Small Salads: Tuna & Pasta Salad

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Hot summer days will soon be here, it is nice to have several entrée “salad” recipes on hand which are easy to prepare and avoid heating up the entire kitchen. “Tuna & Pasta Salad” is one of these dishes. This pasta salad is a twist on the old-time classic, “Tuna Noodle Casserole.” To make the salad, I added canned tuna fish, hard boiled egg, several vegetables and a “lite” dressing to cooked bow tie pasta. Rather than baking in the oven, the entrée is chilled and served cold. It is a “meal-in-one.” I scaled the ingredients down to make two servings which fits our small household; hence it is a “small salad.” I love tuna fish salad and adding pasta makes it even better.

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Orange & Rosemary Yogurt Cheesecake

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As a cheesecake lover, I’m always looking for new cheesecake recipe ideas. Is it possible to concoct a healthy cheesecake? If so, I’m all about it. When I ran across a recipe which uses yogurt in the filling rather than cream cheese, I took notice. This cheesecake recipe uses a “labneh” which is Greek yogurt that has been strained to make a soft cheese. The labneh makes a smooth and light-textured cheesecake! It is higher in protein and lower in calories than cream cheese versions. Yes, a little healthier and very easy to make. This cheesecake recipe adds fresh rosemary and orange zest to the filling. These ingredients give a unique flavor “pop” to this cheesecake. Something different to brighten up an otherwise rather bland filling. And I added candied orange peels from marmalade as a topping.

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Let’s Cook Southern Homemade Biscuits

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I enjoy eating flaky, tender biscuits every now and then. Biscuits are the quintessential Southern breakfast food and surely are found on every restaurant menu here in the South. Thanks to fast food chains, such as McDonaId’s, biscuits are now well-known across the country. To satisfy my biscuit craving, it is easy just to hop in my car and drive to a McDonald’s restaurant for a biscuit and egg sandwich. However, I have been perfecting my “chef’s skills” for making my very easy homemade biscuit recipe and can now make a batch as quickly as I can drive several miles and wait in the drive-thru line to pick up my breakfast order. Hot out of the oven, I love to pour honey and cinnamon sugar on my homemade biscuits for breakfast, or really, any time of the day.

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Crawfish Queso Dip

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It is crawfish season here in Louisiana and I always like to feature a crawfish dish on my blog each spring. This year I’m making the appetizer, “Crawfish Queso Dip.” It is incredibly simple to make (less that 15 minutes from start to finish) and surprisingly tasty. If “Kristy’s Matzah Crack” is a home run, then “Crawfish Queso Dip” is a slam dunk. It is easy to devour this mild but flavorful crawfish dip! The Spanish translation for “queso” is cheese. This dip is a variation of the traditional Tex-Mex Queso or white cheese dip found at so many restaurants in Texas and throughout the southwest. It definately is a different way to feature crawfish; as I’ve not seen this recipe in any traditional Louisiana cookbook!

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Cajun Boudin Balls with Spicy Mustard Dip

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Today I’m making a rew recipe, “Cajun Boudin Balls.” It is one of the newest trends in Cajun cuisine. This tasty appetizer is made by breading and frying Cajun boudin sausage. They are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Typically, some sort of dipping sauce is served wtih the appetizer. Boudin Balls have become a craze over the past several years and now the appetizer has a place on about every restaurant menu featuring Cajun food. It is easy to make “Boudin Balls” at home. You just need to find boudin sausage!

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A Small Batch of Bisquick Sugar Cookies

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Do you need cookies in a hurry? Here comes Bisquick to the rescue. These cookies are super easy to make; plus they taste great. For several weeks, a box of Bisquick sat on my kitchen counter and simply got in the way. I purchased it for another recipe. How many times did I move the box around? When I wanted some cookies to serve with my homemade ice cream, I mused: “Wonder if I could use Bisquick to make cookies?” Surprise! My experiment worked and these are the best sugar cookies. Furthermore, the cookies were incredibly easy to make. This is a small batch — it makes only makes 12 cookies; but that was just right to go with my ice cream. It is very easy to double the recipe or make a second batch, as you may very well want more cookies!

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Kristy’s Matzah Crack

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“Matzah Crack” scores a home run as a sweet treat during the Passover holiday as far as I’m concerned. It is sweet, rich and very decadent. What more can you want in a dessert. Although the seven-day Passover holiday is over for this year, I am guessing that some of us have leftover matzah in our kitchen. Plus, it probably is still available in grocery stores. It can be challenging to think of cakes and pastries to prepare during Passover since wheat flour, leavenings and many other ingredients are forbidden. This dessert — made with matzah — has become a family favorite and now is served every year at the elaborate Seder meal and service.

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Green Gumbo

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This week I’m cooking “Green Gumbo” or “gumbo z’herbes.” What is “Green Gumbo?” It is a thick, flavorful soup traditionally served in Louisiana Catholic homes during Lent. On Fridays during Lent, a meatless version of gumbo is made by omitting meat and chicken and substituting vegetable broth or water for chicken stock. On Holy Thursday before Easter, a generous amount of meat (usually sausage, smoked ham) is added to the gumbo. As many types of greens that a person can find are added to the soup (but always an odd number of greens). The greens are symbolic and for every green added to the soup, you will find a new friend in the coming year. The greens add a zesty, peppery flavor to this gumbo. With smoked ham, sausage and chicken broth for flavor and with Tabasco sauce for zip, this very tasty version of gumbo is worthy of being served any time of the year.

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Pan Fried Chicken Livers with Bacon, Garlic and Mushrooms

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Here’s a good old-fashioned Southern recipe. Once upon a time, my favorite menu item to order when dining at a Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen fast food restaurant was “Fried Chicken Livers.” The chicken livers were tender, crispy and seasoned with just the right amount of Cajun seasonings. Typically, we’d get the chicken livers when traveling and needed a quick, drive-by window meal. Alas, this southern delicacy has quietly disappeared from Popeye’s menus. And perhaps that is a good thing, as these chicken livers were loaded with salt and fat from the frying. But, I love chcken livers and have set out to make a somewhat healtier version at home. I’m following a recipe which I am trying hard to recollect from my food service days; those chicken livers were delicious. The flavors of garlic, bacon and mushrooms complimented the crispy chicken livers perfectly.

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No-Fuss Polka Dot Date Cake

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Here is a quick and easy cake to bake which has a unique, yet mighty tasty flavor. The cake doesn’t need a separate icing — the nuts and chocolate chips which are sprinkled on top of the cake batter serve that purpose. The unique flavor comes from chopped dates which are added to the batter — please, don’t say “no” — this is a delicious cake. I don’t remember where the recipe came from; but I love the cake and have kept the recipe filed away all these years. When I need a “no-fuss” cake recipe, I call it up. This week, I have to bake a dessert in a hurry for a special event.  So I’m making “Polka Dot Date Cake.”

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