Fresh Greek Salad

This has become one of mine and Josh's favorite salads lately. Its light, healthy and delicious. Good as a side, or even as the main dish with some fresh bread. Enjoy!

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 cups diced cucumbers

1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes, drained if juicy

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 Tbsp olive oil

oregano to taste

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup Feta

olives, optional

Marinate chickpeas with balsamic vinegar and olive oil in baggie for 2-4 hours in refrigerator.

Mix ingredients together, and use 3 Tbsp of olive oil/vinegar dressing used to marinate chickpeas to dress salad. 

Chicken Pot Pie

Nothing beats homemade chicken pot pie. A good comfort food anytime. Yum!

2 pie shells, a top and a bottom
4 Tbsp butter
1 onion
3 Tbsp flour
salt
rosemary
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can chicken broth
frozen peas, rinsed with water
carrots, cooked
2 1/2-3 cups chicken, cooked and diced
potatoes

 Fry butter and onions together until the onions are soft. Then, stir in the flour. Add salt, rosemary, and pepper. Cook until mixture becomes bubbly. Add chicken broth and stir until sauce thickens. Add peas, carrots and chicken and mix thoroughly. Add to uncooked pie shell. Lay top shell over pie, cut a vent, and cook at 425 for 20-25 minutes.
Enjoy!

chocolate mousse crunch cake

                                                    
I made this for my mother in law's birthday and it was soooo easy and soooo good.  It looks pretty impressive and like you spent all day making it, but it takes very little effort and time and has a huge pay off.  I will definitely be making this again. Can you say y-u-m ?!

Chocolate Mousse Crunch Cake
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1 package Duncan Hines Devil’s Food Cake

1 recipe (give or take a little) Chocolate Ganache

Crushed Heath bars or a bag of chocolate-covered Heath bits

1 tsp. unflavored gelatin

1 Tbsp. cold water

2 Tbsp. boiling water (just heat it in a small bowl in your microwave)

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 c. whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla

Bake cake according to cake mix instructions in 2 8″ round pans. Allow to cool and set aside. This can be done several days in advance; just freeze the cakes when you’re done.

In a small bowl, combine gelatin and cold water and allow to stand for about 1 minute. While gelatin is softening, bring 2 Tbsp. water to a boil in the microwave. Whisk into the softened gelatin and allow to cool slightly.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine sugar, cocoa powder, whipping cream, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until medium-stiff peaks form. Mix in gelatin mixture and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Prepare ganache (if you haven’t already) according to directions.

With a serrated knife, carefully slice the dome-iest part of each cake layer off so the layers are level. Place one layer on the serving plate and spread about 1/2 of the chocolate mousse over the cake. Sprinkle with Heath bits.

Place second layer on top of Heath bits.
Spoon ganache over the top layer, allowing it to drip down the sides. Sprinkle with additional Heath bits and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Enjoy,
Emily

Parsley Pesto Pasta with Chicken

I love pesto, but it's usually so expensive to buy and if you're making a traditional pesto with pine nuts and basil, it's even expensive to make.  This is a cheaper, just as delicious alternative.

Ingredients:

 1 lb Fettuccini
1 bunch Italian Parsley
1/2 cup Grated Parmesean
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
2 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup olive oil
Rinse the parsley well and shake off as much water as possible. Remove the leaves from the stems and place them into the food processor. Also add the garlic (peeled), parmesan cheese, and lemon juice. Pulse until there are no large chunks of garlic left.
Slowly add the olive oil through the spout on the lid as you continue to pulse the mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and pulse until smooth. Taste the pesto and add salt to your liking. I added 1/4 teaspoon. You want the pesto to be slightly saltier than you'd think because it will be spread out thin over the pasta.
 Cook the pasta according to the package directions (this can done while you make the pesto). Before draining the pasta, reserve about a half cup of the starchy cooking water. Drain the pasta, let cool slighly (about 5 minutes) and then return it to the pot. Add the pesto and stir to coat. If the pasta becomes dry, clumpy, or sticky, use a small amount of the pasta water to help loosen it up. Serve warm with baked or grilled chicken breast. Yum-o

Whole-Wheat Walnut-Raisin Biscotti

I've never had biscotti before so I don't really have anything to compare these to, but they are pretty good. They definitely have a healthy taste to them because of the whole-wheat flour but don't let that turn you off.  I've eaten so much of them today that I'm not hungry for dinner tonight.  Dunk them in a cold glass of milk, hot chocolate or in my sister Sarah's case, Diet Coke. I'm just kidding; that would be gross. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil, for baking sheet
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for work surface
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup walnut halves
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a baking sheet with oil; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; stir in walnuts and raisins. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla. Add to flour mixture; stir just until combined.
3. On a lightly floured surface, with floured hands, pat dough into a loaf about 1 inch thick, 2 1/2 inches wide (and about 7 inches long); transfer to baking sheet. Bake until risen and firm, 20 to 25 minutes; cool completely on sheet. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.
4. Place loaf on a cutting board, and using a serrated knife, cut diagonally into 1/4 inch-thick slices; place slices in a single layer on sheet. Bake, turning once, until dried and slightly golden, 25 to 30 minutes; cool completely.

