Simple Spinach Salad

Very simple, consisting of spinach, red onion, yellow pepper, Gorgonzola cheese, ground pepper, and then I added some peas as an afterthought after I took the picture (frozen peas which I put in the microwave for about 20 seconds so they weren't frozen but still cold). I also used Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette dressing on this salad. Yum.

My Favorite Summer Salad

For this salad I used:
*Organic greens (because they were on sale) and Spinach
*Strawberries
*Avocado (I like to squeeze some lemon juice on the cut up avocado so it doesn't turn brown).
*Red Onion
*Mushrooms
*Gorgonzola Cheese (crumbled) (I found this in both the deli area and cheese isle at my grocery store)
*Fresh ground pepper

I also sometimes add almond slivers and I think peas would be good in this one too. I just made this up so I don't have exact amounts - but just use however much you need for how many you are feeding. (I took this to a dinner for six people so I made a lot.) Then, and this is very important for the salad to have the full effect, I use Brianna's Blush Wine salad dressing, as pictured above.

Nutella Rolls

This is super easy, only requires a few ingredients, and it's really fast to make. I got this recipe from Becky's blog and had to try it myself. Here is what you need:

As you can see, you need
-crescent rolls (I use reduced fat but go for the good stuff if you so desire)
-Nutella (a hazelnut spread found near peanut butter at the store)
-optional: banana
-optional: powdered sugar
Spread out a crescent roll triangle, drop a dallop of Nutella in the middle add a slice of banana if you want (I actually like them better without bananas), and then wrap them up. Do this with as many as you want to make and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top and put them in the oven at 375 for about 15 minutes, or until they are golden and look baked. Yum!

*Recipe compliments of Becky Higgins.

My Favorite Sandwich

This thing is heaven. So delicious. Trust me, you want to make this.

Here's what you need:

A bagel, bread of your choice, or bagel bread (my favorite but I didn't have any when photographing this so I used a bagel, which worked fine). I like the Everything variety. You will also need mushrooms, a bell pepper (whatever color you like), onion, avocado, sprouts, a tomato, olive oil, garlic powder, lemon pepper, cheese (not pictured) mustard, and honey (or honey mustard from the store if you prefer). I also sometimes add spinach, lettuce, smoked honey turkey from the deli...whatever sounds good.

1. Heat up your George Foreman grill while you cut up some pepper and onion (or you can use a skillet if you don't have a GF grill). Put a little oil on the grill and start get the onion and pepper grilling.

2. Cut up some mushrooms and tomato and add those to the grill.

3. While all of this is grilling, cut up some cheese (my favorite is Tillamook medium or sharp cheddar) and put that between your bread (also add some turkey now if you want to). Brush both sides of your bread with olive oil. Put your grilled veggies aside on a plate and put the bread on the grill for a few minutes. I usually keep it on there until the cheese barely starts to melt and the bread looks a little grilled. Meanwhile, sprinkle some garlic powder and lemon pepper on the veggies.


4. Mix together some mustard and honey in a bowl (or use the stuff from the store if you have some).

5. Once your bread is grilled to your preference, take it apart and add some the veggies, your honey mustard, some avocado, the sprouts, and spinach or lettuce (it's nice to add a piece of lettuce of spinach if you're using a bagel to cover the hole so everything doesn't fall through. Speaking from experience here...)


There you have it. Yum.

Kamarah's Yummy Salsa

My friend Kamarah brought this to dinner one time when we had them over and from the first bite I knew I had to have the recipe. I am a salsa junkie so I was all over this delicious stuff. (Thanks, Kamarah, for bringing this salsa into my life!)

1 jalapeño (or if you don't want it too hot, substitute a few drops of Tabasco sauce instead. I've done this when forgetting to buy a jalapeño and it's yummy).
2 bunches of green onions (I've also used half green and half red onions for this)
7 roma tomatoes
1 6 oz. can of tomato paste
1/2 can El Pato sauce (8 oz.) (you can get this in the Hispanic food isle in the grocery store)
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1/2 tsp. salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (to taste)
1 avocado (I added this because I adore avocados and I think it makes this salsa even yummier. Do what you wish).

