Thursday, August 21, 2008

Strawberry Pretzel Squares


Strawberry Pretzel Squares


Prep Time:
25 min
Total Time:
4 hr 55 min
Makes:
20 servings, one square each
2 cups finely crushed pretzels
1/2 cup sugar, divided
2/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1-1/2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. milk
1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
2 cups boiling water
1 pkg. (8-serving size) JELL-O Brand Strawberry Flavor Gelatin
1-1/2 cups cold water
1 qt. (4 cups) strawberries, sliced

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Mix pretzel crumbs, 1/4 cup of the sugar and the butter. Press onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake 10 min. Cool.

BEAT cream cheese, remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the milk until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spread over crust. Refrigerate until ready to use.

MEANWHILE, stir boiling water into dry gelatin mix in large bowl at least 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Refrigerate 1-1/2 hours or until thickened (spoon drawn through leaves definite impression). Stir in strawberries. Spoon over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Cut into squares to serve. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

7-Layer Mexican Dip



7-Layer Mexican Dip

**SUSAN'S NOTE: I modified this recipe from the link above, by omitting the olives and adding a layer of refried beans at the bottom. YUM.


Prep Time:
10 min
Total Time:
3 hr 10 min
Makes:
32 servings, 2 Tbsp. each
1 cup canned refried beans
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 Tbsp. Taco Seasoning Mix
1 cup guacamole (I USED WHOLLY GUACAMOLE FROM WEGMANS PRODUCE SECTION)
1 cup Thick 'N Chunky Salsa
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup chopped green onions


Spread beans onto bottom of 9 inch pie plate or quiche dish.
MIX cream cheese and seasoning mix until well blended. Spread on top of beans.
LAYER remaining ingredients over cream cheese mixture; cover. Refrigerate several hours or until chilled.

SERVE with tortilla chips.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Blueberry Peach Galettes


Blueberry Peach Galettes

The recipe makes two galettes, so guests can have a piece for dessert and one to take home. If you use fresh peaches, a lot of juice will ooze out, but it won't ruin your crust.

Ingredients

1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
6 cups fresh or frozen peeled and sliced peaches, thawed
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons apricot preserves, melted and divided
1 tablespoon turbinado or granulated sugar

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°.

Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Roll 1 dough portion into a 12-inch circle; place on foil. Combine peaches, blueberries, and 1/4 cup sugar. Arrange half of peach mixture in center of dough, leaving a 3-inch border. Fold edges of dough toward center, pressing gently to seal (dough will only partially cover peach mixture). Brush half of melted preserves over peach mixture and edges of dough.

Bake at 425° for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° (do not remove galette from oven); bake an additional 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Repeat procedure with remaining dough, peach mixture, and preserves. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature. Cut each galette into 8 wedges.
Yield

2 galettes, 16 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)
Nutritional Information

CALORIES 232(29% from fat); FAT 7.6g (sat 1.9g,mono 3.3g,poly 2g); IRON 1mg; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40.6g; SODIUM 124mg; PROTEIN 2.1g; FIBER 2.8g

Tomato, Corn, and Avocado Salad


Tomato, Corn, and Avocado Salad

Nothing compares to the juiciness of summer tomatoes. Go beyond the expected with this showstopping salad.

Prep: 10 minutes
Total: 10 minutes
Ingredients

Serves 4

* 1 ear corn (husk and silk removed; tip cut off)
* 2 pints cherry, grape, or pear tomatoes, halved (or quartered if large)
* 1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced
* 2 scallions, thinly sliced
* 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, such as safflower
* Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

1. Stand ear in a large wide bowl; with a sharp knife, carefully slice downward to release the kernels. Discard cob. Add tomatoes, avocado, scallions, lime juice, and oil to bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and toss gently to combine.

Watermelon Mango Salad (courtesy S. Blann)



Watermelon/Mango Salad

1/2 seedless watermelon balled with melon baller
1 ripe mango balled with melon baller

Whisk 2 tbls extra-virgin olive oil, juice of 1 lemon, 1 tbls balsamic
vinigarette, 2 tsp honey, 1/4 tsp fine sea salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and pour over
fruit.

Dice 7 leaves Basil and 6 mint and stir entire mixture. Chill.