Dip for Fruit

– (I just poured it over the fruit and called it a fruit salad.)

• One package (5.1 oz) Instant Vanilla pudding and pie filling
• Three cups milk.  Mix with pudding for two minutes
• Add one and a half cups sour cream
• Blend in one-fourth cup orange juice

I made this the day before and refrigerated it and poured it over the fruit as I was served. 

Vinaigrette Dressing

• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp. kosher salt – do not use table salt
• One-half tsp. pepper
• One-half tsp sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1-one-half tsp. oregano
• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon aged Balsamic vinegar
• One-half cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Mash garlic and salt to smooth paste

Add pepper, sugar, mustard and oregano.

Stir well

Wisk in vinegars to dissolve spices. Wisk in EVOO until silky looking. Makes about 1 cup.

Refrigerate a few hours before serving.

Serve at room temperature

Pork Marinade

(would also work well for chicken)

• One-half cup orange juice
• One-half cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 5 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• Salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Place your pork tenderloin (one to two pounds) in a resealable plastic bag and pour marinade over the pork. Refrigerate for 8 hours.

Heat the grill to 450 to 500 degrees and place the tenderloin on the rack and close the lid. Turn after about 7-10 minutes. Use marinade to baste tenderloin when you turn it. Use a meat thermometer to see when the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Time will vary depending on how thick the tenderloin is.

Serve with rice or baked potatoes and lettuce salad. Another summertime treat with this recipe is corn cobs!

One of my favorite foods growing up was dried beef or chipped beef gravy. My dad would talk about another version using hamburger that the Army served a lot when he was enlisted. They called it by another name which is unprintable in our newsletter! As I grew up, this became a comfort food for me. It is funny because it is similar also to sausage gravy, which I really don’t like. You can serve the gravy over biscuits, toast, even hash browns.

Dried Beef or Chipped Beef Gravy

• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 1 jar dried beef*
• 4 Tablespoons flour
• 2 1/2 cups milk

*Armour has 2 sizes and I use the larger jar because I like more beef and less gravy

The dried beef is very salty so the first thing I do is cut it into about 1" square pieces. Put the pieces into a colander and run some warm water over the beef for a couple of minutes. It rinses off part of the salt. Pat the pieces dry. They don’t have to be completely dry, just not dripping wet.

In a deep skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the beef and let it brown. I don’t like mine crispy, so I only cook it a couple of minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the beef. The flour will soak up quickly. Don’t let the flour brown. Stir in the milk slowly. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly. The gravy will thicken. If it gets too thick, add more milk. I add pepper before I serve it. I don’t add any salt but you can season for your taste. When my husband makes this recipe, he adds garlic powder when it is cooking.

Here is a relatively quick and delicious recipe for any time of the year.

Ham and Mushroom Sauce

• 8 oz. cooked ham
• 5 oz. fresh mushrooms
• one-half cup chopped sweet onion
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 Tablespoons minced parsley
• one-half teaspoon lemon juice
• one-half teaspoon salt (optional as the ham is salty in itself)
• one-half teaspoon pepper

Cut the ham into strips. Slice the mushrooms and sauté with the onions in butter until tender. Add stock and cream and reduce the mixture over high heat. When thickened, stir in the ham, peas, and parsley. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper and serve over pasta. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.