Turkish Red Lentil Soup

My mother-in-law made this fabulous soup while we were in Connecticut, for the annual 'Bethlehem dinner' on Christmas Eve.  I fell in love with the delicious flavors of the soup and asked for the recipe when we returned back home.  She sent me the recipe (from Whole Foods Market) and the only variation I made was to use some chicken broth along with the vegetable broth; it turned out phenomenally well and I will be sure to keep this in rotation. It's very easy to make and is a good, flavorful, vegetarian soup that is enjoyable with warmed pita bread or by itself.

1 1/3 c. (about 8 oz.) red lentils, picked through & rinsed
7 c. vegetable broth (I used 4 c. vegetable broth, 3 c. chicken broth)
1 large onion, diced
1-2 large carrots, diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbl. tomato paste
1 tsp. cumin
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
3/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)

1.  In a large pot, combine lentils, broth, onion, carrot(s), garlic, tomato paste, cumin and cayenne.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are very tender and lentils begin to fall apart (about 25 minutes).
2.  Remove pot from heat and use an immersion blender to blend the soup until it is creamy but not completely pureed.  Add salt and serve with warmed pitas.

Taco Salad

We have taco salad often because it's easy, really yummy and lasts us for a few days, which is always great. My family has a great thousand island dressing that I posted on the blog and it goes great with this taco salad!  This last time I made it, I used a homemade taco seasoning mix, which turned out really well, definitely a keeper.  Here is what we have for taco salad:

1 lb. lean ground beef, browned with salt & pepper (also with 1 chopped onion, if desired)
3 tsp. taco seasoning mix or 1 package mix
1 can kidney beans
1 can sliced olives
1-2 heads iceberg lettuce, washed & torn
4-5 tomatoes, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1 can corn
1-2 bags tortilla chips
grated cheese
sour cream
salsa
thousand island dressing

ingredients lined up & ready to go!

building

completed and before mixing up

Thousand Island Dressing

This recipe is a family favorite.  We use it for taco salad and it's sooo good.  It's quick to make and the ingredients are simple.  I use a quarter of the recipe for the two of us, which lasts for a few nights' worth of taco salads.

Here's the full recipe:

4 c. mayo
3/4 c. ketchup
2 Tbl. vinegar
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. sweet relish

Blend all ingredients, makes 6 cups.

My quartered recipe:

1 c. mayo
~1/4 c. ketchup
1/2 Tbl. vinger
2 Tbl. milk
1 Tbl. sugar
2 Tbl. sweet relish

all mixed up

 

Zak wanted to write on it...funny guy (we used an old ketchup bottle for this,  the quartered recipe fits pretty perfectly in it!)

Creamy Eggs

This is our traditional Easter morning breakfast.  It is hard-boiled eggs in a thick cream sauce poured over toast.  We also have kielbasa on the side.  My dad even sings (he is not known for his singing), 'We're creamed eggs on toast! Mom & Dad were Easter Eggs!!' as he ladles up the creamy eggs for us.  It's a great tradition, and I was nervous when I made it for Zak the first time, but he was sold from the first bite.  I made this for breakfast this weekend, because my brother is visiting and we didn't get to make this for Easter, as we were visiting Zak's grandparents.  I was unsure of how many eggs to make, if I should halve the sauce recipe or what, but what I made turned out to be the right amount for the three of us to stuff ourselves with!  It was delicious and worth the wait!

6 hard-boiled eggs

1 cube + 1 Tbl. butter

6 Tbl. flour

3 c. milk

salt & pepper

7 pieces of toast

1.  Place eggs in a small saucepan, and add enough cold water to cover them.  Bring to a rolling boil, then remove from heat, cover and let sit for 15 minutes.  Drain and add to cold water with ice cubes.

