Strawberry Garden Salad

Dressing:
2 lemons
4 T white wine vinegar
2/3 C sugar
2 T canola oil
2 t poppy seeds

Salad:
1/2 C sliced almonds, toasted
3 C strawberries, hulled and sliced into bite sized pieces
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced into bite sized pieces
1/2 red onion, peeled and sliced into small pieces
1 C (or more) of spinach
1 C (or more) of romaine lettuce
3/4 C of crumbled feta cheese

To make the dressing juice the lemons so you have 4 tablespoons of lemon juice. Take the lemon peel and grate about 1 tablespoon of zest. Combine lemon juice, zest, vinegar, sugar, oil and poppy seeds in a bowl. Whisk until well blended. Cover and refrigerate.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the almonds onto a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Place the spinach, lettuce, onion, cucumber, strawberries, cheese and almonds into a large bowl. Whisk the dressing and pour over the salad. Toss to coat the salad then serve immediately.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cookies

My cousins Elee & Kelly whipped these delectable fall treats up the other day. They are light, sweetly spicy, and so dreamy! Also, besides the yummy treat for your taste buds these cookies make the aroma in your home so autumny! A definite bonus if you ask me.

PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE COOKIES
2 C shortening
2 C sugar
1 can of pumpkin (15 oz.)
2 eggs
2 t vanilla
4 C flour
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
2 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
1/2 t allspice
1 t salt

Cream shortening and sugar together. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla to mixture and cream. In a separate bowl combine flour, powder, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice & salt then stir. Add the dry mix to the cream mix a cup at a time until all is mixed together. Bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Let sit on a baking rack to cool.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
4 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 C butter, softened to room temperature
1 t vanilla
2 C powdered sugar

Cream the cheese, butter & vanilla together. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar until you achieve the desired consistency. Spread atop the cooled cookies and serve.

Sweet Pork Soft Tacos

Have you had an irresistable taco filled with sweet pork lately? Well you can have one for dinner if you use this recipe.

SWEET PORK TACOS
Follow the Sweet & Spicy Pork recipe:
1 boneless pork roast
3 T white wine vinegar
2 T olive oil
2 T sea salt
2 t chili powder
2 t oregano
2 t kickin' chicken spice
1/4 C brown sugar
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered
1/4 C water

Rinse and pat the pork roast until it's dry. In a food processor or blender combine the vinegar, olive oil, salt, chili powder, oregano, kickin' chicken, brown sugar and garlic cloves. Blend until mixed and looks like a paste. Add the onions and mince. Pour the paste into your slow cooker. Put the pork roast on top of the paste. Rub the paste all over the pork roast, I used my own clean hands to do this. Don't leave any nook or cranny devoid of the paste! Pour the water into the bottom of the slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Take a fork and seperate the pork.

Ingredients needed for tacos:
1 package of corn tortillas
shortening (optional)
tomatoes, chopped
iceberg lettuce, chopped
green onions, chopped
cheese, grated
salsa of your choice
limes, cut into quarters


You have two choices on how to prepare the tortillas. The healthy way is to just warm them up for thirty seconds in the microwave. The tastier, but fattening, way is to flash fry them. To do this you need to place a large spoonful of shortening in a warm frying pan. Let the shortening melt and get hot. Place a corn tortilla into the hot oil. Let it fry for about 30 seconds. Flip the tortilla over to fry the other side but as you fry it fold it in half so it'll form into a soft taco shell. Place the tortilla on a paper towel covered plate and sprinkle some salt on it. Repeat until the desired amount of tortillas have been prepared. Take a tortilla shell and put some pork inside it. Squeeze a lime wedge over the pork. Now put some tomatoes, lettuce, onions, cheese and salsa over the pork. Enjoy!

Sweet & Spicy Pork

I'm a person who can be weary of pork dishes. Pork is either good or really bad in my experience. This recipe is a creation of mixing other recipes and adding/subtracting ingredients. Finally my experiments paid off because this recipe gives you tender, sweet, and spicy pork. Enjoy!

