Cathy's Texas Crabmeat Quesadilla

1 c. crabmeat, flaked 2 T lowfat cottage cheese 3 green onions, chopped 1 tsp. chili powder or jalapenos 2 tbsp salsa 1 tbsp. fresh lemon or lime juice 1/2 c. Monterey Jack, shredded Olive oil 4 lg. tortillas (10 inch size) Combine first ingredients in a bowl. Spread 1/5 of crab mixture over half of a tortilla, leaving a 1 inch border. Sprinkle cheese over crab. Brush edge of tortilla with egg white or water and fold other half of tortilla over first half and seal. Keep moist with paper towel if necessary. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat and cook tortilla 1 minute per side or until golden. Drain on paper towel. Repeat for remaining tortillas. Keep warm in oven. Serve with salsa or guacamole. Enjoy

Zaida's Guacamole Surprise

Ingr:
2 medium sized ripe avocados
1/4 cup soft tofu (low-fat surprise)
1 tbsp finely chopped green onions
1 tbsp finely chopped shallots
1 finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup Rotel tomatoes
2  finely chopped roma tomatoes
salt to taste
3 tbsp fresh lime juice

Cut the avocado in half and remove the seed, and scoop the flesh out with a spoon. Mash the avocado with hand or a wooden spoon. Add the tofu to the bowl and mash well, mix well till the tofu is completely broken up and mixed with the avocado.Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well to combine. For smoother texture, use a food processor.

Zaida's Farmer's Salad

Ingr:
1 cup small curd cottage cheese
1 tbsp sour cream (or blue cheese dressing)
5 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 radish, sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/4 cup baby carrots, sliced
1/4 small cucumber, sliced
1 tblsp green, red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 green onion with top, chopped
1 tbsp crumbled blue cheese
Pinch garlic powder
Lettuce leaves

Mix cottage cheese with sour cream or blue cheese dressing. Mix in next 7 ingredients. Place 1/2 cup of mix in the center of a lettuce leaf, sprinkle with pinch of garlic powder and a few blue cheese crumbles. Serve with toasted whole wheat English muffin.

Pork (or Veal) and Sauerkraut

Ingr:

1 boneless pork shoulder roast, 4 to 5 pounds

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons canola oil
4 green onions with tops, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup parsely, chopped
2 pounds sauerkraut, squeezed dry
1 tablespoon celery seed

Lay the pork flat, boned side up, on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, trim away fat. . Season the pork generously with salt and pepper. In a dutch oven over medium-high heat saute garlic, green onions and parsely in canola oil. Add the pork and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes.  Cover and cook until the pork is fork-tender and shreds easily, 4 to 5 hours.  Serve with baked apple slices.

Great-great Grandma Mariotti's Mandelbrot

Ingr:
3 1/4 cups unbleached flour
1 cup ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder-
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp lemon rind
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup blanched almonds- chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, sift in all the dry ingredients. Cream the sugar and eggs until light and fluffy. Stir in the lemon rind both the extracts and add the flour and ground almonds little at a time.Stir in the chopped almonds and transfer to a floured surface, kneading well. Divide the dough into two  long flat loaves. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 35- 40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly. Carefully cut into 1/2 inch diagonal slices. Arrange the slices in a row and bake again for about 7- 8 minutes. Turn the slices over and bake for another 7-8 minutes.

Frau Wertzer's Muerbeteig (All Butter Pie Crust)

Ingr:
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon lemon juice
6 tablespoons butter

Combine and make a well with: flour, sugar and salt.Add vanilla and lemon juice and work with fingers until light. Work butte into it as you would for pastry, using a pastry blender or the tips of your fingers until the mixture forms one blended ball and no longer adheres to your fingers.Cover and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour. Roll to 1/8-inch thickness for pie dough. Line the greased pans with this dough. Weight them down with beans and bake in a 400°F oven for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a rack. Fill.

