Not your everyday FRUIT Salads.

Hopefully, I'm not too late for your weekend menu planning. I want to share with you a couple quick salads that include fruit, and a few links to some salads that I've shared in the past, to help with this weekends menu.

When someone says "fruit salad" do you automatically think of that mushy stuff with maraschino cherries in it, that was served on our lunch trays? Fruit Cocktail. My grandma tried to pass it off as dessert on occasion. Us kids, we weren't buying it, Yuck! I do appreciate a nice bowl of fresh fruit, cut up and tossed together, with nothing but their natural juices. But that's not what I'm talking about either.

The blue is hiding in this picture, but this salad is perfect for Independance Day because it's Red/White and Blue! It will look perfectly patriotic on your table!

I have shared a very similar salad with you before. This time I threw in some blueberries. Apple chunks also work well in this salad. This salad is terribly easy, and is always a hit. I know some of you have a goat cheese aversion, so to you I say GET OVER IT! Goat Cheese rocks. Sorry...what I really meant to say was, you can also use Feta Cheese if you prefer. Please and thank you .

Red White and Blue Salad

printable recipe

1 large head Red Romaine

1 pint Strawberries, sliced

2 cups Blueberries

1/2 Red Onion, sliced thin

1 cup Caramelized Pecans (How to caramelize pecans can be found here.)

5 ounces Goat Cheese

1 bottle Poppy Seed Salad Dressing

Clean lettuce and tear into bite sized pieces, place in shallow salad dish. Layer sliced strawberries, blueberries, sliced onion, pecans, and crumbled goat cheese over lettuce. Serve with dressing on the side.

The colors in this next salad aren't quite as patriotic, but I promise you will be whistling Dixie after you have your first bite!

My sister served us this salad last week. It is so simple and so perfectly scrumptious! I wanted to push my burger aside and eat only it.

Clean and pit peaches. Then slice into thin wedges.

Peach Salad

printable recipe

4 Peaches, sliced thin

1/4 of a Red Onion, sliced thin

1/4 cup Basil, chopped

1 lemon, juiced

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 teaspoon Course Salt

fresh cracked Pepper, to taste

After slicing peaches, slice onion very thin, chop basil, toss together with juice of one lemon, olive oil, coarse salt, and cracked pepper. Voila! Easy peasy scrump-dilly-icious Peach Salad!

The following are just a few of my tried and true favorites. I have served them over and over again, and they never get old.

Mini Wedge

Heart of Palm Salad

Caprese Salad

Napa Cabbage Salad

Sheesh after all this talk about salad I'm raring to get choppin'!!! I hope you are too.

Do you have a favorite salad you bring to picnics?

I would love for you to share it. If you have a blog post on it, leave the link in the comments. You can also find some other great Red White and Blue inspirations at Add a Pinch, go check it out!

Have a great weekend!

Drive safe and don't burn your fingers with the Sparklers!

saucepan BROWNIES

The last weekend of summer. I always get all weird over Labor Day weekend. Feeling like I want to make the most of the last weekend of Summer for me and my family, and it is always Kenny's Birthday over this weekend. Which pretty much stinks, because I NEVER, I mean never every know what to buy this man for his birthday. And it completely stresses me out. It's not that he cares. He doesn't not one iota! But, I am a gift giver, it's one of my primary love languages...and the fact that I, in 17 years, have yet to find the Love of my life the perfect gift gets me all irritated and sweaty and irritated..did I say that all ready?

Today, Kenny had the day off. We had planned to take the kids to Cedar Point this summer, but it never worked out so we compromised with a trip to Michigan's Adventure which is only 50 minutes away instead of 5 hours. Normally it would have been a blast of a day, but if you live in Michigan you know how the weather living on a peninsula can be. Painfully unpredictable. And the nearer you get to the Big Lake the more likely 1. the weather could clear up and be beautiful OR 2. could be windy cold, and the clouds could just hang right on the lake shore. As was the case today. Blah! There were gale force winds for crying out loud! I watched a table umbrella fly off a table and conk a poor mom in the back of the head while she was trying to feed her poor baby a nutritious lunch of french fries, chicken nuggets, and a gigantor Slurpee. Poor mama did not know what hit her. MAN kaPOW! She barely skipped a beat, she shook it off and kept on feeding her youngin's.

