{neatly} Chopped Salad with Homemade Fruit Vinaigrette Dressing

I don't know about you, but it seems like everywhere I turn these days I see salads.  Now, don't misunderstand me and think that I'm complaining because I'm not.  I love salads.  I could probably just live on salads I love them SO much.  But what's with this whole "chopped" salad thing as of late?  It seems so random, and messy...and gross...so here's my Neatly Chopped Salad version of the popular chopped salads and I am throwing in a new dressing I came up with and adore!  (both are customizable too which is fantastic!)  So, enjoy!  :)

(Oh, and for the irony of life...now that I have the new fancy camera I'd wanted for so long I can't seem to ever have it handy when I'm prepping food...I suppose I'm also still in the paranoid phase....(of fear or getting it messy) but this time I also didn't have my phone around to snap pics till the very end...so sorry for the lack of prep pics!)

Neatly Chopped Salad
This salad serves 4 as an entree salad or about 8 as a side salad.
2 c. Cabbage (red or green), finely chopped
2 c. Romaine Lettuce, finely chopped
1 c. Broccoli, finely chopped
1 Cucumber, finely diced
2 Carrots, shredded
1/2 c. Craisins
1/2 c. Walnuts, roughly chopped
2 T. sugar
Cooked Chicken, optional

Fruit Vinaigrette Dressing 
3 T.  Strawberry, Peach or Apricot Jam
1 T.  Water
3 T.  Apple Cider Vinegar
2 T.  Canola Oil

1.  Make your vinaigrette by whisking all the ingredients for it together and refrigerating until you are ready to serve the salad.  (At least 1 hour for it to chill.)
2. In a large bowl place cabbage, romaine, broccoli, cucumbers and carrots.  Using a two spoons gently mix the salad until it is well combined.  Cover and refrigerate.
3.  Place the walnuts and sugar in a greased skillet over medium heat stirring frequently until the sugar starts to carmelize on the nuts.  Remove from heat and place on a plate.  Sprinkle 1 additional teaspoon of sugar over the hot nuts.  Let cool.
4.  When ready to serve, toss the salad with dressing, and top with craisins and candied walnuts. (also top with chicken if you are using it!) Enjoy!

Pic doesn't do it justice.  This is quite an amazing salad.  I've had it three times in the last two days, it's that good!

Rocket Scientist's Bday Cake

Yes I am posting this a little late...like a month late...but I still wanted to show you the cake I made for my Rocket Scientist for his birthday (big 32) this year!  So, here it is:

Business on the outside....

and a party on the inside!  If you would like to know how I achieved this let me know. I'm thinking about doing a tutorial on this!  :)  (It's easier than it looks) 

I made this from scratch and it was delicious!  We finished it off in record time.  The birthday man especially enjoyed it. :)

Steak Tacos {in soft corn tortillas}

I know I've gone on before about my obsession love of authentic tacos.  I just can't get enough of them!  I have dreams of the ones we had in Mexico when I went with my Youth Group on a Missions Trip in 1999.  I've had a few tacos here and there (CO and NC) that come close too, but nothing is quite as good.  I've never quite been able to replicate them at home either...I'm not sure if it's that it doesn't taste as good at home or I just can't quite remember the combination of ingredients....but I just did come up with something that is just as good if not better than the memory! If that even makes sense...  So here it is:

Steak Tacos in Soft Corn Tortillas
1/2 lb. Steak*, marinate overnight with 1 T. Worcestershire Sauce, sprinkled paprika, salt and pepper
1 Small Onion, diced
1 Hot Pepper, finely diced (either Jalapeno or Serrano)
Cilantro, roughly chopped
Lettuce, shredded (I used romaine, but your favorite works!)
Corn Tortillas, preferably fresh

*whatever you have on hand, whatever you prefer or whatever you find a great deal on

1.  Take the steak that you marinated overnight and place it in a skillet on medium high heat. (I used my cast iron, but any will work)  Cook it about 2 minutes and then flip over and cook about 2 minutes.
2.  Put the steak on a cutting board and cut it up into small pieces.  Place back in skillet with diced onion and saute in a dash of oil until the onions start to go tender.
3.  Fill corn tortillas with shredded lettuce, steak/onion mixture and then top with peppers and cilantro.
4.  Serve immediately, and enjoy!  You can serve rice and beans along side to complete the meal.  Corn salsa, pico or other salsas would go well with these too!

These are so simple yet so yummy and healthy!  Yum-O! :)

St. Patrick's Day Treats Roundup!

