The Porch Swing @ Shady Creek Hollow

Kid Easy Microwave Caramel Apple dip

This is a super easy fruit dip that is great for this time of the year. It's a dump and microwave type of recipe. Anybody can do it. It would make a really nice accompaniment to your Thanksgiving Day and your kids can do it with minimal supervision. It has a unique spicy flavor that is perfect for a crisp Fall day. 

Ingredients:

• 1 12 oz bag butterscotch morsels
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1 tbs white vinegar

Dump all ingredients into a microwavable bowl and micro in minute increments stirring between. Once its smooth, its ready for apple or pear slices. To keep the fruit from discoloring after you slice it soak it in water plus 2 tbsp lemon juice or 1 tbsp Fruit Fresh. Drain and lay fruit on serving platter. Place bowl of dip in center. Enjoy!!!

Frugal Tasty Tortellini Soup

Well we finally finished the tortellini soup I made on Sunday night at lunch today. Pretty good lunches for Hutch and I off of leftovers we had in the frig and freezer. If you've never had homemade tortellini soup now is the season to do so. It is super cheap and very filling.

I will walk you through this very simple process. I started  with a roasted chicken carcass, three chicken bouillon cubes, and a huge pot full of water. If you're squeamish about using the whole carcass, just pick all the meat off and put it in the pot. But I think the bones make the soup taste lots richer and you fish them out so they're generally not a problem. Let this bubble away for thirty minutes or so. Then add 2 cloves of garlic chopped, a handful of frozen stir-fry veggies [that's what I had in the freezer], a diced onion, a diced bell pepper, and a handful or two of dry three cheese tortellini [I got mine at Walmart]. Season with a tsp of salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 1 tsp of Italian seasoning herbs. Let it simmer away all day. At some point get the bones out if you used the whole carcass. That's it. OK here's what I did to make it last three days. After lunch the first day I let it cool and popped it in the frig. The next morning when I got up, I put it back on the stove with the eye set to the lowest setting. It was hot again by lunch.

You really can't mess this soup up. As long as you add the garlic and onion you could put just about any leftover veggie in it. I've made it with leftover beans, corn, and greens before and it is still yummy.If you like tomatoes just add a can of them diced.  Hope you'll give it a try. It sure will stretch a tight  food budget!!!    

Cheap Yet Impressive Dessert- Black Forest Trifle

This is the dessert I made for this past weekend and for all the company we had. It was huge and lasted all weekend and got rave reviews. It was very inexpensive to make and is visually very appealing. Hutch even took a photo of it and posted it on his Facebook page! You will need:

2 small boxes of chocolate fudge instant pudding made with 3 1/2 cups milk
1 Devil's Food cake mix made in a 9 by 13 pan -just follow directions on back of box
1 large Cool Whip
1 can cherry pie filling
1 small bag of M&M's
2 tbs of rum or brandy [I used a peach brandy I made a few years ago]
2 tbsp of vanilla extract

OK, cut the cake into small cubes, let cool completely. Add the rum to the pudding and stir. Add the vanilla to the Cool Whip and stir. Now get out your trifle bowl. Put in a layer of cake, then pie filling, then chocolate pudding, then Cool Whip. Repeat. Let this sit overnight in the frig. This dessert will feed a whole lot of folks- at least 16 servings, more if the servings are not huge. Right before you serve it sprinkle the small bag of M&M's on top.

It was a 'go to' dessert for me because I had most of the ingredients stockpiled. I'd bought cake mixes on sale at .80 per, I had generic Cool Whip in the freezer, and I'd stashed the pudding mix a while back in the stockpile as well. As always most of these items are generic store brands. I did have to buy the pie filling. But if you're really strapped for cash you can use a jar of jam in it's place.

Next time you need a show stopper dessert I hope you try this super simple one.  

Easy Dill Pickles

My husband has always wanted me to make dill pickles. About a million years ago a friend of ours mother used to give him a big jar of the saltiest dilliest pickles every summer. He loved them! Well, I've never really made dill pickles until last week.

I was reading over at the Duggars website a few days ago and I stumbled across their very easy way to put up dill pickles. They put theirs up in quart jars, but that was just too much for us. So I tweaked the recipe and made it up in pint jars. And I must say, it was very easy. OK, here goes:

My Version of the Duggars Pickles

12 pint jars with wide mouths
Enough cucumbers [8-12] cut into spears to pack the jars tight 
A peeled clove of garlic for each jar
a tsp of Dill Seed for each jar  

Get all the stuff above ready and [put together]. That will make your life a whole bunch easier. Next

In a big pot boil together
1/2 cup salt
2 1/2 cups white vinegar
4 cups water

When it gets to a rolling boil use a ladle to pour this brine over the jars one at a time. Put on lid and band. Set on the counter top and go to the next jar. And do the same thing. Wearing rubber gloves really helped me as the brine is extremely hot!!!!

These jars will seal themselves overnight on the counter. It helps to wash the jars with really hot water first.

This is such an easy recipe anybody can do it. Designing the labels should be fun. I'm thinking 'Patty's Pucker Pickles' .

Easiest Cheap Enchilada Sorta Healthy Casserole

Here is the recipe that I made for the kids when they came over for supper last week. It is cheap, fast to throw together, and relatively healthy. Best of all this recipe makes a lot of food!!!

I'm sure you could feed 8 easily on one batch. We ate a lot and Josh and Allie took the rest home to use for a weekend meals.

OK here are the easy steps to making this super good Mexican dish.

Ingredients:

1- 2 pounds ground beef [my casserole was closer to one pound meat] browned, drained, and rinsed- this gets rid of most of the fat.
1 can enchilada sauce -or one cup homemade
1 cup salsa- I used the leftover salsa I'd made the day before- recipe here at The Porch Swing
1 can whole kernel corn drained -I used generic
1/2 red pepper- less or more- up to you
1 block of cream cheese- I used .89 cent generic
2 cups cheese grated- I used Cabot low fat cheddar sharp- it's the only low fat cheese that tastes real to us, you can get it at Walmart
1 can black beans drained and mashed fine with a fork [my budget version re-fried beans LOL] I believe any leftover bean would do- you just need 1 cup mashed beans.
12 small soft corn tortillas- or 6 big flour ones- your choice. I used corn [I buy these in bulk in the Hispanic section of my grocery store. They don't need to refrigerated and last forever!!!] and everybody loved the taste of the corn tortillas.

