Honey Butter Variations

Recipe sent in by: D. Archer
Honey butter is so easy to make and dresses up all kinds of things!

Basic Honey
- ¾ c Butter, softened slightly ( room temp )
- ¼ c Honey

1) Mix together, whipping with a fork or whisk.
2) Chill slightly, may need to be mixed with a fork before using.

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Variation 1:
Cinnamon Honey Butter
- ½ c Butter
- ½ c Confectioners' Sugar ( to taste )
- ½ c Honey
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1) Mix together the butter, honey, cinnamon, adding the sugar to taste.
2) Chill slightly, may need to be mixed with a fork before using.

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Variation 2:
Brown Sugar Honey Butter
- ½ c Butter
- ½ c Honey
- ½ c Brown Sugar ( to taste )

1) Mix together the butter, honey, adding the sugar to taste.
2) Chill slightly, may need to be mixed with a fork before using.

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NOTE:
For further variations try a richer spread. Add 1/4 c Cream Cheese ( or low fat cream cheese ) blending into the honey butter.

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Testimonials:
by D. Archer
All of these are tasty, they go great on warm bread, biscuits, pancakes, waffles, etc. Worth a try.

Creamy Dill Dipping Sauce

Recipe sent in by: D. Archer
So fresh, great for dipping veggies.

- ½ c Sour Cream
- ¼ c Mayonnaise
- 2 Tbs Fresh Chopped Dill
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
- Salt and Pepper to taste


1) Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
2) Chill in refrigerator, garnish with a sprig of dill if so desired.

Testimonials:
by D. Archer
This is a nice and easy dip to make, it also is great with the addition of some chopped fresh green onions. This is real nice with fresh veggies or pita bread or chips.

Honey Mustard

Recipe sent in by: D. Archer
Super quick and easy.

- ¾ c Mayonnaise
- 2 Tbs Dijon Mustard
- ¼ c Honey


1) In a small bowl mix all ingredients, if it isn't sweet enough add more honey by the teaspoon. Likewise, if it isn't tangy enough add more mustard by the teaspoon.

Testimonials:
by D. Archer
This is so super easy, works great for chicken tenders or nuggets. Also, can be thinned with a little olive oil, adding a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste for a nice salad dressing.

Home-Cooked Beans

Recipe sent in by: D. Archer
These can be used in other dishes.

- 1 bag, 16 ounce, Dried Red Kidney Beans
- Water
- 1 small Onion, cut in half
- 1 Clove Garlic, pressed
- 1 sprig parsley
- 1 bay leaf


1) In colander, rinse beans well with cold water; discard any stones or shriveled beans. In 5-quart saucepot, place beans and enough water to cover by 2 inches. Cover pot; let beans soak overnight.
2) Drain beans and return to saucepot. Add onion, garlic, parsley, bay leaf, and 6 cups water; heat to boiling on high. Reduce heat to medium-low; partially cover and simmer 45 to 60 minutes or until beans are tender, stirring occasionally. (Reserve 1 1/2 cups bean cooking liquid if making Red Beans and Rice.) Drain beans. Discard parsley and bay leaf. If not using beans right away, cover and refrigerate up to 5 days.

Tips:
Pressed for time? The above mentioned overnight method works best, however try this quick-soak technique: In large saucepot, combine rinsed beans and water, and heat to boiling; cook 3 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and set aside for 1 hour. Proceed with step 2. The one drawback to this method: The beans tend to break up more easily than if soaked overnight.

Testimonials:
by D. Archer
I used to use the overnight method myself even before I found this recipe, it works quite well.

This recipe came from Good Housekeeping, if you'd like to check it out click here.

Strawberry Topping

Photo by: N. Marion

Recipe sent in by: D. Archer
Old family treat, my mom made this for us for dessert, paired with vanilla ice cream, DEE-LISH!





The trouble here is, I have no measurements for you!

Here is what you need:
- 2 baskets of fresh strawberries* ( you can use frozen also, but the end result will be softer strawberries )
- 1/4 - 1/2C Granulated Sugar* ( amount depends on how many strawberries you have )

1) Slice strawberries into a bowl.
2) Pour in sugar and stir/toss around strawberries until they are coated, cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator. Allow to sit for about an hour or longer. Stir the berries after they have been chilling for a while.
3) Sugar should be completely dissolved. Stir the strawberries and syrup together, and taste. If it doesn't taste sweet, add a bit more sugar and let chill for about 20 minutes longer, stir and serve over your favorite dessert. ( Either pound cake or vanilla ice cream are a perfect match! )

Testimonials:
by N. Marion
"Vanilla Ice Cream with Strawberries ♥ Thank you again, Dawn! We all LOVED this. You guys should try this, it was so great! I used frozen strawberries (I'm sure fresh would be better, but I only had these) I defrosted them and then chopped them up and put them in a bowl. I sprinkled a little sugar on top and gave them a stir and then let them sit in the fridge while I made dinner. When it was time for dessert, I took the strawberries out and gave them another lil stir and then spooned them on top of our lil cups of ice cream and yummy!!!"

Cucumber Dill Salad

Photo by: N. Marion

Recipe sent in by: D. Archer
3:45 a.m. and couldn't sleep, I came up with 3 dishes, this is the second side. Great for a refreshing summertime snack.







- 2 Cucumbers
- 1 Lemon ( Zest & Juice )
- 1/4 c Mayonnaise
- 1/2 Tbs Dried Dill
- Salt & Pepper to taste

1) Peel and slice cucumbers and put them in a bowl, set aside.
2) Zest and juice the lemon into the bowl.
3) Add the mayonnaise, dill and salt/pepper.
4) Mix everything together and put into the refrigerator until chilled.
5) Toss salad until coated and serve.

Testimonials:
by: N. Marion
My munchkin just asked for "the special cucumbers that we had for dinner" to have with her tomato grilled cheesie. She also said she wants them in her lunchbox! Thank you Dawn, I couldn't force her to eat them a week ago and now she's asking for them..."