Cooking Up Cottage

Author: Lisa

Caprese Salad

I love this salad! And if you love tomatoes, you will too. It is so easy to make, and It is a great way for me to use the basil I am growing in my herb garden, which happens to be next to my back door. If you didn’t grow any herbs this year, I highly recommend adding them to your gardening plans for next year. In my garden I planted thyme, basil, oregano, chives, rosemary, mint, and cilantro. I mixed three to four plants in each planter. Then I enjoyed watching them grow. They are easy to cut for recipes and it is very convenient having them close to my back door. For this recipe I cut some of the basil to make this fresh and delicious salad.

My cat Mr. Big wanted to get in the picture.

Now get out some tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese and let’s get started.

Begin with a bowl of cherry tomatoes I used around 50 (16 oz. container) that you have rinsed.

Add in 8 oz. of fresh mozzarella pearls and break them apart.

Mix them together and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Then wash a few pieces of basil and add them to the salad.Now you can set the salad to the side and start making the dressing. Mix 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar and 1/4 cup of olive oil in a bowl.

After mixing the balsamic vinegar and the olive oil in a bowl, you can garnish each serving with the desired amount of dressing.

Now you have a fresh and light salad to enjoy this summer.

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September 4, 2014
Cherry Topped Cheese Dessert

Who loves cheesecake, but doesn’t have the time to make a cheesecake? That describes me in a nutshell. That’s why I love the recipe for Cherry Topped Cheese Dessert. It has all of the flavor of a cheesecake with half of the work. This is a no-bake recipe so it is perfect for this part of the summer when you don’t want to heat up your kitchen. It is a light fluffy dessert with a yummy graham cracker crust. I served this as dessert at the same garden party where I served Old-Fashioned Potato Salad and Easy Sloppy Joes. My guests loved it so much that we only had one piece of left! It is the perfect end to any meal. So let’s get our graham crackers out and get started.

First we start by making our graham cracker crust. Put 14 full graham crackers in a bag (half of a box of graham crackers) and close the bag tightly. Now roll your rolling pin over it so that the graham crackers are fully crushed.

Once they are crushed, you can put them in a bowl and mix them with 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of melted butter.

After they are mixed, spread them in the bottom of a 9 x 13 cake pan. Now put the cake pan in the freezer for at least 4 hours to allow it time to set.

After the crust is set, you can start mixing up the filling. Make sure you thaw the Cool Whip in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before you begin the recipe. If you don’t have the Cool Whip thawed out ahead of time, you won’t be able to make this dessert. The next thing you need to do is make sure your cream cheese is softened. Set it on the counter for 30 minutes so it will be easy to mix.

In a bowl cream the sugar and cream cheese.

Once that is combined, you can fold in the cool whip until it is mixed.

Now you can get your graham cracker crust out of the freezer and layer the cool whip mixture on top.

Then take your cherry pie filling and layer it on top of the cool whip.

Now you can put the dessert in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours to let it set up. And that’s it! You have an easy dessert that tastes like cheese cake and you didn’t have to slave away in the kitchen for hours; however, you can always pretend that you did. Enjoy!

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August 29, 2014
Easy Sloppy Joes

Who loves sloppy joes? Me! Me! Me! I love sloppy joes! For a long time I have been trying to create a recipe that tasted like the sloppy joes I remember from my school days, and I finally have it. This recipe has that yummy tomato taste that I love. I made these sloppy joes for my garden party where I served my Old-Fashioned Potato Salad. I served a double batch and I could have used more, because every morsel was eaten. So if you have some hamburger thawing in your refrigerator and you’re not sure what you are going to make, I recommend cooking up my Easy Sloppy Joes. They are simple to make and they are awesome!

Here’s a picture of most of the ingredients you will need. The only ingredients not pictured are the water and the hamburger.

Start by chopping your onion into small pieces. Next brown your 2 pounds of hamburger and onion in a pan together. Season your hamburger with salt and pepper.

While the meat is browning, you can mix up the sauce. In a bowl mix your 6 oz. tomato paste, 3/4 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and 2 tablespoons brown sugar.

Once your hamburger is browned, drain off any grease in the pan. Then pour your sauce into the pan and mix the meat and the sauce together. Simmer the mixture on medium heat for 15 minutes until it is all warmed up and the flavors will mixed together.

Now get out your hamburger buns out and fill them with this tasty mixture. If you close your eyes while you eat these sloppy joes, you may even feel like you are back in your elementary school lunchroom.

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August 24, 2014
Old-Fashioned Potato Salad

Do you have a favorite salad recipe? Maybe it’s apple salad, maybe coleslaw, maybe some green fluff salad you don’t know the name of. As I look back on my childhood, I remember having an amazing potato salad that was one of my favorites. It has that yummy, tangy flavor that I love! Last week I decided to use my mom’s Old-Fashioned Potato Salad recipe for my garden party. It was a hit! This recipe makes a large batch, which served 22 people. By the end of the party it was all gone; everybody loved it! So it’s time to make an incredible side dish for your next BBQ and to do away with the idea of just buying that small container of potato salad at the store that nobody’s really going to eat.

You will need 5 pounds of potatoes, 1 dozen eggs, 1 (30 oz.) jar of Miracle Whip, mustard, 1 small onion, sugar, salt, and pepper.

Start by peeling your potatoes and cutting them in half so they are ready to boil.

Then put your potatoes in a pot filled with water. Add a sprinkling of salt to the water. Then once the water starts to boil, let them cook for 15 minutes. After boiling the potatoes, drain them and set them to the side to cool.

Now you can hard boil your eggs. Put the 12 eggs in a pot and cover them with water. Bring the eggs to a boil on the stovetop. Once they have started to boil, pull the pan off of the stove and put a lid on the pan. Then let the eggs sit on the counter covered for 20 minutes. When the 20 minutes is up, you can run them under cold water and peel off the egg shells.

After the potatoes and eggs have cooled down, chill them in the refrigerator. While the potatoes and eggs are cooling down in the refrigerator, you can dice your onion in small pieces.

Next you can take your potatoes and eggs out of the refrigerator and you can chop them up into bite sized pieces. Start with the potatoes.

Then chop the eggs into bite sized pieces.

Now mix the potatoes, eggs, and onions in a large bowl.

Finally you can mix your dressing in a bowl. Take your (30 oz.) jar of Miracle Whip and scoop it into the bowl. Yes this recipe calls for Miracle Whip, not mayonnaise. Do not substitute mayonnaise because it will have a different taste.

Now add your 1/4 cup mustard, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Now pour the dressing over your chopped potatoes, eggs, and onions.

Mix together. Now you can chill it in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Bring it to your next BBQ or serve it with supper. Get ready to have people ask you for the recipe!

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August 16, 2014