In a skillet mix the first 6 ingredients until cream cheese melts and it becomes sort of smooth. In the mean time spray a big pan with Pam, and spread the mashed beans onto the tortillas, one at a time. Put 6 small tortillas with bean mixture or 3 large ones in bottom of pan. Top with half the meat mixture. Sprinkle with half the cheese and repeat. Bake at 350 degrees 20-30 minutes or until cheese on top is thoroughly melted and bubbly. I made this up before lunch and let it sit to marry the flavors until I popped it into the oven around 5 in the afternoon. You could probably make a crock pot version by making it in the morning and then setting the crock pot to warm. Hmmm....that sounds like an experiment.

  
  

Easy 'Real' Southern Pralines

OK, this is my praline recipe. I can verify that it is reaaaaly an old old recipe. And if you have a candy thermometer it is virtually foolproof...honestly.

Ingredients:

3 c sugar
1 c buttermilk
3 Tbs corn syrup [ I use dark]
1 t baking soda
1/8 t salt
2 c chopped pecans
2 Tbs butter
2 t vanilla

In a pot bring the first five ingredients to a boil over medium heat. Cook until candy thermometer says 'soft ball'. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes. Stir in rest of ingredients and beat till it thickens. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper. Let stand at least 30 minutes. If its the least bit humid it's going to take more than 30 minutes.

Hope you make these and enjoy them. They make really nice Christmas gifts too!

Beginners Easy & Delicious Homemade Bread

 
This is by far the easiest bread recipe I know of. Even if you've never made a loaf of bread you can succeed with this one! It makes 2 nice French style baguettes. These would be great with a meal, or even as the basis of a wonderful family sized sandwich. Remember that fresh bread is only really good the day you bake it. The next day the leftovers are good for bruchetta, french toast, bread pudding, salad croutons, etc. Ok, here goes.

Ingredients:
1 pkg yeast
1 1/2 cup wrist warm water
1 tbsp sugar [or honey]
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp melted shortening
4 cups flour
some corn meal

Proof the yeast in 1/2 cup of the warm water. That just means stir it together and let it sit for a while until its bubbly. Then stir it together with everything else except the flour and cornmeal. Add the flour and stir really well. It's going to look like a huge mess at this point, but that's OK. If you want you can knead it some, I like to knead since it makes me feel so 'Little House on the Prairie'. OK, cover the bowl with a damp towel and let it sit on the counter for an hour. It's going to get pretty big in that time. After it rises, dump it out onto a floured counter-top. Divide it in half and let it rest for 5 or 10 minutes. Then roll each blob out into  a 10 by 8 inch rectangle. Roll each rectangle up from the longer side. Pinch the seam together. Place each baguette on a greased cookie sheet that you've sprinkled with cornmeal.

OK, now cover it again and let it raise for 45 minutes. Make a few cuts in the top of the loaves after they finish the last rise. As the bread is rising again, prepare your oven. Preheat it to 400 degrees and set a pan full of water on the lowest rack. When the bread is through rising put it in the prepared oven and bake till light brown...start checking about 15-20 minutes.

Once it's done let it cool before cutting. Unless you're like me and have very little self control- if that happens just tear off the end of a loaf with your hands and enjoy with gobs of butter. 

Thirfty Whole Wheat Rosemary Foccacia

Right now I've got a big batch of rosemary foccacia rising in on oiled bowl. This is a very yummy, very cheap bread that lends a touch of class to a frugal meal. The frugal meal I'm making tonight is pinto bean & ham leftovers, salsa to go on top of the pinto beans, & foccacia bread. I made the salsa yesterday and the pinto beans are bubbling away in the pot. This recipe is really easy and uses very few ingredients. It is sort of rustic so if you like that kind of thing, this recipe may be for you.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion chopped
1/2 tsp sugar
1 pack yeast [or 1 1/2 tsp if you have the jarred kind]
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups unbleached  all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp dried rosemary or 2 tbsp fresh- I use fresh since I have a nice rosemary bush in the garden.
cornmeal
coarse salt

OK, here are the directions. Caramelize the onions in the 1/4 cup olive oil and let cool. In a bowl mix the yeast, sugar, & warm water. Let this sit ten minutes to proof [get all bubbly]. Mix the flours, salt, & rosemary. Add the bubbly stuff. Stir well. Turn out on a floured surface and knead about ten minutes. Put dough into an oiled bowl and turn once. Let it sit and rise 35-45 minutes. Punch it down and knead just a time or two. Make it into 2 balls. Flatten them out to 10 inches in diameter. Place on a oiled cookie sheet that has been dusted with cornmeal. Brush tops with olive oil, grind some coarse salt over it, and sprinkle more rosemary on top. Let it rise again. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes. Let it sit on cookie pan 10 minutes. Cut in wedges to serve.

Hope you'll give this one a try!    

Super Easy Pesto

This is the recipe for my super fast pesto. It will be fine in a glass jar in the frig for a week or so. My pesto is not fancy, I hate to go to the expense of buying pine nuts. But even so, we like it a lot.

I keep a huge pot planted with basil, cilantro, & thyme by the back door. It supplies me with plenty of fresh seasonal herbs.

Ingredients:

2 cups of fresh basil [any kind's fine but I have sweet basil]
1/2 olive oil [give or take]
1 pinch nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup nuts- today I used sunflower seeds- any nut or seed would do

Strip you basil stalks down to just leaves and wash well. Squeeze out water and put basil along with everything else into your food processor. Process until it's the consistency you like. We like ours to have plenty of bulk and be a little on the dry side. If that's not you add more olive oil.

Making Moonshine Jelly

This is the time of year when I usually start thinking about Christmas....gifts that is. Last year I used a very old recipe I found [its here under the recipe icon] to make a huge amount of Colonial Rumpot. That's a sort of brandied fruit that you have to start in Summer when the various fruits are ripe. I made a whale of a lot of this delicious stuff and gave it away in pint jars accompanied by a recipe to make a Martha Washington Rumpot Cake. That gift was well received. I got lots of nice feedback from neighbors, family, and friends on the quality of the cake they were able to bake using the Rumpot ingredients.

