Wine Fest June 4th, 2011 Ottawa, Illinois

Events

June 4h - 2 Rivers Wine Fest ( 11 am to 9 pm)
Held in historic downtown Ottawa where the Illinois & Fox Rivers join. Sample award-winning wines from 26 Illinois Winery’s. Join a host of jazz musicians, scheduled cooking and wine demonstrations, fine antiques, botanicals, crafts and more!
Wine - Food - Jazz / Wine Tasting $15
www.ottawa2riverswinefest.com

Must be 21 years of age to attend events ** for more details go to www.foxvalleywinery.com

CHOCOLATE FONDUE

CHOCOLATE FONDUE

1/2 c. whipping cream
3 tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. butter
8 chocolate candy bars with almonds (1 oz.) size, broken
1 1/2 c. miniature marshmallows


Use a 1 quart fondue pot. Rub butter around the pan.
Place candy bars and marshmallows in the pot. Cover and cook, stirring until melted and smooth on low temperature. Gradually add whipping cream.
Serve pound cake, bananas, marshmallows, fresh strawberries, grapes, mandarin oranges and pretzels.

Meatloaf Muffins

Meatloaf Muffins
This easy recipe makes for a delicious, high-protein meal in half an hour

Ingredients
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• ½ cup finely chopped carrot
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 1/12 pounds ground beef (extra lean)
• 1 cup finely crushed saltine fat-free crackers OR breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoon prepared mustard
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• cooking spray

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, chopped carrot, dried oregano, and mixed garlic; sauté 2 minutes, cool.

Combine onion mixture, ½ cup ketchup, and the remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a large bowl.

Spoon the meat mixture into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Top each with 2 tsp of ketchup. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Makes 6 servings (2 muffins).

Shrimp Taco’s

Shrimp Taco’s
• Ingredients
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 4 limes, cut into quarters
• kosher salt
• 8 6-inch corn tortillas
• 2 to 3 cups finely shredded green cabbage
• bottled green tomatillo salsa
•
Directions

1. Heat grill to medium-high. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, milk, and cumin. Set aside.
2. Skewer the shrimp. (If using wood skewers, soak them in water for 10 minutes beforehand.) In a small bowl, combine the butter and garlic. Brush the shrimp with the garlic butter.
3. Place the shrimp on grill with the limes. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side or until the shrimp are opaque and the limes are browned.
4. Remove from grill. Lightly salt the shrimp.
5. Grill the tortillas for 30 seconds on each side, then place inside a paper bag to keep warm.
6. Pull the shrimp off the skewers; divide evenly among the tortillas. Top with the cabbage, sour cream sauce, tomatillo salsa, and a squeeze of grilled lime.
7.
By Jane Kirby, June 2003

Banana-Strawberry Smoothies

Banana-Strawberry Smoothies
From: Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients
2 ripe small bananas
1 cup frozen unsweetened whole strawberries
1 8-ounce carton vanilla low-fat yogurt
3/4 cup milk

Directions
1. Peel bananas. Cut bananas into chunks. Place banana chunks, frozen strawberries, yogurt, and milk into blender a container.
2. Cover blender and blend on high speed about 1 minute or until mixture is smooth. Turn off blender. Pour drink into 2 glasses. If desired, serve with pieces of toast spread with peanut butter. Makes 2 servings.

As a back-up plan we always keep Yoplait Frozen Smoothies in the freezer.... You just add 1 cup of milk to one Yoplait packet.

Yoplait® Frozen Smoothie Yoplait® makes Smoothies fast and fabulous straight from your freezer. They're rich in nutrition with real fruit, live and active cultures and calcium. So, enjoy 1 full serving of fruit with four great tasting varieties. Just add milk and blend!

BLT DIP

BLT DIP

Ingredients
1 pound bacon
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 tomato - peeled, seeded and diced
Directions
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain on paper towels.
In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise and sour cream. Crumble bacon into the sour cream and mayonnaise mixture. Chill. Mix in tomatoes just before serving. Serve with toast that is cut into small slices.

Honey Apple Pork Chops and Spicy Pear Chutney

HONEY APPLE PORK CHOPS
4 pork loin chops (8 oz. each) about 1" thick
1 1/2 cups apple cider
1/4 cups lemon juice
1/4 cup soy sauce ( you can use lite soy sauce instead )
2 tbsp. honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. pepper
Combine all ingredients except pork chops, mix well. Place chops in a shallow dish; pour marinade over chops. Cover and refrigerate overnight, turning meat occasionally.
Remove pork chops from marinade. Place on grill approximately 6 inches above low to medium coals. Grill for 40 to 50 minutes, turning and basting with marinade every 10 to 15 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

Spicy Pear Chutney

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ medium sized red onion, minced
½ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ – ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you want it)
3 fresh pears, chopped … ( you can do 1 apple and 2 pears instead )

Directions
Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and minced red onion. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes until the onions start to soften. Add the dried cranberries and cook for 5 more minutes. Stir in the sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and pears. Combine well. Simmer on low heat for 5 to 10 minutes or until the pears and cranberries have softened but the pears still retain their shape. If the mixture is too liquid, turn the heat up and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Serve warm.
Makes about 2 cups.

PRETZEL JELLO DESSERT

PRETZEL JELLO DESSERT

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PRETZEL JELLO DESSERT
1 stick melted butter
1 1/2 c. crushed pretzels
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 lg. container Cool Whip
1 c. sugar
1 (6 oz.) pkg. strawberry Jello
1 lg. pkg. frozen strawberries

Mix melted butter, pretzels, and 1/2 cup sugar together and press into 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake 6 minutes at 350 degrees. Dissolve Jello in 2 cups boiling water and add frozen strawberries. Let gel. Combine cream cheese, Cool Whip, and 1/2 cup sugar; put on top of crumbs. When Jello is starting to set, pour over cheese layer and refrigerate until firm.