Allison's Salad

Melissa's Notes: I'm always looking for good, easy salad recipes.  This one fits the bill!  My friend Allison brought it to a picnic and I couldn't stop eating it.  A good kitchen tip I have learned about red onion is that if you let it sit in some kind of acid (lemon juice, vinegar, etc.) for at least an hour, it totally relaxes it so it doesn't overpower your dish.  You can also substitute the apple for a crispy pear.

Salad:

10 oz. bag spinach
3/4 c. slivered almonds, toasted at 350 for 8 min.
1 medium granny smith apple
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/8 red onion, chopped (optional)

Dressing:

1/3 c. oil
1/4 c. sugar
3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/8 red onion, finely chopped

Mango, Tomoato, and Avocado Salad

Melissa's Notes: James and I have been on a health kick this last week.  We're trying to eat more fruits and vegetables and less meat and processed foods.  So far (with the exception of a church picnic today) I have felt so much better and haven't really felt deprived at all.  I will say that I have had a much higher grocery bill this week and have spent more time in the kitchen than I care to share.  So if anyone has any words of advice for me, I'm listening!  I made this salad with flank steak tacos and it was delicious on the tacos, or it would be great over a bed of greens as well.  This is a nice side dish for Mexican food that is not too heavy and can easily be adapted for kids by just putting the ingredients they like to the side before you mix in all the dressing.

Mango, Tomato, and Avocado Salad

recipe courtesy of Good & Fresh Magazine

1 mango, seeded, peeled, and cut into chunks
1 tomato, cut into chunks
1/3 c. thinly sliced red onion
2 Tbsp. snipped fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 avocado, cut into chunks
lettuce leaves (optional)

1.  In a medium bowl combine mango, tomato, and red onion.  For dressing, in a screw-top jar combine cilantro, oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Cover and shake well.  Pour dressing over mango mixture.  Toss gently to coat.  Cover and chill for 1-4 hours. (I didn't have time to do this and it still tasted great)
2.  Just before serving, stir in avocado.  If desired, serve with lettuce leaves.  Makes 4 servings.

166 calories per serving

Pan-Seared Salmon with Citrus Vinegar Glaze and Green Beans

Melissa's Notes: I must say, I'm not completely comfortable cooking fish at home, mostly because I really haven't done it all that much.  But last weekend James wanted a lighter dinner, so I decided to go out of my comfort zone and go for it...I'm so glad I did!  The fish was perfectly cooked and dinner was on the table in less than 15 minutes, not to mention everybody loved it and cleaned their plates without complaint.  It has inspired me to incorporate fish more regularly into our weekly menu.  If the glaze isn't your cup of tea, I urge you to still try this simple way to prepare salmon, it's delicious even without the glaze and so easy.  Just FYI, I halved the recipe for the glaze and it still made more than enough. Also, I made sure everything was ready to go before I put the salmon in the pan, that made the dinner super quick and stress-free.

recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals 2

Ingredients

4 salmon fillets (6-oz. each)
EVOO, for brushing fish
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 c. dry white wine (I'm sure you can substitute this with water or white grape juice if you want)
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. orange juice
2 tsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. coarse black pepper
1 lb. green beans, trimmed
orange or lemon rind slices

Directions

1.  Preheat a cast-iron pan or heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat.  Brush the salmon fillets with oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook salmon until just cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side.
2.  While salmon cooks, bring wine, vinegar, citrus juices and brown sugar to a boil over high heat.  Reduce glaze 3 or 4 minutes, until thickened (I found this took more like 6-7 minutes).  Remove from heat.  Stir in 1/2 tsp. coarse black pepper.
3.  To a second skillet, add green beans, pieces of orange and/or lemon rind and 1/2 inch of water.  Bring to a boil, cover, and cook 3 or 4 minutes.  Drain the beans, toss with a drizzle of EVOO and season with salt and pepper.
4.  Drizzle glaze over salmon fillets and serve with citrus green beans.

