Spinach Salad with Strawberries

This is one I picked up from a friend (Megan Smith). She had us over for dinner served it. I had to get the recipe it was so yummy. I crave it during strawberry season!!!

Salad

1 cup sliced strawberries

1 cup sugared cashew pieces (I use plain or honey roasted, whatever I can find at the store)

1/3 cup bacon pieces

1 purple onion, Sliced

1 head red leaf lettuce

1 package fresh spinach

Dressing

2 tblsp Red Wine Vinegar

3 tblsp white sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup strawberry jam

Combine all salad ingredients and toss together. Combine dressing ingredients and beat together. Drizzle dressing over salad. Serve and enjoy.

*tip: One of the best ways I have to get the onion smell off my hands when I chopped an onion is to run my metal knife under cool water and using the flat part of the knife rub it back and forth against the metal...I do cut my onions with a big, almost butcher size knife. This gives me lots of metal to rub! It works like a charm every time!

Fake-Baked Ziti

This is a Rachael Ray recipe. It's one of my top 10 favorite recipes! It's a crowd pleaser and even my picky eater Audrey likes this! It makes a large family portion so it works really well for when I want to take a meal to a friend in need.

3 tblsp extra-virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 cans (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

*if you want a chunkier sauce use one can crushed and one can whole tomatoes (which you loosely chop before adding)*

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

A handful of fresh basil leaves, torn (If I don't have that on hand I've substituted dried basil)

1 pound ziti rigate (you can use any pasta but this is my favorite because all the goodness seeps into the wide noodle).

2 tblsp butter

2 tblsp all-purpose flour

A dash or two of nutmeg

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup shredded Asiago cheese

1/2 cup shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Put a large pot of water on to boil. Preheat the broiler.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat; add oil then garlic. Saute a minute or two; do not let the garlic brown. Add crushed tomatoes and salt and simmer 10 minutes. Add basil and simmer over low heat 10 minutes more.

*If you don't have time/energy to make the home-made Marinara sauce, I've substituted a jar of my favorite tomato basil marinara sauce. If this is the route you go skip the previous step.

When water boils, add salt and pasta and cook 6 minutes, leaving pasta a little chewy.

While pasta cooks, make the bechamel sauce: Melt butter in small pot over medium heat. Whisk in flour, then salt, pepper, and nutmeg; cook 1 minute. Stir in milk and bring sauce to a bubble. Reduce heat cook 5 minutes.

When pasta is cooked, drain and transfer to a big casserole dish. Pour the tomato and basil sauce over the pasta and turn to coat. Pour the bechamel over pasta - do not mix. Top with Asiago, Parmigiano, and mozzarella. Place the casserole under hot broiler and melt cheese until brown and bubbly, 3 to 5 minutes. You are only broiling to crust the top, which gives it that cooked all day feel.

Tip: Asiago cheese is a very strong cheese and when I buy it I buy it in bulk, shred it, and freeze it in 1/2 measurements in ziplock baggies. That way I always have it on hand!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This is a fairly frequent meal at the Humes household. It never seems to disappoint!

3 chicken breast, cooked and cut into bite size pieces

1 can pineapple tidbits or chunks

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp corn starch

1/2 sliced pepper (green, red, or yellow)

2 cups cooked rice

Drain pineapple juice into large skillet. Add brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, and whisk together. Add corn starch and whisk over med/low heat until thick and bubbly. Add peppers, chicken and pineapple. Serve over warm rice.

Also good with broccoli and/or asian noodles on top.

Chicken Rice Casserole

One of my comfort foods. I got this one back in the single days when Chirsty and I were roomies. One of our other roommates boyfriend cooked this for all us girls and lucky for me he left his "notes" and it's turned into a staple for us!

3 cups cooked rice

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 pkg Ritz crackers

4 chicken breasts

1 8oz. sour cream

1/2 cube butter

1) Put chicken breast on pan oiled and seasoned heavily with season salt. Bake at 450 degrees for 20 mins. Flip chicken cover with foil and bake additional 20 min.

2) Cook rice and pack rice into a 9x13 pan

3) Mix cream of chicken soup with sour cream in separate bowl.

4) Cut up cooked chicken add to soup mixture, spread over rice.

5) Melt butter, crush Ritz crackers. Add crushed crackers to butter. Sprinkle cracker mixture over casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min.s

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Georgia's)

This is the cookie I grew up on. It's a huge recipe and makes several dozen cookies. I usually freeze the dough in small balls, unless it's holiday baking time ;)

1 lb. butter (softened)

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 tblsp. vanilla

3 eggs

6 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 baking soda

4 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Scoop out golf ball size of dough. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Cookies should still look doughy on top but be golden brown on the bottom. Give cookies a minute our two to cool on cookie sheet before moving to cooling rack.

ummm, perfect with a glass of cold milk!

Pumpkin Bread

This is my mom's (Georgia's) recipe. She will substitute canned pumpkin with squash when it's in season.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Dry mix together:

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 tbl. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. mace

Wet mix together:

2 eggs

1/3 cup water

1/2 oil

1 cup pumpkin

1 tbsp. vanilla

Pour we mix into dry mix. Mix until no longer lumpy.

Separate into 2 loaves pans (fill pans 1/2 way full).

*Bake shorter time if you using small loaves.*

Breakfast Pizza

I made this one conference morning and it's turn into a Humes tradition to make it for every conference.

4 eggs, lighty beaten

2 tblsp. butter

2 (8-in) pizza crusts {recommend Boboli}

1 tblsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups shredded jack cheese blend (Colby)

4 fully cooked sausage patties, crumbled {recommend Jimmy Dean regular}

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 medium tomatoes, diced

1 teasp. Italian seasoning

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

In medium pan over medium heat, scramble eggs in butter, set aside.

lay out pizza crusts and brush each with oil. Top with eggs, cheese, crumbled sausage, parmesan, tomato, and Italian seasoning.

Place in oven, remove when cheese has melted and begins to bubble.

Serve hot, cut into wedges.