thanksgiving Recipe Cards).

Mini-morsels of healthy goodness in these Broccoli Cornbread Muffins

Some fresh broccoli in the veggie bin of my fridge was giving me a guilt trip. I had purchased it on Christmas week to use some in the festivities, but by now the little green tree-like spikes were turning yellow around the gills. I needed to cook them in something quickly. What would be a good use?

Dinner was a big pot of our Easy Vegetable Soup, which has been covered in previous blogs (and springs from my cookbook, Way Back in the Country Garden). It needed a cornbread accompaniment to make things just perfect. I surfed the Internet for a broccoli cornbread recipe and immediately found something on www.myrecipes.com

This recipe (originally from April 2003 Southern Living) was for mini-muffins—all the better. Hubby and I could have that “just a bite” without feeling overloaded. The recipe said it yielded two dozen muffins, but I was able to get about 30 from the ample amount I stirred up. The fresh broccoli (subbed for the package of frozen broccoli called for) made the Broccoli Cornbread Muffins extremely tasty. The broccoli, onion, and cheddar cheese mixture was power-packed in these little gems. With the homemade veggie soup they were perfect. Wish I could say “perfect on a cold night”. In our part of Texas this winter we haven’t had too many of those yet. But it was perfect for the balmy January night that was an ideal clime outdoors for getting Christmas yard decorations removed, packaged, and put away.

I was thankful that I had saved that broccoli from extinction and made it into some darling muffins that we will enjoy for many days. And of course accolades for the little green veggie continue to pour in; an online list just yesterday commended broccoli once again as being a top cancer-fighting food.

Broccoli Cornbread Muffins

1 (8 1/2-ounce) package corn muffin mix

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed (I used 10 ounces of fresh broccoli)

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese

1 small onion, chopped

2 large eggs (I used egg substitute)

1/2 cup butter, melted

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Stir together eggs and butter. Blend well. Add to broccoli mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon into lightly greased mini-muffin pans. Fill three-fourths full. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Let stand 2 to 3 minutes before you remove muffins from pans. (Makes 24 to 30 muffins.)

Cashews give crunch to this veggie-laden Turkey with Curried Cream Sauce

Soothing, healthy, colorful, good re-use of leftovers. I got all those qualities and more more in this Turkey with Curried Cream Sauce dish. My recipe book billed it as a great way with holiday turkey leftovers, but I enjoyed it so much, I’d find some fresh turkey breast to fix (you probably also could use some chicken, such as a chicken breast) just to make it happen.

One cut-up yellow squash and one cut-up zucchini, along with chopped onion (I also added a few red bell pepper strips that I had on hand), are cooked until tender in the curried gravy. Add turkey and lemon peel.

This recipe assembles quickly and disappears just as fast—a great idea for these first-of-the-year meals when everyone is hastening to get “normal” restored to their lives. I love that the recipe called for sprinkling cashews (my fave nuts!) on the top. It suggests serving this sauce over rice, but I had some biscuits that needed to be devoured, so I served this wonderful creamed dish over them and just loved it.

Foodwise (thanks to Taste of Home Thanksgiving Recipe Cards for this one), our new year has gotten off to a delicious start.

Turkey with Curried Cream Sauce

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1 cup chicken broth (I used low-sodium)

1/4 cup milk (I used skim)

1 small yellow squash, sliced

1 small zucchini, sliced

12 small onions, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons canola oil

2 cups cubed cooked turkey breast

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

hot cooked rice

3 tablespoons chopped cashews

In a small saucepan melt butter; stir in flour and curry until smooth. Gradually add broth and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened; remove from the heat; set aside. In large skillet saute the squash, zucchini, and onion in oil until all are tender. Add the turkey, lemon peel, and reserved sauce; heat through. Serve with rice. Sprinkle each serving with cashews. Makes 4 servings.

Black-Eyed Pea Salad—what could bring better luck in the new year?

They were a “must” to be prepared, of course—the requisite black-eyed peas for good luck on New Year’s Day. I had saved a Southern Living recipe from last year and thought it was just perfect for getting the deed accomplished in a tasty way.

Assembling it was no trouble, but rounding up one of the ingredients involved a small marathon. Red-pepper jelly was one of the main parts of the marinade; our standby Kroger didn’t seem to have it. Hubby pawed around in the traditional jams-and-jellies aisle, the international foods aisle, and the health-foods aisle. He called over the manager, which he never hesitates to do when he needs help. He even encountered a neighbor who makes delicious jalapeno salsa with some of the peppers from our garden. No one seemed to know where to get red-pepper or even jalapeno jelly.

Thankfully the good ole Internet let our fingers do the walking. Hubby tippy-typed a question about where to purchase red-pepper jelly in our area. He was directed to the Wal-Mart that was on our way to pick up our grandbaby who was our New Year’s Eve charge. Hubby walked into the store and immediately spotted the red-pepper jelly—tons of it—on the jams-and-jellies aisle. He didn’t even have to scour the store. What a nod to technology!

The recipe itself was immensely simple and merely involved marinating cooked black-eyes, red onions, cilantro, red bell pepper (although I used yellow bell pepper since I had it on hand), red-pepper jelly, red-wine vinegar, and cut-up jalapeno for about eight hours and then tossing in two diced peaches and some shredded spinach just before serving. The salad recipe definitely was a suggestion worth saving for an entire year. Sweet, tangy, and unusual, this pea salad was a great way to take care of that New Year’s tradition. Even little grandboy ate a morsel—a lucky 2012 is guaranteed for him!

I may not wait until New Year’s 2013 to prepare Lucky Black-Eyed Pea Salad again. This is a great salad side for any important occasion.

Lucky Black-Eyed Pea Salad

1 (16-ounce) package frozen black-eyed peas

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup red-pepper jelly

1/4 cup red-wine vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

3/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 cup diced red bell pepper

1/3 cup diced red onion

2 large fresh peaches, peeled and diced

2 cups torn watercress (I subbed shredded spinach, which I had on hand)

Prepare peas according to package direction. Simmer them only until tender; drain and let cool 1 hour. Whisk together cilantro and next 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add cooked black-eyed peas, bell pepper, and onion, tossing to coat, and cover and chill for 8 hours. Stir peaches and watercress (or spinach) into pea mixture just before you serve. Makes 6 servings.