Tammy's Recipes

Better late than never, this week's featured recipe is one I'm enjoying as we gather fresh lettuce from the garden... Vinegar and Oil Salad Dressing!

This is another of my mom's recipes, and I absolutely love fresh garden lettuce, tossed with this dressing! The dressing is flavorful, but light enough that I can eat bowl after bowl of lettuce. One batch makes about 10 tablespoons of dressing, which is plenty for a HUGE bowl of fresh lettuce (12 servings or more!). :)

Do you have a source for fresh garden lettuce this year? What's your favorite dressing to use? :)

This week's featured recipe is a quick and easy summer appetizer: Broiled Stuffed Pepper Wedges!

These bell pepper wedges are filled with a cream cheese and black olive mixture, topped with cheddar cheese, and broiled until hot and creamy. I love bell peppers (and cheese!) and thought these were delicious. They also look so colorful and beautiful, and yet take just minutes to prepare!

This recipe was submitted by a reader, Nichole. Thanks for sharing such a delicious appetizer with us, Nichole! It's a new favorite. :)

This week's featured recipe is simple and healthy: Italian Beef and Beans over Pasta!

Finely chopped carrots, celery, onions, and garlic, along with diced tomatoes, make a full and hearty sauce with ground beef and beans added. (I used black beans and red kidney beans for the food pictured above.) Served over pasta and topped with Parmesan cheese, this meal looks fancy and tastes delicious! :)

Thank you all for your patience! :) Part of the reason I was waiting to share my fabulous new pancake recipe was because I had been planning a week of posts and recipes involving kefir!

So, this week's featured recipe is Fluffy Kefir Pancakes, a simple but delicious breakfast made with kefir! If you don't have any kefir, it can be purchased (though it is expensive! --and be sure to get "real kefir" and not just "kefir", which could be watered-down yogurt sold at a premium!) or, I supposed you could make a substitution in the recipe (use half plain yogurt, half buttermilk, something like that... though I haven't tried it myself that way). :)

In the photo above, the Fluffy Kefir Pancakes are being served with homemade apple topping. They're also good plain, just with butter, or any variety of fruits, syrups, etc. :)

These kefir pancakes are amazingly fluffy and don't have the after-taste present in some pancake recipes. They're our new favorite! :)

Well, it's asparagus season in our part of the world, and we absolutely love fresh garden produce! It's especially nice when you have friends or relatives who grow too much for themselves, and decide to give some away. ;) Since we were married, it seems that each year, even when we weren't able to do any gardening ourselves, we were blessed with a variety of vegetables from others.

One of my favorite ways to eat asparagus is this simple pan-fried Asparagus and Onions dish! It takes just minutes to prepare the asparagus and onions, which are them seasoned and tossed in the pan until crisp-tender. We eat Asparagus and Onions more than any other asparagus recipe, because it is so easy and so yummy!!

I decided to feature this simple, delicious way to prepare asparagus as this week's "recipe of the week". Throughout the week, I plan to share a few more ways to enjoy asparagus, so stay tuned! :)

This week's featured recipe: Sweet, soft, delicious Challah! Our challah recipe was passed to us from Joshua's pastor/mentor's wife, Lynn E. I've been making it since the first Friday after we were married... I remember calling Lynn that morning and asking for her recipe. ;)

Challah is a delightful bread, and sweet, to remind us of the sweetness of the Sabbath day of rest. We pull pieces from the braid, and put butter on them.

Another tradition is to sprinkle salt on the piece of challah before eating it, to remind us of the sweat of the week's work. I think challah actually tastes good with a little salt. ;)

Last week, Kathleen B. commented,

I also made ... your challah, Tammy. The dough tastes great and I'm sure the bread will too! Do you make it every Friday? And where did you find that lovely cloth in the photo?

