Strawberry Spinach Salad

This is such a refreshing and delicious salad. Courtesy Triple M.



1 package of fresh spinach
1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 package of sliced fresh strawberries
cooked bacon, crumbled
Candied walnuts/pecans

Assemble salad, pour dressing just a couple minutes before serving.


Poppyseed Dressing:

1 C sugar
1/2 C apple cider vinegar
1 C salad oil
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 tsp dry mustard
1 garlic clove


Toss.

Stuffed Mushrooms

My friend Maggie brought these over for a meal for us...along with so much other yummy stuff it would make your head spin. I'm not even gonna list everything she made for us because it would just make you feel bad about yourself. She's amazing...and so are these mushrooms!

1 8oz package cream cheese
2 slices muenster cheese
2 slices provolone cheese
1/2 large zucchini
1/2 C shredded parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove pressed
2 tsp. Pampered Chef dill seasoning ***
1/2 3oz jar of Hormel Real Bacon Bits
Plain Bread Crumbs
Mushrooms (about a pound)
Let cream cheese soften in a bowl. Shred muenster, provolone and zucchini in Pampered Chef cheese shredder using the smallest barrel. Add remaining ingredients except bread crumbs and mix. Add bread crumbs to desired consistency. You want it to easy form with your hands, not too dry but thick. Wash mushrooms & break out the stem. Roll filling into balls and stuff inside (you can use the Easy Accent Decorator to fill with a pretty design). Bake on 350 until the mushrooms have released their own juices (about ½ hour to 1 hour).

*This would probably be good shaped in a ball and rolled in walnuts or pecans to be served as a cheese ball.

**If you make this ahead of time & refrigerate the seasonings get more pungent giving it a stronger flavor. Sometimes I’ll make it and leave it out on the counter if it’s only a few hours till I cook it!

***You must use the Pampered Chef dill seasoning because it is better than store bought.

Rosemary Dijon Chicken

Another baby meal, courtesy of Mia.

Ingredients:
Chicken Thighs (I use boneless, Skinless from costco but breasts will work too)
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
2-3 tbsp honey mustard
1 tbsp dijon mustard
about 1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tsp tarragon vinegar
garlic salt to sprinkle on
salt and pepper

place chicken in baking dish or pan and preheat oven to 350
mix in bowl both mustards, wine, vinegar, and a dash of pepper and garlic salt (maybe 1/2 tsp of garlic salt and another 1/2 tsp of pepper?)
whisk together.
then take rosemary and take all the little leaves off. Throw the stems away and mince all the sprigs very finely. Add them to mixture and whisk together.
Pour over chicken.
Shake more salt and pepper on top of chicken, and then sprinkle garlic salt on top of chicken too.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour and a half. Two hours is even better.

This makes a ton of gravy/sauce which we ate over some yummy mashed potatoes. Awesome!

Super Enchiladas

I LOVE it when people bring me meals after a baby...and not just because i don't have to cook. I love trying other people's favorite recipes and then adding them to my collection. Here's one from Julie, a friend in my mom's group. It was so good!

Buy a rotisserie chicken and pull all the chicken off of it. Put all the chicken in a big bowl, then add 1 drained can of black beans, 1 1/2 cup of sour cream, 1 cup of salsa (she uses 1/2 salsa verde and 1/2 505 organic salsa from Sprouts). Mix.
Drizzle salsa verde at the bottom of the baking pan, then put chicken mixture in whole wheat Tortillas, sprinkle Cheddar cheese in them and then roll up and place in pan. Top them with more salsa and cheddar.
Bake at 375 for 35 min. It makes a ton.

She brought it over with a Mexican green salad (with peppers and avocado, tomatoes, etc). and salsa + sour cream dressing plus some Mexican-style rice. It was SUPERB!

Cream Cheese Cupcakes

Here's one of my childhood faves. I requested these instead of cake for just about every birthday. Well, these and permission to eat the batter from an entire cake all by myself :)

Chocolate cake mix (plus the ingredients listed on box)

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Chocolate chips

Mix up cake mix as directed on box. Fill up each lined cupcake mold about 2/3 full. Beat cream cheese, egg, sugar and vanilla until combined. Mix in as many chocolate chips as desired (about one package is what i use). Drop a teaspoon of cream cheese mixture in center of each partially filled cupcake. Bake as directed for cupcakes on cake mix box. Dust with powdered sugar if desired. Enjoy hot with a glass of milk! yum!

