Spicy Cold Noodles - Served Cold

Pasta of choice (cooked and cut into 1 or 2 inch pieces)

1 cup onion

1 cup bell pepper

½ Tablespoon garlic

Hot pepper to taste

Sesame oil

1 Tablespoon fish sauce

Finely diced orange peel (1 orange)

Juice from one orange

Soy sauce and or teriyaki sauce to taste

Peanut butter to taste (optional)

Saute onion, bell pepper and garlic in sesame oil and fish sauce until vegetables are cooked. Add hot sauce to taste, orange peel, and orange juice. Add peanut butter, soy sauce or teriyaki sauce to taste. Toss noodles with vegetables and sauce.

If desire, reserve ½ of sauce to mix in the next day before serving leftovers. You can also add additional fresh vegetables before serving.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Classic - Served Cold

¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted

¼ cups organic peanut butter

1 Tablespoon wheat germ

2 bananas

1 cup soy milk

Melt the chocolate chips in double boiler. When chocolate is melted, pour into a blender, add peanut butter and blend. Add wheat germ, bananas and milk to chocolate/peanut butter mixture and blend all ingredients together into a smooth texture. Pour mixture into popsicle molds and put sticks into place. Freeze pops until solid.

Orange Cupcakes - Served Cold

3 oranges

½ cup oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ¼ cup powdered sugar

1 package chocolate  cake mix

1 cup orange juice

¼ teaspoon orange zest

3 eggs

4 ounces cream cheese

1 stick (½ cup) butter

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut oranges in half and juice each half of the oranges (6 orange halves in total). Scoop out pulp and reserve juice and orange rinds. In medium bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, oil and freshly squeezed orange juice. Mix until the batter has no lumps. Line muffin tins with paper cups and fill each cup with ¼ cup of chocolate batter.

Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean

Meanwhile, in medium bowl, blend cream cheese, vanilla extract and orange zest until smooth. Add butter and mix until well combined. Add powdered sugar and mix until frosting is uniformly smooth. Put frosting into piping bag.

Let cupcakes cool. Top each cupcake with icing and sprinkle extra orange zest for garnish.

Not Your Average Slaw - Served Cold

2 cups shredded red cabbage

2 cups shredded green cabbage

Try different combinations....

Combination #1
1 red apple, diced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
Honey

Combination #2

1 pear, diced
Peppers of your choice, cut into small pieces
Parmesan Cheese

Combination #3

1 cup pineapple
1-2 carrots, thinly sliced
Ground Ginger

Combination #4

1 handful raisins
½ bunch green onions, thinly sliced
Curry Powder

After you choose your combination, add the miracle whip dressing (listed below)

½ cup Miracle Whip dressing

Mix shredded cabbage, fruits and chopped vegetables. Combine miracle whip dressing and spoonful of seasoning of choice; mix well. Toss dressing with other ingredients and serve cold.

Lemon Mousse - Served Cold

Lemon Curd

2 Large eggs

1 cup sugar

½ cup unsalted, melted butter

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

zest from any/all lemons used (optional)

In a large microwavable bowl: whisk eggs and sugar, then whisk in butter, and finally whisk in lemon juice. Put the bowl on a plate, in the microwave, and cook in 1 minute increments on high/full, stirring after each, until 'coat the back of a spoon, a slight mound/thickening happens.

Refrigerate to thoroughly chilled -2 hours.

Mousse

3 whites from extra large eggs

pinch of salt

2 Tablespoons sugar

Beat on high speed with whisk attachment. Add sugar.

Beat until stiff and shiny. Carefully fold into lemon curd mixture.

Sweetened Whipped Cream

1 cup cold heavy cream

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Beat until fluffy. Carefully fold into lemon mixture.

Refrigerate until cold, then serve.

Optional: serve with sliced lemon, zest curls, etc.

Key Lime Pie - Served Cold

1 9” graham cracker crust

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

3 egg yolks

½ cup Nellie & Joe’s Key West Lime Juice

Combine milk, lime juice and egg yolks. Blend until smooth. Pour filling into pie shell and bake at 350F for 15 minutes. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before refrigerating. Just before serving, top with freshly whipped cream and garnish with lime slices.

Italian Cassata Cake - Served Cold

1 pound or sponge cake (either bought or made)

1 pound ricotta cheese

½ cup powdered sugar

Zest of one lemon

Juice of one lemon

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Zest from one large orange

1 teaspoon orange flavoring

Cut pound or sponge cake into ¼ inch thickness and line  bottom and sides of pie pan. Mix ricotta cheese with ½ cup powdered sugar, adding sugar a little at a time. Add zest of lemon and lemon juice. Taste for sweetness. Refrigerate.

Whip together heavy whipping cream, vanilla, zest of orange and orange flavoring. Mix until stiff peaks form. Add ricotta mixture and fill in pie dish. Use remaining cake slices to close off the top of cake. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Flip onto serving plate.

This cake is traditionally covered in rolled out marzipan. Tuscany’s color is traditionally green, but whipped cream is also delicious on it.

Frozen Strawberry Salad - Served Cold

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

12 oz frozen strawberries, thawed

1 20 oz can crushed pineapple, well drained

2 bananas, diced

1 cup nuts, chopped (walnuts or pecans work well)

10 oz Cool Whip

Cream sugar and cream cheese together.  Add strawberries, pineapple, bananas, nuts, and fold in Cool Whip. Freeze.

