Spinach Strawberry Salad

This is one of my favorite salads (as you can tell by the half empty salad dressing bottle). It's quick and easy AND my husband even likes it which is an added bonus because it's healthy too! Here is what you need:

Spinach

Strawberries

Chicken

Poppy seeds (I add them to my salad dressing but if you don't have them it doesn't make that big of a difference.)

Balsamic Vinaigrette (I found a really good one at Costco by the fancy cheeses it's made by "Cindy Kitchen"). Or if you want to make your own here is a recipe I found on the allrecipes.com:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Enjoy!!!

Carmel Popcorn

13 Big Marshmellows
1/2 C. Margarine
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1/8 tsp Baking Soda
1 Bg of Popped Popcorn

Pop your popcorn and set aside. In a bowl add your marshmellows, margarine, brown sugar. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir. Microwave for another 1 min. Add baking soda and microwave for 4 seconds. Pour over the popcorn.

Cafe Rio Burritos

3 chicken Breasts cooked
12 Flour Toritillas
1 Can Green Enchilada Sauce
Cheese
1 box Zatarans Rice and Beans Mix

Cook your Zatarans Rice and Beans according to the directions on the box. While that is cooking cook your chicken and shred. Mix your chicken and rice and beans together. Divide mixture into 12 Flour Toritillas with seam side down. Pour your Green Enchiliada Sauce over the top and add cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Savory Stuffed Mushrooms

For our enrichment last night we were challenged to bring a recipe that was made with five items or less. That was a little bit harder than I thought it would be. Anyway, I found this.

Ingredients:

12 large mushrooms or about 20 smaller ones
6 oz. mild sausage
3 Tbs. seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 teas. dried parsley


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a large baking sheet. Remove and chop mushroom stems, reserving caps.
Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat; add sausage. Cook until browned and crumbly, about 5 minutes; drain. Stir in chopped mushroom stems, bread crumbs, and 1/4 cup mozzarella into skillet. Remove from heat. Spoon sausage mixture into mushroom caps. Arrange stuffed mushrooms on prepared baking sheet. Top mushrooms with remaining mozzarella. Bake about 15 minutes. Place on a serving platter and garnish with parsley.

* For extra cheese flavor, add 3 Tbs. grated parmesan cheese to the filling. I didn't do this because then it would be 6 ingredients and that is unacceptable! =)

Tropical Fruit Salad

This is the sauce that I used on the fruit at bunco. However, I didn't follow the recipe when it came to the amount of fruit or which fruit to use.

2 bananas, sliced
2 cups fresh pineapple chunks
2 oranges, peeled and chunked
2 medium apples, chopped
1 cup sliced strawberries

½ cup thawed frozen limeade concentrate
½ cup honey
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon poppy seeds or papaya seeds

Combine all fruit in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together limeade, honey and oil until well blended. Stir in seeds. Pour over fruit salad and gently mix together. Serve immediately. You can also add ½ cup slivered almonds for an added crunch just before serving.