Craisins Salad

I've had a couple of people request this be put on the blog.  What makes this salad great is the dressing.  It is hands down one of the best salad dressings ever.  It is a crowd pleaser.  Everyone loves it. 
CRAISINS SALAD

1 large bag spinach
4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
4 ounces shredded Parmesan cheese
½ pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
½ of an 8 ounce bag of Craisins
½ cup sliced almonds, toasted

(Honestly, I never measure out any ingredients for a salad. The above are approximations. I just add the toppings until it looks delicious!)

Craisins Salad Dressing
(measure this exactly)

½ cup red wine vinegar
1 cup sugar
½ red onion chopped
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons mustard
1 cup oil
In blender mix all ingredients, except oil. Add oil and blend again.

(This is a large amount of dressing and is too much for the measurements of the salad I have posted. You won't need to use all the dressing for the salad. Either half the recipe or make the full recipe and save in fridge. It stays good for weeks. I always eyeball how much dressing to put in to make sure that there is a good balance between salad and dressing.)

South of the Border Sandwiches

If you have never tried these sandwiches, you must put these ingredients on your shopping list and make them this week, tonight even.  They are so fabulous.  I rarely taste a sandwich with as good a flavor combination as this one.  They are scrumptious. 

South of the Border Sandwiches

Ingredients:
1/2 cup olives, chopped
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup green onions chopped
½ cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
¾ to 1 lb. cooked turkey sliced thin (can be lunch meat)
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 ripe avocados, sliced (optional)
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup monterey jack cheese
4 hoagie rolls split open

Directions:
In a bowl, combine olives, chili powder, cumin, salt, mayo, sour cream, and green onions. Place bread on an ungreased baking sheet and spread 1 Tbsp of the mayo mixture on each slice. (I just eyeball it.) Top with slices of turkey and tomatoes. Spread with another tbsp of the mayo mixture. Top with sliced avocados (optional) and cheeses. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until heated through.

Recipe Source:  Heather Weston

Chicken Curry

If you like curry, this is so easy and delicious!!!

2 TBSP. BUTTER
¼ CUP FLOUR
1 CUP MILK
1 CUP CHICKEN BROTH
1 TO 1 ½ TEASPOONS CURRY POWDER
¼ TEASPOON GINGER (AT LEAST)
½ TEASPOON SALT
PEPPER
1 ½ TO 2 CUPS SHREDDED CHICKEN

Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour, then milk and chicken broth. Stir in curry powder, ginger, salt, and pepper. Heat to boiling. Add chicken. Serve over rice.

*You can substitute the chicken for shrimp and make Shrimp Curry. It is fantastic!

Apple Bread with Streusel Topping

APPLE BREAD

2 CUPS FLOUR
1 TEASPOON BAKING SODA
1/4 TEASPOON SALT
1/2 CUP BUTTER, SOFTENED
1 CUP SUGAR
2 LARGE EGGS
1 TABLESPOON LEMON JUICE
2 TEASPOONS VANILLA EXTRACT
2 GRANNY SMITH APPLES, PEELED AND CHOPPED

STREUSEL TOPPING

2 TABLESPOONS FLOUR
2 TABLESPOONS GRANULATED SUGAR
1 TEASPOON GROUND CINNAMON
1 TABLESPOON BUTTER

2 TABLESPOONS BROWN SUGAR

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. To prepare topping, combine flour, granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Set aside.
3. To prepare bread, combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
4. Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat in eggs, lemon juice and vanilla.
5. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just until moistened. Add apples and stir gently to combine.
6. Spoon half of the batter into a buttered 9-by-5 inch loaf pan. Sprinkle with half of the topping. Spoon remaining batter into the pan and sprinkle with remaining topping. Finish by sprinkling evenly with brown sugar.
7. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the bread from the pan and set on a rack to cool. Makes 10 servings.

TRIPLE CHEESE MOSTACCIOLI BAKE

1 POUND PACKAGE MOSTACCIOLI PASTA, UNCOOKED

1/4 CUP BUTTER OR MARGARINE

1/4 CUP UNSIFTED FLOUR

1 TEASPOON BASIL LEAVES OR 1 TABLESPOON FRESH BASIL, CHOPPED

1 TEASPOON SALT

1/4 TEASPOON PEPPER

4 1/2 CUPS MILK
2 CUPS SHREDDED SHARP CHEDDAR CHEESE

1/2 CUP GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE

1 CUP (4 OUNCES) SHREDDED SWISS CHEESE

Prepare mostaccioli as package directs. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour, basil, salt, and pepper. Gradually stir in milk. Over medium heat, cook and stir until mixture thickens and bubbles. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese; mix well. Stir in mostaccioli. Spoon half the mostaccioli mixture into greased 9x13 inch baking dish; top with Swiss cheese then remaining mostaccioli mixture. Cover; bake 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Uncover; immediately top with remaining 1 cup cheddar cheese. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Breaded Ranch Chicken

Tasty, fast, and easy!
(I got this recipe from Nicole Courtright.)

