Cut up 3-4 kinds of fresh fruit. Include some berries if they are in season, and work for color variety. Over the bowl of fruit, sprinkle at least 1/4 c. of:

powdered sugar

Toss together until the sugar dissolves. Not kidding. That’s it. Keeps the fruit from turning brown, and the sugar thickens the natural juices just enough. Add a squeeze of lime if you want to.

Bruce’s dad used to make these whenever we had a party at our house. We would have invited him anyway. Now Bruce makes them to munch on during football games and movies. They also work well for a college student’s care package – pack them into ziplocs and tuck into those hard to fill spaces in the box. A batch never lasts more than 48 hours at our house.

2 tsp. dried dillweed
2 tsp. seasoned salt
1 dash garlic powder
1 package Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix (powdered)
3/4 c. oil
two 10 oz. packages oyster crackers.

Whisk together all the seasonings and the oil, and pour over the oyster crackers in a large bowl. Stir to coat evenly. Let sit one hour to let crackers absorb all the flavors (this is the hard part). Store in tightly covered container. We use a big Ziploc bag.

Here’s another recipe adapted from my El Torito days. This is supposed to be an appetizer, but it makes a nice lunch. This is the real deal. Read to the end for the cheap and easy version.

Make a Ranchera Sauce … make a big pot of this and freeze it in quart containers. It’s the backbone of just about every good Mexican dish. This recipe makes about a quart; adjust quantities as desired.

Cook a chopped or sliced onion and some minced garlic in a little oil. Add 3-4 chopped chile peppers (Serrano are good). Add chopped celery and green pepper if you want to, but don’t feel like you have to. Add 4-6 chopped fresh tomatoes, skins and all, or 2 cans diced tomatoes (with or without added chiles). Throw in a cinnamon stick and about a tablespoon of ground cumin. Cook down over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened slightly – it should be more soupy than spaghetti sauce. Simmer over low heat another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove cinnamon stick. Pack into containers, label, and freeze. Thaw as needed.

For the con queso…

In a small saucepan, combine 2 c. Ranchera Sauce and bring to a simmer. Add a large handful grated cheddar/Monterrey Jack cheese. Stir over low heat just until the cheese melts. Do not boil. Pour into a heatproof bowl and sprinkle some chopped green onion and tomato over the top. Serve with warm tortilla chips.

College kid’s quick and easy version. Open a can of diced tomatoes with chiles and pour into a microwave-safe bowl. Add the grated cheese and nuke on high for 2 minutes, stir, then nuke one minute more. Open a bag of chips.

Crockpot party version: you guessed it. Rotel tomatoes and Velveeta. But honestly, once you’ve had the real thing, this will never taste as good.

If you cut them into 32 small squares, each one has 7 grams of fat and 180 calories (the math whiz in our family figured it out for me a long time ago). I just say that right up front so you can stop reading now if you’re counting those things. I’ve never seen anyone eat “just one.”

With a mixer, beat together:
one package chocolate cake mix
one stick of butter
one egg

Beat until you have a very stiff dough – don’t stop when it gets to the “little pebbles” stage. Press into a greased 9×13 pan. Don’t bother to wash the bowl or beaters.

OPTION: spread a layer of chocolate chips over the dough.

In the same bowl, beat together:
8 oz. cream cheese
3 – 3/4 cups powdered sugar
2 eggs

Pour this mixture over the chocolate layer. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees. Cut into small squares while still warm.

Lenora Larson is an amazing woman who lives on a butterfly farm just outside Paola, Kansas. If you google her, you may find articles she has written about butterflies, raising goats (the name of the place is Long Lips Farm, because Nubian goats are a long-lipped variety), and microbiology, as well as medical marketing. She’s a true renaissance woman, and I think fond thoughts of her every time I make these bars.

It’s a cool and cloudy day in Minnesota – time to fire up the oven (or the Crock Pot!) for this Taylor household favorite, adapted from Meatless Main Dishes. I always make a bigger batch so we can have leftovers, which can be eaten cold for lunch the next day, or packed into bell peppers or acorn squash halves and baked (add a little more Swiss cheese to the top)… possibilities abound. Cut everything in half if you are cooking for just one or two.