Spicy Chocolate Bars

    This is an Allred classic- especially for events where food and large amounts of people go together. They are easy and especially good when frozen. Take care not to overbake them (like me- oops).

1 1/2 c. margarine/shortening
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups flour
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. nutmeg
4 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups chocolate chips

Mix ingredients together. Spread onto a greased cookie sheet and cook at 350 for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

I made this cake for Valentines Day and it was quite delicious.  Its very moist and rich and very grown up.  I served it with a homemade butterscotch sauce, but any store bought caramel sauce would work as well. 

Ingredients:

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan

8 ounces of semisweet chocolate, chopped

6 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup granulated sugar

confectioners' sugar, for dusting (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line the bottom of a springform pan with parchment paper and butter the sides and parchment paper.

In a double boiler, melt butter and chocolate together. Once melted, remove from heat and cool.

Meanwhile, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.  Once soft peaks form, gradually add in the sugar and beat until you see glossy, stiff peaks.

Once chocolate is cooled, whisk in the egg yolks.  Transfer chocolate mixture to a large bowl and whisk in 1/4 of the egg whites into the chocolate before folding in the remaining egg whites.  Be sure to fold them in well as to not have pockets of egg whites.

Pour batter into the greased pan, smooth the top and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until set.  Cool completely before removing the sides of the pan and serve with sauce of your choice.

This little guy wanted to help so he held the measuring cup.

Pâte Sucrée

This is such a yummy crust recipe! Being in college I didn't have a pie pan on hand so I decided to try out a recipe that didn't involve a pie pan. "Pâte Sucrée, or sweet pastery, is a sturday dough, thanks fo its proportion of sugar and the addition of egg yolks. It's a good choice for tarts, which are most often unmolded before serving."
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 to 4 tablespoons cold heavy cream or ice water

Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until combines. Add butter, and pulse just until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add yolks and drizzle 2 tablespoons cream evenly over mixture; pulse just until dough begins to come together, no more than 30 seconds. If dough is toodry, add remaining cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse. Wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour or up to 2 days, or freeze up to 3 months (thaw in refrigerator before using).
 Citrus Variation: Add 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest and 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest to the dry ingredients
Poppy Seed Variation: Add 2 tablespoons poppy seeds to the dry ingredients.
Chocolate Variation: Replace 1/4 cup flour with 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder.
Cornmeal-Lemon Variation: Replece 3/4 cup flour with 3/4 cup coarse cornmeal; reduce sugar to 2 tablespoons. Add 1 teaspoon lemon zest to the dry ingredients.

You can choose a filling of your choice!
I choose a frozen berry mix I had in my freezer.

1. On a lightly floured piece of parchment, roll out dough to a 16-inch-long oval, 1/4 inch thick. Transfer dough and parchment to a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate or freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

2. Thaw berries, and sprinkle with sugar, and cinnamon (optional).

3. Preheat oven to 375F. Spoon mixture over dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Dot with butter. Fold in edges, pressing gently. Refrigerate or freeze until firm, 30 minutes.

4. Whisk egg yolk with cream; brush over edges of tart. Sprinkle entire surgace of tart with remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. bake until golden, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Enjoy!

Triple-Chocolate Brownies with a Secret Ingredient

I made these brownies last night for dessert and I was pleasantly surprised, considering one thing, they have black beans in them! Instead of using all butter, a 1/4 cup of pureed beans is added, which decreases the fat content from 11g to 7g, not to mention some added fiber, according to Martha Stewart.  They are a little cakier than I normally like my brownies, but with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel syrup you can't really complain.  