6-8 boneless chicken breasts
3/4 cup crushed cornflakes
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pkg. dry Ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup butter or magarine, melted

Mix cornflakes, parmesan, and dressing mix in a shallow bowl. Dip chicken into butter and then roll in cornflake mixture. Place chicken in greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Grilled Pork Chops with Mango Salsa

PORK CHOP MARINADE:

1 CUP BROWN SUGAR
1 CUP HONEY
½ CUP SOY SAUCE
1 CUP CIDER VINEGAR
3 CLOVES GARLIC
1 TABLESPOON SESAME SEED OIL

Mix all the ingredients together and marinate the pork chops overnight. Then grill. (This recipe is for about 6-8 pork chops.)

MANGO SALSA

2 RIPE MANGOS – CUT IN SMALL CUBES
½ MEDIUM RED ONION – CHOPPED
½ LARGE RED PEPPER – CHOPPED
½ CUP CHOPPEN CILANTRO
¼ JALAPENO CHOPPED (REMOVE SEEDS)
JUICE OF 1 LIME
Chill the salsa. Serve with grilled pork chops

Zucchini Muffins

I am a sucker for muffins at all time of the day. I love this recipe. Mike hates zucchini, and he really likes them too.

2 EGGS
1 CUP SUGAR
½ CUP OIL
1 TABLESPOON VANILLA
2 CUPS UNPEELED SHREDDED ZUCCHINI
2 CUPS ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
1 TEASPOON BAKING SODA
¼ TEASPOON BAKING POWDER
½ TEASPOON SALT
1 ¼ TEASPOON CINNAMON
1 CUP CHOCOLATE CHIPS

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil, and 1 Tablespoon vanilla. Stir in the zucchini. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients and stir just until moistened. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spoon into greased muffin tins, filling 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until muffins test done. Makes 24 small muffins or 12 large muffins.

Butterfly Chicken

This is the hubs all time favorite dish!  Every birthday, holiday, special occasion, if I ask the hubs what he wants, it is this chicken. It is a family favorite!  Butterfly Chicken always impresses our guests too.  Warning:  This recipe is not low fat.  Just close your eyes and throw in cubes of butter and pour in cream and then you won't even realize it's fattening, right?  This is definitely a special occasion type meal and so worth every...single...delicious...taste bud tantalizing...bite!

Butterfly Chicken
Ingredients:
6-8 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts (depending on the thickness of breast. I usually pound the breasts with a meat mallet to thin the breast and end up getting two pieces of chicken out of each thick breast. You can determine how thick you want the meat.)
½ cup flour (For gluten free, use rice flour.)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
½-3/4 cup butter
lemon juice
1 ½ pounds of fresh mushrooms or 2-3 jars canned mushrooms
3 cups whipping cream
2 cups fresh grated parmesan cheese
minced fresh parsley or dried parsley

Directions:
Pound chicken breasts between waxed paper or plastic wrap until thin like a cutlet. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together flour, salt and pepper.  Dip chicken in flour mixture. Shake off excess flour. Melt part of the butter in a large skillet. Saute’ chicken two to three minutes on each side. While sautéing drizzle 4-5 drops of lemon juice on each chicken piece. Add more butter as needed to the pan for sautéing the chicken pieces. Transfer the chicken to 9x13 inch baking pan. Give each piece of chicken some space between to let the cream and cheese run between the pieces. Set aside.

Saute’ the mushrooms in the same pan as the chicken was sautéed in. Add more butter if needed. Don’t burn the mushrooms. Spoon the mushrooms and drippings over the chicken. Pour the cream over the chicken. Sprinkle generous amounts of parmesan cheese on each chicken piece. Get the parmesan down in the cream. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Stuffed Shells

1 PACKAGE (12-OUNCE) JUMBO SHELLS
4 CUPS RICOTTA CHEESE
8 OUNCES SHREDDED MOZZARELLA CHEESE
½ CUP GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE
2 EGGS
1 TABLESPOON CHOPPED PARSLEY
½ TEASPOON SALT
¼ TEASPOON PEPPER
1/8 TEASPOON NUTMEG
1 JAR SPAGHETTI SAUCE

Prepare pasta as directed on package, cooking 9 minutes; drain. Rinse with cold water, drain, and arrange in single layer to fill. Meanwhile mix together cheeses, eggs, parsley, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Fill cookie shells with cheese mixture.

Cover bottom of a 9x13 pan with some sauce. Arrange filled shells in single layer in the pan. Pour remaining sauce over the shells and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until hot. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired. Makes 6-8 servings.

(Sorry! We had already dug in before we took the pic!)