Lime Chess Bars

You can look all over the Internet and find hundreds of recipes for chess pies, but I've never seen one that was specifically for lime. Sometimes, a girl just wants lime! What I REALLY wanted was a Key Lime pie, but, alas, didn't have all the ingredients for that.. so I says to mom, I says.. "Don't ya 'spose we could make the chess pie, but with lime juice instead of lemon, and maybe it would be pretty darn close?" She, being just as adventurous as I, says sure! So, we took a pretty bare basics chess recipe, added our own special twist to it, and I tell ya... it smells FANFREAKINGTASTIC in here! (this is probably where I should mention that we also don't use pie crusts, cuz we like just eating the pie! But don't worry, this is not one of those oooky sweet ones, so it's okay to not have the crust to balance it out!) Enjoy!





Lime Chess Bars
preheat oven to 350
spray non-stick spray in 8 or 9 in pan


1c sugar
1/2c butter, melted
2tbsp flour
3tbsp lime juice
1tsp vanilla
1tbsp cider vinegar
3 large eggs

beat eggs by hand until lemon colored and frothy. add in flour, sugar and vinegar and mix just enough to incorporate. add butter, vanilla and lime juice and mix just enough. pour into baking pan and bake for 45 minutes. will brown and rise while baking, but will fall when cooling. cut into bars

Spinach Salad.. also with a twist?I

So Holly says this is a super good salad, and mom likes it a lot too, but it's all new to me. Now, having tasted it, I have to agree.. SUPER good! I genuinely love spinach, pears, feta and pecans.. so it just works. I'm sure there are other ingredients you could use, just play around with some until you get just the right combo, but this one is delicious!

Spinach Pear Salad

1 pkg fresh baby spinach

2 cans sliced pears in light syrup

1 c chopped pecans

1/2 c crumbled feta cheese

1 tsp oil

in med skillet over med heat, add oil and pears. saute until just golden brown. take pears out of skillet and add pecans. while pecans are caramelizing, slice pear pieces into bite-size chunks. once pecans are toasted and caramelized, remove and add to pears. let cool a bit. place spinach in salad bowl, add pear mixture and toss. sprinkle feta and blend before serving.

P.S. you can use some of the pear syrup for a 'dressing' over the salad, but what mom and I used was a tbsp mayo and a tsp or so of lime juice. We also let the spinach wilt a bit in the pan after removing the pecans. Just makes it easier to eat, but it would be far prettier for serving if you just leave the spinach alone! This turns out to be a really cool, easy summer dinner. Took maybe 20 minutes from fridge to table. :) Enjoy, and make it e-Sally!

Savory Baked Apples?!?! NO WAY!

I assure you, these are not the baked apples you may remember from your childhood. And it may sound totally wacky to you, but trust me, this makes a delicious dinner, or lovely side dish to a hearty baked chicken. I'm all about testing new waters (as I'm sure you are aware, if you've read any of my other postings, right?) so it didn't even faze me when mom suggested I try to make this one for us. It was soooo good to me, but she and my sister, Holly, weren't nearly as impressed as I was. Apparently, it really does matter what apples you buy, and just how you put it all together.. whatever, learning experience! hehe I can just see your faces out there wondering how on earth this combo of ingredients will work together to create something edible, but I promise it does, and it's soooooo worth it! Try it once, and you'll be hooked! (don't worry, I'm giving you all the pointers Holly and mom gave me to do it right! hehe)

Savory Baked Apples

1 small Fuji or Gala apple per person, halved and cored (with melon baller, if you have one)
nickel size dollop yellow mustard for each half apple
1/8 tsp thyme per half apple
non-stick spray for pan
9X13 pan for baking


spray non-stick spray in pan, place apples cut side up in pan and squirt mustard on each one. spread around all of open part of apple with back of teaspoon. sprinkle with thyme and bake at 400 for 40 minutes or until apples are slumped.

That's it! Easy breezy and yummy! I hope you really do enjoy, because this is the right way to do it! lol Let me know what you think, please!

Potato Salad with a Twist!

So I took a week off.. sorry about that. But I've been cooking and now I'm here to share some of my conquests with you once again! Potato salad is something that mom craves a lot, so I found some good looking taters on sale and bought a whole bag! I had every intention of just making plain ol' salad, but we got to thinking, and this is what we came up with! Try it if it sounds good to you and let me know what you think.. and if it doesn't sound good to you, you should make it anyway.. it's summertime! There is no better time for tater salad, people!!! ;)

Potato Salad

4 servings

4 medium russet potatoes

2 tbsp mayo

1 tbsp yellow mustard

1 tbsp Dijon (or other spicy) mustard

1 green onion

2 hand fulls raisins

salt/pepper/garlic to taste

2-4 hard boiled eggs (optional, and depending on how much egg you like)

boil potatoes until desired tenderness. remove from water and add eggs to that water and bring back to boil. once at rolling boil, cover, turn off heat and let sit for twenty minutes. I promise, they will be perfectly boiled! while eggs are cooking, peal potatoes if you like, but we prefer with skins on! dice into bite size pieces and add to bowl. add mayo, mustards and seasonings. add diced green onion and raisins and stir together. once eggs have cooled, peel, dice and add to mixture. i recommend making at least an hour ahead of serving time (or possibly even over night) so that all flavors have time to meld together and raisins plump back up from the bit of dressing this makes.

