What is on your menu this week?

Hi guys!  I've been dying to tell you about this recipe since I made it for the first time three weeks ago.  I've made it three times already!  It's that good! My sister-in-law texted me the recipe a few weeks ago.  Right after I tried it I texted her back to tell her how much I love it.  While I was eating it I wanted to call all my friends and tell them about it, so they can enjoy it too.  Then I remembered that is why I have a blog...to share my favorite things with all of you! This dip is magical.  Let me tell you why... I am not a fan of sweet potatoes, but the sweet potatoes in this salad are so yummy.  They don't have a strong taste and just blend right in with the rest of the salad.  I don't even notice that I'm eating sweet potatoes. Now let me tell you about quinoa. I'm the only person in my family that has been eating quinoa.  No one else likes it.  Until now.  My husband is a huge fan of this dish.  He...

I've been revisiting one of my favorite summery meals...Sesame Chicken Salad.  I made a big bowl of it for lunch today.  It's super easy and yummy!  Plus you can prep it in advance, just don't pour the dressing on until you're ready to eat so the lettuce doesn't get soggy.  Just boil up some pasta (I used whole wheat penne), wash and cut up some greens (I used spinach and a couple different kinds of lettuce), open a few cans of mandarin oranges, grill some chicken (I had some of this chicken marinatin g in the freezer), and whip up some easy dressing.  I made this salad today in about 20 minutes.  Yum!  Find the recipe here .

I love this broccoli salad.  It's perfect for a potluck or as a side-dish to whatever you've grilled for dinner.  I've made it many times, but never really followed the same recipe.  There are lots of different variations on this recipe, so you can make it how you like.  There are just three basic parts:  broccoli, mix-ins, and dressing.   You can make the dressing with either mayonnaise or miracle whip or a combination of both depending on which you like better.  You can add however much sugar and vinegar you like too.  It'll be delicious either way.   You can mix whatever else you'd like in with the broccoli.  When I made this salad recently, I added green onions, turkey bacon and craisins to the broccoli.  Delicious!   Broccoli Salad Part 1.  Broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces Part 2.  Add any of the following ingredients to the broccoli: red or green onion, finely chopped bacon, cooked and crumble...

I posted the recipe for this homemade ranch dressing last year , but thought that it deserved another post.  I've been making it a lot lately.  It is SO much better than ranch dressing from the store. We eat it on salad, especially spicy honey chicken salad.  We dip carrots and cucumbers into it.  And I use it as a sauce on ham and tortilla wraps for my daughter's lunch to take to school. Ranch Dressing recipe from my brother-in-law's mom, Becky Jones 1 quart mayonnaise (I use light) 1 quart buttermilk 2 tsp. onion salt 1 tsp. garlic salt 2 tsp. Accent salt 2 tsp. parsley flakes 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 1/2 tsp. salt Mix well with an immersion blender or whisk by hand until smooth.  Chill before serving. Makes a lot!  I usually make 1/4 of the recipe at a time. Note:  This is what Accent Salt looks like... If you don't have any Accent salt the dressing will still be yummy.  I like it best with Accent salt in it.  I'd say it's w...

This recipe is a Thanksgiving tradition at my house.  My husband's grandma used to make this every Thanksgiving.  So now we make it too... Red Hot Jello recipe from Great Grandma Lucille 1 lg. box cherry or raspberry jello 1 sm. box cherry or raspberry jello 8 oz red hots crushed pineapple, as much or little as you like 8 oz. cream cheese 1 c. whipping cream LAYER 1 -- Dissolve red hots in 3 c. boiling water. Mix large box of jello into red hot water and dissolve. Drain pineapple and reserve juice. Spread pineapple in bottom of a 9x13 pan. Pour red jello w/red hot mixture on top of pineapple and let set. LAYER 2 -- Beat cream cheese and pineapple juice together, using as much juice as you want to make thickness you like. Whip 1 c. cream and fold in. Spread on top of layer 1 and let set. LAYER 3 -- Prepare small box of jello as per package directions. Let set slightly and spinkle (will be slightly globby) overtop layer 2. Let set. **I can't always find ...

I went to Smith's today to buy some ranch dressing to put on our salads for dinner tonight.  The ranch dressing that I usually buy wasn't on sale.  I decided instead of paying $2.99 for a bottle of ranch, that I'd spend $2.19 on a quart of buttermilk and make my own.  It's cheap and makes a lot! And most importantly, it's delicious! Ranch Dressing recipe from my brother-in-law's mom, Becky Jones 1 quart mayonnaise (I use light) 1 quart buttermilk 2 tsp. onion salt 1 tsp. garlic salt 2 tsp. Accent salt 2 tsp. parsley flakes 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 1/2 tsp. salt Mix well.  Chill before serving.  Makes a lot!  I usually half it.

