The Birthday Salad

I didn't manage to get a photo of this salad before I served it - the guests at my son's birthday party were hungry! It's got a lot of the same ingredients you might find on your favorite pizza. I assembled the following ingredients on Friday night, and let it marinate over night in the fridge:

16-oz box of rotini pasta, cooked, drained & rinsed
1, 3.8 oz. can of pitted, sliced black olives, drained
1 pint of cherry tomatoes
8 oz. sliced mushrooms, rinsed
4 oz. sliced pepperoni
1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces
4 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 bottle of Italian salad dressing
garlic salt & black pepper to taste

Before serving, I should have sprinkled parmesan cheese over the top, but I never took it out of the cupboard. I think everyone liked it anyway.

This recipe easily fed about 20 people (as a side dish), and we still had leftovers afterward. I used two packets of the Good Seasonings Italian Salad Dressing mix and mixed those according to the directions on the package. If you want a stronger seasoning, I would recommend sprinkling a bit of the seasoning mix (unprepared) into the salad before you marinate overnight.

Another Birthday Party!

I love parties – especially the kind where your guests can help prepare their own food :)

We are having a party for my middle-son’s 15th birthday tomorrow – complete with bonfire, s’mores and cake. In hopes of keeping the kitchen cool, I will be purchasing a few packs of hotdogs, which the partygoers will be able to roast on their own. I will also put together a salad and serve the other obvious sides (a.k.a. baked beans and chips). Yes, there will be photos – I have to, because you will want it for the salad recipe. So hang on for another day or two – the recipe is in the works!

The Diet Wagon

If I drink Slim-Fast for breakfast and then have a
glazed donut with my coffee during my morning break, does it really mean I’ve fallen off the diet wagon? And landed squarely on a big, cushy pile of bakery items?

I’d like to think that all of the fresh veggies from the garden and the Slim-Fast (even though it is the milk-chocolate flavored kind) balance out all of the sweets my co-workers insist on sharing. Sitting in a cube has its disadvantages, like being the one who is located closest to the cabinet where all the goodies are put after meetings! I was doing so good, too: my desk was stocked with organic cereal bars and fruit, a few cans of Slim-Fast just in case I either forgot to pack a healthy lunch or was just too rushed to grab something before leaving the house in the morning.

I need to work on replacing all of the quick stuff (a.k.a. unhealthy, overly-processed fast-food type stuff) in my freezer with some healthier, home-cooked meals for when I am short on time. I used to do this when the kids were younger and my husband and I worked opposite shifts.

Some of the things I prepared extra of and froze were lasagna, tater-tot hotdish and chili. The chili isn’t so bad for you, but I really need to work on finding a few more healthy (and tasty) short cuts to add to my quick-to-cook arsenal.

I’ve been really slacking lately, as far as the home-cooking goes. Frozen pizza and chimichangas are far to enticing in the frozen foods aisle. I know this because I saw a horrible picture of myself taken by my husband a couple of weeks ago. Let’s just say I won’t be sharing that photo on any of my blogs! It was less than flattering.

Here’s my healthy recipe for this week. This is a bare-bones recipe that can be added to however you wish, so have fun!

Crunchy Mandarin Almond Salad With Chicken

1 package ramen noodles, broken apart into small pieces and separated
1 small can Mandarin oranges
½ a head of lettuce, torn or shredded
¼ cup toasted almonds
sesame oil
1 grilled, skinless, boneless chicken breast – cut into strips or bite-sized pieces (or substitute 1 can of cooked chicken)
sliced red onion
Dressing of your choice: a fat free poppy seed or any Asian-inspired dressing you like will do.

Sautee the ramen noodles in hot sesame oil until lightly toasted. Remove noodles from pan and put chicken in the pan to heat through. While chicken is warming, toss toasted ramen noodles with remaining ingredients (except dressing), then top with the chicken immediately before serving.

