Salted Caramel Turtle Popcorn

Look out Cinnabon Popcorn, you have some serious competition!! So this past week was pretty rough and totally exhausting, and; well, just not fun at all. That's all I'm gonna say. So by Sunday night, the only thing I wanted in the whole wide world was chocolate and caramel and a funny movie so I could escape from reality. Dinner time rolled around and I had a sudden burst of inspiration, and this gooey, caramely, chocolatey popcorn was created. Yes, I said dinnertime. Yes, this is what I cooked for dinner. And yes, it was the best Sunday night dinner I ever ate. Along with watching "Diary of a Whimpy Kid" with my awesome family, it was better than a therapy session, which I definitely needed after this past week. So here's my recipe, hope you love it and try it for dinner soon!!

Note: This recipe makes a lot, so have a party (and invite my family:) or keep it in a ziploc, it's still awesomely delicious the next day.

Salted Caramel Turtle Popcorn
Print Recipe
24 cups popcorn (about 1 cup unpopped kernels. For this recipe it's best popped in a hot air popper.)
1 1/2 cups Pecans
14 Tablespoons Butter (1 stick + 6 Tablespoons)
1 3/4 cups Brown Sugar
1/3 cup Corn Syrup or Maple/Pancake Syrup
1 Tablespoon Molasses
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 teaspoons Vanilla
2/3 cup Milk Chocolate Chips
2/3 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
2 teaspoons Vegetable Oil

Preheat oven to 250. Line 2 large baking sheets (I used 10 x 15 sheet cake pans) with parchment paper. Place popped corn in 2 large mixing bowls. Divide pecans and stir into popcorn.
In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in corn syrup, molasses, brown sugar, and sea salt. Heat to boiling, stirring frequently. Once mixture boils, stir continuously for 90 seconds. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. If you have kids they'll love seeing your caramel "explode"!! Spoon equal parts of the caramel over both bowls of popcorn and stir well to coat. Place popcorn onto your prepared baking sheets and place on 2 oven racks closest to the center of your oven. Cook in oven for 15 minutes. Stir your popcorn and rotate the baking sheets so they switch baking racks. (If you have a convection oven then cook at 225 and simply give your popcorn a good stir.) Cook for 15 minutes more, then set out to cool for 30 minutes. Just cool right on the baking sheets on the parchment paper. No mess, hurray!
Once popcorn has almost cooled, melt your chocolate. Stir both the milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips together in a double boiler or a frying pan on the stove over low heat. I don't ever, ever, melt chocolate in the microwave. Once chocolate has melted, stir in the vegetable oil to make it easier for drizzling. Drizzle chocolate over the caramel corn and serve!! YUMMY!! I can't wait for you all to try this!!

Broccoli Craisin Salad

I am addicted to this stuff. I love it so much!! And when I make it I eat the leftovers whenever possible, including for lunch the next day with some turkey meat thrown in. And I have no idea why, but I always forget about this salad til spring/summer hits and then I go "Oh yay!! Time to make broccoli salad again!!!" My in-laws were visiting last week, so it was the perfect excuse to make this, I was so happy to eat it again!! This recipe makes a big bowl of salad, perfect for a potluck. It would easily feed at least 10-12 people as a side dish, probably a few more. You can cut it in half if you are just serving it for dinner.

Broccoli Craisin Salad
Print Recipe

2 cups Mayonnaise
1 cup Sugar (I sometimes use 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup splenda)
2 Tablespoons Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
1 small Onion, chopped (or 1/2 of a medium-large sized onion)
2 cups Craisins
1 cup slivered Almonds
a few generous handfuls of Real Bacon Bits (about 2 cups)
2 pounds chopped Broccoli

In a large serving bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sugar, and both vinegars. Add the onion and stir well. Add the craisins, almonds, and bacon. Refrigerate for 1 hour. (I sometimes let it sit in the fridge for a few hours.) Stir in the broccoli and serve, or you can put it back in the fridge for another hour til you're ready to eat.

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

This recipe comes from America's Test Kitchen, with a couple of changes including adding corn and using boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of bone-in. My family just loved this, I need to make it again! This is a slow cooker recipe, but it does take a few minutes to get everything chopped, browned, mixed and thrown in there. But once that's done you are totally home free and dinner is done. Gotta love that!! Please don't get too freaked out over the amount of jalapenos called for here, they kind of mellow out in the slow cooker and as long as you remove the seeds, you'll be fine. If you're really worried still, you could add just 3 but don't cut them out or you will have a flavorless chili, which would be very sad and boring.

