Recipe #358: Taco Salad Bowls

I made another taco salad found here, but in this one everything is combined and it comes with a taco bowl! ;)

You need:
lettuce
half of a tomato
shredded cheese
1/2 lb of ground beef
taco seasoning
1 cup salsa more or less
couple tablespoons ranch dressing (we didn't have sour cream!)
soft tacos
chips, crushed

• find a small bowl that is oven safe. set the soft taco inside to make it form a bowl shape. (you may need to heat the taco in the microwave for a couple seconds to make it soft enough to shape
• heat oven to 350 and set bowls inside for about 5 minutes or until taco is hard around the edges
• once they are done take out and put on a small plate
• meanwhile, brown ground beef and add in taco seasoning and necessary water.
• prepare vegetables and put in a large bowl.
• mix in taco meat, cheese, salsa, and ranch
• mix in chips
• spoon into taco shell bowls

Recipe #321: Cranberry, Almond and Spinach Salad

You need:
cucumbers
spinach
cranberries
almonds, finely cut
balsamic vinegar

• mix cucumbers, spinach, cranberries, and almonds together
• pour vinegar over salad and mix up

Recipe #291: Asian Beef Salad

Another Real Simple idea, except they did it with ground turkey, also some other ingredients I didn't have! :)

You need:
1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
romaine lettuce
cucumbers
matchstick carrots
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 pack browned ramen (see directions here. it was because I didn't have peanuts but wanted something crunchy)

• brown beef, drain oil
• add water, fish sauce, and brown sugar. stir until liquid is almost gone.
• toss lettuce, cucumbers, and carrots with lime juice.
• top with beef and serve!

Recipe #277: Strawberry Spinach Salad

Strawberries were on sale at Aldi and that is when I decided salad was the perfect meal for a spring day!

You need:
spinach
romaine lettuce
strawberries
part of rotisserie chicken, shredded
feta cheese
chopped walnuts
balsamic vinaigrette

• wash and toss spinach and romaine
• cut up strawberries into slices
• toss together strawberries, chicken, walnuts, and feta with lettuce
• drizzle on some vinaigrette

enjoy! tastes great with a little crusty bread and dipping oil! :)

Recipe #267: Stuffed Shells with #268 Balsamic Cole Slaw

I bought big pasta shells the other day to try out a new pasta. It was a lot of fun!

You need:

1/2 box of jumbo pasta shells

1 lb hamburger meat

1 cup mozzarella

1 cup pasta sauce

• brown meat and drain oil
• add a couple spoonfuls of pasta sauce and mix together.
• boil noodles according to package directions.
• add cheese to meat
• add rest of pasta sauce to the bottom of an 8x8 dish
• drain noodles and start to fill with meat mixture
• place in dish and once it is full cover with cheese.
• bake at 350 for about 20 minutes of until cheese is melted.

I had leftover cabbage and carrots so wanted to make a quick cole slaw. I found a balsamic version here.

You need:

1/4 head of cabbage, cut up

1 cup matchstick carrots

green onion

1 tsp garlic powder

red pepper flakes

balsamic vinegar

• cut up cabbage and green onion
• heat in a pan until cabbage gets limp
• add garlic powder, red pepper, and balsamic vinegar
• enjoy!

Recipe #234: Broccoli Salad

My sister (check out her blog here!) has made this recipe on several occasions and since I needed to make a side dish for my church potluck I thought this would be perfect! I cut up all the veggies and cooked the bacon on Saturday night, then put it all together Sunday morning before church!

You need:
2 stalks broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 red onion, chopped
8oz shredded mozzarella cheese
1 package of bacon, fried and crumbled
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup mayo
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

• cut up and mix together broccoli, onion, cheese, and bacon
• in a separate container mix together sugar mayo and vinegar
• pour dressing over broccoli mixture and mix well
• chill for at least an hour before serving

Recipe #211: BLT Salad

Well, nothing like starting up school again to get completely behind on recipes! Not only that, but when Will is out three nights during the week with games, the motivation to cook goes way down! One of the goals of 2012 is too eat more veggies, so for dinner Wednesday night we had a BLT salad! I know, bacon and cheese are not veggies, but it is good to get more food groups in there! :)

You need:
1 heart of Romaine
8 strips bacon
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
cucumbers
tomatoes
green peppers
corn
dressing of your choice!

• fry up the bacon
• wash and cut your veggies
• layer the lettuce and different veggies, bacon and cheese to make a pretty salad, or toss together if you are in a hurry! :)

Recipe #186 and #187: Asian Pork with Cabbage Salad

This is another Real Simple crock pot recipe that I got out of my magazine or you can find in here. Of course I made some changes, but both boys loved it which means success!

