Spinach Salad and Salad Spinners

I love salads. They are one of my favorite foods. This salad is one of my very favorites. Something I have learned about in the last couple of years is salad dressing. It can really make a salad. I rarely buy salad dressing anymore. I usually make it because it is so much better! I might post some of my favorite salad dressings some time.

Spinach Salad
Spinach
Lettuce (I use green or red leaf)
Swiss cheese (grated)
Bacon (fried and crumbled)
Mushrooms (sliced)
Feta cheese (crumbled)
Grape tomatoes

Dressing:
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. salad oil
1/2 red onion (sliced or chopped)
1 tsp. dry mustard
3/4 c. white vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. poppy seeds

Mix dressing, add onion and refrigerate. I love to use my immersion blender to mix salad dressings. Mix the salad part together and serve.

We had this last night as the whole meal.

A note on salad spinners: If you like salad and don't have one of these, they are a must. I bought mine hoping it would not be another kitchen gadget that just takes up space. I have loved it and use it all the time! Mine is an OXO one.

Mini Meatloaves...

So today's a double recipe! For the past few weeks I've been busy with life and I haven't put too much into cooking. I've been trying to keep it simple and quick. Trying to mix things up a bit, I came across a recipe from my Kraft Foods Magazine. Ryan's not too fond of meatloaf, so I was hesitant. However, needing something easy I thought it was worth a try. Now it's not a gormet recipe by any means, but it's really good considering the little effort put into it. I like the fact that it's portioned out. I also love that each one has the crispy curst, which is the best part of the meatloaf if you ask me. To pair it up with a veggie, we served roasted sweet potatoes - my favorite! Quick & easy meal with great reviews, even from Ryan!

Marvelous Mini Meatloaves
(Kraft Foods)

1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1 pkg Stove Top Stuffing Mix
1 cup water
1 tsp garlic powder
¾ cup BBQ Sauce
¾ cup cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375˚. Mix meat, stuffing mix, 1 cup water and garlic powder until well blended. Press into 12 muffin cups, sprayed with cooking spray; make an indentation in the center of each with spoon.

Spoon BBQ Sauce into center of each meatloaf.

Bake 30 minutes or until meatloaves are cooked through. Top with cheese; continue baking 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

For Italian version: substitute the following:
garlic powder - Italian seasoning
BBQ sauce - Spaghetti Sauce
Cheddar - mozzarella

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Not really a recipe, but this is how I prepare...

Sweet potatoes, cut into bit-sized chunks

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Sugar

Cinnamon

Put sweet potatoes on cooking sheet. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle salt, pepper, sugar and cinnamon. Roll potatoes around to coat evenly.

I bake it a various oven temps depending on what I'm cooking with it. Typically its 350 for 45-50 minutes.

Breakfast Cookies

* 1/2 cup applesauce

* 1 cup peanut butter

* 1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar

* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

* 2 eggs

* 1/3 cup water

* 2 cups whole wheat flour

* 2 cups quick cooking oats

* 1/2 cup wheat germ

* 1 teaspoon salt

* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

* 2 teaspoons baking soda

* 1 cup raisins, craisins, or other mix-in

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together applesauce, peanut butter, brown sugar, and vanilla. Beat in eggs and water.

2. Mix together flour, oats, wheat germ, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Mix into peanut butter mixture. Stir in raisins. Drop by ice cream scoopfuls 2 1/2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets. Flatten slightly.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks. Store in an airtight container.

REVIEW: Cookies for breakfast? How could that be a bad thing? I've made these several times with variations so I'll let you know what I've learned. So, the original recipe calls for butter instead of applesauce. The applesauce makes these healthier and more moist. Also, I prefer to use creamy instead of crunchy peanut butter. I've made them with dark chocolate chips added in (as shown above) but I'll make sure I don't put in as many next time and add more craisins. My friend recommends adding in almond extract instead of the vanilla and omitting the cinnamon, but it's all a personal choice. Also, you could put in 1 cup all-purpose flour in place of 1 cup wheat flour if this version is too heavy for you. I double the recipe and put them in the freezer. Then I warm them up in the toaster, so make sure you remember to flatten them slightly before baking. These are great for breakfast in a hurry. Just make sure you have a drink to wash them down!

Oops!

I was so excited to finad a new template for our post. I put it on, not expecting to find everything in Italian. So I went to change it back and BAM - all of our contributor's names and other links were gone. Not sure exactly how to fix it. So, in the mean time, we are looking plain and simple. Hopefully soon we'll have them back.