2.  Heat butter on medium heat in microwave until melted.

3.  Whisk in flour, cook on medium heat 1 1/2 - 2 minutes, until bubbling almost reaches the top of the bowl.

4.  Slowly add in milk.  Cook on medium heat for 3 minutes.  Stir, cook for 2 minutes.  Keep repeating until sauce has thickened.

5.  Peel and cut up eggs, and add to thickened sauce.  Sprinkle in salt & pepper and combine.  

6.  Serve over toast and enjoy!

enjoy with juice!

Individual Chicken Pot Pies

I got this individual pie pan for my birthday and was super excited about it; Zak loves chicken pot pie and I could just imagine making cute little pot pies for him!  So this afternoon I went for it.  Overall, it went really well, except for my first set of pies.  I didn't realize that I needed to put the little metal plates on the bottom, because the box wasn't specific enough and....it went everywhere.  But I at least had the forethought to put the pan onto a baking sheet in case it leaked.  But the second pan of pies turned out just perfect!  So I'm jazzed about this pan and it's going to be awesome for summer fruit pies!  

The recipe I have for chicken pot pie is from my mother-in-law; I made it for Zak for the first time the night we got engaged.  I've made it a few times since then, but haven't really measured the amounts in the recipe.  Since I've been trying to be good about what I eat, I went hard core today and measured everything and wrote it all down, but now I have a recipe with actual amounts for the ingredients.  The only note is, when using the pie pan, I used 4 pie crusts; when I make just a pie in a pie plate, I only use 2 crusts.  Anyways, enough with the background and onto the recipe!

4 pie crusts (for individual pan, 2 for normal pie pan)

3 medium potatoes, peeled & cubed

2 medium carrots, peeled & cut in half-circles (about 3/4 c.)

1/2 onion (about 3/4 c.)

2/3 c. frozen peas

1 stalk celery, diced (1/3 c.)

1/4 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized cubes (came out to about 9 oz. cooked)

3 Tbl. flour

1/2 c. milk

1 c. shredded cheese

3 - 4 chicken bouillon cubes

3 - 4 c. water

salt & pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Prepare all vegetables and place in a large stock pot.  Measure water--enough to cover the vegetables.  I usually end up with 3 cups.  Drop in corresponding number of bouillon cubes.

3.  Add thyme, garlic powder, and shakes of salt & pepper; cook on medium to medium-high until vegetables are tender.

4.  In another pot, boil water and add chicken; cook.

5.  Mix together milk and flour in small bowl, add to potato mix.  Cook until thick, more flour may be needed.

6.  Add cooked chicken and cheese, stir until cheese has melted.  

7.  Pour mix into pie crusts and place top layer on top, make sure to cut vents.

8.  Bake 20 minutes if using individual pie pans, or about 30 - 40 minutes if using normal pie plate -- until crust has started to turn golden brown.

Usually when I make it with a normal pie plate, there is leftover mixture.  It's good to eat plain, but I imagine it's great with biscuits or thick bread.  With the individual pan, I had plenty to make 10 little pies, hooray!

stock picture of the pan with the plates and cutter

my second batch of pies, perfect!

perfection

my very first pot pie, from the night we got engaged

Nutritional Facts
servings per recipe: 10
amount per serving

Calories: 424.7
Total Fat: 21.5 g
Saturated Fat: 9.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.7 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 7.7 g
Cholesterol: 25.1 mg
Sodium: 716.1 mg
Potassium: 335.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 48.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.9 g
Sugar: 2 g
Protein: 10.6 g
Vitamin A: 35.5 %
Vitamin C: 18.8 %
Calcium: 9.5 %
Iron: 4.6 %

Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes [Cheesecake Factory]

Oh my goodness I love this dish.  It's from the Cheesecake Factory and is my favorite appetizer of all-time.  Normally, I wouldn't go for all these different salsas and flavors, but combined, they are amazing.  I love the corn cakes the most.  My mom made these for us when we were in California, and they were better than the restaurant's!  I've had my eye on this recipe before, but never made it because I was unsure of how it'd go, especially without a food processor.  But I talked to my mom about it, and she convinced me I could handle it.  It's a bit more of an involved recipe, but well worth it.  My cakes turned out a little crispy and not totally one solid piece, but they still tasted delicious.  I made five cakes in all, even though it's supposed to make 4. Whatever, we were happy to have a bonus one!  They kept find in the fridge overnight, so today the leftovers were still wonderful.  Zak said I should make mini ones to serve with these; he loves them that much!  Another recipe success!

