Chicken Poppy Seed Salad

This recipe came from The Sisters Cafe. It's a perfect salad for a baby shower, a luncheon, or if you need to bring a salad to a party. It was so yummy! The dressing is pretty sweet so if you're serving it as a main dish, I would suggest serving it with something salty to balance out the sweetness. You need to plan ahead with this salad to marinate the chicken overnight; however, I didn't have time and I marinated the chicken for a few hours. It was still pretty tasty but I'm sure it would've been better if it had marinated longer. Enjoy!


Printable Recipe


Chicken Poppy Seed Salad
adapted from The Sisters Cafe


5 oz spinach
1 head romaine lettuce
1 lb grilled chicken, sliced (*marinated overnight in Lemon Grilled Chicken marinade)
1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced
1 package pre-cooked bacon, crispy and crumbled
1 cup shredded mozzarella
2/3 cup toasted almonds


*Lemon Grilled Chicken marinade:
juice of 1 lemon (3 Tbsp juice)
3 Tbsp oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp oregano


Dressing: (makes a lot of dressing) 
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp dry mustard
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp onion, chopped
2 cups canola oil
3 Tbsp poppy seeds


For the dressing combine the first 5 ingredients and mix in a blender. Slowly add oil. Mix until smooth. Stir in poppy seeds. For the salad combine spinach, lettuce, chicken, onion, bacon, mozzarella, and almonds. Toss with dressing. 


Makes about 6 main dish portions

Oriental Chicken Bake

Like I've said before, I'm not a huge fan of casseroles. I love this one. It's so easy and it's so good! My favorite thing about it is the crispy fried onions on top. Yum!


Printable Recipe


Oriental Chicken Bake
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
2 cups cooked rice
16 oz package frozen stir-fry vegetables, thawed
2 green onions, sliced
1 can cream of celery soup
1/3 cup water
2 Tbsp soy sauce
6 oz container french fried onions


Mix together soup, water, and soy sauce. In a 9x13 baking dish, mix together chicken, rice, vegetables, green onions, and soup mixture. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Sprinkle fried onions on top and bake for an additional 5 minutes until onions are golden. 


Serves 6

Penne Gorgonzola Chicken

Like bleu cheese, I think gorgonzola is an acquired taste. You either love it or hate it. I love it! I saw this recipe on My Kitchen Cafe and I knew I had to try it. It was so good! Anything made with butter, cream, and cheese has to be good, right? It definitely isn't the healthiest meal but I think it's okay to indulge every once in a while.  


Printable Recipe


Penne Gorgonzola Chicken
adapted from My Kitchen Cafe


1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 lb penne pasta
1/2 cup butter
1 pt. heavy cream
4 oz. crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. nutmeg


Season chicken with salt and pepper and grill. Set aside and keep warm while pasta is cooking. Cook pasta according to directions on package. While pasta cooks make sauce. Melt butter and heat to boiling. Stirring constantly, simmer for one minute. Slowly add cream and heat to a low boil. Stirring constantly, boil for 3 minutes. Reduce heat and add gorgonzola, parmesan, and nutmeg. Stir until melted. Serve over noodles and top with chicken. 


Serves 6

Lasagna

The sauce I use for lasagna is the same sauce I use for spaghetti casserole. It makes a lot of sauce so I just use half of it and freeze the rest. It's nice to only make sauce once and be able to use it in two different meals. You could also use this sauce for spaghetti, stuffed shells, or manicotti.


Printable Recipe


Lasagna
1 package lasagna noodles
16 oz cottage cheese
3 cups mozzarella cheese
spaghetti sauce (I use 1/2 of recipe and freeze the rest)


Cook lasagna according to package directions. Place a small amount of sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Top with lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the cottage cheese, spaghetti sauce, and cheese. Place more lasagna noodles on top. Repeat until you have four layers of noodles. Top with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. For the last 5 minutes, place under broiler to brown cheese.


Spaghetti Sauce:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups beef broth
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp basil
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 can sliced olives
2 Tbsp sugar


Brown ground beef with onion, green pepper, and garlic; drain. Add beef broth and bring to a boil; reduce heat. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and seasonings. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Add mushrooms, olives, and sugar. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Rolo Cookies

I think chocolate and caramel is the best flavor combination. I love Rolos so I knew I would love these cookies. I got this recipe from Beckey's Recipe Box.


Printable Recipe


Rolo Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup cocoa
2 1/2 cups flour
Rolos candy, unwrapped
additional sugar to roll the cookies in


Cream together butter, sugars, and eggs. Add baking soda, vanilla, cocoa, and flour. Mix well. Wrap dough around Rolos. Roll in sugar and place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes. 

Taco Salad

I love the taco bowl in this recipe. It's baked so it's a lot healthier than a fried taco bowl but it still has the same crispiness. I love taco salads and this one is delicious!


Printable Recipe


Taco Salad
6 large flour tortillas
1 lb ground beef
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2/3 cup salsa plus more for serving
2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 avocados, chopped
shredded cheese
ranch dressing 


Preheat oven to 425. Shape aluminum foil into 4-inch balls. On a baking sheet, place tortillas on aluminum foil balls so they drape over the sides. Spray with cooking spray. Bake for 8-10 minutes until crispy and golden. Brown ground beef and drain. Add salsa, black beans, chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Combine iceberg, romaine, and cilantro. Place meat mixture in taco bowls. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, and cheese. Serve with ranch dressing and salsa. 


Serves 6

Orange Cream Layered Dessert

I love making desserts but lately it's been so hot that I don't want to bake anything. This dessert is perfect on a hot summer day. It's very refreshing. It tastes just like a creamsicle. 

Printable Recipe

Orange Cream Layered Dessert

adapted from Kraft Food and Family

2 cups orange sherbet, softened

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup orange juice

1 container (8 oz) cool whip, thawed

Line a 9x5 loaf pan with foil. Spread sherbet onto the bottom of the pan. Freeze 10 minutes. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until creamy. Gradually add condensed milk and juice until well blended. Gently stir in cool whip. Pour over sherbet in the pan. Freeze for 3 hours. When ready to serve, invert pan onto plate and remove foil. 

serves 10