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

Print Recipe

2 16-oz. cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 16-oz. can hominy, drained and rinsed
3 cups water
3 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 medium onions, chopped
4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons, ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup frozen corn
2 tablespoons lime juice
Tortilla chips, sour cream, cilantro, and avocadoes for garnish

Puree 1 can of cannellini beans, the hominy, 3 cups water in blender or food processor until completely smooth. Pour into slow cooker. Stir in chicken bouillon powder.
Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in nonstick skillet and lightly brown chicken thighs. Add to slow cooker.
Heat 1 more tablespoon of olive oil in skillet. Cook onions, chiles, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt in skillet until golden brown. Add garlic, cumin, and coriander and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to slow cooker.

Add remaining two cans of beans to slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW until chicken is tender, about 3 to 4 hours. Transfer chicken to bowl. When cool enough to handle, shred into bite-sized pieces. Stir lime juice, cilantro, chicken and corn into chili. Let corn heat in there for a minute. Serve chili in bowls topped with tortilla chips, sour cream, avocado, and additional cilantro if desired.

Recipe Source: Photo and recipe adapted from America's Test Kitchen

Hello Dolly's

I got this recipe years ago from a woman I use to iron for and she called them Hello Dolly's. I know they are also called 7 layer bars and who knows what else, but what is important to know about these is that these scrumptious little dessert bars are that they are dangerous! What I mean by dangerous is that you first take one bite to make sure that they taste ok, and next thing you know, half of your pan is gone!! Before the day is through about 3/4 of the pan is gone. They are so good you just keep going back for more and next thing you know the pan is gone and so is your diet! Another thing about these, super easy to make, so you can always make more!

Hello Dolly's

Print Recipe

1 1/2 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs

1/2 cup melted butter

Mix together and press into the bottom of a 9x13" pan.

Next, layer the following:

(the recipe calls for 6 oz chocolate chips, I personally like both types in here and for all of these ingredients I usually don't measure, just cover the pan with them, I think I use more, can't hurt to have more goodness in there, right??)

6 oz Milk Chocolate Chips

6 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

6 oz Butterscotch Chips

6 oz Shredded Coconut

Next pour 1 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk evenly over the top of everything.

Bake them in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Sweet-n-Tangy Taco Salad

This salad is one of our favorite family dinners!! It's super fast and easy to throw together on a busy night, or a weekend when you want something healthy but don't want to slave in your kitchen all day. The sweet dressing combined with the taco salad is SO good!

Sweet-n-Tangy Taco Salad:

Print Recipe

1 pound Ground Beef or Turkey

2 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning

1 medium Onion, chopped, divided**see note

1 head Green Leaf Lettuce, chopped

1 cup Cilantro, chopped

8 oz. Cheddar Cheese, cubed (Shredded cheese is a no-no here, you won't be able to taste it in your salad)

1-2 Tomatoes, chopped

1 9 oz. bag Fritos Chips (we also sometimes use Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili chips in this salad, yummy!)

1 cup Catalina Dressing (if you don't have some on hand follow the link to make your own, it's super fast and easy and I can pretty much guarantee you have the stuff you need in your fridge/pantry!)

Salsa and Sour Cream for garnish

**Note: this recipe calls for browning half the onions and putting the other half in your salad raw. If you have picky kids who don't like raw onion, then just brown the whole onion with the meat. I sometimes do.

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef or turkey with 1/2 of a chopped onion. Halfway through browning, sprinkle beef with taco seasoning and stir well. Set aside to cool for a minute while you assemble the salad.

In a large salad bowl, place the chopped lettuce, cheddar cheese, cilantro, the other 1/2 onion, and tomatoes. Break up half of your frito chips into smaller pieces and place in the salad. Add the taco meat/onion mixture to the salad and 1 cup Catalina dressing. Toss all together. Serve and top each salad plate with additional fritos, sour cream, and some salsa if desired.



Catalina Dressing

This is a super yummy dressing, we love it on veggies and taco salad! (recipe coming tomorrow.)  I sometimes don't have any in my pantry when I need it, so I just make my own in a flash when I need to.