Soooo....I wanted to come up with something equally unique and frugal for this Christmas. When we went to West Virginia for the Hatfield and McCoy Half Marathon I saw an advertisement in a local magazine for funny 'hillbilly' type gifts and Moonshine Jelly was high on that list. That's when I started my search for a recipe.

Of course I don't have access to any real moonshine, although I believe some states do allow its sale in liquor stores. Imagine my surprise when I found, by reading a list of ingredients on the back of a moonshine jelly jar I saw recently in a gift shop on my trip to South West Georgia, that it is actually made with white wine!

Today I'm making up half pint jars of 'moonshine' jelly. I'll be using my tried and true grape juice jelly recipe substituting a nice white wine for the grape juice. I'm even thinking of making 'Champagne' jelly at some point since it would be such a cute New Year's gift along with suitable crackers and cream cheese.

Of course I'll need to come up with a funny label for my moonshine jelly. I've made jelly labels before with the computer using bigger mailing labels. I'm sure that's what I'll do this time. I'll try to post it so you can use the labels as well, if you so desire.   

Anyhoo, here is the recipe I'm making today-

Moonshine Jelly

Ingredients:

3 cups white wine
5 1/4 cups sugar
1 box pectin [Sure-Jell]
1/2 tsp margarine-to reduce foaming & scum

Put ingredients in big pot. Bring to a full rolling boil and stir until the liquid clabbers off a spoon. Clabbering is when you kind of let the mixture fall off the long edge of a tablespoon. It should sheet off in waves instead of just dripping- that's clabbering. If you can't tell if its clabbering, don't worry. Just boil it till you can't stir the boil away. It will be done. Skim off any foam from the pot. If you leave the foam in there its going to look nasty. So don't skimp on the skimming. Pour into 12 half pint jars. Immediately screw on lids and place on counter [or process in a water bath]. Leave the jelly there at least overnight. It may take this jelly a few days to actually firmly set up. Wearing a pair of rubber gloves will help you get the lids on the jars while they are still very, very hot.

I used to work in the Jelly Ministry at church and we always used the 'place on counter' trick. You can tell if you get the correct seal when you examine the jars after several days. The flat lid should be concave & make a very nice pop sound if you're there when they start sealing. If the lid's not concave when you check on them, either process the suspect jar in a boiling water bath, put it in the frig and use up quickly, or just throw it away. We threw the very few that didn't seal properly away.

Oh yeah, here's where I give the plug for reusing any old jars you might have saved from say pesto or mayo or any other pretty jar you just couldn't make yourself throw away. If those jars will take a standard sized canning lid and band you can use them for this method of making jelly. Just be sure you use new lids and bands. Using recycled jars makes this gift even more frugal!

Well, I need to get started making my moonshine jelly. Hope you try this recipe too.             

     

Patty's Peach Pie

OK, this is a great way to use up some of those peaches you have sitting in the basket on the counter. The ones that are getting just a little too ripe to just slice and eat. I made it this past weekend & it's already gone! I used a bought crust. I get the cheapest ones possible and buy them in bulk for the freezer.

Ingredients:

1 bought pie crust
1/2 cup each brown and white sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
5 mushy ripe peaches peeled & sliced
2 tbsp lemon juice

For the crumb topping:

1 cup each brown sugar [or white if you're out of brown] & all purpose flour
1/4 cup margarine [or 1/2 cup if you want a really crunchy top]

Put all the top ingredients in a big black skillet ,except the pie crust of course, and bring to a boil. The filling will thicken up considerably. When it's nice and thick pour it all into the uncooked pie shell. For the crumb topping- Rub or cut the butter into the sugar and flour just like you were making biscuits. Press this mixture on top of the pie filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until top starts getting nicely browned.

This is a very yummy pie that has a lot of heft to the taste of it. Hope you'll give it a try! 

Baking Hostess Gifts

This has been a super busy day for me! I had to go to the Post Office and ship an international package. Go to Walmart to pick up movie posters and frames for the media room. And since I've gotten home I've been baking hostess gifts for all the folks we will be visiting this week at the homeplace. I must have made 10 dozen cookies and I've got a big ham in the oven right now.

Everybody but my Mom is getting a variety of cookies. Mom is not a sweets eater.....hmm....gee, sure wish I'd inherited THAT gene! Anyhoo, the ham is for her. She doesn't like wine or flowers either, so ham it is.

I wanted to post one of the cookie recipes here today since it is soooo super duper easy and the cookies look really cute too. So here goes.

Ingredients:

1 small bag of any bite sized wrapped chocolate candies [I used MIlky Ways]

1 tube of refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough

1 individual bag of M&Ms

OK, spray a couple of mini muffin pans with Pam or grease them well. Roll the cookie dough into walnut sized pieces and place one in each muffin hole. With your knuckle press them in until they form a sort of cup. You don't have to be real ticky about this as they will rise as they cook. Bake these little beauties about 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. Take them out and place one unwrapped candy into the center of each cookie cup. Press it in there good and put the pan back into the oven for a minute or two to melt the chocolate. When you take them out press a few M&Ms into the melted chocolate in each little cup. Cool and lift from pan. That's it! These are super easy and you can make them loads of different ways....little Reece Cups, little Snickers, little Almond Joys, anything bite sized and covered in chocolate will do fine. Also if you can't get the refrigerated cookie dough, either use a pouch mix or make your own dough from scratch. I've done all of the above and they all taste great. 

Hope you give these a try.   

   

Wilmington Island's Easiest Cocktail Sauce

I like this recipe because it is easily made with items I have in the pantry all the time. Hope you try it. It's very yummy on shrimp! Or as Bubba Gump & most Savannah natives would say....swimp.

Ingredients:

1 cup ketchup
1 tbsp prepared horseradish [only use the type in the dairy section- the creamy kind on the condiment shelves is nasty!!!]
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp hot sauce
1 tsp grated onion [Vidalia preferred]

Just whisk this all together and put in a container that can be sealed like Gladware. Let it sit overnight, or at least a couple of hours in the frig. This makes about 1 & 1/2 cups cocktail sauce. I always make a double batch- its that good!

