Make Your Own Trail Mix

This week is Healthcare Appreciation Week at work and they like to be nice and give us snacks in the afternoon.  Today was make your own trail mix and lemonade.  Well, of course its Country Time... duh, we are in Texas and its hot... like 95 degrees already everyday.
The make your own trail mix was a great idea and to see us all lined up and it going so quick and easy made me think it would be great for a kids party, like maybe our Halloween party for the kids.  It would actually be something all the other parents would not be mad about their kids taking home. :) Those are the ideas I LOVE and anything that Bailey can help with is awesome to her so this would be great for both of us.
There were pretzels, some mms and mini reeses, goldfish, dried cranberries, granola, peanuts, dried apricots, raisins and pecans.  You could easily add chocolate chips or yougart chips, dried blueberries, apple and banana chips for even more options.
Its something the kids could scoop up on their own with some fun stuff, things we know they like and some healthly stuff all in one cup!

Happy Trails. :)
I think this might also be a nice beach snack... glad I found this idea so I can make sure to stock up before our trip.

Lately we have found a new favorite snack.  We have been making "candy bars" with granola bars and smearing Nutella on top.  Bailey loves it and doesn't know its not really chocolate.  Its so quick and its good for her too!

Momma's Salmon Patties

Had these last night for dinner. We love homemade salmon patties.  I can honestly say this is the ONLY thing that I fry when I cook.  Anything else fried, which is very little, is done by Brent.  I hate to fry stuff but love salmon patties and fried okra and squash. 

Salmon Patties

2 cans of pink salmon; drained and skin and bones removed
1 sleeve of crushed saltine crackers
2-3 eggs
1 tsp of salt
2 tsp season pepper
2 tsp of dill weed (depends on your liking)

Just enough oil to cover the bottom of the frying pan plus a little. You want the patties to just barely float off the bottom of the pan. 

Remove skin and bones from salmon; drain well.
In mixing bowl, combine with egg, crackers, salt and pepper.
Make patties about 2 inches in diameter; fry in oil until brown on both sides about 10 minutes. 
Watch for grease popping and splattering... this is one reason why I hate frying things!

Brent loves to add some of this pepper sauce on his!
Serve with traditional homemade macNcheese or even boxed and green peas.
My mom used to serve with rice pudding too.

SUPER Sloppy Joes

Super easy and so gooooood... and NOT from a can!  You can even sub ground turkey and its great.

SUPER Sloppy Joes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
• 1 1/4 pounds ground beef sirloin (or ground turkey)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 crusty rolls, split, toasted, and lightly buttered
• Garnish: sliced ripe tomatoes, pickles, Deviled Potato Salad, recipe follows

Directions

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and meat to the pan. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up. Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning. Add sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and combine. When the meat has browned, add onion and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with meat for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 5 minutes longer. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy meat onto toasted, buttered bun bottoms and cover with bun tops. Serve with your favorite sides or sliced tomatoes seasoned with salt and pepper, dill pickles and Deviled Potato Salad. Have plenty of napkins on hand!

 

 

Deviled Potato Salad:

5 all-purpose potatoes, peeled and diced

Coarse salt
1/4 onion
3 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
1/2 cup mayonnaise, eyeball the amount
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon hot cayenne pepper sauce (recommended: Tabasco or Frank's Red Hot)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish
Boil potatoes in water seasoned with coarse salt until they are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain cooked potatoes and return to the warm pot to dry them out. Let the potatoes stand 2 minutes, then spread potatoes out on to a cookie sheet to quick-cool them.
In the bottom of a medium mixing bowl, grate 1/4 onion using a hand grater. Add mustard and mayonnaise, paprika and cayenne pepper sauce to the grated onion and stir to combine. Add potatoes to the bowl and stir to evenly distribute dressing. Season potato salad with salt and pepper and taste to adjust your seasonings. Top servings of salad with chopped scallions.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/super-sloppy-joes-recipe/index.html

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/deviled-potato-salad-recipe/index.html

Casual salsa for a gourmet dinner

I found this in a Southern Living magazine years ago!  But a family fav for us. 

Its light and cool and great with everything from chips to steaks.   Make it up and let it set overnight for even better flavor.  Try it today!
I usually serve it as a dip or as a side with beef or pork, its so light that it works great with steaks, sausage or pork chops.

Hill Country Salsa

4 tomatoes, chopped
1 can corn, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 bell pepper, any color ( I like to use green or orange for color)
1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and diced ( I sometimes leave this out as fresh is a little spicy for kids)
1 medium white/yellow onion, diced OR
    1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2-3 limes juiced, (1/4 cup)
2 garlic cloves, diced
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
season pepper (my add in)
2 tbs olive oil

optional for us as some of our family are not fans:
1 avocado peeled and chopped

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/hill-country-salsa-10000000257425/

Tomato & Spinach Pasta Toss

This has been a fav in our house for over 3 years and Bailey loves it.  She will pick out the bigger chunks of spinach but if I cut it up some then she scoops it up with her noodles and its all fine.  This recipe is super easy and great tasting.
Enjoy!

Tomato & Spinach Pasta Toss

What You Need

2 cups rotini pasta, uncooked

1/2 lb. Italian sausage

1 pkg. (6 oz.) baby spinach leaves

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese with a TOUCH OF PHILADELPHIA

2 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

 

Make It

COOK pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, omitting salt.
MEANWHILE, cook sausage in deep large skillet on medium-high heat 10 to 12 min. or until done, stirring occasionally. Drain; return sausage to skillet. Add spinach and tomatoes; cook 2 min. or until spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally.
DRAIN pasta; return to pan. Add sausage mixture and cheeses; mix lightly.

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/tomato-spinach-pasta-toss-104507.aspx

Honey Roasted Chicken Legs

I seemed to think I can only grill chicken breasts for dinner... until recently.  I tried this new recipe I found on Food On The Table and Bailey and Brent LOVED them.  Amazingly these were super easy to get in the oven.  We served with some coleslaw and green beans.  A yummy dinner for us all.  I hate to admit this but Bailey is three and this was only the second time she has had chicken legs... :O  But I think she will have them more often now.
Enjoy!

Honey Roasted Chicken Legs

Servings:        4
Ready In:       50 minutes
Prep Time:     10 minutes
Cook Time:    40 minutes

Ingredients

• 8 (4.0 ounce) chicken legs
• 1 (teaspoon) paprika
• 1/2 (teaspoon) salt
• 2 (tablespoon) butter, melted
• 2 (tablespoon) honey
• 1/2 (cup) seasoned bread crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs, paprika and salt; set aside. In small bowl, mix butter and honey.
2. Dip chicken in honey mixture then roll in bread crumbs. Arrange chicken legs in a shallow oven-proof dish.
3. Cook uncovered for 35-40 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Serve.

http://www.foodonthetable.com/recipes/97454-honey-roasted-chicken-legs#hide