Strawberry Spinach Salad

Here is another recipe we had at the baby shower. My friend Jamie made it and it turned out awesome. Strawberry Spinach Salad. Its incredible. Just trust me on this one :) Its sweet, but so good. The strawberries go perfect with the dressing. Its a perfect summer salad or something to have at a party/babyshower.



I got the recipe from my friend Cooking With Mandy. Her blog is really good so check it out. Since Mandy has used my pot pie recipe on her blog, I'm really hoping she is cool with me putting her recipe on my blog. :)


Strawberry Spinach Salad
1 (10 oz) bag of spinach
1 package of strawberries, sliced
2/3 cup sliced almonds
4 tsp. sugar


Dressing:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. finely chopped onion
1/4 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp. poppy seeds


Mix all ingredients for the dressing. Place the almonds in a non-stick skillet. Sprinkle with sugar. Cook and stir over medium heat until the almonds are caramelized. Set aside and cool. Toss the spinach, strawberries, and almonds together. When ready to serve toss the salad with the dressing.

Recipe Source: Cooking With Mandy

Ham & Cheese Sliders

A few friends and I threw a fun baby shower for my friend last weekend. For the next few posts, I'll be adding the food dishes we had at the shower.


The theme for the baby shower was "about to pop" so we used this recipe because it went with the whole "pop" theme from the poppy seeds. I'll say that originally I didn't think these sandwiches looked super delicious or anything special. I was happy at how wrong I was! They were really good and we had a lot of compliments on them. So, make these little sandwiches for your next birthday party or baby shower. Trust me. Everyone will love them :)


I'll add that the picture above is not the sandwiches I made. Sadly, I forgot to get a picture. :( The ones we made were on buns that were a little bit larger and they looked awesome.



Go to this link for the original recipe.
http://www.justcookalready.com/2010/01/ham-cheese-sliders.html


Recipe:
24 good white rolls
24 pieces good honey ham (we used 2 slices of thinly sliced ham per roll)
24 small slices swiss cheese or 12 slices, cut in half. (we used the pre-sliced kind)
1/3 mayo
1/3 cup miracle whip




{poppy seed sauce}


1 1/2 TBSP poppy seeds
1 1/2 TBSP yellow mustard
1 stick butter, melted
1 TBSP minced onion
1/2 tsp. worschestershire sauce


In a small bowl, mix together mayo & miracle whip. Spread into both sides of the center of each roll. Place a slice of ham & a slice of swiss inside of each roll. Close rolls & place into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. Place very close together.


In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. Let sit 10 minutes, or until butter sets slightly. Cover with foil & bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover & cook for 2 additional minutes. serve warm.

Sloppy Joes

There are a lot of just regular, everyday recipes everybody needs to have. I find I am still collecting these kinds of recipes all of the time. This particular recipe isn't anything fancy or unique, but its tasty, filling and good. AND-it shows you don't need a can of Manwich to make Sloppy Joes :()


Sloppy Joes
Serves 4 (makes enough filling for about 8 Sloppy Joes)


1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
2 TBS olive oil (I would wait to add this to see if you need it or not. The oil from the ground beef might be enough.)
1 1/4 pound ground beef


Cook above items until meat juices run clear.

Add:
1/2 C ketchup
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 TBS apple cider vinegar
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 dry yellow mustard
salt and pepper to taste


Mix all together and simmer till ready to eat. Serve on hamburger buns. Toasting the buns is yummers too. Enjoy!

Photo Source: Simply Recipes

Pasta Salad

This recipe is super simple, but I wanted to post it to let everyone know that it is possible to make pasta salad.....without it being from a box :) Add in plenty of fresh vegetables and it makes for a pretty healthy side dish. Subsitute whole wheat rotini pasta noodles (which is usually how I make it) and it gets even better. Usually when I make this dish, I get comments like, "Oh, you put ____ (fill in random vegetable here) in this????!!! Wow, I never would have thought to do that!" Plus, this dish is an awesome "snacking dish"....meaning.....my husband loves to snack and this is a dish I don't mind him chowing down on.




