**Baked Vegetables
By La Waffalata. Downtown Mineola, Texas on Hwy. 80 (903)569-9321

Ingredients
2 Medium zucchinis
2 ripe tomatoes cut in half
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch ground pepper
1-2 TBSP olive oil (for bottom of casserole dish)

Instructions
Wash and dry zucchini. Remove ends. Cut in half lengthwise; total 4 halves. Wash and dry tomatoes. Cut in half horizontally; total four halves. Lie vegetable halves on casserole dish greased with olive oil. Melt butter in microwave; 25 seconds. Mix together basil, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper. Pour melted butter over vegetable halves. Use spoon to spread butter over vegetable 'tops'. Sprinkle herb mixture over melted butter. Bake in preheated 375 oven for 18-20 minutes. Broil for the last 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

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**Pizza Neeza
By La Waffalata. Downtown Mineola, Texas on Hwy 80 (903)569-9321

Ingredients
1 17 oz. package of sugar cookie dough
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1/2 teasp. almond extract
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced into thirds
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup fresh kiwi, sliced into thin round slices
1 small can mandarin oranges, drained
1 small can pineapple chunks, drained
12 maraschino cherries (without stems)
1/2 cup peach marmalade

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350. Roll or 'smash-out' cookie dough approximately 12-14 inches round. Bake 10-15 minutes (depending upon thickness) until firm. My preference is a round baking stone but a metal pizza pan may be used instead. Cool completely; remove form baking stone. In a medium size mixing bowl, mix together cream cheese and extract. Whip until very soft so that it is easy to spread. Spread over cooled cookie dough crust. Arrange fruit like a bullseye, heart, or smiley face. Slightly warm peach marmalade and brush or drizzle over fruit. Gobble up immediately!

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**Absolutely simply delicious

Sweet Yogurt Fruit Parfait
By La Waffalata. Downtown Mineola, Texas on Hwy. 80 (903) 569-9321

Ingredients
4 -- 8 oz. water glasses
2 cups Vanilla Yogurt
2 teasp. cinnamon
12 fresh strawberries cut into quarters
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 banana cut into 16 thin round slices (optional)
1 package Pecan Crunch Nature Valley Granola Bars

Instructions
In a small bowl whisk cinnamon into Yogurt. Dollup a couple tablespoons of yogurt on the bottom of each glass. Layer 4 strawberry quarters over dollups. Add a teaspoon of blueberries over strawberries. Dollup more yogurt. Repeat layer. This time add 4 banana slices, too. Repeat. Top off with Yogurt. To garnish with granola bars, gently break the 2 bars into bite size crumbs. Sprinkle over the top of each of the four parfaits. Enjoy!!

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**Bringing the ranch to the fish...

Beer Battered Fish Ranch Style
By La Waffalata. Downtown Mineola, Texas on Hwy 80 (903)569-9321

Ingredients
1 cup flour
2 TBSP powdered Ranch Dressing Mix
1 cup cornstarch
1 12 oz. bottle of beer
1 egg
1/2 teasp. salt
6 cups oil
1-1/2 pounds catfish filets

Instructions
Whisk together flour and ranch Dressing. In a separate bowl combine cornstarch with beer, egg and salt. Whisk until blended. Rinse and pat dry fish filets. Press into flour mixture to lightly coat. Add remaining flour mixture to cornstarch mixture; whisk. Refrigerate 15 minutes. Heat oil on high until very hot. Dip filets, one at a time into batter. Let excess batter drip back into bowl. Carefully drop battered filet into very hot oil. Repeat with a few more filets. Cook 4 minutes until golden, crispy and 'floating'. Garnish with fresh lemon or lime wedges. Serve with potato salad and grilled vegetables. Yum!!

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**This is one corn relish recipe you will relish!

Ken's Favorite Corn & Pepper Relish
By East Texas Burger Co. Downtown Mineola, Texas

Ingredients
1 cup of thawed frozen yellow corn or drained canned corn
1 cup finely chopped yellow bell pepper
1 cup finely chopped green pepper
1 cup finely chopped purple onion
2 TBSP chopped parsley
3 TBSP red wine vinegar
3 TBSP olive oil
1/2 teasp. salt
1/2 teasp. pepper
1 TBSP minced garlic (Ken always uses 2 TBSP!)

Instructions
Combine all chilled ingredients except vinegar, salt and pepper. In a small container, whisk red wine vinegar with olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour over combined vegetables. Refrigerate until time to serve. This recipe is an excellent side dish. It can also be used over salads or inside wraps.

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**This peach salsa will make your baked chicken want to dance!

Peach Salsa Tango
By La Waffalata. Downtown Mineola, Texas

Ingredients
3-1/2 cups chopped peaches (frozen or canned)
1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup cilantro (parsley may be substituted)
1-2 TBSP lime juice (to taste)
1/3 teaspoon salt
Couple dashes of coarse pepper
1 TBSP chopped jalapeno peppers, or 1/2 teaspoon jalapeno juice

Instructions
Combine all ingredients and then put in food processor to pulse quickly 3 or 4 times. This salsa is fabulous served over baked chicken. (Note -- Bake chicken breasts with a little bit of salt and lime juice. Then, 15 minutes before removing from oven, spread salsa over chicken.) -- This salsa is also excellent chilled and used as a spread inside a grilled chicken wrap.

