Spinach Salad

My sister-in-law, Jill, brought this salad to our family reunion last weekend.  She had mentioned this salad a few weeks ago at the extended Corbridge Reunion, which has had me anxious to try it ever since!  Jill said that she'd tried this salad at another reunion the month before and it was the talk of the menu.  She couldn't wait to get the recipe and when she finally did, she realized that it was a  recipe she was given at her own bridal shower twenty-some years ago.  She'd thought that the recipe sounded strange and had never made it before!  Now it's a favorite.  And I get why!  Holy Cow!  This is one great salad!!!

Salad

1 package bacon, cooked and crumbled
12 ounces swiss cheese, grated
2 large bags of fresh spinach
1 head of lettuce, choppped

Dressing

3/4 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 medium purple onion, sliced thinly
1 1/2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
1 cup vegetable or olive oil
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 tsp. dry mustard
1 tbsp. onion salt

Mix the dressing and let sit for at least two hours.  Then, pour the dressing on the salad and toss and serve.  The dressing keeps in the fridge for a few days, if you don't want to toss it all at once, since the salad is so huge!   SO SO good!  Enjoy!

English Muffin Bread

This is seriously the most simple bread I've ever made.  It tastes just like English Muffins when it's toasted.  With the price of English Muffins, I thought I'd give it a try.  And seriously.  It was so simple and quick to make.  I used my Bosch Kitchen Machine but,  you wouldn't even need a bread mixer for this recipe.  We have had it with jam, butter, honey and cinnamon sugar.  So tasty!!  

5 1/2 cups warm water

3 packages yeast, instant

2 Tablespoons salt

3 Tablespoons sugar

11 cups flour (I use bread flour)

Mix all of the ingredients together.  (I did mix the water, sugar and yeast and let them rise for ten minutes before adding the salt and flour.)  Mix the flour and salt in just barely enough for it to all be wet.  It does not need to be over-mixed.  It's VERY sticky dough.  VERY STICKY.  Spoon the dough into 4 well-greased loaf pans.  Let rise in pans until dough reaches the top of the pans, and bake in 350 degree oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown.  Take it out of the oven and brush it with melted butter.  Put it back in the oven for ten minutes. Makes 4 loaves. Bread will be moist at first. Allow to COOL COMPLETELY before cutting.  Enjoy!!

The BEST Poppy Seed Bread EVER!

Good friend, Natalie, made this tasty bread and dropped off this loaf "just because".  It's the lightest poppy seed bread I've ever had!  Loved it!

1 package (18-1/4 ounces) white cake mix

1 package (3.4 ounces) instant lemon pudding mix

1 cup warm water

4 eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

4 teaspoons poppy seeds

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, water, eggs and oil; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Fold in poppy seeds. Pour into two greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Yield: 2 loaves (16 slices each).  Enjoy!

Perfect Rice Pudding

I also found this recipe this weekend and made some rice pudding for the kids. They'd never tried "the real thing" before and they loved it.  I've always liked it but not loved it. This recipe, I loved!  It's a perfect way to use your leftover rice.  I found the recipe, where else, but it on Pinterest through The Hungry Housewife. Although, here's my version because I made a few adjustments to suit our tastes.

 4 cups leftover rice

    6 cups milk

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp vanilla

1 cup craisins

1/2 cup coconut

1 tsp. cinnamon

All add ingredients to the cooked rice in a large saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring frequently and at the end, constantly.  I stirred this for, literally 45 minutes.  It took that long to bring it to a boil because the milk and rice were ice cold.  I boiled it for about ten minutes stirring constantly. Once most of the milk is absorbed, remove from heat. Serve hot or cold!   We served it hot vanilla with ice cream.  (Corbridge Rule:  Breakfast is always better with ice cream.)  The kids were in heaven and then ate the leftovers for dessert later that night.

Cilantro-Peanut Pesto Pasta

I also made this tasty pasta.  Friend, Hayley had pinned it as I was just walking out the door to Lee's Marketplace.  So, I thought I'd pick up the two things that I still needed.  I tried it and OH MY!  SO SO GOOD.  Here's my version...I did make a few adjustments to the recipe and here's how we loved it.