This is one of my favorite summery salads to take to potlucks. It's really easy and yummy! Chicken Rice-A-Roni Salad recipe from the Castle Dale Stake Cookbook 1 pkg Chicken Rice-A-Roni, cooked and cooled 2 c. chicken, cooked and diced (I grilled mine ) 1 c. celery, diced 1 c. water chestnuts, diced ( I leave these out) 1 c. green pepper, chopped ( I added some red pepper too) chopped green onion, to taste ( I used 2) 1 c. mayonnaise 2 tsp. lemon juice 1/4 tsp. seasoning salt Cook rice-a-roni and cool.  Chop chicken and veggies.  Mix together and add mayo, lemon juice and seasoning salt.  Chill. 

This jello salad is perfect for any potluck or family get-together.  I made it for our Easter picnic last Saturday thinking that we could have some for dinner on Sunday too, but it was gone in a flash. Mandarin Orange Jello Salad recipe from my sweet mom  1 lg. pkg orange jello 2 c. hot water 1 sm. can frozen orange juice concentrate (or if you can't find a small can, just use half of a normal size can) 1 pkg. Dream Whip 1 sm. can mandarin oranges Dissolve jello in hot water. Add orange juice concentrate. Let set in fridge until partially firm. Prepare the Dream Whip according to package directions in mixer. Add the partially-set jello mixture and mix.  (If you let the jello set too long like I always do, don't worry, just mix it up really well.).   Fold in the oranges.  Pour into serving bowl or jello pan and let set in fridge until firm.

After weeks of snow and more snow, this light and summery salad is a welcome change from warm soup and bread. Give it a try and you'll think it's summer, at least until you look outside. Sesame Chicken Salad 8 oz bowtie pasta, cooked green leaf lettuce, chopped baby spinach, torn 1 1/2 c. chicken, cooked and chopped 2 green onions 1 small can mandarin oranges sesame seeds, toasted Toss pasta, lettuce, spinach, chicken, green onions, mandarin oranges and sesame seeds together. (Use as much lettuce and spinach as you'd like. ) This is a really great salad since you can add whatever veggies or lettuce you have in the fridge and it should taste great. Right before serving, drizzle dressing and toss salad. Or serve the dressing on the side, so you can save the leftover salad without it getting soggy. Dressing: 2 T. oil (I used canola) 1/4 c. soy sauce 2 T. white sugar 1 T. brown sugar 3 T. rice vinegar splash of sesame oil (about 1 tsp.) tiny pinch o...

Last week I bought some quinoa for the first time. It was kind of hard to find at my little Smith's and it was kind of pricey, but I bought it anyway. It is supposed to be super healthy and my sister-in-laws have been cooking with it for a while, so I thought it was time to try it. I made this quinoa salad yesterday using a recipe from Maggie. I loved that it was really healthy and you can put whatever you want in it. We had it with a juicy, grilled steak and it was perfect! Quinoa Salad recipe from Maggie 1 c. quinoa 2 c. water Cook quinoa according to package directions (just like rice). I used my rice cooker. Chop up any veggies you like and add to cooled quinoa. I used: cucumber tomatoes chopped flat leaf parsley (1/2 c.) any bell pepper, I used red green onions Salt and pepper. Then pour on any vinaigrette of your choosing. I used a combination of lime vinaigrette and this balsamic vinaigrette (to balance out the lime-i-ness). Or you can try this recipe from Maggie: ...

This is a super yummy, summery salad full of lots of veggies. Makes a lot, so perfect for a potluck. Santa Fe Picnic Salad recipe from Sis. Christiansen, a sweet lady in our ward 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained 1 can white or shoepeg corn, drained 1 lg. zucchini, chopped 1 medium cucumber, chopped 1 lg. tomato, chopped 1 lg. bell pepper, chopped 1 med. red onion, chopped 6 green onions, chopped 1 can (3.8 oz) sliced ripe olives, drained 1 cup Catalina salad dressing 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 1 1/2 cups corn chips In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except salad dressing, cheese, and chips. When ready to serve, drizzle with dressing and toss to coat evenly, adding in the cheese and corn chips. This recipe makes a lot, so if you're planning on having leftovers you could serve the chips on the side so they don't get soggy.

Pork Salad from Cafe Rio or Costa Vida is my all-time favorite meal. But since we live so far away from both of those great restaurants, every once in a while I buy a pork roast and make my own salad or tacos. I've tried a few recipes for the pork, but I think I've figured out how I like to make it. My secret ingredient in the sauce is adding a little BBQ sauce. Here's a picture of my salad using some leftover pork that I had for lunch today. It didn't have any cilantro-rice on it, but it was still yummy. Cafe Rio-Style Pork recipe by Jenny 2 -4 lb. pork roast 1 1/2 c. coca-cola salt and pepper garlic salt/powder Season pork with salt and pepper and garlic salt or powder. Place in crock-pot and pour coke over the meat. Cook for 6 -8 hours on low, or 3 -4 hours on high. Remove pork from crockpot and shred. Discard juices from crockpot. In a saucepan simmer for 10 minutes or so: 1 c. ketchup 1/2 c. red enchilada sauce 1/2 c. brown sugar 4 oz. dic...