Chopped Salad

Chopped Salad

6-8 cups chopped romaine lettuce

2 pears sliced small

1/2 to 1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 to 1 cup sugared walnuts (or any nuts you prefer)

1/2 lb to 1 lb bacon cooked, crumbled

4-6 oz. feta cheese crumbles

Poppy Seed Dressing (I prefer Briannas)

You can add a splash of Balsamic Vinegar as well

CREAM CHEESE LEMON BARS

Shortbread or sugar cookies, finely crushed to 1¼ cups crumbs

¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted

1 package lemon pie filling, prepared with egg yolks and sugar as directed on package (NOT instant)

1 eight-ounce package cream cheese, softened to room temperature

½ cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350º. Combine cookie crumbs and melted butter; mix well. Press into bottom of 9” x 13” pan. Bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Leave oven on.

Meanwhile, prepare lemon pudding as package directs. Leave pudding in pan you cooked it in; set aside to cool slightly while you blend the cream cheese with the powdered sugar. Fold cream cheese mixture into warm pudding, stirring/whisking until smooth.

Pour mixture into crust. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours before cutting into small squares. Serve chilled. Dust with additional powdered sugar if desired.

RS Birthday Brunch Apple Pie in a Jar

Apple Pie in a Jar makes
about 8 small individual pies
You'll need:Half pint jars (about 8) sanitized ( I used Kerr)Pie crusts ( about 4 homemade or store bought)
Pie filling (recipe as follows)7 cups apples cored, peeled, and sliced small
2tbs lemon juice
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Combine apples and lemon juice in large bowl. Make sure they apples are well coated. Add remaining ingredients to apples.
Step 1: Pie Dough Use the jar lid to cut out circles of the pie dough and line the bottom of each jar with the pie cut out. Cut strips or use scraps of dough to fill the inside of jar sides. Use your fingers to smash the dough until the entire jar is lined with pie dough. Do this to each jar.
Step 2: Fill up the Jars. I used about 1/2 c of pie filling for each jar but you can play around with how much you like.
Step 3: Top it off Cut out 8 more circles using the jars lid. Place on top of pie filling and crimp edges. Make sure your “lid” has a vent so steam can escape. You can use a knive to make a couple of slits or a tiny cookie cutter to make it decorative. Brush pie tops with butter and sprinkle with sugar at this point.
Step 4: Pop em in the oven:Place jars on cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 45-60 min.Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and enjoy!!! Tip: I found the lining of the jars with dough very time consuming so grab a hubby, mom, or kiddo to come help you.

Strawberry Trifle by Julie Winter

1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 c. cold water
1 small package instant pudding
8 oz. cool whip
1 angel food cake, prepared
4 c. strawberries, sliced
3 whole strawberries
1/4 c. mini chocolate chips

Whisk milk, water, and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes. Fold cool whip into pudding mixture. Cut cake into 1/2 inch cubes. In a glass bowl, spoon 1/3 of the pudding mix, half of the cake cubes, and half of the sliced strawberries. Repeat. End with final 1/3 of the pudding, whole strawberries, and sprinkle chocolate chips on top.

Spinach, Strawberry and Romaine Salad with Honey Citrus Vinaigrette by Jeanne Young

1 ½ cups slices strawberries

½ cup chopped pecans

½ cup chopped dried mangos

4-5 romaine lettuce leaves, torn in bite size pieces

8 cups of baby spinach leaves (about 8 oz.)

1 TB golden flax seed

Dressing:

Zest a small lemon and small orange. Extract the juice from each to make about 1/3 cup of combined juices.

Add 1/3 cup olive oil and 1 teaspoon of honey to juices and zest. Add dash of salt. Whisk together to blend and toss with greens and strawberries just before serving.

Strawberry Cream Shortcake by Celeste Gaian

1 large pound cake
1 small vanilla instant pudding
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup sweetend condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla
12 oz. Cool Whip
3 cups strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced

Slice the cake very thin and lay 1/2 of the slices in a 9x13 inch glass baking dish. In a bowl, combine the pudding, water, milk, and vanilla with an electric mixer. Fold in the Cool Whip. Pour half of this over the cake and lay half of the strawberries on top. Repeat to make the 2nd layer. Refrigerate until well chilled.

Razzamatazz Smoothie

Makes about 4 cups

Place in blender:

2 c. frozen strawberries
1 ripe banana
2 scoops orange sherbet
1 c. crushed ice
12 oz. raspberry juice (I use Welch's White Grape/Raspberry Juice Blend)

Blend and serve immediately.