The challah cover in the photo (see the recipe) was a wedding gift from the pastor who performed our wedding ceremony. :)

I don't make challah every Friday. We get tired of it if we have it that often, especially if I make an entire batch (two large loaves!). We do love it, though, and have it frequently. Sometimes I make half the recipe. It's a special Sabbath treat! :)

This week's featured recipe is homemade apple pizza! This dessert pizza features a soft homemade pizza crust with a cream cheese spread and apple slices, topped with a crumb topping.

It's similar to the apple pizzas that some pizza restaurants sell, and makes a delicious treat! And if you've ever made homemade pizza before, this recipe won't be difficult for you. :)

This week's featured recipe is Deluxe Whole Wheat Strawberry Shortcake! This is the best whole wheat sponge cake I've ever had -- light and fluffy with a slightly crisp top and a great flavor.

While this cake is yummy all by itself, it's even better when topped with freshly whipped cream and sliced strawberries. We love this cake!

I'm actually planning to make one of these today, since I now have baking powder again. ;) Last time, I made a double batch and it didn't last long at all! Yehoshua and I like to snack on the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. ;)

(Photo courtesy of Dana)

This week's featured recipe was submitted by reader Dana for our Spring giveaway contest!

Caribbean Sweet Potato Salad is a really yummy, really different potato salad recipe! The colorful ingredients make it fun to eat, and if you're a fan of cilantro, you'll love the flavor! This is a great summer salad recipe that's easy to make (just lots of chopping!) and has a great unique flavor.

Personally, I love trying new things and this is an excellent recipe that I don't feel guilty about eating! Eliyahu loved this (without the peanuts, of course) but Joshua and Yehoshua don't care for fresh cilantro. That's okay with me, though -- I've already eaten almost two whole batches of this potato salad this week!

I'm definitely going to be making this Caribbean Sweet Potato Salad many more times in the future! I wrote a detailed review on the recipe page, and there are more photos there, as well. You can also see Dana's post about her recipe on her blog!

Thanks for a great new taste in potato salad, Dana! :)

I'm so excited about this week's featured recipe! For the Spring recipe contest a couple weeks back, Brandy N. submitted a recipe for Apple Cheese Pancakes. I love apples and cottage cheese, so a pancake recipe that combined the two sounded great.

I also realized that these Apple Cheese Pancakes didn't call for any leavening agent (yeast, baking soda, or baking powder), meaning we could eat them during the feast of Unleavened Bread!

So, we tried them. And they taste as good as they look! We'll be making these again. Thanks for the great recipe, Brandy! :)

This week's featured recipe is our homemade Cheez-It taste-alikes: Herb Cheese Dollars!

These round, unleavened crackers are spicy and cheezy -- and made from scratch with natural ingredients. Since they're thicker than a dry, crispy cracker, they aren't quite as crunchy. They do, however, have the same cheese flavor, and make for a yummy snack!

Another delicious way to eat these Herb Cheese Dollars is to top each disc with some pizza sauce, a slice of pepperoni, and some shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake at 375 degrees until cheese is browned, and you have tasty homemade "pizza bites"!

This week's recipe of the week is a delicious, easy Broccoli and Cheese Mina. Don't know what a "mina" is? That's okay! I'll describe it, and you can refer to the photo above, too. ;)

A mina is baked on a sheet in the oven. It's something like a casserole or pie. Or even a pizza... with crust on the bottom and top. Anyway...

First, there is a layer of unleavened bread (matzos) on the bottom. Toppings are sprinkled; in this case, there's fresh steamed broccoli and onions, shredded cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, and green onions. Beaten egg is poured over the toppings.

Then, a second layer of matzos is placed over the toppings. More egg, some garlic, and dots of butter. Then it's time to bake the mina!

This is one (huge!) serving of the Broccoli and Cheese Mina, after it was baked. It bakes into a delicious thin casserole. It's so delicious, so easy, and very unleavened. ;)

Whether or not you're observing the feast of Passover, I encourage you to get a box of matzos and try this recipe!! :)

More yummy Passover recipes, coming this week and next. Stay tuned! :)

This week's featured recipe is a delicious Shepherd's Pie, featuring beef, mixed veggies, mashed potatoes, and cheddar cheese.