Hanukkah Latkes

Ingr:

2 lbs of potatoes

1 medium yellow onion
½ c. flour
1 T. sea salt
2 t. freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs
Olive oil, for frying

 Peel the potatoes, cut them into eighths as described above (see “tips and tricks”), and place the pieces into a pot filled with water to keep them from browning. Peel and cut the onion into eighths and grate. Drain the grated onion and squeeze through cheesecloth. Put drained onion into a large bowl, and add the eggs, flour, salt, and pepper. Grate the potato pieces and drain the shreds. Add the drained potato shreds to the onion and egg mixture, and stir. Pour a ½ inch layer of olive oil into a sauté pan, and heat over a medium high. The olive oil should never get so hot that it smokes. Use about ¼ c. of batter per latke. Form batter into balls with your hands, and drop into the hot oil. After about 15-20 seconds, press the latkes with a spatula to flatten. Depending on the temperature, cooking time will vary, approx. 2-3 minutes on each side.. Place the cooked latkes on a paper towel to cool and drain. Serve Makes about 20 small latkes

Challah (Partly) in a Bread Machine

Ingr:

1/3 cup oil

1 1/4 cups water
3 egg yolks
3 tbsp “dusting” flour
5 cups flour - a mix of unbleached and bread flour

1/3 cup sugar (I’ve never had any luck substituting honey, though it works for me in other recipes)
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp instant yeast
¼ cup “spare” flour

1. Combine oil, eggs and water in a 2-cup measure. Set aside so oil will rise.
2. Sprinkle “dusting” flour into an extra-large (non-zip) freezer bag. Shake flour around to coat inside of bag.
3. Add remaining dry ingredients (except ¼ cup spare flour) to bread machine.
4. With slowly pour oil/water mixture into dry ingredients. Process.
5. Continue pouring slowly until mixture pulls away from sides of bowl and forms a “ball” that moves around the machine in one clump.
6. Continue processing for 30-45 seconds.
7. When a nice “ball” texture is achieved, process for an additional 30-45 seconds.
8. Dump dough into floured freezer bag, knot top and set aside to rise (2-8 hours) OR rest in fridge overnight or longer; bring to room temperature before continuing.
9. Preheat oven to 375°.
10. On floured table, gently divide dough Do not knead at this point!
11. Shape each portion into a braid
12. Set finished loaves on parchment paper in tin foil, regular pan or cookie sheet for a casual look.
13. Brush loaves with egg yolk, cover with plastic, and let rise 1 to 1½ hours.
14. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°. Large loaves may take longer make sure bottom is firm, dry and brown. It should make a hollow sound when tapped.
15. Let set 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on a rack.

Homemade Baklava

Ingr:
1 cup of unsalted sweet butter
24 sheets of filo pastry
2 cups of chopped walnuts
1/2 cup of chopped pistachio nuts
3 tbsp of granulated sugar
1 tbsp rose water
Ground pistachio for topping

Syrup:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 cup of water
2 tbsp of lemon juice
1 tbsp of rose water

Prepare syrup first. Put all ingredients in a small pan, stir until  sugar is dissolved. Turn to medium high temperature, stirring until the syrup is no longer watery-- around 5 minutes, put aside to cool.. To prepare the phyllo sheets, melt the butter in the microwave. Brush the bottom of the baking pan with butter. Lay the first sheet of filo pastry flat, and brush with butter. Do the same with all 12 sheets. Put the baking pan aside.   Wash the pistachios and walnuts, put in blender, add sugar, rose water and blend until fine. Spread 1/2 of the nuts evenly on top 1/3 of the filo pastry sheets and cover with the second 1/3 of the filo pastry sheets, brushing each one with butter. Repeat with the  second half of nut mixture. Brush the last 1/3 phyllo sheets with water before you butter them.
Cut the pastry with a sharp knife-in a diamond shape, or any shape of your choice, bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and pour syrup over it while it is hot, sprinkle with ground pistachios and serve cold.

Cathy's Garden Eggplant and Squash Parmaesan

Ingr:
Olive oil spray
2 large eggs
3/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1 cup finely grated Parmesan and Romano cheese
1 teaspoon fresh parsely
1/2 teaspoon fresh basil
Coarse salt and cracked ground pepper
2 medium eggplants (2 1/2 pounds total), peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
1 medium yellow squash
1 medium zucchini
6 cups homemade marinara sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded provolone cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil; set aside. Whisk together eggs and 2 tablespoons wate add fresh herbs. Separately combine breadcrumbs, 3/4 cup Parmesan and Romano cheeses. Dip eggplant slices in egg mixture, letting excess drip off, then place in breadcrumb mixture, coating well cook on baking sheets until golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes per side Remove from oven.
 Spoon marinara sauce in bottom of an 11-by-15-inch baking dish. Arrange layer of squash and eggplant on top dish; sprinkle with grated cheese and  provolone. Repeat with remaining eggplant, squash, sauce, and cheese sprinkle with remaining grated cheese on top. Bake until bubbling and cheese is melted, 20-25 minutes. Cool slightly before serving. Serves 8-10

Cathy's Bread Machine Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

Ingr:

1 cup water

1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons wheat germ
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Combine all ingredients in the pan of a bread machine according to your bread machine's instructions (most call for putting all the liquid ingredients in first, then all the dry ingredients, and sprinkling the yeast on top of the dry ingredients). Set the bread machine to the "pizza dough" setting or the "dough" setting. Bread machines put the dough through a kneading and rising cycle, and will signal when the rise is complete. Dough is then ready to use for pizza or calzones.

