Strawberry Spinach Salad with vinaigrette dressing

Who doesn't love a good salad? Me, that's who. This weekend I got a huge craving for Strawberry Salad, and I had to have it right that second. Or at least that evening. I did a lot of searching around on Pinterest, but none of them were exactly what I wanted so I borrowed the dressing recipe from here: http://juliasalbum.com/2014/07/strawberry-spinach-salad-with-bacon/ and I made up the rest myself.

 

Ingredients:

 

Dressing:

1/4 cup oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

 

Salad:

Medium bag of spinach

10 strawberries, sliced

1/3 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup real bacon bits

 

 

Dressing:

Whisk dressing ingredients together. Set aside.

 

Salad:

Combine spinach, strawberry slices, Parmesan cheese, and bacon bits in a large bowl. Pour dressing over top. Toss to coat.

 

It can't get easier than that ladies and gentlemen!

 

 

I didn't even feel guilty eating this with a homemade cheeseburger and fries! (Ok, maybe a little...) This is definitely a new favorite!

 

Do you have a favorite "go to" salad recipe?

Taco Salad

I have been making this taco salad for the last few years, we always eat it up pretty quickly around here! It's always a win with the kiddos.

Ingredients:
Head of lettuce, shredded
bag of crushed up nacho cheese Doritos
1 lb beef
taco seasoning
Catalina dressing - 1 cup
Mexican Cheese- 1.5 cup
sour cream (optional)
salsa (optional)

Brown beef and drain grease. Prepare beef and taco seasoning as directed on package. Stir together taco meat, lettuce, Catalina dressing, crushed up Doritos and Mexican cheese.

Top with sour cream and salsa. (optional)

Chicken Sausage Pasta

While I was out coupon shopping a few weeks ago I found a great deal on some chicken sausage. Of course, I had no idea what to do with it, but I took it hope and threw it in the freezer so I could find a recipe.

And then I forgot about it until this weekend. But, it was kind of like Christmas when I cleaned out the freezer, so I immediately ran to Pinterest to see what I could make.

I stumbled across this recipe:

http://www.taylormadebytaylorbee.com/2013/02/light-pasta-bake-with-chicken-sausage.html?m=1

and  I added it to my menu to make this week. I love that it has spinach and tomatoes. It's such a colorful pasta, which makes me so happy for some odd reason. 

My husband is kind of fantastic so he threw it together for me before I got home from work tonight. It was easy to make and full of flavor, so I'll call this one a win!

This will be a regular meal going forward, but I will likely cut the recipe in half... because we had a ton of leftovers.... (this may be my lunch for a few days!)

Do you have any other chicken sausage recipes that you love and want to share?

Shrimp Po Boys

Last summer we went to a local restaurant and I had my very first shrimp po boy sandwich. I pretty much fell in love from there, but it never occurred to me that I could make my own. (duh!) So when I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest I knew I had to try it out.

So, tonight Justin and I threw together some Shrimp Po Boys with sweet potato fries in the side.

This recipe is amazing! The only thing I would change is split the recipe for the sauce in half. I poured a lot of it down the drain. Otherwise, it was incredible and this will happen again in this house!

Get the recipe here:
http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2014/03/shrimp-po-boy-recipe.html

You'll love it! Believe me! 

Baked Ranch Chicken

Here is a Pinterest win that I found Friday night! Everyone at the table love it, and what makes it even better is the fact that it is super easy to make!

Here is where the recipe came from: http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/10/baked-crispy-ranch-chicken/


What you need:
5-6 Chicken Breasts (I used two pieces of chicken breast and cut them each in half length wise)
1 cup of Ranch
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup of cornflakes slightly crushed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Stir together bread crumbs and cornflakes
3. Dip each piece of chicken in the Ranch and cover completely
4. Dip chicken in the dry mixture. Make sure the chicken is covered completely in the mixture
5. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the chicken starts to brown.

We ate this with mashed potatoes and broccoli with cheese. It was fantastic!

Cherry Chocolate Cookies

Recently, the girls started to take turns picking out a dessert for us to bake together. Last week Felicia picked these Cherry Chocolate Cookies, and they were amazing.

She made them right before Valentine's Day, and they were the perfect Valentine's Day cookies, but they would seriously be great for any day of the year!

The recipe came from here:
http://www.thecurvycarrot.com/2011/03/04/cherry-chocolate-kisses/

Cherry Chocolate Kisses
Servings: approximately 36 cookies

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened, but still cool*****very important!
1 cup powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons maraschino cherry “juice”
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup maraschino cherries, chopped
Granulated sugar, for sprinkling the cookies
36 milk chocolate kisses, unwrapped


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute.

Reduce the speed to the lowest setting and slowly add the powdered sugar and salt. Add the cherry juice and the almond extract until combined.With the mixer still on low, slowly add the flour, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Increase the mixer speed to medium and add the cherries.

Shape the dough into 1-inch balls, and place the balls on a baking sheet, approximately 2 inches apart. Using your thumb, gently press each cookie in its center until the cookie is about 1/2-inch thick.Sprinkle each cookie with a little granulated sugar. Bake the cookies until the bottoms are lightly browned, about 14 minutes. Once removed from the oven, immediately press a chocolate kiss into each cookie’s center. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Easy Cheesy Baked Ravoili

If you are anything like me, you can not have nearly enough dinner recipes with the word "easy" in them. Also, if they are kid friendly recipes, that are instantly winners. This recipe was both!

What you need:
1 bag of frozen ravioli (I used cheese ravioli)
1 jar a marinara sauce
2 cups of mozzarella cheese (I realized at the last second that I was out of Moz. cheese, so I used cheddar... still just as yummy!)
Parmesan Cheese for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Pour 3/4 cup of marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Arrange half of the ravioli down in the pan on top of the sauce. Top with half of the remaining sauce, and half of the moz. cheese. Repeat layers once more, starting with ravioli. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until bubbly and hot in the center. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Original recipe from: Tastykitchen.com

Crock Pot Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

So, apparently last week there was some sporting event on television during which people eat large amounts of ridiculous foot and yell at the TV. There was also a Bruno Mars concert during halftime, so ya know, I didn't want to miss it for the world.

In honor of the Bruno Mars concert, and some random football game... I decided to eat something delicious. I had just picked up a Pork Roast at Aldi the week before, so this was a great opportunity to eat it.

I looked around on Pinterest and I immediately found a recipe for Crock Pot Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork, so I knew I had found a winner.

This cooked all day while I was at work, and when I got home to turn on the game it was time to eat!

Doesn't this look delicious?



Yes? Ok, go make it. Trust me, you want to. Here is the recipe:

What you need:

3-4 lb Pork Loin Roast
Pork Rub (see how I make mine here) or your favorite seasonings
12 oz Dr Pepper
Barbecue Sauce (to taste)




How to make it:

Season pork with your rub on all sides.
Place in slow cooker.
Pour in Dr Pepper.
Cook on low 10-12 hours.
Drain most of the liquid.
Use tongs to shred pork.
Add barbecue sauce to taste (I use a whole bottle)
Stir well and reduce temp to warm for serving.
Serve on buns with cole slaw on the sandwich or on the side (optional).

Here is the original source: http://www.raininghotcoupons.com/crock-pot-dr-pepper-pulled-pork/