7 Layered Jello

It's a tradition.

Ingredients:

4 jellos (4 different flavors/colors)
2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
2 packages unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
1 pint sour cream
2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Mix 1 packages of jello with 1 cup boiling water, stir until dissolved.  Then stir in 1/2 cup cold or ice water.  Pour this into the bottom of a 13x9 inch casserole dish.  (the final jello will fill an entire 13x9 inch pan)
2.  For the white layers:
      Bring 2 cups of milk to boil.
      Dissolve the 1 cup of sugar into the hot milk.
      Dissolve 2 packages of gelatin in 1/2 cup cold water and let sit for a couple of minutes.
      To the gelatin mixture whisk in the sour cram and vanilla.
      In a large boil combine the sour cream mixture with the hot milk/sugar.
      Leave this white mixture covered on the counter.
3.  After 1st jello layer is set, poor 1 1/2 cups of the white mixture over the jello and refrigerate.
4.  Repeat layers of jello and white ending with a jello. 

Each layer should take 30-60 minutes to set.  But you want to work as fast as you can, because the white mixture will start to set as it sits out on the counter and cools.

Asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto

I look forward to this side dish every Easter.  I should make it more often, we all love it so much.  But some how it has become exclusively an Easter dinner tradition.

Ingredients:

Asparagus
Cream cheese (softened)
Prosciutto (thinly sliced)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Trim off end of Asparagus - Bend the asparagus (holding towards the end of the asparagus) until is breaks,   use the broken asparagus to know how much to cut off from the rest of the bunch.

Blanch Asparagus in boiling water for 1-3 minutes, depending on thickness of asparagus.  Put Asparagus in ice water to immediately stop cooking.

To assemble:   Spread about 1 teaspoon of cream cheese onto 1 piece of prosciutto.
Wrap the prosciutto around a few asparagus (2-4, depending on the size of the asparagus).

Place bundles on a lightly oiled pan and cook for 10-15 minutes.

Blackened Tomato Salsa

My sister in law asked if I knew of any good salsa recipes. Well this is it. I could not just give her the recipe, it was too hard to just think about it, so I had to make some too. It is a recipe my dad makes every time I see them, and I love it so much, I could eat it with a spoon.

Ingredients:

8 roma tomatoes, cut in half
1 jalapeno, seeded and cut in half. (leave seeds in if you want more heat)
1 clove of garlic
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
A few squirts of lime juice
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cumin
a pinch of mexican oregano
1/4 cup white onion, finely diced
1 roma tomato diced small
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Place 8 tomatoes and jalapeno on a rimmed baking sheet, cut side down. Cook under a broiler until skins are blackened. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Put blackened tomatoes and jalapeno (black skins and all) into a blender, poor any juices that are on the pan too. Add salt, cumin, mexican oregano, garlic and and lime juice and blend until mostly smooth. Add a little water if needed.

Poor pureed mixture into a large bowl and combine with the diced tomato, onion and cilantro. Add water needed. Taste test with a chip to make sure you have enough salt, add if needed.

This salsa is awesome fresh but gets even better as it sits for a few hours and is amazing the next day.

Hummus

We love hummus. When we moved to Pennsylvania, Tyson bought me a food processor and some Tupperware. The food processor I have been wanting for a lot of years, and I had been telling him that I could make homemade hummus if I had one. The Tupperware we desperately needed. Now I make homemade hummus all the time and put it in the same Tupperware container every time..... I wonder who Tyson really bought those gifts for?


Ingredients:

3 cups cooked chickpeas, or 2 15 ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained and warmed in the microwave
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup tahini

salt and pepper if desired

Directions:

Puree warm chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic and 2/3 cup water in food processor for 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl when necessary. Add tahini and puree 2 more minutes, or until the mixture has the consistency of soft cream cheese. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water if needed.

Directions on how to cook dried chickpeas:

(hummus has the best flavor and texture if you use dried chickpeas. Any leftover chickpeas can be frozen)

Rinse and Drain 1 pound dried chickpeas. Place in a large bowl with 10 cups water and soak overnight.
Drain chickpeas and rinse and drain again. Bring chickpeas to boil with 10 cups of water in large pot. Reduce heat and simmer partially covered for 90 minutes. After the first hour stir in 1 teaspoon baking soda. Remove from heat, cover pot and let stand for 30 minutes. Drain well.

Bacon and Brown Sugar Smokies

Or Meat Candie, as I think of them....

Ingredients:

2 packages beef cocktail wieners

1 pound bacon, cut into 1 1/2 to 2 inch pieces

1 cup (as least) brown sugar

Directions:

1. Wrap wieners in bacon (you may secure each one with a tooth pick, or or use a skewer and put a few on each skewer, but i don't usually do this anymore, the bacon seems to stay on for the most part just fine).

2. Cover pan with tin foil.

3. Put wieners on the pan and generously sprinkle with brown sugar.

4. Cook at 350 degrees until bacon is crisp about 45 minutes, watch carefully so they don't burn and turn half way through, add more brown sugar as needed. Turn on the broiler at the very end to really crisp them up.

Alternate 4. Cook wieners in microwave on a paper towel lined sheet for about 4 minutes, turning once, then finish them up in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until bacon is crisp. I prefer doing this because is faster and because the paper towel soaks up a bunch of the grease, and it makes me happy to throw away the grease, instead of eating it.

5. serve, or put in a warm crock pot with all the juices and extra sugar and they will be good for the whole party..... that is if they last that long.

Spring Rolls

Sauce:
1/2 cup mayonaise
Asian chili sauce (to taste, it is spicy, i do about 1 tblsp)
1 tblsp fresh lemon juice
1 tblsp fish sauce (by asian food)
1 tbls (or less) brown sugar
1-2 garlic cloves chopped

Vege Rolls:
Rice paper rounds
Cellophane noodles or bean thread noodles (follow package directions)
Fresh basil
Fresh mint
Any vegies that seem right ie: (cut into match sticks)
red and yellow bellpepper
shredded carrots
Avacado
Butter lettuce leaves or Boston lettuce ribs removed (use a soft lettuce so it wont break through the rice paper)

Lay a damp kitchen or paper towel on a work surface. Soak a rice paper round in warm water for 20 to 30 seconds until softened. Place the rice paper on the damp towel. Lay a lettuce leaf in the middle of the rice paper and add vegetables and (just cut off a chunk)and sauce. roll tightly. can be stored in damp paper towls in fridge for 6-8 hours.

*shrimp can be added
*use extra sauce for dipping.

Marinated and Grilled Shrimp

INGREDIENTS
1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 lemon, juice and zest
1-2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste or ketchup
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails attached
skewers


DIRECTIONS
In a mixing bowl, mix together olive oil, parsley, lemon juice, hot sauce, garlic, tomato paste, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Reserve a small amount for basting later. Pour remaining marinade into a large resealable plastic bag with shrimp. Seal, and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Preheat grill for medium-low heat. Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Discard marinade.
Lightly oil grill grate. Cook shrimp for 5 minutes per side, or until opaque, basting frequently with reserved marinade.