Salsa Verde
2 tomatillos, with paper removed and chopped
4 oz. mild green chilies
1 green onion bunch, chopped
2 Tbl. fresh cilantro
1 1/4 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of pepper

a nice, mild green

Tomato Salsa
1 medium tomato, diced
1 Tbl. Spanish onion, minced (I used red onion)
1 Tbl. fresh cilantro
1/2 - 1/4 tsp. lime juice
1/2 small jalapeno, minced
dash of salt & pepper

After I lightly blended the ingredients

Southwestern Sauce
1/2 c. mayo
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. water
3/4 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. onion powder
dashes of: salt, pepper & garlic powder

Seriously, using a squirt bottle helped big time

Tamale Cakes
1 1/2 c. frozen corn (keep 1/2 c. whole & separate)
1/2 c. butter, softened
3 Tbl. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c. masa harina (corn flour)
2 Tbl. white flour

Garnish
1/4 c. sour cream (4 Tbl.)
1/2 - 1 avocado, chopped
2 Tbl. fresh cilantro, chopped (I didn't use)

1.  Prepare the salsa verde by combining all ingredients in a food processor or use a hand blender.  Cover and chill.
2.  Prepare tomato salsa by combining all ingreidents in a small bowl.  I used my hand blender briefly to slightly mix the ingredients into a mushier? state.  I wanted it to be a bit more spreadable and in smaller pieces, if that makes sense.
3.  Prepare southwestern sauce by combining all ingredients in a small bowl.  Transfer to a squirt bottle, as it will make life much easier when assembling!  Chill.
4.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
5.  For the tamale cakes, coarsely puree 1 c. of the corn in a food processor.  Using a hand blender was kind of a disaster, and took awhile.  Next time I plan on using a blender, if I don't have a food processor before then.
6.  Once pureed, combine with softened butter, sugar and salt.  Blend well with electric mixer until smooth.
7.  Add masa and white flour and blend well.
8.  Mix in the remaining 1/2 c. of corn by hand.
9.  Measure 1/2 c. and form into 3-inch patties.  Using slightly wet hands helped a lot to form the patties.  I got 5 patties out of the mixture.
10.  Arrange on a baking sheet and bake 20 - 25 minutes, or until cakes are browned on the bottom.
11. Flip cakes with a spatula and bake for an additional 5 - 7 minutes or until slightly browned.
12.  To serve, spoon the salsa verde onto a platter.  Coat entire plate with about 1/4 inch of salsa.
13.  Arrange tamale cakes on top of the salsa verde.
14.  Add spoonful of tomato salsa on top of each cake, with a dollop of sour cream on top.
15.  Arrange avocado pieces on cake and drizzle both ways with southwestern sauce.

Step 1: assemble corn cakes on salsa verde

Step 2: Add tomato salsa and sour cream

Step 3: Add avocado and southwestern sauce

Nutritional Facts
servings per recipe: 5
amount per serving

Calories: 469.1
Total Fat: 32.4 g
Saturated Fat: 13.3 g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat: 11.5 g
Cholesterol: 61.8 mg
Sodium: 505 mg
Potassium: 435.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 44.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 5.3 g
Sugar: 14.9 g
Protein: 5 g
Vitamin A: 23 %
Vitamin C: 23.1 %
Calcium: 5.4 %
Iron: 6.2 %

Belgian Waffles

This is a family favorite!  We have it a few times a year, and it's always a treat.  Sometimes we have fancy, super waffles with ice cream, strawberries and whipped cream!  But they are also good with plain ol' syrup, or jam.  Or just with butter!  Zak was craving waffles all day, so we had them for dinner, yum!