What the hector does any of this have to do with brownies you ask. We didn't eat in the park. We actually bailed out, cause the kids were whining and cold and people were flying through the air, and I really didn't feel it was safe to stick my kiddos on roller coasters in that weather. I fell asleep on the ride home, because that's what I do on the way home from trips I fall dead asleep with my mouth wide open, drooling all over myself...real sexy. While I was sleeping I dreamt of brownies, warm out of the oven sticky brownies. I walked straight in the house and whipped up my GOTO Saucepan Brownies. They are just enough if you have a hankerin for chocolate, and they don't make a whole huge pan. They are super quick to make AND I bet you have all the ingredients in your home. Less than 30 minutes and you are eating homemade brownies! What is better than that to get you out of a "ain't got my husband a birthday present, it's the last weekend of summer and it's freakin' cold outside grouchy mood"!

Saucepan Brownies

printable recipe

1 stick butter

2-1 ounce squares unsweetened chocolate

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

preheat oven 375 degrees

These are so simple. Get all your ingredients out, because you need to just whip them together...don't waste no time my friend.

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat, add chocolate squares whisk until melted. If you don't have unsweetened chocolate bars in your pantry then you can use cocoa powder follow the directions on the back.

3 level Tablespoons Cocoa+1 Tablespoon oil = 1 ounce unsweetened baking chocolate!

Whisk it in there till the chocolate and butter are one smooth party.

Now add sugar and flour with baking powder, whisk in until smooth. Remove from heat and add...

The eggs that you already have cracked in a measuring cup and beat. Mix them in to the chocolate batter...quick, quick...don't dillydally.

Pour into greased 8x8 baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20- minutes. And Voila in less than 30 minutes you can have yourself a very sweet treat!

Look at that. My mood is lifting already. It's gonna be Ok. I'm going to find my husband a present and "I bet your bottom dollah, that tomarrah there'll be sun".... Oh Annie.

Sorry, I lost me senses and broke into a rousing rendition of "Tomorrow". Now I need to ask. Are you a corner or a middle piece person?

My second son is a corner man. He always calls the corner piece in everything! The other kiddos are middle piece people, and ME well, as the growth of my middle has shown, I am a corner/middle/and anything in between person. If I had to pick I would pick the corner...crispy and chewy all in one.

MIDDLE?

CORNER?

Hope your weekend is sunny and SWEET!

LuvYA,

Curry Chicken Salad & a LIST

What is today anyway??? My husband took our third child on their "father/son talk" trip this week. They went to Hershey PA, and Gettysburg. So, I have felt a little off with being down two persons in our household...keep thinking I am forgetting something or someone....which I most likely am.

Phone call at 9:15. "HI Sheila, this is Michelle" "Oh Hi Michelle!" (I have a few friends named Michelle.) "Is Cece coming this morning?"...........in my mind...quick whizzing through where my littlest should be at 9:15 on a Thursday morning....OH MY GOSH it's her teacher!!!!!! EGADS....

"OH my goodness, I am so sorry, yes will have her right there!"

It was her teacher, who tutors her in the summer....thank goodness we live RIGHT across the street from our school...BUMMER my kid was still in bed.

"UP UP UP" pulling jammies off pulling cloths on, her afro all off kilter, sleep in her eyes. Poor baby, her mom is such a numb skull.

Then I arrive home to 5 thirteen year olds sitting at my counter with forks and knives at the ready, the have eaten all night long, NO sleep at all, and now they are hungry AGAIN. I love kids.

So eggs to order, toast,bacon, juice! Bu-bye!

Now back to pick up my baby at tutoring...

Return home, kids getting picked up, lots of small talk...smile, smile....go inside...catch my look in the mirror...AAAAHHHH.

HOLY CRAP....that was scaweee! Shower, primp, primp..

Feed the kids that are in my home that need carbs for Championship Swim Meet today that I need to get them to on time and not get lost.

Make list for thirteen year old of things he needs to do while I am gone....BESIDES sleep.
1. vacuum up ants in basement, that have appeared because of all the food and pop on floor.
2. put out ant trap.
3. take out garbage
4. rinse pop cans out
5 take recycling out
6. feed dog
7. help little sis with homework
8 stay awake so you can babysit little sis

And how does all of this have anything to do with Curry Chicken Salad??? It doesn't really. Except for I know that when I get home tonight from all of this it will taste really good with a glass of Chard, in my jammies of course.


