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Mango Black Bean Salad

Summer for me is all about yummy salads.  This is a great one from Cooking Light.

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 - 15 oz. can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 and 1/2 cups diced mango (I use Trader Joe's frozen mango when mango is out of season)

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 Tbsp. salsa

2 Tbsp. olive oil

3 green onions, sliced

3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

Stir all ingredients together and serve.  Yum!

Oreo Truffles

Nana and Papa are in town, and Nana always loves to make treats with the kids.  These easy "truffles" were a hit with the kids and so pretty for our Valentine celebration.

Recipe for Oreo Truffles:

one package of regular Oreos, well smashed

one 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

Mix these two ingredients in a large bowl, using your (clean!) hands to thoroughly combine into a dough-like consistency.  Form the "dough" into small balls and set on a plate.

Melt a bag of Wilton chocolate of your choice (from Michael's) in the microwave, according  to the package directions.  Drop a ball into the melted chocolate and with two forks, gently turn the ball in the chocolate to coat, lift out, allow excess chocolate to run off, then place ball on a wax-paper-lined cookie sheet.  Melt a different color chocolate for the drizzle and use a fork to make squiggles on top the chocolate coated balls.  Once the chocolate is dry, place the truffles in paper cups.  Keep in the refrigerator. 

 

delicious, delectable, and delightful!

There is a kids' show on Nick Jr. called The Upside Down Show.  In one episode, the main guys say "Delicious, Delectable, and Delightful!"... (you have to sing DeLIGHTful!)  I don't even know what the episode was about.  All I know is now that is what we say/sing in the Puckett household when something is super scrumdillyicious.  And my dinner tonight was exactly that!  An amazing salad from the Native Foods cookbook with a dressing to die for!  I've eaten their Ensalada Azteca at the restaurant, and my homemade version tonight did not disappoint.  I can't wait to have it again for lunch tomorrow.

the salad:  Chop up tomatoes, cucumber, jicama, avocado, and red onion, toss with some lemon juice and spoon over a bed of greens.  Then add slices of mango, chopped cilantro, slivered dates (a must- the sweetness really made the salad), and cooked quinoa.  (Toasted pumpkin seeds would be great too, but I didn't have any on hand).

the dressing:  Mango Lime Vinaigrette

1 cup chopped fresh or frozen mango

1/2 cup safflower or sunflower oil (I used canola)

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree.

 

the finished product - say/sing it with me...  "Delicious, Delectable, and DeLIGHTfulllllllll!!!!!!"

 

Lentil salad/salsa

1 package Trader Joe's cooked lentils (in the refrigerator case)

1 container Trader Joe's fresh bruschetta (in the refrigerator case... and it must be TJs.  I've tried other brands from other stores and they are no good!)

1 or 2 mangos, chopped

1 or 2 avocados, chopped

1 cup frozen white corn, thawed

Mix all ingredients and serve as a salad or with chips as a salsa.

 (I know others who add feta cheese to this too.)

Delish!  

 

What's for dinner?

In our efforts to eat more vegetarian meals, I pulled out this old favorite from a recipe club I belonged to years ago in Aliso Viejo.  For those who crave a little meat with your dinner, add chopped, grilled chicken on top.  Yum!

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto with Pasta

1 cup sun dried tomatoes, packed in oil

1 bunch fresh basil

1/3 cup walnuts, toasted

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until crumbly.  Then slowly drizzle down the chute of the processor 1/2 - 3/4 olive oil.   

Toss with 1 pound of pasta, cooked according to package directions.

This sauce can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.  It can also be tossed with steamed vegetables or blended with cream cheese to make a dip for pita chips and veggies.

SURPRISE!!!

 

"Hey Moms

I am throwing a Halloween-inspired SURPRISE 12th birthday bash for Lauren. Let's keep it a secret from your girls as well for now.  But save the date and watch for more details to come.  I'm thinking costumes, mystery menu dinner, and a fun, kid appropriate Halloween movie under the stars.  Hope your girls can make it!"

And so the secret-keeping began.  

I made the mistake of leaving a list of Lauren's friends' names on my desk next to the computer after sending out this evite 3 weeks ago.  I had gone to the trouble of logging out of my email account that was linked to the evite so she wouldn't see any responses if she went to check her schoolloop account (an email that comes home each day with her grades and progress report).  Lauren found the list when she got home from school and asked me about it.  I did some backpedaling "Oh, I was just thinking about what we should do for your birthday and who we should invite.  What do you want to do?..."  And so it went.  So I kept asking her what she wanted to do for her birthday and finally sent out decoy invitations that she hand delivered at school to two friends for a birthday make-over and dinner the week following her birthday.  

