CPK Dinner Salad

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One of my favorite dinner salads is California Pizza Kitchen’s Field Greens salad. I’ve re-created it at home as both a main and side dish.

Ingredients:
Large head of romaine or two bags of field greens
One pear, peeled and thinly sliced
3 to 4 oz. Gorgonzola cheese
Glazed or candied walnuts
Balsamic Vinaigrette (or Ken’s Steakhouse Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette)

1. Chop romaine or simply pour contents of bagged field greens

2. Top with pears, Gorgonzola and walnuts

3. Toss with vinaigrette

A few things to consider:

  • If you’re using this as a side dish, you’ll probably want to half the recipe.
  • Since there are few ingredients, sometimes I just put the salads together on individual plates or bowls, rather than combining in one large salad bowl.

Cherry Cheese Pie

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I have this memory from when I was small. My mom was hosting Mother’s Club at our house and she made Cherry Cheese Pie to share. I begged and begged to have a small piece. She told me no. I begged and begged to stay up so I could see all the ladies. She told me no.
I was heart broken.
I was also a bit devious. I went to bed when Mom asked (like an angel, I’m sure!), and then when I knew all her friends were there and she couldn’t get mad at me, I sneaked out of bed, batted my eyes a few times, and got some pie!
And we wonder where OUR kids get it. Yikes.
I hope you enjoy this dessert as much as I do. It’s so simple, the only thing I question is why I don’t make it more often!
Crust:
1 sleeve Graham Crackers
1/3 C white sugar
6 Tbsp Butter, melted
1. Put the graham crackers in a zip-lock bag and close it, making sure it’s air-tight. If it’s not air-tight, keep your broom handy!
2. Using a rolling pin, your feet, or your car’s tires, (OK, I may be kidding on the last two), crush the crackers into tiny crumbs. Dump them into a 9″ Pie Plate.
3. Add the sugar to the crumbs and mix it well with a fork.
4. Add the butter and mix until all the crumbs are well coated and moist.
5. Press the mixture to the sides and bottom of the pie plate. Set aside.
Filling:
1 (8 oz) Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
1 (14 oz) can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 C Lemon Juice
1 tsp Vanilla
Pie filling of your choice (We like cherry or blueberry. And, sinners that we are, we use the canned kind.)
1. Beat the cream cheese until it’s light and fluffy–about 3 minutes or so.
2. Add the sweetened condensed milk–don’t forget to steal a taste or two!–and mix well.
3. Add the Lemon Juice and Vanilla.
4. Pour into the pie crust.
5. Chill 2 – 3 hours.
Serve topped with pie filling.
Source: Mama Karri
~Kara

“Lower Fat” Spinach and Bacon Quiche

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In honor of an overnight stay from my mother, I would like to dedicate this quiche to her. My husband and my dad have not, and will never enjoy one bite of a quiche. “Bless their hearts.” Since the boys were out of town and I was cooking for just my mom and myself, I decided to make her favorite and alter the ingredients (just a bit) for a lower fat version. By lower fat, I mean that there is no crust.

Ingredients:
5 eggs
1/2 cup skim milk (because that’s what we keep in the fridge)
1 cup ricotta cheese (you may use part-skim if you prefer)
1/2 cup Swiss cheese
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Half of an onion, chopped
6-ounce bag of baby spinach

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick spray.

Cook bacon in a pan until done and crisp. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of bacon grease.
Saute onion in grease until tender, about 5 minutes. Add spinach and continue cooking until just wilted and liquid is evaporated, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat.
Whisk eggs in a bowl until lightly beaten. Add milk and ricotta and whisk until incorporated.
Stir in spinach mixture, Swiss cheese and bacon until combined.
Pour into greased pie plate. Bake until top, center is golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 35-45 minutes.

Limey Guacamole

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If you like lime–you’ll LOVE this guacamole!  Over the past 3 years I’ve been on the hunt for the best guacamole recipe; this one is a combination of several.  The real secret to this guac is the fresh style salsa.  With the fresh ingredients already chopped and the flavors already mingled, it’s easy and unbelievably tasty!  


Ingredients:  
4 large, ripe hass avocados 
1 heaping cup of fresh salsa (with onions, and cilantro) 
   (I recommend Italian Rose from Sam’s Club) 
1 tsp. minced bottled garlic
2 tsp. coarse kosher salt
1 T lime juice (I use bottled most of the time…but fresh is always best!)


1.  Peel and pit avocados, mash into a semi-chunky consistency 
2.  measure and add all other ingredients, stir until blended.  
3.  Serve with your favorite tortilla chips! 


How to choose avocados for guacamole
How to peel an avocado

Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping

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blueberry muffins

 

Originally posted on July 26, 2011.

These. Are. So. Good. I’ve tried a few different blueberry muffin recipes and so far this is my favorite. They are so moist (even without the crumb topping) and freeze well (you are going to find this is one of my favorite things!). This recipe makes 12 regular-sized muffins, but believe me, you’re going to want more than that.

