Grandma Spencer's Strawberry Spinach Salad

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Yesterday was my dad, the "Big Man's", birthday.  In our family we don't go all out or anything for birthdays, but we did all head over to Mom and Dad's house to have a nice family dinner.  Mom had to work late yesterday and my offer of making dinner was turned down because it would've apparently taken too much time so we ended up ordering pizza for dinner.  As a nice little side to go along with our pizza I decided to make this strawberry spinach salad.

This salad is a family favorite.  When we were kids (well maybe not my brother who also wouldn't eat ketchup) we would always gobble it up even though it was full of spinach!  My Grandma Spencer used to always make it and it was a recipe that we made sure to get from our grandpa once she had passed away.  Now we make it for special dinners every once in a while or it's also great to take to pot lucks as well. 


And in case you were wondering, there was no cake for dessert, Dad is not a big cake person.  Instead we had brownies, his all time favorite.  My sister Avery made the brownies and added pecans to half of them because that's the way dad likes them.  (Well Dad would prefer the whole pan have nuts but some other people in the family are picky.)  
Ingredients

• 12 oz fresh baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons cider or raspberry vinegar
• 1-2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons minced green onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• dash of pepper
• 1 pint strawberries, sliced

Directions

1. Combine oil, vinegar, sugar, green onion, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.  Refrigerate for a couple of hours (or longer.)
2. Toast sesame seeds at 350 degrees for about ten minutes (150 for about 5 minutes in a toaster oven.)
3. Toss spinach, sesame seeds, dressing, and strawberries in a large bowl.  Enjoy!

Best of 2012: Main Dishes

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And today we have Main Dishes! My favorites from the year have all been made more than once - just as favorites should be. If you need to mix up your meal rotation with some new ideas, look no further.

Shrimp and Spinach Risotto


Portobello Pesto Pizza


Chicken Marsala


BBQ Salmon



Chicken, Bacon and Avocado Quesadillas


Italian Sausage, Red Pepper and Mushroom Risotto


Chipotle Shrimp Tacos


Be sure to stop by Finding Joy in My Kitchen and visit all the food bloggers who are posting their "best of" main dishes today!

Best of 2012: Snacks and Appetizers

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Today we look back at the best snacks and appetizers of 2012. I have to say I was tempted to put a lot of desserts in this category, since that's what I think of when I think "snack." But I will save those for tomorrow! If you need inspiration for your New Year's party, look no further. All of these recipes were knock outs!

Greek Layered Dip


Shrimp and Goat Cheese Corn Cakes


Pepper Poppers



Oven Baked Ham and Swiss Sandwiches


Chipotle Crab Dip


Zucchini Fries


Be sure to visit Finding Joy in my Kitchen to see all the great snack and app link ups.

Best of 2012: Desserts

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And now things get REALLY difficult. Today's best of theme is desserts. It was really hard not to just link up EVERY dessert I've posted this year - they're all so good. But I worked very diligently to narrow them down - these are the best of the best.

Caramel Chocolate Pumpkin Blondies


Peppermint Patty Brownies


Apple Crisp


Banana Bread Bars with Brown Butter Frosting


Roasted Banana Ice Cream


Mocha Chip Ice Cream


Fruity Coconut Cake Roll


Chewy Molasses Squares


Be sure to check out all the "best of" dessert link ups at Finding Joy in my Kitchen.

Best of 2012: Reader Favorites

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Well, I've spent the last few days listing my favorite recipes from the last year in the various categories, and today it's time to look at what you, readers, liked the best! Here are the recipes that garnered the most hits and comments this year. (And I must say, you have VERY good taste!)

Salsa (Restaurant Style)


Chicken and Mushroom Stuffed Shells


Chocolate and Caramel Covered Rice Krispie Bars


Crockpot Carnitas


Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes


Cherry Berry Streusel Tart


Strawberry and Cream Danish


Pumpkin Waffles


Visit Finding Joy in My Kitchen to see all the reader favorites from 2012!

