Ripe olives, also known as black olives, are an odd food.  People often have either a strong like or a strong dislike for them.  One youngster I know loves them and will eat them right out of the can.  I made pizza for her the other day and all she wanted for toppings was cheese and black olives.  What was left in the can after making the pizza, she placed, as tradition calls for, on top of each finger tip and ate them just like that, plucking them off her fingers.

I, too, can sit down with a whole can of black olives and they will disappear.  However, I would prefer to find other ways to serve them.  There is a rather unique sandwich spread that I remember from some time ago, but it is a bit peculiar, so may not appeal to a lot of people.  You simply mix together some chopped black olives, chopped pecans, and cream cheese.  Spread it on small pieces of a sturdy whole wheat, cocktail rye, or pumpernickel bread.  This makes an excellent hors d’ oeuvre for a fancy gathering, but your kids probably will not like it for lunch.

One splendid dish I made the other night, however, turned out to be a family pleasing meal.  In a glass baking dish, I placed frozen fillets of tilapia fish, drizzled a little olive oil on top, sprinkled with thyme, oregano, basil, salt, and black pepper, poured on one can of diced tomatoes, added about a half clove of minced garlic, and sprinkled a generous portion of sliced black olives on top.  I covered the dish with tin foil, and baked in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes.  This baked fish turned out very good and had a Mediterranean flavor and look.  Very simple and very yummy!

If you’ve cooked with black olives a lot, or have used them in different salads or sandwiches, or any other dishes, I’d really like to hear from you!

If you’ve ever bought a jar of maraschino cherries to make something fancy, like topping cupcakes or ice cream sundaes, you’ve probably still got half a jar sitting in your refrigerator, like I do.  I’ve been searching all around trying to find something to make with these super-sweet treats, but aside from more sweeter-than-sweet desserts, I can’t seem to come up with anything.

Mostly what I find when I search for recipes that use maraschino cherries are not recipes to use them, but to make them.  Apparently, there are maraschino cherry aficionados who swear by the homemade variety.  When you read the ingredients on a jar of store bought maraschino cherries I can see why you might not want to ingest too many of them.  But, I am not an aficionado, I just want to use up my jar.

I saw a picture of a cake that looked like it had a layer of maraschino cherries in the cake itself, not in the frosting.  I didn’t get a recipe, but then I thought it might be just another too-sweet dessert.  I’ve seen them served in cocktails, but I’m not much of a cocktail drinker, especially sweet cocktails.

So, my dilemma is what can I make with maraschino cherries that is not a dessert or cocktail?  Has anyone ever used them as a part of a dish of some sort?  If you’re making a sweet and sour stir-fry, one that would have pineapple in it, could you throw in some maraschino cherries, or would the taste overpower everything else?

This is a puzzle.  I hope someone has a suggestion or two about what to make with maraschino cherries, because I’m stumped.  I’d love to hear from you if you do!

Our family uses honey as a sweetener in a lot of foods and beverages, so we end up with a lot of those little Honey Bears in our kitchen.  Often, we have quite an assortment in various degrees of “full.”  At just about any time during a typical day, we will have bears lined up on the kitchen counter, tipped precariously on top of each other, trying to consolidate the honey into one or two bears.

The dilemma is that we often end up with crystalized honey, which I know you can disolve in a little hot water, but I’d really prefer to use the honey before it turns to sugar.

I do have a simple fruit salad recipe that my family really enjoys, so I can use some up in that, but I would really like a recipe that uses more honey than a fruit salad.  My simple recipe is just to combine about 2 or 3 tablespoons of honey with about 1/2 cup of sour cream, mix until it’s nice and runny, then pour over any combination of fresh or canned fruit.  Doesn’t get much simpler than that!  I like the tangy flavor of the sour cream mixed with the sweetness of both the honey and the fruit.

Also, honey is a wonderful glaze for baked ham.  Just pour a bunch of honey over your ham as is, or you can spice it up a bit with some mustard, cloves, or whatever you want.  This is a great treat and we enjoy this dinner as often as we can find a good price on ham.

I’d be interested to see if anyone has other recipes using honey that may be a bit more unusual.

My pantry is now home to four boxes of assorted croutons.  We have a partial box of garlic flavored, some herb flavored, some plain, and even some Parmesan croutons.  My family likes croutons on their salads, but we’re beyond our quota at this point.  Before they get stale, I would like to know if there’s anything I can make with them.

