Chocolate for Christmas and Holiday Celebrations

12/10/20 Cook’s Corner
Betty Kaiser

Are you ready? It’s time to start baking. At this time of year, I’m usually getting ready for a house full of company. But not this year. Right now, as usual, the house is festively decorated for Christmas but that’s where our Christmas tradition ends.

Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic shutting down our social and holiday lifestyle, most of us are staying home alone this year. It is a sad but necessary isolation. Our family members  live far away and my annual Christmas events with friends and neighbors are cancelled.

On the bright side, that means my husband doesn’t have to polish my mother’s tea set and I don’t have to mop floors, iron tablecloths or get the fine china down from the top shelves. I also don’t have to send out invitations or bake until the wee hours of the morning.

All of that is of small comfort because there will also be no hugging, laughing, getting caught up with family news or meal sharing.  It’s going to be an isolated Christmas.

However, that is not going to stop me from doing some baking. It just won’t be done in the usual amounts to share with crowds of people. I’ll still be making fudge, small batches of cookies and a pie (or two) with enough leftovers for the freezer.

One of the joys of going to cookie exchanges at holiday gatherings is the variety of things that people bake. Over the years, I’ve published a few of my guest’s recipes and they’re always delicious. One of my non-baking friends would bring a one-pound box of See’s Candy. Another would bring a bowl of Chex Party Mix. Both were a hit every time.

My plan for today’s recipe column is all about simplicity and chocolate. The cookie recipes require no cutting or frosting. Chocolate Crinkles recipe makes enough for an army. Feel free to cut the ingredients in half.  The Cookie bars and chocolate pecan pie both go together quickly.

Cookies also make great gifts. So if you don’t want to freeze the extra ones you might share them with a neighbors and friends as a gift. At our house, however, the Chocolate Pecan Pie would never make it out the door! 

Merry Christmas, everyone! Enjoy the season! There’s a reason.

CHOCOLATE CRINKLES COOKIES

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup confectioners' sugar

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into one inch balls. Use a small scoop. Coat each ball in confectioners' sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool. Makes 72.
Note: If the powdered sugar melts too much roll them again when cool.

MAGIC COOKIE BARS

1-1/2 cups graham cracker cookie crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup chocolate chips
1-1/3 cups shredded coconut
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

Butter a 13x9x2 pyrex baking pan. Preheat oven to 350° F.

Thoroughly mix graham cracker crumbs with sugar and butter. Pat mixture firmly and evenly over the bottom of baking pan. Then, scatter chocolate chips evenly over the crumbs. Then, spread coconut evenly over the chips. Finally, sprinkle walnuts over the coconut. Finally, pour the Condensed Milk over the walnuts.

Put in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool and cut into bars. Serves 12 or more depending on size of servings. Nice served with vanilla ice cream or some whipped cream. 

CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE

4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup DARK corn syrup
4 tablespoons butter, melted
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-1/2 cups pecan halves
1 unbaked 9” pie shell (in baking pan)
Whipped cream for garnish

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Line the pie shell with pecans, adding more if necessary

Combine eggs, sugar, salt, corn syrup, butter, chocolate and vanilla in large bowl and mix well. Pour over pecans in pie shell. Re-arrange pecans as they rise to the top. Place pie in oven, reduce heat to 350° and bake 40-50 min. The filling should be firm in center. Cool and serve with a dollop of whipped cream. Serves 8.

MAGIC COOKIE BARS

1-1/2 cups graham cracker cookie crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup chocolate chips
1-1/3 cups shredded coconut
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

Butter a 13x9x2 pyrex baking pan. Preheat oven to 350° F.

Thoroughly mix graham cracker crumbs with sugar and butter. Pat mixture firmly and evenly over the bottom of baking pan. Then, scatter chocolate chips evenly over the crumbs. Then, spread coconut evenly over the chips. Finally, sprinkle walnuts over the coconut. Finally, pour the Condensed Milk over the walnuts.

Put in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool and cut into bars. Serves 12 or more depending on size of servings. Nice served with vanilla ice cream or some whipped cream.
 

Contact Betty Kaiser’s Chatterbox
by email@bchatty@bettykaiser.com

 

Super Simple Soups

11/5/2020 Cook’s Corner
Betty Kaiser

Every year when autumn leaves begin to fall, I pull out my soup recipes from their summer hiatus hiding and decide which one to choose. It’s sort of like a treasure hunt as I’m looking for old friends. So many choices. Where to begin? I narrow down the choices by deciding if I want a meat based treat or something vegetarian.