1 package dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
2 c. lukewarm milk
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbl. sugar
1/2 c. melted butter

1.  Sprinkle yeast over warm milk; stir to dissolve.
2.  Beat egg yolks and add to yeast mixture with vanilla.
3.  Add in flour, sugar and salt.
4.  Stir in melted butter and combine thoroughly.
5.  Beat egg whites until stiff, carefully fold into batter.  Let stand in warm place for about 45 minutes.  Use 1/2 c. mix per waffle.

Makes about 11 waffles.

perfectly golden brown!

so delicious!

Zak had this idea to mix in a few pieces of crumbled bacon into the batter.  We put in about 2 1/2 pieces of bacon, and it seemed to be the perfect amount.  It's mostly waffle, with hidden bacon explosions, delicious!  With syrup they are pretty perfect.  Zak also wanted to have two over-easy eggs on his, and have the yolk be like the syrup for the waffle.  I had a bite, it was pretty good.  We have so much leftover batter that we're just going to freeze the rest of the batter, and have them again with some scrambled eggs with cheese.

Zak's first plate

close-up, maybe that's a bacon piece?

Thick, Soft Christmas Cookies

These cookies are so delicious!  My mom made these almost every Christmas for our family.  I still have fond memories of helping her roll out the dough, cut out shapes and sneaking pieces of excess dough (it's so yummy!).  I decided to make these for my first time for a Christmas party we went to at our friends'.  The original recipe makes about 9 dozen, so I thought maybe to do 3/4 of the recipe.  And then I ended up with like, 100 cookies.  It probably was because my cookie cutters weren't very big.  But, no matter!  Our friends will just enjoy a bunch of cookies for Christmas.

The frosting was always my favorite part, because my mom did several different flavors and colors.  Usually green peppermint trees, red cherry or strawberry bells, yellow lemon stars, etc.  For the party, I did: green peppermint trees, red cherry candy canes, yellow lemon stars, blue/purple/white almond snowflakes!

Cookies
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. Crisco
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp. baking soda
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
6 c. flour

1. Mix ingredients in order.  Make sure the batter is light and fluffy before adding the flour.  Also, use the whisk attachment for the ingredients before the flour, then switch to the paddle attachment.  It makes it much easier.
2.  Let dough chill in the fridge for awhile, up to an hour.
3.  On a floured surface, roll out the dough.  Cut with cookie cookies.  Place on cookie sheets (air-cushioned ones are amazing) lined with parchment paper (the best baking tool ever).
4.  Bake at 325-degrees for 8 minutes.  Let cool on pan a few minutes before using a spatula to move to cooling racks.

Frosting
2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. butter, melted
2 Tbl. milk
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract (or other flavors)
4 - 5 drops green food coloring (or other colors)

[to do 4 different colors, do about 1/2 c. sugar, 2 Tbl. melted butter, 1/2 Tbl. milk, 1/8 tsp. extract, and 2 drops food coloring]

1.  Blend powdered sugar and butter.
2.  Add other ingredients to taste and color preference.  Also, you will probably need to add a bit of milk every now and then to keep the frosting spreadable.

ready to start frosting!

yum!

double yum!

Chicken in Lemon-Cream Sauce

My mom sent me this recipe and I made this last night and it is so yummy!  It was hard to leave leftovers!  It's a very simple, easy recipe and went great with some mashed potatoes and corn.  Wonderful!

a few Tbl. butter
8 chicken breast halves, or tenders
2 Tbl. dry white wine or water
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. (white) pepper
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
2 Tbl. lemon juice
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese
1 c. sliced mushrooms (we don't love mushrooms, so I excluded them)

1.  Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat, add chicken.  Cook, about 10 minutes, or until browned and tender.  Remove and place in overproof serving dish; discard butter from skillet.
2.  Add wine (or water), lemon peel and lemon juice to skillet; cook and stir over medium heat about 1 min.  Stir in salt and pepper.
3.  Gradually pour in cream, stirring constantly.  Stir until hot, do not boil!  Pour cream sauce over chicken, sprinkle with cheese and mushrooms.  Broil about 6 inches from heat source until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. 

