Strawberry Salad

My friend, Kristin, asked me to post this one and send it to her. We had this on a picnic on the hill at SBTS. Miss you my friend! :) Hope you make it and think of me!

12 ozs. fresh spinach leaves
1 qt. fresh strawberries- hulled, quartered
2 tsp. sesame seeds
1/2 c. pecans, almonds, or walnuts
1/2 c. veg. oil
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. distilled vinegar
1 1/2 grated onion
1/4 tsp. worchestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 can mandarin orange slices
- wash/drain spinach, then squeeze dry between layers of paper towels; tear into bite-sized pieces
- toss together spinach, strawberries, orange slices, sesame seeds and walnuts in a large bowl; set aside
- in a separate bowl, beat together oil, sugar, vinegar, onion, worchestershire sauce, and paprika
- pour prepared dressing over salad and toss to coat
- serve immediately

Bagelheads Coleslaw

I love the coleslaw at Bagelheads here in Pensacola, so I'm going to try to make it myself at home! Tonight we're having Teryaki Chicken, Bourbon Baked Beans (Bush's!), and Bagelheads slaw... If you have my cookbook, you have the recipe for the chicken already, so here is the coleslaw:

1 pound cabbage, finely shredded
2 (3-ounce) packages ramen noodles, any flavor
1 (2-ounce) package slivered almonds
1/4 cup butter
1 cup vinegar
1 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 green onions, chopped

Remove seasoning packets from noodles and set packets aside. Crumble noodles in package. In a skillet over medium heat, cook noodles and almonds in butter until lightly browned; set aside.
For dressing, combine vinegar, oil, sugar, soy sauce and seasoning packets from noodles in a jar; put lid on and shake well to blend. Refrigerate dressing.
Immediately before serving, toss together noodle mixture, dressing, onion and cole slaw.

So good! Call me if you have questions about this post or if you have a better recipe!! :)

Quesadilla Night!

Okay, so tonight we're having Quesadillas, salsa, and chips! For my quesadillas I just put the tortilla in the skillet, add cheese, chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes, (whatever else I want), and onions. I close it up while it's still in the skillet and then turn it! I take it out and serve with some low-calorie/light sour cream. Wallah! Great meal. We'll probably have a side salad as well. We're trying to get our veggies!!! :)

Fweuh!

I'm glad to have some of my baking done this year. Sometimes it is very therapeutic and other times just stressful! I think I felt a little of both this year. I made peanut-butter balls for Reagan and my bro-in-law John, Crispy Date Balls (see last year's post for the recipe!), I covered pretzels, and previously had made chocolate-covered cherry cookies. All of them tasted very good, but it sometimes makes me think I should think about buying things in the future! I probably never will because I think the homemade gifts are the best, but you just get bogged down sometimes and wish it was just more fun!! I think if I were with my friends or with someone I love working on these it would be more fun... shout out to Callee.... I wished you were there with me when I was baking! It would have been MUCH more fun with you! :)

Dinner in a Pumpkin

We have a special holiday we like to call "Pumpkin Day" and we are just about to leave to go pick out our pumpkin!
Several people have asked about this recipe, so I thought I'd share with anyone who has a pumpkin left after Reformation Day!

1 Medium Pumpkin2 lbs. hamburger, cooked and drained

Diced onions, and celery to taste

1/4 c. soy sauce

2 T. brown sugar

1 4oz. can sliced mushrooms (drained)

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cups hot cooked rice

Preheat oven to 375. Cook rice. Cut a lid for the pumpkin. Using an icecream scoop or large spoon, remove the seeds and pulp. Dice onions and celery. Mix soy sauce, brown sugar, onions, celery, mushrooms and soup in a large bowl. When rice is finished cooking add and the beef to the mixture of soup and veggies. Spoon mixture into the pumpkin, place it in a medum pan or on a cookie sheet. Bake one hour until the pumpkin is tender. Scoop out to serve.

I hope this will be a favorite this year for RG!

1st Birthday Cake

This is a picture of the cake I will be making for Lil'Bob's first birthday!

SALSA!!!

You need:
2 cans tomatoes
lime juice or lime
1 bunch of cilantro (use disgression by your family's tastes)
1-2 onions ( sweet are best)
1tsp. southwest chipotle seasoning (McCormick is one who puts out this type of seasoning)
garlic (about one clove)
1. Cut into chuncks that your family likes or blend in the blender/chopper and mix all ingredients together well. 2. I like to serve this in individual bowls for each family member. 3. Combine with Mission or Tortilla Chips of your liking.