The Prize of Cooking

Cooking to win a prize is awesome but sharing it with the ones you love is even greater.

Salads

Dilled Brussels Sprouts Potato Salad #paisleyfarm #paisleyfarmfresh

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Dilled Brussels Sprouts Potato Salad

#paisleyfarm #paisleyfarmfresh #kroger

Dilled Brussels Sprouts Potato Salad

 

FOR THE BLOGGERS CHALLENGE

For this challenge each blogger was mailed 7 different Paisley Farm 24 oz jars: Five Bean Salad, Asian Bean Salad, Southwest Bean Salad, Dilled Brussels Sprouts, Hot Brussels Sprouts, Sweet Pickled Beets and Sweet Cauliflower

 

CONTEST CASH PRIZES AND CATEGORIES

The contest opened on November 1, 2018 and closes on December 31, 2018. Once I received their product I studied each jar to see what came to mind for the following categories. First I grabbed the Sweet Cauliflower and created Sweet and Sour Cauliflower Chicken. I love pickled cauliflower and it made the perfect substitute for pineapple. Paisley Farm Sweet Cauliflower has a great firm texture, crispness and a wonderful sweet flavor. I used the brine from the jar to make the sweet and sour sauce. Next I decided to cook with Paisley Farm Dilled Brussels Sprouts for a new tasty side dish.

One Grand Prize Winner: $1,000.00 Cash Prize

One Appetizer Category Winner: $500.00 Cash Prize

One Holiday Entrée Category Winner: $500.00 Cash Prize

One Soups/Side Dishes Category Winner: $500.00 Cash Prize

Dilled Brussels Sprouts Potato Salad

Dilled Brussels Sprouts are packaged whole. In this recipe each brussels sprout is cut into quarters.

Dilled Brussels Sprouts Potato Salad

 

Find Paisley Farm Foods Flavor Fresh-Ready to Serve Products

Sometimes it just takes a contest and new recipe like this to introduce people to great products. Many of these bean salads and sweet pickled veggies are now available at stores like: Ralphs, Smiths Food & Drug Stores, QFC, Fred Meyers, Krogers, King Soopers, Dillons and Fry’s.

You can also find them online at PaisleyFarmFoods.com They are also on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Just click on the social media platforms to go directly to read more about them.

Dilled Brussels Sprouts Potato Salad

Dilled Brussels Sprouts Potato Salad #paisleyfarm #paisleyfarmfresh #kroger

Number of servings: 6

See Detailed Nutrition Info on

Paisley Farm Dilled Brussels Sprouts blended with a creamy dressing adds the perfect tang and dilly flavor creating a great new potato salad.

Ingredients

  • 6 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • 1/2 cup celery, diced
  • 2 tablespoons onion, finely minced
  • 6 boiled eggs, (4 eggs diced and 2 reserved for garnish)
  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
  • 1 24 ounce jar Paisley Farm Dilled Brussels Sprouts, drained
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • Sprig of fresh dill is optional for garnish

Instructions

  1. Add the diced potatoes to a large pot, cover with cold water and add 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are fork tender. Drain potatoes when cooked and set aside.
  2. While potatoes are boiling, cut each brussels sprout into quarters lengthwise. Remove a small amount of cut brussels sprouts for garnish and set aside.
  3. In a bowl, blend the mayonnaise, yellow mustard, celery, onion, black pepper, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, sugar and onion powder.
  4. Once potatoes are cooked and drained, blend in the dressing. Gently toss in the cut Dilled Brussels Sprouts and diced boiled eggs.
  5. To serve, arrange the reserved cut brussels sprouts in the center of the potato salad and arrange the reserved cut boiled eggs around the brussels sprouts. A sprig of fresh dill can be added for garnish or a sprinkling of dried dill would be nice too.

Coconut Thai Crawfish Bowl #BLENDABELLA #Seafood #CoconutThai #Crawfish

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Coconut Thai Crawfish Bowl

#BLENDABELLA #Seafood #CoconutThai #GlutenFree #DairyFree

Coconut Thai Crawfish Bowl #BLENDABELLA #CoconutThai

Seafood…why yes please!! Who better than the 2017 World Seafood Champion to make a seafood dish for a contest entry? That would be me!!! The last jar of my contest journey with BLENDABELLA was to use their Coconut Thai blend. But before I share my recipe let me tell you about their prizes since I am cooking to compete.