Recipe Review - Cajun Chicken Pasta

photo courtesy of the Pioneer Woman

  One of my favorite things to do is try new recipes. In fact, I probably do it too much, I need to build up my repertoire of go-to recipes more. A couple of months ago, the Food Network released about 4 or 5 episodes of "The Pioneer Woman", which I was excited about as I've visited her blog frequently. On one episode she made a pasta that I was surprised looked so tasty to me, as I'm not a huge fan of peppers, onions, or food that is too spicy. But I was determined to try it, and finally, last night, I did. Besides the fact that I used way too many dishes and felt a little frazzled getting everything ready for the short cooking times (next time I would totally prep throughout the day), my efforts paid off. It really was delicious: it wasn't too spicy (I think the heavy whipping cream was a nice addition to tame the spice), the peppers and onions completely added to the dish (in fact, I went back to the pot to retrieve more of them), and the cajun flavoring was wonderful (which, by the way, I made my own with ingredients I had on hand). I was so glad that my instincts of what looked good won over my instincts of what sounded good. I couldn't wait to eat the leftovers for my lunch today...I think I may have enjoyed it even more this time!

Here are a couple of pointers if you decide to try the recipe out:

-If you don't think your kids will eat it, just set aside some plain pasta and top it with butter and parmesan, that way you don't have to make a completely separate meal for the kiddos.

-As I mentioned before, prep when you have time throughout the day. Cut up the chicken and season it, chop up all the veggies and store in the fridge, and get all the ingredients ready by the stove so you can put it together quickly.

-I halved this recipe since I knew only James and I would be eating it. I did make a whole pound of pasta, but just saved half in a plastic bag with a little bit of olive oil (so it doesn't stick to itself) to be used throughout the week. I believe you can even freeze pasta like this.

Find the recipe for Cajun Chicken Pasta here. And the cajun seasoning mix here.

Pan-seared Pork Chops w/ Green Apple-Cranberry Compote

Melissa's Notes: I checked out a recipe book from the library the other day, and it actually had some really good recipes in it that I decided to try right away. My kids love pork chops, so I thought this would be a good choice. We loved it, any dinner that the kids don't complain at all about is a hit in my book! I served it with Wild Rice Pilaf and steamed asparagus.

recipe courtesy of The Family Kitchen by Debra Ponzek

Pan-seared Pork Chops w/ Green Apple-Cranberry Compote

1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 6-oz. boneless pork chops
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
3/4 c. apple cider (I used apple juice)
1/3 c. dried cranberries
2 Tbsp. light brown sugar
3 sprigs sage, leaves removed and chopped
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350.
In an ovenproof saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat until just smoking. Season both sides of the pork chops with salt and pepper and sear for 1-2 min. per side. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for about 15 min., depending on their thickness, until cooked through. Remove from the oven and set aside to rest for about 5 min. before serving.
Meanwhile, in a medium saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the apples, cider, cranberries, and brown sugar, cover the pan, and cook for about 15 min., until the apples are soft and wilted.
Uncover the pan, add the sage and balsamic vinegar, and simmer for another 5 min. or so until all the flavors are combined.
To serve, place a couple of spoonfuls of the compote on each pork chop.

Serves 4

Hawaiian Haystacks

Melissa's Notes: I got a request to post this recipe. I like to make this when I have to cook for a bigger crowd (4 adults plus kids) because it makes way too much for just our family. It's also nice for picky eaters because they can pick and choose what they want to put on top.

recipe courtesy of Favorites

Hawaiian Haystacks

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 c. milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c. sliced mushrooms
6 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into pieces

Melt butter in large saucepan. Add flour and salt and stir. Add milk and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Add cream of mushroom soup, mushrooms, and chicken. Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Serves 8.

Serve over sticky, white rice with the following toppings:

grated Cheddar cheese
chopped celery
chowmein noodles
pineapple tidbits
chopped tomatoes
coconut
toasted sliced almonds
chopped green onions
soy sauce

Weekly Menu

Tuesday - eat out: Taco Tuesday

Wednesday - Fettuccine Alfredo w/ Broccoli

Thursday - Philly Steak Sandwiches

Friday - Date Night

Saturday - Homemade Cheese Pizza and Salad

Sunday - Chili and Cornbread Muffins