Catalina Dressing:
Print Recipe

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup onion
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

3/4 cup canola or vegetable oil

1/4 cup water 

1/2 teaspoon pepper 
pinch of kosher salt, to taste

Mix the ketchup, sugar, red wine vinegar, onion, paprika, and worcestershire sauce in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add canola oil, water, and pepper. Blend again. Taste to see if you want to add salt. (I just add a pinch of kosher salt.) Serve!

Recipe adapted from food.com

Baguette Bread

We lived in Missouri for 19 months, and it was some of the best times of our lives! We met some of the best people we have yet to meet and they are now life long friends! Not only were they all amazing, but they were also amazing cooks. This recipe I got from my friend Sarah and it is a hit. The recipe produces a super soft bread with a crunchy outside. It is great with any pasta meal, or to just eat a whole loaf  hot out of the oven as a "snack".

This recipe calls for a Baugette Pan, this is what mine looks like

Baguette Bread
Print Recipe

This is a fast and easy french bread recipe. It makes 4 loaves so my favorite thing is to wrap the loaves, individually, in foil,  that we did not eat that night  and stick them in the freezer. Then I warm them up in the oven in the foil it is wrapped in and use them for several meals. I use a baguette pan you don't have to have a baguette pan.

3 C. hot water

1 1/2 T yeast

1 1/2 T sugar

3 tsp salt (I use kosher but you don't have to)

6 C Flour
1 Tbls Rosemary (opt.) (In this picture, I did not use Rosemary)

Directions: Mix water, yeast, sugar, & salt in a bowl and let stand for 10 minutes (will be bubbly). Add flour & rosemary and mix until smooth and not sticky. (It may take little more flour). I put a little olive oil in a bowl and then put the dough back in it and make sure all of the bread is coated with a little oil. Then you let the dough rise until it is double in size. - Tip: I turned my oven on to WARM while I was mixing everything together and then when it was all warm I turned the oven off, put the dough in the oven with the door open just a little. That way it raised faster. I think I left it in there for 20-30 minutes.Then take the dough out and put it on lightly floured surface & knead until smooth. Divide into fourths and roll into baguettes and let raise another 10 minutes. (If your baguette pan only has 3 slots, then you can make 3 bigger ones, or just leave the fourth loaf off and cook it alone after your first batch)

Put onto a baguette pan.

Take an egg white and a little salt and mix in a bowl. Take a pastry brush and brush egg on top of bread (it gives it a shinny look).

Bake @ 400 for 20-30 minutes.It is very simple and very fast.

Recipe Source: Sarah Babbel

Ham Fried Rice

This dish is SO easy to put together on a busy weeknight. Just cook your rice ahead of time like in the morning or night before (I throw mine on the stove the night before while I watch a recorded "What Not to Wear" show, which is awesome because I'm totally allowed to admit that I think Clinton is kind of hot because he's gay, but I don't care). Then your Fried Rice only takes less than 20 minutes to make. Score!! And it's SO good too!! I'm going to be honest here, this recipe is super simple, and might sound a bit boring. But I tried a few other fried rice recipes before creating this one, with ingredients like fresh ginger and garlic and sesame stuff, and the truth is: my family didn't really care for them. And I truly love Chinese food and all those ingredients I just mentioned, but I didn't like the fancy shmancy fried rice recipes either. There were just too many strong flavors going on and my whole family agreed this fried rice is just perfectly delicious. We LOVE this. I want to note here that this can be made with or without the ham. If I'm serving this as a main dish-which I often do-I put the ham in, but I leave it out when I'm serving it on the side of an Oriental meal like Asian Lettuce Wraps.

Ham Fried Rice
Print Recipe

3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil, divided (I use pure olive oil, NOT extra virgin so it has a mild flavor and makes this super healthy)
2 cups Ham
3 Green Onions, white and green parts, chopped (or 1/2 cup white or yellow onion)
2/3 cup shredded Carrots (or slice very thin)
2/3 cup Frozen Corn
4 Eggs, beaten
4 cups cooked, cold Rice (if you forget to cook your rice ahead of time fresh cooked rice will also work.)
3 1/2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce, divided
1 teaspoon Sugar

Set out all your ingredients. If your rice is cold, break it up with a spatula some. In a small bowl, mix 2 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce with 1 teaspoon sugar. Set aside. In a large wok, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add ham, green onions, carrots, and corn. Stir and cook until onions and carrots have softened. Add in beaten eggs. Your eggs will cook pretty quickly since the wok, meat, and veggies are nicely heated. Stir eggs in until they are scrambled. Stir in 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Remove egg mixture from your wok and set it aside in a bowl. Heat 2 more tablespoons oil in your wok. Add the rice in. Let it kind of "brown" on one side, then do your best to flip/stir it over to brown some more. Once it is browned (not all brown, just some of it nicely browned and flavored), add the remaining soy sauce and sugar mixture and stir in until well combined. Stir the egg, veggie, and ham mixture back into your rice, and combine all together. Serve!! Yum!!

