Cucumber Salad

One of my colleagues brought this to a potluck lunch yesterday.  I'm not ashamed to admit it...I had thirds.  When he sent me the recipe, I was surprised at the simplicity.  The fresh dill?  Magic.  It's what really makes the salad.

Here's his recipe:

2 large cucumbers
1 small red onion
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar (I usually use 1.5 teaspoons of sugar, experiment to your own taste)

 2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill (fresh dill makes a world of difference as opposed to dried).

Directions
(I peel my cucumbers but you don’t have to)
Slice the cucumbers lengthwise, remove the seeds, scrape 'em out with a spoon, and slice thinly. Thinly slice the onion.

In a colander, toss the cucumber and onion with the salt (you can use more salt if you want, the salt draws the moisture out of the cucumbers so they will soak up the vinegar quickly.) and let it sit and drain for 20 minutes. Press the liquid out of the vegetables and rinse well with cold water. ( rinse off all of the salt)

In a medium bowl combine the vinegar and sugar and stir well.(let sit, stirring occasionally until sugar is completely dissolved) Add the cucumber mixture and toss to coat. Stir in the dill at the very last. You can serve this immediately.

This gets better the longer it sits I usually let mine sit in the refrigerator for four hours to overnight stirring it once or twice, and will keep for several days.  I like to add some cherry tomatoes or sweet red bell peppers to mine.

Also I usually double the recipe because it’s addictive!

Weekly Menu

Saturday lunch: Leftovers
Saturday supper:  Chili dogs, carrots, fries
Sunday lunch: Taco Soup with rice
Sunday supper: Pulled pork, baked potatoes, corn
Monday: Hot ham and cheese with tots and carrots
Tuesday: Pork tacos, beans, rice
Wednesday: Bairs
Thursday breakfast:  Cinnamon rolls
Thursday (Thanksgiving): Tri-tip, potato casserole, green beans
Thursday supper:  Leftovers
Friday lunch: Thanksgiving leftovers
Friday: Big Whiskey's (Christmas Vacation at The Gillioz)
Saturday breakfast:  Hash brown casserole
Saturday lunch:  Firehouse Subs
Saturday supper:  McSalty's Pizza
Sunday breakfast: Leftovers
Sunday lunch:  Thanksgiving - rolls, apple cobbler, cornbread stuffing
Sunday supper:  Leftovers

Weekly Menu

Saturday lunch: Spring Creek with Christina
Saturday supper: Out
Sunday lunch: Leftovers
Sunday supper: Ham and Potato Soup with cornbread
Monday:  Chicken squares, potatoes, green beans
Tuesday: Philly Cheesesteak Pizza, salad
Wednesday:  Mexican Chicken Casserole
Thursday: Chili

Breakfast Casserole

13 oz hash brown potatoes, slightly thawed (1/2 of one large package)
1 cup shredded cheese
1/2 pound bacon or sausage, cooked and crumbled
green onions, chopped
5 whole eggs
5 egg whites
Milk
Salt and pepper or seasoned salt

Spread the hash browns in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle with seasoned salt.  Spread the cooked sausage or bacon over the potatoes.  Sprinkle evenly with cheese and green onion.  Beat eggs, egg whites, and milk slightly.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Pour egg mixture over casserole.  Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until eggs are set.  Can be made the night before.  Let it sit out while the oven preheats for the dish to warm up before putting it in the oven.

We had this for dinner with fruit.  It was very good - even got David's stamp of approval!  We like ours with a little Mexican Villa hot sauce to spice it up a little.

Refried Beans

These beans aren't really fried at all, but they are delicious!  Sometimes when I try to access this recipe from my board on Pinterest, it won't load.  Every time that has happened has been reason for a small panic attack, so I thought I'd save it here just in case.  It's from this website:  http://recipesingoodtaste.com/?recipe=recipe-slow-cooker-re-fried-beans.

1 pound dry pinto beans
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic (I use the jar kind)
5 cups water
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon bacon grease (optional)

Rinse the beans (do not soak!) and add to the crock pot.  Add spices, onion, garlic.  Top with the water and mix.  Cook on low 8 hours or more.  Mash with a potato masher, then let them sit a while longer in the crock pot.  Add the bacon grease after mashing, if desired.

If you have any leftover after eating them as a side, then making bean dip or bean burritos, they can be frozen.

The first time I made them, I assumed they were supposed to soak overnight so that's what I did.  They were a bit soup that time since they couldn't absorb the water as they cooked, but still pretty good!  They may be soupy again this time, as the recipe wouldn't load on my phone so I was working from memory.  My memory told me to add 6 cups of water, so we'll see!  They smell amazing!

Weekly Menu

Saturday lunch:  Chicken Tortilla Soup (freezer)
Saturday supper:  Pulled pork, green beans, and fried potatoes and carrots
Sunday lunch:  Out
Sunday supper:  Chicken Enchiladas (crockpot), beans, and rice
Monday:  Red beans and rice (crockpot)
Tuesday:  Cheeseburger Soup
Wednesday:  Breakfast casserole and fruit
Thursday:  Tater tot casserole

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Rolls:

1 loaf Rhodes frozen bread dough (in freezer section with biscuits)

4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick), melted

2 heaping tablespoons pumpkin puree from a can (not pie filling)

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Icing:

2 oz cream cheese

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon pumpkin puree

2-3 cups powdered sugar

For the rolls:

Thaw the bread dough in the refrigerator (can be done overnight)

Roll it out into a rectangle, about a ¼ inch thick

Mix the melted butter and pumpkin and spread over the dough rectangle.

Mix sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon.  Sprinkle evenly over the dough. 

Roll up the dough (starting from the long side).

Slice with a sharp knife and place in greased 8 inch pan or dish.  It will make about 9 rolls.  Leave a little space between rolls to give them room to rise.  I didn’t put the end pieces in the pan, but I put them in a little loaf pan and baked them separately. 

Let rise in a warm spot until doubled – about 2-4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350.  Bake risen rolls for 15-20 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

For the icing:

Soften the cream cheese and butter.  Using a hand mixer, mix them until there are no lumps, then add the pumpkin, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Gradually add powdered sugar (mixing away any lumps) until the icing is the consistency you want.  I didn’t measure the powdered sugar, so that amount is just an estimate.

Spread icing over warm rolls.

Weekly Menu

Saturday supper: Chinese
Sunday lunch: Breakfast at Rosie Jo's
Sunday supper: Tri-tip roast, carrots, potatoes
Monday: Silver Dollar Skillet
Tuesday: Chicken Noodle Soup and biscuits
Wednesday:  Black beans and rice, cornbread
Thursday:  BBQ chicken, cornbread, green beans
Friday:  Pizza