Asian Inspired Salad

I am one of those people that loves salad once I am eating it but I rarely go out and choose it. You know what I mean? We had dinner with some friends the other night and she made this awesome asian-esque salad to balance the ribs she made. The tang really cut the fat of the ribs in the perfect way. It was delicious!! So the next day I made my own version. 

Mmmmm, right? So pretty!

Asian Inspired Salad

Salad:

1/2 head Napa cabbage

1/4-1/2 head of red cabbage 

1 yellow pepper 

1 red bell pepper 

2 cups sugar snap peas

1 bunch cilantro

Dressing:

1 tbsp sugar

1 knuckle ginger

3 cloves garlic

1-3 tbsp soy sauce

1/2-1 cup sesame oil

1/2-1 cup rice wine vinegar

Chop all the salad ingredients into bite sized pieces and mix in a large bowl. For dressing put garlic and ginger in food processor and chop until fine. Add all other dressing ingredients and blend until combined. Pour dressing over salad greens and serve immediately. 

*this salad lasts in the fridge without the dressing on it for a couple days. Just throw a moistened paper towel over the top and store. 

*chopped up rotisserie chicken is awesome in this salad

*ingredients in dressing are to taste. I use more like a thumb sized piece of ginger because we love it so much.

Easy bread machine rolls

Our family really loves hot homemade rolls! I love that my bread machine does the dirty work while I go about other things. Win Win!! This recipe is faster than letting those freezer rolls thaw and much less expensive too and seriously there is nothing like butter on a hot roll! Its a feel good food regardless of the time of year but it is especially awesome on the cold fall and winter nights.

Easy bread machine rolls

1 cup warm milk

1/2 C of butter softened

1/4 C sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

4 1/2 C of flour

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

extra butter for brushing on the top of the hot rolls before serving (optional)

Add ingredients in the order list to your bread machine. Run on dough cycle. When dough is done, divide into 20-24 portions and shape into balls.

Place on a greased 9x13 pan. Cover and let rise for 15 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. lightly brush with butter over the tops of the rolls (optional)


Yield: 20-24 rolls

Cheesy sort of au-gratin potatoes

I have a hard time with side dishes. It has been my goal this year to really expand my side dish repertoire. It has been rough. I am finding that it is not easy to make dishes that please the whole family. At this point if I get 3 out of 4 people to like it I am pretty pleased. Then I made these cheesy yummy garlicky potatoes. They were a hit. I say sort of au gratin because they don't have onion and most au gratin recipes call for it. Onion is not a kid pleaser in my house. Which is nuts! Onion is awesome!! What can I say? They are little weirdos. 

To start this recipe out you need to really scrub your potatoes clean. Slightly dirty potatoes and you will get some grey spots in your sauce. Not appetizing! After you scrub the tar out of your potatoes you are ready to slice. I used a mandolin. I don't like using the safety guard on it and it freaks my husband out. I like living dangerously! But you shouldn't. Use the safety guard. Then stack those babies in your pan. We slivered up some garlic cloves and stuck them randomly in between potatoes. 

Next the roux to start the bechamel sauce. Roux's used to be very intimidating to me. But basically all it is is flour and butter. The goal is to cook the flour until you lose the raw flour taste. No big deal! Especially if you always use equal parts flour and butter. 

After milk is added. When you add the milk your roux can get a little lumpy. I have found that if you just whisk it like crazy it smooths itself right out. After it is smooth and has come to a slight boil you turn it off and add the cheese. I always use sharp because I feel like the creamy sauce needs the sharp cheddar to cut into the richness. 

Pour your beautiful bechamel sauce over your potatoes. Cover it all with aluminum foil and toss that bad boy in the oven. Half way through we take the foil off and let it get a little brown. 

MMMMMM! Yum. They are so good and the smell in the house was just lovely. I am pretty partial to potatoes though. They make me happy!

And the finished product. This picture leaves something to be desired, I know. But don't let that discourage you from trying them! Because these potatoes are awesome!

Cheesy Sort of Au Gratin Potatoes

2 1/2 pound potatoes, cut into thin slices

4 garlic cloves, cut into slivers

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup butter

3 cups milk- I used fat free with no issue

1 3/4 cups sharp cheddar

Preheat oven to 375. Generously grease 9x9 pan. Stack potatoes into pan. Stick garlic slivers in between potatoes randomly. In large sauce pan combine butter and flour. Cook over medium heat until bubbling. Continue to cook for 5 minutes, whisking almost constantly. Pour milk into sauce pan and whisk until smooth. Let sauce come to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, whisking constantly. Do not let sauce get too thick to pour. Remove from heat and add cheese. Whisk until smooth. Pour over potatoes. Cover casserole with aluminum foil and put in oven. Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and let bake another 30 minutes. Test potatoes for doneness. Pull out of oven if they are cooked to your liking and let rest for 5 minutes. Then Enjoy!

Bacon Ranch Potato Salad

YUMMY! This is a tried and true recipe for potato salad. You and yours will love it!

Bacon Ranch Potato Salad

1 pkg dry ranch dressing mix

2 C mayo

3/4 C green onion Sliced

1 lb bacon cooked and cut into bite size pieces (can use 12-16        slices of pre-cooked bacon)

5lbs red potatoes

	stir together the ranch dressing mix, mayonnaise and green onion. Cover, and refrigerate for about 2 hours to blend flavors Bring water to a boil. Add whole potatoes, and cook until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain, run under cold water to cool, and chop into 1 inch cubes and put in a large serving bowl. Stir the mayo mixture into the bowl of potatoes. Add the bacon and stir. Serve and Enjoy!

Baconated Green Beans

I have a pretty good handle on main dishes come dinner time. I can whip up a bunch of frozen chicken breasts with gusto. Give me some pork chops and I can wow you. That being said my side dish repertoire is a little lacking. I am working on it though!  Hence this recipe. Now I like to think that this is healthy but really it isn't. I use a lot of bacon in it. The amounts are just suggestions. You can reduce the amount of bacon. It is crazy good like this though!

Baconated Green Beans

24 oz fresh green beans prepared for cooking

12 oz bacon

1 med onion, diced 

Boil six quarts of water in medium pot. Throw in green beans and bring back to boil for 4-5 minutes. Take green beans out and immediately cool down in an ice bath. Cook and crumble bacon. Remove bacon from skillet and all but 1 tbsp bacon grease. Saute onion until translucent. Mix green beans, bacon and onion in serving dish. Enjoy! 

You want to cool the beans down immediately after they are cooked. That helps them keep that bright green color. I cheated a little too! I bought onion that was already chopped. It is a little more expensive but the time and effort it saves is worth it in my eyes. It makes getting dinner on the table that much easier.