Soup is as old as the hills and  probably goes back to the caveman days when people threw whatever they had into a kettle and cooked it over an open fire. Later generations discovered that a few herbs made the food taste better and it’s been a staple meal ever since.

Every nation has its own special soups. China has Egg Drop Soup. It’s French Onion Soup in France. Miso Soup in Japan. White Bean Soup in Cuba. Butternut Squash Soup is the choice in North Africa. Borshch or Beetroot Soup is a favorite in Russian. And the varieties continue all over the world.

Just for fun, I Googled the top five best selling soups in America and they are as follows:
Chicken Noodle Soup
Tomato Soup
Clam Chowder
Potato Soup (that surprised me!)
Minestrone (another surprise).

Now, I don’t know about you, but for me, soup preparation can be an all day process. I usually start with sautéing onions, celery and carrots for the broth base and go from there. Sometimes it’s a tomato base other times it’s a creamy base. But almost always I’m building the ingredients layer by layer and sometimes, hour by hour.

So, I started collecting what I call “Super Swift Soup” recipes for those times when I don’t have time. I usually find such recipes on pasta packages or cans unless I happen to cut one out of a magazine. They’re hard to find but I have three that I’m going to share with you today. The chili soup is mine.

CHICKEN or TURKEY NOODLE EXPRESS
A Swanson recipe

2 cans (14 1/2 oz each) Chicken Broth (3 1/2 cups)
Generous dash pepper
1 medium carrot, sliced (1/2 cup)
1 cup cubed, cooked turkey or chicken
1/2 cup uncooked medium egg noodles
1 stalk celery, sliced (1/2 cup)

Mix broth, pepper, carrot and celery in medium saucepan.
Heat over medium high heat; bring to a boil.
Stir in noodles. Reduce heat to medium. Cook 10 minutes, stirring often. Add turkey and heat through. Serves 4

NOTE: I find these portions a little skimpy. So I would double this recipe.

SHORTCUT MINESTRONE SOUP
A Barilla Recipe

Keep it classic with marinara or mix it up
with other pasta sauce flavors like tomato basil or roasted garlic.

1 (14 oz) bag frozen mixed vegetables
1 (23 oz) jar marinara sauce
5 cups water (more as needed)
1 can 12 oz cut green beans
1 can drained and rinsed white beans
4 ounces small pasta (or tortellini)
Lemon pepper

Heat the frozen vegetables in a large saucepan.
Add the marinara sauce and 5 cups water. Bring to a boil.
Stir in green beans, white beans and pasta. Add more water if needed.
Cook until pasta is done, about 5 minutes.
Top with pepper and parmesan cheese.
Serves 6  

SUPER SWIFT CHILI BEAN SOUP

1 pound ground meat or less (beef, turkey or whatever)
1 medium onion, diced
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
2-3  cups water
1 can tomatoes
1 can chili beans
1 small can corn
1 can diced green chilies
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano

Saute meat and onions. Drain excess fat.
Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil.
Turn down heat and simmer 2 hours or longer.
Taste for salt and other spices shortly before serving.
Garnish with grated cheddar cheese or sour cream.
Serves 4-5

“Keep it simple and keep it seasonal with Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner”

 

AMAZING CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE

COOK"S CORNER by BETTY KAISER

This week is my husband’s birthday. I could tell you many stories about him but this is a recipe column so I will stick to telling you about his gardening expertise and sharing a fabulous, out-of-this-world birthday cake recipe.

Chuck loves gardening. He was literally in “hog heaven” when we moved onto 6 acres at CG Lake in 1989. In the middle of the acreage was a house a shop and some trees. That’s it. The terrain practically cried out for his tender loving care. Fortunately, he had some experience to do so.

As a young boy, every summer he helped tend his Grandpa Sautner’s many fruit trees and big vegetable garden. In the seventh grade he joined an agricultural program at school and was soon earning money by mowing lawns and pulling weeds for elderly neighbors at 50 cents a job! Later, as a teen he helped in his uncle’s Yucaipa peach orchard.

Wherever we have lived, Chuck has grown a vegetable garden. After we moved to Oregon he signed up to become a  Master Gardener through the OSU program taught at the Eugene Fairgrounds. He graduated in 2001 and has been using his extensive skills ever since with plantings of a vast variety of trees, flower gardens and of course, a vegetable garden.

He has also volunteered his help around town. About 20 years ago, he planted and tended the original one-acre vegetable garden for Community Sharing. He also tended the Daugherty Memorial Garden at First Presbyterian Church. And every summer, he plants a Kaiser garden extravaganza.