You know, St. Patty's Day is one of my favorite holidays.  And do you know why????  It's because it is my oldest niece's Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!  And this year is a BIG one!  She's turning 12!  In fact, I can't believe it....but it's true, she's turning the big 1-2 in just a week!  So here's some cute green inspired treats for your fest!

Leprechaun Pie recipe here

Recipe here.

Tutorial here.

Rainbow (pot o gold cake) recipe

Love this cake!

Easy and cute!

Cute!

Love these!  Clever!

Isn't this just darling?????

And this has got to be my very favorite find....

credit

Hope these give you some ideas for treats for school parties, birthday parties or just St. Patty's Day parties!  :)

3 years already

So, a week ago was ADM's 3rd birthday!  It's been a little crazy around here since we got back from Christmas in CO...so I'm a little late announcing that.  Kind of hard to believe I started this little blog 3 years ago!  And now, people read it (and use it as a go to for recipes) even when I am not very faithful about writing.  So, thanks!  It's been a great three years and I can't wait for more!  Unfortunately I don't really have any new recipes to share with you right now...but since I've been sick with a pretty nasty cold for the last few days the hubs has been cooking (and baking!) so maybe he'll share something....ha!  ( I wish! )

Thanks again for a great three years and see you again soon!

BTW  Remember one of our friends on Etsy called JewelsNJoys?  Well, they just started a Cancer Awareness line of Jewelry!  So you should check it out here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/JewelsNJoys  They have some really great earring at super prices and some of the proceeds go to help fund cancer research!

Easy Peasy Toffee

If you are on Pinterest there is a good chance you have seen some recipes floating around called "saltine toffee" or something of that sort.  Well, they continued to catch my attention so today, when I decided to make some kind of Christmasy goodie I tried some.  To my surpise it was delicious and super easy!  No candy thermometer, nothing.  In fact, I was so skeptical of it...I didn't even take any pics at all till I had eaten two pieces of the finished product!  Since there are so many recipes that are quite different you can feel free to google around, but this is what I did and it worked really well, so I recommend it!  :)  Best part is that it can be ready to eat in about 30 minutes from the start!  Great huh?

Easy Peasy Toffee:
1/2 sleeve Saltines
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1 stick butter, salted
2oz. chocolate (milk or semi sweet)
toppings (nuts, more saltines, etc...)

1.  Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and line a 1 lb. bread pan with foil or parchment paper.  Then put one layer of saltines down breaking them if necessary to cover the bottom.
2.  Put butter and brown sugar in a sauce pan on medium high heat until butter is melted.  Continue by stirring until it come to a boil.  Once boiling set a timer for 2 minutes and continue to stir the toffee mixture.
3.  After the 2 minutes of boiling, remove from heat and evenly pour over the saltine lined pan.  Place in 400 degree oven to bake for 5 minutes.
4.  While the toffee is in the oven, soften the chocolate in the microwave.  So once the toffee comes out of the oven you can evenly spread the chocolate on top of it.  While it is still warm and gooey you can sprinkle nuts, saltine pieces or anything else you would like on top.
5.  Let set for 20 minutes in the freezer.  Then break up into desired pieces using a knife.  Enjoy!

Mini Cini Crust

I'd seen this type of thing before...but since I'm not a huge fan of cinnamon I didn't give it a second thought.  Until Thanksgiving came around this year, that is.  I got to thinking of desserts, and wanted to make an apple pie with a crumble top.  I got to thinking that this type of crust would add something different, so I thought I would whip it up and see what happened....just so turns out that I loved, like, l.o.v.e.d. it!  So here's how you can try it for yourself....

What you'll need:

Favorite Pie Crust Recipe (I like BHG here)

1 t. cinnamon

1 T. Sugar

Rolling Pin

Sharp Knife

floured surface

Once you have your pie crust dough roll it out to an oval/rectangle.  Then sprinkle/spread cinnamon and then sugar over it.  Tightly roll it up and pinch shut.  Then carefully slice into little cinnamon rolls and place together on floured surface.  Roll to desired thickness and use as normal pie pastry.  Enjoy! 

My (our) new toy!

My hubby and I have both been really wanting a Digital SLR for a few years now.  Each year when I get Christmas or Birthday money I hope to save it up for a camera but something else comes along to gain my affections...ususally clothes, shoes or things to craft with...  

