Pasta Chicken Salad with Spinach...

Mmm Mmm. I got this recipe from my friend and it is sooo good! I could eat the whole thing by myself, and still feel great afterwards!


8-10 oz bow tie pasta
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup salad oil
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce (I didn't have any on hand so I made some following this recipe ... minus the ginger, but it turned out fine)
1/3 cup rice vinegar (I actually just used regular white vinegar)
2-3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp seasoned pepper
3-4 cups cooked chicken
1/2 cup fresh parsley (or dried parsley... but definitely less than 1/2 cup of the dried)
1/2 cup green onions
7 cups lightly packed trim baby spinach

-Cook and drain pasta.
-In a little oil, saute sesame seeds. Stir in remaining oil, teriyaki sauce, vinegar, salt, sugar and pepper.
-Pour over pasta and chicken after dressing has chilled. Add onion, parsley and just before serving add spinach.

Tell me your secrets...

I'm not the biggest fan of vegetables, but I eat them because I know they're good for you. However, I wish there was a way I could LOVE vegetables (and get my family to love them too). I feel it could be possible if only I could find the secrets that make vegetables special. I've discovered one secret so far. I LOVE cucumbers, especially when jazzed up with a dash of lemon pepper. It works great as a snack, or as a side dish at dinner time. Please let me in on some of your secrets and tell me how you make vegetables interesting!

Fried Egg Sandwich

Sometimes this quick and easy sandwich hits the spot.

Toast, letuce, lunch meat, a fried egg (with a runny yoke), cheese, and sliced tomatoes, plus salt and pepper to taist. This is a messy sandwich, but it's finger licking good.

Beet Ravioli

Filling:

2 large red beets

1/4 c Ricotta fresh whole milk cheese

1/4 c Goat cheese

2 T dried breadcrumbs

1/4 c toasted Walnuts finely chopped

1 tsp lemon zest

salt/pepper to taste

Wonton Skins

Sauce:

1 stick butter

1 T poppy seeds

Goat (or Parmesan) cheese for top

400ø oven.  Roast beets wrapped in foil about 1 hour on baking sheet until tender when poked with knife.  Let cool, peel, and grate finely in bowl.  Add cheeses and season to taste with salt, pepper, lemon zest and toasted walnuts.  Stir in breadcrumbs.  Use wonton wrappers, brush edges with water and seal.  Boil in salted water for 3-4 minutes.

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat and stir in poppy seeds, keep warm. Toss with ravioli and sprinkle with cheese.

Watermelon Slushy

Nathan made the yummiest watermelon slushy for us yesterday. Normally it takes a lot of work to cut up a watermelon into bite size pieces. For slushies it's easy. Cut a seedless watermelon in half, (remove any random black seeds you see) and with a big spoon, scoop out the insides and blend them in a blender. To two cups of blended watermelon add half a tray of ice cubes, 1/4 cup sugar and two hand fulls of (frozen) strawberries. (Sorry the measurements are not very precise .)

Blend and presto! It's a fabulous way to eat watermelon, and a very refreshing summer treat!

Want some...

b l u e b e r r y   s o u p ?

Mango Lassi

In the mood for something different?  This is so refreshing, you'll wish you had an Indian Grocery Store around the corner to buy Mango Pulp to make this every night.

3 Cups plain yogurt

1 Cup Mango pulp

Lemon juice to taste

20 Ice cubes

1/4 C sugar

Blend.  Enjoy {with a water/sugar dipped rim if you'd like.  My kids did.}