4 c. chicken or vegetable broth
1 1/2 c dry lentils
1 onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 c brown rice
1/2 dry white wine (or some other flavorful liquid – sometimes I just add more broth with maybe a touch of cider vinegar or wine vinegar)
8 oz Swiss cheese, shredded or just chopped into small cubes – I mean, you already have the knife dirty from the onions, right? Who wants to wash a grater if you don’t have to?
at least a tsp of each of the following dried herbs, crushed with a mortar and pestle:
basil
oregano
thyme
cracked pepper (and a pinch of salt)
4 oz Swiss cheese cut into strips for garnish

Combine everything except the cheese garnish strips in a large casserole. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Remove lid and give a little stir after about an hour. If it’s still pretty runny, leave the lid off. Otherwise, keep baking for up to two hours, until all the liquid is absorbed and the lentils are tender. Uncover for the last 5 minutes, and arrange the cheese strips over the top to melt in a lovely pattern. If you have any fresh herbs to sprinkle over the top, that’s nice too. Serve with your favorite green salad.

This travels well to potlucks, and we always get asked for the recipe.  It works in a slow cooker, and doubles easily.

This is the perfect al fresco meal to serve friends – just add a salad and some good wine. Linda finished off the meal with Bosc pears poached in wine, but fresh fruit or a little sorbet would work just as nicely.

Butter Bread Dough (for the crust)

2 c flour
2/3 c lukewarm water
1 1/2 tsp. yeast
6 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp salt

Mix the salt into the flour in a medium bowl, and make a well in the flour. Add the warm water and sprinkle the yeast over it. Let stand until the yeast bubbles the dough. Stir together with a fork, adding in the melted butter, until a dough forms. Knead for a few minutes and immediately roll out (approximately 12 x 9 inches) to fit easily onto a cookie sheet, pinching the edges up a bit.

Filling:

4 Tbsp butter
8 small to medium (or 4-5 large) leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned and cut into chunks (NOTE: I think Linda got this recipe from a friend in France. They apparently grow smaller leeks over there. Two-three large leeks from an American grocery store are enough.)
1 c heavy cream
Salt and pepper
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 c chopped walnuts

Heat the butter in a large skillet, add the leeks and saute until soft. Add the cream and cook until well reduced, stirring often. Season with salt and pepper.
Spread the leek mixture over the bread dough and dot with the goat cheese and chopped nuts. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven until golden (about 20 minutes) and serve sprinkled with coarsely cracked pepper.

Honestly, just reading through this recipe again made me want to go preheat the oven and run to the store for some heavy cream and leeks, so this is what I made for Valentine’s dinner this year.  It’s good cold, too, if you can manage to have any left over for lunch the next day.

Named for the sound it makes when you slap a big spoonful on your plate, this is the perfect one-pan meal for a college student who’s tired of eating Ramen noodles every night. If you aren’t a college student, you can add a salad.

One box macaroni and cheese dinner
Milk and butter, per package directions
One can tuna (water-packed)
1-2 c. frozen mixed vegetables

Cook the macaroni in a pan of boiling water, and throw the veggies into the cooking water with the macaroni. When the pasta is al dente, drain into a colander in the sink (clean out the sink, first, duh). Melt 1/2 stick butter or margarine, and stir in the cheese packet from the mac’n’cheese box to make a nice roux. Slowly stir in some milk to make the sauce. Add the can of tuna (you don’t have to drain it unless you want to), and stir in the macaroni and veggies. If it seems a little thick, splash in a little more milk, and stir until all ingredients are well blended and the sauce is bubbly – about 30 seconds. Add pepper to taste. Eat.

True story: MONTHS after returning home from college, our son got a text message from his former roommate. “Dude. When do you add the tuna to the glop?” Our son replied with the necessary information, to which his roommate responded, “Lovely.” That kid now works for Ernst and Young. Our son now works for Wells Fargo.  They both still eat tuna glop, I’m pretty sure.