Broccoli Salad

Broccoli Salad

I made this for a summer barbecue and it turned out great. It doesn’t make a whole lot so I think I will double it next time. 

Mix together in a large bowl:

5-6 cups chopped broccoli

1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 C crumbled bacon

1/2 C sunflower seeds, shelled and salted

2/3 C craisins

1/3 C red onion, finely diced

Dressing:  Mix well and stir into the salad mixture

3/4 C Mayo

1/4 C sour crea,

1 1/2 TBSP white wine vinegar

3 TBSP sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Refrigerate if not serving immediately. 

PREPARATION

STEP 1

Combine broccoli florets, cheddar cheese, dried cranberries, bacon, sunflower seeds, and onion in a large bowl.

In a separate, small bowl, whisk together mayo, sour cream, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper until smooth and well-combined.

Pour dressing over broccoli combination and toss or stir well.

Serve. Keep refrigerated if not consuming right away.

Mexican Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients
6 large bell peppers
1 cup dry quinoa
15 oz. can black beans
1 can corn 
2 green onions
2/3 cup salsa
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. chili powder
Optional additions: chipotle, tomatoes, cilantro, green chilies, garlic powder, hemp hearts
Toppings of choice: guacamole (yum!), salsa, hot sauce, etc.

Directions
Cook quinoa according to package directions with 2 cups water/broth. (I often use vegetable broth in place of water for more flavor.)
Meanwhile, halve bell peppers and remove stems, seeds and ribs.
Rinse and drain black beans, thaw corn, and slice green onions.
In a large mixing bowl, add cooked quinoa and all other ingredients except bell peppers. Stir to combine, and adjust taste if necessary (salt, more seasonings, nutritional yeast).
Preheat oven to 350.
In a lightly sprayed pan, place pepper halves, and generously stuff them with the quinoa filling. Lightly press down to compact and fill all the crevices.
Cover with tin foil and bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove foil, and bake 10 minutes more.
Serve with any desired toppings.

Salmon with Avocado Salsa

I have been trying to incorporate more fish into our diet and this Salmon recipe was awesome. My kids devoured it (one of them even had the one leftover piece for breakfast the next morning!) 

Ingredients

• 2 lbs salmon, cut into 4 pieces
• 1 tbs olive oil (I used light extra virgin olive oil)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
For the Avocado salsa:
• 2 avocado, diced
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced
• Juice from 2 limes
• 1-2 tbs finely chopped cilantro (depending on how big of a cilantro lover you are)
• 1 small tomato, diced
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Mix the salt, chili powder, cumin, paprika, onion and black pepper together, rub the salmon fillets with olive oil and this seasoning mix. (I was worried it would be too much seasoning but it isn't.) 
2. refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes. Check a little before that. Salmon is done when it flakes with a fork. You can also grill the salmon for about 5 minutes per side. 
4. Combine the avocado, onion, cilantro, lime juice, and salt in a bowl and mix well, chill until ready to use.
5. Top with avocado salsa and enjoy!

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

We really don't eat a lot of fish around here but I'm trying to branch out. This recipe has probably converted me to the benefits of eating Tilapia. I was very happy with how it turned out and it's really quick to prepare and cook. 

 

Ingredients

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons paprika

1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

4 tilapia fillets (about 1 pound total)

1 lemon, cut into wedges

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees . In a shallow dish, combine the cheese with the paprika and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the fish with olive oil and dredge in the cheese mixture. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until the fish is opaque in the thickest part, 10 to 12 minutes (my fish was mostly frozen and it still cooked in about 15 minutes.) Serve the fish with the lemon wedges. I served mine with a green salad and Buttermilk Herb & Cheese Bread. 

Lebanese Lemon Parsley Bean Salad

Ingredients:

2 cans red kidney beans, rinsed and drained, or 3 cups cooked kidney beans

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 1½ cups cooked chickpeas

1 can black beans

1 small red onion, diced

2 stalks celery, sliced in half or thirds lengthwise and chopped

1 ripe red tomato, chopped

1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced

3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or mint

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

1 teaspoon salt

Zesty Italian Dressing

Instructions:

1. In a serving bowl, combine the prepared kidney beans, chickpeas, onion, celery, tomato, cucumber, parsley and dill (or mint).
2. Make the lemon dressing: in a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper flakes until emulsified. Pour dressing over the bean and vegetable mixture and toss thoroughly. At this point I wanted a bit more flavor so I added a few generous squirts of Zesty Italian Dressing. Serve immediately for the most flavor, or let it marinate in the refrigerator, covered, for a couple of hours or longer. 