     

Pesto Grilled Cheese

              

It feels weird to even post this as a recipe.....but since my husband adores these sandwiches, I guess I'll post this super easy method for kicking your standard grilled cheese sandwich up a notch. If you have a nice big batch of basil in your garden you've probably already learned how to make homemade pesto. It is so easy especially using a blender or food processor. We first ate fresh pesto after going to a local farmers' market and buying a pint from a lady who specializes in herbs and their products. We were hooked! Saying that, there are tons of good quality pestos in the grocery store as well. 

As for this sandwich, just spread a generous layer of pesto on one slice of bread them top with very sharp cheddar cheese. Grill as you'd normally do. I guarantee you will enjoy the results. If you are a purist, you could use an Italian cheese instead of the cheddar.....but we like cheddar.

Hope you give this simple sandwich recipe a try! 

Easiest Lemon Sorbet

Since Hutch and I have gone low fat we've had to come up with some desserts that satisfy our sweet tooth, are easy on the budget, & are low fat. This lemon sorbet really fits that bill. It is very refreshing. This is tart! If you like something that's a little sweeter, just add more sugar.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup lemon juice [bottled is fine]

1 3/4 cups sugar

5 1/8 cups water

2 egg whites

Put everything but egg whites in pot and bring to boil. Boil 10 minutes. Cool completely. Put in freezer. When its frozen [its going to look sort of like a slushy] beat egg whites till stiff. Fold these into your lemon slushy. Freeze again. Take it out to soften for a few minutes before you serve it. This recipe makes enough for 8.   

Easy Never Fail Creamy Crockpot Macaroni & Cheese

                 

This is a macaroni dish I took to a recent family gathering. Several folks wanted the recipe so I'm posting it here. It is very easy and makes an extremely creamy mac & cheese. If you're a big fan of the 'baked' dish, this will be quite diffrent for you.

Ingredients:

16 oz boiled pasta of your choice, I used spirals

2 cups half and half cream

1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup

1/2 cup melted butter

16 oz sharp cheese shredded [reserve about 1/2 cup to sprinkle on top]

OK, just mix everything together in a big bowl and put in crock pot. Sprinkle reserved cheese on top. Cook on low for 2 1/2 hrs. Serves 8. 

This side dish will get you many compliments!!!!

Easiest Lowfat Cabbage Jello Salad

This is one of the easiest and tastiest jello salads I've found. I like it a lot because it is different from all the old usual fruit and jello standbys.

And if you top it with a scoop of low fat cottage cheese you get protein as well. So get ready....this recipe is so short you might miss it if you blink.

Ingredients:

1 bag of cabbage & carrots grated for cole slaw

2 boxes sugar free lemon or lime jello

Make the jello, top with cole slaw mix, make sure to submerge the mix. Let set up. Cut in squares and serve. That's it!

Cabbage is known as a body 'cleanser'. It's so good for you and this salad is delicious.

Hope you try it!!

  

Easiest Hummus

This was one of the foods we all liked the most. I don't usually care for hummus because its so bland. This one is not bland, it is delicious!

Ingredients:

1 can garbonzo beans drained [save the liquid]

1/2 tsp cumin

3 tsp minced garlic

1 chopped green onion

2 Tbs lemon juice

Roasted red pepper strips to garnish

pepper to taste

Put this all in the blender and whirl. If its too stiff add some of the reserved bean liquid. Put in bowl and top with roasted red peppers from a jar. This was very delicious with the fried flat bread and olives.

Shepard's Bread

First I made the flat bread for the Bible meal. If you are in a pinch for time you could use whole wheat tortillas. But this bread is so easy and delicious I think you might want to make it. 

Ingredients:

1/2 olive oil

1 oz yeast [I used three paks]

1 tbs honey

1 1/4 cup water

3 1/2 cups flour [I made one of these cups Whole Wheat flour]

2 tsp salt

Put top 4 ingredients in bread machine and let sit till foamy. Add dry ingredients. Set machine to dough and remove dough when the kneading function is complete. Take fist sized balls of dough and roll out into circles. Let rise for two hours on greased pans. There are two ways to bake these. One is in a frying pan with a little olive oil. The other is to bake at 400 for 5-10 minutes. I did both and we liked each type equally well. This recipe will provide enough bread for 5 people to use as 'sops' for the other foods. Yummy!      

New Testament Meal A Success!

We just got through having church and enjoying our authentic New Testament 'feast'. We all agreed it was one of the most fun things we've done as a family in a long long time. Hutch took some photos and when he mails them to me I'll post them. 

We had to move our feast inside as we had a spate of rough weather here abouts. But it all worked out great inside. We used a tablecloth with fringe on the floor [it looked sort of like a rug] and then we brought up a coffee table we had in storage to serve as the feast table. I covered it with a white cloth that draped to the floor. We sat on big cushions I borrowed from the front porch and we ate with our fingers.

I won't go into the menu as I posted it earlier but I will post the recipes. They were very tasty, easy, and we enjoyed everything. I got some Middle Eastern music off the internet and it made our meal festive. We ate with the drapes closed and had candles for light. I shared my research on eating during Bible times and we all learned  alot. 

We all found the spicy foods exotic and very filling! Hope you'll give this easy idea for a Biblical meal a try. We decided to do it annually and ask friends next time!    

Easiest Tilapia Recipes

I hate fish, I have since I was a little girl. It's a texture thing...and the fact that as a child I had to clean fish for big family get togethers. They stood me up on a sturdy peach crate and I went to work. The way these family parties worked was...nobody had enough money to buy food for the whole extended family so we'd all go fishing. Once we got enough fish [at least a hundred were needed] we'd clean them and have a huge fish fry. Even with a lot of folks cleaning the fish, when you have that many EVERYBODY has to help. All the bones and yuck in farm pond bream made me very leery of fish of any type. But they [fish] are so healthy that now I need to learn to like them. 

Last night we had these two varieties of tilapia [bought at Walmart for 11 dollars for a big box full]. I enjoyed them both- but the salsa version was my favorite. If you're like me and just learning to tolerate fish, tilapia is a good choice. 

Basically you thaw the fish, and lay on a square of tin foil. You brush the fillets with olive oil and then top them in either one of two ways. One way is to put two tablespoons of salsa [or more] and a lemon slice on top of the fillet. The other is to salt & pepper the fillet, sprinkle with a generous amount of dill and top with two lemon slices. You seal the tin foil packs and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Take the packets out and let sit for 5 minutes before eating. That's it. 

