Cheesy Garlic Bread

CHEESY GARLIC BREAD (shared by Courtney) French loaf butter garlic pepper quattro formaggio cheese from Trader Joes ( or you could use any other cheese you like) Cut french loaf in half. Butter both sides of bread completely. Sprinkle cheese of bread (as much as you like) Sprinkle garlic pepper over cheese (As much as you like) I like it to be extra cheesy and lots of garlic. Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes. That's how I cooked it at Zoe's, other ovens may vary. Enjoy!!!

Food We Can't Live Without

"Food We Can't Live Without" was the theme of our last book club meeting and I wanted to recap all the foods that we just can't live without :)

Shannon: hummus, pita chips, veggies

Courtney: Cheesy Garlic Bread (recipe posted)

Megan: cookies and milk

Lauren & Stacey: Sprinkles Cupcakes (http://www.sprinkles.com/)

Malain- chips, salsa, quacamole

Lara- Hot Tamales & Cinnamon Bear candy, Rosemary bread and Brie cheese

Michelle- peanut butter pretzels, sweet potato fries

Zoe- homemade pizza, homemade (from scratch) cake (recipes posted)

Ethiopian Night at the Red Sea

Thanks to Susan Reid for organizing our book club adventure at the Red Sea to discuss "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese. Susan also provided a list of what she ordered for us that night.

The plates ordered at the Red Sea included:
Green salad

tibs

sawaze tibs

zil zil tibs
vegetarian combo

This will be a great resource for those of us who will venture back to the Red Sea for dinner!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe (shared by Susan)
Super easy, quick, and, I think, fairly healthy.

The key to this dish is finding the packet of sauce! I first discovered it in Anacortes, Washington. Not so easy in San Diego. After a lengthy search, I stumbled upon it at Cost Plus World Market, of all places! Many grocery stores have several varieties of Panda Brand sauces but not for lettuce wraps.

Lee Kum Kee
Panda Brand
Sauce for Lettuce Wraps

Recipe is on the back of the packet.
I usually use ground turkey. Easier to find. After that, it's carrots, green onions, water chestnuts and peanuts. I use heaping portions of all. Brown the meat in a little oil (don't really need the full amount, add the vegies, simmer and you are done!

Enjoy!

Asian Chicken Noodle Salad

Asian Chicken Noodle Salad (shared by Stacey)

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup sliced almonds

8 tbsp. sesame seeds

7 tbsp. rice vinegar

4 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

½ cup canola oil (I didn’t use all of the oil)

1 16-oz. bag coleslaw mix (I used a broccoli slaw mix so that it had less cabbage)

2 packages Ramen noodles, broken up (throw seasoning away)

2 cooked chicken breasts chopped or shredded

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a skillet over medium low to medium heat, toast almonds and sesame seeds until light brown.

2. In a small bowl, combine vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Whisk in oil.

3. In a large bowl, combine coleslaw mix, chicken, and Ramen noodles. Add contents of small bowl and mix well. Toss in the almonds and seeds just before serving.

Enjoy!

Pear and Brie Fancy Flatbread

Trader Joe's Pear And Brie Fancy Flatbread Recipe (shared by Courtney)

INGREDIENTS:

TJ’s Lavash Bread (Regular or Whole Wheat)

1 TJ’s Pear, thinly sliced

8 ounces (or so) TJ’s Brie, cubed or torn into small pieces

2-3 slices TJ’s Prosciutto, sliced thin

2-3 tablespoon TJ’s Organic Brown Sugar

1 cup TJ’s Wild Arugula

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the Oven to 375°.

Layer the lavash with the pear slices, pieces of Brie, prosciutto and sugar, in that order. Bake for 5-6 minutes until the Lavash is golden brown and the sugar has caramelized.

Top with Baby Arugula and serve.

Serves: 4 to 6 as an appetizer

Cooking Time: 5-10 minutes

Pumpkin Buttermilk Pudding

Pumpkin Buttermilk Pudding

(shared by Zoe)

A soft pudding almost like a bread pudding.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Butter a shallow 3-quart baking dish.

Whisk in a large bowl:

4 eggs

1 ½ cups canned pumpkin puree

2 ½ cups buttermilk

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

Whisk thoroughly in a separate bowl:

1 ½ cups sugar

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon salt

Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and whisk until well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared dish. Bake until the top is a deep golden brown and springs back lightly when pressed, about 50 minutes.

Serve the pudding warm or cold with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

* might also be nice with golden raisins added to the mixture!