Best Cherry Pitter

This is my most valuable kitchen tool, especially this time of year!
I may have had this in my possession for 30 years! See? It is made in Italy! How many items in our homes are made in Italy? Once I bought a new fangled cherry pitter from Bed Bath and Beyond, took it home and tried it:: It never pitted a single cherry at all...the plunger just was not calibrated right to expel that pit with one squeeze of the handle! So I took it back for are fund. SO...beware of other cherry pitters that do not look like this marvelous one above!

Coconut Lime Macadamia Bark

Coconut Lime Macadamia Bark

1 cup dark Chocolate chips (melted)
Add....
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut
2 Tablspoons lime zest (grated lime peel)
3/4 cup cooarse chopped macadamia nut

Spread as thin as you can on waxed paper on small cookie sheet. Refrigerate until hard. Break in chunks and store in container. Keep in fridge.

Chocolate Date Nut Treats

I got some nice pitted dates from Costco, stuffed some with pecans, dipped them in melted dark choclate and refriderated them for just a bit (they should still be wet) and then roll in shredded coconut. I put them in the box that was leftover from the stuffed dates Tommy.

Mediterranean Turkey Burgers

MEDITERRANEAN TURKEY BURGERS

1  1/2 pound lean ground turkey

1 med size Bosc pear, peeled, cored, coarsely grated

1 egg lightly beaten

1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsely, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1 1/2 teasp. fresh sage , finely chopped

1 1/2 teasp. rosemary, finely chopped

1/4 teasp. ground allspice

1 teasp. coarse salt

1/4 teasp. freshly ground pepper 

Make 6 patties, indent middle. Cook 5-7 minutes on one side. Flip and do another 5-7 min.

Mexican Casserole

Mexican Casserole

2 cans beef in broth (drained and shredded)
1/4 cup chopped onion chopped
1  4 oz.can green chilis, diced
11 oz. can enchilada
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup cream cheese softened with 1/4 cup water added
1 doz. corn tortilla
1 cup  cheddar cheese, shredded

Combine beef, onion, chilies, sauce and soups. Layer beef mixture with corm tortillas in 9 x 13 pan Top with cheese. Bake 300 minutes, 300 degrees

Blueberry Salsa

Blueberry Salsa

1/2 large pink grapefruit (dice, membranes removed)
2 Tablesp. red onion
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 teasp. honey
1 Tablesp. lime juice
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 T. chopped Fresh cilnatro

Lime Coconut Chocolate Cubes

Here is the latest DARK chocolate creation from the Hulihan household. I like to make this as a thin bark (by spreading in very thin with a knife, before I put it in fridge to harden), but today, Amy requested a thicker products. Therefore, I poured the mixture into a wax paper lined 8 X 8 pan and after it hardened in the fridge, I lifted the mass out and cut them in squares with my big knife.

  Lime Coconut Chocolate Treat

4 squares (1 oz. each) Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate
1 cup dark chocolate chips (I get mine from the bins at Winco)
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut
2 Tablespoons grated lime peel ( I use the part of the grated that is fine shred -see picture above-you can see some residue of the lime peel on the part of the grater I used)

Directions:
Wash your limes!  (scrub brush under running water) Dry them with paper towel.
Finely shred them  (try not to shred or grate the white pith. Go all around the lime to get as much green stuff as you can.

Measure out your coconut into a bowl and add the finely shredded lime peel to it. Now it is ready to dump into your melted chocolate...and this is how I melt my chocolate:


Unwrap and chop the four squares of unsweetend chocolate ( (I basically chop each one into 3 parts)
Put this and the one cup choc. chips into a good size ceramic bowl and microwave on high for 20 seconds at a time (it usually takes me 4 times) until all chocolate is warm and glossy and looks partly melted in spots. Then pull out of microwave (you'll notice the bowl is hot) and stir...the chips that have not yet melted will finish melting as you stir them in the nice hot bowl.

Add your coconut and lime peel.

Pour onto wax paper (that you have laid on a plate or in a pan or on a cookie sheet) and spread to the thickness you prefer. Refrigerate for at least 25 minutes. Cut into squares or break into pieces if you are making a thin bark. If you make a thin bark, you can crumble some of it to make a great ice cream topping!
Store in fridge to keep your treats firm.