Raspberry Spinach Salad

This was an experimental salad that turned out fantastic. It's one of those meals where you can mix and match ingredients depending on what you have. Here is the basic recipe:

4 cups fresh spinach, washed and dried

1 can mandarin oranges, drained

3 scallions (green onions), thinly sliced

1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced

1 cup fresh raspberries, sliced

1/2 cup sugar snap peas, sliced in half diagonally

1-2 cups grilled chicken breast, sliced or cubed (optional)

dressing of your choice to taste (raspberry vinagerette, poppy seed, or citrus vinagerettes are good)

Toss all ingredients together and serve. You can also substitute fresh oranges for the mandarin oranges, thinly sliced red onions (soaked in cold water to lessen the strong taste) for the scallions, add a handful of toasted nuts (walnuts, pecans, or almonds are good), or omit the peas if desired. It makes a great main dish or omit the chicken for a side dish. Enjoy!

Crock Pot Roast Beef

This is Corey's all time favorite food. It's super easy, even for those of us *cough*me*cough* who don't know how to make mom's tasty gravy.

3 lbs. roast (more or less depending on what you want, just make sure that there is at least 2 lbs. so the gravy will turn out right)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope lipton dry onion soup mix

1. Brown the roast in a pan, just to seal the juices inside. (If you are Corey, you would first need to cut off every tiny little bit of fat on the roast, but then it would make lousy gravy, so don't be like Corey!)
2. Mix the cream of mushroom soup (straight out of the can, don't add milk or water) and the dry onion soup mix in a medium crockpot.
3. Add the roast to the crockpot and cover with the soup mixture. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. The soup mixes with the juices from the roast while it cooks and it turns into a wonderful, flavorful roast. Serve with mashed potatoes and veggies, and yorkies if you're really feeling adventurous!

Strawberry Castle

Braeden wanted to submit his recipe to the family blog for his special Rice Krispy Yogurt Parfait.

Hi,

My name is Braeden. You should try this recipe out because it's really good. Really you should try it.

This is how you make it.

Put Rice Krispy's in a bowl, "oh, actually mom it's not rice krispy's it's krispy rice" (yeah, I'm too cheap to buy the name brand, thanks for that Braeden). "and actually it's with a 'C mom." "C-r-i-s-p-y".

and then you put some "I need to think" "Heyyyy *giggles*" as he reads what I am typing. Ok, you put Sunrise Strawberry Yogurt "what is it called mom? I told you not to write that". "Did you spell write wrong? *giggles*"

Then you put MORE Rice Crispy's "I don't care if it's Rice Crispy's or Crispy Rice." "Y
ou're making this funny....I want you to write what I just said."

You put yogurt again and more yogurt. Make sure it's a swirl please. Then top it off with a Strawberry.

From Braeden

The Essentials: Mustard

I love mustard. It comes in a wide variety of types. Enough so that you can eat it with just about anything. It's pretty much the perfect condiment. You should always have at least one kind of mustard (probably plain yellow), but expanding out into some different kinds is a great idea. Here are some of the basic types that I like to keep in the fridge:

Plain Yellow American Mustard- It's mild and bright yellow in color. Perfect for hot dogs and hamburgers. You can put a lot on things and not be overwhelmed. My personal favorite kind is Plochman's, but the most popular is French's.

Dijon Mustard- This is more of a yellow/brown color and has a tangier taste than the plain yellow. It's the classic French way of preparing mustard, with a little wine mixed in there. It's great with roast beef and on sandwiches. My personal preference (at least as far as those commonly available) is a French brand Maille, which is still sold in most grocery stores. The same company also makes the american line, Grey Poupon, so that's pretty good too.

Honey/Honey Dijon Mustard- This is pretty much dijon mustard with the addition of some honey to make it sweeter. Perfect on sandwiches or with chicken. I particularly like it on a turkey sandwich. My favorite here is the Grey Poupon brand.

English Mustard- It's bright yellow, but it's pretty hot so you only use it sparingly. This is the perfect roast beef mustard. Perfect in small amounts. The standard is Colman's.

Whole Ground Mustard- This has the whole mustard seeds in it. More of a grainy texture with a stronger vinegar taste. I like to just put in on crackers with cheese. But it's good with most anything. Right now I'm going through a bottle of French stuff from Sur La Table, but most makers have this type.

Chinese Mustard- It's pretty mild in taste with a very light brown color. It's really easy to prepare (being just the ground mustard and water) so you can actually make this at home using just the powder. It's usually a dipping sauce for various fried or stir fried items. I haven't found a particular brand that I prefer yet. They seem to be fairly similar. There are also pre-prepared kinds.

Those are just some of the basics. There are hundreds of other varietys and variations. With different igredients added, or ground to different textures. Experiment and try them out. You'll probably find something you like.

Broccoli Macaroni Salad

I had this salad at my 5 year high school reunion. I have to say, it was the best part of the whole event! It's good because it's a great combintation of crunchy and soft, salty and sweet. Enjoy!

Macaroni Salad

Ingredients
Salad: mix the following in a big bowl
Small macaroni salad pasta (8 - 10 ounces), cooked and drained
About 2 cups broccoli
4 green onions, chopped
8 strips bacon, cooked and diced
1 cup shredded swiss or mozzarella cheese
1 - 2 cups red grapes, sliced in half

Dressing: mix the following items well
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tb. red wine vinegar

Cook macaroni and bacon (let cool) and then combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Top with dressing and stir well. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving to let the flavors combine.
If you use a large package of macaroni, double the dressing. If the dressing goes sugary, it’s okay. It will dissolve in the salad.

Oatmeal Cookies

This is a recipe I got from one of my co-workers. He said that he used to eat them for lunch every day when he lived in California. He talked the cook into giving him the recipe, so here it is. It's kind of weird measurements since he had to cut the recipe down from a huge batch to a smaller batch but it's worth it.

Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

5 Tb. Shortening

5 Tb. Butter

1/2 C. + 1 Tb. Brown Sugar

1/2 C. + 1 Tb. White Sugar

1 Egg

1 tsp. Salt

1 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

1 2/3 C. Oatmeal

1 C. + 2 Tb. Flour

1/4 tsp. Vanilla

1. Cream together shortening, butter, and sugars. Add egg and vanilla and mix until smooth. Slowly add the rest of the ingredients and mix. If desired, add butterscotch and chocolate chips if desired.

2. Roll dough into small balls and place on ungreased baking sheet. Flatten cookies with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar. Sprinkle a little extra sugar on top of the cookies.

3. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 - 10 minutes.

Molten Chocolate Cakes

I've been drooling over these cakes for a very long time. I finally bought some ramekins so I can make them. They are absolutely delicious! I wish you could see the yummy molten center better in this picture, but trust me, it's amazing! (Recipe courtesy of kraftfoods.com)

Molten Chocolate Cakes

4 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
6 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

1. PREHEAT oven to 425°F. Butter four 3/4-cup custard cups or soufflé dishes/ramekins. Place on baking sheet.
2. MICROWAVE chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min. or until butter is melted. Stir with wire whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar until well blended. Blend in eggs and egg yolks with wire whisk. Stir in flour. Divide batter among prepared custard cups.
3. BAKE 13 to 14 min. or until sides are firm but centers are soft. Let stand 1 min. Carefully run small knife around cakes to loosen. Invert cakes onto dessert dishes. Serve immediately, topped with whipped topping.