The two of us can only eat so much and lots of what he grows is given away or shared with alert early birds and other critters. Springtime, he grows unbelievable lettuce and we always make strawberry freezer jam. The birds usually get cherries and pears before we do and we freeze lots of blueberries and marionberries. We can lots of the soon to be ripe tomatoes and yes…we have cucumbers and more zucchini than our neighborhood can eat!

Chuck doesn’t really like zucchini but he grows it for me.This year, our zucchini have flourished in great abundance and they’re not at all what we expected. Their pretty yellow and green orbs have white stripes.

Now, in honor of the birthday boy, I’m only printing one recipe. It’s a chocolate cake dessert that is to die for! The only drawback (if you want to call it that) is that it calls for 16 ingredients—one of them is zucchini. Be sure that you set everything out on the counter that is called for. Otherwise, you’ll get lost wondering if you have everything!

Trust me. This is a great recipe. Enjoy! And Happy Birthday Chuck!


                                        CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE
                                    With Brown Sugar Streusel Topping

1/2 cup butter (can substitute applesauce)
1/3 cup coconut oil (or canola/vegetable oil)
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini
 

TOPPING:
1/2 cup sliced almond
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch pan with cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the butter, oil and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix. Add 1/2 of the buttermilk; mix. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix until combined. Add the remaining buttermilk and mix followed by the last of the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Stir in the shredded zucchini.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the almonds and chocolate chips. Finally, sprinkle the brown sugar on top of everything.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs (don't over-bake). Cool before serving 12 people.

                    “Keep it simple and keep it seasonal with Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner” 

9/3/2020 Cottage Grove Sentinel Newspaper

Brunch Recipes from Maryana Vollsted

 

7/16/2020 Cook’s Corner

Betty Kaiser

One of my activities during this Corovirus confinement has been to “get organized” and get rid of junk. You know, that stuff that you haven’t used since the last century! That’s a little hard to do when you’ve lived in one house for 31 years. Everything is precious and there’s no junk!

Well, maybe there’s some in the kitchen. I have a hard time parting with kitchen stuff.  I won’t bore you with all the no-longer-used gadgets that I have but I will tell you that I have too many cookbooks. How many? Well, at last count, I had over 100 nice, hardback, quality cookbooks and too many recipe booklets to count. And that doesn’t include old magazine clippings.

It is all really my husband Chuck’s fault. He built me a beautiful maple bookcase and I filled it up with cookbooks. But it wasn’t big enough! Still homeless are several recipe boxes and a couple of drawers filled with folders of must keep magazine recipes for Cook’s Corner.

Last month,  I bravely waded in to weed out what I no longer use. I began with the bookcase. I now only have left 75 nice, unused quality cookbooks neatly stacked. Hmm. That means that they almost all fit in there along with the recipe filling boxes. The others are in a box marked “garage sale.”

My cookbook collection started out with a Betty Crocker loose leaf  cookbook as a wedding shower gift in 1957. It is now falling apart and has been replaced a few times but it remains my go to favorite. I have others (Pillsbury, etc.) that I like but none can beat Betty for basics.

There are also some other cookbooks that I won’t part with including  “The Pioneer Lady” collection, “The Joy of Cooking  “Dear S.O.S”  by the L.A. Times and some specialty booklets.

Also, anything written by Maryana Vollstedt is a keeper. Years ago, she and her husband started the Reed & Cross nursery that grew into a large retail complex with great food in Eugene. I knew her as a freelance food columnist for The Register Guard including a “Kid’s Cook column.”

I literally gobbled up all of her columns. Simple and tasty. She also self-published 15 cookbooks. I only bought two books, “What’s for Dinner” and “The Big Book of Casseroles.” Now I wish I had bought them all.

Maryana died in 2017 at 91 years of age but will not be forgotten. The following recipes of hers I have not tried, because I just found them hiding in a folder! Let me know what you think. They sound yummy. Enjoy!

CRAB BRUNCH CASSEROLE

3 Tablespoons butter

12 ounces medium mushrooms, sliced

6 green onions, including some tender green tops, sliced

8 large eggs

2 cups small curd cottage cheese

2 cups sour cream

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

½ cup flour

½ teaspoon salt

Dash of white pepper

3 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

12 ounces crab meat, flaked

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In   a medium skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add mushrooms and green onions and sauté until tender, about 5 min. Set aside

In a food processor or blender, blend eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream Parmesan, flour, salt and pepper. Transfer to a large bowl. Fold in Jack cheese, crab meat and sautéed vegetables. Pour into a lightly sprayed or oiled 9X13” glass baking dish. Bake until casserole is puffed up and golden, about 45 min. Let stand 10 min. Cut into squares to serve 8.