Chocolate Caramel Toffee Bars

These are some amazing bar cookies courtesy of my good friend Sarah Porter. Sarah is one of the healthiest eaters I know but when she cheats, this is the amazing dessert she makes!

1 yellow cake mix

1/3 c. oil

2 eggs

1 (12 oz.) package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 c. white chocolate chips

3 (1.4 oz.) Heath or Skor bars, broken into pieces

1/2 c. butter or margarine

32 caramels, unwrapped

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 13" x 9" pan. Combine cake mix, oil and eggs; blend well. Stir in all chips and candy pieces (you can get creative and use other stuff too!). Press half of the mixture into pan and bake for 10 minutes. (It helps to press batter into pan using saran wrap to keep it from sticking to fingers).

Meanwhile combine butter, caramels and sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until smooth and melted. Slowly pour caramel mixture over partially baked crust, top with remaining cake mix mixture. Return to oven and bake an additional 25-30 minutes or until brown. Cool 20 minutes in pan. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen bars. Cool 40 minutes and refrigerate 1 hour. Store in refrigerator, makes 24 bars.

**Try making two batches, one with a yellow cake mix on bottom and a chocolate one on top and the other vice versa. Bon apetit!

GOOD wheat bread!

My favorite food and recipe junkie friend, Heidi, sent me this great bread recipe, I think it's from the Everyday Food Storage blog (which is fabulous, i might add). Seeing how I've never made an edible loaf of wheat bread in my life, i decided to try this recipe only using my brand new fancy dancy wheat grinder. Yes, it's freaking expensive and now I can't buy another kitchen appliance until 2014 but man is it great!! And, guess what? The bread turned out great!! I made it a bit too doughy because I didn't add enough flour (you may have to add more than the recipe says to get a good consistency) but it was still delectable. I can't wait to use my new grinder on some healthy cinnamon rolls! When I unearth my friend's award-winning recipe, I'll post it.

Wheat Bread recipe

1 1/4 cup warm water
1 Tblsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup honey or 1/3 cup brown sugar
2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (or whatever combination white/wheat you like..I use 100% hard white wheat.)
1/4 cup wheat gluten
1 tsp salt
2 Tblsp nonfat non instant dry milk (if you don’t have this use milk instead of half or all of the water.)
1 Tblsp butter/margarine/oil
1 Tblsp vinegar
1/4 cup potato flakes (NOT potato pearls)

Mix ingredients in order listed in mixing bowl of mixer with dough hook attachment (like kitchen-aid) for 12-15 minutes. Let rise until double, 1- 1 1/2 hours. Punch down, and shape into loaf or rolls. Let rise again until double and bake 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when lightly tapped.

White Bread

1 1/8 cups warm water
1 3/4 - 2 tsp active dry yeast
2 Tblsp sugar (I use 3 Tbs. of sugar and 1 Tbs. honey, SO GOOD)
3 cups flour
1 Tblsp vital wheat gluten (remember you don’t need as much gluten if you’re not using whole wheat flour)
1 tsp salt
2 Tblsp nonfat dry milk (I used Malted Milk Powder, ‘cause I had it! But you can substitute milk for the water up above.)
1 1/2 Tblsp butter/margarine or oil
1/4 cup potato flakes

Add the ingredients in the order listed into a mixer bowl (like a kitchen-aid) with a dough hook attachment and mix on low for 10-12 minutes. Or mix it on the dough cycle in your bread machine.
After all the mixing is complete, if the dough still seems too gooey and you are unable to handle it, add 1 Tblsp flour at a time, and mix after each addition until the dough is manageable with your hands. Let rise until doubled, punch down and roll out into a rectangle, the short end of which should be the length of your bread pan. Roll up the dough, seal the edges and place in a greased loaf pan, let rise in a warm place 45 min -1 hour and bake 375 degrees for 25 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when lightly tapped.