Coconut Thai Crawfish Bowl #BLENDABELLA #CoconutThai

Judging:​ The winners of the contest will be determined by judging all qualifying entrants’
submissions based on the following criteria:
● Visual Appeal: 25%
Does the recipe show well on a plate or in a bowl? Do your eyes make you want to eat
this recipe before you even smell or taste it?
● Creativity: 25%
Does your recipe show originality? Is this recipe reflective of unique twists to ingredient
usage? Have you incorporated your personal touch to this recipe?
● Taste: 50%
Does this recipe taste great with every bite? Would you want to make this recipe over
and over again based on taste alone? Does it contain interesting, yet gratifying flavor
combinations?

Coconut Thai Crawfish Bowl #BLENDABELLA #CoconutThai

Winners will be selected as follows: One Grand Prize winner will be
awarded $1,000.00; One appetizer category winner will be awarded $500.00. One side dish
category winner will be awarded $500.00. One entrée category winner will be awarded 500.00

This round is Coconut Thai BLENDABELLA. This jar is so full of complex flavors. It easily replaces the many different spices you would need to buy to get a great Thai flavor. But no need to buy them all just purchase the BLENDABELLA product and you are set to go.

Coconut Thai Crawfish Bowl #BLENDABELLA #CoconutThai

Veggie bowls are so popular. Adding a protein makes it a complete meal. The kind of protein you use is really up to you. I chose crawfish which goes so well with Thai flavors. Shrimp or a firm white fish would work great also. I served the bowls hot but they could be served chilled as well.

Coconut Thai Crawfish Bowl #BLENDABELLA #CoconutThai

You can find more information and recipes using Coconut Thai  BLENDABELLA on their website here.

You can purchase BLENDABELLA online here.

You can follow BLENDABELLA on their social media platforms for more inspirational recipes using their products.

Website: http://blendabella.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BLENDABELLA/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BLENDABELLA?lang=en

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blendabella/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/blendabella/

Coconut Thai Crawfish Bowl #BLENDABELLA #CoconutThai

 

Coconut Thai Crawfish Bowl #BLENDABELLA #CoconutThai

 

Coconut Thai Crawfish Bowl #BLENDABELLA #Seafood #CoconutThai

Number of servings: 4

See Detailed Nutrition Info on

Coconut Thai Crawfish is a light and full flavored seafood dish. The Coconut Thai Blendabella adds the zest of Thai as well as a touch of vegetables and herbs. Preparing a seafood bowl has never been easier.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup canned coconut milk, full fat
  • 1-12 ounce jar Coconut Thai BLENDABELLA, divided
  • 1 tablespoon Thai Red Curry paste
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 pound crawfish tails, fully cooked, peeled and deveined
  • Juice from ½ large lime
  • 4 baby bok choy with the bottoms cut off or larger bok choy cut, spinach is also a great substitute
  • 2 large carrots, spiralized or julienned
  • 2 medium size zucchini, peel on, spiralized or julienned
  • 1-12 ounce package frozen riced cauliflower
  • 2 avocados, sliced thin
  • ½ cup Cilantro leaves
  • 4 radishes, sliced thin
  • 8 Lime wedges for garnish
  • 1/3 cup toasted unsweetened shaved coconut for garnish
  • 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds for garnish
  • Optional side dish: cooked and salted edamame pods tossed in soy sauce

Instructions

  1. Have all of the veggie/avocado/garnish ingredients prepared as listed above.
  2. Cook the riced cauliflower as directed on the package, set aside and keep hot.
  3. In a saucepan, heat the coconut milk, Thai Red Curry paste, ½ cup of the Coconut Thai BLENDABELLA, salt and crawfish. Heat through then finish with the Thai basil leaves and lime juice. Reduce the heat, cover and keep warm.
  4. In a large pot with a steam basket, bring water to a simmer. Place in the spiralized carrots in one spot with the zucchini bundled next to the carrots. Place the baby bok choy in and around the veggies. Steam for several minutes to tenderize and begin to wilt the bok choy.
  5. Arrange the four bowls with riced cauliflower, steamed boy choy, fanned out avocado slices, spiralized carrots and zucchini on the outside of the bowl. Spoon in the Coconut Thai BLENDABELLA crawfish mixture with liquid into the center of the bowl. Tuck in the radish slices, cilantro leaves and garnish with black sesame seeds and the toasted shaved coconut. Add the lime wedges, an additional spoonful of Coconut Thai BLENDABELLA and serve.

