Egg Salad

I have never made Egg Salad before, but I do like it.  I found that I had 3 dozen eggs in my fridge and needed to get them used.  I had to look in several cook books in order to find a recipe for egg salad and I finally found the following:

4 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
2 Tbsp finely chopped green onions
1 Tbsp diced pimiento, optional (I left these out)
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp yellow mustard

In a bowl combine chopped eggs, green onions, pimiento; stir in maynnaise and mustard.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Spread mixture on bread pita rounds or bagels.
I also fried up some bacon to serve on top of the sandwiches and added a few leaves of lettuce.  These additions add some much needed crunch to the sandwich.

This is a great old-fashioned classic...Enjoy!

Zucchini-Sausage Casserole

Another great thing about summer is all the fresh produce that becomes available.  I love zucchini and this is a new recipe that uses zucchini.  This casserole is delicious!  The stuffing adds the perfect amount of herbs and spices.  I will definitely be making this again.  Luke loved it!  Enjoy!!

1 lb. pork sausage
4 medium zucchini
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
4 cups chicken flavor stuffing mix
1/3 cup butter or margarine melted
Nonstick cooking spray

In a 12-inch skilled cook sausage until brown; drain off fat.  Return sausage to skillet.  Cut zuchinnin into 1/2 inch slices and add to skillet.  In a small bowl combine soup and sour cream; stir into sausage-zucchini mixture.  Set aside.  In a large bowl combine stuffing mix and melted butter.  Lightly coat a 3-qt rectangular baking dish with cooking spray.  Spoon half of the stuffing mixture into the prepared dish.  Spread sausage-zucchini mixture over stuffing.  Spoon remaining stuffing evenly over the top.  Bake, covered in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until heated through.  Serves 8.

Nutritional Info (per serving):
487 calaories
34 g total fat (16 g sat. fat)
70 mg cholesteral
1128 mg sodium
28 g carbs
2 g fiber
14 g protein

Blueberry Muffins

It's time to start trying out new recipes to help me determine what I am going to enter in the Iowa State Fair this year.  My best friend, Caitlin, gave me a daily calendar that's full of different types of cupcake and muffin recipes.  This blueberry muffin recipe came from that calendar.

Blueberry Muffins

1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 lightly beaten eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sweet butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups fresh or thawed frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Place 12 paper baking cups in a muffin pan.  In a medium bow, stir the sugar, lemon zest, flour and baking powder with a spoon.  In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, butter and vanilla with an electirc mixer until smooth, about 1 minute.  Add the dry ingredients and stir until the blueberries are just combined.  Spoon the batter into the cups.  Bake in the over for 20 minutes.  Remove pan from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.  Serve muffins immediately.  Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Using fresh blueberries in this recipe is amazing.  As the muffins bake the blueberries burst which create these beautiful purple ribbons throughout the muffin.  Hope you enjoy!

Peachy-Keen Upside-Down Cake

I love peaches and they are another benefit of summer.  They can be found at your local farmers markets and grocery stores.  If fresh peaches are not in season, frozen unsweetened peaches can be used.  I made this for a potluck we're having at work today.  Happy Summer!!

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups sliced, peeled peaches
1/2 cup pecan halves (optional)
12 halved maraschino cherries (optional)

Prepare cake batter according to package directions; set cake batter aside.  Divide the butter between two 9x1 1/2 inch round cake pans.  Place pans in a 350 degree oven about 5 minutes or until butter is melted.  Remove pans from oven.  Stir in half of the brown sugar into the butter in each pan and spread evenly over bottoms of cake pans.  Arrange peach slices over brown sugar mixture.  If desired, arrange pecan halves and/or cherries in spaces between peach slices.  Spoon cake batter over fruit, dividing evenly.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean.  Cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.  Loosen sides; invert onto serving plates.  Serve warm.

Nutrition Facts (per serving):
261 cal.
10 g total fat (4 g sat fat)
17 mg cholesterol
282 mg sodium
43 g carbs
1 g fiber
2 g protein

The peaches I bought weren't completely ripe.  A good way to help speed up this process is to stick them in the microwave for a few seconds. This makes them softer and easier to peel and slice.  ENJOY!

Potato Salad

Tomorrow marks the first official day of summer and nothing says summer like homemade potato salad.  My Grandma Hill used to make the best potato salad ever, but I never knew her recipe.  So I keep trying new recipes to try and find one that's close to hers.  Here is the newest recipe I have tried:

Garden Potato Salad

6 large potatoes (about 3 pounds), cooked, peeled and cubed
4 hard-cooked eggs, sliced or chopped
2 celery ribs, diced (optional)
6 green onions with tops, sliced
6 radishes, sliced (optional)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
DRESSING:
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup mayonnaise

In a large bowl, combine potatoes, eggs, celery, green onions, radishes, salt and pepper; set aside.  For dressing, combine eggs, vinegar, sugar, ground mustard and salt in a saucepan.  Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened.  Cool.  Stir in mayonnaise; mix well.  Pour over potato mixture; toss to coat.  Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

I sprinkled with paprika.  I haven't tried it yet but I'm sure it's going to be delicious.  Enjoy!

Chicken Fried Rice

I really wanted to grill for supper but it's just been too hot to stand around a grill, so I decided to do something quick and easy on the stove.  My sister likes to make fried rice when she's in the mood for Chinese food and I wanted to try my hand at it.  Once again I just made it up, but I tried to pay more attention to how much I put in to the dish so I could create recipe for others.
Chicken Fried Rice

 2 cup(s) Chicken breast without skin, roasted (chopped)    

 2 cup(s) Minute Instant, whole grain brown rice    

 1 cup(s) frozen green peas    

 1 cup(s) carrot(s)    

 3/4 cup(s) onion(s)    

 2 Tbsp olive oil    

 2 item(s) scrambled eggs    

 2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce    

 1 tsp Tobasco hot sauce    

 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce    

 1 tsp ground ginger    

 1 tsp sesame seeds 

Be sure chicken is cooked through and that the rice is cold.  If the rice is hot, it will just turn to mush.
Saute onions, carrots and peas in olive oil.  When vegetables are tender, stir in the scrambled eggs.  Stir until eggs are cooked.  Add the chicken and remaining ingredients.  Add the rice and heat through and serve.  Makes 6 servings.

The hot sauce adds a nice kick to the dish and the soy sauce and ginger mix together really well.  I would have served this egg rolls or crab ragoon if I had time to make them or had them in the freezer.  All together this is a great dish that covers everything you need in a meal.  ENJOY!!

Margarita Chicken Fajitas

Luke's favorite dish from Carlos O'Kelleys is the margarita chicken fajitas.  He orders this almost everytime we go there.  I decided to make my own version of this using ingredients I had at home.  I'm going to try my best to give measurements for those who may want to recreate this, but once again, I just made it up! :)  I had leftover chicken in the fridge from a roasted chicken I did a few days before.  I thought this was a good way to use it up.
2 green bell peppers, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2-3 chicken breasts, cut into strips, cooked
Margarita mix
salt and pepper to taste

Saute peppers and onions in a little bit of oil until tender.  Add the beans and margarita mix.  Use your own judgement depending on how much flavor you want.  (I used SkinnyGirl Margarita's because it was in the fridge.)  Add the cooked chicken and salt & pepper.  Heat through.  Roll in tortillas, top with shredded cheese, lettuce and sour cream.

These were delicious and super easy.  It's good when you're in the mood for Mexican food and don't feel like going out.  Obviously, this is going to be healthier than eating out too.  Hope you enjoy it!