P.S. We served with toasted tuna sandwiches for a super light summer dinner and it was fantastic! Enjoy and make it e-Sally!

Pizzaghetti... just trust me on this one.

I thought I'd spice things up just a bit with this one... I know this sounds like a really odd combination, but I'm here to tell you, it was one of the most delicious meals I've had in a while. Try it and let me know if it works for you, or if mom and I are just the weirdos we've always felt like we are. hehe

Pizzaghetti

1 lb ground meat (I like turkey, but if you use beef, try to get 80/20 if you can.. it'll be so much better)

2 bell peppers (it's prettier if you use two different colors!)

1 cup diced onions

1 tbsp jar garlic

1 can tomato paste

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup Parmesan

1 tbsp Italian seasoning (or 1/2 tsp each oregano, thyme and basil)

salt and pepper to taste

dice peppers to 1/4 inch pieces. add seasoning, onion, garlic and peppers to dutch oven over med high heat and cook until onions are caramelized and peppers are quite soft. add tomato paste and let brown. add meat and stir occasionally until all meant is no longer pink. at this point, all the grease will have released from the meat and it will start to actually brown. you will have to keep an eye on it at this point so it doesn't get TOO dark, but you want all the meat to get truly brown. this will make the flavor so much richer. Serve with Parmesan and enjoy!

That's pretty much it. Once everything is good and brown, you are ready to serve. It tastes like pizza like this, but if you serve it over crispy garlic toast, you've now got the crust along with all the toppings! Just like a supreme pizza! If you're interested, I'm sure this would make a fantastic pasta sauce too. Let me know if you try it and it's good! :) Just remember, always make it e-Sally!

Tomato Gravy? hmmm.....

I use this recipe as the base for my spaghetti sauce, with either ground pork or turkey, and sometimes don't even use pasta! This is wonderful over crispy garlic toast! Mom and I have also used this as gravy for mashed potatoes and it was delicious! Tonight, however, I made up the sauce, added about 2 cups of frozen cut green beans and poured the gravy into a roasting pan. Then I split a whole roasting chicken down the middle (spine side) and laid him out on top of the gravy, covered him with a little mayo (but you can use butter or a good olive oil), a little salt and pepper and roasted at 350 for 45 minutes. He wasn't as brown and crispy as we wanted, so I cranked the heat to 400 and put back in for another 20 minutes. PERFECT! It was delicious served with mashed potatoes! Enjoy! :)

Tomato Gravy

1 large can tomato paste
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white or red wine (optional)
1/2 tsp jar ginger
2 tbsp jar garlic
1/2 cup diced onion (I prefer green for this)
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

add olive oil to deep skillet or dutch oven on med high heat and add garlic, ginger and onions. saute until onions start to carmalize. add tomato paste and let brown - about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. add chicken broth, diced tomatoes and wine (if using). taste for salt and pepper and add what's needed. turn heat down to med low and let simmer for about 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally.

That's it! As I said, there are many uses for this gravy. Please try one of these, or your own idea, and let me know how it turns out! Either way, remember that everyday cooking can be made fancy e-Sally!

Chicken and Grapefruit Salad.. mmmmmmmm

So, I've never really been a fan of grapefruit, but mom LOVES this stuff! I had tried it once before and it was alright but I wasn't convinced it was something I would ever really enjoy. Well, I put it together Saturday night for dinner Sunday, and guess what? It was FANTASTIC! I suppose mom really is right, "Your tastes are constantly changing so be open-minded!" Just go with me on this one if you aren't a fan of grapefruit. If you aren't already a fan of grapefruit, please try it and let me know if this changes your mind. However, if you already do enjoy grapefruit, I assure you this will be the most light and refreshing summer meals you've ever had! Enjoy!

Chicken and Grapefruit Salad

chicken prepared however you prefer

(we used Banquet whole fried chicken but have used KFC popcorn chicken in the past.. I think it would also be good with grilled or roasted chicken too!) {mom says grilled and roasted really are good!}

jarred grapefruit

mayonnaise or salad dressing

your favorite lightly salted roasted nuts/seeds

(we use pumpkin seeds, but I think sunflower seeds would be fantastic)

Cut or shred chicken into bite-sized pieces. DRAIN GRAPEFRUIT for at least an hour in a colander!!! This is very important. If you skip this step, you will end up with cold soup, not salad. Add grapefruit, chopped to bite-sized pieces as well, and stir together. Now add mayo (or salad dressing) and stir together. Then add nuts/seeds and stir some more. Let sit for at least an hour before serving, but serve at room temperature. YUM!

SIDE NOTE: From our experience, this recipe works best at a proportion of 1/3 chicken to 2/3 grapefruit.

P.S. We do this the night before (at least) as it really needs that time to sit to really let all the flavors meld together and become what it needs to be. Also, there are not specific measurements because you can make this in just a single serving, enough to feed your family of 6, a cool Saturday lunch for you and your sweetie and it holds up really well in the fridge for up to a week (covered, of course). Very e-Sally made! :)