No pictures, sorry!

Ravioli Soup

I love this recipe.  I used to ask my mom for it all the time for my birthday.  It's perfect with grated parmesan cheese and a few slices of french bread, yum!  I made the entire recipe when we had friends over, and everyone loved it.

2 (10 oz.) cans Campbell's beef broth bouillon
2 c. canned tomato juice
6 c. water
1 1/2 c. chopped carrots (in half circles)
1/2 c. chopped green onion
1 1/2 c. peeled, diced potato (can use a little extra, I love the potato in this)
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
1 (10 oz.) box frozen chopped spinach
about 48 - 60 frozen meat ravioli, cooked (for those in the Bay Area, my mom uses the local Genova brand)
2 (8 oz. each) containers of ravioli sauce (tomato, garlic, herbs)

1.  Combine bouillon, tomato juice and water in a large pot.
2.  Bring to a boil and add: carrot, potato, onion, parsley, salt, sugar and pepper. Cover and simmer until veggies are tender.
3.  Add the spinach and gently stir in the ravioli (which has already  been cooked) and the sauce.  Heat about 10 minutes.
4.  Serve with parmesan cheese sprinkled over top, if desired.

not a great picture, but it is delicious!

Zucchini Monterey

This is a family favorite, and one of my personal favorites.  I made it for Zak's birthday with the pork recipe I just posted.  Zak isn't a huge fan of zucchini, so I figured this would be a decent way to maybe get him to like it.  He didn't love or hate it, but he is a little bit more open to the idea now!  This is a great side dish and pretty simple to make, once you get it through your head that it's not too difficult.  


I made 4 zucchini and kind of eye-balled the ingredients.  The most important things are: cooking the zucchini long enough so that it's not crunchy or too soft, and, while you're cooking the vegetables, add in salt and pepper until it tastes good.  But here is the recipe, enjoy!  


6 zucchini
3 Tbl. butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. chopped green onion
(1/4 c. white onion, optional)
salt & pepper
3/4 - 1 c. monterey jack cheese


1.  Cut a V down each zucchini, roughly a quarter of it.  Chop up.
2.  Boil rest of zucchini about 5 minutes, until they're not crunchy, but not falling apart.  They'll turn a little opaque in color.
3.  Meanwhile, sauté in butter: zucchini, green onion, garlic and, if wanted, white onion.  Season to taste.
4.  Drain zucchini, and scoop out a channel in each; add the pulp to the sautéed mixture.  
5.  Stir in 1/2 c. - 3/4 c. cheese -- however much you want.
6.  Spoon into zucchini shells, place in baking dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
7.  Bake covered (or uncovered, until cheese is slightly browned) at 375 degrees about 20 minutes.

all done!

Refrigerator Pickles

We got about a dozen + cucumbers from Zak's grandparents with the purpose of pickling them at home. I tried to find a few recipes that would be easy enough, and this one was the winner. I would definitely recommend at least doubling the spice mixture, because we found that it only filled about 2 and a half jars. But it might be because we were unsure of how much the cucumbers would shrink, and we did five jars when we could've stuffed four and been fine. Anyways, having the extra spice mixture was better in the long run, because we poured it over some freshly sliced cucumbers and ate them after a few minutes (when we were in Seattle, we went to a Thai place where they had fresh pickles and thought it'd be easy enough to do, ours tastes almost like the restaurants'!).

