My favorite spinach salad

I am trying to have a picture with each post to entice you to try the recipes but I don't have a picture of my favorite salad so I thought this image would show you how I feel about this salad!

My favorite spinach salad

-Heather Koelliker

1/2 bag of spinach
1/2 bag of romaine lettuce
(if you don't purchase bags of lettuce just use the same amounts of romaine and spinach)

1/2 cup swiss cheese
1/4 cup cottage cheese
Bacon (a couple handfuls of cooked, crispy bacon)
Red onion (I use 1/4 to 1/2 of an onion sliced up, depending on how much you like red onion)

Dressing:
1/3 cup oil (I like canola)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
4 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon mustard
1/2 tsp. salt

Toss right before serving

***Note: This dressing makes a lot and I usually only use about 1/3 of it for the salad and save the rest.

Picnic perfect pasta salad

Picnic perfect pasta salad

16-24 oz multicolored spiral noodles
2 bell peppers (yellow, orange or red)
1 tomato (remove the fleshy/seedy part of the tomato before chopping)
1 can artichoke hearts in water
1 can olives
pepperoni

Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Bottle of Italian Salad Dressing (we really like Newman's own brand- but don't use the light version)

Boil noodles according to package directions (Make sure you time this appropriately, because you don't want to over cook the noodles. I usually fun them under cold water in the strainer to stop the cooking)
Dice all the ingredients into small pieces.
Toss it all together with the Parmesan cheese and dressing to taste.

Courtesy of Lindsay Bullock

Tomato Cheese Fondue

Tomato Cheese Fondue

1 Lipton onion soup mix
2 cups tomato juice
4 Tablespoons lemon
1 lb. American cheese, shredded

Put first 3 ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer 10 mins. Slowly add cheese on low heat. (Can curdle easily if heat is too high) Heat until sauce is creamy throughout.

Courtesy of Karen Baxter

Classic Fondue Recipe

Classic Fondue Recipe

8 oz fontina or fontinella cheese
8 oz specialty provolone cheese
8-10 oz mozzarella cheese
2 Tablespoons corn starch
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon shallot, minced
1 can vegetable broth
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Shred cheeses into medium bowl and add corn starch and blend well to coat cheese. Warm fondue pot to 300-350 and heat oil. Add garlic and shallots and cook 20 sec. Pour broth into pot and bring to a boil. Add cheese slowly into pot one handful at a time allowing cheese to melt before adding more. Use wooden spoon to stir.


Courtesy of Erin Orton

Onion Mushroom Fajitas

Onion Mushroom Fajitas

1-1 1/2 lbs chicken strips (I use chicken breasts and slice them into strips

2 cups sliced bell pepper or 8-10 oz frozen pepper blend

1 cup sliced onion (optional)

1 packet onion mushroom soup mix

3/4 cup water

Tortillas, sour cream, salsa, cheese, and guacamole

Cook chicken and add bell peppers and stir. Fry bell peppers until cooked but still crunchy. In a small bowl combine onion mushroom soup mix and water, pour over chicken and bell peppers and bring to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes. Serve in tortillas with cheese and any other desired fix-ins. Enjoy!

Courtesy of Erin Orton

Grilled Vegetable Salad

Grilling the vegetables before you put them in the salad brings out a sweetness and flavor that you don't get from raw vegetables. You can grill them on the barbeque outside, but I prefer to use the "Coleman Lean, Mean, Fat Grilling Machine." I cover the vegetables with olive oil, kosher salt and fresh, coarsely ground pepper, and grill away. My favorite vegetables for this salad are asparagus, red onion, sweet peppers, zucchinni and yellow squash. Add these cooled, chopped vegetables to a bowl of salad greens and you have a hit salad.And don't forget a fresh, low-fat dressing:

Lemon Salad Dressing:

1/2 cup lemon juice (for best results, go freshly squozen)

2 cloves garlic

1 Tablespoon fresh oregano

1 cup olive oilkosher salt

freshly ground pepper

Combine all ingredients--emulsify or blend in blender.

This salad was the perfect accompaniment to fresh sweet corn on the cob, a medley of yellow, orange and red tomatoes and basil in olive oil and kosher salt, Roast Provencial Chicken, and for dessert, zucchini chocolate cake with powdered sugar glaze

Courtesy of Megan McQuivey

Tex Mex Salad

Tex Mex Salad
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Recipe By: Pam Elder (Heather Brown's mom)
Ingredients:
1 cup Newman's Own Olive Oil/Vinegar Dressing
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
4 ounces can green chiles, chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons salt
3 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups cooked rice, white or brown
2 cans whole corn, drained
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
2 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped
Directions:
Mix all of the ingredients together, except the tomatoes. Cover and refrigerate up to one day. Add tomatoes and mix when serving. Serve on bed of lettuce.

Courtesy of Heather Brown