(Kamarah tells me her friend from Mexico gave her this recipe and told her that it's important to hand cut everything. I personally don't have that kind of patience, so I hand cut most things. But I do put the cilantro and onion (if using one other than green) in a food chopper.)

So just cut everything up, pour in the tomato sauce and El Pato sauce (and I add a little water because it's kind of thick without it), cover and chill. This makes a lot (but doesn't last long if it's anywhere near me).

Enjoy!

Easy Roasted Potatoes

(These are so yummy and I almost always have people ask me for the recipe when I serve them. I started with a recipe in Better Homes and Gardens and altered it a little).

Here's what you need:

3 medium potatoes, quartered
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
1/8 tsp paprika
lemon juice / lemons
cilantro (optional, to sprinkle on top after they come out of the oven)

1. Wash the potatoes and cut them into wedges (the thinner ones usually go first because they are a little crispy and extra yummy).

2. Place potatoes in a greased 9x9x2-inch baking pan (or use two pans depending on how many you're making). Combine oil, seasoning, and however much lemon juice you want (I usually use 1-2 lemons, which are very painful to buy here since we had a lemon tree in our backyard in Arizona. I miss that). Your sauce will look like this:

Drizzle over potatoes, tossing to coat. I also cut one lemon up and put the slices on top of the potatoes while they cook. Bake, covered, in a 325 degree oven for 45 minutes (or to speed it up, you can cook them uncovered at 450 degrees for 30 minutes, which is what I usually do). Stir potatoes. Bake, uncovered, 10 - 20 minutes more or until potatoes are tender and brown on edges. This makes 4 servings. They come out sizzling and yummy.

* I triple this recipe at least. I usually fill two full glass pans (or cookie sheets) with potatoes, which is at least 10 potatoes, and this recipe only calls for three potatoes, so I just keep tripling the ingredients for every three potatoes I add. They go fast, so you probably want to make more than what this recipe calls for.*

Chicken Enchilladas

Here's what I use. Keep in mind that you can make this as fancy or as simple as you'd like. This recipe started off with one I got from my mom, which just had the chicken, cheese, and sauce in the tortillas, and that's good too. I like to add a bunch of stuff for added flavor and fiber and to make it colorful.

1-2 chicken breasts (depending on how many people you are feeding)
1 can of black beans
1 can of corn
1 tomato
1 can of olives
1 bell pepper
1 white onion
1 clove of garlic
a little olive oil
a handful of cilantro
1 can of roasted green chilis
2 cups of shredded cheese
1 package of tortillas
2 large cans of enchilada sauce (our favorite is Macayos but we can't find it here (it might just be an Arizona thing) so we use La Victoria instead. If you know of a really good enchilada sauce, please post and let me know).
Lemon pepper, Italian seasoning, or any other spice you feel like adding.
(avocados would also be good. Yum.)

So boil your chicken for about 45 minutes or until it's cooked. Then shred it up and put it in a bowl. Add one can of enchilada sauce. (I usually add red inside and green on the outside or the opposite. In this case, I used red on the inside and green on the outside, as you can see.) Then add your beans and corn. Cut up a bell pepper and onion if you're going to use those. Put them in a pan with a little olive oil and a (finely chopped) clove of garlic. (I use a garlic press for this.) Then add all of that to your bowl too.

Add tomatoes and olives if you want. Add your seasonings if you want to add some. Add one cup of shredded cheese (or if you are trying to be healthy, don't put any cheese inside and just put a little on top).

**Preheat your oven at 250 at this point**

Spray your casserole dishes with cooking spray. Then mix everything up and put some of the mixture in a tortilla and roll it up. Do this until they are all rolled. Once they are rolled in your casserole dishes, pour your other (green) sauce on top (or another can of red if you like red better).

Sprinkle with one cup of shredded cheese. Add olives and tomatoes if you want. Put them in the oven for 15-20 minutes (the chicken is already cooked so this is to basically melt the cheese and warm them).

When they come out, put your chopped cilantro on top (and avocado if you're a fanatic like me).

That's it! These are Dub's favorite. I think your family will like them too.