We had the fish with broccoli and brown rice. It was a nice light meal and one we enjoyed. Hope you'll give this fishy favorite a try.         

Easiest Low Fat Dessert

        

In an effort to lower our fat consumption, I've needed to search high and low for recipes for our new lifestyle. Here's one I think you'll like. It's lemon bars so easy even a child could make them. Just a two ingredient stir together....what could be easier?

Low Fat Lemon Bars

Ingredients:

1 box angel food cake mix

1 can lemon pie filling

Stir these together in a big bowl. The more you stir the higher the batter gets, so you'll need that  big bowl. Pour into a Pam sprayed jellyroll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. That's it....you can top with nuts or coconut before baking, but remember that will add fat. I just sprinkled a little confectioners sugar on top.

Hope you'll give this super easy cookie recipe a try!   

Delicious Low Fat Alfredo Sauce

           

As you know if you read here often, Hutch and I need to learn to eat a lower fat diet. This is because we are reaching that age when you really become aware of the dangers of high cholesterol. Sooo...I found this recipe that I made for supper tonight. And I must say in a random taste test....that would be me, it was found to taste really rich and creamy. I hope you will give this one a try as it is low fat but tastes as good as a dish you'd get in an Italian cafe.  

Ingredients:

1 tbsp low fat margarine

2 tbsp minced garlic - I used the jarred kind

1 tbsp flour

1 cup skim milk- I used dried milk for this

1/4 cup no fat cream cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan- you could use low fat I imagine, I just didn't have it

OK, melt the margarine in a frying pan and add garlic. Cook until garlic is smelling really pungent and looks golden. Add the flour and stir.  Add the skim milk and let it bubble until thickened. When its thickened add the cream cheese and the Parmesan. Stir until they melt. At this point you could add some chopped chicken breast [without the skin] and salt and pepper it to taste. I'll be serving this creamy goodness over whole wheat pasta tonight. Should make a wonderful meal for us with the addition of a green salad.  

Patty's Version of Butter Gooey Cake

The kids are coming by for lunch today so I made a Butter Gooey Cake for them to snack on for dessert. This is not an original recipe, in fact it is a very old recipe that Paula Deen features in several of her cookbooks. A word about Paula....she and I are from the same town, Albany, Ga. Although she is about 10 years older than me and we didn't run in the same crowd when I lived there. My mother is a school friend of her Aunt Peggy Ort. Her Uncle George Ort owned the only toy store in Albany for many many years, 'The Toy Box'.  He hosted the Saturday morning cartoons by using the commercials to plug his store and the toys he sold there. He was a television marketeer back in the old black and white TV days. Anyhoo, this recipe was floating around Albany waaay waay before Paula made it famous. It's so easy and good-Hope you'll give it a try.  

Patty's Version of Butter Gooey Cake

Ingredients:

1 Devil's Food cake mix

1 egg

1 stick butter or margarine melted 

Mix this together and pat into an 9 by 11 greased pan.

Filling Ingredients:

1 8 oz package softened cream cheese

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 stick of butter melted

1 box powered sugar

Sprinkle mini M&M's on top

Beat this all together and pour on top of crust, sprinkle with mini M & M's. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. It will still be shaky in the middle when you take it out of the oven. 

Making a Smoother Cup of Coffee

            

I just learned this today....It is probably common knowledge for most everybody else. You see Hutch and I have been on a hunt for the smoothest cup of homemade coffee we could make. We have tried cheap coffees, and we have tried expensive coffees. But they've rarely taste as smooth as we hoped.

Hutch even went so far as to question the guy who makes the coffee at our favorite place and he gave a surprising insight into how restaurants make great coffee. According to this man, it's all about filtered water.  OK, so then we started using a coffee maker that filters the water. The coffee still wasn't right.  

Today I read a neat tip in a frugality book that may solve the problem. According to this guide even very cheap coffee can be made extra smooth tasting by just adding a dash of salt before brewing. I'll try it in the morning and let you know if it really works.  

Fake Crab Salad / Dip

We lived in Savannah for a while and enjoyed our fill of freshly caught crab and shrimp. But I can honestly say I get more compliments on this fake crab salad/dip than I ever did using the 'real' stuff. Hope you give this easy recipe a try.

Ingredients:

1 package fake crab

1 block cream cheese

1/2 cup mayo

1/2 cup grated cheese

1 tsp horseradish

1 cup minced celery

half a good sized onion minced  

pepper or hot sauce to taste

Mix all this together. It makes a ton of crab salad so if you don't use it all you can freeze it just fine! At this point in the recipe you can change it up a little and end up with a warm crab dip.....just put a portion of the mixture in an oven proof bowl,top with more grated cheese, and run under a broiler until cheese is melted and mixture is warmed through. Serve with some fancy dancy crackers or hot french bread and you're set.   

Red Beans & Rice the Simple Way

This is the simplest recipe I've ever found for Red Beans and Rice, and one of the tastiest. It is filling and cheap and great on a really cold night. Here goes:

Ingredients 

2 cans kidney beans undrained

1 can tomatoes and chilies

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 lb of smoked sausage cut up

1 tsp cajun or creole seasoning

4-5 cups prepared rice

OK this is one of those dump it all together recipes. Mix everything except the rice together and heat on stove or in crockpot. Let it bubble away long enough to cook the sausage well. When ready to serve put rice in bowl and top with bean mixture. Sprinkle a little cheese on top if desired. I know this recipe sounds sort of too easy to be good. But it is very delicious and makes a ton of food. You could easily feed a family of 4-6 according to how hungry your folks are. Hutch I barely managed to eat half our bowls each as this is such a hearty dish. 

Hope you'll give this low cost, stick to your ribs meal a try.  

Patty's Crockpot Coq au Vin

             

OK here is that recipe I wrote about a couple of days ago. It is super simple, kind of cheap, and very very good. It is so good you could make this for a fancy dinner with guests or just as a romantic dinner with your husband. It is Hutch approved- he loved it!

