Onion & Poppy Seed Salad

2 pkgs. spinach

1 head of lettuce

3/4 lb. Swiss cheese

2 cups of cottage cheese

1/2 lb. of crumbled bacon

3/4 lb. of fresh sliced mushrooms

1 lb. of fresh sliced strawberries

1 small sliced red onion

12 oz. of poppy seed dressing {my favorite is Brianna's Poppy Seed Dressing}

24 hours before you make your salad thinly slice the onion and place in a jar with the entire bottle of poppy seed dressing to marinate. Return to fridge until ready to dress the salad.

Cook bacon according to package directions and then set aside to cool.  Once cool crumble and set aside.

Slice lettuce and wash along with spinach. Spin dry in a Salad Spinner and place in the fridge to crisp back up. In a large bowl combine Swiss cheese {you can either shred or cube the cheese}, cottage cheese, crumbled bacon, cleaned and sliced mushrooms, cleaned and sliced strawberries and the jar of onions and poppy seed dressing. Stir to combine. Add the lettuce and spinach, toss and serve.

Salad should serve 8-10

You got it… it's chili and cornbread in a jar!  Perfect for those cold winter nights or a fun dinner by the campfire. All you have to do is make up your favorite chili recipe, place it in a 16 oz. wide mouth jar.  Mix up your favorite cornbread mix and then place a 1/2 cup of cornbread mix on top of the chili and bake it at 375 degrees for 20 minutes right in the jar. Don't have a favortie chili or cornbread recipe, no worries… I have two fabulous recipes below that I know will easily become a couple of your favorites!!

Here is my go-to simple weeknight chili that is a snap to make and super delicious!!

Simple Weeknight Chili

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 large onion diced

1 lb. ground beef or turkey

3 16 oz cans of chili beans

2 cups of mild chunky garden salsa {Pace Chunky Salsa is my favorite}

2 cups of V8 tomato juice {regular or spicy depending on how hot you like your chili}

1 tablespoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of chili powder

1/2 teaspoon of cocoa powder {weird I know, totally tasty}

salt and pepper to taste

Place large soup pot over medium high heat and add olive oil and onions.  Cook for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Once onions are cooked down place the ground meat into the pot and brown.  Once the meat is browned start dumping all the remaining ingredients into the pot, the beans, salsa, V8, cumin, chili powder, cocoa powder, salt and pepper.  Bring to a slow boil and cook for 8- 10 minutes over medium heat. 

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, diced onion or your favorite chili condiments.

Serves 8-10 people.

Cornbread

2 c. (1 c.) flour

1 c. (½ c.) cornmeal

2 ½ t. (1 ¼ t.) baking powder

1 t. (½ t.) salt

¾ c. (6 T.) butter

3 (2) eggs

1 c. (½ c.) milk

1½ (¾ c.) sugar

1 t. (½ t.) vanilla

See that vanilla? It gives you the hint of the deliciousness you’re about to embark into. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Sift together your flour, cornmeal, powder, and salt, and set aside. Beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy (about five minutes).

Once your batter is fluffy, begin mixing in the dry ingredients and milk by fourths, alternating dry and wet (beginning and ending with flour) until smooth. Pour into a well greased 9×13 pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

If you decide to make this in a jar bake the cornbread for 20-25 to make sure that it cooks all the way through. Let the jars cool a bit and then you can dress your jars up a bit with some fabric, ric-rack, and hemp twine.  Include a fun eco friendly disposable spoon and you have a classy chili perfect for any event!!

I plan on sharing this fun chili and cornbread recipe over at TidyMom and Dine & Dishes Soupapalooza later this month on February 28th!

Pleated Cuffs from Every Creative Endeavor

Homemade Chi from Nifty Thrifty Things

Drop Cloth Wreath from Too Much Time on My Hands

Biscoff & White Chocolate Popcorn from Key Lime Digitals

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Prints from Signs by Andrea

Pallet Art from The Hell on Heels Housewife

Twine Storage from The Scrap Shoppe

Owl Cake Pops from The Seven Year Cottage

Rolo Cookies from Stella B's Kitchen

DIY Chalk Paint from Craftberry Bush

Homemade Hot Chocolate from The Letter 4

Simple Clutch from Flamingo Toes

DIY Magnet Board from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom

I'm getting excited for this week!  I'm working on some soup recipes so that I can link up with TidyMom and Dine & Dishes huge Soupapalooza on February 28th.  You have to go and check out all of the fun prizes. So pull out your soup pots and come share your fun recipes!

img source  |   beauty on the beach

I know I have nothing to complain about living in sunny Vegas, but I'm ready for a good relaxing beachy vacation.  Who's with me? We can pool our money… rent this house and all sit and read books on these lovely porch beds right by the ocean, sip lemonade and forget all of our responsibilities! We can giggle and laugh together and stay up all night and sleep until noon. I'm sure there are some great local shops close by where we can find all kinds of treasures. Ahhhh the life…

First off, what is a Meyer lemon? Well, since you asked so nicely… a Meyer Lemon is a cross between a lemon and a Mandarin Orange, thus taking the sweetness of the orange and the tart from the lemon and making a wonderful hybrid for us lemon lovers. It's perfect for baking with and for adding a little slice of one to your or Diet Coke.

For this doughnut I took the standard vanilla doughnut recipe added some zest from the lemons and then glazed them with a lemon infused glaze. Here is the recipe…

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs slightly beaten

3 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray pan with non-stick cooking spray

In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl add buttermilk, vanilla, lemon zest, and eggs. Add wet mixture to the dry mixture and then add the melted butter. Mix just until combined. Fill each doughnut cup 1/2 full and bake accordingly.

I find the best way to fill the pan is to fill a pastery bag with the doughut batter and with a simple round tip gently add your batter to the pan.  Better yet, a pancake pen is PERFECT for the job!

large doughnut pan or heart shaped pan 10-12 minutes

mini doughnut pan 4-6 minutes

4 cups confectioners sugar

4 tablespoons Meyer Lemon juice

In a small bowl combine confectioners sugar with lemon juice. Add lemon juice slowly until you reach the desired consistancy.  The doughnuts in the pictures had a pretty thick glaze, but if you would like a light glaze add more lemon juice.

Let me know how your doughnut adventures go. Send over some pictures if you make some. I would LOVE to see them!!