Stuffed Celery Sticks

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch celery
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 20 small green olives

Directions:

1. Separate and wash celery stalks. Cut stalks into 3 sections. Coarsely chop the olives. 
2. Mix the cream cheese, sour cream, walnuts, and chopped olives. Spread filling onto the celery pieces. 

Chicken Stroganoff

Ingredients:

• 4 skinless and boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
• 1 package fresh white button mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

Directions:

1. Put chicken, mushrooms, butter, and dressing mix in a slow cooker. Combine well and cook on low for 5 hours.
2. Add cream cheese and soup then and cook on high for another 1/2 hour or until heated through and warm. Serve over pasta or brown rice!

Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 2/3 cup any flavor fruit jam
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 320º. Grease cookie sheets.
2. Cream butter, sugar, and egg yolk together. Add vanilla, flour, walnuts, and salt. Mix well.
3. Shape dough into balls. Place on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 5 minutes.
4. Remove cookies from oven. With thumb, dent each cookie. Put jelly or preserves in each thumbprint. Bake for another 8 minutes.

Seafood Potato Salad

Ingredients:

• 3 russet potatoes
• 4 medium tomatoes
• 4 celery sticks
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 pound pre-cooked shrimp
• 1/4 pound pre-cooked scallop
• Mayonnaise
• Salt and white pepper
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon 
• 1/3 teaspoon wasabi
• 1/2 lemon juice

Directions:

1. In a large pot of boiling water, cook potatoes for 15 minutes. Peel the potatoes and then chop into large cubes. In a large pot of cold water, cook eggs on medium heat until water boils then let boil for another 5 minutes. Remove eggs from the pot and let cool in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes. Remove egg shells and slice 2 eggs in an egg slicer. Chop the remaining 3 eggs into cubes. 
2. Chop 3 tomatoes into cubes and 1 tomato into round slices. Chop celery into cubes. In a large pot of boiling water, cook shrimp and scallop for 1 minute then remove immediately. 
3. Combine all ingredients, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, sugar, chicken bouillon, wasabi, and lemon juice. Mix well. 

Beef Stew

Ingredients:

• Olive oil or butter
• 2 pounds bottom round, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 pound sliced cremini mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups brown ale or dark beer
• 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaf

Directions:

1. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add half the beef and brown on all sides, turning frequently, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a slow cooker. Remove oil from pan and add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and brown the remaining beef. Transfer to the slow cooker.
2. Return the skillet to medium heat, add mushrooms and onions. Cook for 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Pour in ale and bring to a boil until thickened and bubbling, about 3 minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the slow cooker.
3. Add carrots, garlic, mustard, caraway seeds, salt, pepper and bay leaf to the slow cooker. Combine well. Cook on low for at least 8 hours.