Ingredients

a cube of chicken concentrate [you know those little cubes you add to a cup of hot water to make chicken stock]

3 ribs celery washed and cut in chunks

1 big carrot washed, peeled, & cut in chunks

Chicken [either a whole chicken or parts of your choice up to 7 pounds]

1 cup wine [white or red]

1 box fresh mushrooms

several bunches fresh rosemary [I have this in the yard but you can get it at the grocery as well]

1 big onion peeled & quartered

OK, in the morning just put the chicken broth you made into your Crockpot. Then add a layer of everything but chicken. Add half of the chicken [you can brown it first in some butter if that's important you you- I didn't] then add the rest of the veggies and rosemary. Pour over the wine and salt & pepper to your taste. Let it cook on low until supper. Right before supper drain off a good portion of the juices about three cups. In a frying pan melt 2 tablespoons butter then stir into that 3 tablespoons flour. Mix it all together and let it cook until its a nice light brown, then add in the reserved juice. Stir until you get it to gravy consistency. I served this with rice. Hope you'll give this elegant but super easy recipe a try!          

Bee Tea

               

This is such a cute recipe...I couldn't resist the title when I saw it. It came from the book, 'The Quilter's Kitchen' by Jennifer Chiaverini. I will review the book here when I finish it. I changed the recipe a little because I personally don't like to deal with loose tea. It would make a wonderful pot of tea for a cold Winter's afternoon. 

 

Ingredients:

2 black tea bags

2 green tea bags

1 chamomile tea bag

3 tablespoons honey

lemon quarters or whole milk

Put the tea bags in your favorite tea pot. Add 8 cups boiling water, let steep at least four minutes. Add honey and stir well. Serve with lemon quarters or milk- but not both.   

Delicious Rum Cake!!!

I made my rum cake last night and it is by far the very best cake of this type I've ever had!!! Delicious, moist, and oh so easy. The flavor is out of this world. Of course you need to make the brandied fruit starting in the Summer....but it is so worth it to try this. Once you get it started you can keep adding to the fruit bucket so it never gets old. Just let it sit at least 6 weeks after the last add before you use the fruit in cakes.

Martha Washington's Best Rum Cake 

1 box golden cake mix

1 box instant vanilla pudding

4 eggs

2/3 cup oil

1 cup drained brandied fruit [save the liquid for the glaze]

1 cup each pecans, walnuts, raisins, & coconut

Stir it all together with a big spoon. Put it in a greased and floured bundt or tube pan. Bake at 300 degrees for an hour. Let sit in pan 10 minutes then turn out. Mix enough powdered sugar to reserved liquid to make a very stiff drip. Drizzle thickly over top. Yum!!!

Kids Can Make These Oatmeal Cookies

Here is the recipe I promised to post a couple of days ago. it would make a great first recipe for kids to make under adult supervision as you don't have to use a mixer or any other small appliance. It is one of those stir it all together recipes.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup self rising flour

1 tsp soda

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup oil

1 egg beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts [these can be substituted with any flavor chip or 1/2 cup coconut, or raisins]

Stir everything together in a big bowl. Add 1 or 2 tsp of water if dough is too stiff. drop by tsp onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 325 degrees for 10-15 minutes according to how hot your oven is.   

Mom's Sad Cake Recipe

                                                     

Here is that recipe for the Sad Cake. This thing is delicious and would be a great dessert or breakfast type bread. It's super easy & keeps well...if any is left LOL.

SAD CAKE

1 lb. light brown sugar 4 eggs, well beaten 1/2 c. vegetable oil 2 c. biscuit mix 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 c. chopped pecans Mix sugar with eggs. Stir in vegetable oil, then biscuit mix a little at a time, until all ingredients are well mixed. Add vanilla,& pecans. Bake in ungreased 9x13 inch pan at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. NOTE: Do not be alarmed if cake looks strange. It is called "Sad Cake" because it rises fairly high, then caves in in the middle! It's delicious. Can be served warm with whipped cream or ice cream. Do not use glass pan, it gets too well done. 15-24 servings

Easy Hot & Sour Soup

Hutch loves Hot and Sour Soup. He could eat it several times a week, if we bought it. This week he has given me the challenge to recreate his favorite soup here at home. I like this recipe because Hutch says it tastes just like it came from a Chinese Restaurant & it is made with items you either have on hand or that are easily available.

Ingredients:

1/2 a box of extra firm tofu cut into small squares

4 cups chicken broth [one cube per cup of water]

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

5 dried shitake or wood ear mushrooms soaked for 30 minutes in warm water, then sliced

1/4 cup bamboo shoots sliced in thirds

2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 inch slice peeled fresh ginger

1 TB soy sauce

3 TB cornstarch in a slurry of water

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp sesame oil

Crushed red pepper flakes to your taste- I use just a pinch, but you could make it as hot here as you like

garnish with grn onion if you have them

Heat the broth, garlic, ginger, & tofu to a boil then reduce to simmer. Add mushroom water, vinegar, soy sauce, peppers, & cornstarch. Stir till it thickens. At this point you can make it thicker with more cornstarch if you like a stiffer soup. Next add mushrooms, bamboo shoots, & sesame oil -cook 5-120 minutes. You can eat it at once or it can sit for as long as you need it to. Remove the ginger before serving. This makes about 6 servings.         

Homemade Convenience Food Recipes

I just ran across another great site that has an abundance of recipes using ingredients most folks have in their pantry. It is worth a check if you are trying to cut your budget. Go here: Convenience Foods to take a look.  

Almost Instant Brunswick Stew

         

I ran across this recipe in my files recently and remembered how much my husband likes it. So I thought I'd post it here. It is super easy to make and does have that 'Pit Barbecue' flavor. This recipe makes a lot and since the stew is so rich and meaty you could probably serve 8 folks if you had side dishes. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 10 oz can Barbecue beef & one of Barbecue pork

1 24 oz Brunswick Stew

1 #2 can creamed corn

3/4 cup of barbecue sauce of your choice

1 fresh lemon

Dash of Tabasco sauce

Mix everything in a crock pot, squeeze juice of lemon. Cook on low 20-30 minutes or until piping hot. You can freeze leftovers of this and it will taste better when it's reheated too.

Hope you give this recipe a try.   

More Than you Think You Had & Three Very Cheap Recipes

            

I'm learning that there is always more in the pantry than I think I have. A good example is this week. I don't have to do a really big grocery shop because yesterday I went through the freezer and pantry to see what was lurking there.

