Kat's Recipe Box

1 pint of grape tomatoes
1 ripe avocado
2 ears of fresh sweet corn
2 TBSP. fresh cilantro, chopped

HONEY LIME DRESSING
3 TBSP. vegetable oil
1 TBSP. honey
1 clove of garlic, minced
salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
dash of cayenne pepper

Remove husk from corn and grill over medium heat for about 10 minutes. You want brown spots ont he corn. It should be tender and not mushy. Cut the corn off the cob and using the back of your knife to get all the juiced out. Set aside to cool.

Slice tomatoes and chop cilantro.

Combine dressing ingredients into a small bowl and whisk together. Set aside.

Combine the sliced tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and corn and dressing and gently mix. Be careful not to mash avocado. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

I was watching Trisha Yearwood on the Food Network the other day and saw her making this Souffle and decided that I had to try it for our Thanksgiving meal this year. It was a hit!

Souffle:
1/2 cup butter( 1 stick) softened at room temperature, plus an additional amount to grease the casserole dish
5 medium sweet potatoes
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
pinch of salt

Topping:
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup of brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup all purpose four
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick) softened at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees

Pierce the five sweet potatoes with a fork and place on a foil lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour until they are soft. Once the potatoes have cooled, peel the potatoes and place the flesh in a mixing bowl and mash until smooth.

For the Souffle:

Grease a 2 1/2 quart baking dish with butter.

Add eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, milk and salt to the to the mashed potatoes and combine with an electric mixer until combined and smooth. Turn the mixture into the baking dish.

For the Topping:
In a bowl, stir together the pecans, brown sugar, flour and butter until combines. Sprinkle mixture over the sweet potato mix making a even layer. Bake the casserole until slightly browned, about 40 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

My new addiction, Brussell Sprouts. I would eat them everyday if I could, or at least until the thrill wears off anyway. Having never really eaten them before I had to look for different recipes on-line and figure out how to cook them. So, after some research, I decided just to make up my own recipe based on what I found and try it out. After a few attempts I found what I liked best. First off, I prefer fresh if I can get it but as that is not always an option the Steam Fresh Bags aren’t bad.

Kevin’s favorite:

Balsamic Sprouts – I have only used fresh sprouts for this recipe.

1 tbsp. of Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup of Balsamic vinegar
pinch of sugar
olive oil

Combine the above slowly adding olive oil while whisking. Amount of oil depends on the amount of sprouts. Slice the sprouts in half and throw sprouts into the balsamic mixture to coat. You have two options here, depending on how hard/soft you want the sprouts. If you want soft:

Throw sprouts onto a baking sheet and roast at 350 degrees until sprouts are tender and then transfer to a saute pan with 2 tbs. butter to help caramelize the sprouts. The reason for the butter here is that most of the liquid will have evaporated during the time it roasts in the over.

If you like your sprouts a bit harder: Throw them directly into a saute pan and saute until caramelized.

Kats Favorite

Slice sprouts in half and throw on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and add Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Using your hands toss to coat the sprouts and bake at 350 degrees until sprouts start to brown and get soft. Transfer to saute pan with 2 – 3 tbsp. butter and saute until they caramelize.

If you use the frozen steam bags, once you steam throw them in the saute pan and slice them in half. Add salt, pepper and 2 tbsp. butter to caramelize.

Earlier this summer our family went on vacation to Pigeon Forge TN…and let me say, I just loved it…who knew Dollywood would be so great! Anyway, on our way we had the opportunity to visit with family in Charlottesville, VA. My aunt, uncle and cousins and their families live there and both of my cousins recently moved into new homes that we were all eager to see. My aunt and uncle have lived in a wonderful community in Charlottesville called Ednam Forest…wonderful homes. My youngest Cousin Kristin and her family just purchased a home in Ednam Forest a mere..hmmm…are they called blocks, from her parents. She made mention that having lived there as a child she never thought she would be back. My cousin Colleen moved into a wonderful old farm house in Crozet VA that sits on a golf course called Old Trail…if you are ever in the neighborhood, check it out. They also have a wonderful housing development with the same name…if you need to move to the area they are worth the look.

Anyway, as VA is a bit of a distance we don’t always find the time to get together and with young kids it is a bit harder but we did find the time and had a wonderful visit and some fabulous food….my Aunt Kaky made these wonderful beans as part of our dinner and I have been thinking about them ever since!! I am so glad she finally got the recipe to me. I hope you enjoy them and I think they are going to be made quite frequently in our home.

Aunt Kaky doubled the recipe and made them in a pot on the stove…they were wonderful.

4 slices bacon
1 chopped onion
1 1 lb. can Campbell’s baked beans
1 1 lb. can kidney beans, drained
1 1 lb. can lima beans, drained
1/4 lb. sharp cheese, cubed
1/2 C. brown sugar
1/3 C. catsup
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
Parmesan Cheese

Fry bacon until crisp. Saute onion in the drippings.
Combine in large casserole the beans, sharp cheese,
brown sugar and seasonings. Stir in onion
and crumbled bacon. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly. Serves 6.

This recipe came to me thru my friend Rose who I work with. She brought this concoction into work one day and asked me if I wanted to try it. Now generally I would not even attempt to try this but having decided to broaden my horizons I was brave and gave it a taste…you never know what will happen when you try something new! I loved it and have made it twice since. It is very simple and a very inexpensive dinner. If you need something heartier you can make a ham slice and use this as a side.

1 head of cabbage, chopped into large bite size pieces
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 stick of butter
1 bag of wide egg noodles

Melt 4tbsp. of butter in a large saucepan and add cabbage and garlic sauté until cabbage is tender, about 35 minutes stirring frequently to coat the cabbage in the butter.

Halfway thru the sauté, cook the noodles. Once noodles are cooked, add to sauté pan and toss to coat adding the final 4 tbsp of butter and serve.

My husband and I are big blue cheese fans so when I came across this recipe I had to give it a try. This recipe can be doubled for a large party.

2 bags of pre packaged cole slaw mix
1 bag of shredded red cabbage
1 cup of mayo
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of whole grain mustard
½ teaspoon of celery seed
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
3 oz. of crumbled Roquefort blue cheese
½ cup chopped fresh parsley

Wisk together the mayo, mustard, celery seed, salt and pepper and then pour over the slaw mixture. Add in the blue cheese and parsley and mix well. Serve at room temperature.

If you would like to make this a head of time, just add the dressing before serving.