Couscous Salad

Birthday and Mother's Day were all wrapped up into one for me this year. Donuts for breakfast. Kisses, love and lots of birthday wishes from Aubrey.

Flowers (and some honey-do's checked off the list from Wayne).

A picture from Tyler.

And we cooked for Ted and Sue in the evening for Mother's Day. Middle Eastern steak and chicken kabobs with peppers and onions (using this recipe to marinate it all...overnight), roasted green beans and strawberry cream cheese pie for dessert.

And, a favorite Couscous Salad. This is a tried and true favorite. In fact, I made it again last night as a side with our cookout foods.

Couscous with Marinated Artichoke Hearts

1 3/4 cups couscous
2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups coarsely chopped marinated artichoke hearts
1/2 cup minced green onions
1/2 cup minced fresh Italian parsley
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill (1 t dried)
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts *
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

1. Place couscous in large bowl; cover with 2 cups boiling water. Stir; let stand 10 minutes or until water is absorbed. Stir in oil, salt and pepper.

2. Stir in artichoke hearts, green onions, parsley, dill, lemon juice and garlic. Transfer to serving bowl. Cover. Let stand at least 30 minutes. (Salad can be made to this point up to 4 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving). Just before serving, sprinkle with walnuts and cheese.

* To toast walnuts, spread on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.

16 (1/2 cup) servings 

Italian Salad Dressing

So, this weekend, I wanted to make a salad to go with pizza. I decided to try a new recipe for the dressing. And, it's not an exaggeration to say that I found my new favorite salad dressing. It makes a big batch and I seem to be finding excuses to have salad...and seconds and thirds...just so I can enjoy the dressing. I know. Seriously.

When I first made it with salad, I topped some spring mix with tomatoes, banana peppers, homemade Parmesan Croutons, salami, mozzarella, red light peppers, and onion. The picture is of my second helping at lunch today - plain spinach this time. Still delicious. So, if you make this, let me know what you think. I think you'll love it too!

Italian Salad Dressing

Adapted from Food.com, Maggiano's Little Italy Chop Salad

1 1/2 tsp dry mustard

2 T sugar

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 tsp garlic, finely minced

2 T red wine vinegar

1/4 cup white vinegar

Salt, to taste (I added about 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt)

3/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup virgin olive oil (I used extra virgin olive oil)

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp black pepper 

1/4 tsp oregano

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Combine in a food processor or blender. Store in a sealed container. May store in the refrigerator.

    

Raspberry Salad

My sister-in-law, Rachel, made this salad for us when we visited this summer. I loved it so much that think I may have had thirds. She got the recipe from a cookbook we both have, and it just so happened to come from my mother-in-law, Sue. Rachel substituted strawberries for raspberries and did not use raspberry vinegar.

When I came home, I couldn't find raspberry vinegar either, so I made it with balsamic vinegar and I really liked it. However, when I raved to Sue about her recipe, she highly recommended making it with the raspberry vinegar. After she explained how easy it is to make, I decided to give it a try.

I took a 12-oz Ball jar and filled it halfway with frozen raspberries. Then, filled it up with white wine vinegar. I stuck it in the refrigerator for a few weeks. I would guess you could just store it in a cool dark place as well.

Today, I enjoyed this salad for lunch. I have to agree with Sue. The raspberry vinegar adds delicious flavor and pretty color. Yum!

Raspberry Salad

Dressing:

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 T sugar

2 T raspberry vinegar

1 T sour cream

1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

Salad:

3/4 lb fresh spinach, rinsed well and drained

1 c fresh raspberries

3/4 cup whole toasted pecans

2 lg kiwi, peeled and sliced

Whisk together dressing ingredients. Refrigerate, covered, for at least an hour. Mix salad ingredients together and drizzle with dressing. Makes 4-6 servings.

(I used the fruit I had on hand - strawberries and frozen blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries).

Red Potato Salad With Bacon

In general, I'm not a fan of potato salad. This one, however, I really like. It's simple, isn't so creamy, and it has bacon. Which, of course, is always a good thing. :) We're enjoying this tonight with brats and a coleslaw. Mmmm, I love summer food!

Red Potato Salad With Bacon
- Paula Deen
4-6 servings

6 cups cubed red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled
2 ounces bacon (2-3 strips)
1 cup chopped bell pepper (any color or a combination)
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/4 cup sliced scallions (about 2) *
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
Freshly ground pepper

*I have been substituting chives only because they are growing like crazy in my garden right now and they go well with potatoes.

Put the potatoes in a large pot; add water to cover and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and cook until tender, 8-10 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon, drain, and finely chop. (Instead, I microwave bacon between layers of paper towels, which is quick and eliminates the splatters on my stove top).

In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, bacon, bell pepper, onion and scallions (or chives).

In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, mayonnaise, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour over the potato mixture, tossing gently to coat. Cover and refrigerate, or serve at room temperature. (Room temperature is my favorite).

Enjoy!