Then I asked the Lord to help me use up the odds and ends in new menus. I was amazed at all the interesting stuff there and all the creative ideas that seemed to ping me about how to use it up.

Yesterday I made crock pot barbecue with a tiny [and I really mean tiny] bit of pork, fried rice with leftover ham bits, carrot salad with an elderly bag of carrots, & cole slaw from an equally old cabbage. All of it turned out well and was very tasty.

So now I have salads for the week and some neat ideas on main dishes to use up the staples I have on hand as well. I got to thinking that if I was a pioneer during the 1800's I would think I was set for a snowy isolated Montana winter with all the items in my pantry.  Sometimes I like to think that way, it makes me realize how blessed I am, how much I have, and how many people I care about that are only a phone call away. 

The carrot salad recipe is:                                 

1 bag of carrots grated

1/2 cup raisins

3/4 cup plain yoghurt

1/4 cup mayo

2 tbsp honey

Mix and let set for a while.

Cole Slaw Recipe:

1 head cabbage shredded

1 onion grated

1/4 cup mayo

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup cider vinegar

Mix and let set a while.

              

Easy Fried Rice

1 batch brown rice cooked

1 onion chopped

bits of leftover meat

oil

Soy Sauce

Heat the onions, oil, & meat until sizzling. Add the rice and stir fast. Finally add soy sauce to taste. 

Hope your day is starting out well.

Bean Soup Weather

I made a nice big pot of ham & bean soup for lunch today. I took some ham trimmings leftover from the weekend and mixed it with a chopped onion and a chopped green pepper. Lastly I added a couple of freezer packs of navy beans I had saved from a big batch of them I cooked some time ago. Ham Bean Soup is a thrifty way to use up leftovers as well.

  

It made a really tasty hearty soup that I had with a slice of corn bread. When I was a young bride my Bible study held a yearly soup and cornbread luncheon. Everybody brought a pot of soup or a batch of corn bread. The soups were mixed at the church in a huge industrial sized pot. Somehow it worked...

Anyhoo, I love having a big bowl of hot soup with a wedge of cornbread on a cold and blustery day, like today. Hope you are making something good for supper at your house.

Celebration Cobbler

This is the very easy and tasty cobbler I made for the kids Friday night. I topped it with vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:

1 can each cherry pie filling and crushed pineapple

1 tsp lemon juice

1 box white cake mix

1 stick butter

In a bowl mix first three ingredients. Pour into a 11 by 9 pan top with dry cake mix, then add slices of butter over the surface. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. It is very rich and very tasty. Hope you give it a try! 

Violet Jelly

 

I found this neat recipe for violet jelly and thought I'd post it here. If you read further down you'll see that you can use this same recipe for other fragrant herbs. Go here: Violet Jelly to see it. 

Especially Easy Baked Ham

                                  

This is the ham recipe that Janet gave me. Buy a shoulder picnic ham [it must be shoulder picnic], put in deep roasting pan and cover tightly with tin foil. Now bake it at 325 -30 minutes for each pound. This recipe makes a lot of au jus!!! My mom kept it after dinner and plans to use it in soups and to season veggies this week. Hope you give this super simple recipe a try!! 

Soothing Smoothies

Since I'm going through menopause and I still sometimes suffer with hot flashes,I thought I'd post these wonderful refreshing drinks here. I've found that if I drink hot beverages, I'll usually have a big round of hot flashes. Coffee and other caffeine type drinks and foods also had to be forsaken. So I started drinking smoothies each morning. This has cut back on my hot flashes considerably. I'm sure the lack of caffeine has also helped. Anyway, I thought I'd post about some of my favorite smoothies.

1. Decaf Coffee and Banana- this one is really great. Put 1 cup coffee, one frozen banana, 3 tsp sweetener of your choice or one dried date, & a cup of ice cubes. Blend on High. 

2. Peach- Great on a hot afternoon. One ripe peach peeled, three tsp sweetener [or 3 packs Spenda] or 1 dried date, 2 cups ice. Whirl on high.

3. Apple [spicy] - 2 apples chunked [leave on the peel], a dash of cinnamon, 3 tsp sweetener or 1 dried Date, 2 cups ice. Whirl. 

4. Apple/Citrus- 1 apple chunked, 1 orange sectioned without peel, 3 tsp sweetener, 2 cups ice.

The addition of a frozen banana will make any of these smoothies lots 'creamier'. Leave off the banana if you like a more 'icee' type drink. I want to get some frozen blueberries and strawberries and try them as well.  I usually get all the reduced 'leopard' [the one with lots of spots] bananas at the grocery and freeze them. 

One thing I love about smoothies is that they are a very frugal simple way to get several of your fruits for the day. Hope you try them!  

Dog Breath Cookies

OK, I know this sounds strange, but I came across a great recipe to cure my dog's halitosis problem so I thought I'd post it here- just in case your dog needs it too....

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup ww flour

1 1/2 cup Bisquick [the homemade version is fine]

1/2 cup fresh mint

1/4 cup milk [dry version fine]

4 tsp butter

1 egg

1 1/2 tbs maple syrup [can use corn syrup or molasses]

Toss mint in food processor, whirl, then add other ingredients, & whirl. Roll out and cut with a cookie cutter [bone shape is suggested]. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.  

Leftover Baked Potato Soup

My soup did turn out pretty yummy. So I thought I'd post the no fail so easy recipe for it.

Ingredients:

2 leftover baked potatoes peeled and chunked up

1 onion chopped

3 strips of bacon

1 1/2 cups milk

1 tsp each salt and dried parsley

2 Tbsp dry cheddar cheese sauce mix [comes in an envelope near the spices section at my grocery]

In a pot fry the bacon with the onions. When done cut the bacon into small pieces. Add potatoes to pot and stir around until coated with the bacon drippings. Add the powdered cheese sauce and the salt and parsley. Lastly add milk. If you use the dry milk it's probably a good idea to add some margarine or butter, maybe a tablespoon. Cook this till it boils at which point the soup will thicken. Top with what ever strikes your fancy...shredded cheese, sour cream, or green onions. This recipe will make enough for 4 folks. Add more milk if you like a thinner soup.

It's great way to use up baked potatoes and stretch your budget at the same time. Hope you give it a try.     

Amish Master Cookie Mix

I found this really neat recipe and thought others might like it too!