Get more inspiration at Mangia Mondays, Mop it Up Monday, Mix it Up Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday and On the Menu.

all they're crackled up to be

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Christmas seems to be associated with cookies as much as Thanksgiving is synonymous with pies. I don't know why this is the case, but my best guess is that a platter of cookies is much easier to give as a gift than a smushable, refrigeration-required pie.


If you peruse as many blogs as I do, you've seen oodles upon oodles of posts featuring cookies over the past month or so. Go ahead and say it: I'm a conformist. In my defense, these cookies are really delicious.

For starters, they're so rich and fudgy that you might mistake them for deformed brownies, and that's not a bad thing. There are chocolate chips in them too, which adds a nice textural contrast and, hey, more chocolate! The coating of powdered sugar is a terrific touch, both aesthetically (how else would one highlight those crackles?!) and flavor-wise. The best part of all is the little pool of preserves in the middle. Depending on what you opt to use, you might get a really sweet jolt or a nice, tangy twang.


If you're in cookie-making mode, add these to your list; you won't be sorry!

Crackled Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Adapted from The All-American Cookie Book
Makes 40-50 small cookies

Ingredients:

• 6-1/2 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons preserves or jelly
• 1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet morsels, chopped
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, for rolling
• 1/2 cup preserves or jelly, for filling

Directions:
Melt the chocolate and butter together in the microwave or on the stove-top. Do it in the gentlest way possible so as not to scorch the chocolate. Let cool to warm.
Stir the sugar into the chocolate mixture until well blended.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
Stir in the vanilla.
Melt the preserves or jelly until fluid but not bubbly; add to mixture.
In a medium bowl, thoroughly stir together the dry ingredients, including the chocolate morsels.
Add this to the chocolate mixture and stir just until well blended.
Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease up some baking sheets.
Place half of the powdered sugar in a medium bowl.
Shape portions of the dough into 1-inch balls and drop them into the sugar and roll them around until they’re coated and no chocolate peeks through.
Shake off the excess sugar and put the balls on the baking sheets about 1-1/2 inches apart.
Replenish the powdered sugar as needed and continue until the dough is gone.
Using your thumb, knuckle, or some sort of utensil, press a deep well into the center of each ball.
Spoon about ¼ teaspoon of jelly or preserves into each well.
Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. The cookies are done when they’re just beginning to feel firm when pressed in the centers.
Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 3 to 4 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cook completely.

Grandma's Beef Stew

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Last month, I made a post about how to plan a soup party. This evening, as I was making beef stew for dinner, I realized I forgot to include that recipe in my list of favorites for a soup party. I decided I’d post this recipe now.

Stew is wonderful any time of the year, but especially when it’s cold outside. Okay…here in Dallas, it’s not exactly cold…at least by Midwest standards..but it’s still somewhat chilly. So tonight the stew really hit the spot.

I got this recipe from my grandmother when I was a teenager, and have fond memories eating it at her house when I was growing up. I’ve made it for my own family a lot over the years, and it’s one of my husband’s and sons’ favorite meals. You may enjoy this recipe too.

GRANDMA’S BEEF STEW

4 lbs. beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes (cube when beef is semi-frozen, for easy cutting!)
4 T. oil
5 cups water
2 large yellow onions, sliced thinly
3 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 ½ tsp. garlic powder
3 bay leaves
1 T. salt
2 tsp. granulated sugar
2 tsp. paprika
½ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. ground cloves
2 lb. bag carrots, peeled and sliced in ¼-inch slices
3 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ to ¾ inch cubes
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup all purpose flour

Brown beef cubes in oil in large Dutch oven. Then add 5 cups of water and the onions, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, bay leaves, salt, sugar, paprika, pepper and cloves. Let simmer over stove, uncovered, for an hour. Remove bay leaves. Add carrots and potatoes. Cover pot and cook for another 30-40 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. At the end of the cooking time, blend 2/3 cup water and flour together in a small bowl. Pour into stew and blend in and stir another 2-3 minutes—until stew is thickened. Makes about 10 to 12 large servings.