1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)

1 clove garlic, smashed, peeled, and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 chopped red pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
zest and juice from one fresh lime (about 2 tsp zest and 2 Tbs juice)
1/4 cup roasted peanuts (plus more for serving, if desired)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
16 oz linguine, cooked according to box instructions

Cook pasta as directed on the box.  While it's cooking, in a food processor, combine everything except soy sauce. Chop until everything is quite fine.  Season with soy sauce and pulse to combine.  In a large bowl, toss pesto with hot pasta.  Roughly chop additional peanuts and sprinkle over pasta along with extra cilantro leaves and lime wedges if desired.  Serve immediately.  (If you’re prepping and not quite ready to eat yet, wait to toss with the pasta for the best flavor and the pesto dries quite quickly on the pasta.  We added a bit more soy sauce onto the pasta after serving.)  Serves 4 main dish or 6-8 small sides.  SO SO GOOD!  

Strawberry Yogurt Cake

This was our Sunday night treat and seriously, you need to try this recipe!  It was divine!!!!  The only thing I'd change is make a little less glaze.  It doesn't need that much, but the lemon is a perfect touch to this cake!  It was so dang moist!  love it!

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

3 Tb. lemon juice, divided

zest of 1 lemon

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

8 oz. plain or vanilla, Greek yogurt

12 oz. fresh strawberries, diced

1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325*. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Sift together the 2 ¼ cups of flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the lemon zest and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 Tbsp. lemon juice. Alternate add the flour mixture and the yogurt, until just mixed. Toss the strawberries in the remaining ¼ cup of flour. Gently mix them into the batter.  Pour the batter into the Bundt pan. Bake 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Once cooled whisk together the remaining 2 Tb. of lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Drizzle over the top of the cake.  Enjoy!

Garlic Sauce Crockpot Chicken

I discovered a new crock pot recipe for the family Sunday dinner.  We took it over to Carol's for dinner and it was a hit.  I made a few alterations, so here's my version of our dinner....

 Garlic Sauce Crockpot Chicken

1 large package of fresh chicken tenders
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cups sour cream
1/2 pound fried bacon, crumbled
1/2 cup flour
2 Tbsp. minced garlic (I buy it in a large jar at Sam's Club!)
Lots of salt and lots more pepper

Mix up the sauce in the crockpot, toss in the chicken, stir and cover the chicken with the sauce.  Cook on low for 5-6 hours.  We served it over hot rice.  Everyone loved it!  Enjoy!

Avocado Chicken Salad

I made this recipe for a bridal shower and it was a huge hit!  This recipe filled almost the entire giant red tupperware bowl.  I found the recipe on Pinterest and it's so "non-specific", just adjust it to taste.  Here's what I did:

3 rotisserie chickens (from Sam's Club)
3 limes (next time, I'd even use four)
5 chopped avocados (the recipe called for 2 or 3, but the avocado made it!)
1 large bunch of cilantro
1 bunch of green onions
mayonnaise (I used about a quart)
lots and lots of salt and pepper

Debone and shred the chicken into tiny tiny pieces.  Chop the green onions (I chop from the very top to the very end and use it all.) Chop the cilantro.  Add the mayo and stir until it's as "wet" as you want it.  Salt and pepper to taste.  I made the salad the night before but added the avocados a few hours before.  Add lots more pepper on top as a garnish. Enjoy!

I served the salad on mini pie shells.  (I used refrigerated pie crust, cut them in circles using a kids size glass, pressed them into mini-muffin tins and baked them.)  However.  We tried the extra, after the shower on crackers and I liked that even better!  Should have done that in the first place, like Denise and Marilyn both suggested.  LOVED it!  Seriously, the best chicken salad I've ever had and a great change from the grape/celery/cashew version of chicken salad.  OH MY!