Ingredients

9 C. flour
1 t. salt
3 C. shortening
7 1/2 C. oatmeal
2 t. baking powder
2 t. soda
6 C. brown sugar

Directions

Sift flour, salt, baking powder and soda into a large bowl. Add sugar.
Cut in shortening until mixture is crumbly.
Stir in oatmeal.

How to use:

6 C. mix
1/2 C. milk
2 eggs, beaten
2 t. vanilla

1 cup add ins of your choice [M&Ms, nuts, coconut, chocolate chips, marshmallows, etc.]

Bake at 350 until done

 

A Really Easy Hors d'oeuvre

Thought I'd put this really easy and delicious hors d'oeuvre recipe on the blog. I make it for any special occasion and holiday. Everyone in the family loves it.

Ingredients:

box of toothpicks

a can of whole water chestnuts

bacon strips cut into thirds

You just roll a bacon section around the water chestnut and secure the ends with a toothpick.

 Bake in a 350 degree oven in a pan, or frying pan for 30 minutes.

Watch them carefully because if you have a hot oven they may not need the full 30 minutes.

Take them off the pan and drain on a paper towel until cool enough to eat. That's it. They are sooooo good!  

Cheesecake Ice Cream

This is a recipe that a very old friend gave me over twenty years ago. It is our favorite ice cream recipe. It tastes EXACTLY like cheesecake but it has a surprising secret ingredient.

Ingredients:

1 qt buttermilk

12 oz. whipping cream

 1 cup sugar

 1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all together and put into an ice cream freezer. Once it's frozen, pack it well with ice and let it sit to ripen for a few hours. Serve with a few dollops of your favorite pie filling on top- we use blueberry and cherry. Hope you give it a try.

Cheesy Rolls

Last evening when Allie and Josh were over for for supper, I was searching around for something to make a plain spaghetti meal special. So I decided earlier in the day to make some homemade rolls. I used my usual easy recipe in the bread machine.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water

1/4 cup each oil & sweetener of some kind [honey, molasses, sugar, maple syrup, or corn syrup]

1 tsp salt

4 cups of flours of your choice

2 tsp yeast

Put this in your bread machine in the order listed and set the machine for dough. When the dough is ready, oil your hands and make into about 16 bun sized rolls. To make this particular cheese bread roll the balls in shredded mozzarella cheese. Coat liberally- then let rise again covered on a cookie sheet with plastic wrap. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. You may have to tent these with some tin foil about halfway through the baking process so the cheese doesn't burn. We enjoyed these rolls a lot and they certainly added a festive note to an otherwise plain meal.         

Pumpkin Jam

I'm taking a break from the writing- I've gotten 4 pages done so I can afford one. I found this intriguing recipe in a very old cookbook I have. I love spicy types of spreads, especially in the Fall and Winter. I'm thinking this one might fit the bill as that time of the year approaches. Maybe you'd like to try it too.

Ingredients:

1 14-16 pound pumpkin

Sugar

5 tsp ground ginger

3 lemons, peel & juice

Remove seeds from pumpkin. Peel and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes. Weigh and add 3/4 pound sugar for every pound pumpkin. Let this mixture stand overnight. In the morning add ginger and lemon peel. Simmer slowly all day long or until syrup is thick- I'm going to do this part in a crock pot. Stir lemon juice into jam about half an hour before removing from heat. Can as you would any other jam.  

I'm thinking this would be a great way to recycle a Halloween pumpkin & make the house smell spicy as it cooks. Then I could make bread and give a jar of pumpkin jam with a loaf of fresh bread. Sounds pretty good to me.  

Colonial Tutti Frutti

I love to collect really old cook books and I have more of them than I have space to store them. I also love to try some of those 200 hundred year old or older recipes as well. This one is in a cookbook my mother in law gave me over thirty years ago- the book is a compilation of vintage Virginia heritage recipes. One I'm trying this Summer is Tutti Frutti. It sounds pretty easy and has to be started now to be ready by Christmas. Yes you read that right. This is really a Christmas recipe... OK, here goes.

You take a quart of brandy and mix it with one pound sugar. Stir it up together and put it into a 2 gallon crock. Cover it with material tied over the opening of the crock. Wait a week. Then add 1 pound fresh strawberries and 1/2 pound sugar. Stir again and cover as directed- let rest one week. Over the course of the Summer add ripe fruits in the amount of one pound with 1/2 pound sugar letting it rest one week between adds. Suggested fruits are fresh pineapple, white seedless grapes, peeled and chunked fresh peaches, and pitted fresh cherries. But anything that is fresh and ripe should work. There should always be some sugar in the bottom of the crock. Keep this in a cool dark place for 6 weeks after the last of the Summer fruit has been added. The cookbook says it was traditionally used as a topping for boiled custard, pound cake, blanc mange, & ice cream at Christmas time.

I'm going to try this recipe and at Christmas I'm going to imagine George Washington sitting down for his holiday dinner - finishing it off with a slice of pound cake topped with Tutti Frutti.    

World's Easiest Fruit Salad Recipe

I'm writing this here for my great neighbor Debbie. She has a son getting married in the next few weeks and I thought she might like to look over this recipe. I will say that we had several caters attend our daughter's wedding and this was one of the recipes they asked me for. That made me feel pretty good!! Anyway here goes. This batch makes enough for about 40 people.

Ingredients:

7 cans Mandarin Orange sections

7 cans [not the little flat cans] pineapple tidbits

1 1/2 bag sweetened coconut [if you like coconut use both bags]

2 big tubs Kool Whip

2 tsp good vanilla

2 bags minature marshmallows

1 jar marchino cherries [this is a garnish and if you're not a cherry lover you can easily leave it out and top the salad with a few reserved orange sections]

Fresh Mint leaves [these would make a pretty garnish too & I know Debbie, who is a master gardener, probably has lots in her garden)].  

OK, this is so simple to make.....just open the cans and drain the fruit really, really well. Then open the Kool Whip tubs and add one tsp vanilla to each and stir. Now in a BIG bowl [we used acrylic punch bowls for this....which I still have if you want to borrow them Debbie] dump everything and fold it all together. Drain the cherries and scatter on the top for garnish. Maybe add some mint sprigs as well. This makes a nice fresh tasting, colorful  alternative to the same old tired tossed salad. And I think its pretty too!!!