A few days later, we decided to try this recipe with spear-cut cucumbers and no onions, and they turned out really well. We also played around with adding garlic to one jar, minced garlic to the spice mixture, and everything turned out really great. We have about 9 jars of pickles in the fridge now, so come over and eat some with us!

6 c. cucumbers, thinly sliced

2 c. onions, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp. mustard seeds

1/2 tsp. turmeric

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. white vinegar

*4 - 5 garlic cloves, minced - optional*

4 - 6 pint jars, washed, boiled, etc.

1. Layer the cucumbers and onions in a glass container.

2. Mix the spices, sugar and vinegar together in a saucepan, heat until sugar as melted.

3. Pour over the cucumbers and onions.

4. Cover tightly and let sit in the fridge for about 48 hours before serving.

Zak did a great job with the cucumbers!

Zak was so cute, he wanted to do 'experiments' with the layering, etc. The first one: 50/50 (cukes, onions), 2nd: more onions, 3rd: more cucumbers, 4: added in garlic, 5: stuffed it really full. You can tell we were unsure of how much to put in the jars.

yum yum yum!

Apricot Jam

As I mentioned in the other blog, we got a bunch of apricots from Zak's grandparents. We both like apricots, but decided apricot jam would be superior. I haven't really made jam on my own before, and I was nervous about doing it without my mom or grandma helping me. So I searched on-line for recipes that seemed simple enough and wouldn't require me buying / using a bunch of canning gear. I found this one on food.com. It was so easy and didn't take too long. I just wished there had been a few more basic directions, because I was a bit unsure about how small to dice the apricots, or how thick the mixture would be before pulling it off the stove, just stuff like that. And the recipe said I would get 5 pint jars out of it; I only got 4 jars, which was a bit of a bummer. But it tastes amazing! It's a bit thick, but that's ok with me. It's yummy and we have three jars in the freezer!

8 c. diced apricots

1/4 c. lemon juice

6 c. sugar

4 or 5 pint jars or 8 - 10 half-pint jars

1. Sterilize jars and lids by boiling in water for 10 minutes.

2. Once timer is up, turn off stove, put lid on pot to keep jars warm. Once jam is near done, transfer jars and lids to towels to dry.

3. Combine all ingredients in a large pot.

4. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves.

5. Once mixture reaches a modest, rolling boil, continue boiling for 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent from sticking.

6. Remove from heat and fill jars, leaving some head space.

7. Let jars sit and cool for awhile before transferring to fridge or freezer.

Enjoy!

Won Ton Skins Salad

This is one of my absolute favorite meals. I request it every time I go home, because I don't have a deep fryer to fry the won ton skins. We even had it at our reception, and it was a hit. I was talking to my mom awhile ago about maybe having this when we were home for Kenny's homecoming, and she told me they've tried something new with the salad: instead of getting out the deep fryer and frying up the won ton skins (a big task in it of itself), she's replaced the won tons with crispy chow mein noodles and won ton skin salad toppers. I was a bit hesitant at first, but we had it in CA and I was convinced it was delicious, a decent replacement, and that I could make the salad myself now!

So yesterday I decided to go for it, and it was pretty much perfect, and just what I wanted. The only problem is, I ate two huge bowls, and probably could've gone for a third. It is so yummy and easy to eat. And it's even delicious the next day (some family members argue it's the best the next day, I prefer it the first day, because I love the crispy won tons, but I will eat it any way possible).

The following recipe is what is in our family cookbook. This easily makes 8 bowls' worth, and was plenty for us (and leftovers, yay!). So there are 'measurements' for some of the ingredients, but you can add or subtract amounts of most anything for this. I toned down the almonds, because I tried toasting them on the stove and ended up burning the majority of them. And I really like the mandarin oranges, so I might add some more next time. Anyways, this salad is the best and I will eat it all summer long!