Muffins:
1 1/2 C flour
3/4 C sugar
1/2 t salt
2 t baking powder
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 egg
2/3 C milk
1 C fresh or frozen blueberries (I usually add a little more-my children LOVE blueberries)
 
Crumb Topping:
1/2 C white sugar
1/3 C flour
1/4 C butter, cubed
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon

1. In a medium sized bowl the dry ingredients.
2. In a small bowl whisk the wet ingredients together.
3. Combine wet and dry mixtures. Stir just until incorporated, don’t over mix. It may contain small lumps. That’s not the end of the world-they’ll still bake up fine.
4. Carefully fold in the blueberries.
5. For the crumb topping mix the flour, cinnamon, and sugar in a small bowl. Cube the cold butter into the dry ingredients and mix with a fork or a pastry blender to form a crumb-like mixture.
6. Line your muffin tins with liners. Fill the liners 3/4 of the way full, then sprinkle with the crumb topping.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes (for regular-sized muffins).

**For the children I like to make mini-muffins. Bake mini muffins at 400 degrees for about 14 minutes or until golden brown.
Most of the time if I’m freezing these I don’t put the crumb topping on (and it helps cute back on some of the sugar-they’re plenty sweet enough on their own).

Source: Jamie Cooks It Up! blog

Mind Fields

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 mind fields
 
“The mind is like a field: you will harvest whatever you plant in it if it is nourished.”
–Grant Von Harrison, Drawing on the Powers of Heaven
 
One of the main ideas in the book Drawing on the Powers of Heaven is that learning to control our minds is vital to our success and what we are able to accomplish in this life.  Harrison says, “Your life is influenced more by your thoughts than anything else.”  And really, he’s right.  We become what we are thinking.  Our thoughts influence how we handle challenges, relationships, faith, self, prayer.  It takes a sustained mental effort to think positively and be believing, especially over a long period of time or during a particularly challenging trial.  Thinking negatively, however, is as easy as pie and requires no effort.  
 
Negative thinking, or stinkin’ thinkin’ as Zig Ziglar would say, has been a particular challenge in my life.  A natural-born editor, I tend to very quickly see what is wrong or needs to be fixed.  It’s just so easy to point out the negative, so natural.  Yes, so much the “natural man“.  And when we don’t make a real effort to control our thoughts we are “prone to dwell on petty feelings (e.g., resentments, offenses, jealousies, anxieties, strife, contempt, self-pity)”.  Stinkin’ thinkin’, indeed.
 
 
“Look unto me in every thought;”
—Doctrine & Covenants 6:36
 
How can we overcome this?  A constant prayer in the heart and a conscious desire to change.  And faith, looking to the Lord in all our thoughts, which is part of what it means to pray continually.  Lots of faith that the Lord really can help us have a new heart, and a new mind where this stinkin’ thinkin’ is concerned.  I really think that is a recipe for success.  In fact, I know it is.  It worked for Enos; it can work for us, too.

 

So what are you nourishing in your mind field?
 

3 Ingredient Ice Cream

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3-Ingredient-Ice-Cream

I have a Cuisinart counter-top ice cream freezer and it doesn’t hold much.  This recipe is just enough to have a small scoop of ice cream over a brownie for each person in my family (7).  I have never gotten around to remembering to refrigerate the condensed milk, and it always turns out fine.  I’m sure it would set quicker, though, if I did.

Ingredients:

1 c. cold heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (14-ounce) can cold sweetened condensed milk

1.  In a mixer, whip heavy cream just until it begins to thicken.
2.  Add vanilla and whip until soft peaks form.
3.  With mixer running, slowly pour in condensed milk and whip until high peaks form.
4.  Transfer into freezer “can” of ice cream freezer and allow machine to run until ice cream has thickened.
5.  Transfer this to a freezer container and freeze until it’s “ice cream hard”.  (I was too impatient to wait for mine, so it looks pretty soft in the picture above; but it will freeze hard.)

Source:  The New York Times

Pineapple Chicken

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IMG_3895.JPG

This is sooo delicious! We always add veggies. Whatever we have on hand goes in! My kids love this! And it originated from Julie! I usually have to double the ingredients to feed my hungry crowd.

 

Pineapple Chicken
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Ingredients
  1. 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
  2. 1/2 cup orange juice
  3. 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  4. 2 TBSP. vegetable oil
  5. 2 TBSP. all-purpose flour
  6. 1/4 tsp. salt
  7. 4 cup chicken, cooked & cubed
  8. 1 can pineapple chunks, drained
  9. 1- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
  10. chopped veggies, steamed(green peppers, carrots, broccoli, etc.)
  11. hot cooked white rice or fried rice
Instructions
  1. Prepare the chicken, veggies, and rice.
  2. In a large saucepan, combine the first 6 ingredients until smooth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken, pineapple and ginger. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve over rice.
Adapted from Julie Finlayson
Adapted from Julie Finlayson
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/
 
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