Recipes | Bead Happily Ever After

Easy Summer Recipe

Posted on August 13, 2009 by crystal

We’re bound to have a few more hazy, hot, and humid days before autumn arrives.

And since nobody feels like getting too close to the stove on a steamy day; how about one more cool and delicious summer supper recipe? 🙂

Shrimp Salad with Fruit

· 1 pound cooked shrimp – fresh or frozen
· 2 cups diced fresh red apples
· 2 cups diced fresh pears
· 1 cup thinly sliced celery
· 1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
· 2 tablespoons milk
· 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
· 2 teaspoons grated onion
· 1 teaspoon salt
· salad greens
· paprika

Thaw shrimp if frozen. Cut large shrimp in half. Place the shrimp, pears, apples and celery in a large bowl. Combine mayonnaise, milk, vinegar, onion and salt; mix well.
Pour over shrimp mixture and toss lightly. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Serve on salad greens. Sprinkle with paprika. 6 servings.

VARIATION: Substitute two cups diced fresh pineapple for the two cups of diced pears. Chill salad and dressing separately, then add dressing to shrimp mixture just before serving; toss lightly. Serve in fresh pineapple shells or in lettuce cups.

Speedy Summer Supper Salad!

Posted on June 25, 2009 by crystal

Whew! Now that’s a tongue twister of a title, isn’t it? 😉

On a sizzling summer evening, it’s no fun standing over a hot stove, so here’s a recipe to rely on when the temperatures soar! It’s quick, tasty, and nutritious!

But the best part . . . no cooking!

Speedy Summer Supper Salad

Pick up a cooked rotisserie chicken in the deli section of your grocery store.

Slice all of the meat into bite size chunks.

Add some mayo thinned with orange juice or pineapple juice.

Add some or all of the following ingredients:

1 lg. can pineapple bits – drained
Diced celery
Chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds
Delicious apples – cut into chunks
Raisins
Dried cranberries

Toss all to mix. Done!

Ice cream cones for dessert! 🙂

A Magnificent Muffin!

Posted on June 11, 2009 by crystal

Since it’s blueberry season, I thought you might like to try this recipe for a legendary blueberry muffin. I think you’ll love it! 🙂

The story:

For many decades in the heart of Boston’s downtown shopping district, there was a large department store called Jordan Marsh. Customers could find everything from clothing to housewares to furniture. “Jordan’s” also had a bakery that was famous far and wide for its incredible blueberry muffins.

The muffins were enormous with large, slightly crunchy, sugared tops. Oh, they were delicious!!! I worked in Boston in my late teens and early twenties and I fondly remember popping into Jordan’s on my lunch-hour and buying a blueberry muffin to have during my afternoon coffee break.

In the mid-1990s, Jordan Marsh was gobbled up by another big department store and their bakery closed. Sighs were heard all over Massachusetts – and beyond! 😉

Eventually, a Boston newspaper published the coveted recipe for the well-loved muffins.

The recipe:

Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins

1/2 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pint blueberries, cleaned and rinsed
sugar for sprinkling on top

Cream together butter, sugar, and salt for 3 minutes. Add baking powder and eggs and mix well. Add flour, milk, and vanilla, and mix well again. Fold in blueberries. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup muffin pan, and also the top areas of the muffin pan. (Important because the muffins will rise and spread beyond the edges of each muffin cup.) Fill cups to the top. Sprinkle sugar on each muffin. Bake at 450 for 5 minutes, then drop temperature to 375, and bake 30 to 35 minutes more. Cool and remove from pans.

Summer Is Coming! Recipe

Posted on April 29, 2009 by crystal

Here in New England, it’s been unseasonably warm lately. Temperatures have hit 90-94 degrees in the last few days – breaking the record set in 1925! All I can say is: “Calgon, take me away!” I’m not ready for the heat just yet. I’ve always marveled at people who seem to thrive when the temperatures soar.