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake with Chocolate Malt Frosting

O.k., first off, if you love chocolate and you are on a diet, I am so very, very sorry.  Because you will have to cheat and make and eat this cake. I made this for my husband's 40th birthday party, and it was pure chocoalte, creamy, decadent heaven.  This cake starts with a cake mix which I love using, because you can really spruce up the flavor of cake mixes so easily!  And added in are layers of chocolate malt frosting, which is dangerously addictive.  And don't worry if your not a huge malt fan, you can't really taste the malt flavoring all that strongly, it just makes the frosting so yummy that you can't stop eating it!  And sandwiched in there is a creamy cheesecake from the famous Junior's Cheesecake cookbook.  I actually got this cake idea from that book, it was called Devils Food Cake Cheesecake.  However after reading lukewarm reviews on the cake portion of the cake, I decided to start with my trusty favorite cake mix, add in their cheesecake, and spread on my favorite chocolate frosting of all time.  This cake defininately requires some advance planning, you will need to start very early in the day or the day before, but it's worth it!! 

These pictures are courtesy of my awesome friend Beckie!!

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake with Chocolate Malt Frosting 

Print Recipe

Cake:

1 Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix

1 cup Buttermilk

1/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

1/3 cup Vegetable Oil

3 Eggs

Heat oven to 350.  Generously spray three 9 inch cake pans with cooking spray, getting the sides sprayed well too.  Place parchment paper on the bottoms of all 3 pans.  Beat all ingredients together in a large bowl for on low for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes.  Divide cake mix evenly between the 3 pans.  Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pans for 15 minutes, then invert onto cooling racks. Gently peel off parchment paper.  Let sit until completely cooled, about 2 hours.  Wrap cakes in plastic wrap and refrigerate (or freeze if starting a day or more ahead) until ready to use. 

Cheesecake,  recipe from Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook: 50 To-Die-For Recipes for New York-Style Cheesecake:

3 (8-ounce) packages Cream Cheese, (use only full fat), at room temperature

1 1/3 cups Sugar

3 Tablespoons Cornstarch

1 tablespoon Vanilla 

2 Extra-Large eggs

2/3 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

Heat oven to 350.  Generously butter the bottom and sides of one 9-inch springform pan (preferably a nonstick one).  Line the bottom of your pan with parchment paper, but do not let the paper come up the sides.  You will be baking your cheesecake in a water bath. You can follow my tip from the white chocolate pumpkin praline cheesecake  post where you use an oven bag, or do the following: Wrap the outside with aluminum foil, covering the bottom and extending all the way up the sides.  To make the cheesecake layer, put one package of the cream cheese, 1/3 cup of the sugar, and the  cornstarch in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low until creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl a couple of times. Blend in the remaining cream cheese, one package at a time, scraping down the bowl after each. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat in the remaining 1 cup sugar, then the vanilla. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after adding each. Beat in the cream just until it's completely blended. Be careful not to overmix!

Gently spoon the batter into the foil-wrapped springform and place it in a large roasting pan containing hot water that comes about 1-1/2  inches up the sides of the springform.  Bake the cake at 350 degrees F until the edges are light golden brown and the top is slightly golden tan, about 1 - 1 1/4 hours.  Note: the Juniors cookbook says to cook your cheesecake 1 1/4 hours, but this was too long for my cheesecake. Mine was done at 1 hour so I suggest checking at 1 hour.  Remove the cake from the water bath, transfer to a wire rack, and cool in the pan for 2 hours, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate (while still in the pan) until it's completely cold, about 4 hours. Place in the freezer until ready to assemble the cake.

Creamy Chocolate Malt Frosting (from the whopper's malt cake): Note: this makes a lot of frosting, if you have any leftover it freezes super well and you can use it on brownies, another cake, cookies, pretzels, or anything that would taste good with chocolate!!

