Strawberry Salad

1 bag of spring salad mix or your favorite greens

4 slices of bacon fully cooked and crumbled (or use the bottled bacon pieces, not Bac-o-bits)

¼ c. cashew or almond pieces

¼ c. Craisins

3 slices of red onion, finely cut, optional

8 oz. fresh sliced strawberries

Adding 2 finely sliced kiwi fruit makes a nice variation. You can also add celery, cucumber, avocado, feta cheese, or mandarin oranges

Dressing:

1 c. mayonnaise

¼ c. milk

1/8 c. balsamic vinegar

1/8 c. sugar

2 heaping T. strawberry jam (I usually use more.)

Mix all ingredients in blender and toss into the salad. This will make more dressing than you need for the salad. Put remaining in fridge.

Rice

I know that everyone knows how to make this but I came across a really good method a few years ago in The New Best Recipe cookbook. Here's how I do it:

2 c. rice
about 2 t. of butter
2 1/2 c. water
1/2 t. salt

Saute the rice in the butter for a few minutes over medium high heat until all the rice is coated but not brown. Add the water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Stir. Turn off the heat but leave the pan on the burner and keep it covered for another 15 minutes. Fluff.

Chicken Cacciatore

I'm not sure that I spelled that correctly but it sure tastes good :). I modified a recipe that I found in Dinner is Ready. I try not to use fresh onions in anything because they make Mikey sick but feel free to substitute one onion, sliced in place of the onion powder.

3 large, frozen chicken breasts
1/2 T. onion powder
1 t. garlic powder
1/2 T. dried oregano
1 t. dried basil
1 t. salt
some cracked black pepper
1 14 oz. can tomato sauce
1 sm. can tomato paste
1 sm. can of mushrooms but feel free to use fresh
1 bay leaf

Put all of the ingredients into a crock pot and cook on low about 4 1/2 hours or until the chicken is very tender. Serve with rice or pasta.

Easy Potluck Pie: Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie

Here is a link to a super easy potluck worthy pie. I made it last night and although I haven't tried the finished version, licking the bowl was delightful.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/06/another-pie/

This pie was good but it was much better after I put it in the freezer. It doesn't freeze super hard, it just gets a really good creamy texture rather than fluffy which I prefer. It is much easier to serve as well.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

So easy...

I got the urge because I read two articles about freezer jam, one in Parents magazine and the other in Good Housekeeping. I used the idea from Parents though because it uses much less sugar and didn't require any cooking. Mikey got me a freezer this year so when strawberries went on sale at Sunflower Market this week for .88 cents a pound, I had to go for it. It was so super easy. Here's the recipe but it is also on the packet of pectin:

1 packet of Simple Creations no-cook fruit pectin
4 lbs. strawberries, washed and sliced
1 c. sugar (the recipe on the pkt. calls for 1 1/2 c. but in Parents they only use 1 c. I used the lesser amount and it was plenty sweet.)

Crush the berries until they are the texture that you want. Measure out 4 c. of puree. Mix the sugar and pectin together then add the puree. Stir for 3 minutes then put into clean jars. Freeze for one year or refrigerate for 3 weeks.

Sorry It Has Been So Long

I feel bad that I haven't kept up with this blog. I have a few recipes that I want to post but I just haven't gotten to them. Here is an easy one that is great for summer BBQ's and get togethers:

1 large box brownie mix
3 cups mini marshmallows
1 c. chocolate chips
5 whole graham crackers broken in fourths

Make brownies according to package directions. Take out of oven and sprinkle on marshmallows and chocolate chips. Put back into hot oven for 2 minutes. Take out of oven and press graham crackers on top. Yum! They are S'more brownies. This recipe is from a box of brownies but they only ask for 2 c. of marshmallows but I don't think that is enough.

Dining Out Website

Now that I'm a resident of Draper, I get the Draper Paper for FREE in my mailbox. So far the big controversy in the paper is whether or not to save some kind of barn.

Anyways this cute lady writes this article about good places to eat around town, so I thought I'd share her website. This week she talked about Tin Roof on 9400 S 700 E, and today's featured place is a baguette bakery. I am definitely going to be trying some of these places out!

http://dininginourtown.com/diningout.html