quickandeasycooking

Hidden Valley Snack has been around for a while, but for some reason a lot of people don’t know about it. Made with Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix and those little delectable oyster crackers, it has a tangy “can’t stop eating” taste. This is a snack that’s just made for Super Bowl watching.

Hidden Valley Ranch Oyster Crackers

16 oz. pkg. plain oyster crackers

1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk Original Ranch Salad Dressing Mix

1 cup salad oil

1 tsp. dill weed

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp.lemon pepper

Pour the oyster crackers in a bowl. Combine the ranch dressing mix and oil; add the dill weed, garlic powder and lemon pepper. Pour over the crackers, and stir to coat. Put in a warm oven for about 20 minutes.

For extra crunch, throw in pretzels or mixed nuts or maybe both! Enjoy!

I love homemade pizza, and I’ve developed a pizza sauce (after many, many failures) that is absolutely delicious. I make the pizza dough in my bread machine, but you could also use this sauce on the Pillsbury canned pizza dough or on frozen pizza dough. The whole thing goes together in the food processor, and there’s no cooking at all involved.

Homemade Pizza Sauce

1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes (you can substitute crushed)

2-4 tsp. minced refrigerated garlic

1 tbsp. tomato sauce

1-2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

a few crushed red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

4 tbsp. pesto

Italian seasoning to taste

Dump everything into the food processor and pulse for a few seconds. Taste. If you want to kick it up a notch, add more pesto and Italian seasoning. Spread on your pizza dough, add toppings and cook. You’ll love it!

Need an impressive, yet quick and easy, fruit tart? Here’s one that will delight your family members with great taste, but will get you out of the kitchen in no time. You only need the help of good old Stouffers and even older Pepperidge Farm!

Rustic Apple Tart

One sheet of Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry

Two boxes of Stouffer’s frozen “Cinnamon Apples”

A few sprinkles of cinnamon-sugar

Let the puff pastry come to room temperature. The box will tell you this can happen in about 10 minutes, but don’t believe them. It takes more like 30 minutes. Take your rolling pin and roll the puff pastry out until it’s thinner. Then dump the two boxes of partially thawed cinnamon-apples into the middle. Pull the edges of the puff pastry around the apples, leaving an opening in the middle. Remember, it’s RUSTIC. No need to strive for a perfect look. Sprinkle the whole thing with cinnamon-sugar.

Bake at the temperature the box suggests until the puff pastry is golden brown. This is absolutely delicious with vanilla ice cream or Cool Whip.

Want to impress your guests? Here’s a great way. Serve shrimp cocktail with homemade remoulade sauce. You can make it a couple of days before your party, because the flavors intensify with a few days in the frig. Nobody ever makes resmoulade sauce anymore, so your guests will think quite highly of their talented hostess. Don’t let the long list of ingredients scare you. This goes together in a snap. You can even buy the onion and celery already chopped!

Remoulade Sauce for Seafood

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tbsp. chopped onion

1 tbsp. chopped parsley

1 tbsp. chopped celery

1 tbsp. horseradish

1 tbsp. paprika

2 tbsp. dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup vegetable, salad or olive oil

1 tbsp. vinegar

1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce.

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate. This makes about 1 1/2 cups. If you want it a little hotter, add a few drops of hot sauce depending on the degree of heat you want.

I’ve never been very big on fruit punch, but this is a really easy one to make. With the holidays just around the corner, you often need some punch for a party. And this one has a beautiful red color.

Easy Fruit Punch

6 oz. frozen orange juice

12 oz. frozen limeade

6 oz. frozen lemonade

1 can (1 lb. 14 oz.) pineapple juice

1 pint cranberry juice cocktail

3 cups cold water

2 qts. giner ale, cold

1 qt. soda water, cold

Combine the frozen juices, pineapple juice, cranberry juice and water in a large container. Let the juices thaw; stir well. When ready to serve, pour the mixture into a punch bowl. Add some ice cubes, ginger ale and soda water. This will make about 30 servings.

You can substitute and mix and match some of the juices. And remember, these amounts don’t have to be exact, so experiment and use what you have. For an alcoholic version, add a bottle of champagne (a cheap one works fine). A frozen ice ring would look nice floating in the bowl. You could make it out of juice.