Enjoy!
~Becky

Hot 'n Spicy Crock Pot Chili

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I said it before...and I'll say it again: I love my crock pots! (I say "crock pots" plural, because I have seven of them, in varying sizes. I use them all, often multiple crock pots for one meal. The main entree might go in a large 6 1/2- or 7-quart crock pot, and then I may have several side dishes cooking in the smaller or medium-sized crock pots. If I've got a large crowd coming over, I might have both of my two 7-quart crock pots cooking the same main entree such as roast beef.)

Cooking in a crock pot is an easy and stree-free way to entertain. You start the food cooking in the morning (You can even do all your advance food prep the night before and put the filled crock pot in the fridge until cooking time), and have very little, if any, food prep to do before your guests arrive (which means you can be relaxing beforehand!). And if it's a chilly day outside, you have the added plus of taking in all those wonderful smells coming from the kitchen all day.

I took advantage of my crock pot this past weekend. As I mentioned in previous posts, we had a Super Bowl party this past Sunday. We also had overnight, out-of-town guests coming over Saturday evening. I already had a lot to do Saturday night, with getting ready for the Super Bowl party. There wasn't going to be a lot of "free" time Saturday evening for fixing a big dinner. So my crock pot came to the rescue....again! I used my large crock pot, and made crock pot chili...which was enough for about 12 people. On the side we served sour cream, shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, diced onions, and Fritoes. Our guests brought corn bread and tossed salad. It was a very yummy...and filling meal. I made up the chili the day before--on Friday--and kept it in the fridge until Saturday morning. It cooked all day Saturday, and about 6 pm when our guests arrived, dinner was ready!

The recipe I use for chili is one that I adapted and tweaked from the small recipe booklet that came with my West Bend crockery cooker. Here it is:

3 lbs. lean ground beef
2 ½ cups chopped yellow onions (3-4 large onions)
2 ½ cups chopped green bell pepper (3-4 large bell peppers)
3 tsp. crushed garlic
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies, drained
4 (28-oz.) cans whole tomatoes (undrained), cut up
2 (15 oz.) cans dark red kidney beans, drained
2 (15 oz.) cans light red kidney beans, drained
4 T. chili powder
1 T. ground cumin
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Brown ground beef with onion, green pepper and garlic in large skillet over medium heat. Drain excess grease. Transfer mixture to crock pot. Add remaining ingredients; stir to blend. Cook on low heat setting for 8 to 10 hours.

Enjoy!

~Becky

Best of 2012: Breakfast

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The "Best of" series is back! As we wrap up 2012, it's so fun to look back over everything I've made and pick a few favorites from the more than hundred new recipes I tried. Sometimes it's hard to narrow it down, because there are so many good ones! So much food, so little time.

The series starts today with breakfast. This was a great year for breakfast goodies - it's been fun to be reminded of all the good stuff! Enjoy and head on over to Finding Joy in My Kitchen so see more food bloggers looking back and picking their bests!

Banana Bread Pancakes


Blueberry Breakfast Cake


Individual Egg Bakes


Pumpkin Spice Donuts


Peanut Butter and Jelly Crepes


Monkey Bread Muffins


Be sure to visit SnoWhite to see all the Best of posts for 2012. And find more great stuff at What's Cooking Wednesday and Wicked Good Wednesday.

Best of 2012: Soup and Bread

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Today's Best of is Soup and Bread. Although this is probably intended to be savory breads, I made a lot more sweet, breakfast-style breads this year, and so my favorites come from that category. I think I'm "safe" though since the topic is bread without an adjective!

It's cold this week, so whip up some soup and bread and stay warm!

Peanut Butter Bread


Curried Chicken and Wild Rice Soup


Blueberry Muffin Bread


Chicken Gnocchi Soup


English Muffin Bread


Beef and Bok Choy Hot Pot


Bananas Foster Bread


Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup


Head on over to Finding Joy in my Kitchen to find more great soups and breads.

Find more great recipes at Full Plate Thursday and Thursday's Treasures.