This year my husband and I both decided to pool our Christmas money together though and *hopefully* be able to afford a DSLR.  I have been checking specs and prices on cameras (and so has he) for as long as I have been interested in getting one, so when we saw a great deal on Black Friday we went for it.  It just arrived in the mail on Thursday and we got to try it out a bit that evening and today after Church too.  I must say, that we are impressed. :)  I still have a ton to learn, and I'm sure the Mr. would say the same, but it's already taking great pics for us!  Can't wait to learn more about it and how to become a better photographer!!  It's exciting I get to share this all with my hubby too.  Just one of the perks of being married to my best friend. :)

DIY: Canvas Hymn Sayings

 I get so inspired to do do crafting when I look at pinterest.  I usually don't get around to doing much of what I pin (and like) though.  A few weeks ago I made these Canvas Sayings featuring lyrics from some of my favorite hymns.

 I used a paper transfer technique.  I just used GIMP to create the words I wanted and add a bird on one, and later a tree on another.  Then I reversed the image in GIMP and print it.  I very lightly wetted the canvas, placed the paper ink side down and brushed water evenly over the paper.  I pressed the letters down, and left it for a couple of minutes.  Then I gently peeled the paper up.

 I was faint, but it was there.  I continued with the other three until all were transferred.  Let dry overnight.

Then I carefully took a couple of different sizes of paint brushes, black paint and darkened up the words (and images).  Let dry overnight.

 I almost left these white because we have a red wall that they would go really well on...but I decided to lightly paint them my favorite color - turquoise.  (I did a kind of weird effect that I like, but not everyone would I'm sure...)

I have these on some built in shelves in our home now, but I am still trying to find a more permanent spot.  I like the versatility of them being together if I want or separate.  (currently they are separated...)

Mexican Gumbo (like Qdoba's)

Here's a somewhat homemade quick and delicious dinner!  It tastes almost exactly like Qdoba's Mexican Gumbo too!  Which is one of my very favorite things ever!

What you'll need:

Rice, cooked
Beans, heated
Chicken Tortilla Soup, heated (Progresso's is the most simliar to Qdoba's)
Pico or salsa
Shredded Cheese
Chicken (optional)

Layer and Enjoy!  :)

Cranberry Apple Sauce

Photo Credit: 

I realized last night as I was trying to fall asleep that I hadn't yet planned a menu for Thanksgiving.  Since we won't be able to spend time with family in CO or KY, we are just having a low key holiday here.  We will run in a Turkey Trot in the morning, and then eat some turkey and fixin' later.

As I was laying there I got to to thinking of this Cranberry Chutney/Sauce that I made three years ago.  I looked all over my house and the internet to find it, until finally coming across it.  I had remembered that I omitted something out of the recipe...but when I came across it tonight, I realized I had left out a few things.  They didn't seem to go with teh characteristic that I like in my sauce...but I suppose that's what made it more of a chutney recipe?  Anyway, here's a link to the original recipe from Good Housekeeping (aka my favorite magazine!) and I will put my version below.  It's worth a try, it's the perfect balance of sweet, sour and refreshing with that coriander! :)

Cranberry Apple Sauce
1.5 c. Water
1 c. Ssugar
2 T. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 t. Coriander seeds
3 Medium Gala Apples, peeled and chopped
1 bag Cranberries

In a large saucepan stir together water, sugar, vinegar and coriander seeds until sugar dissolves.  Heat to boiling and then add apples.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 25 minutes or until apples are tender.  Add cranberries and simmer for another 10 minutes or until about half of cranberries pop.  Stirring occasionally.  Serve warm or cool.

Chicken Quesadillas

I love quesadillas.  Pretty much any way you slice them (literally) and these I made with leftover chicken and veggies from fajitas the other night.  Yummy!  They are not rocket science...but of course, they are just good and easy.  :)

What you need:
Cooked chicken
Veggies (optional)
Cheese
Tortillas (any size works!)

My favorite way of making them (and the way I think gets all the melty goodness around best) is to place one tortilla down on the preheated skillet and top with an even layer of cheese.  Then once it melts carefully pick it up and place it on a plate for a moment.  Then place the second tortilla down on the skillet and spread an even layer of cheese, AND now put your chicken and veggies.  Once the chicken, etc is set on the tortilla place the tortilla with the already melted cheese on top of the chicken cheese side down.  (make sense?) Sounds more complicated than it is really!  :)  After a few more seconds you have a perfectly crispy, melty quesadilla!!