Here’s a list of additions, if you want to add more:
Dried cranberries
Sunflower seeds
Sesame seeds
Cashews
Sliced green onion
Sliced red or green cabbage
Chopped bell peppers (any color)
Fresh edemame (baby soybeans in the pod)
Fresh sugar-snap peas
The greatest thing I love about salad is that you can mix together just about any combination of vegetables and it still tastes good :)

The Rhubarb Is Officially Done!

There it is. The last of it. I picked the last few stalks of rhubarb, sliced them neatly into 1" pieces, measured 2 cups into each small baggie, then tossed those baggies into labeled, gallon-size freezer bags. Most recipes that call for rhubarb require multiples of 2-cup measures, so this way I do not have to measure it later. No preparation is required before freezing, so it's really quick and easy. I don't even need to include directions for this one! It does last a very long time in the freezer, though - so I do recommend dating the freezer bag.

I still haven't gone through the stuff from last year. I will be baking rhubarb cake and crisp again as soon as it cools down. Like I'm really disappointed with that! Hah! Well, the scale might not like it, but I guess that means I will have to share :)

Marinated Zucchini & Peppers

Marinated Zucchini & Peppers
Originally uploaded by suzukiQ

Simple stuff to throw on the grill. Yum. If you slice the veggies thick enough, put them right on to the grill, otherwise, make a shallow bowl of tin foil & add them about 6 or 7 minutes before the meat is done grilling. Mmm...

sliced vegetables - zucchini, peppers, onions - whatever you like
Italian dressing

Combine & marinate for about 20 minutes or so, then grill.

: ) Short & sweet - no mess, no cleanup!

Do You Remember the Jam Recipe I Promised?

I couldn't find it! I am horrible! But I think I remember it - because it's a variation of one I have on hand from another source. So while I was in the process of cutting rhubarb for freezing, I remembered the jam and thought that it's time to get that posted. About this time of the year I start getting ready for canning and freezing, so while I find all of my jars and seals and lids and things this blog may be a bit quiet. But keep checking back - because I usually can't keep quiet for long, according to my hubby :)

So for your reading enjoyment you may possibly find some odd things tossed in here. It will pertain to food, but it may end up that one day you will find a restaurant review, the next you may find a recipe for a lemon drop martini - who knows?

Here's an enjoyable way to use up some rhubarb! I got this recipe from my friend Terri K. at work:

Rhubarb Slush

8 cups Rhubarb
2 quarts water
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice

Combine all and cook until tender. Strain and put in ice pail.
Add 2 cups vodka and 1 package strawberry jello, then freeze.
Scoop frozen slush into cups and top with Sierra Mist.

Great for parties - this recipe makes a LOT! Enjoy!

Wild Goodness

Good things can sometimes happen when you don't mow the lawn.

Well, that is, if you live in a rural township where you won't get fined for letting the grass get a little long. I knew there were wild grapes, raspberries and gooseberries growing abundantly in the woods surrounding our house, and I noticed this tiny grapevine growing in the ditch on the edge of our yard.

So I told the boys and my husband not to mow the ditch. The boys certainly didn't mind, and my husband could have cared less - well, if there was a good reason for it, anyway. It's not like he wants the yard to look like a wild overgrown mess, but he realizes that I can identify edible things in the woods, so he trusts my judgement when it comes to wild foods.

This tiny, weed-like plant to the right is a raspberry cane, sprouting from the earth near the road.

I've discovered about 10 wild grape vines and an uncountable amount of thorny little raspberry shoots. Not all thorny plants in the woods of Minnesota are raspberries, though.

The American gooseberry is also very prickly. Each adult berry bush can yield 6 to 8 gallons of berries, which are great for jam and wine. This berry on the left isn't ripe, yet. When ripe, the berries are a stunningly beautiful shade of deep, wine red.

As with any wild berries or fruits, you must be certain that you've identified the plant correctly. Some plants are poisonous, and may look similar to other plants that are edible.

Like mushrooms, for instance. NEVER, ever pick wild mushrooms. Unless you have been trained to properly identify which ones are edible, it is far too easy to make a fatal mistake. If you eat a poisonous mushroom, you may be lucky enough to get to an emergency room; however, you might not. I'd rather not take that chance, mushrooms are much better from the grocery store, anyway :)