Walnut Cheese Balls

    These are great appetizers, if they last long enough to put out.  When I made them, I ate most of them before they had a chance to set up in the refrigerator. 

    This is made with walnuts but when I added black walnuts they became even better.  Since black walnuts aren't easy to come by, I kept the ingredients to just walnuts but I think it would be good with any nuts.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups walnuts, chopped
8 oz cream cheese
4 oz goat cheese (I used brie)
3/4 cup dried fruit, chopped
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
4 teaspoons of finely chopped lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch ground black pepper

Directions:

With an electric mixer, cream together all ingredients except walnuts, salt and pepper.  Refrigerate one hour.

Add salt and pepper to chopped walnuts and mix. 

Make balls of cheese mixture and roll in walnuts to coat.  Refrigerate again for an hour...go ahead do that without eating any.  Good luck.  When you are ready to serve, sprinkle serving dish with left over nuts and put the cheese balls on top of that.   
 

Marinated Mushrooms

     If you ever had good marinated mushrooms, you'll love these.  They are exactly what I remember from my favorite canner in Lancaster.  I would buy these and eat the whole jar before I got out of town heading for home.  I didn't think I'd ever find a recipe to mimic those but eventually I was able to change and perfect one of my own. 


I'll save you a lot of time and let you have what I discovered after many attempts.


2 lbs of raw white button mushrooms

2/3 cup vinegar
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup of oil
2 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon dried Italian spices
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon salt
1 onion sliced 
dash pepper

Clean the mushrooms and cover with water.  Bring to a simmer and continue to simmer for 5 minutes.  

In the meantime, combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and stir well.  

After 5 minutes of simmering, remove mushrooms from water and immediately add to marinade.  Refrigerate for at least 24 hours but 48 or more is better.  

I keep these in a mason jar so I can shake them and redistribute the seasonings when I use them.  

Cashew Chicken in a Slow Cooker

     Cashew chicken has been a favorite of mine since I was coerced into trying it a few years ago.  Normally, I prefer nuts stay in desserts or next to fruit where they belong, but in this case I have to make an exception.  

Below is a convenient and easy cashew chicken to fix and forget.

1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs
2 Tablespoons of all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 - 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil

1/4 cup of soy sauce
2 Tablespoons of seasoned rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons of ketchup
1 Tablespoon of brown sugar
1 garlic clove minced
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1/4 cup cashews

Cut chicken to 1/4 inch strips.  

Combine flour and pepper in a large plastic bag.  Add chicken and shake to coat the chicken with the flour. 

Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil in a pan over medium heat.  Brown chicken for 2 minutes on each side.  Do in batches so you don't crowd the pan.  Place each batch directly into a crockpot as they finish cooking.  Add more oil if the pan gets too dry.

Combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic and ginger into a medium bowl and whisk together.  Pour over chicken.  Turn the crockpot on LOW for 3 to 4 hours.  Do not turn up to high.  The high sugar content will burn easily.  

Add cashews to the crockpot about 10 minutes before serving.  Serve over couscous, rice or pasta.