Summer Salad

     Sometimes it is so hot, I don't feel like cooking a big, heavy meal. Sometimes, I don't feel like cooking anything at all. Last week I made this salad, and it was just perfect for a hot summer evening. Not only is it beautiful, but it's also healthy, light, and satisfying. We served this with a pumpernickel dinner roll.
     My husband was less than thrilled when I told him we were having salad for dinner, but he really enjoyed it. He couldn't believe how well the strawberries and bacon complimented each other. He even liked the dressing, and he is usually strictly a blue cheese guy.
     If you want to have this again for lunch the next day, I recommend storing everything separately. The salad may get mushy if you keep in all in one container.
Estimated cost:  $4
 Spinach $1.20, bacon $0.75, Mandarins $0.40, Strawberries $0.75, Other $1

serves 2-3
6 cups baby spinach (or whatever leaves you like)
6 slices of bacon, chopped
1 cup mandarin oranges
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/4 cup diced red onion
3 Tbl extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbl red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp black pepper

• Mix the salad: spinach, bacon, mandarins, strawberries, and onion.
• Mix the dressing: oil, vinegar, garlic, and pepper. 
• Pour dressing over salad.
• Serve with a dinner roll.

BLT Wrap

     When I was little, I always hated when my mom made BLT's for dinner. First off, I didn't really like tomatoes. Now that I'm older, I've decided to give tomatoes a second chance. After all, I like marinara sauce, ketchup, and salsa.
     For my first sandwich with raw tomatoes, I chose a classic BLT. I added a little something extra though. The verdict...well, I've made this four or five times now. I love BLT's! They are so quick and easy. The hubs can even make them for himself when I'm not around....which is saying alot about how easy they are. Sorry, J.

Mayo (I like the olive oil kind)
1 whole wheat tortilla
2 slices turkey bacon
2 slices roasted turkey breast (deli meat)
2 slices of tomato
2 leaves lettuce (or any greens--I like turnip greens)

• Smear the mayo on the tortilla.
• Line the middle of the tortilla with bacon and turkey, tomato and lettuce.
• Roll it into a tube.

Punk Love's Baked Beans

      Punk Love is a nickname for a friend of the family, and these are his baked beans. They are seriously the best I've ever had. Period. I'm not sure what makes them so much better, but they are. Try them, and see if you don't feel the same way.
     Baked beans are definitely a great comfort food that can be served all year around, but seem to be very common at summer cookouts or picnics with fried chicken. Here's the recipe, just in time for Memorial Day. Enjoy.

2 cans Pork N' Beans
1/4c to 1/2 c brown sugar (depending on taste)
1 small onion, chopped
2 strips of bacon, cut into 1" pieces
1/2 lb ground beef, browned, drained
1/2 c Ketchup

• Half fry bacon. 
• Saute onions in the grease from the bacon.
• Mix all ingredients together and place in 8x8 dish.
• Bake 1 hour @ 350*

Quesadillas

     Sometimes we don't have leftovers to eat for lunch, so we need something quick and easy. Quesadillas are a fairly common on our table since we usually have everything needed to make them at the last minute.
    We used chicken this time around, but you could use whatever meat you have on hand (even leftover!). Bacon, pork and ground beef/turkey are good choices. Cheese quesadillas are also very good (still use the seasonings). 

1/2 lb chicken
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp chili powder (more for spice)
Mrs. Dash (fiesta lime), couple shakes
1/2 c shredded cheddar
4 whole wheat or Spinach tortillas
1/2 c salsa
1/2 c sour cream

• Preheat oven to 400*. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.
• Spray large skillet and set over medium high heat. Add about a tablespoon of oil . Add chicken sprinkled with salt, pepper, chili powder, and Mrs. Dash. Cook until no longer pink. Break chicken into smaller pieces during cooking
• Arrange chicken over two of the tortillas. Sprinkle on some cheese. Place the other tortillas on top to form two quesadillas. 
• Place on baking sheet and bake until crisp (5-6 minutes). 
• Cut into wedges and serve with salsa and sour cream if desired.

