From Fancy Nancy's Kitchen

Ingredients: 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup butter or margarine 1 cup white sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract red baking candies Preparation: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Melt chocolate and let cool. Mix flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl beat margarine on low speed until smooth, and add sugar and beat until creamy. Stir in the egg, vanilla and chocolate. Add flour mixture and mix well, forming a stiff dough. To make spiders, shape 2-inch flat ovals for the body. Make the spiders’ heads by flattening circles about 1/2 inch wide. Shape dough shapes for the legs each that are about 2 inches long and less than a 1/4 inch wide. Attach the head and legs to body. Put two red candies into head for eyes. Bake for 5-8 minutes. Let spiders cool on the baking sheet to avoid breaking when moving. Yield: about 20 cookies

A pretty dessert for any occassion. Servings: 12. Serving Description: 1 pie slice. Prep Time: 10 minutes. Cook Time: 10 minutes Ingredients 1 package of ready to use pre-made sugar cookie dough 8 ounces cream cheese 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice 3 dragon fruit, peeled and sliced 3 kiwi, peeled and sliced 1 cup strawberries, hulled and cut in half 1/4 cup apricot glaze Directions Roll out cookie dough into a 12 inch round. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare fruit by washing and slicing it into 1/4 inch slices. Cream together the cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon juice. When the crust is cool, top with the cream cheese mixture. Lay fruit in a circle on top of the cream cheese mixture. Chill until ready to serve. *Any combination of fruit can be used for this recipe.

A while ago I tried this new funky, original looking fruit as I am always up for trying different things. At first I found the taste a bit bland, a little like kiwi but with flavour not as pronounced. I believe it is better in a recipe rather than just eating the fruit though I found it very watery almost like watermelon and I am thinking that would be great on a hot summer's day, to eat it cold and can be very refreshing. I was doing research online and found out that the dragon fruit has many health benefits, as I am always conscious about eating healthy this definitely picked my curiosity. In addition of being a great source of vitamin C, it also has many antioxidants to help the skin as well as the digestive system. Its fibrous flesh has also been known to help fight cancer, heart disease and lower blood pressure. I found this recipe that I think I may try them, especially the breakfast crunch, it sounds tasty. Dragon Fruit Brunch Crunch For a light brunch snack, try a creation

Serves 4. Takes 30 Minutes. Ingredients 2 Onions 300g (13 fl oz) canned pineapple pieces 3 tomatoes 300g (10oz) rice 2 tb oil 2 tb fish sauce 1 tb ketchup 1 ts sugar Preparation In a pot bring water to a boil and add rice. Cook for ten minutes and pour off water. Let rice cool down. Dice onions and tomatoes. Drain pineapple pieces. Heat oil in wok and add onions. Stir fry onions unti golden. Add tomatoes and pineapple. Continue to stir fry. Stir in rice and heat. Season with fish sauce, ketchup and sugar.

These Thai-inspired vegetarian noodles are quick and super easy to make. Start with some fresh or dried rice, wheat, or egg noodles (round udon or Shanghai-type noodles work well). While the noodles are boiling, make my no-cook Thai-style pesto with ingredients like Thai or sweet basil, sesame, and chilli. Toss the noodles in the pesto, and voila, healthy and incredibly delicious noodles you'll want to make again and again! Serves 2 (or more) Ingredients: 1 package fresh udon/Shanghai-type noodles (wheat noodles work well, but you can also try this recipe with rice noodles) 1 cup Thai holy basil leaves, or sweet basil leaves 2 Tbsp. sesame seeds 4-5 cloves garlic 1/4 cup olive oil 1 tsp. sesame oil 1 Tbsp. vegetarian fish sauce (or regular fish sauce, if non-vegetarian) 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice Optional: 1 small red chilli (seeds removed), OR 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. red chilli flakes extra basil leaves for garnish Optional: 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds for garnish Preparation: If using dri

Ingredients: 1/2 apple, small dice 2 eggs 1 tablespoon butter 2 cups macaroni, uncooked 1/2 cup crumbled Blue Cheese salt and pepper to taste 1 pint heavy cream Preparation: In sauté pan over medium heat, sauté apple in butter until tender. Add Blue Cheese and heavy cream; simmering. Remove and chill to room temperature. Add eggs, pasta (cooked according to package directions), salt, and pepper. Place in covered baking dish and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes.

