Wednesday, September 14, 2011
THE salad
This salad is so named because of it's extremely popular demand in my social circles. It gets lots of "wow's" and is firmly requested by people when I offer to bring them a meal after a surgery, new baby, event etc. "Oh thank you for offering, can you bring THE salad?" "I want THAT salad at my baby shower." It's just a salad though right? Toss a bag of lettuce into a bowl, add a few cherry tomoatoes and call it good! Not this one, it's a little more involved. It has also been called the 18 ingredient salad, and Summer Salad. It originates from a place my BFF used to work back home. The salad part of the recipe can be adjusted to your liking of certain items, which is why I didn't put amounts there. For example, I just usually use a whole head of lettuce, a whole large can of oranges a whole package of strawberries, one bunch of green onions, about two handfuls of almonds etc. This amount feeds several people, or you can have it the next day too! Enjoy.
Summer Salad
Lettuce
Mandarin oranges (drained/patted dry)
Strawberries (sliced)
Almonds (slivered, toasted)
Green Onions (chopped)
Craisens
Parmesean cheese (shredded)
*Chicken (cooked/sliced or shredded)
*I usually only use chicken if I am using this salad as the main dish. As a side dish or to take to events, I leave the chicken out.
Dressing
3 T. Poppy seeds
¼ C. Minced white onion
¾ C. Sugar
1 C. Olive oil
¼ C. Lemon juice
1/3 C. Apple cider vinegar
¼ T. Ground Mustard
½ T. Paprika
¼ T. Worchestershire sauce
¼ T. Salt
In one cup of hot, hot water add the poppy seeds and onion. Let them soak while you assemble the remaining dressing ingredients (or about 5-10 minutes) Drain, then add to the other ingredients. Dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week.
Posted by Melissa at 5:37 PM 0 comments
Labels: salad, Summer, yummy salad
Monday, July 11, 2011
Grilled Pizzas!!
GRILLED PIZZAS!!
Posted by Chelsie at 7:25 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Bacon Wrapped Yumminess
Tilapia = nutritious, healthy, bland, lean, fish. Bacon = Does the fact that it has protein count? indulgent, delicious, salty, wreckless. These descriptions are what makes this combination such a delightfully "balanced" main dish. Ha! Why is it that if I say the word bacon, everyone within earshot gives me their undivided attention? As the saying goes, "Everything tastes better with bacon." I have even heard it said that ice cream tastes good with bacon...Hmmmm...I will leave that one to Chelsie!
Bacon Wrapped Tilapia
2-3 strips bacon/tilapia fillet you are preparing
tilapia fillets
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and begin cooking the bacon. Cook it for 5-8 minutes or until it just starts to turn crispy. (You will only partially cook it here, it will finish cooking in the oven.) Remove the bacon from the pan and drain all but about a tablespoon or two of the bacon renderings.
Salt and pepper both sides of the tilapia and put it into the skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, until it turns opaque and begins to get firm. Wrap the bacon around the filets and place on a foil lined cookie sheet or other baking dish.
Place the Bacon wrapped yumminess in the oven and bake about 6-8 minutes until it begins to turn golden and is cooked through.
I like to serve it with brown rice and a steamed veggie!
Enjoy.
Posted by Melissa at 4:08 PM 0 comments
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Ebelskivers aka Pancake Puffs
Ebelskiver Pan from Williams and Sonoma
Posted by Chelsie at 8:22 PM 1 comments
Monday, February 14, 2011
Valentine's Cookies
Thirteen years ago today, on our first Valentine's day as an engaged couple, Kris invited me over to his place for dinner. Yes, he actually made dinner! :) He made Chicken curry with rice, but the truly impressive part of the meal was dessert. He baked homemade fortune cookies with little love notes inside. Ok, so to our gentlemen readers...this recipe will most definately get you some high marks with your lady, guaranteed! Yesterday Kris and I had our valentine's "date" and made the fortune coookies again. It's been 13 years since the last time we had them. In this season of life, raising a young child, time seems to be what we would like more than flowers and fancy, expensive dates...although those are always nice! We had the best time hanging out in the kitchen, making witty remarks, laughing, and trying not to mess up the finicky cookies!
Fortune cookies:
These cookies can be tricky to make - it's important to make sure that the cookie batter is spread out evenly on the baking sheet. The best way to spead the batter is to gently tilt the baking sheet back and forth as needed. Wearing cotton gloves makes it easier to handle and shape the hot cookies. This fortune cookie recipe makes about 6-10 cookies...They are easier to shape if you make them a little larger.
Ingredients:
2 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 teaspoons water
Preparation:
1. Write fortunes on pieces of paper that are 3 1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 2 9-X-13 inch baking sheets.
2. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the egg white, vanilla extract, almond extract and vegetable oil until frothy, but not stiff.
3. Sift the flour, cornstarch, salt and sugar into a separate bowl. Stir the water into the flour mixture.
4. Add the flour into the egg white mixture and stir until you have a smooth batter. The batter should not be runny, but should drop easily off a wooden spoon.
Note: if you want to dye the fortune cookies, add the food coloring at this point, stirring it into the batter.
5. Place level tablespoons (we made ours with about three tablespoons of the batter each) of batter onto the cookie sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart. Gently tilt the baking sheet back and forth and from side to side so that each tablespoon of batter forms into a circle 4 inches in diameter.
6. Bake until the outer 1/2-inch of each cookie turns golden brown and they are easy to remove from the baking sheet with a spatula (You kind of just have to watch them at about 8 minutes...ours took 11 minutes total and the original recipe says 14 - 15 minutes).
7. Working quickly, remove the cookie with a spatula and flip it over in your hand. Place a fortune in the middle of a cookie. To form the fortune cookie shape, fold the cookie in half, then gently pull the edges downward over the rim of a glass. Place the finished cookie in the cup of the muffin tin so that it keeps its shape. Continue with the rest of the cookies. Let them cool and dry for a while before eating!
Posted by Melissa at 8:28 AM 0 comments
Labels: fortune cookies, valentine's day
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Affectionately Known as "Chelsie's Casserole Page 96"
Posted by Chelsie at 1:26 PM 1 comments
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Serendipity!
Serendipity by definitiion is the act of finding something valuable or delightful when you are not looking for it. Well without looking for it I certainly found a wonderfully valuable friend and sister in Chelsie! And we were able to share together along with two more friends in a great expedition to New York City this weekend. For both of us it was our first time seeing the big apple with our own eyes. We had quite the adventures and at the top of our list was visiting the famous and renowned Serendipity 3 on the Upper East Side. So we ordered a round of Frrrrozen Hot Chocolates! Yum, yum, yummy! What a wonderful and memorable treat... but more than the chocolate, more than the eclectic decor, and more than the wonder at all the famous people who have sat in my chair, the moment was made so much more remarkable by the ladies I shared it with!
Posted by Melissa at 9:33 PM 1 comments