Grilled Pork Skewers with Peanut-Basil Sauce

20-30 fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup peanut butter*

3/4 cup coconut milk

2 tbls. soy sauce, more to taste

1 clove garlic, peeled (you know I put more than that in ;-)

1-inch long piece of ginger, peeled

1/2 tsp. red chile flakes

juice of one lime (I used about 1/4 cup lime juice from the bottle)

1/4 tsp salt

1 pound boneless pork shoulder or loin

Marinade: In blender, combine everything but the pork and pro

cess until mixture forms a smooth paste. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. (Note: Mixture should be salty, spicy, and hot.)

Set aside 1/2 cup to use as dipping sauce.

To marinate pork: Slice pork into 1-inch cubes. Toss with remaining marinade until well coated. Thread meat onto skewers, without crowding.

To cook pork: Heat grill, grill pan, or broiler until quite hot. Cook pork, turning once, for 5-8 minutes or until brown all over.

Serve with reserved marinade. Garnish with lime wedges.

MY NOTES: We all loved the flavor of this recipe!

• I couldn't really taste the coconut milk, but it's thickness added to the consistency of the sauce. A substitute could be used if it didn't thin the marinade too much.
• I had a little over a pound of pork roast and really there was enough sauce that I could've doubled that - maybe more.
• The only down side of this recipe is that the combination of the basil and peanut butter makes the sauce a weird tannish-green color.

*It says "preferable chunky" but I'm not sure why since it all gets blended anyway.

Apple Cake

2 cups sugar
2/3 cup oil
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
4 cups of peeled, coarsely chopped apples
1 ½ tsp. baking soda

Beat oil, sugar, vanilla and eggs together. In a separate bowl, mix flour with salt, soda and soda. Blend this with the first mixture. Stir in apples. This is a very thick batter. Spoon into a greased and floured 9 X 13 pan.

Topping
¾ c flour
½ c brown sugar
1/3 cup butter
Mix flour and brown sugar, cut in butter until you have pea-sized crumbs.

Sprinkle topping on the batter and bake at 325 for 1 ¼ hours.

NOTES: I've also used unpeeled apples. This recipe is a family favorite that I've been using for years. Yum!

Grandpa's Frozen Corn

3 cups water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup butter

10 cups blanched corn kernals (removed from the cobs)

Boil three minutes and cool. Package for freezing.

Yum!

Chicken Piccata

1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
2 eggs
6 tbls. lemon juice, divided
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 c butter
2 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
1 c water

Combine flour, garlic powder and paprika; set aside. In another bowl beat eggs and 2 tbsp. lemon juice. Dip chicken in egg mixture, then coat with flour mixture.
In a large skillet, brown chicken on both sides in butter over med.-high heat. Combine bouillon, water and remaining lemon juice; pour over chicken. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until juices run clear.

Yield: 4 servings.

NOTES: Good and moist. This time I used a Famous Dave's chicken spice blend which was also good.

Pesto Biscuits

2 cups flour

1 tbls. sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 c shortening

1/2 c milk

1/4 c basil pesto

Sprinkle with grated Parmesan before baking.

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients and cut in shortening and pesto until misture looks like fine crumbs.
3. Stir in the milk until dough leaves the side of bowl. (dough will be soft and sticky)
4. Place dough on a lightly floured surfacce. Knead lightly 10 times and roll to 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a biscuit cutter.
5. Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Good with Italian Wedding Soup!

Italian Wedding Soup

1 whole chicken
1 c. carrots, chopped *
1 c. celery, chopped
1 sm. onion, diced
Seasoned with 4-6 minced garlic cloves, 2 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. pepper, 1 tsp. basil, 1 tbls. parsley flakes, and 1/4 cup chicken soup base. (all are approximate – season to taste)
2 pkgs. chopped frozen spinach, thawed & well drained
1 (1 lb.) pkg. acini di pepe, cooled & drained OR ORZO
Meatballs (see below)

Clean chicken and put in pot with 8 quarts of water; simmer for 1 hour or until chicken is cooked and remove to cool enough to handle, remove meat from skin and bones. Add carrots, celery and onion to broth and cook. In the meantime, cut meat into bite-sized pieces and make meatballs.

MEATBALLS FOR ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP:
1 1/2 lbs. ground round
Salt & pepper to taste
1/4 c. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (or more)
1 c. bread crumbs
1 or 2 eggs (to create a moist but not runny)
Combine ingredients and make small meatballs (about 1/2 - 3/4 inch). Brown meatballs in a skillet. Drain and add meatballs to soup.

Add meatballs and simmer for another 30 minutes. Add spinach and chicken and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with acini di pepe and grated Parmesan cheese.

NOTES:
This soup is EXCELLENT! Everyone loved it!
The original recipe called for 1 pkg. 6 to 8 chicken wings + 2 chicken breasts. That would also be fine, but only using boneless chicken isn't a great substitute in any chicken soup recipe.
I usually add the pasta directly to the soup and then regret it when it all turns to hotdish the next day. It's better to keep the pasta separate and just add it to each bowl as it's served. (It just sucks up too darned much moisture as it sits around.)
*I almost always add more veggies than a soup recipe calls for. It's just nice to have more stuff in it, but you be the judge.

Honey Barbecue "Wings" with Blue Cheese Dressing

Serves 3-4.

• 2 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (approx. 1"x 1"x 3")
• 1 1/2 c. buttermilk (or enough to cover chicken pieces)
• 2 T. salt
• 1 c. flour

Combine salt and buttermilk in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add chicken pieces and allow to soak for about 1 hr.

Heat 1/2" of vegetable oil in a deep skillet or saucepan for about 5 minutes over medium heat. In a shallow dish or ziplock bag, combine flour and a dash each of cayenne, oregano, parsley, and thyme. Dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture and fry until browned, turning once. Remove chicken pieces and drain on paper towels.

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 T molasses
• 1-1/2 T ketchup
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• 1-1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• 1-1/2 tsp meat tenderizer
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp dried oregano
• 1/8 tsp minced garlic
• 2 T steak sauce
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1-1/2 tsp prepared mustard
• 3/4 cup brown sugar

Combine glaze ingredients. Melt 1 stick of butter in a 9x13" baking dish. Stir in glaze. Add chicken pieces, toss to coat, and arrange in a single layer. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes, turning chicken pieces halfway through baking. If desired, serve with blue cheese dressing, below.

Blue cheese dressing:

• 2 1/2 ounces blue cheese
• 3 tablespoons buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Mash blue cheese and buttermilk together with a fork until mixture resembles large-curd cottage cheese. Stir in remaining ingredients. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Notes: I'm somewhat torn; the glaze was flavorful enough that the dressing was really superfluous, but it was such a good dressing recipe that I found myself eating quite a bit of it, anyway.