For blue-cheese lovers only. For best results, use Maytag or a Danish blue cheese. Ingredients 1 pound spiral tube-shaped pasta 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter 1/4 cup all purpose flour 2 cups whole milk 1 cup whipping cream 3 cups grated cheddar cheese 1 1/2 cups crumbled blue cheese 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives Preparation Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain. Meanwhile, melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add flour. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly (do not allow to brown). Gradually whisk in milk and cream. Simmer until mixture thickens slightly, whisking occasionally, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add grated cheddar cheese and 1 cup crumbled blue cheese. Whisk until cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Add cooked pasta to sauce; stir to coat. Transfer mixtu

"This is not your average mac and cheese! Macaroni is combined with a creamy mixture of bleu cheese, Parmesan cheese and yogurt, and served with green and red bell peppers." Original recipe yield: 6 servings. Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Ready In: 25 Minutes Servings: 6 (change) Ingredients: 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 cup sliced green bell pepper 1/2 cup sliced red bell pepper 3/4 cup heavy cream 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup plain yogurt 1 cup crumbled blue cheese 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese Preparation: Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat combine butter, salt, pepper and bell peppers. Simmer until heated through. Stir in cream, flour, yogurt, bleu cheese and Parmesan cheese. Stir cooked macaroni into cheese mixture and serve hot.

It's mac and cheese for summertime! Warm shell pasta delicately melts Pecorino Romano, blue and cottage cheeses into a satisfying salad. Serve warm, cold, or at room temperature — a perfect dish for your next picnic or potluck barbeque. Great served alongside fresh sliced tomatoes and basil. - Serves 6–8 16 oz dry organic conchiglie (shell shaped) pasta 2 TB extra virgin olive oil 1 cup grated, Pecorino Romano cheese 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles 1 carton (16-oz) organic cottage cheese 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian (flat leaf) parsley sea salt, to taste ground pepper, to taste Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain cooked pasta, then return to cooking pot and immediately toss with olive oil, Romano cheese and blue cheese until cheese is mostly melted into the warm pasta. Transfer pasta mixture to a large bowl and add cottage cheese and parsley. Toss to combine well. Taste first (Romano is very salty), then season to taste with salt and pepper. Cool to room temperat

Ingredients: Pizza Crust 1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil Two large thinly sliced sweet onions 1/4 cup water Three cloves minced garlic 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste One container (10 ounces) refrigerated pizza dough 2 ounces goat cheese or low-fat mozzarella cheese 8 pitted and chopped black olives Directions: Heat oil on medium-high heat in a large non-stick skillet. Add onions and cook ten to fifteen minutes or until golden and tender; stir occasionally. Add water, garlic and rosemary; cook and stir one to two minutes or until fragrant. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread onion mixture over crust. Crumble goat cheese and sprinkle over the onion mixture. If using mozzarella shredded cheese, sprinkle shreds over the onions along with the olives. Bake the pizza 10 to 20 minutes, or until edges look golden and topping is bubbling. Slice into wedges. Recipe makes four servings. Calories per serving: 308 Fat per serving: 9g Cholesterol p

Ingredients One, can refried-beans 1 onion, finely diced 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 1/2 teaspoon oregano 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin 4 flour tortillas (10 inch) One can diced green chilies (4 ounce) 1 cup jack cheese, shredded 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded 2 tomatoes, chopped 1 bunch green onion, chopped 1 green bell pepper, diced One can sliced black olives (4 ounce) Salsa Directions: Heat beans and onion in a skillet. Stir in seasonings. Slightly crisp tortillas in hot oven. Spread beans on tortillas and add green chilies, cheese, tomatoes, green onions, bell pepper and olives. Place under broiler until cheese melts. Serve with salsa.

Ingredients: One pizza crust 1/3 cup purchased pesto Four Italian plum tomatoes, thinly sliced One (2-1/4-ounce) can sliced ripe olives, drained 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion Six ounces (1-1/2 cups) light, shredded Italian cheese blend Directions: Heat oven to 425-degrees. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Unroll dough; place on sprayed cookie sheet. Starting at center, press out dough with hands to form 13x9-inch rectangle. Spread pesto evenly over dough. Top with tomatoes, olives, onion, and cheese. Bake at 425-degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until crust is a deep golden brown and cheese is melted.

Ready in: 30 minutes Serves/Makes: 2 Ingredients: 1 1/3 tablespoon pecans 1 teaspoon olive oil 1/3 onion -- finely chopped 1 1/3 clove garlic -- minced 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth or water 1 teaspoon butter 1/2 teaspoon curry powder 1/3 teaspoon red pepper flakes 2/3 Celery 2/3 Carrots 1/3 cup couscous Directions: Saute nuts in olive oil until they begin to turn color. Reserve Saute onion and garlic in remainder of olive oil until golden. Add chicken or vegetable broth and butter. Bring to a rapid boil. Add remaining ingredients, including nuts. Cover, remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving. ** You can add other veggies if you like and the original recipe I found called for garam masala (indian spice) btu since I didn't have any I replaced it with curry, tastes good. I should get some garam masala though and try it, should be good too.

I recently found a very old blog I had on msn spaces. Since I do not update that one anymore nor care to, I hate everything microsoft. But anyway, enough on my ranting about microsoft, I was reading old entries and found a lot of recipes that I posted there and thought I would create a recipe binder blog of all the recipes that I tried a while backa nd that I may want to try again. Just to keep everything together for future use, you never know when you will want to try a recipe that you made some time ago and quite liked.