Frito Salad

This recipe is a summer picnic favorite of mine! I did 1/2 the recipe for our get-together.

4 cans red or pinto beans (or a combo), drained & rinsed
1 grn. pepper, chopped
2-3 grn. onions, sliced
3 Roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
12"ish" oz. bottle Catalina or French dressing*
1 reg. size bag Fritos or Fritos Scoops

Combine all ingre. except for chips. You can make it the day before & refrigerate until ready to serve. At serving time, mix in chips. It will keep fresh for about 1 1/2 hours or you can just let everyone add their own chips. :)

*For recipe group I strayed from my usual Kraft Catalina dressing & went with Brianna's brand Zesty French dressing which had A LOT less sodium & tasted fresher to me.

Apple Salad

This was Liz Lantry's recipe. :-)

Ingredients:

4 med-small apples
1 8oz tub light cool whip
1 c. mini marshmallows
1 20 oz can of pineapple tidbits, do not drain
1 small box fat free sugar free white chocolate pudding mix (or vanilla, or cheesecake)
Pecan pieces, if desired

Directions

Mix all ingredients. Top with nuts if desired. Chill and serve.

Asian Chicken Pasta Salad

I got this reciepe from no biggie.net. It's delicious! Enjoy!

Asian Chicken Pasta Salad

1 box bowtie (farfalle) pasta
4 chicken breasts cooked & shredded or all the breast meat of one rotisserie chicken
1/4 Cup green onions (sliced & diced into oblivion)
1/2 pack sliced almonds - toasted
1 bag spinach (stems removed)
1 sm. bag peapods
1 can Mandarin Oranges (drained)

The Dressing (double this into two batches)
1/4 Cup Sesame seeds (toasted)
1/3 Cup Soy Sauce
1/3 Cup Red Wind Vinegar
1/3 Cup Veg. Oil *or Sesame Oil is great here too
2 TBS. Sugar
1/2 tsp. S & P

Marinate chicken & pasta in the dressing in the fridge overnight.

* It's helpful to under cook the pasta a bit. Al dente would be perfect.

Toss altogether right before serving with round two of the dressing.

Frontier Pies Cornbread

Aubrey shared this recipe with me, it's some of the best cornbread I have ever had!

Ingredients:

3/4 c. margarine or butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
2 2/3 c. milk
2 2/3 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
1 1/16 c. cornmeal (3 tsp. weird I know!)


Directions:
Cream together the butter, eggs, sugar. Add remaining ingredients, mix well. Bake in a 9X13 greased and floured pan.
Bake 350 for 40 min

Cari's Rockin' Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cari made these and they were FANTASTIC, I had to recreate them -yum!

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. shortening
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/2 c. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 bag chocolate chips (12 oz I think, I use part butterscotch chips)

Directions:

Combine butter, shortening and sugars and mix briefly, don't over-mix. Then add vanilla and egg, stir just until mixed in and wet. Add all dry ingredients (except chips) mix until flour is completely mixed in, don't over-mix or your butter and shortening will get too soft. Stir in chips. Best if refrigerated before baking. Bake for 8-10 minutes in 350 degree oven.

Bourbon Chicken

I got this recipe from My Kitchen Cafe sometime ago. It is easy, fast, and super yummy!

Ingredients:
2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
cornstarch (for dusting chicken- optional)
4 Tb oil

Sauce:
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 tsp ginger (ground ginger or you can use fresh)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4C apple juice
1/3C light brown sugar
2 Tb ketchup
1 Tb apple cider vinegar
1/2C water
1/3C soy sauce

Dust chicken lightly with cornstarch. Heat oil in frying pan or wok and lightly brown chicken pieces. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

In a bowl combine all the sauce ingredients. Pour into wok and bring to a boil. Add chicken back into the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Done!

SNICKERS Apple Salad

OK this one takes forever to make good luck!

3-5 apples (different varieties for fun.)
1 large container of cool whip thawed
3 frozen snickers

Cut apples into bit size pieces, smashed frozen snicker with a rolling pin and add 3/4 of it to the mix. Next add all the cool whip until desired texture. Last add remaining snickers for garnish. YUMMY!!!

Lemon Spinach Salad

I thought this salad was very refreshing. It was my first time making it and I would definitely make it again. Enjoy!!!

3T fresh lemon juice
3T sugar
1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tbsp grated lemon rind
1/4 cup canola or light olive oil ( I used extra virgin olive oil)

3 cups fresh spinach ( I used a mix of spring greens and spinach)
1 cup fresh strawberries ,sliced
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
Feta cheese to taste
In blender combine lemon juice, sugar, mustard, grated lemon rind and oil. Pulse until mixture is combined , thickened and sugar is dissolved.In a large bowl, toss together spinach, strawberries, nuts and feta. Toss with enough dressing to coat.

Citrus Slaw

Slaw Ingredients:

1 head Napa cabbage (shredded)
2 large Sunkist® navel oranges, segmented
1 medium Sunkist® grapefruit, segmented
1 small green papaya (shredded) I used fresh pineapple instead
1 medium carrot (julienne)
1 medium red onion (julienne)
2 Poblano chilies (julienne


Dressing Ingredients:

2 Ancho – chilies (roasted and rehydrated) I'd leave these out
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
¼ cup fresh lime juice
½ cup Sunkist® freshly squeezed lemon juice
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin I'd leave this out too


Directions:

I used my mandolin slicer, set with julienne blade, to cut almost everything, to make the carrots, onions, peppers small enough. The cutting was pretty simple, a bit time consuming.

I used all my left over juices to add to the dressing, some grapfruit and pineapple juice, I personally really disliked the flavor of the cumin, so I would suggest adding it to just a little bit of dressing, and trying it before you use it in the whole thing. Also, I think it would have been better without the ancho chilies, they were kind of pasty in the dressing, never really mixed in, and smelled kinda funky!