The party was planned at our friends' home.  The mom, Andrea, asked Lauren if she could babysit for her. She was going to the USC game with her little son (true) and husband (not true) and the sitter watching her two girls needed to leave by 6:30 (not true) and Andrea wouldn't be home until 7:30 (true).  I was going to a play in LA with Craig's mom (not true) so couldn't drive her to the babysitting job, so Craig would have to take her over (true).  (Get Lauren to the party: check)

Friday: Day Before the Party

The weather was not cooperating with our out-of-doors dining and movie watching plan, so our venue changed to the Ewell's dining room (fortunately it's not yet furnished) and then we'd shuttle the girls to our house for the world premiere of the new Scooby Doo movie on Cartoon Network (big time, people!)  I spent the day prepping food and decorating at Andrea's.  

After school, Lauren was mad because I scheduled an appointment for her after school and then our family was going to the pumpkin patch and out to dinner when all Lauren wanted to do was have a late night with her friend Naomi and go shopping for their Halloween costumes because they are going to dress like babies for the ward Trunk or Treat this year. Knowing Lauren and Naomi needed their costumes for the party the next night, we went to Target between the appointment and pumpkin patch and picked up feety pajamas and binkies for both girls. (Get Lauren her costume: check)

Yesterday: Day of the Party

Lauren still wanted to have a late night with Naomi.  I told her to see if maybe Naomi was available after her babysitting job to come over and watch a movie.  "Better yet, why don't you see if Naomi can babysit with you?"  I called Naomi and told her to convince Lauren that it would be funny to wear their costumes to babysit in.  (Get Lauren to the party in her costume: check)

Party time!

All the food was ready.  Grammy, Emily and I spent an hour and a half before the guests' arrival putting the finishing touches on the decorations and assembling food.  The 11 girls all arrived well before Lauren. Six-year-old Ellie, whom Lauren was suppose to be babysitting was on look-out at the window.  Andrea actually arrived home from the USC game early, just minutes before Lauren arrived.  Ellie let us know when Craig pulled up.  The guests were all hidden behind the tables, Emily and I were ready with the cameras, Ellie answered Lauren's knock.  I heard Lauren ask Ellie whether the other babysitter was still there. Lauren, Naomi and Ellie all came into the dining room, which I couldn't see from my hiding spot and none of the other girls jumped up.  Lauren said something like "Oh, are you having a party?" and finally the girls all jumped up and yelled "Surprise!"  I think she was truly surprised.  The rest of the evening was a huge hit, with our halloween inspired menu, gift opening, and movie watching.  And then impromptu dancing in the street out front of our house while the girls waited for their rides.  It was truly a memorable night.  I hope Lauren felt special and loved.  She is such a fun girl and a special part of our family.  

 

The dining hall in the Ewell's Haunted Manison

The place settings with the night's menu

Our appetizers included Witch's Fingers (below), werewolf fingers (breaded mozzarella sticks), monster toes (mini hotdogs wrapped in puff pastry) served with ketchup and marinara... I told the girls they were sides of blood - types A and B.

Our beverage for the night:  Swamp Juice.  

Our main course included Mummies, Swamp Creatures, and goblins' eyeballs.

And for dessert:  Jack Skellington and ghosts.

The servers:  Me, Emily and Grammy

waiting for Lauren to arrive

Lauren is surprised!

 

What a fun night!  I got all my ideas from Family Fun's Website.  Check it out and plan a fun party or family dinner!

Great Friends

Emily entered kindergarten in the fall of 2002.  She was in a "early bird, late bird" class.  Half the class arrived at 8:05 with the rest of the school and the other half arrived around 9:45 (I can't remember the exact time, it was a long time ago!)  Emily was in the late bird half.  Because those 16 students were the only ones being dropped off then and their pick up time was before the rest of the school got out, we moms that were dropping off our kids got to know each other pretty well.  Two of the moms became my good friends.  Their daughters were good friends with Emily as well.  As a matter of fact, we carpooled with one of the families for the next two years we were in Aliso before our move to San Clemente.  That was Deanna and Kaylynn (I'm sure I'm spelling her name wrong, sorry!)  The other mom and daughter, Vedette and Carly, went to a different school for 1st and 2nd grade, but we took swimming lessons in their backyard pool and Vedette and I watched each others kids so we could help in the classrooms.  And Deanna, Vedette and I belonged to a recipe club that met every month or so.  It's been a while since Emily and I have seen these moms and daughters.  We've kept in touch through Christmas cards and emails and now Facebook.  So we planned for us moms to get together for breakfast last week and it turned out the middle schoolers had the day off.  Our little girls, all oldest daughters, are no longer kindergartners, they are in 6th grade!  Where did the time go?!  I was a little worried about how the girls would act around each other having not seen each other for a couple of years.  But they hit it off, no problem.  We met at Bagel Shack for breakfast last Friday morning.  Then we went down and walked the peer and the girls gathered shells on the beach.  It was a gorgeous, warm, sunny day.  It was so fun to catch up with each other.  I am so grateful for good friends who enrich my life.  Later that night I met up with another dear friend, Renee, at a scrapbook night.  We met in 2002 also when my Lauren and Renee's twins, Lauren and Niko, were in the same preschool class.  We spent 2 years of preschool together.  Now Renee and I see each other at the occasional scrapbook night and I am always uplifted by her sweet spirit. 

