Friday Snack: Italian Bread

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon salt
6-7 cups flour
Butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Dissolve yeast in 1 cup of water; let stand for 5 min. Dissolve salt in 2 cups of water. Put 5 cups of flour in a large bowl, add liquids; mix well. Add enough remaining flour to make a workable dough. Knead on a lightly floured board for 10 min. or until dough is smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubles in bulk. Punch dough down and knead again for 5 min. Divide dough into two balls, return to greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled. Separate pieces of dough and roll each into oblong shape.

Spray baking pan with non-stick spray. Place the two loaves on the pan. Cover and allow to rise until doubled. Brush tops with melted butter.

Bake 50-60 min. or until loaves are golden brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped.

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Hawaiian Turkey Sandwich

1 round loaf of Hawaiian bread
1/4 cup mayo
2 tbsp. brown mustard
1 lb. oven roasted turkey breast
3/4 cup spinach leaves
1/2 of a medium red onion, thinly chopped
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut a 1/2 inch thick slice from top of bread loaf; remove center of loaf, leaving 1-inch-thick shell. Reserve removed bread for another use. Spread inside of bread shell and cut-side of top of loaf with mayo and mustard.
Fill bread shell with layers of turkey, spinach, onions and cheese; cook with top of bread loaf. Wrap in aluminum foil.
Bake 30 min. or until cheese is melted and sandwich is heated through. Let stand 10 min. Cut into 4 wedges with serrated knife. Serve warm.
Makes 4 servings

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Bacon-Wrapped Dates

One 8-ounce bag of dates, sliced in half
1/2 pound bacon, cut into thirds
Cream of basalmic

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Wrap a piece of bacon around one date half, making sure to overlap ends of the bacon and use a toothpick to close. Continue until all dates are wrapped. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes or until bacon is crisp.
Transfer to platter and drizzle with the cream of basalmic.

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Friday Snack: Bacon-Stuffed Pork Chops

2 slices muenster cheese (blue cheese would be a nice substitute here), shredded
4 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 center-cut pork chops (approx. 2″ thick)
2 teaspoons olive oil
salt
ground black pepper

Preheat indoor grill on medium-high stovetop.
In a small bowl, combine the cheese, bacon and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.
Lay the chop flat on a cutting board and with a sharp knife held parallel to the board, cut a pocket into the pork, going all the way to the opposite side, leaving one side in tact. Stuff cheese mixture into pocket and close. Brush meat with oil and season with salt and more black pepper>
Lightly oil grill grate. Grill over medium heat for 5-8 minutes on each side or until pork is done.

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Friday Snack: White chocolate chip and almond cookies

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup shortening
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 bag of white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix sugars, butter, shortening, egg, and extract. Stir in remaining ingredients.
Drop dough by rounded spoonfulls (use a melon baller or small ice cream scoop for best results) onto greased cookie sheet. Bake until light brown, about 8-10 minutes.

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Friday Snack: Rich & Charlie’s Salad

Ingredients:
1 head romaine
1 head iceburg
1 can drained artichoke hearts
1 can hearts of palm, chopped
1 four oz. jar pimentos
1 lg red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Salt
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vinegar

Mix all above listed ingredients just before serving.

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Lasagna Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 cans beef broth w/ onion
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
1 pkg Corkscrew pasta
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Cook beef with garlic in skillet until browned. Pour off fat.
Add broth, tomatoes and Italian seasoning. Heat to a boil.
Stir in pasta. Cook over medium heat 10 min. or until pasta is done. Stir in cheese. Serve warm.

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Cherry Coffee Cake

Ingredients:
¾ Cup butter
1 ½ Cup sugar
3 Eggs
½ Teaspoon almond extract
3 Cups flour
1 ½ Teaspoon baking soda
1 Eight ounce container sour cream
1 Can cherry pie filling

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray two 9” cake pans. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, add extract. Combine flour and soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Divide batter evenly in pans, spreading cherry pie filling on top. Sprinkle streusel topping over filling. Bake 25 to 35 minutes.

Streusel topping:
Combine ½ cup flour, ¼ cup sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in ¼ cup butter until crumbly.

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Hashbrown Casserole

Ingredients:
2 lb. bag, frozen hashbrowns
1 Stick butter
1 Can cream of chicken soup
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste (I recommend using sea salt instead of table salt)
¼ Cup chopped red onion

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and pour into greased casserole dish. Top with more cheese ☺ Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

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Mini Strawberry Napoleons

½ Package frozen puff pastry sheets (1 sheet)
1 Package vanilla instant pudding mix
1 Cup milk
1 ½ Cups sweetened whipped cream
1 ¼ Cups sliced strawberries
1 tsp Almond Extract
Confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Unfold thawed pastry on lightly floured surface. Cut into 3 strips along fold marks. Cut each strip into 4 rectangles. Place 2” apart on baking sheet. Bake 15 min. or until golden. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack.

Prepare pudding mix according to package directions except use 1 cup milk. Fold in whipped cream, almond extract.

Split pastries into 2 layers, making 24 layers in all. Set aside 8 top layers. Spread 8 bottom layers with 2 tbsp. pudding mixture. Top with 1 tbsp. strawberries and another layer. Spread with remaining pudding. Top with remaining strawberries and top layers. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours. Makes 8 Napoleons.

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