Cucumber Raita

This cool creamy sauce is great with meat dishes or any lentil, rice or vegetable side.

Make the salad early in the day and keep in the refrigerator to let the flavors blend and intensify.

Add more mint to taste, but do not substitute dried mint; the flavor is just not the same."



Ingredients
* 2 hot house cucumber - peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
* 2 cups Greek yogurt
* 3 tablespoons lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
* 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt


Directions
1. Stir together the cucumber, yogurt, lemon juice, mint, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.

Serves 12

How to Thicken Curry Sauces

Curry sauce is the basis for many Indian and Thai dishes, and these sauces are often very thick and creamy. Most of the time, the ingredients in curry sauces thicken the sauce properly without the need for additional thickening agents. Sometimes the vegetables and other ingredients in the curry add too much moisture to the sauce, making it runny. There are many different ways to thicken a curry sauce that has become too thin. It's important to choose a method that will not negatively affect the flavor of the dish; this can be achieved by either selecting a flavor-neutral addition or adding more of an ingredient that's already present in the dish.


Difficulty: Easy
Instructions
Things You'll Need:

* Food processor Plain yogurt Coconut milk Raw cashews or almonds Unsweetened peanut butter Flour Vegetable oil Skillet Whisk

1. Make sure the curry is allowed to simmer for the recommended amount of time before tampering with the sauce. Curry sauces take time to set up and often can appear runny or watery until the very last minute. Let the curry cook for the full amount of time listed in the recipe, stirring constantly to make sure it doesn't burn.

2. Scoop some of the curry sauce and vegetables into a food processor and blend it until smooth. Add the blended curry back to the main pot, stirring to combine. This is the best way to thicken a sauce without affecting the flavor of the curry, but it won't work for extremely thin sauces.

3. Add a spoonful of yogurt or 1/4 to 1/2 cup of coconut milk to the curry sauce and let it simmer, stirring constantly, for a few minutes. As many curries already contain one of these ingredients, this addition won't affect the flavor in many recipes.

4. Put a handful of raw, unsalted cashews or raw almonds in the food processor and pulse until they're a paste. Stir the paste into the curry sauce. If you don't have any cashews or almonds on hand, adding a spoonful of unsweetened, smooth peanut butter to the sauce works as well. This method will leave a distinct nuttiness in the sauce.

5. Put equal amounts of oil and flour in a skillet and, stirring continuously, cook the mixture over very low heat until it's lightly browned. Add about a cup of the thin curry sauce to the flour mixture and whisk until combined. Stir the mixture into the rest of the curry.

Creamy Ginger Soy Sauce

This makes a great salad dressing or a creamy sauce for your favorite Asian dish with veggies or meat. Reminds me of the awesome sauce from our favorite sushi bar.


Ingredients
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger root, minced
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup mayonnaise


Directions
1. In a small bowl, combine and thoroughly mix white wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, minced garlic, minced ginger root, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.
2. Gradually whisk in mayonnaise until completely blended.

Soy & Ginger Marinade

Use this for your chicken breast or tenderloin pieces, great when grilled!

This recipe can be used on any meat; beef, pork or chicken.


I personally think it is 'specially nice when broiled or grilled; it reminded me of Cracker Barrel grilled chicken with that nice 'oriental' flavor.


Ingredients
* 1/2 C Soy sauce
* 1/4 C Real maple syrup
* 6 Cloves garlic, minced
* 1 T Grated fresh ginger - or 1.5 tsp ground ginger (spice)
* 1 tsp Mustard powder
* 1/2 tsp Sesame oil
* 1/4 tsp Hot sauce [optional]
* 1/2 C Beer

You might want to double the recipe for family size meals

Enjoy, Breeze!

Strawberry Pretzel Salad/Dessert

Yields 24 Servings

My gilfriend Lauren 1st introduced us to this great dish at a summer time get together, hits the spot when it is really warm out!



Ingredients
* 2 cups crushed pretzels
* 3/4 cup melted butter
* 3 tablespoons sugar, plus 3/4 cup sugar
* 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
* 1 (8-ounce) container whipped topping
* 2 (3-ounce) packages strawberry gelatin dessert mix
* 2 cups boiling water
* 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen strawberries
* Whipped topping or whipped cream, to garnish


Not sure what to take to the next potluck dinner or cookout?
Let me suggest this for any summertime gathering of family and friends.

Here's a great photo of all the items needed for this great dessert.
Add these to your grocery list for your next shopping trip now so you don't forget!



Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

For the crust, mix the pretzels, butter, and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Press this mixture into a 9 by 13-inch pan and bake for 7 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and 3/4 cup of sugar. Fold in the whipped topping, and spread over the cooled crust. Refrigerate until well chilled.

In a small bowl, dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water, and allow to cool slightly. Add the strawberries and pour over the cream cheese mixture.



Refrigerate until serving time.

To serve, cut slices and serve with a dollop of whipped topping.



Enjoy, Breeze!

NO Bake Peanut Butter Cookies

Yields 2 Dozen

While the peanut butter is completely optional here, if you don't like it, it really does adds a whole new dimension to these fudge-like cookies. They won’t heat up your house, either because they are no-bake, which means they are ideal for summer snacks, but we like to make them year round!

The best part is that these cookies are kind of healthy, so you don’t have to feel guilty about making them.....or finishing off the whole batch in one day! The oatmeal adds fiber and nutrition and they are flavored with cocoa and peanut butter, both healthy options. *wink*

Ingredients
2 C Sugar
1/2 C Milk
1/2 C Margarine (1 stick)
1/2 C Cocoa
3 C Oats
1/4 C Mini chocolate chips (optional)
1/4 C Peanut butter (optional)

Directions
Mix sugar and cocoa in a pot.
Add milk and margarine and cook over medium heat until the mixture starts to boil. Stir in the peanut butter and let boil for one minute.

Remove from heat and stir in the oats.
Add chocolate chips and drop by the spoonful onto a cookie sheet lined with tinfoil or waxed paper.
You can let them set on the counter (humid days don’t work well), but in our house, we’re so impatient we pop the tray in the freezer for ten minutes to speed things up!

Enjoy!
~Breeze

Jello Popcorn Balls

Makes about 12 balls

This is a fun recipe to make FOR the kids; might be too hot to handle most ingredients for most younger kids.

Enjoy the colors, use yellow and orange for fall time treats!

Ingredients
12 C popcorn
1 C corn syrup (light is best)
1/2 C sugar
1 package Jello, any flavor

Directions
In a pot, heat sugar and corn syrup until they boil. Remove from the heat, stir in the Jello and pour over the popcorn.

I recommend a very large bowl or pot for stirring the popcorn, or else it will all fall out and get your counter and floor sticky!

Once the popcorn has cooled, rub a little margarine on your hands and take a handful of popcorn, pressing it into a ball. Repeat until you have all the popcorn made into balls.
Enjoy!
~Breeze