The New Taco Salad

for Ashley

I've made taco salad for years.
I use like 8 serving dishes:
One for tortilla chips
One for lettuce
One for tomatoes
One for cheese
One for sour cream
One for a ground beef, onion and bean mixture seasoned with taco seasoning
And maybe a couple for some corn, avocado, peppers or salsa

This can be pretty yummy BUT... all too often I find all my kids fill their plates with tortilla chips and cheese (except Jarom who doesn't like cheese).  The older ones load up on ground beef.  And then finally one piece of lettuce and one lone chunk of tomato are placed on top (and are often not eaten).  Then after they clear their plates they continue snacking on tortilla chips.

Well, I decided there must be a better way.  I wanted to put the SALAD back in taco salad.  So I grabbed my big salad bowl (the one Fairbanks gave me as a wedding present that literally has collected dust for years on display above my cabinets) and put it to use!
I filled it with not one but two heads of romaine lettuce.  (I've even done three) and topped it up with a LOT of tomatoes.

Starting to look pretty already, isn't it?

Next, I went to the stove and put some onions and garlic in the skillet to fry.  Then I added two cans of black beans. (I have also used kidney beans, chick peas and I'm sure pinto beans would be lovely).  Then I dumped on some chili powder and cumin to taste and mixed it in.

While working on that, I put Dustin to work cutting up a couple bell peppers. I had to decide if I wanted to quickly add them to the skillet or just add them fresh to the salad.  I prefer fresh, so I refrained from throwing them in.  But you might choose to throw them in and that's okay.

Then I grabbed a can of corn and warmed it up, too.  I like the corn to be bright and yellow (ie not covered in black bean juice), so I warmed it up in the microwave instead of the skillet.  But I also would not judge someone too harshly who just wanted to throw the corn in the skillet too.  But keep in mind that this is the ingredient that is on the very top of the salad... so the prettier it looks, the prettier the whole meal will look and the more likely your crew is to crave it.

Then it was time for assembly and the magic really happened.  I grabbed the bell peppers mentioned before and a bunch of chopped up cilantro (which is a highly critical ingredient) and mixed them into the lettuce.

you really should have a lot more cilantro than this,
but I'm just showing off how nicely ours is growing on our window sill

Then I dumped my beans and onions on top of the huge pile of greens.  Next, I dumped my corn on top of that.  And last of all, I took some limes, quartered them and put them on the side of the salad for my family to squeeze on top.  If you don't have limes (like when I actually took these pictures) just drizzle lime juice over the whole salad.  The lime juice adds such a great little zing to the whole thing and makes for a great guilt-free dressing.

Isn't she beautiful?

I was AMAZED at how quickly everyone gobbled this up.  Seriously!  I have never had two heads of romaine lettuce vanish in one sitting like that.  I really think all the colors just make it look so appetizing that they couldn't help but want to eat it before they'd even taken a bite. (And all the obviously healthy stuff like lettuce and tomato are hiding deceitfully at the bottom).

A Word of Warning:  Do NOT point out to your kids that they are NOT eating tortilla chips OR cheese OR even ground beef.  They won't even notice if you don't tell them.  If you DO tell them, you might have to add another bowl to the side.

Enjoy!

Instant Breadsticks

I found this recipe yesterday here.
I made up the name instant breadsticks because it's almost instant.  No long waits and they're so yummy!

Basic Whole Wheat Bread

I am copying and pasting from www.keeperofthehome.org so that I can have this yummy and easy recipe on hand.  I like how she takes the dough out of the bread maker and bakes it so it looks prettier.  So without further adieu...

(this comes from Bread Machine Magic, an older book full of over 100 machine specifically for the bread machine. There are many great recipes, but I like this one for it's simplicity and consistently. It is also a good bread to make if you are starting out, or not used to eating whole grains, as you can gradually up the amount of whole wheat flour).
Makes a 1 1/2 pound loaf
1/2 cup water (if you have a Welbit/Dak machine, add 2 Tbsp more water)
3/8 cup milk
1 egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups bread flour (I use all whole grain flour, and have done it with wheat and spelt)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp oil
1 1/2 Tbsp honey (do the oil first, then the honey, and it will slide so easily off the spoon)
2 tsp active dry yeast (they recommend Red Star and I would agree)
Place all ingredients in bread pan, select Light Crust setting and press start.
Or, you can do what I have been doing lately, with excellent results. is to make this bread on a dough cycle, then pull it out, knead very briefly and place it in an oiled pan. Let it rise until doubled (usually less than an hour), and bake in the oven at 375 F for about 30 minutes (I set my timer for 20 and check it, as I've only done this a couple times so far). Bake until nicely browned.
After baking, remove bread from pan, place on cake rack and allow to cool for 1 hour before slicing (this is good practice whenever baking bread).

Perfect Lemonade Recipe

Travis is sick and doctor said get lots of sugary fluids.  So I asked Travis what he'd like to drink... lemonade! (He's a big lemon fan).  So I got on the internet to find a way to make lemonade from lemon juice.  I really like how this turned out and thought I'd share... and remember for the summer or a party (in which case I really would add the sliced lemons). So here you go!

 Perfect Lemonade Recipe from simplyrecipes.com

• Prep time: 10 minutes

Add to shopping list

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 cup water (for the simple syrup)
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 3 to 4 cups cold water (to dilute)

Method

1 Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely.
2 While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from 4 to 6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice.
3 Add the juice and the sugar water to a pitcher. Add 3 to 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes. If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more straight lemon juice to it.
Serve with ice, sliced lemons.

Yield: Serves 6.

Simple, Easy, DELICIOUS Garlic Bread

This is adapted from Rachael Ray's recipe and turned out really nice.  I used those baguettes from Costco that are small and come in a 6 pack.

Cut 3 in half and place on top oven rack placed high to toast
Watch closely till they are golden brown (don't burn)
While watching closely...
Mix 2 Tbsp oil with 2 Tbsp butter and 2 tsp garlic (I buy from Costco) or 4 cloves or garlic and put in the microwave for 1 minute.
Brush butter mixture on bread... delicious
And Parmesan cheese (I'm sure fresh is best) and toast a little longer if desired (I was out... so I skipped this.  It's not really necessary)

Curried Cranberry Chicken Salad

I've been on a Crasins kick and decided to obey the package's suggestion to find more recipes at oceanspray.com.  Here is the original link I found.  So easy and super yummy.  I had no lime juice or green onions, so I just left them out, but I added grapes and green pepper... cuz I had them.  I hope you try it!

 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons lime juice
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
1 medium apple, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
3/4 cup Ocean Spray® Craisins® Original Dried Cranberries
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion

Directions:

Combine mayonnaise, lime juice and curry powder in a large mixing bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and chill. Best prepared and served within 8 hours.*

Makes 5 cups.

*To make a day ahead, stir in dried cranberries, pecans and green onion into the salad
mixture up to 8 hours before serving.

Rolo Cookies

Check out these cookies!!!  Yum!