Can you beat the great American grilled cheese sandwich? The best one I ever ate was in Washington, D.C. I was nine-years-old, and my mother and I were visiting her best friend. It was the first time I ever went to D.C., and I was totally hooked on the political scene. Years later, I worked for a Congressman in Washington.

Anyway, we all stopped in for lunch at a diner somewhere in downtown D.C. It was during John Kennedy’s administration — an exciting time. I watched the cook grill my sandwich right there before my eyes, and then serve it with a side of fries (real french fries from scratch).

I realize there was nothing special about that grilled cheese; it was all about location. But ever since, I think of that day when ever I eat a grilled cheese! And it’s so versatile. You can eat it for breakfast, add salad or soup for lunch or grill it with onions, tomatoes and ham or bacon for dinner.

Try different breads. Nothing will ever top plain, white loaf bread, but try Texas Toast or sourdough, or maybe rye. Use flavored butter or a touch of dijon mustard. There are all sorts of ways to jazz it up and make it a little more gourmet.

Have a grilled cheese today!

Homemade mayonnaise is really easy to make, but no one ever does. It doesn’t taste anything like the store kind. Give it a try.

Easy Homemade Mayonnaise

3 egg yolks

1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp, dry mustard

2 cups salad oil

In a blender, mix the egg yolks, the vinegar, the salt and the dry mustard. Blend for just a few seconds to incorporate it all. Then, with the blender running at low speed, pour oil in slowly, in a steady stream. Continue blending until well mixed.

You can change this some. Try substituting different kinds of vinegars. Use extra-virgin olive oil in place of the salad oil. Throw in some herbs or spices. Rosemary would be heavenly; curry would be great, also.

Use your homemade mayonnaise for sandwiches or even as a salad dressing. It will keep in your refrigerator for a few days. And here’s a delicious hint: next time you roast a chicken, rub the skin with homemade mayonnaise before baking. You’ll get extra crisp, browned skin.

With the holidays just around the corner (they’ve already got the Christmas decorations up at the mall; I guess they just forgot Thanksgiving), it’s a good time to be thinking about those delicious spiral sliced honey hams.

They come in so handy when you have a crowd coming over, and they’re expecting some holidays goodies. Just pop it in the oven for about an hour, covered with that great honey glaze, and presto! Enough food for an army.

It tastes great warm; it tastes great cold and it makes the perfect leftover. How could you ask more from food? Even little kids like ham. My twins were the pickiest eaters in the world when they were little (and one of them still is even at 19), but they would always eat ham and they would always eat a ham sandwich.

Ham and biscuits, ham casserole, ham quiche, ham with grits and toast for breakfast. Yum, I can hardly wait!

I never seem to get very far away from Mexican food. That’s because so many Mexican dishes are quick and easy ones, and in my house, Mexican food is a family favorite. Here’s a great vegetarian Tex-Mex dish that you can put together in just a few minutes. Remember, when you combine rice and beans, you get a complete protein.

Black Beans and Rice

1 5 oz. pkg. of saffron rice mix

1 can of black beans

3 tbsp. of lime juice, fresh or refrigerated

1 tsp. of chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

2 tbsp. of fresh chopped cilantro, divided

Cook the yellow rice according the directions on the package. Drain the black beans, reserving about 2 tbsp. of the liquid. Combine the drained beans, reserved liquid, lime juice, chili powder and cumin in a medium saucepan. Cover over medium heat for several minutes; stir in 1 tbsp. of the cilanto. Serve over the rice. Sprinkle with the other tbsp. of chopped cilantro. Garnish with sour cream and serve with tortilla chips.

Always use fresh cilantro if you can find it. Cilantro is like a spicy parsley, and it’s a great addition to Mexican dishes.

Here’s a quick and easy salad that you can serve with a delicious Mexican meal. It makes a cool addition to a spicy dish. This refreshing salad can be thrown together in no time at all. My husband and I have a running argument about mandarin oranges. I love them – could eat them everyday. He wants mandarin oranges about every five years. But he does like this particular salad!

Mandarin Orange Salad

1 package of mixed salad green (the European blend is good for this recipe)

1 can of mandarin oranges, drained

¼ red onion, chopped

½ cup balsamic vinaigrette

Simply mix all ingredients in a large bowl, and toss gently. You’re done!