Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps, Tomato-Avocado Toasts, Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms, & Strawberry Blossoms

Kimberli Dana's Favorite Appetizer Recipes...

Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 head butter head lettuce

In a small bowl, stir all ingredients together. If necessary, cut the bottom of each butter head leaf, making leaves about 6 inches long. Spread about 3 Tablespoons of chicken salad mixture lengthwise down one edge of lettuce leaf. Roll and secure with three wooden cocktail picks,
completely enclosing salad in lettuce. Use a gentle sawing motion to cut each lettuce roll between the picks, making three pieces.

Tomato-Avocado Toasts

2 Tablespoons olive oil
Several Avocados
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
1 small bread baguette, cut diagonally into sixteen half-inch slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice baguette pieces and brush both sides with olive oil. Bake on a baking sheet until golden, about 8 minutes. Halve the avocados and scoop flesh into a bowl. Mash avocado with the teaspoon of lemon juice. Season mixture with salt and pepper and spread mixture onto toasted bread. Top with quartered grape tomatoes.

Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms

24 or more large mushrooms
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese
1 lb. sausage
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1 (12 oz) pkg. Stouffer’s Frozen Spinach Souffle, defrosted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash mushrooms and remove stems. Dry the mushrooms and arrange them on a baking sheet. Brown sausage and drain. Add cheddar cheese, cream cheese, and Spinach Souffle. Mound mixture into mushroom caps. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes until browned.

Strawberry Blossoms

8-12 large strawberries or more
3 ounce pkg. of cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon sour cream
1 Tablespoon vanilla

Remove stems from berries, forming a flat base. Place berries pointed end up. With a sharp knife, carefully slice berry in half vertically through the center to within 1/4 inch of the base. cut each half into three wedges, forming 6 petals. Pull petals apart. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, sour cream and vanilla until light and fluffy. With a pastry bag and star tip or small spoon, fill berries with cream cheese mixture. Use as a garnish on a cake or serve as a mini desert.

Miso soup (Winnie Chang)

Ingredients:
Miso Paste - 2 Tbsp
Chicken broth - 1 Can
Water - 3 cups
Soft tofu - cut into small cubes
Green onion - 1 stalk, chopped finely

Cook:
Put all the ingredients together except for the green onions and let it boil. Then put the chopped green onions in the pot.

You can buy the miso paste at the Asian market off of oracle and orange grove...it's a small place right across from Bed bath and beyond.

The miso paste is in the refrigerator and it contains NO MSG.

Easy Ground Beef Stew (Teresa Horton)

1 pound of browned ground beef (if not lean, drain fat)
4 peeled and chopped potatoes
4 peeled and chopped carrots
2 chopped celery stalks
1 chopped onion
3-5 cloves of garlic
1 can of corn (with liquid)
1 can of tomato soup or dices tomatoes(with liquid)
1 3 inch sprig of fresh rosemary
3 3 inch sprigs of fresh thyme
1 3 inch sprig of fresh sage
3 dashes of worsteshire sauce
Fresh ground pepper

**Throw all of the above into a crock-pot and cook on high 3hrs Or on Low for about 4-5 hours.

The great thing about this dish is that you can put any left over veggies you have into it.

Baked Potato Soup (Robin Bringhurst)

1 stick butter or margarine
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup flour
2 cans (14 ½ oz. each) chicken broth
2 cans (12 oz. each) evaporated milk
4 large or 6 medium baking potatoes, cubed and boiled
salt and ground pepper to taste
4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 min. or until tender. Stir in flour. Gradually stir in broth and evaporated milk. Take about half of potatoes and mash them, add to pot. Cook over medium heat just until it comes to a boil. Take off heat. Add in diced potatoes, salt, pepper, cheese, and bacon.

Pumpkin Soup (Laura Martin)

2 t Olive Oil
2 C leeks (white parts only) washed well and cut into 1 in chunks
½ Medium Onion, chopped
2 medium Carrots, chopped
1 medium green apple, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks
2 16 oz. cans unseasoned pumpkin puree
1 sprig fresh thyme or ½ t dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 t salt
1 t freshly ground black pepper
1 t ground allspice
1 t ground cinnamon
7 C vegetable stock or water
¼ C frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
3 T nonfat yogurt, for garnish
1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced for garnish

1) In large pot heat oil, add leeks, onion, carrots, apple, pumpkin, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper, allspice and cinnamon. Cover and cook 10 min. stirring occasionally.
2) Stir in stock. Bring to boil, simmer for 30 minutes (or until vegetables are tender). Let cool slightly. Discard bay leaf.
3) Working in batches puree soup in blender or food processor. Pour back into pot and heat on medium until flavors are well blended. Season with salt and pepper if necessary. Stir in juice. Garnish with apples and yogurt.

