Carol's Recipe Box

Ingredients: 1 cup fresh Medjool dates, pitted (firmly pack in measuring cup) 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder, optional. Directions: Remove the stem bases and pits of the dates and steam them until they are soft. Place the dates, vanilla, salt and optional cinnamon into a food processor and process until as creamy a mixture as possible. Add the cocoa powder and process until the truffle mix binds into a large ball. Remove the truffle mass from the processor bowl. Roll 1 tablespoon portions into little balls in the palms of your lightly oiled hands.  Finally, roll truffles in sugar, cocoa powder or a mixture, to finish the truffles and prevent stickiness. Keep refrigerated. Makes 16 truffles.

Ingredients: 1 14oz bag of pre-washed coleslaw 1/2 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons white sugar 1 tablespoon vinegar 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon salt Directions: Use a whisk to mix mayonnaise, sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, pepper, and salt together in a bowl until smooth. Put coleslaw in bowl and pour dressing over coleslaw. Mix together well. Let sit in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. Cook's Note: This is a simple, mild coleslaw that's easy to make with items you should have in your fridge and pantry.

Ingredients 1 tablespoon white sugar 1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar 2 teaspoons margarine 1/8 teaspoon baking powder 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon water 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 4 teaspoons semi-sweet chocolate chips Directions Pre-heat Easy Bake Oven 15 minutes. Stir together the sugars and margarine. Add the baking powder, vanilla, water and flour, stirring until flour disappears. Mix in the chocolate chips. Roll the dough between your fingers and make 12 small balls, 1/2 inch each. Place a few balls on a greased and floured sheet or pan with space between them. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Repeat until all the cookies are baked. Yields 12 cookies. Baker's Notes These came out good, nice and crunchy. I got this recipe from a website but have no recollection where.

Click here for printable version Ingredients  3 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup chopped celery 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup chopped green pepper 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms 3 tablespoons all purpose flour (or cornstarch) 2 teaspoons mustard 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill (or 1 teaspoon dried dill) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 cup milk 1 cup small curd cottage cheese 6.5 ounces water packed tuna, drained 2 cups cooked noodles Directions Put the butter in a 2 quart microwavable casserole. Microwave on High for 30 - 45 seconds or until melted.  Add the celery, onion, green pepper and mushrooms. Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Add the flour, mustard, dill, salt and cayenne. Gradually stir in the milk and the cottage cheese. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 5 minutes, stirring twice. Stir in the tuna and cooked noodles,. Microwave on high for 6-8 minutes, stirring once. Cook's Notes This is a super easy meal and no preservat...

Originally posted on BuzzFeed  Ingredients 3 ½ - 4 pound boneless pork butt/shoulder, cut into six equal pieces 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon pepper 1 tablespoon oregano 1 tablespoon cumin 8 cloves garlic, crushed 1 medium onion, quartered 3 bay leaves 1 lime, juiced 1 large orange, juiced (save the spent halves) Directions 1. In a slow cooker, add cut pork, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, garlic, onion, bay leaves, and lime juice. Juice the orange and add it to the cooker as well. Mix together until the meat is well-coated. 2. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until the meat pulls apart easily. 3. Remove the pork and transfer to a foil-lined baking sheet. Shred the pork and spread across the baking sheet in a single layer. 4. Pour about 1 cup of the liquid remaining in the slow cooker over the shredded pork. Broil for 5-10 minutes until the meat browns and crisps along the edges. 5. Serve immediately. Great as a filling in tacos, burritos, salads, or...

Ingredients 3/4 cup whole wheat flour 3/4 cup quick cooking oats (instant is best) 2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1 1/2 cups (12 oz) milk Directions Combine all dry ingredients.  Combine wet ingredients, then add to dry.  Cook on a large skillet over medium heat. Cook's Notes These are very good - best when made with instant oats. I've been making these for many years. The recipe was adapted from one of Suzanne Somers' Somersize books, can't remember which one. Her recipe called for one egg white and skim milk, but I'll use one egg and any type of milk. I've even done this with almond milk, or half almond milk/half cow's milk. Put some preserves on these instead of syrup and you've got a pretty healthy breakfast (sometimes dinner in my house).

Ingredients 1 pound ground turkey 2 carrots, finely chopped 1/2 cup quick cook oats 1 large red pepper, diced 1 1/2 stalks celery, finely chopped 1 tablespoon Worcestershire 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1 - 2 cloves minced garlic 2 tablespoons parsley flakes Directions Combine all ingredients and mold into loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Makes about 6 servings. Variation: Put mixture into muffin pans, bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Makes about 12 muffin size "meatloaves". This is great when you're short on time. Cook's Notes I've made many variations of this. The original version is in a Virgin Diet Cookbook but included onions which sometimes don't agree with me. I replaced the 1/2 cup of onions with 1/2 cup of oats. You can also use mustard in place of the dry mustard and powdered garlic instead of fresh. Sometimes I mince all the veggies, garlic and onion in the food processor. I've also sauteed all th...