 

Cranberry Orange Poppy Seed Salad #CapeCodSelect

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Cranberry Orange Poppy Seed Salad

#CapeCodSelect #PremiumCranberries #SummerBreeze

Summer time calls for fresh salads. What a lot of people wouldn’t expect to see is fresh frozen cranberries in the recipe. Having access to these premium cranberries means you can have them all year round.

Cranberry Orange Poppy Seed Salad #CapeCodSelect

Two cups of frozen cranberries are simmered in 1/2 cup of orange juice just until thawed and slightly tender. One cup will be set aside for the salad and the other cup will be pureed in the poppy seed dressing.

 

Cranberry Orange Poppy Seed Salad #CapeCodSelect

My mom’s strawberry poppy seed salad was my inspiration for this recipe. She loves to put candied pecans and walnuts in her salads. I just love the crunch it adds.

My salad dressing is a bit different than hers as I add fruit to the mix. The pink color it gets when all blended looks so pretty on the salad.

Cranberry Orange Poppy Seed Salad

This is my second year competing with Cape Cod Select. Last time we were doing the contest in the winter so a lot of my recipes were more comfort food for cold days. When I received the cranberries in the mail I also received a note about the company. One, it’s is a small women-owned family business. How cool is that? Second, the Rhodes family has been growing cranberries on their 800 acre cranberry farm for more than 75 years and is now in its fourth generation. That’s a lot of cranberries over the years.

The cranberries are grown to some of the industries highest standards and are Non-GMO verified and hold GLOBALG.A.P. Certification. Check out what that means here at https://www.globalgap.org/uk_en/for-consumers

Fireside Cranberry Sours #CapeCodSelect

Just look at those gems. Cape Cod Select also has a focus on sustainability, powering its facilities primarily with solar power and using better growing practices on their farms. It is no wonder that they grow the largest, fullest, richest cranberries I have ever cooking with. (FYI, this is my personal comment with no endorsement for saying so.)

This years bloggers contest includes three categories; Beverages, Appetizers and Sides, Salads & Salsas. Each blogger can enter all three categories for a chance at winning cash prizes as follows.

:: One Grand Prize Winner: $1,000.00 Cash Prize
:: One Beverage Category Winner: $500.00 Cash Prize
:: One Appetizers Category Winner: $500.00 Cash Prize
:: One Sides, Salads, & Salsas Category Winner: $500.00 Cash Prize

The winner of the Cape Cod Select “Summer Breeze Blogger Recipe Challenge” will be determined by judging all qualifying entrants’ submissions based on the following criteria:

:: 1. Visual Appeal: 25%
:: 2. Creativity: 25%
:: 3. Taste: 50%

Find more great recipes and ideas on using these premium cranberries on Cape Cod Select social media. @CapeCodSelect

Instagram   Twitter  Pinterest

If you want to purchase Cape Cod Select frozen cranberries online from their website, click here. If you want to locate a store to purchase their frozen cranberries, click here. You will be happy you did.

 

Cranberry Orange Poppy Seed Salad #CapeCodSelect

Number of servings: 8

See Detailed Nutrition Info on

Fresh crisp salad drizzled with a cranberry poppy seed dressing. This salad has a gentle blend of sweet from the honey pecans and oranges but it also has a hint of tart from the Cape Cod Cranberries. A great summer salad but would be perfect served next to the Thanksgiving turkey.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Cape Cod Select Premium Frozen Cranberries, divided
  • ½ cup orange juice
  • 2-11 ounce cans mandarin oranges, drained
  • 3.5 ounce bag Honey Roasted Pecan Pieces (toffee pecans or toasted pecans can be substituted)
  • 10 ounce bag shredded cabbage, angel hair style cut
  • 10 ounce package Mix of Sweet Red Butter Lettuce and Spinach
  • 2 Green onions, chopped
  • Orange Cranberry Poppy Seed Dressing
  • 3 tablespoon sugar
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 3 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons orange marmalade
  • 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
  • ½ teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1 tablespoon finely minced onion
  • 1 cup cranberries, simmered (from above ingredients)
  • 1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes

