d's delights- cooking and crafts

Broccoli Ginger Slaw This recipe was originally called a “Detox Salad”   but that name sounds a little scary!   So, I decided to rename it!   Its good for pitch ins, was not too hard to make, and not too expensive… not to mention it’s full of good-for-you things!      2 cups broccoli (This was like a small head of broccoli)      2 cups cauliflower (small head) 1 cup red cabbage, chopped or shredded (I bought a small bad of pre-chopped red cabbage- much more cost and time efficient than buying and entire head for just a small bit) 1 cup carrots, shredded or chopped.   (2-3 carrots) 1-1/2 cups fresh parsley (A couple of handfuls)   2 celery stalks   ½ cup almonds (or a couple of handfuls)   1/2 cup sunflower seeds (a couple of handfuls)   1/3 cup organic raisins (a few small boxes)   3 Tbsp olive oil   ½ cup lemon juice (juice of a whole lemon.   A little lemon...

Bi-coastal Salsa Chop up these ingredients and put in a big bowl: 3 cloves garlic 3 green onions 1 small or ½ large red onion 1 small or 1 large Vidalia or sweet onion (1/2 jalepeno) 3-5 Tomatoes 1 green bell pepper 1 red bell pepper 1 orange bell pepper 1 yellow bell pepper (purple bell peppers are nice too, if available) ½ bunch chopped cilantro Mix together: 1-2 tbs red wine vinegar ¼ C lime juice (juice of 1 large  lime or two small ones) Grated lime peel Pepper ¼ tbs ground cumin 1 tsp oregano 1 tsp olive oil (or other salad oil of your choice) I adapted this recipe from two different salsa recipes.   One was from an LA Weigh Loss cook book, and another was from the South Beach cookbook… so, I named this “Bi-Coastal Salsa”! There is no cooking involved here, but the cutting can be tedious if it’s not your favorite thing to do. I like the peppers and onions to be chopped quite fine.   Putting them through a processor is a...

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert What you need:  at least a half of a bag of pretzels.  (I ususally use the small pretzel shaped ones), a stick of butter, 1 C and 3 Tbs of sugar (divided), 2 3-ox packages of strawberry jello, 2-8 oz tubs of cool whip, 2 C Water, 1-8 oz package of cream cheese, 1 pt of strawberries, cut and sweetened, or a package of frozen sweetened strawberries. Mix together: 2 C crushed pretzels ¾ C butter (or really, who are we kidding?   Just put the whole stick in!) 3 tbs sugar Press into 9x13 ungreased pan and bake at 350 for 10 min.   Let it cool completely. Meanwhile… Whip together (with a mixer) in medium bowl and set aside: 2 C whipped topping (basically this is a whole 8 oz tub of Cool Whip) 1 8 oz package cream cheese 1 C sugar Mix Together 2- 3 oz packages (or 1-6 oz) strawberry jello mix 2 C boiling water add 2 16 oz packages of frozen sweetened strawberries or 2 pints cut and sweetened strawberries Dissolv...

Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing Mix the following in a small food processor: 1/3 C Mayo ¼ C Milk 3 Tbs sugar (or Splenda) 4 tsp cider vinegar 2 tsp poppy seeds This is one of my new favorites!   It is perfect with a salad that has something sweet in it, like cranberries.

Summer Spinach Salad Dressing 2/3 cup sugar or Splenda 1/3 cup cider vinegar 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1 small onion, finely chopped (in the food processor) 4 teaspoons prepared mustard (I use Dijon or deli mustard) 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground pepper This was originally recorded in my recipe journal on July 10, 2004 and came from a Taste of Home magazine.   My mom used to work in a FACS department and would get all the old Taste of Home Magazines.   I would sit and peruse them for hours trying to find things that looked good to try to make! Since it is such a sweet dressing, it pairs nicely with spinach, fruit and nuts.

Simply Divine Italian Vinaigrette from Deb 1/2 C EVOO 4 TBS Red Wine Vinegar 1-2  Lemons, juiced 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed 2 tsp dried oregano salt and pepper to taste Blend in a small food processor or blender. I have to say, I made this once and forgot the lemon, and it was still super good. This was about 4-5 servings of dressing. I doubled the recipe she gave me.

How to make a wire ribbon angel. I learned how to make these from a Pinterest video, and I added my own touches.   These were very popular in the craft shows I did, and I plan on giving a lot away with Christmas presents.                           Supplies: This on was my favorite- with a jingle bell head and bow embellishment. 2-3 in wide wire ribbon (You can do this with other materials too, like burlap or paper, but let’s first stick with the wire ribbon!) Stapler (make sure it’s full of staples!) Glue gun and glue sticks Jingle bell, wooden ball or small ornament ball for head String for hanging Gold or silver cord for halo (no more than an inch and a half) Front embellishment-A bow, a small heart or star or jewel.   (To hide where the pieces are glued together)   The head for this one was a little craft embellishment ball. Instruction...