Broccoli Salad

LaNae asked me to make this for the memorial day party and I had to look it up and ask Alicia because I have never made it. Well, it's my new favorite!! Made it again for a get together at Smith's and as at the Memorial Day Party, everyone raved about it. (I didn't do the onions because I don't like them, but it's in the recipes so I'll include it.)

5 cups fresh broccoli florets
1/2 cup Craisins
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup cooked, crumbled bacon
1/4 cup of red onion, chopped
1 cup of frozen peas, thawed

Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons vinegar
1/2 cup sugar

Combine broccoli florets, Craisins, sunflower seeds, crumbled bacon, chopped onion, and peas in a large serving bowl. In a separate bowl or large cup, whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar. Add dressing to the salad and toss to mix well; chill thoroughly before serving.
Broccoli salad serves 4 to 6.

Zuppas BBQ Chicken Salad

I loved this salad when we went to Zupas so here it is:

Lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, black beans, corn, black olives, red onions and tortilla strips.

Top it off with BBQ Sauce and Ranch.

Zupas claims to have a "special" BBQ sauce, but I just used my favorite (Sweet Baby Ray's) and it was awesome.

Southwestern Turkey Sandwich

1 can chopped olives
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup mayo
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup chopped green onion
1 pound sliced smoked turkey
2 tomatoes chopped
2 chopped avocados
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 loaf of French bread

Mix first top 7 ingredients. Cut bread lengthwise and spread 2/3 of the sauce across both sides. Then layer as follows: Turkey slices, chopped tomato, chopped avocado, remaining sauce and then cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until cheese is ooey, gooey and bubbly.

This can also be made into panini which we really like and best when served with chips and salsa. Oh so good!!!!!

Kristy's Mango Peach Pulled Pork

Heather (Mike's wife) Morgan posted this on her blog and it sounded so good! And since it's a crock pot meal, it works for this month. I am posting it here and plan on making it when Matt gets back.

1 pork tenderloin

1-2 cup brown sugar
2 cups Mango Peach Salsa (or salsa of your choice)

Stir together brown sugar and salsa in a slow cooker. Add pork (frozen is okay if it'll fit in the slow cooker). Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. Shred pork with 2 forks before serving. If you get the Costco pork and cook it fully, it pretty much falls apart on its own. It's super tender and juicy.

Serve on nachos, in tacos, or in a salad. The possibilities are endless and SO YUMMY!

**NOTE: I added the label to all the Crock Pot recipes we currently have the on the blog. There are 14. Just a few more days for this theme so let's get posting. Any ideas for next month?!**

Easy Chow Mein

Ok, so this recipe is kind of a make it however you want-type thing. Here are the ingredients we like to use, but you could pretty much add anything you want:

1 pkg. thick spaghetti noodles

2 eggs

green beans (fresh is best)

green onion, chopped as high up as you want

white onion, chopped in large strips

3 chicken breasts, cooked

water chestnuts

soy paste (you can get this at any Asian food store, thicker and stronger than soy sauce)

soy sauce

oil

Crack the eggs in a large wok or frying pan...let cook slightly. Add vegetables, and oil, soy paste, and soy sauce to taste. Once the beans are mostly cooked, add chicken and more soy paste and sauce. Add noodles last, with more oil, paste, and sauce to taste. Basically, the more paste and soy sauce the better...there are no set amounts. When the veggies seem cooked through, it is good to go! Very yummy and great leftovers.

Poppy Seed Chicken

I know, we all know this recipe, but I can never find it so I am posting here and now I'll be able to find it whenever I want. And no, it's not a stove top or crock pot, so I'm breaking the rules, too!

4-5 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
1-2 cans cream of chicken soup (depends on how creamy you want it)
1 cup sour cream
1 stack Ritz crackers - crushed
1 cube butter

Mixed chicken, soup and cream. Layer in 9x13 pan. Melt butter and add to crushed Ritz. Top chicken mixture and bake 1/2 hour at 350 degrees.

Serve with egg noodles.

Black Beans

Funny story...We had our grandmother dinner the other night for mutual and I was in charge of making beans for the dinner (which I found out about the night before). When I do beans, I do dry....so its a long process, it would have been nice to know a night earlier. Anyway, so I made them and then get a text at 6:10 (mutual is at 7:00)...."paula, did you remember that the dinner is at 6:00".

Ya, nobody told me and I didn't get that memo!

So now I have a ton of black beans that I need to use up.

Recipe:

Boil dry beans for 2 minutes, let sit in water for an hour, drain and rinse.

1 quart water
1 lb beans
garlic clove
1 cup dry onions
2/3 cups bacon bits
pepper

Put all ingredients in crockpot and slow cook for two days. Serve with any mexican food meal...or make a TON of burritos and freeze.

Aren't you all so proud of me for actually posting something on here?