Strawberry Spinach Salad

I love strawberries, especially this time of year. This salad is easy to make, light, and tastes pretty refreshing this time of year. (someday I will post pictures with my posts).

What You Need:

Dressing:
1 lemon
2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Salad:

1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
8 ounces (1 1/2 cups) strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/2 medium cucumber, sliced and cut in half
1/4 cup small red onion, sliced into thin wedges
1 package (6 ounces) baby spinach

1. For dressing, zest lemon to measure 1/2 teaspoon zest, juice lemon using juicer to measure 2 tablespoons juice. Combine zest, juice, vinegar, sugar, oil, and poppy seeds in small bowl. Whisk until well blended. Cover; refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Preheat oven to 350F. For salad, spread almonds in single layer over bottom of pan. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove from oven, cool almonds.

3. Meanwhile, hull strawberries, and cut into quarters.

4. Slice cucumber, and slice onion into thin wedges.

5. Place spinach in large serving bowl. Add the strawberries, cucumber, and onion. Whisk dressing and pour over salad. Gently toss to coat lettuce. Sprinkle with almonds, and serve immediately.

Makes: 10 servings/70 calories
* Always toss salad with dressing just before serving to avoid the salad going soggy

Potato Casserole (Crock-Pot)

My life has been so crazy busy lately, that is why I keep posting crock-pot recipes. I love them; they make life so much easier! This a kind of a version of "funeral potatoes" as we like to call them. They are pretty good. I prefer the ones baked in the oven more but if you are in a hurry, these are a great side to a dinner.

What You Need:

1 can (10 1/2 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup plus3 tablespoons butter, melted and divided
1 teaspoon of salt
2 pounds of potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 to 2 cups of stuffing mix

1. Combine soup, sour cream, onion, 1/4 cup butter, and salt in a small bowl.

2. Combine potatoes, and cheese in slow cooker. Pour soup mixture over potato mixture; mix well. Sprinkle with stuffing mix over potato mixture; drizzle with remaining 3 tablespoons of butter.

3. Cover; cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours or on HIGH 5 to 6 hours until potatoes are tender.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Cookie Pizza a la Mode

I made this for dessert on Sunday for a family dinner with my hubby's family. It was pretty good. My husband loves cake, pies, cookies, etc. and I don't. I do LOVE ice-cream though, and guess what, that's right, my hubby does not! I thought we would give this one a try since it was a good compromise for both of us. Sometimes my oven cooks things funny so our cookie got a little over done (so I would watch it close while cooking), but other than that everyone really seemed to enjoy it.

What You Need:
1 tube (16-1/2 ounce) refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
Chocolate syrup
Vanilla ice cream
Maraschino cherries
Whip cream

1. Press the cookie dough onto an ungreased 12 in pizza pan. Bake at 350F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until deep golden brown. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Cut into wedges.

2. Drizzle chocolate syrup onto dessert plates. Top with warm cookie wedge, scoop (or two) of ice-cream, and additional chocolate syrup on top of ice-cream. Garnish with whip cream and cherry.

*You can prepare and cool the wedges ahead of time and place in a resealable storage bag or airtight container. Warm wedges for a few seconds on microwave before assembling individual desserts.

Fruit Topped Almond Cream

On my first date with my hubby Ryan, he took me to Ruth Chris Steak House. The whole meal was delicious and for dessert we shared berries and cream. It was yummy and has been one of my favorites ever since. I recently came across this recipe and was so excited to make it for Ryan, hoping to bring back memories from our first date. It turned out to be delicious, but Ryan didn't even remember eating that on our first date. Shocker I know;0) This is a quick and easy recipe and you can use just about any kind of fruit to go along with it.

What you will need:
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant French Vanilla pudding mix
2-1/2 cups cold milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups assorted fruit (strawberries, grapes, raspberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges. I personally like to stick to berries so I use blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc)

1. In a large bowl, combine the pudding mix and milk. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, beat cream and extract until stiff peaks form. Fold into pudding. Spoon into shallow serving dish. Chill. Top with fruit just before serving.

Yield: 8 servings

Mexican Style Shredded Beef

Sorry guys, I know it has been forever, once again, since I have posted.  Life has been so crazy!  We just got back from vacation, and are trying to get caught up around here.  Anyway, here is a great beef crockpot recipe.  I have used this beef to go along with all the other Cafe Rio recipes, and sometimes I just make it to use in tacos or enchiladas.  Any way it is served it is yummy!

What you will need:
1 boneless beef chuck shoulder roast (about 3 lbs)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 cup salsa or picante sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon cornstarch

1.  Cut roast in half.  Combine cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt, and red pepper in small bowl.  Rub over beef.  Place 1/4 cup salsa in slow cooker; top with one piece of beef.  Layer 1/4 cup salsa, remaining beef, and 1/2 cup salsa in slow cooker.  Cover; cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours or until meat is tender.

2.  Remove beef from cooking liquid; cook slightly.  Trim and discard excess fat from beef.  Shred meat with 2 forks.

3.  Let cooking liquid stand for 5 minutes to allow fat to rise.  Skim off fat.  Blend water and cornstarch until smooth; stir into slow cooker.  Cook, uncovered, on HIGH for 15 minutes or until thickened.  Return beef to slow cooker.  Cover; cook 15 to 30 minutes or until hot.  Adjust seasonings.  Serve as meat filling for tacos, fajitas, or burritos.  Leftover beef may be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen up to 3 months. 

Makes 5 cups filling