The PERFECT Salad

I love salads. Almost any kind, but most especially green, leafy salads. It is hard to find something unique in a green salad, but recently I did! Try this one for some fresh, zesty goodness. You won't be disappointed!

Servings

4

Ingredients

• Mixed greens
• Chopped romaine lettuce
• Blue Cheese
• Craisins
• Candied pecans (directions below)
• Cooked, crispy, chopped bacon
• tomatoes diced
• avocado diced
• balsamic vinegarette (recipe below)

Directions

1. Candied Pecans: Chop 2 cups of pecan, Melt 1/2 cup of butter, Add pecans to butter, Add 1 cup of sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. of salt to pecans, Melt sugar until mixture has a carmel color, Spread coated pecans onto a greased cookie sheet, Sprinkle with sugar, Leave until cooled and then crack into small pieces.
2. Balsamic Vinegarette: Mix these items well with a blender--1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, 2/3 cup white (or regular) balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup of sour cream or mayo, 1 clove crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon ground mustard, 1 pinch salt, ground black pepper to taste (If it is too tangy for you add a bit of brown sugar or honey)
3. Salad: Layer salad with items listed above, lettuces on the bottom. DO NOT toss the salad, simply layer it. Serve with Balsamic vinegarette.

Footnotes

• Would go well with grilled chicken and homemade bread to make it a meal or as a side to a meaty meal.

Tangy Chicken Marinade

For 4-6 Chicken Breasts:

1/4 cup honey
1 TBSP Djion Mustard
2 tsp. Red Wine Vinegar
Rosemary (1-2 sprigs ((chopped)), fresh/1-2 tsp. dried)
Thyme (1 sprig/1/2-1 tsp. dried)


Preheat Oven to 350. Pour 2 TBSP olive oil and 1 TBSP White Wine Vinegar in the bottom of baking dish.  Lay chicken breasts in baking dish. Salt and pepper them (I substituted lemon pepper for ground pepper for more flavor). Brush them with marinade and pour any remaining over the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear. Be careful not to overcook or the chicken will be dry (not speaking from experience of course. ):)

Lemon Chicken Noodle Soup

My fabulous second mother, Mama Schwartz makes this absolutely delicious soup. It's the age-old Chicken Noodle Soup, but with a citrus twist. This recipe serves lots of people, so it's great for a crowd!

 12 cup. chicken broth
1/2 cup. lemon juice
1/4 cup butter
1 pint whipping cream (half and half will do)
8 oz. egg noodles
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup cold water
2 cups chicken, cooked with poultry spices
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup carrots, sliced
1 cup celery, sliced

In a small sauce pan, combine 1 cup chicken broth, lemon juice and butter. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until mixture has reduced to 1/2 cup (about 45 minutes). Take off heat, stir in cream and set aside.

While mixture is reducing, cook chicken with spices and chop the vegetables. In large pot, heat the remaining 11 cups of chicken broth to boil, then add noodles and vegetables. Cook 13-15 minutes. Blend flour and water together, whisk into soup. Bring to a boil once again. Reduce heat to low. Add cream mixture, chicken, spices, salt and pepper to taste. Heat through, but do not boil, and serve.

Note: I think it might work to just cook the chicken and onions together in the large pot, then add the broth, vegetables and simmer, add the noodles at the end and cook until tender.

Personal Alterations: I added Rosemary and Thyme to the cream sauce. I also added asparagus to the soup. 

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Our aunt Janette gave us this recipe and we love it! When this recipe means whole wheat, they are talking about the WHOLE wheat kernel and these pancakes are so yummy!

Blend the following for 4-5 minutes in a blender:
1 cup milk
1 cup whole wheat unground

Add:
2 eggs
2 tbs. vegetable oil
2 tbs. baking powder
2 tbs. honey
1/2 tsp. salt

Cook. If desired add apple slices to the pancakes before you flip them. They add a delicious flavor.