Pasta Salad
1 box Rotini pasta (tri-colored or whole wheat)
1 bottle Zesty Italian dressing (the amount is according to taste....don't just dump!)



Any fresh vegetables you have on hand, chopped. Some of our favorites are:

tomatoes
cucumbers
celery
onion (any kind)
olives (black or green)
red, green, orange or yellow peppers
mushrooms
broccoli
cauliflower
carrots


Also delicious to add:
parmesan cheese
cheddar, mozzerella or swiss cheese, cut into chunks
cubed ham
deli meat (turkey, ham, etc cut into squares)
pepperoni





Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente/firm. You don't want the pasta to be too soft! Drain and rinse pasta under cool water. Drizzle olive oil over the pasta and mix. The oil keeps the pasta from sticking and I highly reccommend using it. Set past aside to cool completely while chopping the vegetables. Mix pasta and vegetables together in large bowl and add dressing according to taste. Enjoy!


Photo Source here

Toffee Fruit Dip

This recipe goes out to Auntie Meg. She said the taste reminded her of a maple doughnut. Can it get any better??? Seriously?!! I don't think so. So, I'll add a picture the next time I make it because Auntie Meg and Mason ate it all. :)


4 oz cream cheese
1/4 C brown sugar (not packed)
1 tsp vanilla
about 1/4 C toffee chunks

Mix cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add toffee chunks just before serving.


*I suggest mixing in advance so the sugar has a chance to dissolve. Make sure to not add the toffee until you are ready to serve it because it will go soggy.

Recipe Source:  Linda N.
Photo Source here

Creamy Chicken & Noodles

My husband said this recipe tastes like, "a pot pie without the crust." He is right. It was pretty good, easy and still had veggies in it. Even my baby ate it...which is really saying something. :) I'm including this in the 30 minute meals column because it takes about 30 minutes to assemble, but then the crock pot does the rest for you.


Creamy Chicken & Noodles
Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book



2 C sliced carrots (4 medium)
1 1/2 C chopped onion (1 medium)
1 C sliced celery (2 stalks)
2 TBS snipped fresh parsley (I just used 1 TBS dried)
1 bay leaf
3 medium chicken legs, 2 lbs (I used 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts)
2 10 oz cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 C water
1 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/4 tsp black pepper
10 oz dried wide noodles (about 5 C)-I used egg noodles
1 C frozen peas
salt (optional)
black pepper (optional)


1. In a 4 qt crocker cooker place carrots, onions, celery, parsley and bay leaf. Place chicken on top of vegetables.




2. In a bowl, stir together soup, water, thyme, and the pepper. Pour over chicken and vegetables.




3. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8-9 hours. Shread chicken. Remove and discard bay leaf.




4. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions; drain. Stir peas into soup mixture in cooker. To serve, pour chicken mixture over noodles; toss gently to combine. If desired, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Photo Source: Craft-O-Maniac

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

I promise I do eat more than just junk at my house.....but I'm realizing I post A LOT of treats on here haha. Anyway, Activity Days rolled around and this is what I brought for the treat. I didn't say anything about the frosting, but one girl said, "This frosting is SO good." It made me happy :) Also, I am always looking for frosting recipes that don't call for shortening since I don't keep it on hand at my house.


Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

Start to finish: 20 minutes

Makes: about 3 2/3 cups

1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

1/2 C butter or margarine, softened

2 tsp vanilla

5 1/4 C-5 3/4 C powdered sugar (I think 4-4 1/2 C is plenty)

1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder

Beat cream cheese, butter, cocoa and vanilla with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating well. Gradually beat in additional powdered sugar to reach spreading consistency. This frosts tops and sides of two 8-9 inch layers. (Halve the recipe to frost a 13x9x2-inch cake or 24 cupcakes). Cover and store frosted cake in the refridgerator.

*For regular Cream cheese frosting, leave out cocoa and add an additional 1/2 C powdered sugar.