Borshch

Cowboy lived in Ukraine when he was a teen, and the first time I ever had borshch was when I visited his family there one Christmas.  I was convinced it had tomatoes in it -- oops!  We made this recipe for the first time the spring before we got married, while visiting his brother for Easter.  So borshch makes me think of holidays :-)  I think we got this recipe from Cowboy's mom's Betty Crocker cookbook, but I don't remember for sure anymore.

Borshch

1 lb. Pork Sausage
2 cans Beets -- julienne and reserve juice
3 cups Cabbage -- shredded
1/2  cup Onion -- minced
1/2  tsp. Pepper
2 tsp. Sugar
2 tsp. Lemon juice
2 1/2  cups Beef bouillon

 GARNISHES: sour cream, chopped green onions

Heat beef broth, beets and liquid, cabbage, onion, pepper, and sugar to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in lemon juice.  Add a dollop of sour cream to each serving and sprinkle with green onions.

Bleu Cheese, Walnut, and Pear Salad

I love the pairing of bleu cheese and pears :-9

Bleu Cheese, Walnut, and Pear Salad

Lettuce
Pears -- chopped
Walnuts -- chopped
Bleu cheese dressing

Top lettuce with remaining ingredients.

BLT Hot Dogs

Sometimes, you just have to make food that is terrible for you, but tastes yummy.

BLT Hot Dogs

8 Hot dogs
8 strips Bacon
1 package Hot dog buns
3 Roma tomatoes - sliced thin
 Lettuce
 Mayo

 Fry bacon and hot dogs. Spread hot dog buns with mayo. Fill buns with a hot dog, a strip of bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes.

Dipping Chocolate

I've been using this recipe for years -- since high school, I think.  It doesn't get truly hard once it hardens, so you don't end up with flakes of it cracking off when you take a bite of whatever you dipped in this.  Last summer, I dipped strawberries and cherries in this for a celebration we had when my nephew was baptized.  I should have made twice as many.  Fabulous!  I've also transformed a humble chocolate-chip cookie into ambrosia by dipping half-way in this.  Dried apricots, pretzels, candy canes -- they all work!

Dipping Chocolate

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 1.55-oz Hershey's bars -- broken into pieces
1 Tbsp shortening

In top of double boiler, stir together chocolate chips, chocolate bar pieces, and shortening. Place over hot, not boiling, water, stirring occasionally, until chips and chocolate are melted. Remove top of double boiler; set aside until chocolate cools to lukewarm.

Dips about 5 dozen cookies half-way.