Instructions

  1. In a saucepan over medium heat, simmer 2 cups of CCS cranberries in ½ cup orange juice for 5 minutes or until the cranberries are tender but not soft and split. Save the orange juice to use in the poppy seed dressing if it needs to be thinned. Divide the cranberries in half.
  2. In a blender or food processor, add all of the poppy seed dressing ingredients except the oil. While blending the ingredients, slowly drizzle the oil into the processor until the dressing is slightly smooth and well combined. Add orange juice if needed to make a pourable consistency of your liking.
  3. In a large bowl, toss the cabbage, mix salad greens and chopped green onions. Arrange on a platter, top with oranges and the remaining cranberries, pecan pieces and then drizzle with dressing.

 

Chilled Smoked Salmon Stacked Salad #GilroyGarlic

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Chilled Smoked Salmon Stacked Salad

#GiloryGarlicContest #RecipeContest #Livecookoff

 

 

 

Being a Pacific Northwest seafood lover I had to incorporate seafood into my Gilroy Garlic Festival Recipe Cook Off Contest

What else might you except from a World Seafood Champion? After following the Gilroy Garlic Festival and their finalists for years, I have learned that this is the time to shine. In other words, it’s ok to go a bit crazy with your recipe. Garlic, garlic and more garlic would be a great start. This is not a recipe contest that states, “we want easy to recreate recipes”, “simple recipes that any home cook can make”. Instead its about the wow factor and how well you can represent garlic.

This is my entry for the 2018 year contest. I will say that I was very pleased with the dish. Not only on how it tasted but how it looked. FYI, I googled how to make a salmon rose on YouTube. If you are interested, here is the video I watched that helped me learn how to make it. I did however add more petals of sliced salmon to make a larger rose.

 

Chilled Smoked Salmon Stacked Salad

In 2016, my sweet friend and food competitor Rebecka Evans won the Gilroy Garlic Contest. I am so proud of her and her gorgeous Goat Cheese Bacon with Creamy Garlic Mustard Sauce souffle she made. She is one talented lady. You can find more information and recipes she has created on her blog At Home with Rebecka.

I am looking forward to watching several of my food friend competitors who were chosen as this years finalists. I sure hope one of them will be crowned the new Gilroy Garlic Champion.

Rebecka Evan with her winning Gilroy Garlic dish. Photo by Lisa Keys

 

 

Chilled Smoked Salmon Stacked Salad

Number of servings: 6

See Detailed Nutrition Info on

Creamy garlic aioli is blended in with layers of shredded celery root, cooked beets and snap peas, Applewood Smoke Sockeye Salmon and shredded boiled eggs. A refreshing chilled salmon salad that can be served anytime.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups mayonnaise
  • 8 large garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper, divided
  • 5 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 32 ounces Applewood Smoke Sockeye Salmon, packaged in easy peel thin slices, divided
  • 1 pound fresh sugar snap peas, blanched and thinly sliced diagonally
  • 3 cups celery root, peeled and shredded
  • 1 ½ tablespoon cornichons, finely minced
  • 1 ½ teaspoons capers, drained and minced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh tarragon, minced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh parsley, minced
  • 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • ¼ cup fresh dill, minced
  • 8 boiled eggs, peeled and shredded
  • 2-15 ounce can whole beets, drained and julienne cut
  • ½ cup red onion, finely minced
  • Garnish: Salmon roses made with remaining salmon slices, parsley sprigs, and drained capers
  • 6-4 inch X 2 inch metal rings or 4 inch mini springform pans with the bottom removed

