We are having a little break between overnight guests, and I thought I would take this opportunity to post a couple of salad recipes that have proved winners here. As you know, I have been stressing (I am happy to say, mildly) over what to feed all our guests this week, but I am doing pretty well.  I still have my head, but it is only Monday, lol.

There was a day when I used to go all-out, cooking all day and making sure everything was just perfect, and collapsing in an exhausted heap at the end of the day. Since then I have either become lazier or more sensible.  I'm not sure which, lol.  But I successfully fed the ten of us this weekend, and no one got sick (from the food) or went hungry. The meals might not have been exactly memorable, but they were good and satisfying.  I was rewarded by a request for the Napa salad recipe, and comments like, "Oh, this is good!" on the pasta salad, so the "cooking" was a success!

Napa Salad
- 1 medium head of Napa cabbage, sometimes called Chinese cabbage, chopped. (Look for a head with green outer leaves, not all pale-looking.)
- finely chopped veggies (broccoli, green onions, carrots)
- chopped Romaine lettuce for dark green color
- cooked chicken, steak, or pork, cut into bite-sized pieces, and chilled
- one package of Top Ramen, uncooked, same flavor as the meat you are using
Dressing:
1/4 C rice vinegar
1/4 C water
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/4 t salt
dash of pepper

Mix the cabbage, lettuce, veggies, and meat in a large bowl. Mix the dressing ingredients and set aside.  Crush the noodles. Just prior to serving, sprinkle the seasoning packet from the Ramen over the salad and mix well. Pour dressing over, using as much as you like (I don't like my lettuce swimming), then add the crushed noodles and toss.


Cucumber Pasta Salad (thanks, Daisy!)

12 oz macaroni pasta
2 cucumbers or 1 English cucumber (see note BEFORE starting)
2 boiled eggs
Mayonnaise
Dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Cook the pasta al dente, drain, and run under cold water. Place in a bowl.
2. Hard boil 2 eggs. Cool & rough chop (I use one of those egg slicers). Add to pasta.
3. Shred the cucumber using a box grater. *You can shred it with or without the peel. The peel looks wonderful in the salad but I suggest using the English cucumber, if you go this route, since the peel is less bitter. Squeeze the excess moisture out of the grated cucumber and add to pasta.
4. Add a big spoonful of mustard.
5. Add mayo until it's to your liking. I don't like it super wet, but that's just me.
6. Salt and Pepper to taste.

I followed the above recipe, using a heaping teaspoon of mustard.  Next time I am going to chop the cucumber rather than grating it, and I am going to add just one grated baby carrot for color.  And maybe a touch of red onion?  This was very good.  I think I'll bring it to our 4th of July picnic.

As it so frequently happens, it got to be about 4:00 this afternoon, and I had nothing thawed out for supper.  The only time in my adult life when this did NOT happen was for the five weeks after we got home from Kansas last summer, because I had spent several miles of cross-country travel making up a five-week menu plan. I loved having the menus made out, but I found my grocery bills were higher that way. So I am back to fumbling around in the kitchen at the last minute, trying to figure out something to feed my family, something nutritious and quick.  Since many of you are into your wintry weather, I thought you might appreciate this quick potato soup recipe.  It is warm and thick and is wonderful topped with butter-and-garlic croutons. This recipe makes enough to feed six of us, plus left-overs.

Sally's Potato Soup

8 LARGE baking potatoes

1/2 C chopped onion

4 1/2 C chicken broth

6 T butter or margarine

6 T flour

3 C milk

dash white pepper

1/2 t salt

1 t dill (optional)

Peel and slice the potatoes and place them in a large soup pot with the broth, chopped onion, and dill, if desired. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes or so, until potato slices break easily. In the meantime, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, and add the flour, salt and pepper. Cook and stir for a couple of minutes, then add the millk all at once.  Continue cooking and stirring until the white sauce thickens and begins to boil. Cook for 1-2 minutes more, and remove from heat. When the potatoes are done, mash them well in the same pot, with a potato masher, or if you like your soup very smooth, put it through the blender. Add the white sauce and stir well.  For variation, add cheddar cheese and/or cooked chopped broccoli.  Top with croutons or saltine crackers.

Earlier today Audiam posted a request for holiday recipes, including turkey, veggies, and of course, one of the staples of my life, desserts.  We don't "do" the holidays here, but this recipe has been handed down for generations in my family, and for some reason I do not know, these wonderful things only appear (and quickly disappear!) in December.  Personally I think they would be great all year around, but no one in my family ever makes them in any other month. ...As far as I know.  If they do, they aren't telling, and they don't share! (Photo from Flickr.)