Load it up with your choice of toppings and it's good enough to eat!  :)

Easy Fajitas

I suppose you probably already know that one of my all time very, very, very favorite, most loved restaurants is Chili's.  There are a few things on their menu that I cycle through when I go there.  (Which isn't as often as it used to be...which is probably good for my wallet and waistline...)  Chicken Enchilada Soup and Salad, Chicken Sliders and of course, their Chicken Fajitas!  I really, really love their fajitas, and if I didn't also like those other two things i would probably always get them.  Although, I also need a sharing buddy for their fajitas for one...  Anyway, I make different fajitas from time to time at home too, because i love them so much.  And you'll notice I didn't label this recipe a copycat because it's not.  I'm not going for that with this one at all.  I just am posting a simple recipe for some yummy fajitas at home. :)  I may later post one that's a copycat though...so stay tuned.  My mom has a killer (why do we use that word in this context?) recipe for their marinade...

Easy Fajitas at home (serves 4)
2 Chicken Breasts
1 Sweet Bell Pepper, sliced (I used yellow, but red, orange or green work too)
1 Onion, sliced
1 T. Oil
Fajita sized tortillas, or any size you want!
Cheese, shredded
Sour Cream
Pico or Corn Salsa
Guac. (optional)

Clockwise from top left: Chicken, Onions and Peppers; Plate of garnishing
goodies; tortillas ready to go; starting to assemble; and ready to eat!

1.  Cook the chicken until there is no pink.  Set aside.  (While chicken is cooking you can prepare a plate with the sour cream, cheese, pico, etc...)
2.  In a large skillet saute the onions in the oil until they start to caramelize.
3.  Add in peppers and continue to saute until they are slightly caramelized or to your liking.
4.  Slice cooked chicken and add into skillet.  Top with fresh ground  pepper.  Remove from heat.
5.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

If you have any chicken and/or onions and peppers left you can use them for these yummy quesadillas. :)

Corn Pancakes

Here's a little twist on a favorite comfort food!  I recently heard about corn pancakes from a friend at Church. (who happens to have a father who is from Kansas, which this recipe is probably more likely from than NC)  So I had to try to make some of my own a couple days later when I was making "Breakfast for Dinner".

These corn pancakes are really simple.  In fact, all you do is add a can of corn to your pancake mixture -- whether you use storebought or make it from scratch.  Then you just cook them on a griddle like normal and voila!  Corn Pancakes!  They have a distinct taste, are a little heartier and you can sneek another veggie in!  (even if it is, just corn!)

 Proportions for 4 servings:
Prepared Pancake Mix (homemade or storebought)
1 can of corn (I used Green Giant White and Yellow Sweet because I love sweet corn)

Yum!  These will definitely make another appearance on our dinner table soon!

Sparkly Skirt Tutorial

So, you may remember a couple of years ago, right before my hubby and I ran our first 5k, I bought a new running skirt--called a Sparkle Skirt. (check out Sparkleskirts.com)  It's fabulous, beautiful, sparkly and made in the USA!  If I had a lot of money I would buy one in every color...or at least a couple more and some of their tech skirts.

My new Sparkly Skirt!

But since I can't, I was happy with my dark pink one...until I ran across some sequined fabric at Wally World that was only $7.49 for two yards!  I don't know about you, but I'm still disappointed that Wal-mart isn't carrying regular fabric by the yard anymore...but at least they have some pre-cut fabrics in various types now (I saw burlap, tulle, cotton, poly, sequined and a few others)!  I picked up two yards of the black sequined fabric and went on my merry way.

My black fabric with my SparkleSkirt on top.

I was excited to get started on my skirt.  I first laid out the fabric on my little card table.  Then I placed my Sparkle Skirt on top of it for some guidance.  I carefully cut a circle around the skirt out of my black fabric.  My circle measured about 36" in diameter.  You can adjust this depending on the length of skirt you want.  Although, you'd have to probably do some piecing if you want it longer unless you find a wider cut of fabric than I did. :)  I cut a line on the radius to make it easier to sew later.  I suppose that is an optional step though.

Circle cut out with radial line.

Then I decided to make a yoga style waistband since I don't have the fancy wicking fabric Sparkle Skirts does.  I cut about 8" off of the bottom of an older black tee.  Then I cut one seam off to make it one long strip.

Bottom of shirt for yoga waistband.

Long strip of shirt material for waistband.

Now fold your large circle into forths.  Like so....