Sometimes when a casserole calls for a buttery breadcrumb topping, I’ll just grab a pile of croutons, crush them up, and use those instead of breadcrumbs. Since my croutons are normally flavored, they make a great topping for oven-baked vegetable dishes.  A nice, cheesy broccoli casserole is the perfect dish to top with these croutons.

What do you think about using crushing up croutons for a crunchy coating for fried fish or chicken?  If you use the really flavorful ones that should be delicious, right?

Now, if all this talk about garlic and herb flavored croutons has you craving them, I do happen to have a recipe to make your own.  Give this a try the next time you’ve got to have croutons and, unlike me, don’t have a pantry full!

Skillet Croutons:

Dice up bread into tiny, bite size squares.  Think about 1/4 to 1/8 inch squares.  You can use any kind of bread you wish, even rye or pumpernickel.  In a big, heavy skillet, brown the bread pieces in a bit of butter mixed with canola oil.  Drain on paper towels, but while they’re still hot, sprinkle with salt and any other seasoning you wish, like garlic powder, onion powder, or crushed thyme, or even curry powder.

These are very yummy.  I think I’ll make a batch once I figure out how to use up the ones I’ve already got… Help please!

My husband makes the most fantastic cranberry relish I’ve ever had!  It’s so easy and delicious; all he does is puts whole, fresh cranberries in the food processor with a cut up orange, peeling and all, with just a dash of sugar.  It’s so yummy!  But, he makes gallons of it at a time.  Okay, that’s a little bit of an exageration.  We still end up with a pretty big container leftover after every Holiday meal.  His cranberry relish is delicious, but I can’t eat that much.  I also don’t want to throw it away.  Help!

I did see a delightful recipe recently for a, believe it or not, grilled sandwich made with cranberry sauce or relish.  You take pumpernickle bread, butter one side of each piece of bread, then you layer some sliced turkey (presumably leftover as well) with some cheese (whatever you have, they recommend Brie, but I never have that in the house, so maybe Monterray Jack or Swiss) and, finally, a little cranberry sauce or relish.  Put your bread together and grill your sandwich in a skillet until toasted on both sides and cheese melts a bit.

I haven’t tried this sandwich yet, but the next Holiday meal we have, I’m sure I’ll have an opportunity to give it a whirl.  It will be interesting.

Have you ever used leftover cranberry relish or sauce in any sort of dish and had good results?  Let me know… Christmas dinner is coming soon and we’ll have plenty of leftovers to experiment with.

My nephew will eat almost anything as long as it is covered in or cooked with ketchup. Since he’ll be staying with us for a few days, I’ve had recipes with this tomatoy condiment on my mind. I make a simple noodle dish that he really likes, and of course use ketchup in my meat loaf (and pour some on top while it bakes), but other than that, I haven’t really had any new ideas. Care to share your favorite recipe that uses ketchup?

Here’s mine

Boil some macaroni according to the package directions. In the meantime, brown some hamburger meat and season it with salt and pepper. Drain the cooked noodles and pour them in the pan with the hamburger meat. Squirt some ketchup on top, stir well and serve. I have yet to come across a kid that doesn’t like this simple dish.

We all know how delicious Pepper Jelly is. I have been to many a gourmet cooking parties where the hosts feature a selection of pepper jellies served over cream cheese with crackers. Not only is the appetizer appealing to the eye with its colorful presentation, but it is irresistible to the taste buds. I find myself unable to stop at just eating one, four, ten, and, if nobody is looking, even twenty.  By the end of most parties, I have ignored the serving knife and plunged the crackers straight into the pepper jelly/ cream cheese combo in order to pile more on faster.  I leave each party with a heavier body and a lighter wallet.

Needless to say, I have a pantry filled with Pepper Jelly. As much as I love it served with cream cheese and crackers, does anyone have any suggestions what else to make with Pepper Jelly?

oops. I went to Taco Bell the other day to get some Spicy Chicken Burritos and ended up with a few extra sauce packets.

Now, I’m not condoning stealing Taco Bell sauce packets, BUT.. if you end up with an extra one or two, what would you do with them?

I added one to a box of Macaroni and Cheese and it was quite yummy. I added another to a Turkey wrap I make that was just turkey and cream cheese. Again, yummy.

What would you make with a packet of Taco Bell sauce?

Salsa is the fastest growing condiment in the United States. Why? It’s delicious!

So, other than dipping your chips…

What Can I Make with SALSA? 

Do you have a favorite Mexican recipe? Or a quick snack you make with Salsa? Let’s hear it.