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** "This past year I have had the great pleasure of meeting many     "In the Kitchen - Outside the Box" fans. Many people comment on how     they enjoy hearing about my family. This compliment means a lot because there     was a time in the Davis household when things felt a bit chaotic... Life was so busy,     it was hard to slow down. Here is one of our favorite family recipes for putting the     calm sunshine back into our home."   With hugs, Debbie Davis

Rainy Day Sunshine

Ingredients
Sense of Humor
Patience
Love
Focus
Ready-Made assorted treats such as slices of pound cake, whole strawberries, dry-roasted almonds, guacamole and chips, M&M's, Lucky Charms...
Deck of cards, scraps of paper and pen for Charades, Scrabble, UNO or any other silly game
Corny jokes
Fragrant Candle
Light Jazz music

Instructions
Remove the words, 'go, go, go' from your vocabulary. STOP. Turn cell phones off. Close the pantry; put the pots and pans down. Surf the internet for a few minutes to print-out some corny, family-friendly jokes. Cut the jokes into 'fortune strips' and fold them for different family members to read. Find a colorful platter and decorate it with an assortment of your family's favorite treats -- almonds, pound cake, berries, lucky charms, guacamole -- be creative. Set it in the middle of the coffee table in the living room, game room or back yard... Lie the cards, jokes, games or scraps of papers with funny charade re-enactment phrases beside the platter. Light a fragrant candle, throw on some soothing light jazz music. Pour orange juice, lemonade, or iced-tea in unusual containers like stemmed water goblets or teeny tea cups. Knock on the different doors that your family members are watching TV behind and tell them that you have a surprise. Turn the TV's off... Sit down together and laugh. "Junk-out" as my kids would say. Enjoy!

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**This roadster inspired coffee drink is surely worth a mid-day    stroll.

Coupe De La Crème
by La Waffalata... Downtown Mineola, Texas


Ingredients
4 teaspoons Chocolate Syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream (or half and half)
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon plus a pinch
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 TBSP Sugar
2 Cups hot black coffee
4 Dollups cool Whipped Cream
Chocolate Shavings (optional)

Instructions
Pour 1 teaspoon of chocolate syrup into the bottoms of four small coffee cups. Whisk together heavy cream, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar. Divide hot coffee into four cups. Stir cream mixture gently into hot coffee. Top with cool whipped cream just before serving. Garnish with a pinch of cinnamon and chocolate shavings.

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**This marinade fit for a Pork Loin is a delicious reminder of how      great it is just to be!

Marinade fit for a Pork Loin
By La Waffalata... Downtown Mineola, Texas on Hwy. 80


Ingredients
(1) 5 pound Pork Loin
2 TBSP minced garlic
1/4 cup bourbon
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 green onions, chopped
1 teasp. salt
1/2 teasp. ground black pepper
1/2 cup honey
1/2 quart (scant) water
Casserole Dish
Plastic Wrap

Instructions
In a sauté pan, cook garlic, bourbon, oil, soy sauce, onions, salt, and pepper. Cook for 7 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Whisk in honey. Pour half the quantity into casserole dish. Place pork loin in center of dish. Pour remaining quantity over pork loin. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. Remove from refrigerator for 15 minutes before baking. Remove plastic wrap. Pour a scant less than a half a quart of water to casserole dish. Place in non-preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for approximately 2-1/2 hours. Baste every 30 minutes with marinade from casserole dish. Serve with Baked corn on the cob and red rice. NOTE: You can gently pierce pork loin and insert garlic into loin instead of cooking garlic with bourbon/oil/soy sauce if you prefer.

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**I guess you could call it, 'Spinach Dip East Texas Style'

World Series Party Dip
By La Waffalata... Downtown Mineola, Texas..... located on Hwy. 80


Ingredients
1 cup La Waffalata Salsa
1/2 cup chopped white onion
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack Cheese plus 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature, cut into pieces
1 small can sliced black olives
1 cup black eyed peas, drained
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Instructions
Combine all ingredients. Pour into baking dish. Top with 1/2 cup reserved cheese. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for approximately 25-30 minutes. Serve with La Waffalata's homemade crackers or your favorite chips!

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**Easy, year-round delicious!

Southwest Cornbread Stuffing
By La Waffalata... Downtown Mineola, Texas

Ingredients
5 cups crumbled cornbread
8 slices white bread, torn
1 TBSP chopped jalapeno's
3 TBSP chopped cilantro
1/2 teasp. Basil
1/2 teasp. Oregano
1/2 teasp. Salt
1/2 teasp. Pepper
1 pound sausage, cooked, crumbled
3 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
2 TBSP minced garlic
5 - 6 TBSP chicken (or turkey) broth
1 TBSP jalapeno juice (optional)

Instructions
Sautee celery, onion and garlic with sausage. Do not drain grease; most grease will be absorbed. Pour cooked veggies and sausage over first 9 ingredients. Toss together. Stuff into 12 to 18 pound turkey. Delicious in cornish hens, too!

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**Pecans? Burgers? Man-I-Can! Kacey Musgraves loves pecans    so we created a special Pecan Burger for this Nashville Star!

Kacey's Man-I-Can Pecan Burger
By East Texas Burger Co.... Downtown, Mineola on Hwy. 80

Ingredients
2 LBS ground beef
4 TBSP chopped onion
4 TBSP finely chopped celery
splash Jalapeno Juice
6 slices of soft cooked bacon cut into 1 inch pieces
¾ cup chopped pecans
2 TBSP butter

Instructions
In a small sauce pan sauté onion and celery until clear. In a mixing bowl, combine ground beef with onion, celery, and jalapeno juice. Make 8 flat hamburger patties. Four of these patties are the ‘bottom’, and four are the ‘top’. Divide the bacon pieces and pecans between the four patty bottoms by placing bacon and pecans in the center. Cover the bottom patty with the top patty. Pinch edges together. Grill! Serve on a toasted hamburger bun with lettuce, tomato, and blue cheese dressing. Makes 4 half-pound burgers. Serve with fresh celery sticks and sweet potato fries.

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