Slow Cooker Ratatouille

I can probably count on one hand how many times I have had eggplant in my life. I bought an eggplant at the store recently and then it sat for a few days on the kitchen counter. I knew I wanted to attempt to make ratatouille. Friday morning before the hubby left for work, I told him of my plans to make it in the slow cooker. To say he was a tad skeptical would be an understatement.  With a few clicks of a mouse on the computer, I found everything and anything I ever wanted to know about making this traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish. Last night, since we were planning on grilling salmon for dinner, I knew ratatouille would be an awesome side dish.  Both kids were around in the early evening and I wanted to spend time with them, so I took a few minutes to chop up the eggplant and zucchini and then tossed a bag of the Kroger brand frozen three-pepper and onion blend, a can of diced tomatoes, water, a can of tomato paste and some various spices into the slow cooker. After just two hours, it was done.  I had no idea how it would taste when I put a spoonful on the hubby's plate (I don't think he did either). Well, he gave it a 10 out of 10!! Yeah! FYI - if you can't find a 12-ounce bag of frozen three-pepper and onion blend, a 14-ounce bag would be fine too. Birdseye makes a "Recipe Ready" Tri Color Pepper and Onion blend that's really good - I've used it before :)

Ingredients

3 cups eggplant, skin on (cubed)
2 cups zucchini, skin on (cubed)
12-ounce bag frozen three-pepper and onion blend (any brand)
14.5 ounce can, diced and peeled tomatoes, no-salt, undrained (any brand)
6-ounce can tomato paste (any brand)
3/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon marjoram

On a cutting board, chop both the eggplant and zucchini into cubes. Put into a 2 1/2 quart slow cooker. Add the bag of frozen three-pepper and onion blend, tomatoes, tomato paste and water. Stir with a spoon until well combined. Add the garlic powder, black pepper, thyme, basil and marjoram. Stir well and then put the lid on. Turn on high for two hours. Stir before serving. Makes 4-6 servings.

Waldorf Salad

Do you know that the Waldorf Salad originated at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City? It was not created by a chef, but by a dining room manager named Oscar Tschirky over 100 years ago! The original recipe had mayonnaise, celery and red-skinned apples. Evidently, the addition of walnuts came later. I decided to change it up a bit and use Greek yogurt instead of mayo and use a tart apple, like a Granny Smith. Just for kicks, I looked up how much a night at the Waldorf-Astoria costs and also how much a plate of Waldorf Salad was at the Peacock Alley (one of the restaurants located on-site). I just about fell on the floor when I saw. The most inexpensive room for one night that I could find on kayak.com was $529.00 and a plate of Waldorf Salad was $19.00!! Good grief.  I don't know about you, but when we travel, we usually stay at a Comfort Inn and eat at Burger King. If you want to make this Waldorf Salad more "elegant," you can toss in a handful of mini marshmallows. That's what I did yesterday!!

Ingredients

Two 5.3 ounce containers Greek Yogurt (any brand)
1 cup celery, chopped
2 cups apples (like a Granny Smith), chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

In large bowl, put the yogurt.  Rinse and pat dry the celery and then chop into bite-sized pieces.  Remove the core and seeds of  2-3 small apples (leave the skin on), then chop into bite-sized pieces. Add the salt and walnuts. Stir well with large spoon and cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Chill for at least one hour. Stir before serving. Sprinkle additional walnuts on top if desired. Makes 6 one-half cup servings.

Cream Cheese Cookies

When we would visit my in-laws in Cleveland, somehow I always managed to end up in their kitchen.

When they visited us, my mother-in-law ended up in our kitchen.
 

After every meal, my mother-in-law would bring out her tin of homemade goodies, usually kolache and chocolate chip cookies. She and my father-in-law called it, "bakery." I was recently looking through the many newspaper and magazine clippings of recipes that my mother-in-law had saved and found a cream cheese cookie recipe. I love cream cheese, so I thought it was worth making! In the directions it said, "this grand, adaptable dough can be dropped by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet, put through a cookie press (if you're lucky enough to have one) or chilled until firm and then rolled with a rolling pin and cut with cookie cutters."  I love the part that talks about a cookie press and being lucky if you own one! When my "sous chef" saw me getting out the ingredients to make these last night, he came over to help me.  Since Dominic is still learning to crack an egg, I did the "separating" of the yolk from the white. I think he thought I was using some magic when I put just the yolk and not the white into one of the shells! Since I don't own a cookie press, we used the bottom of a drinking glass. Maybe I'll get "lucky" and the kids or the hubby will get me a cookie press for Mother's Day (hint, hint). These cookies are fine without frosting, but they are even better with it!

You can also make them a little bigger and add sprinkles - yummy!

 
Ingredients:

1 cup shortening
3 ounces cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups white flour

In large bowl, put the shortening and cream cheese. Mix well by hand with a large spoon or with electric mixer until fluffy. Next, add the sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix well again . Lastly, with a large spoon, add the flour, a half a cup at a time, until all the flour is well incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and put into the fridge for about a half hour. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray and set aside. Roll the dough into 2 1/2 dozen equal sized balls or if you prefer bigger cookies, then roll into 15 equal sized balls. Flatten with the bottom of  a drinking glass and sprinkle a little white sugar on top if desired. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges and the bottom of the cookies are starting to turn brown. Let them cool five minutes and the remove to wire rack to continue cooling.