Arugula!

 

Yesterday, I had my first "harvest" from my garden: Arugula! What do you do with Arugula, you say? Well, you can throw it into a mixed salad; it is a "mixed green" after all, use it in place of fresh baby spinach in your favorite spinach recipe (is there such a thing?) or make a super yummy side dish like chickpea salad....

I originally posted the recipe on 3/21/12, but just added newly updated photos, so check it out! Sooooo good!

Today's Brilliant Idea:

 graham cracker and frosting "sandwiches"

 

 

 

When I was growing up, in the nostalgic 1970s, my Mom used to make these quick and tasty concoctions as an afterschool snack, or as a cheap and quick way to utilize leftover frosting. I made these for my daughter for the first time this week, and she loved them!  Just slather a "square" of graham cracker with frosting and top with another "square".  I had some leftover canned pink lemonade frosting, but any flavor will work.  In a pinch, I remember making frosting by adding milk to powdered sugar and adding a few drops of food coloring. Store in an airtight container. Yum!

 



 

 



 

 

 

Easy Peasy Appetizer

 

Well hello! It's been a while since I've posted anything new; I've been sooooo busy, and I'm not even sure why! Life is like that. Anywhoo...I have lots of recipes and ideas to share, so here's the first installment: the most awesome, crazy-easy and delicious appetizer I've ever made (thanks once again, Pinterest!). It was inhaled with gusto in about the same amount of time it took to prepare it! My girlfriends gave it rave reviews as they ate every last bit!

5 Layer Greek Dip (special thanks to The Lovely Cupboard)

hummus (homemade or store bought)
red bell pepper
kalamata olives
cucumber
feta cheese
dill (fresh or dried)

Finely chop bell pepper, olives, cucumber and dill (if using fresh).  Spread hummus about 1-2 inches thick in the bottom of a wide serving dish.  Sprinkle the vegetables evenly over the hummus.  Crumble feta cheese on top.  Sprinkle bits of dill over the top.

Serve with warm pita slices. Enjoy!

Today's Brilliant Idea

 

 

Combine my preschooler's first official Spring Break (so much time on our hands) with leftover Easter candy and you get: Peeps S'mores! Oh yeah!

 

Set part of a Hershey's bar on top of a "square" of graham cracker, top it with a Peep and heat in a microwave for 15 seconds. Top the melty, gooey mess with another "square" of graham cracker and enjoy!

 

What's not to like?

 

Today's Brilliant Idea

 

 

So, I saw these gems on Pinterest, of course, and just HAD to make them for St. Patrick's Day! Sooooo easy, just like Rice Krispie treats, only with Lucky Charms! Brilliant!

The recipe is the same as Rice Krispie treats:

3 Tbl. butter or margarine
one 10 or 10.5 ounce bag mini marshmallows (or 4 cups)
5-6 cups of Lucky Charms cereal

Melt the butter in a large pot on low heat.  Add marshmallows and stir until a melty, gooey mess. Remove from heat and stir in cereal.  Spread into a buttered baking dish (with buttered hands) and let cool until set. Cut into pieces when cooled, and try not to eat 6 pieces in on sitting... :)

Enjoy!

Chowder!

 

 

I know, "another soup post?" you say. I got a million of them. I don't actually have a recipe for this soup, I just used what I had on hand -  and it turned out great! My favorite soups are the "something-chowder" ones, so here's my version of chicken corn chowder:

 

 

 

Chicken Corn Chowder

1/2 small onion, diced
1-2 Tbl butter
2 cups chicken broth (I actually made some with chicken bullion)
1 cup milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
a few red potatoes, diced
1 can corn kernels, drained
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, poached and diced
salt and pepper, to taste
a "sprinkling" of dried parsley flakes

Heat the butter in a stock pot and cook onions until tender.  Add chicken broth, milk and soup and stir until combined.  Heat liquid until bubbling and add potatoes, corn and chicken.  Simmer until potatoes are soft ( I let mine simmer on low for an hour...). If there's not enough liquid to adequately boil the potatoes, add some water. Season with salt and pepper and add a sprinkling of parsley flakes.   

 

 

Easy, peasy, no? I forgot I had some turkey bacon in the freezer, or I would have added some crumbled bits of it, too.

 

 

Super Bowl Snack

 

Well, the Super Bowl was last night, and you just can't watch it without some kind of yummy snack to munch on while waiting for those infamous commercials! This is a dip my girlfriend has made a few times, and I was just waiting for an occasion to try it out. There are many variations online, but this is how I made it last night:

 

 

Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Dip (adapted from Susie Farmwald's recipe)

 

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, poached and then shredded

two 8-ounce packages Neufchatel cheese (skinny cousin of cream cheese), softened

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup ranch dressing

1/4 to 1 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce (I used just under a cup), according to your "heat" threshold

 

Combine all ingredients in a Crock Pot and heat on low for two hours. Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.

 

I believe my husband's exact words were, "hey, this is really good"...as if he were surprised...