Broccoli Salad

This is the salad I took camping this weekend. If you take it camping, wait to add the dressing until you're ready to serve.

Broccoli Salad

A couple bunches of broccoli (or add cauliflower as well)
1/2 a red onion, minced
cheddar or mozzarella cheese, shredded
Parmesan cheese
bacon
raisins

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

The first time I made this recipe, which I believe I got from Lorraine Yoder, I was confused at how much of the ingredients to add. Just put in what looks good to you. Lorraine also added sunflower seeds and red bell pepper.

Antipasto Pasta Salad

Sue made this pasta salad and brought some to share last weekend. I made it for the camping trip and we enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend it. It makes a lot, so you'd probably want to halve the recipe unless you have a large group.


Antipasto Pasta Salad - America's Test Kitchen

Can add: 1 cup chopped, pitted kalamata olives or 1 cup jarred artichokes, drained and quartered. Use any curly-shaped pasta for this recipe. Serves 6 to 8 (We think it serves more like 12-14).

8 ounces sliced pepperoni , cut into 1/4-inch strips
8 ounces soppressata or salami, halved and cut into 1/4-inch strips
10 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 jar pepperoncini (12-ounce), drained, (2 tablespoons juice reserved), stemmed, and chopped coarse
4 garlic cloves , minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
1 pound fusilli or campanelle
1 pound white mushrooms , quartered
1 cup shredded provolone cheese , aged
12 ounces roasted red peppers , drained, patted dry, and chopped coarse
1 cup chopped fresh basil

1. Place one paper towel on microwave-safe plate. Arrange pepperoni in single layer on paper towel. Cover with another paper towel and layer sopresatta on towel. Top with another paper towel and microwave on highest power until meat begins to render fat, about 1 minute. Set meat aside.

2. Whisk 5 tablespoons vinegar, olive oil, mayonnaise, pepperoncini juice, garlic, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in medium bowl.

3. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta and cook until al dente. Drain pasta, return to pot, and toss with 1/2 cup dressing and remaining vinegar. Adjust seasonings, spread dressed pasta on rimmed baking sheet, and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, bring remaining dressing to simmer in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook until they release their juices and are lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer to large bowl and cool.

5. Add meat, provolone, roasted red peppers, chopped pepperoncini, basil, and cooled pasta to mushrooms and toss well. Season with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature. Salad can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

WALL-E and Dinner

Yesterday afternoon, Ted and Sue came down to Wichita. We all went to see WALL-E. It was cute and we all enjoyed it.

Afterwards, we came back for dinner. I had been wanting to try a recipe I found on a link from a blog for Salmon Pesto Pasta. We all liked it and it tasted very summery with the pesto. I'll probably try adding more sauce the next time I make it. I made my go-to salad and also tried a new dessert, Blueberry-Peach Galettes. I like to have my guests be my test subjects. Yikes! But, everything was very good and I will definitely make them again!

This is an adapted recipe from Teneesa Stuckey originally for Mandarin Orange Salad. If you want the original, let me know!

My Favorite Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil (or other salad oil)
scant 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 T sugar
1 t parsley flakes (or mint, basil, etc)
1 t salt
1/4 t (or so) black pepper
1/2 t (or so) Grey Poupon mustard (optional)

Sugared Walnuts (or Almonds)
Melt 1 T butter. Add 1/2 cup nuts. Stir often until lightly browned. Add 2 T sugar. Stir until it is melted and nuts are golden brown. Allow to cool. Break apart.

Add ingredients of your choice to around 1 head of romaine lettuce or a bag of salad. 1 batch of dressing is enough for about 1 1/2-2 salads.

On Sunday, we served blue cheese, sugared walnuts and Craisins on our salad.
My friend, Michelle, started me on using feta cheese with sugared nuts and Craisins - which is quite delicious!
If we're doing Italian, I like to add chopped hard salami, red onion, pepperoncini, and cubed mozzarella.
The original recipe calls for bacon, avocado, mandarin oranges, red onion, and toasted almonds.


Blueberry-Peach Galettes
(From Jen LeFevre in Edible, a cookbook by the Hesston Women's Civic Club).
I am providing half the amounts of the original recipe. I halved it on Sunday and for the 5 of us, there was still a little leftover.

1/2 (15 oz) pkg. refrigerated pie dough. (I made a 1-crust pie dough recipe instead of buying it)
3 c. fresh or frozen, peeled and sliced peaches, thawed (I used fresh)
1/2 c. fresh, frozen, or dried blueberries (I used fresh)
2 T sugar
1 T apricot preserves, melted and divided
1 T sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll pie dough into a 12" circle; place on parchment paper. Combine peaches, blueberries and 2 T sugar. Arrange on pie crust, leaving a 3" border. Fold edges of dough toward center, pressing gently to seal (dough will only partially cover peach mixture). Brush apricot preserves over peach mixture and edges of dough. Sprinkle with 1 T sugar. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees (do not remove galette from oven) and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve warm or at room temperature. Cut galette into 8 wedges. Serve with a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Yum!

