"Sun-Dried" Tomatoes

To “sun-dry” your own tomatoes, slice them thin, and throw them on a cookie sheet with olive oil. Allow them to sit in a 200-degree oven for 6-8 hours, and that’s it. They completely fall apart, shrivel up, and taste great. Plus, how much are store-bought sun-dried tomatoes these days? Some exorbitant amount. I’m experimenting with freezing mine with some extra olive oil.

Trilby's Salad Dressing

2 T. salt

1 T. dry mustard

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. marjoram

1 tsp. celery seed

1 tsp. paprika

1 T. black pepper

1/3 qt. olive oil ( of good quality)

1/3 qt. vegetable oil

1/3 qt. wine vinegar



Mix the dry ingredients. Add the oils then the vinegar and shake well

Avocaod Green Goddess Dressing & Dip

If eating healthier meals is on your agenda for 2011, start by incorporating more salads into your diet. Select fresh, in-season vegetables, fruits, and nuts and put together a salad that is full of colors, textures, and flavors. Skip the store-bought salad dressing and make your own green goddess dressing instead. This classic salad topping originated in San Francisco and has a base of herbs and anchovies. While many recipes use mayonnaise or sour cream to achieve a creamy texture, this one employs avocado and Greek yogurt. The best thing about this recipe is that the dressing can also be a dip. Pack it in a Tupperware with crudités and enjoy for lunch. Learn the technique.


Green Goddess Dip and Dressing
From San Francisco Entertains by the Junior League of San Francisco

Ingredients

1 cup chopped avocado (about 1 avocado)
3 or 4 anchovy fillets, mashed or 1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons anchovy paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon leaves
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
Extra-virgin olive oil (for making dressing)

Directions

1.Combine the avocado, anchovies, garlic, scallions, basil, parsley, and tarragon in a food processor.
2.Add the Greek yogurt, white wine vinegar, and lemon juice. Process until smooth. Serve with crudités as a dip or over steamed green vegetables.
3.For dressing, add olive oil 1/4 cup at a time, processing constantly until the desired consistency is reached. Toss with salad greens.
Makes 1-1/2 cups

MUA Pulled Pork

MUA Crock Pot Pulled Pork

2 onions, sliced thin
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs paprika
2 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 (4-6 lb) boneless pork butt or shoulder
¾ cup cider vinegar
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 ½tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 ½tsp sugar
½ tsp dry mustard
½ tsp garlic salt
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
Place onions in crock-pot. Combine brown sugar, paprika, salt and pepper;
rub over roast. Place roast on top of onions.
Combine vinegar, Worcestershire, red pepper flakes, sugar, mustard, garlic
salt and cayenne; stir to mix well. Drizzle about 1/3 of vinegar mixture
over roast. Cover and refrigerate remaining vinegar mixture.
Cover crock-pot; cook on low 12-14 hours. Drizzle about 1/3 of reserved
vinegar mixture over roast during last ½ hour of cooking.
Remove meat and onions; drain. Chop or shred meat and onions. Serve with
remaining vinegar mixture.

Simple Green Salad Ideas

From makeupalley.com Food & Nutrition Message Board

What ingredients do you put in your favorite simple green salads++ dawnsgleam 2/26/2011 4:02PM

red onion, kalamata olives,artichoke hearts, tomato, feta cheese, pepperonchinis...yum! vogue1222 2/26/2011 9:54PM

Arugula, Romaine, Cucumber & Goat Cheese pollywannacocktail 2/26/2011 7:43PM

Use those green bags too to avoid waste. I"ve had Romaine last 3 weeks. KalmiaB 2/26/2011 6:30PM

Cut up peppers, tomatoes, onion etc - keep in an airtight container and add++am to your greens. IOW, do a lot of the labor all at once and just combine em next few nights. I always toss in a small handful of sunflower seeds.
And make you own dressing. You'll save a lot of money and know what oil and vinegar you use. KalmiaB 2/26/2011 6:29PM


Great Idea! I think I'll try doing a lot of the labor at once too. dawnsgleam 2/26/2011 6:38PM

All that things that make a low cal salad high cal. Nuts, croutons, sunflower seeds, cheese, bacon angelabetsey 2/26/2011 6:06PM

chicken, pecans, strawberries or blueberries & thin cheeses:+) floridaprincess2/26/2011 5:14PM

red or yellow bell peppers, cilantro, hempseeds, avocado, tomatoes, cucumber, pumpkin seeds cjofphilly 2/26/2011 4:59PM


Pumpkin seeds are my new favourite thing... to put on everything! zoe66 2/26/2011 5:15PM

basil, mint, parsley, pineapple, orange or grapefruit sections cjofphilly 2/26/2011 5:00PM