Instructions

  1. In a blender prepare the garlic aioli; add in the mayonnaise, chopped garlic, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper and lemon juice and blend until smooth. Remove from the blender and measure out ¾ cup of the garlic aioli. To the ¾ cup of garlic aioli, add the ¼ cup fresh minced dill. Refrigerate the dill garlic aioli aside as well as the remaining garlic aioli.
  2. Prepare a bowl of ice water bath and set aside. In a large saucepan with boiling water, blanch the sugar snap peas for a couple of minutes, remove from the boiling water and add to the ice water bath. Once the snap peas are cooled, cut off the ends and discard. Cut the snap peas into small pieces at a diagonal. Toss with a ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt and refrigerate the snap peas until the salad is assembled.
  3. In a large bowl, mix together the shredded celery root, cornichons, chopped capers, minced tarragon, minced parsley, Dijon mustard and ½ cup of the prepared garlic aioli. Refrigerate until assembly.
  4. Shred the boiled and peeled eggs. Season with ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper and refrigerate until assembly.
  5. Cut the whole beets into julienne pieces and toss with the finely minced red onion. Add in ½ cup of the prepared garlic aioli and refrigerate until assembly.
  6. Measure out 24 ounces of the smoked salmon and cut into small pieces. Refrigerate until assembly.
  7. With the remaining smoked salmon slices create the roses by rolling a thin slice to make a center. Add additional slices as petals, moving around the center as you add the slices. Slightly bend the edges of the petals outward to make an open rose. Refrigerate the smoked salmon roses until assembly.
  8. Begin the assembly of the stacked salads by putting each ring on a serving plate. Arrange 4 ounces of chopped smoked salmon, pressing it down onto the bottom of the ring. Top the smoked salmon with 2 tablespoon of the dill garlic aioli, spreading the sauce to cover the salmon.
  9. Layer the cut sugar snap peas on next, pressing them tightly in place.
  10. Top the snap peas with a ¼ cup of the celery root mixture. Press the mixture into place.
  11. Divide the shredded egg on top of the celery root mixture in each ring.
  12. Add the beet mixture on top of the eggs. (At this point the layered salad may be at the top, just make sure to have the beet mixture all the way around the outer edge.
  13. Refrigerate the rings until you serve them. Lift the rings while pressing any of the ingredients down to keep them from coming upwards. On each salad add the parsley sprigs, smoked salmon roses and the capers around each rose for garnish.

Curry Chicken Mandarin Orange Yakisoba Noodle Salad

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Curry Chicken Mandarin Orange Yakisoba Noodle Salad I finally decided and this is my recipe entry to JSL Foods Fortune Asian Noodle Blogger Recipe Challenge.

Curry Chicken Mandarin Orange Yakisoba Noodle Salad

Curry Chicken Mandarin Orange Yakisoba Noodle Salad

 

I started created recipes for this contest some time ago. I chose the companies Mandarin Orange Yakisoba Stir Fry Noodle packet. I also chose to compete in the cold noodle challenge.

 

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Once I received the complimentary noodle packets in the mail, I started my recipe creations. I couldn’t resist starting with a family favorite, Vietnamese Shrimp Summer Rolls.IMG_2237 I infused the Yakisoba noodle packet into the shrimp roll. The rolls are so cute.

You can see the shrimp, noodles and mandarin oranges showing through. I made a dipping sauce with some of the seasoning packet. So good, I promise I will post this recipe too!! Next I steps up the gourmet style and went for a special cold noodle dish for two, Mandarin Orange Lobster Yakisoba Salad. 13503035_1012839538824007_6729360137147461816_o
This cold salad is a blend of lightly poached lobster, Yakisoba noodles, mandarin oranges, chopped celery, green onions and a vinaigrette that is made with the seaoning packet. A gorgeous dish that is easy to make and can be served for an everyday meal or for a special occasion. You can only imagine how my kids are loving this recipe testing session, shrimp, lobster, and next crab meat. I will say that the next test dish does contain imitation crab chunks. This is not so much of a shock anymore because it is one of the most popular ingredients used in sushi rolls. IMG_2316This salad, Mandarin Poppy Seed Crab Yakisoba Salad is so refreshing and would be great for serving at a brunch or any backyard party. The poppy seed dressing is mixed with the seasoning packet and then tossed with the Yakisoba noodles, mandarin oragnes, imitation crab chunks, celery, green onions and sliced almonds. Check back to get all three of these recipes soon.

