Awesome Summer Salad

This summer I will be eating lots of salads. In my effort to decrease the amounts of carbs/glutin in my diet, I will be turning to the greens to feel great! This salad has literally everything but the kitchen sink. You don't have to be precise when creating a salad, just use what you have if you need to.

Summer Salad Serves about 4

1 head of rommaine lettuce or mixed greens
4-5 large strawberries, chopped
chopped carrots
sliced cucumber
chopped red onion
1 large avocado, sliced
chopped olives
cherry tomatoes or sliced tomatoes
soybeans
peas
marinated artichokes (available at Costco)
lemon wedges
Chopped meat of your choice, I added canned salmon, of course. (Got to have the protein, or you make not get as full)
Grated cheese of your choice
(add whatever else you like such as sliced green grapes, chopped almonds, dried cranberries, chopped apples, pecans, etc. Enjoy your salad)!

Classic and Tasty Crockpot Chili

Chili can be eaten anytime during the year, don't you think? I love chili topped with grated cheese and crackers/chips. Simmering in the crockpot, the aromas just captivate your senses.

Crockpot Chili

1 c. black beans (canned or packaged) If packaged, I recommend you soak them for about 24 hours before you place in crockpot.
1 c. red beans or kidney beans ""
1 c. pinto beans ""
1 small 12 oz can of tomato paste
1 package of turkey meat
3 cans of diced tomatoes
1/2 c. chopped onion
1-2 packages of chili powder
2 T. chili sauce (optional)
1/4 c. water

Brown Turkey first, add to everthing else in crockpot and let simmer for about 6-8 hours or heat on either high or low settings in crockpot. Enjoy with cheese, crackers and/or chips.

Easy Crockpot Pot Roast

We had this for our anniversary dinner and it was fabulous. My other half made this meal, and he used angus roast, chopped carrots and potatoes (peeled), add 1 package onion soup mix, and about 3 c. water. Make sure water is even with potatoes and carrots. Allow to cook on low 8-10 hours. The pot roast comes out so tender and perfect.

Fondue Date Night

A few nights ago, we had a fondue date night. It was a lot of fun and I recommend it to anyone for a great, unique experience. We purchased the Wilton Chocolate fondue (for chocolate fountains or melting pots). This chocolate taste great if you want to try it. For our cheese fondue, we used 1 can of cheddar cheese soup, and 2 c. of sharp cheddar cheese. We allowed fondue to melt in a small crock-pot. The cheese fondue turned out perfect!! Our dippers included celery sticks, french bread, chicken tenders, and cucumbers. For dessert, we had chocolate fondue, and our dippers included, brownie bites, marshmallows, strawberries (which I liked the best)and bananas. The night was great and a great experience overall!!

Dark Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Fudge!

I made these lil cakes in custard cups. Each person got their own individual cake vs. the traditional cutting, slicing cake other option. These cakes weren't exactly molten chocolate, but very similiar. If you want to make molten chocolate cake, the custard cups are a great choice. You can always take the cake out and call them molten lava cakes!!

Easy, you will need:
1 box chocolate fudge or dark chocolate cake
follow recipe on box.
1 jar of Hershey's Dark Chocolate Fudge topping (found in ice-cream isle with other ice-cream toppings.)
Oven safe custard cups
Grease each custard cup, and the pour a puddle of fudge on the bottom of each cup. Add batter and then more fudge and then more batter and then on top of the cake, more fudge. Bake the cups for about 30 min. Toothpick it to check middle. Make sure cake is done.
Top with more hot fudge, whip cream, caramel, cherries or anything else you like.

Hamburger Or Turkey Stuffed Rolls Repost (Made with ground turkey meat this time)

An absolute favorite of mine since the 7th grade. These stuffed rolls have been in my life many times and will until I am 101. These rolls are so good, I could eat 4. Imagine eating a mushroom burger loaded with cheese, but having something that taste yummier and healthier too. I love them and you will too if you promise to make them.

Hamburger or Ground Turkey Stuffed Rolls

1 pound of lean turkey or hamburger meat
1/2 c. chopped onions
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (I used 1 1/2 c. of soup, and will save the other half for something else).
1 tsp. onion powder
1 pck. cheddar cheese (zero saturated fat, now available at Wal-mart).
about 2 dozens hard rolls
foil for wrapping

brown meat in skillet, add onions and powder. Add soup. Once done, cut a hole in each roll and stuff with mixture, add cheese to your liking and then replace the bread that was cut to make the hole. Stuff all rolls and then wrap individually in foil and bake at 350 for about 20 min. (pictured above: jumbo rolls made with french bread)

Taco Soup

Taco soup is a must have since I loooove anything with tomatoes. This soup is so quick to make. Perfect for a cold day, or any day for that matter! I used the taco seasoned turkey meat, potatoes and cilantro from my previous post and just cut the meal in half adding part of the mixture to the soup and the other part for burritos. Isn't that cool?!

Taco Soup
1 pound of taco seasoned lean turkey or hamburger meat (use all or half it like I did for another meal)
1/2 c. cilantro
1 large potato cubed
Cook meat thorougly, add potatoes, then add cilantro last (once meat and potatoes are cooked).
Add:
1 can of diced petite tomatoes
1 can of black beans
1/4 c. chopped onions
1/2 c. water
1 T. olive oil
Let simmer until done. Top with corn chips, cheese, sour cream, avocado, or anything your heart desires.