The hot weather has reminded me of something I’d like to share with you, though. 🙂 Would you like an idea for a “cool” meal to have on a hot summer evening? Nothing fancy, but colorful and delicious?

When I was growing up, and the weather was hazy, hot, and humid, my mother would often make what she called a “cold supper”. Nothing on the plate was hot. It was so refreshing be able to enjoy a meal that was attractive and nutritious but not steaming hot! Now I’ll warn you that this is not necessarily quicker to make than a regular meal, but if you prepare enough, you can have it for a couple of days during a summer heat wave. (You’ll need to cook some potatoes and hard-boil a few eggs early in the day when it’s cooler. You may want to slice some of the veggies and fruit ahead of time, as well.

Cold Supper

Arrange on each dinner plate:

1 small scoop tuna salad (or salmon, or even slices of cold beef or ham that you may have left-over)
1 small scoop potato salad
1 hard boiled egg peeled and sliced
garden tomato slices
cucumber slices
lettuce
carrot sticks
pepper strips
melon wedges – peeled
fresh peach slices
tiny bunch of seedless grapes
blueberries, strawberries, any berries in season
pickles (sweet or dill!)
1 slice of hearty bread (or a fresh roll)

Change the list according to your favorites or to what is in season in your area. We often had different combinations! Substitute coleslaw for the lettuce, or watermelon for the cantaloupe. The main idea is to have a blend of protein, fruits, and veggies that are arranged in an attractive fashion on your plate. 🙂 Then, have sherbet or popsicles for dessert – and it will suddenly seem as if the temperature has dropped 5 degrees!

You’ll be surprised how much fun it is to sit down to this meal. Kids love it too!

Hope this helps to keep you cool this summer,

Busy Day Recipe: Pasta Dish!

Posted on April 21, 2009 by crystal

When I was a kid, there was a warm and wonderful Italian family living next to us. Whenever they had a family gathering, they’d send a heaping plate of pasta over to our house. It was so de-licious!

Although we are not of Italian heritage (that we know of!), we’ve always been crazy about Italian food. In fact, my mother used to say, “Our stomachs are Italian!” 😉

After I got married, a good friend taught me to cook the perfect lasagna. She patiently showed me her technique for creating many, many layers that are moist and tender but never watery! Eventually, she and I moved to different states, but I still think of her every time I make it.

Even though it’s well worth the effort, lasagna is a very time-consuming dish to assemble, and let’s face it; there are days when what we really want for dinner is “fast and easy”.

So as a lover of all dishes Italian, I’ve found an incredibly easy yet delicious recipe that I count on when my schedule is super busy. It always seems to turn out well, and as with many pasta dishes, the leftovers are even better!

Only 5 ingredients!

It’s actually a “Mr. Food” creation that I have adapted a little and also re-named. He calls it Baked Ziti, but the ingredients are so close to those of lasagna that I like to call it “La-ziti” You get all the wonderful flavors and texture of lasagna with only a fraction of the prep time!

Luckily I married a man who also has an “Italian stomach”! He was pretty happy that this was on the menu last night.

Just add a garden salad and some crusty bread and dinner is served. I’ll put the recipe here for your convenience, and also add it to our “Recipe Box” located on the upper right section of this page. 🙂

“La-Ziti” (A Quick Recipe for Baked Ziti)

Ingredients:

¾ pound ziti (This amount gives you a nice full 9″ x 13″ pan.)

1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese

4 cups (16-ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided (You will have leftover cheese.)

2lbs 13oz. spaghetti sauce (I buy an extra large jar to be sure to have enough)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook ziti until just barely tender and then drain thoroughly!

Gently mix the ricotta cheese and 1-1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese with the cooked ziti. (I do this in the same pan that I used to cook the ziti.)

Generously cover the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking pan with spaghetti sauce.

Spoon ziti mixture into pan; cover it with remaining spaghetti sauce.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and then finally place a layer of mozzarella cheese on top.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes – or until cheese melts and is light golden brown.