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

This is one of our favorite breakfast meals! We eat it at least once a week. It is so easy, delicious, and costs only about a dollar for two servings! If we don't have bagels on hand, we use english muffins or toast.

for 2 sandwiches
3 eggs
milk
seasoned salt
2 slices of cheese or shredded cheese
2 slices turkey bacon, bacon, or sausage
2 bagels, english muffins, or bread

• Grease (we  have a spray bottle with canola oil in it, but you could use cooking spray) a medium sized skillet  and place over medium heat.
  
• In a bowl, whisk the eggs with a little bit of milk and seasoned salt
• Pour eggs into the skillet and cook until set. Don't scramble the eggs.
• Meanwhile, toast bagels and cook bacon.
• When eggs are set, use a spatula to make a line down the middle of the skillet. Fold each egg section in half (like an omelet) and slide onto the bagels. 
• Top with cheese, bacon, and the other part of the bagel.

Egg

BBQ Chicken and Bacon Cups

     A couple of weeks ago, I found a recipe (grilled bacon wrapped chicken tender) that I thought sounded really good. It had one problem: in order to make it, I would have to touch the raw chicken. I know this seems like no big deal to most people, but I can't stand to touch raw meat. I always use tongs or ziploc bags over my hands. I'll do anything to avoid it. If there is any other possible way to make a similar recipe, I will do it. So this is the result of my raw meat fear: meat in a cup.
     This actually turned out much better than I thought. My family loved it, and it was super easy to make.

1 pkg Grands Jr biscuits
1-lb chicken
5 slices turkey bacon
BBQ sauce
shredded cheddar

• Put chicken and bacon in sauce pan and cook until chicken is no longer pink. Chop. Add enough BBQ sauce to coat.
• Pop open the can of biscuits. Roll each one into a thin bigger circle. Place each circle in a muffin cup (or greased muffin tin).
• Spoon in chicken mixture Top with shredded cheese. I folded down the overhanging biscuit before baking.
• Bake @ 400* for 11 minutes.

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Cups

     Are you looking for an interesting way to serve breakfast? This is the recipe for you. It's so easy, even my husband could make it! In fact, he did. After his friend made it for his family and passed on the recipe. The original recipe (as posted below) says to crack an egg in each cup, but we scrambled them first since that is how we like our eggs. Our friend who made it said he likes his eggs runny, so he just cracked the egg in it and cooked it for less time so the eggs were a little more runny.
     Basically, this tastes about the same as a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. The presentation is really what makes it a little different.         
     Overall, I would say to just make the sandwich unless you are trying to impress guests or get your kids to eat all the ingredients. My daughter will not eat the sandwich, but ate the whole muffin because  it was a muffin. She loves muffins!

One muffin is pretty filling, so just make enough for what your family will eat.
bread
bacon
eggs
optional: cheese

• preheat oven to 375. 
• Take a slice of bread, use a rolling pin to flatten it. 
• Butter the muffin pan. 
• Cook the bacon in a frying pan, but not too much.  It will brown more as it bakes.
• Put the bread into the muffin tin, then the bacon, then crack an egg in it. 
• Bake for 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top for the last couple of minutes.

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Besr Ever Mac N' Cheese

     I feel like if you are going to eat Mac N' Cheese as the main course of a meal, it should include meat and vegetables. Usually, the standard add-ins at our house are ham and broccoli. As I was eating this amazing dish, I thought, the next time I'm going to add bacon instead, turkey bacon to be exact. Don't get me wrong the ham was fabulous, but bacon would be amazing. Isn't bacon amazing with just about everything anyhow?
     The best part about this super cheesy dish, besides the taste, is that it's made with real cheese that isn't processed. I feel like that has to be healthier. I bought blocks of cheese at the store and shredded my own. You could certainly buy more expensive, fancy cheese too. This recipe has been adapted from this recipe.