Chocolate Peppermint Cremes

Combine 3 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp baking soda.

Cream together in a different bowl, 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, 3/4 cup butter, 2 T water, and 2 eggs, and then add 12 oz. melted semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Add the combined dry ingredients and mix well. The dough may be stiff, especially if you used real butter.  If it is very soft, refrigerate for a couple of hours. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and then flatten a bit. Bake on greased cookie sheets for 8-10 minutes, at 350.  Don't overbake them -- they should be soft in the centers. Cool completely.

To make the filling, cream together 1/3 cup of butter, 3 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp of peppermint, a dash of salt, and 3 T + 1 tsp milk.  Spread liberally onto cookies and sandwich together.  Makes about 4 dozen. Enjoy.  (And please bring some over here to share with me!)

This reminds me, I saw something today that I am going to HAVE to try the next time I need a real chocolate fix, something that might even be better than the killer brownies I made the other day. (Those go toooo fast!)  Ever hear of grilled Nutella sandwiches? Nutella is now at the top of my grocery list for next month! I might not wait that long...

Here is the recipe for the popcorn cake featured in my last post:

2 tsp plus 1/4 cup vegetable oil

12 cups popped popcorn, unbuttered and unsalted

2 cups assortment of M&M's (we used mini's), Reese's Pieces, candy sprinkles, etc

1 C lightly salted cocktail peanuts

1 stick (1/2 C) unsalted butter

16 oz marshmallows (this is more than a large bag - they are only 10 oz)

Chocolate syrup

Grease 10" bundt pan or 12 C tube pan with the 2 tsp oil.  In a large bowl, combine the popped popcorn with the candy and peanuts.

In a saucepan, melt the butter, remaining 1/4 C of oil, and the marshmallows over medium low heat, stirring constantly.  When melted, pour over the popcorn mixture and stir well.  Pour into prepared cake pan, pressing to fit (this is done very easily with wax paper).  Cover with foil to keep moist, and let rest until set, 3-4 hours.  To serve, invert cake pan over large platter.  Shake gently to release.  Drizzle chocolate syrup over the top.  Serve at room temp.

I was right -- the kids loved this, and the grown-ups went for the ice cream!  My daughter solved the problem of left-overs by cutting the remaining cake into pieces, storing in zip-lock baggies, and distributing the pieces of her "birthday cake" to her friends at church. Whew. 

 I am thinking this would be really good if you made it with about 10 cups of rice krispies, and the old-fashioned sugar/corn syrup/peanut butter recipe for rice krispie bars... but then the syrup would melt the colors off the M&M's....?  YOU try it, and let me know how it works! (I'd be happy to pass along the pb syrup recipe..!)

Anyone like granola?  I made this for my husband and found out that unfortunately, my whole family likes it.  It doesn’t last long!  My basic recipe is from Miserly Moms (I fudged with the proportions and the baking time), and it’s delicious even without all the extra stuff I add.  (Diabetics, beware.  I can’t handle this very well, so I eat teeny portions!)

Mix together in a very large bowl:

10 C quick oats

¾ C dried cranberries

¾ C dried apricots, chopped

1 C coconut

1 C toasted wheat germ

½ C flax seed, either whole or ground

1 C sliced almonds

1 C C chopped walnuts

Combine in a saucepan, then heat and stir until sugar dissolves:

2 C brown sugar

1 ½  C dry milk

1 C honey

1 ½ tsp salt

1 C frozen apple juice concentrate

Pour over dry ingredients and mix well.

Turn into a large pan with sides, such as the bottom of your broiler pan.

Bake @ 350 for 15 minutes, then remove from oven and stir well. Reduce heat to 200 and continue baking for the next 50-60 minutes, stirring well every 10 minutes. It should be evenly and lightly browned.  If you cool it and find that it is not crisp enough, you can put it back in, but don't overbake it. Makes enough to fill 1 1/2 oatmeal canisters. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT lose your grip and dump the entire contents of the pan in the bottom of your gas oven. lol!  Yes, I did this once.

Without the nuts, flax seed, and coconut, this recipe is fat free, and still very good!  My mom used to add something she called “wheat berries”, but when I asked for those at our local health food store, what the lady showed me was whole wheat kernels. Mom used something that was small and round (about 1/8"?) and very light and crisp… anyone know what it was??