This is a great salad to take to a potluck or picnic because there's no mayo or cool whip to have sitting out on the table or in the sun.  And it tastes really good, nothing like the waxy bean salads you can buy in the store!

Amazing Pork Tenderloin

I made this pork tenderloin a few nights ago and it turned out so good! Plus, it was really easy and took very little time to prepare. I'm thinking you could easily make this in a crockpot as well. I tend to not plan far enough in advance for my crockpot recipes though, so I'm glad this one works just as well in the oven. This is my new favorite way to do pork tenderloin so it will be making it into the rotation fairly often! I paired this with mashed potatoes/gravy and green beans.

Pork Tenderloins
1 package of pork tenderloins (2 tenderloins total about 2-2.5lbs)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoon country dijon mustard (whole grain mustard)
4 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley*
1/2 cup chicken broth
freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Take tenderloins out of package. Rinse and pat dry. Spray a 9x13 baking dish and place tenderloins inside.
Make the marinade next. In a measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour over the pork. You do not have to let the meat marinate for hours before hand. 

Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour (or until your meat thermometer says its done), basting once halfway through cooking process.
Once removed from the oven, let pork rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes before cutting in.
Don't forget to pour the sauce over it. The sauce is really amazing! I think next time I will actually thicken the sauce with flour or cornstarch to use as a gravy over mashed potatoes.

*The recipe actually called for Rosemary which I don't like. So I substituted the parsley and it tasted great! 

Meatballs

I hadn't ever made my own meatballs before, but since my son asked for Spaghetti for his birthday dinner I decided I'd better do something a little more special than just the same ol' spaghetti we usually have. This recipe turned out really good. It's makes a TON but you can freeze them for future dinners, either of spaghetti and meatballs, or meatball sandwiches, or even as appetizers. *

Ingredients:
4 Eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup water
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
4 tsp. minced garlic
1 medium onion, finely minced
1 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 TBSP dried oregano
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 TBSP ground black pepper
1 1/2 lbs ground pork
3 lbs ground beef

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine eggs, water, buttermilk, and breadcrumbs in a bowl; let rest for 10 minutes. The mixture will thicken as the bread crumbs absorb the liquid. To this thickened mixture, add garlic, onion, parsley, cheese, oregano, salt, and pepper; stir until combined. In separate large bowl, combine ground pork and beef. Mix meats with fingers or a large fork using a light touch until 2 meats are combined throughout. Add bread crumb mixture to meats. Mix these together, again using a light touch with fingers or large fork. Combine ingredients well, but do not overmix. Form meatballs with hands, or use a scoop. For larger meatballs, use 1/4 cup meat per meatball or use a generous 2" scoop. For mini meatballs, use 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons per meatball or a generous 1-1/4" scoop. Place meatballs on baking sheets. Bake large meatballs for 30 minutes and mini meatballs for 15 minutes, until no longer pink in center.

*If you've frozen them, let them thaw and then heat thoroughly in marinara sauce on the stove top.  Approximately 15-20 minutes.

Meatloaf

Every Sunday I try to spend One on One time with each of my four children doing a project/game/activity of their choice. We now have a rotation for who's turn it is to cook that week. They all seem to want to do a cooking project, so we had to figure out a way that seems fair.  Some hair-brained, crazy person (me) came up with the idea that we should do a Sunday where each kid helped make a different item for our dinner. We also decided they had to be new recipes, using ingredients I already had on hand (because I didn't want to go shopping!) and there were a few ingredients (sweet pototoes, cream cheese) that needed to be included because they needed to be used up. It was trickier to meet all this criteria than I thought!. Thank goodness for Pinterest! I spent 4 hours from start to finish, including cleanup, and was ready to pull my hair out by the end. But the kids loved it, and are begging to do it again sometime soon! We had drawn names to see who would do each recipe. Drake, age 7, drew the main dish, Meatloaf. Which is hilarious since he is the only one who would be truly disgusted by having to mash the ingredients together with his hands. This is based off of the Pioneer Woman's recipe, with a few changes. This meatloaf turned out incredibly moist and delicious. We will definitely be making this again soon!

Ingredients: 

Loaf:
1 cup Whole Milk 
6 slices White Bread 
2 pounds Ground Beef 
1 cup (heaping) Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese 
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon Seasoned Salt 
3/4 teaspoons Salt 
Freshly Ground Black Pepper 
1/3 cup Minced Flat-leaf Parsley 
1 medium onion, diced 
4 whole Eggs, Beaten 
1 cup real bacon bits

Sauce: 
1-1/2 cup Ketchup 
1/3 cup Brown Sugar 
1 teaspoon Dry Mustard 
Tabasco To Taste

Put the 6 slices of white bread in a bowl and pour the milk over them. Let soak.