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for baking pan
• 1/4 cup black beans, rinsed, drained, and pureed until completely smooth
• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (1/2 cup) (next time, I think I will try milk chocolate for a less rich brownie)
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped (1/3 cup)
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs, plus 1 large egg white
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9-inch square baking pan and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides. In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine butter, bean puree, and chocolates and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring each time, until melted and smooth, about 2 minutes. Whisk in sugar, eggs and egg white, and vanilla until smooth.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir into chocolate mixture until just combined. Pour batter into pan; smooth top. Bake until top is cracked and a toothpick inserted in center has moist crumbs attached, about 25 minutes (center will seem undercooked but will set further as it cools). Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Using parchment, lift brownie from pan and cut into 16 squares.
   Enjoy!
   Emily

Popovers

Popovers

Makes: 12 popovers

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. In a large bowl, mix together flour and salt; make a well in center. In another bowl, beat together eggs and milk, then pour into well. Gradually stir egg mixture into flour until batter is consistency of heavy cream yet slightly lumpy; do not overbeat. Allow batter to rest for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit. Place 1 teaspoon butter in each cup of  a 12-cup muffin tin or two 6-cup popover tins. Heat in oven until butter melts, about 1 minute. Divide batter among cups, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake until popovers are puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Turn out popovers and serve warm.

Super easy with really simple ingredients! They taste really good right out of the oven with butter and are also perfect to eat along with soup.

(Recipe originally from Country Living Magazine)

Pork Chops with Apples and Sage

Well, its been a very long while since I last posted, but I guess since then a lot has happened- a new baby, a trip to Canada, and just adjusting to life as a mom! We hope that this year we can keep the blog up a little better so check back often!

I made this for dinner last night. I found it on pinterest and it was so delish! 

 Mix the following in a bowl:

1 1/2 t. ground sage

1 t. minced garlic

1 t. rosemary

1/2 t. ground allspice

 (by the way, allspice is really easy to make on your own: 1t. cinnamon, 1t. ground cloves,   1 t. nutmeg)

1/2 cup flour

1 t. salt

Set aside 1 tablespoon of the mixture. Then dredge 2-4 porkchops in the remaining flour mixture, on both sides. Set aside.

Chop up 1 red apple and a medium onion.

 In a hot skillet, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil on high. Place pork chops in pan and brown on each side.

 Wipe out the pan and add another tablespoon of olive oil and on medium heat sautee the onions for about 2 minutes.

 Add the sliced apples and cook for another 3 minutes or so.

 In a bowl add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, 1 cup apple juice and the tablespoon of flour mixture you set aside earlier. Mix thoroughly and pour into pan. Bring to a boil and simmer covered for 5 minutes, or until the pork chops are cooked through.

Enjoy!

Smoothies

Basic Smoothie:
1 6oz carton plain yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice or orange juice blend
2 T honey or sugar
1/4 t vanilla
1 cup small ice cubes or crushed ice

In a blender combine yogurt, orange juice, honey, vanilla, and ice cubes. Cover and blend until nearly smooth.

10 to try-
1. Peanut Butter-Banana (my favorite): Substitute vanilla yogurt for plain, milk for orange juice, and add half of a ripe banana and 2 T creamy peanut butter.
2. Tropical: Substitute pina colada flavored yogurt for plain and add 2 peeled kiwifruits.
3. Peach: Add 1 cup frozen peach slices, omit ice.
4. Mango: Add 1/2 cup chopped fresh or frozen mango.
5. Banana-Chocolate: Substitute vanilla yogurt for plain, milk for orange juice, and chocolate-flavored syrup for honey; add half of a ripe banana.
6. Pomegranate: Substitute pomegranate juice for orange juice.
7. orange Dreams: Substitute orange yogurt for plain and add 1/2 cup mandarin orange sections.
8. Mocha: Substitute coffee-flavored yogurt for plain, milk for orange juice, and chocolate-flavored syrup for honey.
9. Banana-Blueberry: Substitute blueberry yogurt for plain; add half a ripe banana and 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries.
10. Berry: Add 1/2 cup halved fresh strawberries or raspberries.

Apple Pie

(Martha Stewart's)
3 Tbsp. flour
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp cream or half and half
3 lbs. apples, peeled cored and sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces
Coarse sanding sugar for sprinkling

Roll out dough and line a 9" pie pan with it.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Whisk together cream and egg yolk for egg wash.
Toss together the apples, flour, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until combined. Pour mixture into the chilled pie crust. Dot with butter.
Cover with the rolled pie dough top.  Cut slits or insert a pie bird.  You can also make a lattice top or whatever you want.  Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar.  Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Place pie on a lined rimmed baking sheet and bake on lowest rack for about 25 minutes.  Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake until crust is golden brown and juices bubble, 60-75 minutes more.
Cool pie completely on a cooling rack. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy!
Emily

Butternut Squash Soup

    This is a recipe I've been dying to try, but couldn't justify making in the middle of the Florida summer. Now that its September, I figured I could pull out this autumn dish and give it a try (ignoring that its 90+ degrees outside still). Josh isn't much of a fan of squash, but he loved this soup. Its delish!