Spring is in the air!

Here are some pictures from the yard tonight. We've been getting a lot of rain, and I enjoy trekking out to find out which plants are starting to bloom.

The first roses of the season.

Chives (Tyler enjoys getting oniony breath from chewing on these).

I didn't plant these, but I like how bright and cheery they are.

Azaleas that I planted a couple of seasons ago.


Tonight I cooked my very first bird... a 5 pound chicken. I know, not big, but why waste a lot of money on something I could very well have ruined - Luckily, it was very good. After all these years of being afraid to try it, I am pleasantly surprised at how simple it was. We had roast chicken with fennel, carrots, and potatoes. Michelle gave me some fresh tarragon which was a nice addition. We also had strawberry spinach salad, homemade bread with strawberry jam, meadow tea, and pecan pie bars with butter pecan ice cream for dessert. It was yummy.



We had planned on the Pankratz's for dinner - but both Wayne and Leo were sick today, so that didn't work out. I am still fighting a cold I've had for nearly 3 weeks.
It makes me wonder, will we ever all be well again?
I hope so!

Gyros and CousCous with Marinated Artichoke Hearts

Thursday and Friday of this week was our staff training in the Nonviolent Crisis Intervention program. I was one of 6 trainers, and for all but one of us, it was the first training we had performed. I had fun doing it, but it was also very tiring. We trained nearly 60 staff members. Having such a large group makes it harder to make sure everyone "gets it" and I think it changes the comfort level for everyone. I'm happy that from here on out, we'll have smaller trainings with only me and the school psychologist.


Tyler had another cold this week, but by the end of the week was feeling better. On Thursday, he and Wayne met up with Michelle, Patty and their children at the zoo.

Here's Tyler with Julian and Abe.

Here is Tyler with Leo

On Saturday morning, Tyler woke up and was saying so many funny little things, but I couldn't them remember except for one. I was asking him whether he needed to potty before we got going with his morning routine.
"I didn't like to poop when I was a little boy." Why?
"I don't know... I do know." Why didn't you like to poop?
"I can't tell you. It's not a good idea."

Here he is, being is usual silly self.

Today is Wayne's 32nd birthday. Last evening we celebrated with friends, Matt and Michelle over a Greek/Mediterranean meal. We all ate too much then enjoyed a game of Trivial Pursuit followed by watching the KU, K-State game. Man we're so crazy.

We tried making Gyro sandwiches with Tzatziki sauce for the first time. We also had one of Wayne's favorite salads, CousCous with Marinated Artichoke Hearts. Michelle brought Hummus and flat bread. Our dessert was Mini Strawberry Napoleans. (Using the recipe from the Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry box). Yum. Here are some recipes. If you like Gyros, give this recipe a try. They're so easy and yummy. I accidentally doubled the amount of meat in the gyro but not the spices. I guess that was because most of the recipes I checked out called for 2 pounds of meat and perhaps had something to do with the fact that the recipe was printed in something like size 6 font. It was still very good, but I'm excited to try it the right way next time. I halved the Tzatziki and CousCous recipes because they make such a big batch.

Gyro Meat

2 lb ground lamb meat (I used 1/2 ground chuck and 1/2 buffalo meat).
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1. Combine ingredients and shape into 1/2 inch-thick patties.
(For better texture, mix in food processor or stand mixer with paddle attachment).

2. Broil for 8-10 minutes or until no longer pink.
I turned them halfway through cooking.

3. Remove from oven and let rest at least 5 minutes. Slice thinly.

Serve with pita bread/flat bread, sliced tomatoes, thinly sliced onions, crumbled feta cheese and cucumber yogurt sauce (tzatziki). Low carb option - Serve over lettuce instead of on bread.

I made the meat ahead of time and just reheated in the microwave with a little water in the bowl right before serving.

Tzatziki Sauce
1 c Greek yogurt
1/2 cucumber, peeled, grated, salted lightly for 5 minutes and squeezed between hands to remove excess moisture.
1 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 T (1 1/2 t) red wine vinegar
1/2 T minced fresh dill or 1/2 teaspoon dried (optional)
Salt, to taste

1. Mix everything together.
2. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours before eating.


CousCous with Marinated Artichoke Hearts
1 3/4 cups couscous
2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups coarsely chopped marinated artichoke hearts
1/2 cup minced green onions
1/2 cup minced fresh Italian parsley
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill (1 t dried)
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts *
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

1. Place couscous in large bowl; cover with 2 cups boiling water. Stir; let stand 10 minutes or until water is absorbed. Stir in oil, salt and pepper.

2. Stir in artichoke hearts, green onions, parsley, dill, lemon juice and garlic. Transfer to serving bowl. Cover. Let stand at least 30 minutes. (Salad can be made to this point up to 4 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving). Just before serving, sprinkle with walnuts and cheese.

* To toast walnuts, spread on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.

16 (1/2 cup) servings