Cool and Creamy Cucumber Salsa

Here's a fantastic way to use cucumbers. You'll love the creamy and crunchy texture and super-fresh flavors

Ingredients

1 tbsp Cilantro
4 Cucumbers, large
1 Jalapeno finely chopped
1 Red onion, medium

1Tbs minced garlic
6 Tomatoes, vine ripe or one large can of diced tomatoes
1 packet Ranch dressing, dry
1/4tsp Salt
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 sour cream ( I use soy sour cream)

Directions

1. Remove the seeds for the 4 large cucumbers

2. Slice cucumbers lengthwise and then dice in 1/2-1/4 inch pieces

3. Seed and chop tomatoes or drain quart jar of diced tomatoes ( I'm using a jar for last years tomato crop). Dice one red onion, chop one bundle of cilantro leaves, finely dice one jalapeno (wash hands directly after handling jalapeno). Add all produce and garlic to a bowl.

4. In a small bowl whisk sour cream, vinegar and ranch mix together

5. Add all ingredients to a gallon resealable bag.

6. Toss salsa in bad to evenly coat everything, and refrigerate for a few hours till cold.

7. Serve with tortilla chips or as a topper for brats and burgers.

Fake It Till You Make It Outback Steakhouse Green Beans

Ingredients
1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter (I'm use Earth Balance Buttery Spread)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Maggi seasoning or soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Steam the green beans for 8 minutes,or in the microwave for about 2 minutes. While the green beans are steaming, begin making your seasoned butter sauce.

2. Add cool water to the green beans in order to cease the cooking process. (This allows for crispy crunchiness instead of squishy beans.)

3. Drain the water from the beans and set aside.

4. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, Maggi seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir until the brown sugar is completely dissolved. When the green beans are done, place them in a bowl. Add the butter sauce, in the bowl, and stir the green beans until they are coated.

5. Add Salt and Pepper to taste and Enjoy!

Sopapilla Cheesecake

Sopapilla Cheesecake

Ewwy gooey and full of crazy goodness. 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 (8oz each) package cream cheese, softened( I use the honey greek yogurt cream cheese)
• 2 cans of Pillsbury Crescent rolls
• cinnamon
• sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla 
• 1 tbs honey

Directions:

Unroll and spread 1 of the cans of crescent rolls on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish (or 8 x 8 if you want to cut the recipe in half). Combine softened cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and vanilla. Spread over crescent roll layer. Unroll and layer remaining crescent rolls over cream cheese layer. Melt your butter and spread over top of crescent rolls. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and sugar.

Bake for 20-30 minutes in 350 degree oven until bubbly and slightly browned. Drizzle with a little honey if you like. Let cool a bit, drizzle with honey, slice and eat.

Zucchini Tater Tots

When summer rolls around and your zucchinis are growing faster than your weeds, I love to make them in to "tater tots"!

Ingredients

• 1 small zucchini (1/2 cup)
• 1 small yellow squash (1/2 cup)
• 3 tbsp egg substitute
• ¼ whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1 glove minced garlic
• ¼ tsp red pepper flake
• ¼ onion diced
• 2 oz fresh Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• I tbsp olive oil
• Mini Muffin Tin, prepared (lightly coated with cooking spray)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
2. Grate your zucchini and squash into a bowl, yielding at least ½ cup of each vegetable.
3. Place the vegetables in cheese cloth or colander over a bowl and allow some of the water from the vegetables drain off.
4. Meanwhile in a pan over medium heat, add the olive oil to the pan and sauté the onions until translucent.
5. Add the garlic and sauté for 3 to 4 additional minutes. Set aside to cool.
6. In a mixing bowl combine all the ingredients together, mixing until combined. Add garlic and onions from sauté pan.
7. Begin spooning the mixture into the tin making sure each cup is firmly packed.
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Alfredo Dip

This recipe definitely measures up with Olive Garden's Alfredo sauce that I'm crazy about. :)  Use this sauce recipe over pasta for a wonderful meal.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter {no substitutes}

1 pint heavy whipping cream

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Preparation:

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add heavy cream and garlic powder; heat to a simmer. Using a whisk; stir in salt, pepper, basil, Italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese. Continue to simmer for 15 minutes, or until thickened; stirring occasionally. Pour sauce into a small serving bowl. Enjoy with bread sticks for dipping.

16 Servings

Cream Of Anything Soup Base

Lots of recipes call for “cream of…” type canned soups. This could be cream of mushroom, cream of celery, cream of chicken, cream of potato etc.

Instead of continually buying the cans, why not make this frugal cream of anything soup mix and use it anytime a recipe calls for the soup. It’s quick and easy to put together and quite a bit cheaper than buying canned soup. It also takes up less room and lasts for up to a year.

Cream of Anything Soup Mix

• 4 c. powdered milk
• 1 1/2 c. cornstarch
• 1/2 c. chicken base with parsley - no MSG *
• 4 tbs. dried onion flakes
• 1 tbs. dried ground thyme
• 2 tbs basil – crushed dried
• 1 tbs. pepper

* For a vegetarian version of this soup, use vegetable broth bullion instead.

Measure all ingredients and pour them into a container with an airtight seal. I like to use a tupperware type container, but a larger freezer bag will work as well. Be sure to label your container. Shake or mix well before you use, the corn starch can settle to the bottom of the mix.

To Use The Mix:

Combine 1/3 cup of the mix with 1 cup of water and heat it over medium low heat in a small saucepan until it starts to thicken. This is the equivalent of one can of soup.

Fun for the Whole Family!

With the holidays fast upon us, my list of gifts to give is slowly getting shorter. Some days I wish I was an elf with a little magic hammer, and I don't mean  a level 9 gray elf from Dunganeons and dragons. (At least this time)

When it comes to getting a gift for my husband I am very lucky. He will drop hints like nobody’s business! Kev is notorious for sending me product reviews on YouTube of the latest gadget!  For a year or so now he has been drooling over remote controlled big boy toys.  YouTube clips could only educate me so much; I had to find a find place to get his gift. After a quick Google search of store in the area Here in  Newton In there is Full Throttle Hobbies at the Chisholm Trail Shopping Center. 

The store is filled with all kinds of goodies for a variety of hobbies from planes, cars, rockets, models and many more.I was greeted by Jerry McKinney the owner of Full ThrottleHobbies. Jerry shared that his store featured supplies for all kinds of remote controlled activities that are great for the family to enjoy. He has proudly owned his store in Newton for five years. He started his store on 5th street, then moving to 6th street by the Newton Kansan and now south of Newton in the shopping center.

I took some time to check out the store. There are many models ready to go or sets that you can build yourself.  There is a huge selection of model car sets at Full Throttle Hobbies.  One thing that caught my eye was the model from Star Wars!

 Jerry happily answered all of my questions and guided me to the perfect gift! The helicopter I picked for Kev is controlled with your smart phone or tablet! This drone can even record video of its flight. Check out this review of the Parrot AR Drone 2.0

Not only did he have the helicopter, but Full Throttle Hobbies carries the parts to make repairs on remote controlled models (because Kev is going to fly it into something sooner or later)! Jerry explained the differences between a model quality product and a toy that you might get for your child.

Another specialty that sets Full throttle Hobbies apart from other stores is that Jerry offers building and repair services. I would highly suggest stopping by Full Throttle Hobbies at the Chisholm Trail shopping center and seeing all the fun that is waiting for your family!

Big 

THANK YOU 

to 

Full Throttle Hobbies of Newton 

Head over to The Pin-Up Nerd Blog's Facebook page for a chance to win a gift certificate!