(Recipe originally taken from allrecipes.com)

2 Tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 medium butternut squash- peeled, seeded and cubed
32 fl. oz. chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt butter in pot and add vegetables. Cook for 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Add chicken stock and cover with lid. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and let simmer until vegetables are soft. Transfer soup to blender and blend until smooth. Return to pot and add salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy! (super easy huh?)

Parmesan Chicken

1 minced garlic clove
1 stick unsalted melted butter
1 cup dried bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1 large pinch of Italian seasoning
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
2 lbs of skinless, boneless chicken, cut into pieces no bigger than 2x2
Preheat oven to 450 F. In a bowl, combine melted butter and garlic. In another bowl combine everything but the chicken. Dip the chicken pieces in the butter mixture and then into the bread crumb mixture to coat. Place coated chicken pieces into a 9x13 baking dish. Drizzle with any remaining garlic butter and bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until cooked through.
I like to serve this with some homemade Marinara Sauce and Penne. This will serve 4-6 people or 2 people if your husband happens to be 6' 10".
Yum yum!
Emily

Best Chocolate Cake Ever. No lie

This cake is so incredibly moist and delicious but so easy. You're going to be suprised how easy it is. Here's what you need:
1 box Devils Food Cake mix ( Duncan Hines is best)
1 small pkg. instant Chocolate Pudding
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup chocolate chips
plus the ingredients called for on cake mix box
Make cake mix according to directions on box. Add other ingredients. Put in a well greased bundt pan and make at 350 degress for 50-55 minutes. Cool completely before removing from pan. You can frost it, sprinkle powdered sugar on top or drizzle melted chocolate over it. Leaving it plain is also just as delicious. Enjoy!
Emily

Terriyaki Chicken Gyros

I've got four words. These. Changed. My. Life.
This is now number one on my list of the best things I could put in my mouth. That's all I'm going to say.
I did my own spin on a recipe I found on Annie's Eats. If you want that recipe you can find it here http://annies-eats.net/2009/06/02/chicken-gyros/. I HIGHLY reccomend mine though; it's easier and you're more likely to have the ingredients on hand.

Terriyaki Marinade:

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar

2 cloves minced garlic

However much boneless, skinless chicken you want; Iused about 1 lb but there's enough marinade for more.

Cut the chicken into strips, place in a plastic bag and marinade for at least 4 hours in the fridge. Grill or bake. I grilled mine on my George Foreman.

Tzatziki Sauce:

This is definately not a traditional Tzatziki sauce, but it's got hints of it here and there.

1/3 cup Mayonnaise

1/4 -1/2 tsp. lemon zest ( more or less according to your taste)

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

2-3 minced garlic

1/4 tsp. red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. dried oregano or fresh if you have it on hand.

salt and plenty of ground pepper to taste

Mix this up and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes so the flavours meld. Yes I spelled flavour with a "u". I am Canadian

To Assemble:

Pita bread- I highly reccomend trying homemade pita bread. I used this recipe and it was fantastic. However, store bought would be fine...but fine is not amazing. I'd go for amazing, which the homemade are. Here's the link http://annies-eats.net/2010/04/20/whole-wheat-pita-bread/

Fresh tomatoes, chopped

chopped cucumber

thinly sliced red onion

chopped romain lettuce

Feta cheese.

Take your warmed pita, spread some tzatziki sauce on it, fill with some slices of chicken, tomatoe, cucumber, onion and romaine. Top with crumbled Feta. So Good! Bon appetit from California!

Emily

Fresh Strawberry Jam

Mmm... homemade strawberry jam; all you need is a hot biscuit. I used to be scared of doing anything that involved canning even though I have helped my mom do alot. I guess it's just doing it on my own that scared me. It shouldn't though because as long as you follow the directions, it's super easy and I think it's fun. An added bonus is you feel so accomplished and good about yourself after you do it and you literally get the fruits of your labours! So for all of you who are scared of mason jars and canners, here's a little step by step tutorial on making homemade strawberry jam.

First you want to make sure you have all your supplies and equipment ready. Wash your jars in warm soapy water or just run them through the dish washer to sanitize them. You need unused lids and new or used rings to screw the lids on.

You also need a canner (seen on the left), a heavy 6 or 8 quart pot (far right) and a little saucepan (behind pot). Fill the canner, a little less than 3/4 full and bring that to a boil while you prepare the fruit. Bring water to a boil in the small saucepan too; it is for softening the rubber ring on the lids. Once it comes to a boil, turn off heat, put lids in it and leave them in the hot water until you're ready to use them.

