Strawberry Sunflower Salad

Start with your favorite greens (mine are either a spring mix or leafy romaine, but spinach would be good as well).

Add:

Feta cheese
Sliced Strawberries
Sunflower Kernels
Diced Cucumber

Add your favorite sweet dressing - I recommend raspberry vinagrette or a creamy poppyseed.

Basic Banana Bread

3 ripe bananas (the riper the better!)

1/4 c melted margarine
1/4 c milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar

2 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Mash bananas in a bowl. Add wet ingredients and mix (hand mixer or stand mixer). Add sugars and mix again. Add the last dry ingredients and mix until just combined (should be lumpy). Pour batter into greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for approximately 50 minutes. Test for doneness. You could also add a topping before putting in the oven - my usual is some chopped walnuts sprinkled on top of the batter.

Easy Baby Food Pancakes

1 c plus 1 tbsp bisquick (I used heart-healthy variety)
1 egg
1/2 c milk (I used 1%)
1 jar, 1 small tub or 2 "cubes" of baby food.

Whisk together ingredients, cook on medium-heat. Makes about 10 4-inch pancakes.

Recommended baby foods: bananas, sweet potatoes, peaches or other fruit mixtures. Haven't tried veggies yet.

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

Dump in slow cooker:

2-4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 c barbecue sauce
1 can pineapple chunks

Cook 6-8 on low or 3-4 on high. Serve over rice.

Fruit Salad Variation #1

Mix together in a bowl:
1 container of cool whip
1.5 c vanilla yogurt
1 small package cheesecake flavor instant pudding

Then add:
1 c Frozen Strawberries, sliced
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1 can pineapple chunks, drained
1 medium fuji apple, diced
1 banana, sliced (add lemon juice to prevent browning)
2 c mini marshmallows

Stir and enjoy! About 8-10 servings.

Chicken Salad

A basic chicken salad recipe - one of the only ways I can get my husband to eat fruit.

1 small or 1/2 large apple
2 stalks of celery
handful of grapes

1 can chunk chicken breast (or 1-2 chicken breasts)
1/2 c mayo
1/2 c sour cream
salt, pepper, and onion powder to taste (start with just a little)

optional: crispy chow mein noodles

chop the apple, grapes and celery into slightly smaller than bite size pieces. stir in chicken, mayo, sour cream, and seasoning.

best served on croissants with the chow mein noodles mixed in, but also great alone or with pita bread or hamburger buns.

Blueberry Almond Muffins

One of Kevin's favorite foods is blueberry muffins. I like to buy a huge amount in the summer and then freeze the rest to use throughout the winter. Here's a good recipe that I adapted from a basic muffin recipe.


Blueberry Almond Muffins

1 3/4 c flour
1/4 c sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 egg
3/4 c milk
1/4 c orange juice (whatever you have on hand - could also use lemonade)
1/3 c vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

almost a cup of fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 c chopped or slivered almonds

Stir first 3 ingredients together in large bowl. In small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Add to dry ingredients and mix. Don't over mix - lumps are fine. Fold in almonds and blueberries. Drop into greased muffin tin or muffin liners with an ice cream scoop. Bake 15-16 minutes at 400 degrees.

Blaine Salad

This recipe is based on the Blaine Salad served at The Pizza Factory, a Utah-based pizza and pasta joint.

2 heads of romaine lettuce
1/2 cup craisins (dried cranberries)
3/4 cup toasted almonds
poppy seed dressing to taste

optional:
shredded or cubed chicken

Chop romaine lettuce into short strips. Toast almonds in the oven (400 degrees) or on the stovetop (medium heat) in a non-stick skillet. Be careful not to burn the almonds. After letting the almonds cool a little, mix craisins, almonds and dressing with lettuce. To make it a meal, add some leftover shredded chicken.