Nutty Strawberry Salad

 Fall is my favorite season, but there is something so nice and refreshing about the spring. Baby animals come out to play, the weather warms up and we get to spend some time outside. With a high level of SPF protection of course. One of my favorite things about spring and summer is we all get together for some nice potlucks and share food and good times. 

This is an awesome salad my Aunt Cathi made a few weeks ago and I have been making it ever since! I love how crunchy, creamy and fruity it is. All the ingredients go so well together and makes for a great salad that can easily be the main attraction of any meal. 

Ingredients

6 to 8 cups mixed greens

8 to 12 strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/2 cup candied nuts (make your own here)

4 oz soft herb cheese, cut or spooned into tablespoon sized pieces

1/3 cup strawberry vinaigrette, or a dressing of your choice

Strawberry vinaigrette

1/3 cup strawberry jam

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup olive oil or salad oil

Warm up the jam for about 30 seconds in the microwave to get the jam to blend easily. Then add the vinegar.  Mix this very well until well combined. Add in a good amount of salt and pepper. Then slowly add in the oil while you are whisking.

This salad is so, so good, but it is also very easy. Just mix the greens, strawberries, and nuts together in a large bowl. Then add the dressing and toss to coat all the leaves. Once this is well mixed, place the cheese in little drops all over the salad so everyone gets a bit of cheese in each bite.

If you add the cheese and then toss, it will just make a mess all over the salad.  This way it looks beautiful and ready to eat. 

Enjoy!

 Chicken Fajita Pasta

As of late I seem to have been plagued by a monster in my refrigerator. I go to make a delicious recipe I have been dreaming about all day and suddenly one of the ingredients is missing. It is terribly annoying. For instance, I was looking forward to making some delicious chicken fajitas for dinner one night. I mysteriously couldn't find a tortilla to save my life. Since I had of course chopped all the peppers and onions meticulously, and  had chicken ready to use I had to do something with them. 

 I created a quick sauce out of some tasty tomatoes and added plenty of cheese. A quick boil to some pasta and it was all ready. I have to say the monster in the refrigerator had helped me make a delicious plan b dinner. This chicken fajita pasta is super good with some cilantro and extra cheese on top. Try it out and you will love it!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon veggie oil

2 bell peppers, chopped

1 small onion, chopped 

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 14 oz can fire roasted tomatoes, with juice

2 cups cooked chicken, cubed

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 package of spaghetti noodles

 Before you start the sauce, boil a large pot of water for the pasta. When it is boiling, add the whole box and continue to boil until it is tender or about 8 to 10 minutes. 

Heat up the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in the peppers and onions. When these have just softened a touch, add in the garlic and some salt and pepper to taste. 

 

After the garlic has cooked for about 30 seconds, add in the tomatoes. Let this simmer for just a few minutes. 

Add in the cooked chicken and turn the sauce down to low. I like to add in a bit of cayenne pepper, but it is totally optional. Green chile would be great in this, too!

 

By this point, the pasta should be done. Drain this and add it to the sauce. Add in about half of the cheese and stir, stir, stir. Allow all of this to cook together for about 5 more minutes. 

Serve this with the remaining cheese sprinkled over the top. 

 

This is an awesome weeknight dinner that you and your family will love. Try this out soon even if you don't have a monster in your refrigerator.

Chocolate Popcorn Squares

Popcorn is one of my favorite snacks. I can eat it any time of day, even as a part of a meal. I just love how versitile and easy it is to make into any type of flavor. I often forget about the sweeter side of popcorn and how delicious it is to make a sweet and salty treat. 

Popcorn balls were something my mom and I made on Halloween and I loved them! The only bad part was shaping the sticky mass into tidy shapes. This chocolate drizzled treat saves you a bit of time and effort by just pressing the whole thing into a greased pan. Then it can be easily cut into squares. This will stay perfect in the fridge for over a week, making it a great afternoon snack and dessert. 

Ingredients

8 cups of popped popcorn

1/4 butter

1 bag of mini marshmallows

1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

1 cup of milk chocolate chips (or  milk chocolate cut up)

1 to 4 tablespoons milk

Melt the butter into a large, heavy bottomed pot and add in the marshmallows. Let the marshmallows melt until they are smooth and creamy. If you are using popcorn that has already been salted, omit the salt at this point. Otherwise, throw that into the mixture and turn off the heat. Add in the popcorn and stir, stir, stir to make sure each kernel is covered in the marshmallow goop. 

Once all the popcorn is covered, carefully pour the mixture into a greased 9 X 13 pan. This will give you a tall bar with a lot of the marshmallow goodness to go with the popcorn. Chill this in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the chocolate drizzle.  Using the same pan, I just throw in the milk and the chocolate chips and turn this on to low heat and whisk constantly. Make sure it is on super low so the chocolate does not seize up. If it does, just add a few tablespoons of butter. Once this has almost melted, turn off the heat and keep whisking. Drizzle this over the popcorn mixture and cut into squares.

Enjoy!

 Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers was a dish I only knew from the freezer section as a kid, but I loved it! I still think the traditional kind with the green peppers and tomato sauce reigns supreme, but this is a great alternative. This has spicy and cheesy flavors all stuffed into a pepper. This is something that looks fancy but it is pretty simple. Try these peppers out with some guests and they will think you went through a mountain of trouble. It can be just our secret that it's just as easy as making rice and browning ground beef.

Ingredients

4 red or green bell peppers

1 pound of ground beef

 1/ 2 onion, chopped

2 1/2 cups of cooked rice

1 teaspoon each, salt and pepper

1 large can of red enchilada sauce, divided

2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Cut the tops off of the peppers. I like to make a shallow cut and then dig everything out of the pepper.