Sauce:
2Tbl unsalted butter
3-1/2 Tbl flour
1-1/2 c whole milk
7 oz extra sharp cheddar (1-3/4c)
1 oz Jack cheese (1/4 c)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
Pasta:
6 oz penne
1oz (1/4 c) extra sharp cheddar
1oz (1/4 c) jack
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 bag frozen broccoli
1/2 lb ham

• To prepare sauce, melt butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Continue whisking and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly. Cook until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add cheeses, salt, chili powder and garlic powder. Stir until cheese is melted and all ingredients are incorporated, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
  

• Preheat oven to 350F. Butter or oil an 8-inch baking dish. Cook penne 2 minutes less than package directions. (It will finish cooking in the oven.) Rinse pasta in cold water and drain well.

• Combine pasta and sauce in a medium bowl; mix carefully but thoroughly. Add ham and broccoli. Scrape the pasta into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle top with cheeses and then the chili powder.
  

• Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Omelet

With this healthy eating idea I had, we have been eating a lot of eggs for breakfast this week. Better than french toast and pancakes I guess.

My grandpa ("Paw" as we call him) always made omelets when I spent the night at his house as a kid. He has a special sauce that makes his omelettes different from all others---Soy Sauce. I know, my husband thought it was weird at first too, but now he's convinced. Try it, you'll like it!

2 eggs
splash of milk
shredded cheese
filling ideas: bacon, sausage, ham, mushrooms, bell peppers, hash browns (yes, it's good!), onions, etc

• Whisk eggs and milk together until smooth
• Pour into a small, oiled skillet over Medium heat
• When egg is pretty well set, flip over the egg (tricky! This is where my omelets start looking ugly)
• Place cheese and filling on half of the omelet
• Fold the unfilled side of the omelet over and slide onto a plate. Top with soy sauce.

Egg

Breakfast Scramble

Another easy breakfast that doesn't require a lot of time...or skill.

For 2...
4 eggs
splash milk
2 slices turkey bacon
shredded cheddar
salt
pepper

• Crack eggs into a small bowl and whisk with a splash of milk, salt, and pepper until smooth.
• Pour into a skillet over Medium heat. Scramble as the eggs are cooking
• While eggs are cooking, cook bacon in microwave (or in another skillet)
• Add cheese and crumbled bacon to eggs

Egg

Bowtie Pasta with Creamy Parmesan Sauce

One of our favorite restaurants (The Anvil Inn-now closed) had a dish similar to this, but they used tortellini instead of bowtie pasta. I searched the Internet for recipes that included "prosciutto and mushrooms in a rich parmesan sauce" to no avail. So I combined a couple of different recipes to get this one. This is something you probably want to make for company. It costs about $5-7 (depending on meats-see recipe) for 6 servings, so it's more than I usually spend on a dinner for just the two of us. Like most pasta dishes, it's even better the next day when you eat the leftovers!

1 box bowtie pasta (or penne)
2 1/4 cup half & half (could use heavy cream if desired)
1/4 tsp instant chicken bouillon (or 1/4 cube-crumbled)
3/4 c parmesan cheese
1/2 Tbl cornstarch
2 Tbl butter
1/4 c prosciutto, chopped (could use bacon, turkey bacon, or chicken)
1 Tbl garlic, minced (more if you like)
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (I used baby portabella)
1/2 Tbl parsley

• Boil pasta according to package directions
• Bring 2 cups of half & half to simmer
• Whisk in bouillon and cheese
• Dissolve cornstarch in 2Tbl water- Whisk into mixture.
• Cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Melt butter in skillet
• Stir in meat, garlic, and mushrooms. 
• Saute 3 minutes
• Mix sauce, pasta, and meat.
• Add 1/4 cup half & half and parsley

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