SWEET and SPICY PORK
1 boneless pork roast (up to 6 pounds)
3 T white wine vinegar
2 T olive oil
2 T sea salt
2 t chili powder
2 t oregano
2 t kickin' chicken spice
1/4 C brown sugar
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered
1/4 C water

Rinse and pat the pork roast until it's dry. In a food processor or blender combine the vinegar, olive oil, salt, chili powder, oregano, kickin' chicken, brown sugar and garlic cloves. Blend until mixed and looks like a paste. Add the onions and mince. Pour the paste into your slow cooker. Put the pork roast on top of the paste. Rub the paste all over the pork roast, I used my own clean hands to do this. Don't leave any nook or cranny devoid of the paste! Pour the water into the bottom of the slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Take a fork and seperate the pork. Serve while warm. To enhance the flavor squeeze some fresh lime wedges over the pork, you won't be sorry.

Turkey Noodle Soup

We baked up a good tasting turkey the other day. The only problem with baking a yummy turkey is what do you do with all of the left overs? Well, I decided to make some homemade soup and it was yummy in my family's tummy.

TURKEY NOODLE SOUP
turkey stock (see below on how to make it)
4 C carrots, chopped
4 C onions, chopped
4 C celery, chopped
turkey
5 garlic cloves, chopped
a 16 oz. bag of bow tie pasta
grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

First, you need to take the left over turkey bones and the meat stuck to the bone and put it in a large pot. Cover the turkey bones with water. Add a bunch of cut up carrots, onions, and celery to the pot. I put in about 2 cups of each. Add a few cloves of garlic too. Bring the stock base to a boil then let it simmer for about 4 hours. After the stock has simmered strain all the extras and chunks from the broth. Pour the broth into a new pot. Add the rest of the carrots, onions, and celery. Add 3 cloves of garlic too. Bring the broth and veggies to a boil then let them simmer until the veggies are soft yet still bitey. Add the turkey meat pieces and the bag of noodles. Let the soup cook on medium heat for another 10-12 minutes or until noodles are al dente. Remove soup from heat and let sit for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve in a bowl with Parmesan cheese sprinkled over the soup.

Mom's Sugar Cookies

Gramma MAS had a few holiday traditions. Our favorite was her homemade sugar cookies. Well, my mom has kept that tradition alive. She altered Gramma's recipe a bit and it creates the most moist, light sugar cookies in the world. I can never get them quite right though... maybe she's holding out on a secret ingredient?

MOM'S SUGAR COOKIES
1/2 C butter, softened
1 C sugar
2 eggs
2 T heavy cream
1 t vanilla
2 1/2 C flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 t baking soda

Mix flour, salt and soda in a bowl. In a separate bowl cream butter, sugar, eggs, cream and vanilla. Combine the flour mixture with the creamed ingredients and mix well. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 2 hours. After the dough has chilled preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll the dough out onto a slightly oiled or floured surface until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Cut out the cookies with cookie cutters then place on a lightly sprayed baking sheet. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until barely golden on top and edges. Let the cookies sit on the sheet for a few minutes after you remove them from the oven. Transfer them to a wax paper lined cooling rack. Let the cookies sit for about 30 minutes before frosting them.

CREAMY COOKIE FROSTING
1 C powdered sugar
1/4 t salt
2 t vanilla
2+ T heavy cream
food coloring or coloring paste

Blend the sugar, salt, vanilla and cream on high until mixed. If you need to, add some more cream to achieve the desired consistency. Tint with coloring. Spread on cooled cookies. Enjoy!

Harvest Chili

I love autumn time. When the weather begins to cool off, leaves turn color, and the pumpkins line the houses along the street I know it's time to eat chili. Here is an easy, and somewhat healthy recipe to satisfy your fall food cravings.

HARVEST CHILI

1 pound of extra lean ground beef
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large can of pinto beans
1 can of red kidney beans, drained
1 can of black beans, drained
1 can of Ro-tel brand tomatoes and green chiles
1 can of El Pato brand tomato sauce
1 can of stewed tomatoes, drained
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 pouch of taco seasoning
1 can of tomato sauce
1 t basil

optional ingredients:
cheese, grated
green onions, chopped
olives, chopped
sour cream

Brown the beef with half of the onions, peppers, and garlic in a large skillet. Drain the beef mix. Put the beef mix into a slow cooker. Add all of the other ingredients and stir. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Spoon into bowls, top with cheese, green onions, olives, and a dollop of sour cream then serve.