Top or fill with ingredients of your choice and bake in an oven at 450˚F until dough is golden.

Makes 4 calzones or individual pizzas

Italian Anise Cookies

Ingr:

3/4 cup sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp anise extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Beat first 5 ingredients in a large bowl with mixer until blended. On low speed, beat in next 3 ingredients until blended. Drop teaspoons of dough 2 in. apart onto baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until bottoms are light golden. Remove cookies to a wire rack to cool. Dip tops of cookies in Glaze and, while wet, sprinkle with nonpareils. Store airtight at room temperature up to 2 weeks or freeze.



Glaze:
Whisk 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, 4 to 5 tsp milk and 1 tsp anise extract in a small bowl until smooth.
Heat oven to 325°F. Coat baking sheet(s) with nonstick spray.2.

Sweet Cherry Crisp

Ingr:

6 cups pitted cherries

1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mixcherries with cornstarch and sugar in a baking dish (you can use any size, a smaller one will give you a thicker topping - I use 9 x 13 inch).Mix remaining dry ingredients in a small bowl. Cut in butter  to make coarse crumbs.Bake for 45 - 55 minutes, until golden brown, and filling is thick and bubbling over the topping. Serve with whipped or ice cream.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie

Ingr:

1 (18-ounce) package Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened
1/4 cup chopped peanuts, plus extra for sprinkling, if desired
3 tablespoons Chocolate Syrup
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch pie plate. Press 3/4 package cookie dough onto bottom and sides of pie plate. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown; flatten down with back of spoon to form pie shell. Cool completely on wire rack. Spread 1/4 cup peanut butter over crust. Mix ice cream, remaining peanut butter and ¼ cup peanuts in a medium bowl. Spoon into cookie crust; spread evenly. Drizzle with chocolate syrup and additional peanuts. Freeze for at least 2 hours or overnight. Bake remaining cookie dough according to package directions. Cool completely on wire rack; crumble cookies over top of pie.
Serve

Peach Custard Pie

Ingr:

1 baked pie shell, cooled

1 pkg vanilla pudding and pie filling

1/2 cup peach juice

1/2 cup milk

Peaches

Topping:

1 cup sour cream

4 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp peach juice

Pinch of coconut (optional)

Prepare pudding as directed except substitute 1/2 cup peach juice for some of the milk. Cool. Use fresh (sauted) or canned sliced peaches and arrange the slices in the bottom of the pie shell. Pour filling over peaches and topping over filling. Arrange pech slices on top in pinwheel pattern. Spinkle with coconut in center, if desired. Chill 2 hours. Serve.

Nana's Carmel-Iced Banana Bread

Ingr:

3-4 ripe bananas

2 cups sifted flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup butter

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup sour milk or buttermilk

1 tsp soda

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1 tsp vanilla

Mix milk and soda an pour over the bananas.Mix. Cream sugar and butter and add eggs. Add banana mixture and sifted dry ingredients. Add nuts and vanilla. Bake in an 8 x 12 pan at 325 degrees for 45 minutes.

Icing:
6 tbsp brownsugar
3 tbsp cream or milk
3 tbsp butter
Powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Combine first three ingredients and bring to a boil in a saucepan. Boil 1 minutes. Add enough powdered sugar to make a stiff froting. Add vanilla.

Melt-in-your-mouth Chocolate Squares

Ingr

1 cup water

1/2 c butter

1 1/2 squares unsweetened chocolate

2 cups sifted flour

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp soda

1 tsp grated orange rind

1/2 tsp salt

Combine water, butter and chocolate in pan and bring to a boil - stirring often. Remove from heat, stir to blend well and cool slightly. Mix flour and sugar. Blend into chocolate mix. Add eggs, sour cream, soda, orange rind and salt. Mix well. Pour into greased 5 1/2 by 10 1/2 inch pan. Cool. Spread with chocolate frosting. Garnish with sliveed almonds (optional)