My new favorite salad of all time (SO and I ate it for dinner 3 nights in a row last week) is r/o Trader Joe's Champs Elysees salad mix (green leaf, frisee, radicchio, and carrots - love it because it's $1.99 and lasts forever in the fridge) with halved grape tomotoes, sliced cucumber, sliced radish, shaved red onion, canned tuna, and TJ's greek salad dressing. forte 2/26/2011 4:35PM

I also always used to make the same basic thing with balsamic vinaigrette (just balsamic, evoo, and dijon whisked together) which you can control the calories a little more, but the greek dressing only has 110 calories in 2 tbsp, so it's not bad and you want some substance. A little low fat feta is also good.

my fav simple salad: iceburg lettuce, finely sliced shallots, parm cheese tossed + in roasted hazelnut oil and lemon juice w a bit of maldon katiekabooom 2/26/2011 4:32PM

What is maldon? I've never heard of it. dawnsgleam 2/26/2011 4:38PM

amazing salt flakes. yuuuuummmer katie! milla00o 2/26/2011 4:38PM

Walnuts, thinly sliced red onion, berries (blue or strawberries, sometimes raspberries) + plus homemade vinegarette dressing. ts barbiH 2/26/2011 4:30PM

A small amount of feta cheese adds yumminess too....though it also adds calories. ;)

I love hearing about these salads! dawnsgleamA simple tooltip2/26/2011 4:29PM

For my simple green side salads, I use baby spinach, cucumber, tomato, green pepper, oregano, r/o salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil, and red wine vinegar. pink_jasmineA simple tooltip2/26/2011 4:27PM

Honestly, it doesn't matter to me as long as I have field greens & Brianna's French Vinaigrette. ro However, I tend to heavily favor feta or bleu cheese crumbles, cucumber, shredded carrots, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, or jicama. Homemade balsamic vinaigrette is the other favorite. elankat 4:25PM

Usually, it's just field greens mix, cuke, carrot, feta & dressing though.

Here's what I've been having lately r/o baby spinach, a handful of rinsed garbanzo beans (from a can), a handful of halved grape tomatoes, and about 1/2 of a diced red bell pepper. jago 2/26/2011 4:21PM

My latest favorite dressing is a herbs de provence vineagrette (sp!!) from Whole Foods...it's part of the 365 line. Yum!

And if I need an extra treat, or it's my entire meal, I throw on some croutons too. They're high in salt, and I should make them at home, but it's a treat. :)

I just polished off a huge salad for lunch. My fav. right now is a mix of field greens with dried ++ cranberries, walnuts, grape to. cut in half, thick shreds of carrot, chopped hard boiled egg, parm cheese shreds, evoo and a great balsamic vinager. It has a perfect balance of sweet/tart/earthy/salty/acidic. Quilley 2/26/2011 4:10PM

I just chop up whatever vegies are around, add some cheese or beans and eat r/o
as I have gotten older I realize I like simple salads more than the ones with everything but the kitchen sink in them. One thing I am noticing is I am not fond of tomato in salad anymore which is odd because I love tomato but just not mixed with greens. Dressing on the other hand, now that is my weak spot, I am loving almost every one I try lately. lol katrink 2/26/2011 4:06PM

Homemade Granola

by Quilley at Makeup Alley.com

I like a mix of freshly cracked nuts
dried blueberries
dried cranberries
dried cherries
flax seed (I know, but it adds crunch big time)
coconut oil
honey
a pinch of dried cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg
raw sunflower seeds
raw pumpkin seeds
old fashioned oats

I just heat my cast iron skillet (a large one) on med. heat and add the coconut oil. Then come the oats and I start stirring right away until I can see then get a smidge darker, then i add the spices, the seeds and the nuts and keep stirring. When I smell the nut meats toasting, I turn off the flame, cool everything down, then add the honey and the dried fruits. That's it. I also like the idea that it's not solid and I can get it as toasty as I like w/o turning on the oven. I don't measure anything, just eyeball it.

It's really perfect in the morning with yogurt and sliced fruit. Mmmm, I think I will go make some now, lol.

WH FOODS CRANBERRY SAUCE

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=recipe&dbid=155

Cranberry Sauce is a favorite dish to serve with holiday meals. This very quick recipe will make it easy for you to add this delicious accompaniment to your meal without much effort.

1 12oz bag of fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 tsp minced orange zest
¼ tsp cinnamon
½ cup crushed pineapple
½ cup honey


Directions:

Bring orange juice, ginger, zest and cinnamon to a boil on high heat in a medium saucepan.
Rinse cranberries and add once liquid is boiling. Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes.
Add crushed pineapple and honey. Remove from heat and cool.
Yields 2 cups