Although Shepherd's Pie is a simple meal, it is one of my favorite casseroles, and I purposely often make extra mashed potatoes so I have leftovers to use in this recipe. :)

This Shepherd's Pie is the ultimate dish for using up leftovers! I also freeze leftover meat or veggies, and then when I have everything for the recipe, thaw and layer it according to the instructions. Using leftover ingredients drastically reduces the preparation time for this recipe!

This week's featured recipe is a delicious baked pasta dish, submitted by my aunt, Teresa F. of Ohio!

Spinach Manicotti is a from-scratch spinach filling with parmesan and ricotta cheeses, stuffed inside manicotti. A cheesy homemade white sauce is poured over the filled pasta before it is baked.

The result? A fabulous, addicting casserole. I generally enjoy pasta dishes, and this one is a real treat. The filling and pasta combination reminds me of a three-cheese-spinach ravioli, and the sauce adds flavor and creamy-ness. Yum! :)

This week's featured recipe is a delicious breakfast created by my husband, Joshua. Cinnamon Apple French Toast is one of our new favorites!

We like to use wheat bread for a hearty french toast, and the homemade cinnamon apple topping is just sweet enough (though definitely not as sweet as syrup!!). This Cinnamon Apple French Toast is much healthier than apple pie or doughnuts, but will still satisfy those who have a breakfast sweet tooth. ;)

This week's featured recipe: Simple Beef Gravy Supper!

From my review:

This is my last-minute, out-of-inspiration, no-groceries, no-menu-plan, no-time meal saver! It's quick to make, cheap to make (especially if you have some meat in the freezer from the last sale), and we love the taste.

Last time I made this, Joshua said, "You know, this is really a good meal. You should put it on your website." So, here it is! It's nothing fancy, but it has saved my day more than once. :)

This week's featured recipe is completely sugar-y and unhealthy, but oh SO yummy! I have been trying to feature a variety of foods as "recipe of the week", and so in the interest of variety, I'm choosing Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares this week. If you're on a diet, tune in next week for something a little more wholesome. ;)

I love Reese's peanut butter cups, and these Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares are the perfect homemade version! This stove-top dessert (or candy!) is extremely easy to make and tastes fabulous.

These squares freeze well, so you can enjoy them slowly. Mine never last long, even when I've frozen them, because I keep craving them until they're gone! However, I will never have to crave Reese's peanut butter cups again, because I can just make some Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares! :D

This week's recipe of the week is Chicken Lasagna, a white lasagna with chicken, mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, and a creamy homemade white sauce. I created this recipe a couple years ago, when I wanted a white lasagna but didn't have a recipe for one. This is a nice change from regular lasagna (which I also like!) and is fun to make. :)

This week's featured recipe is a nutritious homemade dessert: Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies!

These cookies are simple to make and include whole wheat flour and oatmeal. Honey is the main sweetener, along with some molasses which gives a beautiful dark color. I like chocolate chips in mine, although there are a number of optional ingredients you can choose from. I love these cookies because I don't feel guilty about allowing my little children to eat them. :)

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies cookies have a soft, slightly fluffy texture, and aren't crisp or greasy. They can be either dropped by spoonfuls or rolled into balls before baking. This is a great "healthy" cookie recipe!

This week's featured recipe is a quick and simple one: Homemade white nacho cheese sauce.

This flavorful white nacho cheese sauce is made from Monterey Jack cheese, cream, and chopped chili peppers. The amount of peppers can be adjusted to taste -- we like ours spicy! There's a little diced tomato for some added color and flavor. This is a great homemade white nacho cheese sauce recipe! We love the real-cheese taste. :)

If you prefer yellow/orange nacho cheese sauce, we have a homemade "regular" nacho cheese sauce recipe that Joshua created some time ago. It's really just as good, in my opinion! :)