You can find Fortune’s ready to use noodle products in the produce isle at stores such as Fred Meyers, Safeway and local market places. I was so thrilled to find my local Roth’s was carrying the Mandarin Orange Yakisoba Stir Fry Noodle packet. Not able to stop myself, I bought more packets and headed back home, called the family and said I was doing an Indian inspired noodle salad next. This is one great way to get your adult children to come see you, simple cook and they come. 🙂 Blending the noodles with the seasoned coconut cream, cauliflower, chicken, curry paste, crunchy nuts, sweet raisins and more, was the perfect move.
One last recipe, taste buds ready and the vote was in. The Curry Chicken Mandarin Orange Yakisoba Salad is the winner for us. I hope that JSL Foods thinks so too. I would love to see this cold noodle salad be their pick!!

Curry Chicken Mandarin Orange Yakisoba Noodle Salad

Curry Chicken Mandarin Orange Yakisoba Noodle Salad

Number of servings: 4

See Detailed Nutrition Info on

An Indian inspired cold chicken Yakisoba noodle salad that is blended with the flavorful seasonings from the Fortune noodle packet, smooth coconut cream, curry paste and a few more ingredients that are perfect in Indian dishes. Chill this salad to allow all of the wonderful spices come together.

Ingredients

  • 7.7 oz package Fortune Mandarin Orange Yakisoba Stir Fry Noodles
  • 1 cup canned coconut cream (full fat canned coconut milk can be used)
  • 11 oz can mandarin oranges, drained
  • 12 oz cubed chicken breasts meat, trimmed
  • 1 tablespoon minced Serrano pepper, membrane and seeds removed
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 teaspoon ginger paste
  • 1 teaspoon garlic paste
  • 3 tablespoons mild curry paste, concentrated
  • 2 cups cauliflower, cut into small floweret’s and blanched
  • 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes
  • ¾ cup green bell pepper, diced
  • 3 tablespoons raisins
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • ½ cup cilantro, chopped

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil to blanch the cauliflower and to warm the cut noodles. First blanch the cauliflower in the boiling water for 3 minutes, remove from the pot but do not discard the water, rinse the cauliflower with cold water and refrigerate. Next place the cut noodles in the hot water with the heat turned off for several minutes, strain from the water, cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
  2. Remove the seasoning packet from the Fortune Mandarin Orange Yakisoba Stir Fry Noodle packet and blend it with the coconut cream in a small bowl and set aside.
  3. Toast the slivered almonds and coconut flakes in a small skillet over medium heat until golden brown. Remove from the heat and add the raisins, take 1 tablespoon of the mix and set it aside for garnish.
  4. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the minced Serrano pepper and sauté for a minute to soften. Add the cubed chicken breast and begin to cook. After a few minutes, add the ginger paste, garlic paste, curry paste, salt and pepper. Continue cooking 5-8 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from the heat, add the cut noodles and the seasoned coconut milk and refrigerate until the salad is cold.
  5. When the noodle and chicken mixture is cold, gently toss in the green bell pepper, green onions, almond/coconut/raisin mixture, mandarin oranges and most of the cilantro. (Keep a small amount of the cilantro for garnish.)
  6. Serve the cold curry noodle chicken salad and enjoy!!

Southwest Honey Mustard Sweet Potato Salad

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Have you ever just opened the refrigerator and started gathering ingredients from inside to create a dish? That is how my Southwest Honey Mustard Sweet Potato Salad  came about.

IMG_0969

I served this salad at a family dinner. All I can say is that there was no salad left and they asked for more. I think that is a good sign. The only problem was…What did I put in there? Since I randomly built this salad as I went, I had to rack my brain to remember each ingredient and how much of each I used.

IMG_0983

Before I knew it, my kids were calling me for the recipe so I sat down and typed up what I could remember. One of my daughters made the salad and said it was a hit at her office potluck. She did comment that she thought it needed more sweet potatoes. So I started retesting the recipe until I had the measurements down. Oh, make sure you use the white (light yellow flesh) sweet potato and not the oranges ones!! Some people call the orange ones sweet potatoes, I call them YAMS. 🙂

You will notice that the recipe calls for Suzie’s Mustard’s. That would be Suzie Barhyte, founder of Barhyte Mustard’s and Sauce Mama’s products.
Suzie’s business is Oregon made. Fabulous products made by a fantastic company. (Note, I am happy to endorse Suzie’s product with no endorsement.)