Rachael Ray’s Green Minestrone (Laura Martin)

2 T Extra Virgin olive Oil
4 slices of pancetta ( I use canned chicken)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 medium zucchini, chopped into chunks
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 can white beans
1 can garbanzo beans
8 C chicken broth
1 C mini pasta
½ lb. green beans or can of green beans
10 oz. fresh or frozen chopped spinach
½ C parmesan cheese
12-16 leaves of fresh basil

Sauté – pancetta (if using) in olive oil. Add onions,
celery, bay leaf, garlic, zucchini, and Salt and Pepper.
Sauté for about 5 minutes.
Add – beans and Broth, cover and bring to boil.
Add – Pasta and green beans – cook 8 minutes
Stir- in spinach, 1 minute
Stir – in grated cheese and top with basil

Chicken Tortilla Soup (Kristy Cook)

4 chicken breasts
4- 15oz. cans of beans
-2 pinto
-1 kidney
-1 black
2- 15oz. cans of Mexican style stewed tomatoes
1 c. salsa
1- 7oz can chopped green chilies
1- 14.5oz. (or 2- 80z. cans) tomato sauce (roasted garlic is good)
Some cumin

Put chicken in bottom of crockpot. Combine ingredients. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 8 hours. Before serving, remove chicken and shred it and stir it back in. Serve with cheese, sour cream, and lime tortilla chips.

Tortilla Soup (Karina Andersen)

-2 cans great northern white beans
-1 medium onion chopped
-1-2 crushed garlic cloves
-1/2 cup butter
-1/4 cup flour
-2 cups chicken broth
-1 cup milk
-1 1/2 tsp paprika or chili powder
-1 tsp cumin
-3+ chicken breasts
-2 small cans green chilies
-1 small bag frozen corn
-salt and pepper to taste
-monterey jack cheese

Boil chicken. In large pot mix butter and flour. Mix in garlic and onion. Add liquids, let simmer about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer about 15 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips, monterey jack cheese, cilantro, tomatoe, avocado, and whatever else you like.

Tom Kha Soup (Kristi Hansen)

2 Tbls. oil

3 cloves garlic -- crushed

4 Tbls. green onion

1/2 medium yellow onion

1 stalk lemon grass cut into 2-inch lengths -- or 1 tsp. ground

1 inch fresh ginger cut in 1/4 inch pieces -- or 1/2 tsp. ground

1 tsp. Red curry paste -- (adjust for desired heat level)

1 inch dried or fresh galangal -- or 1 tsp. ground

3 cups water

1 1/2 lb. chicken breast -- sliced thin

2 Tbls. cornstarch

1/4 c. fish sauce

1/8 c. lime juice (about 1-1/2 limes)

1 can coconut milk (14 fl. oz.)

1 can straw mushrooms (15 oz.) -- drained, or fresh white mushrooms, sliced

6 Tbls. fresh cilantro

In a medium-sized pot with oil, stir-fry the garlic, onions, lemon grass, ginger, curry paste, and galangal for 2 minutes.

Add the water and bring to a boil. Coat the sliced chicken with cornstarch and add it to the boiling soup. Cook for 4 minutes.

Add the fish sauce, lime juice, coconut milk, and mushrooms and simmer for 2 more minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro. (Lemon grass, ginger, and galangal chunks should be strained out or avoided when serving.)

My family likes to eat this with a scoop of basmati or jasmine rice in the bottom of our bowls. (Any rice is good.) This makes it a complete meal.

Everything can be thrown in the crock pot in the order listed and cooked all day if you like. When I do that, I leave out the oil and I put in frozen chicken breasts, which I shred before serving.

Recipe Exchange in Septemper

The following recipes were brought to Sept.’s exchange. These were all recipes that had not been tried before so you can see for yourself if you think they are a hit!

Go to allrecipes.com for the following recipes (read the reviewers’ comments, they help!):
Curried Carrot Soup
Chocolate Lovers Favorite Cake
Go to Kraft.com for Triple Layer PB brownies
Go to Betty Crocker.com for Raspberry Lemon Fruit Dip
(although Strawberry cream cheese was used in the one we tasted today)
Go to the Food Network site to check out Lemon Garlic Chickpea dip
Go to Marthastewart.com for Chocolate Graham Cracker cupcakes with toasted Marshmallow

The following recipes were brought:

Quick Pasta Sauce
1 ½ lbs. sweet Italian sausage
½ to 1 cup chopped onion
¼ tsp. garlic powder
2 (15oz.) cans tomato sauce
2 (14 ½ oz.) cans stewed tomatoes
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
Brown sausage and onion, drain. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes.

Rice Balls (from Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld)
(can be made meatless, for directions on purees ask either Laura Martin or Robin Bringhurst, who have the cookbook)
½ cup short grain brown rice (or 1 cup leftover cooked rice)
nonstick cooking spray
3 tsp. olive oil
1/4 lb. chicken cutlets rinsed and dried
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1/4 cup shredded reduced fat Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup lowfat (1%) buttermilk
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup spinach or broccoli or butternut squash puree
1 1/2 cups whole wheat cracker crumbs or breadcrumbs

1. Cook brown rice as directed on package.
2. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add 1 tsp. oil. Sprinkle the chicken with ¼ tsp. salt and the pepper, and cook until no longer pink in the center, 4 to 5 minutes per side.
3. Cut the chicken into chunks and place in a food processor or blender. Add the sweet potato puree, cheese, 1 tsp. salt, and the buttermilk and blend until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the cooked rice. Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls and place them on a sheet of waxed paper or aluminum foil.
4. In a shallow bowl beat the egg and vegetable puree with a fork. Put the crumbs in a bowl. One at a time, dip the rice balls in the egg mixture, then roll them in the crumbs to make an even coating.
5. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Add the rice balls and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, turning occasionally and spraying with cooking spray, until browned and crisp all over. Serve warm.

It's a Recipe Blog

I stumbled across a Relief Society Recipe blog from one of my old friends' wards and I thought it was such a great idea I had to start one. I'll post a recipe next so you can see how it works.