Now you have to use a little math.  Measure around your waist, or hips or wherever you want your skirt to rest when you have it on.  Take that number (which is the circumference of the waistband) and divide it by Pi or 3.14 to get the diameter of the circle you are going to cut out of your fabric!  Make sense?  So, for example if you have a 28" waist where you want to wear your skirt, you divide 28/3.14= 8.92" and 8.92" (and you can round to 9 if you want!) is how big of a circle you want to cut out.  Since your fabric is in fourths though, you'll want the radius which is half of the circumference or 8.92/2=4.46".  I recommend using something like a compass to make sure you get a perfect circle cut out.  If you look at my pic below you'll notice I didn't use one... :/  Luckily these skirts are forgiving! :)

 Here's a close up of the fabric below....cute huh?  This would also work for a skirt for a costume or a little girl!

 Once you have the inner circle cut out, fold the waistband material in half like a hotdog.  Then start pinning it around the inner circle.  Be sure to pin the outside of the waistband to the outside of the skirt material so that the seams are on the inside.

 Sew around the waist and leave about 1/4" seam allowance.  If you have fancy stitches you can use those...I just used a straight stitch and went around twice.

 Once you have the waistband attached you can sew the whole thing together.  Pin the sides of the skirt so they match at the bottom and then finish off the waistband too.

 Slip it on and see how it looks.  (don't ask about my hair...my bangs were driving me nuts and I put them in an apparently crazy high clip! ha!)  These skirts (and fabric) are very see through, so you have to wear something under them.  I prefer my spandex capris, but to each their own!  :)

 Closer up look at the yoga waistband!  Super comfy and cute!

Let me know what you think!  I hope I didn't ramble on too much.  If you have any questions please let me know!  :)  Happy Sewing!

Easy (and affordable!) Halloween Wreath

It seems like just about everyone in our neighborhood puts things up for every Holiday.  We do for Christmas and sometimes Easter and Thanksgiving but not usually Halloween, except for maybe a pumpkin or two.  (Well....I guess we did the first year we were married and lived in Married Student Housing.  We even entered a contest for best Halloween decorations that year!  Ha!)  Anyway, I decided to get a little crafty (actually the last couple days I have been rather crafty--more posts about that to come soon!) and make a wreath.

I had part of a black t-shirt around (because I'd used part of it for another craft I'm going to post about soon) and I cut it into strips.  I then tighly wound those around the wreath.  (Sorry I forgot to get in process photos...)  I also made some flowers out of the jersey material and hot glued those on the wreath.  Then I made a cob web out of hot glue.  My trick was using a silicon pot holder to put the hot glue on when it was hot and then peel it off when it cooled.  My hubby thought I had purchased the cob web, so that's pretty good in my book!  :)  Then I used some scrap purple sequin fabric to accent.  I just put it up on my front door with the exsisting nail (that we didn't put in btw).  Festive and affordable! :)

Easy Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Simply take creamy potato soup and add on toppings like:  cheddar cheese, bacon bits, sour cream and green onions.

Yum!

Dirt!

It's the beginning of October and fall decorations are almost everywhere by now.  In fact, Halloween decor is abundant too.  So why not mix up some splendid sneaky treats?  Here's some dirt that is edible and delicious.  It's like a super easy chocolate mousse recipe.  In face this one is my Mom's recipe, that she says she got from Jello years ago.  (This is the closest link I could find of the recipe but it's not exactly the same.)  It's really great to do as individual servings in little dixie cups, or you can do it in a pie plate for like a dirt pie, or really more like a mud pie at that point.  :)

Photo from:  http://www.kraftrecipes.com/assets/recipe_images/Dirt_Cups.jpg

What you'll need:
Chocolate Pudding Mix (4 serving size)
2 c. Milk
8 oz Cool Whip
16oz pkg. Oreos, crushed
Gummy Worms

Beat Chocolate Pudding mix and Milk together for 1-2 minutes.  Let sit for 5 minutes.  Stir in Cool Whip and half of crushed oreos until combined.

If using dixie cups put 1 T. oreo crumbs in bottom and then spoon pudding mixture in the cups.  Sprinkle remaining crumbs on top and decorate with gummy worms.

If use a pie plate, place ~half of the crumbs in the bottom of the plate and then spoon the pudding mixture over the top.  Sprinkle with remaining crumbs and decorate with worms.

My dirt pie (mud pie if you prefer) that I just made this weekend. I also would like to give a shout out to PicMonkey.com for it's awesome free editing tools!  It can make photos look like old polaroids.  Sweet. :)

Enjoy!