 

WALNUT SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

¾ Cup butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Sugar nut filling (recipe follows)

 

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In a large mixer, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add to butter and sugar mixture, alternating with sour cream, starting and ending with dry ingredients. Beat well. Stir in vanilla.

Lightly spray a 9x 13 inch glass baking dish. Pour half the batter into the baking dish. Sprinkle half the filling mixture over batter. Pour remaining batter over filling and sprinkle remaining filling evenly on the top.

Bake 30-35 min. or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center. Cool on a rack and cut into squares to serve. Serves 12

Note: This cake can also be made in a sprayed and floured Bundt pan.

SUGAR-NUT FILLING

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup sugar

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon cinnam

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients. Use in above recipe. Makes about 1½ cups.

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal with Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner

Contact her by email bchatty@bettykaiser.com

 

 

 

 

 

NEW COFFEE and COOKIES RECIPES

5/21/20 Cook’s Corner

Betty Kaiser

True confession: We still live in the dark ages at our house.  We do not have cable TV and I write for a local newspaper not on Facebook. 

Our television operates off an antenna and So. Lane Television. So, my conversations and news are conducted the old-fashioned way through telephone, email, texts, newspapers and snail mail cards and letters. Oops! I forgot to add the computer. I know. I’m ancient.

Therefore, I’m always the last one to know about the latest fad in almost everything—even food. My daughter-in-law, Betsy, is married to my son John. They live in California where he’s a church pastor. She teaches 6^th grade and just won the Teacher of the Year award. Yea, Betsy!

Betsy and I talk a lot about recipes. She and John share the cooking at their house but she (and youngest son Joshua) do all the baking. Her last email to me was hilarious. Her sister Kitty (who lives in Yosemite) recently sent her a newspaper list of comfort foods that people are cooking during this Covid-19 pandemic.

They include: Banana bread, pizza dough, French toast, chocolate cake, carrot cake, fried rice and Dalgona Coffee. Her response: “I love this! So far, we’ve made most of them (pizza dough with real sour dough starter)  and I’ve had cravings for carrot cake.”

Well, I was impressed and surprised. Dalgona Coffee? What in the world is that? I had never heard of it. Of course, I’m not real fond of coffee. I like an Oatmeal Cookie Chai at BaDooBaz on a cold day or an Iced Hazelnut Latte on a warm day at the Espresso Bar’n but that’s about it. If I want caffeine, I drink tea or a Diet Coke!

So, I looked up this Dalgona Coffee that Betsy was raving about. Turns out it’s been around the world for awhile but only came to the U.S. in January of this year from So. Korea. Who knew? It has taken the country by a storm so I made one. It’s easy as can be (4 ingredients) but it tastes too much like very strong coffee for me.  So, I’m putting the recipe out here for you to try. Let me know how you like it.

The last recipe is a fun cookie to go with coffee, tea or milk. Really good! Try one and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

DALGONA COFFEE (Whipped Coffee)

Pour 1 cup milk over ice in a tall glass or mug

Put into a blender or stand mixer bowl:

2 tablespoons instant coffee

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoon hot water

Whip ingredients until fluffy and toffee-colored; about 3-4 minutes.

Spoon the whipped coffee on top of the milk. Stir the coffee mixture into the milk before drinking. Sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy! Serves 1-2.

BERRY CRINKLE COOKIES

(From “A Cozy Kitchen”)

3/4 cup white granulated sugar

1 1/2 cup freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries, (or a combo)

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup neutral oil (vegetable oil)

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 drop fuchsia food coloring gel, (optional)

4 drops red food coloring gel  

1/2 cup powdered sugar (more if needed)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with a sheet of parchment and set aside.

In a blender, add the sugar and freeze-dried strawberries/raspberries. Blend until the freeze-dried berries are ground up, a few teeny bits of freeze-dried strawberries are ok.

In a medium bowl, add the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk together until combined.

To the bowl of a stand-up mixer add the sugar/strawberry mixture and oil. Beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. With the machine running on low speed, add one egg at a time. And then add the vanilla extract, fuchsia food coloring gel and red food coloring gel. Mix until combined.

Add the flour mixture and mix just until no flour speckles appear and the dough is cohesive, about 30 seconds to a minute.