A recipe well tested and well loved, enjoy!!!

 

 

Southwest Honey Mustard Sweet Potato Salad

12 servings

8 cups peeled, 1” diced white skinned sweet potatoes (several large sweet potatoes)

Drizzle of olive oil

1 jalapeno, seeds and membranes removed and finely diced (leave seeds in for more heat)

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

4 chopped green onions

6 strips crispy cooked bacon, chopped

¾  cup mayonnaise

¼  cup sour cream

¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil

1 tablespoon finely minced garlic

2 tablespoon rice vinegar or lime juice

¼ cup honey

2 tablespoon Suzie’s Organic yellow mustard, (a yellow mustard can be used)

2 tablespoon Sauce Mama’s Chipotle mustard, (a Dijon mustard can be used)

Toss sweet potato cubes with olive oil and spread on baking sheet. Oven roast the potatoes for 35 minutes at 425 degrees, turning halfway through cooking time. Potatoes should be slightly tender and have golden brown edges.

While potatoes are roasting prepare the dressing by mixing the remaining ingredients. When potatoes are removed from oven, let them cool only slightly. Transfer potatoes to a large mixing bowl and add the dressing. Carefully toss. Serve warm or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

Women’s Day Retreat Luncheon

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It is always a joy to be able to cook for others, especially the women of my church. This last weekend I was able to serve the women a luncheon of soups, salads and breads.

Don’t even think that I did this alone. I am blessed to have friends and a husband who love to cook as well. Mark, Leslie, Teri, Carolyn and Michelle, you all are the best!! They all volunteered their time with smiles on their faces.

After discussing the menu with Cindy L., who coordinated the women’s day retreat, we came down to three different soups (creamy, hearty and light), three fabulous salads and three breads (biscuit, crescent and bread knot).

Try these easy recipes at home or for a large crowd, they will be delighted.

Soup just like Olive Garden’s Pasta e Fagioli, yum! We made this soup from the Damn Delicious website. The only thing I changed was the type of sausage I used. Instead of spicy Italian sausage I used mild Italian sausage.

Pasta e Fagioli-The Prize of Cooking

Pasta e Fagioli-The Prize of Cooking

 

Vegetable Soup for those who want to go light, gluten free or vegan. It is always nice to be able to provide options for those who have special diets. I totally understand since I can not tolerate gluten myself. My Crohn’s Disease is much happier without it.

 

Vegetable Soup- The Prize of Cooking

Vegetable Soup- The Prize of Cooking

 

The vegetable soup we made was based off of this recipe from Food Network. We used onions instead of leeks, frozen corn instead of fresh cut off the cob and fresh baby spinach instead of parsley. At the end of the cooking time we also added fresh diced zucchini, and peas. I found a great concentrated liquid vegetable broth from Knorr that is gluten free and free of MSG from Cash and Carry, a local commercial grocery supplier.

The Baked Potato Bacon Chowder was the popular soup of the day. In fact we served every drop of it. I have to tell you that we did not make this soup from scratch but rather bought a pre-made frozen base. We couldn’t leave things alone so we added fresh red potatoes that were cubed and oven  roasted in the bacon fat that was on the trays from the bacon we cooked earlier. Oh and some of the crumbled bacon for even more bacon goodness. Finally we topped it off with fresh chopped chives.

 

Baked Potato Bacon Chowder-The Prize of Cooking

Baked Potato Bacon Chowder-The Prize of Cooking

 

Salad time!! What women doesn’t love a broccoli salad with apples, bacon and cranberries? Can’t say that I know one that doesn’t . We made a fabulous Apple Broccoli Salad. This salad is similar to the loved broccoli salad with sunflower seeds and bacon. Cindy L, my friend and coordinator shared this Apple Broccoli Salad with me.

Broccoli Apple Salad-The Prize of Cooking

Apple Broccoli Salad-The Prize of Cooking

 

My mother is 76 years old and is still catering to this day. I called her to talk about this luncheon. She said she make a salad likes this all of the time but adds grated parmesan cheese to the dressing. She also suggested using a coleslaw dressing in place of the mayonnaise, sugar and lemon juice.  So that is what we did. Cindy’s original recipe calls for

1 lb bacon

1 large bunch broccoli, cut into bite size pieces

1 c dried cranberries

2 c chopped apples

1 bunch green onions, diced

1 c chopped nuts of choice (Cindy personally LOVES pecans!!)