For Asian Pork you need:

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp Rice vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp crushed red pepper

2 lbs pork loin

2 bundles of somen noodles (or soba or udon)

corn 

• mix soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, ginger and red pepper in the crock pot. 
• Add pork loin and cover with mixture
• cook on low for about 7 hrs
• about 15 minutes before serving, boil somen noodles.
• mix the noodles with the pork and serve

For Cabbage Salad you need:

1/4 head of cabbage

matchstick carrots

cucumber, thinly sliced

sesame seeds

sesame oil

some sauce from pork

• cut up veggies
• add a couple spoonfuls of pork sauce to veggies
• pour in some sesame oil and some sesame seeds
• stir until well combined.

Recipe #148: Chicken Chickpea Salad

Salads are lovely things!
This was a great way to use up the extra chicken from the meal found here

You need:
Lettuce
carrots
cucumber
chicken
chickpeas
grated cheese
salad dressing
croutons
whatever you want on your salad!

Mix all ingredients and Enjoy!

Recipe #80: Chef Salad

For a fast Sunday lunch, we decided to have a chef salad!

you need:
lettuce
tomato
carrots
cucumber
ham
cheese
boiled egg
croutons
etc.

mix together your lettuce and toppings.

Will likes thousand island with this, but I used my favorite Japanese Goma (sesame seed) dressing!

Recipe #69: Taco Salad (Plus Recipes #70 and #71: Salsa and Taco Sauce)

Isn't it such a wonderful, colorful meal! Taco Salad--Its it wonderful! So hodgepodge and so easy!

you need: 

Chips

cheese

ground beef and taco packet, prepared according to directions

lettuce

other veggies: corn, beans, etc. anything you want to make a salad.

sour cream is also great but we didn't have any.

taco sauce and salsa (see recipes below)

Make your salad, add the taco meat, cheese etc. on top! 

Salsa:

you need:

5 tomatoes

corn

pepper

1/4 of an onion

2 cloves garlic

4 torn up leaves of basil

2 Tbsp of lemon juice

I would recommend cilantro too but I didn't have any.

Also add some jalapeno if you like it hot

I diced up the tomatoes and heated them up on the stove. I added just a titch of water.

Add in some onion, corn, pepper, garlic, basil, lemon juice etc. Heat until the tomato is softer. 

If you wanted it really fresh don't heat it, but the warm salsa tasted really good on top of the salad.

Taco sauce (or Will also uses it for BBQ sauce):

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup vinegar

2 Tbsp chopped onions (optional)

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp mustard

Heat all ingredients to boiling over medium heat. Stirring constantly, reduce heat.  Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes.

Will's family uses this for a bbq sauce too!

Recipe #67: Ramen Salad

You will recognize parts of this recipe from the other day's asian cole slaw found here. You will need to ramen part and the dressing recipe...I am to tired to repeat it now!

The recipe calls for:
romaine lettuce
1 head of broccoli
green onion
1 cup pecans
browned ramen
dressing (directions for ramen and dressing found here, in case you weren't paying attention at the beginning. :) )

I used:
romaine lettuce
cucumbers cut into strips
walnuts
browned ramen
dressing
(it's what I had on hand!)

• tear up the lettuce.
• cut up cucumbers
• add ramen and walnuts
• pour dressing on top and mix.

this time though I just added the romaine, cucumbers, and walnuts to individual bowls but left the ramen and dressing off and Will and I put in how much we want...soggy, leftover lettuce and ramen really doesn't taste so good! But fresh...Delicious!

Recipe #62: Asian Cole Slaw

There will always be some kind of cabbage recipe after I make yakisoba because I don't want to waste the rest of the bag of cole slaw mix.

You need:
1/2 bag of cole slaw mix
cucumber, cut into long strips
sweet red pepper, diced
1 package ramen
1/4 cup butter

dressing:
1 cup veggie oil
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar (I used apple cider and it tasted fine)
1/4 cup soy sauce

• crush up the ramen in the packet and then brown in a fry pan with the butter. you don't need the seasoning packet that came with it.
• once finished, pour onto a plate lined with a paper towel to blot the ramen.
• mix cole slaw, veggies and ramen in a bowl
• in a separate container (preferably something with a lid, I used an old jar) mix the dressing ingredients. close up the container and shake well to mix everything up. 
• Pour some (maybe 1/3-1/2 of the dressing) over the cole slaw and stir together. 

The dressing is AMAZING! put it in the fridge to use later, I will use it for another salad recipe soon. 

I will admit, I had thirds...between the sweetness of the dressing and the crunchy ramen. It is delicious!