Cordon Bleu Pasta

Here's a homemade version of a huge local favorite from Firehouse Pizzaria.  Our friends, Greg and Neal, brothers, are the owners of one of the best restaurants in the valley. We've loved this dish since the day they opened!  Serve it with some french bread and salad...you've got a feast!  It's a great "man" food, and also great for women at a shower.  You'll love it too!

(I'll replace this photo with my own asap!)

1 16 oz. bag penne pasta, cooked till almost done

2 15 oz. jars of Alfredo Sauce  (I use Cheesy Ragu flavor)

sliced fresh mushrooms (I use a large box from the produce section)

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 - 2 cups diced ham  (diced finely)

1 - 2 cups cooked, chopped chicken

cooked, chopped bacon, if desired ( Not bacon bits.)  (And trust me, you desire!)

2-4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Saute mushrooms, green onions in butter, adding the ham, chicken and  bacon.  Pour one jar of Alfredo sauce and cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan.   Add and mix the pasta with the remaining ingredients into the pan.  Pour the second bottle of Alfredo over the mixture and cover in shredded mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for half an hour.  Enjoy!   

French Toast Strata

1- cups french bread (I used one loaf)
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2/3 cup cream  (I used whipping cream, but the original recipe called for half&half)
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pound Jimmy Dean Sausage

powdered sugar
more maple syrup

Eight hours before:  Brown the sausage and crumble.  Drain and set aside.  Cut one loaf of french bread into 1" cubes.  Spread evenly into a lightly greased 9x13 baking pan. Pour the sausage over the bread.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, whip the cream cheese until smooth.  Add eggs, one at at time, whipping in between each egg.  Add milk and cream, syrup, salt and vanilla.  Mix well.  Pour egg/milk mixture over the bread and sausage. Cover and put in the refrigerator overnight. 

In the morning, remove from the refrigerator, and let it sit on the counter, at room temperature, for thirty minutes.  Bake in preheated oven, at 350 for 40 minutes or until golden brown and a knife comes out clean.  Pour maple syrup over the baked strata and then sprinkle powdered sugar over top of that.  (I didn't pour the syrup on the baked strata.  I served it with syrup on the side, so that everyone could have the sweetness that they preferred.  Being married to GranolaMan, this works.)  SO SO NUMMY!  ENJOY!

Creamy Cheesy White Chili

I made White Chicken Chili as a mistake. I've been craving it for days. I'd checked my recipe on my iPhone while at the store to make sure I had what I needed to make it a few days ago. Then, when I made it this morning, I opened my cookbook. Oops. Later, I realize that I'm using two recipes ~ one from memory and one from my cookbook. Once I realized my mistake, I had to merge the two and figure out what to do because they were definitely different...one had cheese, one didn't. One used a bottle of Italian dressing, one didn't... Here's what I created using what I had and what I'd put into the crockpot before realizing the problem. It was the best White Chili I've yet to taste. Loved it!

2 chicken, skinless, boneless chicken breast

4 cans great northern white beans

5 cups chicken broth

16 ounces half and half (instead of cream)

16 ounces sour cream (I used low-fat kind)

1 bag frozen corn

4 jalapeno peppers (seeded and chopped in food processor)

1 packet of italian dressing mix no-name brand,just the powder, don't make the dressing)

3 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar)

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 large purple onion chopped

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

Put everything, except the cream, sour cream and cheese, into the crockpot. Cook on high for about six hours. Remove the chicken breast and shred with two forks. Add the chicken back to the crock pot and then add the dairy ingredients. Cook for another half an hour or so and serve. Salt and pepper to taste. SO SO GOOD! Great with cornbread! Note: I can't wait to try it with limes, avocados and corn chips all garnishing this soup. Enjoy!