Sift the powdered sugar into a small to medium bowl. Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop out balls of dough, rolling them in between your palms until balls form. Roll them in the sifted powdered sugar.

Transfer the dough balls to the lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. About 8 per baking sheet.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time. Put the first sheet to the oven to bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, until they appear crackly and puffed up.

Remove from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheets for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. They may fall a bit as they cool. Add more powdered sugar if needed.

Contact Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner by email bchatty@bettykaiser.com

SIMPLE SUPPERS for HARD TIMES

4/23/20 Cook’s Corner
Betty Kaiser

Greetings! I hope this finds you all staying healthy during this claustrophobic coronavirus era. I know that we’re all chomping at the bit to be out and about as soon as the restrictions of this COVID-19 pandemic are lifted. Just keep telling yourselves—this too, shall pass and patience is a virtue.

Truthfully, I sometimes find myself getting a little anxious and claustrophobic but I have a new respect for people who are housebound for any reason. And I am ever so grateful for all those who have stepped up and are helping the afflicted. God bless you all.

This is a cooking column so it’s embarrassing to say that I’m tired of planning and cooking meals. I often find myself wandering around the house wishing we could go to a nice, sit down restaurant. Our meals have been pretty boring—hot dogs again? I decided that in this time of restricted grocery shopping, it makes sense to plan and cook from basic pantry and refrigerated ingredients.

The following recipes are simple, old standbys from my recipe boxes that show their years of use. The Tuna and Noodle casserole is for Friday nights when I’m desperate and don’t have any other fish on hand. The Impossible Cheeseburger Pie is tasty and great for leftovers-if you’re only cooking for 2 or 3 people. The crunchy green salad goes with everything and has a little bite to it and the lime dessert is refreshing. If you like, add a vegetable and some store bought rolls to these meals. Enjoy!


Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole
Serves 4-5

1 tub Cooking Crème OR:
1 8 oz cream cheese mixed with ½ cup chicken broth or milk**(see below)
2 cups egg noodles, cooked, drained
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup frozen peas
2 cans (5 oz each) albacore tuna, drained and flaked
4 green onions, sliced
1/3 cup cracker crumbs
1-2 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray 1 1-1/2 qt. casserole. Combine first 6 ingredients and place in dish. Bake 20 min. Meanwhile, mix cracker crumbs and butter.

Remove casserole from oven, top with crumbs and bake, uncovered, 8-10 min. or until topping is golden brown.

**Melt cream cheese and broth on low heat in small pan. Add choice of spices (Italian herbs, lemon juice or taco sauce) and pour over cooked noodles.

Impossible Cheeseburger Pie

1 pound ground beef
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
1 teaspoon garlic or seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1-1/2 cups milk (I prefer buttermilk)
3/4 cup Bisquick baking mix
3 eggs
2 tomatoes, sliced
1-2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Garnish with salsa, sour cream and fresh onion slices cut into rings

Preheat oven to 400° F.
Grease or spray 10-inch pie plate. Brown meat and onion; drain well. Stir in salt and pepper. Spread evenly in bottom of plate. Beat milk, baking mix and eggs until smooth: one minute with hand beater or 15 seconds on high speed of blender. Pour over meat mixture. Bake 25 min. Top with tomatoes; sprinkle with cheese. Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, 5-8 min. Cool 5 minutes before serving. Add garnishes. Serves 6
Tex-Mex Salad

Mix together in large salad bowl:
Equal amounts Iceberg and romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2-3/4 cup shredded cheese
1 tomato, diced
1 avocado, sliced and chopped
1 large carrot, grated, rinsed and patted dry
1/4 cup red onion, minced

Mix together dressing ingredients:
1/4 cup Ranch dressing, regular or light
1/4 cup chunky salsa, regular or light

Add dressing to salad, mix lightly and sprinkle with
1 cup broken tortilla chips. Toss again and serve immediately.

Lime Chiffon Pie
Serves 8
2/3 cup boiling water
1 3 ounce Jell-O Lime flavor gelatin*
½ cup cold water
2 cups thawed Cool Whip topping•
1 tsp. lime zest
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 ready to use graham cracker crumb crust (6 oz)
*Okay to use sugar free.

In large bowl, add boiling water to gelatin mix. Stir with whisk 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add enough ice to cold water to make 1 cup. Add to gelatin; stir until ice is melted.

Stir in Cool Whip, zest and juice. Refrigerate 15-20 min. or until mixture is very thick and will mound. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate 4 hours. Garnish with lime slices.

Contact Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner at email bchatty@bettykaiser.com