Recipe #60: Corn and Edamame Salad

We had yakisoba tonight, which I have already made before (you can find the recipe here), but some good things need to be eaten more than once in a year! :) So while my yakisoba was cooking up in the big pan, I had my corn salad going in a smaller one. I got the idea from a Parents magazine and then morphed it into what I wanted!

You need:
1/4 of an onion (you can use more, but Will doesn't like onions so I tried not to put to much in)
2 cups corn (or more, I just poured some in! )
1/2 of a sweet red pepper
1 cup shelled edamame, steamed. (Sam's has the best little frozen bags of edamame and I used a whole one of those)
oregano and sea salt to taste

• dice the onion and the red pepper up
• brown onion on stove with a little olive oil
• Add the corn and stir
• add the red pepper, stir all three until they are well cooked. 
• Sprinkle some oregano in
•  Add steamed edamame
• Make sure it is well mixed together

Recipe #57: Simple Cucumber salad...

I don't know if you can really call this a salad, but they are a little more exciting than plain cucumbers so here it is...
You need:
half a cucumber
some dill weed
red wine vinegar

Cut up the cucumber
Pour a little bit of dill weed on top
add enough vinegar to thoroughly coat the cucumber,
mix it up.

Recipe #35: Spanish Summer Salad

So for the fourth we did do the traditional All-American Burgers...but our sides had a little international flavor to them. One was the caprese salad I made on another occasion. The recipe is found here. I also made a recipe I learned several years ago from some missionaries in Spain when I was doing my internship there. It is actually a great alternative to your normal potato salad because you use a bit of olive oil instead of mayo. anyways.

you need:
Potatoes 1-2 per person
5-6 eggs
1 small onion
2-3 green peppers (i used yellow and red actually because i couldn't find any good green ones at the grocery store.)
2-3 tomatoes
2 cans of tuna
a little salt
lots of olive oil

• Peel and cut the potatoes into big chunks. Boil until soft.
• Boil the eggs (I actually did it with the potatoes) and then let cool and cut them up.
• While the potatoes were boiling I sauteed the onions because I like them better that way. Also cut up the rest of the veggies. 
• Add potatoes, veggies and egg to a bowl.
• Drain water out of tuna and add that. Then add salt and olive oil to taste and mix up. 

I promise! It taste better then it might look!

Recipes #8 and #9: Spaghetti Sauce and Caprese Salad

Well, my husband is doing the dishes and my son is in bed, and I finally get to put my feet up...and write my post! Today was a great day in my kitchen. Lots of fun! When Will and I were deciding what we should eat tonight, we knew it had to involve one thing...bread! (another post on that coming soon!) So I decided to make another Plunkett favorite...Spaghetti!
 
You need:
carrots, just a couple
onion, one
olive oil, a drizzle
stewed tomatoes, one or two cans
tomato sauce, equal parts to the stewed tomatoes
basil, to taste
oregano, again whatever you like
salt, a pinch or two

I didn't have all of that so I substituted crushed and diced tomatoes for the stewed tomatoes and tomato paste for the tomato sauce... I actually think it helped it cook faster because it was already thick and small pieces. anyways, you could also use roma tomatoes instead of the stewed, i just didn't have enough.

• grate up carrots and dice onions, saute with the olive oil until soft.
• add tomatoes and sauce and let simmer
• add basil, oregano, and salt. I added rosemary too, both the rosemary and basil were from my garden! :)
• Simmer over low heat until the tomatoes cook down and thicken stirring occasionally.
• it may take 2-3 hours depending on what you use, but if you use a short cut like I did it won't take that long! 

The noodle were special--straight from Italy, thanks to a friend. I was just waiting for a fun occasion to use them!



Along with the spaghetti we had some herb bread and caprese salad, another italian favorite, taking several things I love and putting them together!
Caprese Salad:
Mozzarella, go for the good stuff, not the low fat stuff...
roma tomatoes
basil, fresh is best
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

I like to cut up the mozzarella and tomatoes into small chucks. then i added some fresh basil that my boys went outside to pick for me, only moments before I made the salad! :) drizzle the olive oil on top and mix together. Fresh and delicious!

Recipe #7: Cole Slaw

A southern favorite, but not my favorite until I tried some of Will's mom's Cole Slaw! Now I willingly eat it. :)
I decided to make it because I had half a bag of shredded cabbage left after making yakisoba last night! Too often it goes to waste, but not this time! :)
Here is the recipe:

1/2 head of cabbage
4 carrots
(or use the handy bag of shredded cabbage and carrots!)
pickle slices 2 or 3
salt and pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup pickle juice or vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

• Chop up carrots and cabbage in a bowl....or pour mix out of bag and into bowl! :)
• In another small bowl whisk together the mayo, pickle juice/vinegar, and olive oil
• Pour over the cabbage and mix together
• Enjoy!