1-1/2 c mayonnaise

5 T sugar

2 T lemon juice

Brown the bacon and crumble (Cindy has used Costco bacon bits before and they work well, too). Mix mayo, sugar, lemon juice in separate container and set aside.

Rinse, cut/chop all items and toss into large mixing bowl. Pour in dressing, toss to coat, refrigerate and serve.

This makes about 12 cups or so… super delicious!

This next salad is one my mother shared with me. She makes it over and over for her catering business. She said it is one of those salads that you think may be a bit unusual until you taste it. Strawberry Poppy Seed Slaw.  Oh yes, a slaw with fruit and a slightly sweet poppy seed dressing.  Wait……….don’t forget the candied pecans that have a hint of cinnamon!

 

Strawberry Poppy Seed Slaw-The Prize of Cooking

Strawberry Poppy Seed Slaw-The Prize of Cooking

 

Strawberry Poppy Seed Slaw

1 bag of shredded cabbage

1 pint strawberries, hulled and cut into quarters

1 cup red grapes, left whole or sliced

Candied pecans, recipe below

 

Poppy Seed Salad Dressing:

1 cup oil

1 tsp dry mustard

2 tablespoon finely minced onion

1 tablespoon poppy seed

1/3 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

In a blender or food processor, add all of the poppy seed dressing ingredients except the oil. While blending the ingredients, slowly drizzle the oil into the processor until the dressing is well combined.

 

Making the Candied Pecans:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup water

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Bag of pecans, up to one pound

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Bring sugar and water with cinnamon to a boil in a medium size sauce pan. Add pecans and continue to boil for 10 minutes.

Pour pecans onto a greased sprayed baking sheet. Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes or until dry and crispy.

DO NOT MIX THIS UNTIL READY TO SERVE!! Just before serving the salad add all of the ingredients, with the pecans and dressing. Toss to coat with dressing and serve immediately. By waiting you will keep the salad crisp and fresh without loosing the crunch of the candied pecans. The strawberries also stay a bright red color.

Soups…..Salads……and Bread!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Three breads to make the choice difficult. 🙂 Goat Cheese and Chive Biscuits, Garlic Parmesan Knots and Cresents.

Assorted Baked Breads-The Prize of Cooking

Assorted Baked Breads-The Prize of Cooking

We chose to not make cresents from scratch but rather spend our time baking the other two. You can find the Goat Cheese and Chive biscuit recipe here. The last recipe to share from this meal is the Garlic Parmesan Knots. You can find that recipe here.

Best KFC Copycat Coleslaw

by

Looking for a coleslaw recipe that tastes just like Kentucky Fried Chicken’s coleslaw?

Copycat KFC Coleslaw

Copycat KFC Coleslaw

 

Years ago :), when newspapers were your source for articles on gardening, do-it-yourself projects and recipes, I would clip recipes thinking I would someday rewrite them into a book. Well, as you can see I still haven’t got to all of them. I found this recipe for KFC Copycat Coleslaw about 15+ years ago. I have made this over and over. It truly tastes like KFC’s coleslaw.

Best KFC Copycat Coleslaw-The Prize of Cooking

Best KFC Copycat Coleslaw-The Prize of Cooking

 

If you do decide to make it, don’t change a thing the first time. I did later substitute artificial sweetener for the sugar. That explains the handwriting for 10 pkg on the newspaper clipping. I am not sure who Cruz’s is but thanks for sharing many years ago.

 

Copycat KFC Coleslaw

Copycat KFC Coleslaw

 

Cruz’s KFC Coleslaw
1 head of cabbage (1 1/2 to 2 pounds) finely shredded
1/4 cup finely diced carrots
2 tablespoons finely diced onion
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

In a large bowl toss together the cabbage, carrots, onion, sugar and salt. Set aside. In a smaller bowl combine the Miracle Whip, sour cream, vinegar and oil. Mix well. Toss the dressing with the cabbage mixture. Chill at least 1 hour before serving.

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