Lemonade Stand Concentrate

Ingredients:

1 qt. Lemon Juice

2 qt. Water

12 cups Sugar

5 tsp Lemon Zest (optional)

Mix lemon juice and water. Adding sugar will actually displace liquid and make a total of 5 quarts of lemonade concentrate. Lemon zest may be added for additional flavoring. Separate concentrate 5 ways and freeze what you do not use. 1 quart of the concentrate can be added to 3 quarts of water to make lemonade. You may want to add more or less water according to your taste. If you like stronger lemonade, then of course add less water. If you want to make straight lemonade, cut the sugar in half. (You may want more or less sugar depending on the sweetness desired.)

Tips & Tricks #1

In dealing with fresh garlic or onion, you may have found that conventional soap does not always work at getting the smell off of the hands. Try getting your hands wet and pouring a Tablespoon of salt in your palm. Rub your hands together as if you were using soap. Viola, the smell is gone.

Cheesy Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I have stuffed chicken breasts for many years with a bread stuffing. Today there was a little change to the menu. Instead of bread, I used a blend of different cheese.

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Cream Cheese

1/2 Cup Mozzarella Cheese

1/3 Cup Parmesan Cheese

1/2 tsp Dried Basil

1/4 tsp Dried Oregano

1/4 tsp McCormick Roasted Garlic and Bell Pepper Seasoning

6 Medium sized Chicken Breasts

Toothpicks

4 Large Eggs

Seasoned Bread Crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sized bowl, mix together cream cheese, Mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, basil, oregano and McCormick seasoning. The best way that I found was to use your hands. This allows to you optimally blend all the ingredients together. Separate the cheese into 6 portions. Slice chicken breasts through the middle going about 3/4 of the way through the breast. Place the portions of cheese into the chicken breasts.

Firmly close the breast and create a seal. Using the toothpicks, pierce the breast diagonally to keep it closed. This will prevent the cheese from complete running out of the chicken breast.

Beat the four eggs well. Dip the chicken into the eggs, then dip the chicken into the seasoned bread crumbs. Place the breasts into a greased pan (butter, margarine or shortening will do). Be sure to leave the toothpicks in the chicken. Bake the chicken at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

Allow the chicken to set for about five minutes, then remove the toothpicks. This is a wonderful entree to compliment with a risotto and a vegetable of your choice.

The Easiest Mushroom Risotto

By the name, Risotto seems like an ominous side dish. It is in fact very easy to make and can compliment almost any meal.

Ingredients:

1/3 Cup of Chopped Onion

1 Tbs Margarine

2/3 Cup Rice (uncooked)

2 Cups Water

1 tsp Chicken Bouillon

2/3 Cup Chopped Mushrooms

1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese

Melt margarine in a medium sized sauce pan. When the margarine is melted, add the chopped onion. Cook until tender. (Do not caramelize onions, only cook until tender.) When onions are cooked (slightly see through) add the rice to the mixture and cook for an addition 2 minutes. Stir rice frequently so as not to burn the rice.

After the rice is cooked, add the 2 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of bouillon. Mix well. Bring the water to a boil, then add the chopped mushrooms. (Mushrooms can either be just the buttons or include the stem.) Cover the rice and simmer for 20 minutes.

When rice is finished cooking, add the 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese and mix well. Replace lid and allow to sit for an additional 5 minutes.

Chilly Ribbons

This is a dessert that I grew up on. Every Christmas my grandmother would make Chilly Ribbons. It was the one mart of the Christmas meal that I looked forward to. Why am I hung up on a Christmas meal when the holidays are over. Because I have tried for a few years to remember how my grandmother made the Chilly Ribbons. This past Christmas there was success. These Chilly Ribbons are good on any occasion and can be done for any holiday.

Ingredients:

2 6 oz boxes of Jell-O (any color or flavor)

4 envelopes of Knox unflavored gelatin

1 can sweetened condensed milk

For the two boxes of Jell-O, take the initial two cups of boiling water and gradually mix the Jell-O into the water. After the Jell-O is dissolved, add one envelope of Knox gelatin. Then add the second two cups of cold water. Follow the same steps for the second box of Jell-O.

Take two more cups of boiling water and gradually stir in the remaining 2 envelopes of Know gelatin. Mix well, then add 1 can of sweetened condensed milk.

Find a nice container to begin your chilly ribbons. Remember, it is all about layering. Use one of the colored gelatins first. The extra gelatin that we put in the Jell-O allows it to set up faster. Pour a thin layer into the bottom of your dish. Allow it to set up in the fridge. When it is ready, you should be able to touch the gelatin without it sticking to your finger. Next place a layer of the white gelatin. Repeat these steps, always separating the strips of color with the white gelatin.

Do not forget to use the leftovers as well to make other desserts.

I call this one the Jell-O-Rita.

It consists of my left over Berry Blue Jell-O, the White Gelatin and some chopped pineapples.

Easy Macaroni Salad

Macaroni salad has to be one of my least favorite side dishes. However, I recently experimented with a recipe and found something the I really enjoy.

Ingredients:

6 oz elbow macaroni (just over two cups uncooked)

6 oz cubed cheese (cheddar, monterey jack)

2/3 cup whole black olives

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup relish

1/4 milk

2 Tbs - 1/4 cup mustard (depending on your preferences)

2 - 4 Hard boiled eggs, chopped

Salt to taste

Cook pasta according to the directions found on the package. Rinse thoroughly.

Slice black olives in half.

In a large bowl, combine the pasta, cheese, sliced olives.

In a separate bowl, combine the mayonnaise, relish, milk, mustard and salt. Mix well.

Add dressing to the pasta combination. Coat well and gently so as to not break any of the noodles. After the dressing is mixed into the pasta salad, add the chopped eggs, mixing until just combined.

Cover and chill over night.

Quiche: The Breakfast Pie

This is a great breakfast meal for the whole family. I actually got my 5 year old and my 3 year old to eat it by calling it "Breakfast Pie".

It is a very easy meal to make.

Preheat your oven to 325.

Ingredients:

1 Frozen pie crust

4 Eggs

1 1/2 Cups of milk

1/4 tsp Salt

Dash of Nutmeg

6 oz. Cheese (Swiss, Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Gouda)

1 Tbs Flour

In a bowl, beat the four eggs well. Add the milk and the salt, mixing well. Next, add the dash of nutmeg to the egg mixture.

Grate desired cheese. Add one tablespoon of flour to the cheese and coat well. Ad this mixture to the eggs.

Bake the quiche at 325 for 40-45 minutes. Because of the cheese content, the quiche may actually look undercooked. Simply poke the center of the quiche with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out dry and clean, then the quiche is finished. (It is important to watch the cooking temperature of eggs. When cooked at too high of a temperature, eggs have a tendency to turn green. I would not recommend trying to take any shortcuts with this dish.)

For those of you who enjoy spinach, try adding 2 cups of frozen chopped spinach. It is important that the spinach is thawed and drained before adding it to the quiche. You can also try to add 3/4 cup of bacon, ham or sausage for a heartier breakfast quiche. And if you desire to try quiche at a later meal, try adding the same amount of chicken, turkey or crab meat.