Simple Yet Gourmet

This wonderful salad recipe was made at my brother's wedding reception a while ago and I fell in love with it. I call it Mom's Salad because Eric's mother-in-law made it, then my mom got a hold of the recipe and she made it all the time! My son Tyler will eat 4-5 servings of the salad when I make it, which makes another mother happy. If you want to keep leftovers, pour the dressing on each individual salads. If you are serving a group, pour the dressing on just before serving, toss and enjoy this amazing salad.

Tis the season for pumpkins! I'm starting to see them at the grocery store, on my neighbors' porches, and have put up a few around my own home as well. But even more than looking at pumpkins, I love eating them in pumpkin bread! This bread will not only please your palate, your home will be filled with a wonderful fragrance, perfect for Fall ! Thanks to the pumpkin puree and vanilla yogurt, this bread is so moist and when topped with chopped pecans is a sweet bread classic. Eat it plain or try a slice topped with cream cheese. Either way it is sure to satisfy!

As you can tell from the lack of postings this week, things around here can get pretty busy. This recipe is one of my favorites for those long days with not much time for dinner prep! This meal cooks the veggies and chicken altogether in a nice parchment package. I like to serve rice and fresh fruit with this dish to make it a well balanced meal for my family. With this recipe you are the chef! You can use whatever veggies your family enjoys and season the chicken with different spices you have in your cupboard!

As the summer comes to an end I leave you with one of my favorite summer treats. I have had this recipe for over 10 years and love it. It uses fresh tomatoes, peppers, cilantro and banana peppers. My kids love to eat this as an after school snack, with chips or cheese quesidillas . It makes me happy to see my kids eat fresh veggies out of the garden and enjoy it! Give it a try, you may never go back to the jar again.

These are one of my favorite "sandwiches" for lunch! It's a nice twist to the normal boring, sandwich! If you are looking for a healthy, yet tasty lunch give these a try. This is the recipe I use the cilantro mayo with!

One of my favorite cookbooks is The South Beach Diet. This recipe comes from the snack section of the book. If you ever want to spice up your sandwiches, this is a great way to do it. I made this for a teacher luncheon and is was a hit! I will be posting Turkey Roll Ups next which goes very well with this mayo!

The perfect breakfast recipe for these chilly fall days, Baked Blueberry Pecan French Toast will fill your stomach and please your palate. Since you can make them the night before, baking them in the morning is a cinch. So here's how it comes together: french bread is soaked in an egg, milk, and brown sugar mixture overnight. In the morning, you top it with toasted pecans and blueberries, then drizzle a delicious caramelly mixture over the top. Pop it in the oven and you're good to go!

Lately I have been trying out several new breakfast recipes and have come across some real winners. This scone recipe is my favorite! Ok, ok, so they look like muffins but trust me, they are scones. I was having a little trouble getting the scones to stick together and look pretty when my 2 year old held up a muffin tin and said, "How 'bout this one?" I looked at the mess I was making then at the muffin tin and said, "Brynlee, you are a genious!" It simplified the process and of course didn't diminish the taste one bit. The blueberry orange flavor combined with the tender flakiness of the scone will keep you going back for more!

I love to bake, so breakfast is one of my favorite meals to cook for. Like I mentioned before I have a ton of zucchini so I am posting once again another zucchini recipe. Mike was out of town so the kids and I ate light. We made eggs mixed with a bunch of sauted veggies and these yummy muffins. I added a couple of things, like pecans to the muffin mix as well and sprinkled them on top. The I did milk chocolate chips instead of semi sweet. They have good things for the kids as well as a little sweet to make them tasty! Hope you enjoy them!

During the summer I love to use the fresh fruit and veggies. August is peach season so my family eats them self sick with good fresh peaches. I love peaches in anything, especially dessert. I found this recipe on Pioneer Woman a while back and finally had a chance to try it. This recipe is one I will be adding to my cookbook here at home! I topped mine with ice cream instead of the cream due to lack of time, but I know the cream would have added even more pleasure to the taste buds!

Tis the season for zucchini, and a lot of it! I finally found a recipe that I feel is worthy to pass along. This bread is extremely moist and full of flavor. I love mini chocolate chips with zucchini bread, so I added some to the recipe, which made the bread to die for. If you have extra zucchini I highly recommend you give this a try!