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1 cup unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup Mallted Milk Powder
32 oz.. Powdered Sugar

In large mixing bowl, beat butter and vanilla. In separate bowl, stir together malt powder and cocoa. Add to butter, beat on medium speed. Add whipping cream and beat on low til mixed in well. Add powdered sugar, mix well to combine.

Chocolate Curls for Garnish:
Jessica actually came to my husband's party a little early and made chocolate curls for me!! I had actually never made them before but she made it easy!!  Just take 1 dark chocolate bar (like hershey's special dark chocolate, get the large one).  Hold it upright and take a vegetable peeler, and start peeling from the corner of the bar.  Continue til you have the desired amount of chocolate.

To assemble the cake:

To assemble the cake, remove the cheesecake from the freezer and let stand at room temperature about 10 minutes. Place one layer of chcolate cake, top side down, on a cake plate and spread with some of the frosting. Release and remove the ring of the springform, then remove the frozen cheesecake from the bottom of the pan. Tip: if you are having a hard time getting your cheesecake off the bottom of the pan, simply place your cheesecke (while still on the bottom of the springform) over a burner on your stove turned up to low-medium for about 30-40 seconds.  It should release very well after that, I use a large metal spatula to help get it off.   Place top side down on the frosted cake layer, and remove parchment paper.  Spread with some frosting. Top with the second cake layer, top side down. Spread with more frosting and cover with the third cake  layer, top side up. Brush away any crumbs from the sides and top of the cake layers. Frost the sides and top of the cake with the remaining frosting, spreading the top with frosting about 1/2 inch deep. Place dark chocolate curls on the top and sides of cake. Let the cake sit on the counter for a while or refrigerate for about 2 hours to allow the cheesecake to thaw enough to easily slice. Use a sharp straight-edge knife, not a serrated one, to cut it. Cover any leftover cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate, or wrap and freeze for up to 1 month.

Banana Cookies

How tasty do these look? My great friend Maria use to be my next door neighbor and her and I quickly became close close friends. Our kids use to run back and forth from each other's house multiple times a day. I still miss living next to her. This is one of the many recipes that her and I shared while we lived there. This quickly became one of my favorite cookies. The Browned Buttered Frosting that you frost these with is so good, I could be known for eating the left over with a spoon :).

The other day my friend Sam texted me that she had some soft bananas and if I had any recipes she could use them up with, and of course I thought I this recipe. She made them that day and then shared them at a book fair and they were a hit! In fact she took this picture for me so I could post the recipe, thanks Sam!!


Banana Cookies
Print Recipe

½ cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas (2-3 bananas)

Mix together then add:

2 cups flour
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp soda
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp nutmeg

Mix ingredients, and then, if desired chill for 30-60 minutes. Then bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.


Banana Cookie Frosting

1/3 cup butter, browned
In deep bowl with wax paper over it, cook in microwave for 3 minutes then add 1 minute at a time until brown.
3 cups powdered sugar
3-4 Tbls milk
1 ½ tsp vanilla

Mix and spread over cookies while frosting is still warm.

Recipe Source: Maria Jenkins

Cinnamon Orange Bread

There is a man that attends our church and he is known for being an amazing baker. Well I heard he had made something amazing for someone and so I of course emailed him right away asking for the recipe. I finally got around to making it and HOLY COW, it is SOOO good.
This recipe makes four loaves of bread, and I was going to give away two of the loaves, but once I tasted it, I could only bring myself to give away one loaf. It is so soft and tender and the addition of mashed potatoes and orange juice to the bread dough makes it so moist. My mouth is watering for a piece just writing about it. My entire family loves this stuff! And the one loaf  that I did give away to my neighbor, she loved and said that they pretty much ate the entire loaf in one day. You really must try this bread! Thanks Aaron for giving me this recipe and for letting me share it with everyone!

