FOOD ART AND FAMILY TRADITIONS: LEMON GARLIC SALMON:

(From the recipe collections of Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Need a little fish in your diet?  Salmon is tasty, healthy and makes a delicious meal.  Be careful to buy wild Alaskan Salmon.  The best place to get this fresh in the south is Whole Foods Market.   This side dish of baked cauliflower will wean you off of mashed potatoes forever.  Just add the simple green salad and some hot buttered bread with your favorite beverage and you have a wonderful late winter meal.

FRESH GREEN SALAD

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded fresh spinach leaves

2 cups shredded lettuce

1 onion – chopped

1 cup cauliflower – chopped

2 cups fresh blue cheese dressing

Directions:

Mix spinach leaves and lettuce.  Add onion and cauliflower.  Pour blue cheese dressing over all and chill until time to eat.  Should be served ice cold.

 LEMON - GARLIC SALMON

Ingredients:

6 boneless salmon filets

3 lemons – sliced thinly

2 onions – sliced thinly

3 tablespoons minced garlic

1 cup lemon juice

2 sticks of butter – melted

1 cup Parmesean Cheese, grated

Pinch salt

Pinch pepper

Directions:

Place the filets in a baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place onion slices over fish.  Place lemon slices over onions.  Sprinkle minced garlic over all.  Pour melted butter and lemon juice over all.  Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and cover with foil.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees and cook for 50 minutes covered. 

TWICE BAKED CAULIFLOWER

Ingredients:

1 head fresh cauliflower (cut into tiny pieces)

1 whole onion, chopped

1 quart sized beef flavored broth

4 teaspoons minced garlic

2 cups cheddar cheese (shredded and divided in half)

1 8oz. block of creamed cheese cut into small chunks and left at room temperature

1 stick butter (melted)

1 cup sour cream

1 pkg. bacon bits

Directions:

Chop the cauliflower pieces and the onion and place inside a medium sized sauce pan.  Pour in 4 teaspoons minced garlic.   Fill the sauce pan the rest of the way with as much beef broth as is safe to boil the cauliflower in and turn the heat on medium high until the vegetables are soft.  Drain the broth and mash the vegetables together.  While the mix is hot pour in one half of the cheddar cheese and mix well.  Pour in the melted butter, sour cream, cream cheese and bacon bits and cream all together.  The mix will have the consistency of mashed potatoes.  Grease a quart casserole dish.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Pour ingredients into casserole dish.  Top with remaining cheddar cheese and cook for 30 minutes. 

FOOD ART EASY MEALS DINNER COLLECTION CHICKEN MARRAKESH

( An Everyday Simple and Good Recipe Collection Collected and Tested by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

THE BEST FRUIT SALAD

Ingredients:

1 (20 ounce can) peach slices

1 (20 ounce can) pineapple chunks

1 (3-1/8 ounce ) box dry vanilla instant pudding mix

1 lb. strawberries (quartered)

1 banana (sliced)

1/2 pint blueberries

1 bunch of grapes (red works best)

1-2 tablespoons sugar (optional)

Directions:

In a large bowl combine peaches, pineapples and vanilla pudding mix.  This includes the juices from the cans.  Mix well until the pudding is dissolved.  Stir in strawberries, banana, blueberries, grapes and sugar if desired.  Chill until time to serve.  

CHICKEN MARRAKESH

This is one of my family’s favorite dishes and I often serve it for company.  It is enough for eight people, so half or quarter however you need.  It is good left-over, so you might want to make the serving for eight even if you don’t need it and have it again.  I collected this from The Haddasha Cookbook, one of my favorites!

Ingredients:

4 Whole chickens (2-1/2 lbs. each), cut into eighths

12 large cloves of garlic, finely minced

3 tablespoons dried thyme

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup best quality olive oil

8 teaspoons green peppercorns, soaked in water and drained

2 cups whole pitted black olives

3 cups dried apricots

2 cups dried small figs

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 cup good red wine

2 large pecan pieces

Grated zests of 4 lemons

Directions:

1.  The day before combine the chicken, garlic, thyme, cumin, ginger, salt, wine vinegar, oil, peppercorns, olives, apricots and figs in 2 large bowls, dividing the ingredients equally. Marinate covered in the refrigerator overnight.  Mix several times during the day.  Remove the bowls from the refrigerator one hour before cooking.

2.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3.   Arrange chicken in 2 large, heavy, shallow baking pans.  Spoon marinade evenly over both pans.  Sprinkle with the brown sugar and pecans and pour the wine evenly between the pieces in both pans and bake, basting frequently with the pan juices for 50 minutes. 

4.  Using a fork and slotted spoon, transfer the chicken, olives, dried fruit and pecan into a large serving platter.  Drizzle with a few large spoonfuls of the pan juices. 

Creamy Peach-Berry Dessert

Ingredients:

• 2 cartons (6 oz) Yoplait® Light or Original Harvest Peach® yogurt
• 1 package (8 oz) gluten-free fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 of a container (8 oz) frozen light whipped dessert topping, thawed
• 1 cup chopped pitted and peeled fresh peaches or thawed and drained Cascadian Farm® frozen peach slices
• 1 cup fresh or frozen unsweetened blueberries, raspberries, and/or strawberries, thawed and drained if frozen
• Fresh mint leaves (optional)
• Fresh berries (optional)

Directions:

1.      In a medium bowl, combine yogurt and cream cheese. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Fold in the whipped topping, peaches, and the 1 cup berries.

2.    Spoon mixture into a 2-quart square baking dish; spread evenly. Cover and freeze about 8 hours or until firm.

3.    To serve, let stand at room temperature about 45 minutes to thaw slightly. Cut into squares. If desired, garnish with mint leaves and additional berries.