January 25: Sarah's Salad

This is a long time loved salad from the Lion House cookbook. I think you will really like it.

1 head iceberg lettuce, washed and torn into bite size pieces
5 strips bacon (fried and crumbled)
5 oz frozen peas, thawed
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 1/2 oz Swiss cheese sliced, cut into strips
2/3 c chopped green onion
1/4 c Mayo
1/4 c Miracle Whip

Put chopped lettuce in large salad bowl. Put peas, green onion and cheese on top. In a small bowl combine the Miracle Whip and Mayo. Add the salt, pepper and sugar and stir until well mixed. Layer the mayo mixture on top of peas layer.Sprinkle with bacon. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. Just before serving mix it all up. Serve. 

January 24: Wilted Greens with Bacon Dressing

While going to the U of U, I loved to go to Marie Calendar's for their wilted lettuce salad with hot bacon dressing. This recipe is so much like I had at MC. You have to try this salad!

4 hearts romaine, chopped
4 slices bacon
2 TB sugar
1/4 c vinegar
salt and pepper

Place romaine in a serving bowl. In a skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crispy. Remove bacon and crumble over greens. To the pan, add sugar and vinegar, and simmer until sugar is dissolved, scraping up bacon bits that cling to the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour hot dressing over greens and toss. Serve immediately. 

January 23: Berry Green Salad

Here is another great salad.

2 c mixed salad greens
1/4 c crumbled feta cheese
2 TB candied or toasted walnuts
4 strawberries, sliced
1/4 c blueberries
Raspberry vinaigrette dressing

January 22: Pear and Feta Cheese Salad

Here is another great salad for you to try. 

6 to 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce

2-3 pears, chopped

1 c dried cranberries

1 c chopped pecans or walnuts

8 slices bacon, crisp-cooked an crumbled

4 to 6 oz feta cheese, or blue cheese, or Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

Poppy seed dressing, homemade or commercially prepared
Balsamic Vinaigrette, like Newman's Own Light Balsamic

In a large salad bowl, combine lettuce, pears, cranberries, pecans, bacon and cheese. Drizzle generously with poppy seed dressing and then with balsamic vinaigrette. Use about a   70/30 ratio with the dressing. Toss all ingredients together. 

January 21: Apple Crasin Green Salad/Poppy Seed Dressing

For the next several days I will be posting some of my favorite green salads. In the winter I start missing the freshness of summer salads. My good friend, Barbara, gave me this recipe. 

Salad ingredients: 
Toss together.

1 head romaine lettuce

1 head red leaf lettuce, or 2 heads romaine , broken into bite size pieces

1 can mandarin oranges, drained

1 c toasted sugared pecans*

½ c crasins

2 Gala apples, cubed

crumbled bacon, opt.

Poppy Seed Dressing:

¾ c sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

2 TB onion

¾ c oil

1 TB poppy seeds

Blend first 4 ingredients in blender.  Blend in oil, very slowly. Add poppy seeds. 

*To sugar nuts, combine nuts in skillet with sugar and cook over medium heat until coated.

January 20: Sweet Corn Cake

Sweet corn cake is a family favorite. Several years ago I found this recipe and it is very similar to what we eat at Chevy's.   

Recipe 1:
½ c butter, softened 

1/3 c Masa Harine 

¼ c water 

1 ½ c frozen corn, thawed 

¼ c corn meal
1/3 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 TB cream, or milk
1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 375. Blend the butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the masa harine and water to the butter and beat until well combined. Put the frozen corn into a blender and coarsely chop the corn on low speed. You want to leave several whole kernels of corn. Stir the chopped corn into the butter and masa harine mixture. Add the cornmeal to the mixture. Combine. In another medium bowl, mix together the sugar, cream, salt, and baking powder. When the ingredients are well blended, pour the mixture into the other bowl and stir everything together by hand. Pour the corn batter into an ungreased 8x8 pan. Smooth the surface of the batter with a spatula. Cover the pan with foil. Place this pan in a 13x9 pan filled 1/3 of the way with hot water. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the corn cake is cooked through. When the corn cake is done, remove the small pan from the larger pan and let it sit for at least 10 minutes. To serve, scoop out each portion with an ice cream scoop or rounded spoon.

January 19: Chicken Enchiladas

I know this recipe is popular and everyone probably already has it, but the way Antonia, my sister-in-law, makes it is the best I'd ever tasted.  The different? she loads it with chicken, she limits her sauce so that it is not swimming in sauce and she sautes the onion. 

Flour tortilla shells

Lots of cooked, cubed cooked chicken breast

1- 4 oz can chopped green chilies

½ c sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

Cheddar cheese/Monterey Jack cheese

1 onion, chopped finely, sautéed

Mix soup, chilies and sour cream together. Set aside. Fill tortilla shells with lots of chicken and a little cheese and onion. Roll up, place in baking dish. Pour the soup mixture over the enchiladas. Top with Cheese. Bake at 350 until heated through and bubbly.