 

Make sure the seeds and the membranes are out of the pepper as they can be a bit bitter.  Then rinse this out to make sure it's nice and clean for the filling.

Cook the ground beef over medium heat with the onion until the beef is browned and the onion is tender. Add in the cooked rice, the salt, pepper and about 3/4 cup of the enchilada sauce. I like to let this sit over very low heat for a few minutes to let the rice soak up the tasty sauce. Then add in about 1 cup of cheese and turn off the heat completely. 

 

If you want, let the filling cool before stuffing the peppers. I like to burn my hands in the process to make me feel like I have worked for it. You can cram quite a bit into the peppers, too.  Once the peppers are stuffed, place them into an oven safe dish.

Getting the peppers to stand upright is not completely necessary.  If it happens, it happens. These two stood up nicely until I put them in the oven. What's the worst that could happen? They soak up the sauce and get blistery on one side. Oh no! After you have placed your peppers in the pan, pour the remaining enchilada sauce into the bottom of your baking dish. Then, sprinkle the remaining cheese over the tops of each pepper.

Bake the peppers at 350 degrees for about thirty to forty five minutes or until the peppers are a bit tender.  I like to spoon over the enchilada sauce about half way through the baking time to make sure the top is nice and saucy.

This is great with just a salad, but some beans would go with this nicely as well!

 Lemon Roasted Asparagus

 Spring is officially upon us! This is such a beautiful time of year. I love the way it smells with all the plants starting to grow again. I also love the way it tastes with all the spring fruits and veggies that come into season. On of my favorite Spring vegetables is asparagus. These super nutritious stalks are an easy vegetable to love. This is especially true when it is accompanied by the zesty freshness of lemon.

Ingredients

1 pound of  fresh asparagus, trimmed

1 tablespoon of melted butter or olive oil

1 lemon, zest removed and juiced

1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper

Start with the asparagus cleaned and dry. Then, drizzle over the butter, lemon zest and lemon juice. Toss lightly so that the salt and pepper will stick evenly. Once all the pieces are coated, add the salt and pepper.

Throw the asparagus onto a cookie sheet. Cook this in the oven or toaster oven  for about 15 minutes at 375 degrees. I like the stalks to still be a bit crunchy. If you want a more tender result, roast them a few minutes longer. 

Enjoy!

 

Cheesy Green Onion Pasta

Do you ever have those times when you just get the need for one food or another? This sauce has been on my mind for quite some time now. My grandma would make these crazy delicious enchiladas with a super rich cheese sauce to go over them. The thought of making all of that sounds like a lot of work, but I still needed that cheese sauce.

Then I though " What else would you do with that sauce?" Pasta was the first thing to enter my mind. It seemed a bit odd, but with all that cheesy goodness how could it be bad? I tried it out and made a few adjustments. Let me tell you, this pasta dish is rich, creamy and delicious. 

The green onion flavor is very mild and so are the green chilies. All the flavors together make a great meatless dish. If you wanted to add some protein, cubed chicken, ground beef, or even canned tuna would dress this up in no time. Not only is this really good, it is easy and quick to pull together. I made the sauce in about 10 minutes, the same time it takes to cook the pasta. 

Ingredients

1 can of evaporated milk

1 can of cream of celery

8 oz Velveeta, cubed

1 packet of green onion dip mix (regular onion dip works well, too)

1 small can of diced green chilies

3/4 lb pasta, cooked  and drained

cheddar cheese for sprinkling over the top

First, throw all the ingredients (except the pasta) into a large sauce pan and turn the heat on to low. Stir this pretty often or it will burn on the bottom.

 

Once the sauce has melted and cooked together, add in the cooked pasta. If it seems a little too gloppy, add a splash of milk. If it is too runny for your taste, add in some of the cheese for the garnish. No matter what you do, this will be a favorite in no time!

 

 Extra Special Chicken Salad

"I had a pocket burger for lunch today and it was good. What did you have for lunch today?" A sweet student asked me. Anyone who comes into the beginning of my last class of the day may think we are not learning, but education is indeed occurring. I have many students who are refugees from around the world and practicing language is something we must do. It is no surprise that my students know lots of names for food since it is one of my favorite things to talk about. 

"I had chicken salad for lunch today and it was good." This little boy is from Thailand and has never experienced chicken salad. His adorable little head cocked to the side in confusion as  explained what was in it.

This recipe is loosely based on the kind of chicken salad my grandma made. The secret ingredient is the chicken base. It adds a really concentrated salty and chicken flavor I love. The fruit and nuts give it a great crunch and make it an extra special lunch.

Ingredients

Salad

2 cups of cubed or shredded chicken (I like white meat, but what you have will work)

1/2 crisp apple, chopped

1/4 almonds, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

8 spears of asparagus, trimmed and chopped

Dressing

1 teaspoon chicken base

2 tablespoons Italian salad dressing

1 tablespoon water

1/3 cup miracle whip or mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon pepper

With a fork or a small whisk, combine the chicken base, Italian salad dressing and water together. The water makes it easy to break up the chicken base. I like to use the paste textured chicken base, but the powdered is also great. After the chicken base is well blended, add in the remaining ingredients making sure it is well combined.

Mix all the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Make sure everything is chopped to be about the same size.

Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and mix this really well. Let this sit for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator to chill. I love to serve this over a bed of mixed greens with some crackers as a delicious lunch. Try this out soon, you will love it!