Thanks Vedette, Deanna, and Renee for your gift of friendship!

 

Deanna, me, and Vedette

 

Kaylynn, Carly, and Emily

In honor of our old recipe club, I am including Vedette's recipe for pumpkin pie waffles for my recipe this week.  This is a favorite in our family.  I've blogged about it before - we make them for breakfast on Sunday morning of general conference and for thanksgiving breakfast.  They are best served with maple syrup and whipped cream.  Download Pumpkin Pie Waffles

Light Mac-n-Cheese with Spinach

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups low-fat milk, divided
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese (8 oz.)
• 1 cup low fat cottage cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed
• 8 ounces elbow macaroni
• 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ

Directions

Heat oven to 400F.

1. Spray 8" square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In small bowl, whisk 1/4 cup of the milk and flour until smooth.

3. In heavy medium saucepan, heat remaining 1 1/2 cups milk over medium heat until steaming.

4. Add flour mixture; cook 2-3 minutes or until sauce boils and thickens, whisking constantly.

5. Remove from heat; stir in cheddar cheese until melted.

6. Stir in cottage cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

7. Cook spinach according to package directions; drain.

8. Rinse under cold running water; squeeze out excess moisture.

9. Cook macaroni in large pot of boiling lightly salted water 4-5 minutes or until not quite tender, stirring often.

10. (Macaroni will continue to cook while baking.) Drain; rinse with cold water.

11. Drain again.

12. In large bowl, stir together cheese sauce and macaroni.

13. Spread half of the macaroni mixture in baking dish; spoon spinach over top.

14. Spread remaining macaroni mixture over spinach layer; sprinkle with wheat germ.

15. (Dish can be made to this point and refrigerated for 2 days or frozen for 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator before baking.) Bake 35-45 minutes or until bubbly and golden.

16. TIP *If you can't find wheat germ, substitute an equal amount of Parmesan cheese, cracker crumbs or bread crumbs.

17. My variations:  I used 1% milk, half reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese and half reduced fat provolone cheese for the extra sharp cheddar, non-fat cottage cheese, no nutmeg, and 1/4 cup italian bread crumbs with 1/8 cup shredded parmesan on top.  It was delicious!  In the future I would use either whole wheat pasta or Ronzoni's Smart pasta (the name is something along those lines) to boost fiber content.  I would also have to double this for my family.  Super Yummy!

back to recipe tuesdays

I've taken a couple weeks off so I'm back on it with a recipe this week.  This is a favorite recipe from my mom.  I made it for Christmas Eve and had a couple people ask for the recipe so thought I pass it along.

Layered Green Salad

In a large glass bowl, put one head of lettuce, chopped.  (I used one head of iceberg and one heart of romaine).  Next layer 1 cup of chopped celery, then 1/2 cup chopped green onions, and top with a small packaged (10 ounces?) of frozen peas (still frozen).  Over the top spread about 2 cups of mayonaise (my mom insists on full fat, I cut mine with reduced fat, about 1/2 and 1/2).  In a separate bowl, mix together 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (like Kraft in the green can), 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon seasoned salt and 1 teaspoon sugar.  Sprinkle this mixture over the mayo.  Cover and chill over night or for several hours.  Garnish with chopped hard boiled eggs, chopped tomatoes and crumbled bacon. 

This salad is so tasty and lasts for a few days in the fridge.  The secret to serving it is not to toss it. When you serve it, just use your tongs and go straight down so you get everything.  That way the dressing just stays on top the peas and doesn't wilt your lettuce. 

Mango Salsa

Recipe for the week.  I promise this is one you will want to make!  (Sorry about the Khash!  Kathryn sent me the recipe and pictures and I couldn't resist!  You should all be feeling sorry for her over there in Armenia; it's no wonder she's lost so much weight!)

This is my version of Craig's mom's salsa. 

Mango Salsa

2 - 14.5 oz. cans of petite diced tomatoes, drained

1 - 8 oz. can of Herdez Salsa Casera (from the mexican aisle at the market)

1/2 a red onion, chopped

1/2 a bunch of green onions, whites and greens, sliced

1/2 a  bunch of cilantro, chopped (more or less to taste)

1 clove of garlic, pressed

1 mango, diced

juice of one small lime

salt and pepper, to taste

a spoonful of sugar

Mix all of ingredients and serve with chips. 

Hint:  The Herdez is what adds the spice.  Start by adding half the can and taste to see if it's hot enough for you.