In another bowl combine ground beef with the remaining loaf ingredients. Add soaked bread to this meat mixture and mix together well using your nicely washed, clean hands. Divide evenly into two loaf pans. Make sauce and use ~1/3 of sauce to coat the tops of the loaves. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. At this point I carely poured off some of the oil.* Then apply the rest of the sauce to the loaves and bake for 15 more minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes and gravy and a vegetable and you're all set!

*The original recipe calls for using a roasting pan, but I don't have one so we improvised. We also didn't wrap the loaves in bacon strips as called for in the recipe. Instead, we incorporated the bacon bits into the meat mixture because that is what we had on hand. 

Chicken and Roasted Vegetable Soup

  

My mom recently gave me a big Ziploc bag of leftover rotisserie chicken pieces from a family gathering. I'd seen this recipe on Pinterest so I thought it would be a perfect way to use up some of that chicken. I loved the flavor of this soup! I did change it some to meet our needs. I doubled the recipe and next time I plan on increasing the vegetables even more (this version shows the doubled amounts and an increase in veggies and is how I plan to make it next time) since I wanted it to be a bit more hearty.We will definitely be making this soup again soon!

Ingredients

4 garlic cloves, minced

6 carrots, peeled and sliced

3 cup butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 yellow onion, quartered

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

8 cups chicken stock, store-bought or homemade

2-3 cups leftover shredded chicken or 1 pound cooked and cubed chicken breasts

1 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon dried thyme*

1 teaspoon dried rosemary*

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper

2 cup water

2 cups baby spinach

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Toss the vegetables in the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
3. Meanwhile, bring the chicken stock to a simmer in a large stockpot. Add the chicken, herbs, and salt and pepper. Cover and cook while the vegetables are roasting, about 15 minutes.
4. Add half the vegetables to the soup, and place the other half in a blender. Make sure to put all of the onions quarters into the blender. Puree the vegetables with the 2 cups of water.
5. Add the vegetable puree and baby spinach to the soup. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the spinach is wilted and the soup is hot. Adjust seasonings to your taste.

I left out the rosemary and thyme. I didn't have rosemary and I don't like thyme. I thought the flavor was still really great without those two ingredients but I listed them here in case you want to add them. 

Original recipe can be found here.

Bean & Bacon Soup

While visiting my dad a few weekends ago he whipped up this little dish for us.  It's perfect for an easy weeknight meal, full of protein, and my kids gobbled it up like nobody's business!  It's way better than Campbell's version of Bean & Bacon soup!

1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas)
1 can corn, undrained
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 c. chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup bacon, cooked and diced (I'll admit I buy the big bag of real bacon bits from Sam's Club)
1 can Rotel - optional, but it gives it a bit more "kick"

Rinse beans well then throw everything in a pot and heat through.  Easy Peasy!  

Egg Muffins

Lately I've been trying to do better at making my kids breakfast.  I tend to feel kind of guilty when I  slap a bowl of Lucky Charms in front of them for the 5th (or 7th, or 10th) day in a row!  These egg muffins are super easy and if you cook them the night before you can pop them in the microwave for about thirty seconds the next morning and you have a quick, easy and delicious (well, if you like eggs...which I don't.  But everyone else in the family does so I keep making them!) breakfast.

Directions:  Whip together 12 eggs.  Add any ingredient you like to put in an omelet.  Mine had 4 green onions, shredded cheese, diced ham, and 1/3 cup of fresh salsa I had left over from dinner, and salt and pepper.  Then pour the mixture into a well sprayed muffin pan.  You can fill the cups almost to the top but then put a jelly roll pan underneath to catch any spills.  Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned and set. If you make them the night before then let them cool for about twenty minutes and then refrigerate. 

Crockpot Lemon Chicken

This was seriously the easiest dinner ever!  And the chicken turned out very tender and moist with a perfect lemony flavor.  I will definitely be doing this one again!

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (or chicken tenders)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2- 3/4 Tablespoon McCormick lemon and pepper seasoning

1/4 C butter

Melt butter and add to soup and seasoning mix.  Pour half into crock pot.  Add chicken and pour over remaining soup mixture.  Cook 5 hours on LOW in crock pot.  Serve over rice.