Once you've got your canner going, wash your strawberries and cut the stems off. Depending on which recipe you use( I use Sure Jell), you will need about 3 lbs of strawberries. Buy them on sale. I bought mine for 89 cents a pound which is a GREAT deal. Also as a side note, DO NOT double your recipe. For some reason it never works out, just do a batch at a time.
Smash the strawberries up. Leave it fairly chunky. The chunks will cook down so don't worry if you have some big ones. My recipe calls for 5 cups of crushed strawberries. You need to be precise when it comes to making jam.

Ok next measure out your sugar (7 cups for Sure Jell recipe), have your pectin ready and about 1/2 tsp of margarine or butter.

Pour the berries into the pot. Add the whole box of pectin and the butter. The butter helps reduce foaming.

Stir that up and bring it to a FULL ROLLING boil on high heat. This means it does not stop boiling when it is stirred. Stir it constantly.

Once you've got it to a full boil, add your sugar all at once and bring it back to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Make sure you use a long handled wooden spoon so you don't get burned. Once it's back to a full boil, boil it for exactly one minute or according to the recipe you're following. Turn off the heat.

Now with a spoon, skim the top of the jam to take of any foam.

Put it on a cracker and eat it. Yum! ok, back to work...

Using a funnel, ladle the jam into your prepared jars and fill them until they're about 1/8th of an inch away from the top. Be careful not to burn yourself. Wipe the rim of each jar with a damp rag or paper towel. You want to make sure you have no jam on the rims so you get a proper seal. Next place your lids on the jars and screw the rings on tightly.
Lower the jars into the boiling water in the canner. This will probably cool the water off a little. Put the lid back on and once you hear the water start to boil again, start 5 minutes on the clock( depending on your altitude the time will vary. Your recipe should let you know how long to process the jars according to your alttitude).
Meanwhile...
Along with my 89 cent strawberries, I also picked up some 33 cent mangoes. I cut them up with a little banana and now I have a bunch of little smoothie packs chillin (haha get it?) in my freezer. Back to jam...

Once the cans are done processing, remove from your canner and place to cool at room temperature for 24 hours. You'll hear pop pop pop! That's good, that's what you want to hear because it means that your cans are sealing. You will need to check that each does have a good seal after 24 hours by pressing the tops of each lid. If it pops back at you, it didn't seal and you'll have to refrigerate that jar (up to 3 weeks).
Isn't jam so pretty?! I hope this was helpful and that you're no longer scared of making jam. It's easy and cost efficient if you get your fruit on sale. Enjoy!

Emily

The Perfect-Ice-Cream Sandwich

This picture makes me drool!

So Good!

I (Sarah) would LOVE to take all the credit for this recipe, but......I found it on the cutest food blog! I was looking for a clever, and delicious Easter dessert, and these beauties fit the bill! They were a big hit! I think they would make a very darling Wedding reception treat, not that I would need something like that for a long time! But I am going to BYU in 2 months, so it's an idea I'm storing in "the next 10 years department".

http://notsohumblepie.blogspot.com/2010/04/perfect-ice-cream-sandwich.html

The recipe doesn't call for chocolate chips, but I'm a chocolate-chip junky so I added Peanut Butter chips and Mint chocolate chips to separate batches. They are super cute wrapped in wax paper, plus it makes them easier to eat without plates. I would advise making extras if you are making them for company! You'll want left overs! (We didn't bring all of them out for Easter dinner, we hid the rest in the downstairs freezer...we didn't ask if anyone wanted seconds....we are not very good hosts are we? oh well...more for us!) These would make it into Emily's "Blue Box" where she keeps all her REALLY good recipes! They are delicious!

Wendy's Chicken Teriyaki Salad

This is the best food ever! The fabulous Miss Wendy Wallace introduced our family to this recipe several years ago, and whenever I make it, I make sure that there's lots of leftovers so that I can eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next couple of days. I just can't get enough of it!

This recipe is very flexible, and you can make it to your liking.

4 chicken breasts (marinated and cooked in Yoshida Teriyaki sauce)

pineapple tidbits, drained

apples, diced

celery, diced

green grapes, diced

green onions, chopped

sliced almonds

bow tie pasta, cooked, drained and cooled

Dressing:

1/3 cup plain yogurt

3/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tsp. fresh grated ginger

2-3 tsp. lime juice

2-3 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. sesame seeds

* I like to use only yogurt and to omit the mayonnaise. I usually put a lot more ginger and lime juice than it calls for because I like them pretty strong. To be honest, I usually just add the ingredients listed until the dressing tastes how I want it to. I also rarely use the sesame seeds in the dressing.

It's easiest often to start with an amount of pasta and then to add in the ingredients so that you get as much of each as you want.

Enjoy!