Salad

~2 c. cooked chicken (I probably used 12 - 16 oz, didn't measure, just did it)

1 head lettuce (or romaine, or a mix of iceberg, romaine, green leaf)

4 green onions

1/2 c. - 1 c. crispy chow mein noodles (eyeball it)

1 small bag won ton skins salad toppers (found near croutons and salad ingredients in Safeway)

4 Tbl. slivered almonds (can be toasted for optional/optimum flavor)

2 Tbl. sesame seeds (same goes)

1 can mandarin oranges

1. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces, cook and set aside.

2. Tear/cut lettuce, slice green onions and toss.

3. Add rest of ingredients, dressing and toss.

4. It's often best when it's chilled a little, so if you can resist, chill salad at least 20 minutes before serving.

Dressing (mix all ingredients, make ahead of time and chill well)

2 Tbl. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/4 c. oil

1/2 - 1 tsp. accent seasoning (optional)

1/4 tsp. black pepper

3 Tbl. unseasoned rice vinegar

Nutella Cookies

My family told me they had this recipe for Nutella cookies awhile ago. At first, I was a bit hesitant, because I was unsure of how Nutella would translate in cookie form. They even sent some cookies up when my sister came to visit. I wasn't crazy about them; they tasted more like chocolate in my opinion. But I reasoned that maybe I would like them better if they were super fresh, right from the oven. Then I realized that my parents had given us 2 two-packs of big jars of Nutella, and we had barely gone through one in the past year. So I decided to make these cookies; I had Nutella to spare! This was a classic example of mistaking first impressions, because these cookies were amazing. And they tasted like Nutella, which is what I wanted. They are just yummy; Zak had more than he should've yesterday when I brought some to his work. However, this recipe makes a lot of cookies; probably about 4 dozen. I had a friend over and made her take a ton of them; I gave away at least a dozen, and frozen a fair amount of them as well. But it's worth it, Nutella cookies = brilliant. Enjoy these with a cold glass of milk, mmm.

2 1/2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. packed dark brown sugar (we used light, and they were just fine)

1 c. white sugar

26 oz. Nutella (one large jar)

1 c. chopped hazelnuts (did not use this time [my dad's not a nut person, so I'm always hesitant about putting them in cookies, etc.], but I think they'd be great with them!)

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

2. In mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy.

3. Mix in Nutella (do not heat it in order to make it easier; it takes some time and it is messy, but heating it will ruin everything (not from experience, just know that)), beat until all incorporated.

4. Add in chopped hazelnuts if you're going that route, then eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Mix well.

5. Add in flour slowly and/or in three stages, making sure after every addition that it's mixed in well.

6. Chill dough while oven preheats to 350 degrees. Scoop dough into balls and cook for about 10 minutes.

we had enough leftover dough for about 4 cookies, so instead, we just made a giant one

yum!

Chinese Sundaes / Hawaiian Haystacks

This is a family tradition. We often have it a few times a year, but the most memorable time is at the beach. My family has been going to the same motel, on the same beach, since my dad was a baby. It is one of my favorite places to be! My mom almost always makes this meal for the family, which has now grown to at least 30 of us. It's an ordeal, but it's tradition, too. Zak was wary of this, when I first talked about making it a few years ago. He was hesitant, but being the trusting guy in his woman's cooking that he is, ventured forth and came out a fan. Now every time I mention I'm making Chinese Sundaes, he gets all excited. They are that good. And we don't call them Hawaiian Haystacks, but I guess some people do, so whatever floats your boat. It's a simple meal to throw together, the only thing that takes time and a recipe is the chicken gravy, oh man. It's hard to not dump it all on your sundae because it's so good. Mmm. Well, I'll post the 'order' of the sundaes, as well as the chicken gravy recipe. Enjoy!

