Olive Garden Salad

This tastes just like the real deal. So fresh and flavorful!



Salad Dressing:
½ c. mayonnaise
1/3 c. white vinegar
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 Tb. corn syrup
2 Tb. Parmesan cheese
2 Tb. Romano cheese
¼ tsp garlic salt – or one clove garlic, minced
½ tsp Italian seasoning
½ tsp parsley flakes
1 Tb. lemon juice
Salad:
1 large head romaine lettuce
slices red onion
black olives
2-4 banana peppers
2 small tomatoes, quartered
½ c. croutons
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Mix all dressing ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little too tart for your own personal tastes, add a little extra sugar.
Chill one salad bowl in freezer for at least 30 minutes. Put lettuce in bowl. Place on top of lettuce red onions, black olives, banana peppers, tomatoes, and croutons. Add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you like, and add plenty of Salad Dressing on top.

basil pesto bread

this is a perfect snack for a summer afternoon, and delicious to serve before or with any italian meal. you can make and use you own pesto with the recipe i posted. see that recipe here.

cut up slices of french bread. spread a layer of pesto sauce on one side of each piece of bread. on top of that add slices of fresh tomato. sprinkle on shredded mozzarella cheese. finish it with fresh cracked pepper. place in oven on broil until cheese is melted. enjoy!

pesto sauce

i love pesto! use this with the basil from your garden at the end of the summer and freeze in freezer bags for the winter. this recipe also calls for walnuts instead of pine nuts which most traditional pesto recipes use. walnuts are easier to find and less expensive.

mix together in food processor or blender:

3 cups fresh basil leaves

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

3 cloves of garlic

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

while processing slowly pour in 1 cup extra virgin olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.(it needs quite a bit). pour over noodles of your choice. it really doesn't take that much pesto to coat your noodles, so add a little at a time. freeze any leftovers for a later time.

italian stuffed shells

this looks messy, and it is, but you will love this! its like a ravioli but much more flavorful and satisfying.

1 box jumbo shells

spaghetti sauce of your choice

1 lrg container of cottage cheese

1/2 C. powdered parmesan cheese

2 eggs

1 Tbls. dried parsley

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

cook shells until tender. drain and set aside. mix all ingredients, except shells and spaghetti sauce, in the blender or food processor. fill each shell with cheese mixture. place stuffed shells in a deep baking pan. once all shells are stuffed and in the pan, pour spaghetti sauce over the shells until all shells are covered and there is some sauce in the bottom of the pan. sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese over shells. bake for 30 min. at 350 degrees.

Crockpot Southwestern Chicken

another crockpot meal?? you betch ya! this is very filling and good!

1 small bag frozen corn

1 can black beans

2-3 large frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 16-oz jar medium salsa

shredded cheddar cheese

tortilla chips

sour cream

chopped cilantro

diced avocado

Pour bag of frozen corn in bottom of crockpot. Place frozen chicken breasts on top of corn and cover with rinsed and drained black beans and jar of medium salsa. Cook on high for 1 hour, and then on low for 4 hours. Shred chicken with forks. Serve with tortilla chips and add toppings to individual servings.**It is very important that you use MEDIUM salsa in this. Mild simply isn't flavorful enough. Be sure to serve with tortilla chips, and not tortillas. The salty crunchy chips make this so good!

lemon dreams

these are so dainty and sweet. perfect for a little girls tea party or for a shower. or just to make and enjoy on a sunday afternoon.

LEMON DREAMS
1 C butter (softened)
1/3 C powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 2/3 C flour
Filling:
2/3 C sugar
1 ½ tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
¼ tsp. salt

1 egg (beaten)
1 Tbsp.lemon juice
2 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. butter
1 ½ - 2 C powdered sugar (sift first)
Cream butter, powdered sugar, & vanilla. Add flour & mix till smooth. Chill for at least 30 minutes. Roll out with powdered sugar about 1/4” thick.Cut out with 1 ½” cookie cutter. Bake at 350 degrees for12-14 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.
For filling:Combine sugar, cornstarch, lemon peel, & salt. Stir in water,egg, lemon juice, and butter. Simmer for2 minutes. Cool. Add powdered sugar. Put a spoonful of filling on one cookie and top with another cookie. Dust with powdered sugar. Makes approx. 1 ½ dozen

sweet and spicy pork combo- crock pot

another easy and yummy meal for those busy days.

1 pork tenderloin

1 bottle chili sauce (12 oz)

1 can jellied cranberry sauce

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Place pork in slow cooker. Mix chili sauce, cranberry sauce and sugar in a separate bowl. Pour over pork. cover and cook on high 4-5 hrs. then low 3-4 hrs. Serve with rice.