Remove from freezer about 1/2 hour before serving.  May refreeze any leftovers.

Because container sizes keep changing, I have used a 16 oz container of frozen strawberries and 8 oz container of Cool Whip and it turns out okay.  My family prefers not to have nuts in this, so I leave them out.

Frozen Strawberry Delight - Served Cold

Crust

2 cups pretzel, crushed coarsely

3 T sugar

1/2 cup butter softened

Mix thoroughly and pat into lightly greased 11x7 rectangular baking dish. Bake 8 min at 350. Cool.

Filling

2 Cups boiling water

6 oz box strawberry jello

20 oz frozen strawberries

Mix jello into boiling water until dissolved

Add strawberries to his mix, and stir til melted and combined thoroughly.

In mixing bowl of food processor, add 8 oz cream cheese, 3 Tablespoons white sugar, and some liquid from the jello.  Blend. Add the rest of the jello and berries to cream cheese and blend. Transfer to larger mixing bowl and add 2 cups Cool Whip. Blend carefully with a whip until there are no more lumps.

Transfer to cooled pretzel crust and freeze overnight. Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving. Cut in squares to serve.

Chicken Macaroni Salad - Served Cold

2 cups macaroni or other pasta, cooked

1-2 cups chicken or turkey, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces

1 cup grapes, washed and cut in half

⅓ cup slivered almonds, or nuts of your choice

½ cup Greek yogurt

¾ cup cool whip

¾ cup celery, diced

¼ cup onion, diced

Trader Joe’s seasoning (or seasoning of your choice)

Mix all ingredients, season to taste and chill in refrigerator until chilled; about 1 hour. Serve cold.

Chicken and Lettuce Wraps - Served Cold

2 cups chopped cooked rotisserie chicken

1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce - mix with carrots

1/3 cup ranch dressing

1/4 cup sweet pickle relish

8 slices deli-style white Cheddar cheese slices

4 whole wheat wraps   (can use choice of wrap)

In a large bowl, stir together first 4 ingredients.  Place 2 cheese slices in a single layer on 1 side of each wrap; top each evenly with about 3/4 cup chicken mixture. Roll up jelly roll-style; wrap in plastic wrap, twisting ends of wrap to seal.

Chill up to 8 hours, if desired. Cut in half to serve. Serves 4.

Strawberry & Caramel Sauce - Served Cold

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons water

6 Tablespoons salted butter

¾ cup heavy cream

Maldon or coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

Gather all of your ingredients and have them ready nearby to add to the mixture as needed. In a heavy-bottomed 3 quart saucepan, heat sugar and water over moderately high heat, whisking constantly to dissolve sugar. Once a mixture reaches a boil, stop whisking and allow mixture to boil until it reaches a dark amber color, carefully swirling pan occasionally. Once mixture reaches a dark amber color, immediately add butter and whisk until butter has melted. Then immediately remove from heat. Wait 3 seconds then carefully pour in cream and immediately whisk to combine (it will bubble vigorously). Whisk until mixture is smooth. Allow caramel to cool several minutes then pour into a glass jar to cool. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt after spooning caramel over cheesecakes.

1 pound fresh strawberries, rinsed and dried

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons fresh lime or lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well chopped and mixture is beginning to break down and liquefy (I liked it with some small pieces, not completely pureed). Transfer to an airtight container and chill 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

Cheesecake Cupcakes - Served Cold

2 cups finely crushed graham crackers (from 15 sheets)

3 Tablespoons granulated sugar

7 Tablespoons salted butter, melted

4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ cup sour cream

½ cup heavy cream

Salted caramel or strawberry sauce (see below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In mixing bowl, whisk together crushed graham crackers with 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar. Pour in melted butter  and stir mixture until evenly coated. Divide graham cracker mixture among 24 lined muffin cups, adding a well heaped Tablespoon to each (nearly 2 Tablespoons). Press mixture into an even layer. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool while preparing filling.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together 1 ½ cups granulated sugar with 3 Tablespoons flour until well blended. Add softened cream cheese to a separate mixing bowl and pour sugar mixture over top. Blend mixture until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time and blend in between each egg. Add vanilla, sour cream, heavy cream and mix just until combined. Tap mixing bowl against counter top 30 times to remove any air bubbles. Divide mixture among muffin cups filling each cup nearly full. Bake in preheated oven 18-23 minutes, centers should still jiggle slightly, don’t over bake (if they start to crack, they are starting to become overbaked). Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 1 hour. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and transfer to refrigerator to chill for 2 hours. Serve chilled with a spoonful of caramel or strawberry sauce. Store in airtight container in refrigerator or freeze.

Black Bean & Couscous Salad - Served Cold

1 cup uncooked couscous

1 ¼ cup chicken broth

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

½ teaspoon ground cumin

8 green onions,chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained

Salt and pepper

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a 2 quart or larger saucepan and stir in the couscous. Cover the pot and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and cumin. Add green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn and beans and toss to coat.

Fluff the couscous well, breaking up any chunks. Add to the bowl with the vegetables and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve at once or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Bacon Pea Salad - Served Cold

4 cups of frozen peas, thawed

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup  ranch salad  dressing

1/3 cup chopped red onion

1/4 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp pepper

4 bacon strips. cooked and crumbled

Combine the first six ingredients; toss to coat.  Refrigerate covered, at least 30 minutes. Stir in bacon before serving.

Makes 6 servings