1 ¾ cup fully cooked ham, cubed
3 ripe tomatoes, cut in chunks (plum tomatoes work well)
1 11oz. can corn kernels, drained
4 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, cut in long, thick strips
½ cup red onion, thinly sliced
2/3 cup ranch dressing, homemade or purchased
1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 small head Boston lettuce, leaves separated
¼ cup smoked almonds, rubbed between paper towels to remove excess salt, than coarsely chopped

Toss first 7 ingredients in a large bowl to mix and coat.

To serve, line a large serving platter with lettuce; top with ham mixture and sprinkle with almonds. Serves 4

This recipe was given to me by my friend Kathi, who got it from her mom, Shirley. It makes enough batter to make fresh muffins every day for a week!

3 cups sugar
1 cup Crisco
4 beaten eggs

Cream together the sugar, Crisco and eggs.

2 cups boiling water
1 cup chopped dates
3 tsp baking soda

In medium-sized bowl, pour 2 cups boiling water over dates and baking soda. Let stand for 3 minutes.

4 cups flour
4 cups All-Bran cereal
2 cups Bran Buds
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 quart buttermilk

Mix together and add to creamed mixture; stir, then add date mixture. Mix well. Pour into large covered container for storage in the refrigerator. It will thicken as it stands. To bake, scoop into muffin pan lined with paper muffin liners. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

6 sweet and tart apples (I like using a mixture), peeled, cored and sliced
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, washed and sorted to discard any shriveled ones
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2-1 cup granulated sugar, depending on sweetness of your apples
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt

Place all ingredients in large saucepan. Bring to boil; lower heat to simmer and cover. Cook for 20-30 minutes or until apples are soft enough to mash. Taste to check for sweetness/tartness and add sugar if desired. Cook until sugar is dissolved if you added more.
Remove from heat and mash with potato masher. Serve hot to accompany poultry or pork. Store in fridge for a week or two if it lasts that long, or freeze up to a year.

from America’s Test Kitchen

4 center-cut boneless pork chops, 6-8 ounces each, 3/4 – 1 inch thick
Table salt for brining (I used kosher salt)

To brine: Dissolve 1/4 cup salt in 1 quart water. Submerge chops, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 30 minutes. Remove from brine, rinse chops under cold water and dry with paper towels. If you are using enhanced pork injected with a salt solution, eliminate this step.

Breading:
4 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn in 1-inch pieces
1 small minced shallot (about 2 Tbsp)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed in garlic press (about 1 Tbsp) (this tends to be a bit garlicky, so watch out!)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Ground black pepper
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves (or 1/4 tsp of dried)
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour - plus 6 Tbsp, used separately
3 large egg whites
3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
Lemon wedges

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pork chops with brine as directed above.

2. Pulse bread in food processor until coarsely ground. You should have about 3 1/2 cups crumbs. Transfer crumbs to rimmed baking sheet and add shallot, garlic, oil, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Toss until crumbs are evenly coated with oil. Bake until deep golden brown and dry, about 15 minutes, stirring twice during baking time. (Do not turn off oven.) Cool to room temperature. Toss crumbs with Parmesan, thyme and parsley.

3. Place 1/4 cup flour in pie plate. In second pie plate, whisk egg whites and mustard until combined and smooth; add remaining 6 Tbsp flour to mixture and whisk until smooth, with pea-sized lumps remaining.

4. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Spray wire rack with cooking spray and place in rimmed baking sheet. Season chops with pepper. Dredge 1 pork chop in flour; shake off excess. Using tongs, coat with egg mixture; let excess drip off. Coat all sides of chop with bread crumb mixture, pressing gently so that thick layer of crumbs adheres to chop. Transfer breaded chop to wire rack. Repeat with remaining three chops.

5. Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of chops registers 150 degrees, about 17-25 minutes. (It took longer for my chops to reach 150 degrees, but maybe living at 7400 ft. had something to do with that.) Let rest on rack 5 minutes before serving with lemon wedges.

These chops were tender from the brine bath and the tops of the chops were crunchy, just like ATK promised they’d be. The bottoms of the chops, however, were not as crunchy as the top. If you went through the trouble of browning them before baking, maybe you could remedy that, but I like the ease of popping them in the oven straightaway.

Dried fruit, couscous and mixed greens toss together into a colorful, cool summer salad.

3 cups cooked couscous
1 medium red or yellow sweet pepper, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots, dried cranberries and/or golden raisins
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 green onion, chopped
1 cup bottled poppy seed dressing
1/2 tsp grated lime peel
dash of hot pepper sauce
8 cups mixed baby greens
1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds

In a large bowl, combine cooked couscous, sweet pepper, dried fruit, cilantro and green onion. In a small bowl combine dressing, grated lime peel, and hot pepper sauce. Stir half of dressing into couscous mixture. Cover and chill mixture and remaining dressing for 1 to 4 hours. To serve, combine salad greens and almonds in a large bowl. Pour remaining dressing over greens; toss to coat. Divide greens among 6 salad plates. Spoon couscous mixture atop the greens.