Sweet & Savory Thursday ~~ "1/2 & 1/2 Hummus"

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 - 15 oz. can Garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 - 15 oz. can Cannellini beans, drained 
• 1/2 cup lowfat plain yogurt
• 1 tsp. hot sauce (I used Cajun Sunshine)
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. garlic pepper seasoning
• Balsamic vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Drain and thoroughly rinse beans in colander.
• Place beans in food processor.
• Add yogurt, lemon juice, hot sauce and garlic pepper seasoning.
• Puree until smooth.
• Place in serving dish.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

• Drizzle with slight amount of balsamic vinegar.
• Serve with veggies, apple slices, pita bread, flat bread, chips, dill pickles, green olives, or other items of your choice.
• By adding a swirl of balsamic vinegar before serving, it seems to provide a tasty balance.  
• On a personal note, the flavor of this hummus was more enhanced when eating it on apple and veggie slices.
• This is a great dish to serve at the start of an evening with family or friends as the 1/2 and 1/2 hummus seems to disappear much quicker than the normal variety.
• Give it a try, and let me know what you think!

Here's to happy dining & healthy eating!

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Sweet & Savory Tuesday - Presto with the Pesto!

                                                        


INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups fresh basil leaves
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
• Dash of kosher salt, optional

DIRECTIONS:

• When selecting fresh basil, make sure to remove any seed pods which have formed in the very top of the plant

• Place basil leaves inside food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped
• Add the garlic, olive oil, and Parmesan Cheese
• Process until smooth

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

• Prepare noodles (I used spelt noodles, but spinach noodles would be delicious as well), and serve with Pesto

• Pesto is great on pizza crusts, slices of baguette bread or fresh tomatoes, crackers, mixed with sour cream to be used as a veggie dip, and on rolls the herbal river.
• Pesto can be frozen and eaten at a later date.

If you have other serving suggestions, I would like to hear from you!  Please leave a comment.  We enjoy hearing from our blog readers.

Happy Dining & Enjoy the herbs of summer!

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Sweet & Savory Friday ~~ 4th of July Spread

INGREDIENTS:

• Two 15-0z. cans Cannellini Beans
• Two Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Two Tbsp. diced garlic
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup Boar's Head Horseradish Sauce
• 1 tsp. freshly ground kosher salt, optional

DIRECTIONS:

• Rinse beans thoroughly with water and drain in colander
• Place inside food processor
• Add all other ingredients
• Blend until smooth

Serve with crackers, bread, or condiments of your choice.  I used three grain sweet potato crackers, tomatoes, and greens.

If you are looking for a different spread for your Fourth of July spread, try this one!  It's delish!

Happy Dining & Happy 4th!

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Sweet & Savory Friday - Canadian Bacon Pinwheels

DIRECTIONS:

• Slice loaf of Sourdough Baguette into 1/2 inch slices
• Spread with Creamy Horseradish or sandwich spread of your choice
• Spread with Applewood Smoked Bacon Mustard or mustard of your choice
• Include slice of Colby Jack Cheese or cheese of your choice
• Include slice of Canadian Bacon
• Include thin slice of green olive or garnish of your choice

These are so tasty you will be able to polish off a plate of them before you can say, "Bob's your uncle!"  After that, you may ask yourself, "What's the difference between American Bacon and Canadian Bacon?"  Our bacon comes from the belly portion of the pig whereas Canadian Bacon is usually cut from the loin area.  

Happy Dining!

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Sweet & Savory Thursday ~~ Bacon Bow Ties

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound bacon
• brown sugar

DIRECTIONS:

• Line jelly roll pan or baking pan with aluminum foil.  Place cooling rack on top.  You could also use a broiler pan.
• Tie bacon strips into bow tie shape.
• Cook for one hour at 300 degrees.

                                            

• Turn bow ties over and sprinkle with brown sugar.  
• Bake for another 45 minutes to one hour.
• Make sure to check the centers of the bow ties to see if they are cooked completely.

Happy Reading as you enjoy your bow ties!  Let me know if you can eat just one of these and leave the rest of them on the plate.  :-)  

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