Southern Chow-Chow

This is my new favorite southern style food. It's not really a food. It's a condiment. I've been asked by everyone in the west, what is it? My answer is that it's a cross between salsa, sauerkraut and pickle relish. Sounds strange but it's so tasty. My family in North Carolina serve it on hotdogs, beans, soup, you name it. We ate it as it was cooking with corn chips. I liked it better than salsa! And it's not an expensive food to make, nor is it a lot of work like salsa. Try it, you'll love it! Note: My first attempt, ZJ was reading the recipe to me and gathering the goods because I was also canning salsa at the time. She misread the peppers and gave me eight jalepenos. I used all eight. It was on fire to taste but was so so good! I'll probably use four, instead of the called for three next time. A good mistake, if you like things spicy!

2 heads of cabbage
5 or 6 large cucumbers

5-6 green tomatoes

7-8 ripe tomatoes

3 jalepeno peppers or 6 bell peppers or a mix

2 Tbsp. pickling spice

vinegar (I used cider vinegar)

2 cups of sugar

1/3 cup salt

Chop the cabbage really fine. (I used my food processor.) Put in large kettle. Peel the cucumbers, slice them lengthwise and seed them. Then dice them up and add to the kettle. Dice the green tomatoes. Mix into the large kettle. Add the pickling spice, either wrapped and tied up in cheesecloth or in a metal teaball to the cabbage mix. Then, add enough vinegar into the pot until it is 1/2 - 1/3 from the top of the cabbage mix. (So, if the pot is about six inches deep with cabbage mix, add enough vinegar until the vinegar is about 4 inches deep. Does that make sense?) Start cooking on medium high until you can begin to smell the pickling spices. Pour in the sugar and stir. Turn it down and let it simmer. In the meantime while it's heating up, drop the ripe tomatoes in a separate pot of boiling water for a few seconds until the skin splits on them, then peel the skin right off. Dice the ripe tomatoes and put them into a separate bowl. Use your food processor to dice up the jalepenos, leaving the seeds in. Add the peppers to the red tomatoes and it will begin to have a pink cast to it. Add the pepper/tomato mixture into the cabbage mixture and cook until the cabbage is cooked. Add more vinegar or sugar to taste. (I added about half a cup of sugar and it was perfect.)

When the cabbage is cooked, use a slotted spoon to lift it out of the pot and into the canning jars. After all the jars are packed, pour the liquid mixture over the cabbage. Seal and process. (I pressure canned mine for 15 minutes.) (Cousin Ronda did hers in NC for about 20 minutes with a cold canner. Aunt Verlie just lets it seal with the hot mixture in the jar and doesn't process them at all...but she's in her 80s and that's how they used to do it, so that's how she continues to do it.) Enjoy!

Mexican Chicken Haystacks

(not my photo)

This is one of the most simple recipes I've ever seen! Carol made it for Sunday dinner last week and it was a hit!

boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders

2 cans diced stewed tomatoes with green chilies

1/2 - 1 cup brown sugar

Place the chicken in your crockpot, added tomatoes and brown sugar. Cook the chicken until it's done and then shred it with a fork. Serve over a bed of lettuce, rice, fritos, cheese and your traditional taco type toppings. MOST tasty! AND SO SIMPLE! Enjoy!

PEANUT BUTTER POPCORN

about 4 quarts of cooked popcorn

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

5 Tbsp. butter

1 tsp. salt (not needed if using microwave popcorn)

1 tsp. vanilla1 cup peanut butter

1-2 cups milk chocolate chips

Mix the syrup, sugars and butter in a sauce pan. Stir while the butter melts and bring to a boil. Boil exactly one minute. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter, salt and vanilla. Pour over popcorn and toss gently until mixed well. Once it's mixed will, toss in the chocolate chips and stir again. MMMM! ENJOY!

Carrot/zucchini/banana Bread

My sister-in-law, Anne, served this tasty Banana bread at our family reunion. Everyone asked for the recipe. I had to share!

Sift together:

2 c flour
2 c sugar
2 t cinnamon
2 t soda1 t salt

Cream:
1 c oil (these days I'm subbing applesauce)
4 eggs
1 c grated carrots
1 c mashed bananas
1 c chopped zucchini

Mix together and fill 3 bread pans ¾ full. Bake 45 min @ 350. Enjoy!