1. Rice

2. Chow Mein Noodles (crunchy)

3. Chicken (diced, cooked)

4. Chicken Gravy

5. Tomato (diced)

6. Celery (diced)

7. Cheese (grated)

8. Gravy again (optional, but if you're feeling indulgent, go for it)

9. Crushed Pineapple

10. Green Onion

11. Sliced Almonds

12. Coconut

13. Cherry

the perfect sundae (without celery)

Chicken Gravy

6 Tbl. butter

6 Tbl. flour

1 1/2 c. chicken broth

1 c. milk

salt & pepper to taste

*our microwave is crazy powerful, so I usually cook the recipe starting around 50 or 60% power, working my way up and checking often, so it doesn't overflow*

1. Melt butter for about 1 1/2 minutes.

2. Once butter is melted, whisk in flour; cook for about 1 1/2 minutes, or until bubbly and thicker.

3. Add in liquids, slowly and whisking as you go. Once all the liquids have been added, microwave for 3 minutes.

4. Whisk, cook 2 minutes.

5. Whisk, cook 1 1/2 minutes.

6. Repeat until sauce is fairly thick, or until however thick you want it to be. Salt & pepper to taste.

(this recipe makes about 3 cups)

everything all laid out

close-up

My Mom's Teriyaki Marinade

Here is the best teriyaki marinade you will find. It is the best and I cut this recipe in half for the two of us.

1 c. soy sauce
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
sprinkle of ginger

1. Whisk it all up. Marinade meat.

To make a glaze, measure left-over marinade in glass measuring cup. Whatever amount it comes to, add half that amount of cold water to it. Add in some cornstarch, throw it in the microwave for a few minutes until it's thick, clear and medium brown.

Chicken Salad Croissants

I don't know why I haven't posted this yet, because it is one of our favorites! It's so simple and very tasty, and you will always want extras. It's always sad when it's all gone. Zak and I both like our croissants with both the sprouts and cashews; the sprouts give it a good 'earthy' taste, and the cashews are a wonderful salty counterpart to the sweet of the apples. I made these last night and we devoured them. Guess I'll need to get some more croissants to make another batch-gotta use all those sprouts and cashews up, right? Enjoy!

4 large croissants

2 c. cooked, diced chicken (about 2 half breasts; last night I used about 12 oz., which was plenty)

about 1/2 c. mayo

1/4 c. chopped cashews (I don't know about this amount; since we have Winco, I just go get a small bulk bag of nuts, no idea how much I got, so just eyeball it)

1 small box alfalfa sprouts

1/2. apple (usually a whole apple, depending on size-in my opinion, more apple won't hurt anyone!)

1/2 c. chopped/diced celery (about 1 stalk; we're not big celery people, so I use probably less than this amount)

8 oz. whipped cream cheese, softened a little

1 head leaf lettuce (optional)

salt & pepper to taste

1. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, celery and apple.

2. Add mayonnaise, salt and pepper (to taste) and toss together lightly. Cover and chill.

3. Spread cream cheese on each slice of croissant. Place lettuce leaf (optional, I haven't tried it with lettuce yet) and some sprouts on each croissants.

4. Spoon chicken salad over lettuce and sprinkle with cashews.

I usually lightly cream cheese both sides of a croissant, place a sufficient amount of sprouts of the top half, and a handful of nuts on the bottom half.

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I love oatmeal raisin cookies. They are my absolute favorites, which is weird, since I'm such a chocolate fiend. But I could sit down and eat a whole batch of oatmeal raisin cookies if I didn't care about my body. Enjoy these delicious cookies. :)

1 c. shortening

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1/4 c. milk

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 c. raisins

4 c. Quaker oats

1. Combine shortening, sugars, eggs and beat until creamy.

2. Add flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; beat well.

3. Add milk, then oats and raisins, beat well.

4. Bake at 250 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes OR at 350 degrees for 12- 16 minutes.

*Alternate version that is just as tasty, but not my number 1 favorite: Oatmeal Craisin: Instead of raisins, add 1 c. craisins and 1 c. coconut.

sorry for the blurriness

mmmmm