Cinnamon Orange Bread

(makes four loaves)
Print Recipe

Dissolve 1 T yeast in 1/2 c water

2 c scalded milk, then let cool to warm
Add to milk:
 1 c sugar
 1/2 c oil
 1 c mashed potatoes
 3 t salt
 1 1/2 c orange juice
 4 c flour
 Beat until smooth
Add yeast
Add 2 egg
Beat well
Add 6-8 c flour or until soft dough is formed (I used Bread Flour)
Place in greased bowl
Cover and let rise until double (1 hour)
Punch down and divide in half
Let rise 10 minutes
Roll each half into 15" x 7" rectangle (1/2 inch thick)
Spread butter, sugar and cinnamon on each half
Spray water bottle on top (Because the recipe says it is 4 loaves, at this point, I cut each rectangle in half to make my 4 loaves)
Roll and seal edge (make sure you seal the ends and the edges of the loaves)
Place in bread pans
Cover and let rise until double (1 hour)
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes (cover with tin foil the last 15 min)
Cool and spread icing on top

Icing:
Powdered Sugar and Orange Juice, not to thick not to thin (I used my Orange Roll frosting recipe)
Source: Aaron Churnos

Caramelized Pecan & Craisin Salad with Honey Red Wine Vinaigrette

      So my husband turned 40 last weekend and I decided to go all out for his special day and throw a dinner party for him. We invited some couples over and played games, ate delicious food, and laughed a TON!!  It was a great night and now we have a wonderful memory of this milestone in his life that was shared with people we truly love. We celebrated with our kids the night before too so we got to party a lot last weekend!!  I'll be posting the to-die-for cake I made for dessert later this week.  Be watching and preparing for this by eating nothing but celery for the next several days so you can save up your calories and make and eat as much of you want of my triple chocolate cake cheesecake!!!  

   So I wanted to make a salad to go with dinner and this one came to mind immediately, we LOVE this salad!! I make it for Thanksgiving and have nicknamed it "Thanksgiving Salad", but it's great anytime of year!!   My wonderful friend Beckie took this picture for me, and as you can see by the time we remembered to snap a photo this delicious salad was almost gone!!  I'm seriously considering stealing her camera (it would be totally justified since my kids broke mine.) 

Caramelized Pecan & Craisin Salad:
 Print Recipe

1 head of Romaine, Green Leaf, or Red Leaf Lettuce

2 Apples, chopped

Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice (to toss with apples)

1/2 cup Craisins

2 oz. Feta Cheese

1/2 cup Caramelized Pecans or Walnuts

Wash, drain and chop lettuce. Place in a salad bowl.  Chop apples, leave peels on. Cut open a fresh orange and squeeze the juice on top of your apples and toss to coat well. This keeps your apples from turning brown and gives the salad a super yummy hint of orange!! Add apples, craisins, feta cheese, and caramelized pecans to the salad and stir. Serve with Honey Red Wine Vinaigrette Dressing and be prepared for some compliments and requests for recipes if you're serving friends or family!!

Honey Red Wine Vinaigrette

1/2 c. red wine vinegar

1/2 c. honey

1-2 cloves garlic, peeled (depending on the size of your garlic cloves)

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

1/2 c. canola oil

In a blender, combine vinegar, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper. Place lid on blender and blend on high. While blender is running, add oil in a steady stream. Store in refrigerator for about 2-3 weeks. Shake well before serving

Recipe Source: Adapted from ourbestbites

Not My Mom's Pot Roast

My title is no disrespect to my Mom, she is an amazing cook and taught me most of what I know about cooking and baking. But when I got married, I knew I needed to cook a roast, and I was nervous to make gravy and  make it the way my Mom always had. So I went to the Internet to find a new recipe. At this time, really the only cooking website to go to was All Recipes, so I went there and found this recipe and it was the top rated roast recipe. I tried it once and knew why it was the top rated! I have never made roast another way, honestly, it is THAT good. The roast just falls apart and is so moist and tender the gravy is already made and is in the pan and it is super yummy!! This is my 6 year old favorite meal, at least the potatoes and gravy part of it anyway.




Funny thing about this picture,  I knew I wanted to take a picture to post this recipe, but I forgot to take a picture before we ate....so this is my husband's plate, on his second helping, so again I apologize for my bad picture.

Pot Roast
Print Recipe
2 cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 (1oz) package of dry onion soup mix (I use Lipton Onion Soup)
1 1/4 cups water
5 1/2 pounds pot roast

Mix soup, dry onion soup mix, and water in a bowl.
Brown roast on all sides in a hot pot on the stove top.
Pour soup mixture over roast.
Cover pot with lid and put in a 300 degree oven for 3-4 hours. Roast should cut/shred easily.
Serve with mashed potatoes and the gravy from the soup mix in the pot. If the gravy is too thick for your taste, thin down with a little bit of milk.

source: www.allrecipes.com