Chicken Curry Salad
PRINTABLE RECIPE

4 chicken breasts

Mortons Nature's Seasons

3/4 cup chopped apple

3/4 cup halved grapes

1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped green onion

3/4 cup mayonnaise

3/4 cup Greek yogurt

1/2 lemon juiced

1 teaspoon curry powder

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup chopped cashews (or peanuts if you must)

Four chicken breasts in a baking pan, sprinkle with season salt, bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Let cool and chop up into pieces.

Here are the rest of the ingredients you will need.

Chop up all the goodies...then mix up your dressing ingredients...I did just skipped the picture of the dressing getting mixed up...was in a hurry...crazy morning remember....?

Chop up your cashews...love that word. Try saying it next time you sneeze. It's a riot!

Oh so yummy, and all for me...none of my kiddos really care for it, so PU-ee on them. You can also make it into a PASTA salad if you so choose, just boil up any noodles of your choice, increase the mayo and yogurt to 1 cup each and Voila! You are good to go. You may want to adjust the seasonings a little bit....taste as you cook, DO NOT be afraid to taste as you cook. I will REPEAT taste as you cook...

Sorry was that annoying? I think I have been around too many 13 year old boys....

You know I luvYA,

peanut BUTTER picnic cake

Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you....

I have been working hard on getting my weekend at the Ranch all documented for your reading pleasure. But amongst other distracting family matters this week I had these put on my teeth

OUCH! in a word OUCH! did I say OUCH! dang. I have had them on my teeth before, for bite issues, but I was negligent in wearing my retainer and now because of wearing and recession and stuff I have to have them back on for a bit. I am so glad I did not do this before I went to visit Ree. I can barely get my coffee down. Not good. But, I am looking on the bright side...

maybe...

just maybe...

I will loose my PW 10.

Then I had these staring at me every time I opened my freezer. A bit distracting.

What is it?

Guess....... you can guess in the comments. And the first lucky person to guess the contents of the bag gets to hug them selves and give them selves a pat on the back from me.

FINALLY, let us wipe the vision of the above picture from our eyes and move on to sweeter things. Like this Peanut Butter Picnic Cake that is the best thing ever to bring to a picnic, UNLESS you have a family riddled with peanut allergies...then you might want to quick skim and wait an hour for my next Pioneer Woman Weekend post.

By the way...did I say I CAN NOT believe that it has been one whole week since I was sitting my butt on that immense deck and looking out over Drummond territory with the best cup of coffee I have ever tasted in my ENTIRE life! CAN'T believe it. So fast....all done...bu-bye. NO more...all gone...too bad SO sad, something about your dad....?

Waaah, hay, hay, hay, wwwwaaaaha haya haya snivle, snort ...oh sorry I need to get it together here so you can make this cake while I write another installment to my P-Dub Adventure story.

Peanut Butter Picnic Cake

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (like Jiff)

1 cup water

1 cup butter

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

(frosting recipe below)

Preheat oven 350 grease a 10x15 or a 9x13

1. mix dry ingredients together in mixing bowl.

2. butter, water, and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl, put in microwave on high for 30 to 45 seconds just until butter is melted and soft.

3. add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Make sure you take time to scrape the bowl and mix again. Then add the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Just plop it all in there. Mix well again.

4. put batter in a greased pan. I use a 9x 13 because I don't have a 10x 15 or whatever the recipe called for. I guess you could do it in a sheet cake pan too. Would be more like bars.

Bake for 40 minutes in 9x13 less for thinner pans 25-30 minutes.

Frosting

3/4 cup softened butter

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoons milk (more or less to get correct consistency)

1 pound powdered sugar (3 3/4 cups)

Whip all the frosting ingredients together, scrape down bowl.

"WHIP IT, whip it good. When the peanut goes around you must whip it..

derw, dewr whip it good

derw, dewr in to shape"

Ok you got the idea....silly song aside just make sure that you really give this frosting a good mix.

Cool cake completely and frost. Cover with foil, because if you are going to a picnic, foil covered pans are a must. Then stand back and watch it disappear. This one actually is suppose to go to the beach with us later today...to see Big D...she rented a cottage on Lake Michigan, but we kinda had a little taste for breakfast. Big D will understand...that's the kinda friend she is.

Enjoy...stay tuned....luvya!