Garlic Herb Ranch Dressing

This is a copy-cat recipe for the dressing at California Pizza Kitchen. Katie found it and we love it on our Cafe Rio Salads. I've learned from experience that you CAN NOT use Miracle Whip in place of the Mayo. It turns out disgusting. This is a good all around dressing that you could use on anything!
And we always half the recipe, it makes a ton! Here is the full recipe:

Garlic Herb Ranch Dressing
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cold water
2 3/4 cups mayonnaise (neither Katie or I ever put that much in..I would only put 2 at the most)
1 cup buttermilk
7 tablespoons sour cream
2 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1-1/2 teaspoons thinly sliced scallions (green and whites)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced fresh Italian parsley
1-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon minced fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh oregano (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh basil

In a mixing bowl, use a fork to stir together the mustard and cold water, forming a paste. Set aside for 10 minutes. Add the remaining dressing ingredients to the bowl and, using a handheld mixer at low speed or a whisk, blend together just until smooth, taking care not to incorporate too much air into the dressing. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Random Things

Here are some random things I have tried and loved this past week:

Sisters' Cafe Sweet Pork salad-so good! Shara was right, the sweet pork was delicious-I happen to like my sweet pork not as sweet as most, I cut the sugar in half-it was still PLENTY sweet! I made the whole meal and it was fabulous! Steve especially liked the rice. He said he doesn't usually like Spanish Rice, but this one was really good! I will definently make it again and again anytime I make Mexican food.

Here's the rice recipe:

Cilantro Lime Rice
3 c water
3 c Minute rice
4 cubes chicken bouillon
4 tsp garlic, minced
1 Tb canola oil
2 Tb fresh lime juice
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1/2 onion
1 can green chilies

Blend cilantro, onion, and chilies in food processor. Bring water to boil and add all ingredients, simmer covered for 30 minutes or until rice is cooked. *I hate Minute Rice and never buy it - you can substitute regular rice, just adjust the water to rice ratio accordingly.

I also tried Honey-Lime Chicken Enchiladas from Sister's Cafe. They were yummy, too. The chicken was sweet, and the sauce just right to with it. They were easy to make, too.

(Sorry, no picture)

Next, I tried Lace Cookies with Milk Chocolate Drizzle from Stephanie's Kitchen. These were so good. Hard to stop snitching in to. They were a hit around my house! (We ate them before I got a picture, Sorry!)

Strawberry Salad

This was served at my friend, Jill's bridal shower last month. I had to get the recipe and then I made it for our Lunt fam. Easter picnic. My nephew says it's "chick-food". So I guess that's why it was at a bridal shower. It's good anyway, even though some of the guys wouldn't try it.

Romaine lettuce

(I also added spinach)

8 oz. grated Italian Four Cheese Blend (I used just parmesan and Monterey Jack)

Glazed Walnuts (I used glazed pecans since pecans are plentiful around here and walnuts aren't)

Sliced Strawberries

Dressing (combine in blender): Refrigerate until ready to serve.

1/2 C. red wine vinegar

1 C. salad oil

1/2 C. sugar

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. white pepper (I just used regular black pepper)

1/2 tsp. paprika

Garden Coleslaw

I just got a new Taste of Home magazine and it has a good recipe I tried out. It's called Garden Coleslaw. Here's the recipe.

3 cups shredded cabbage
1/4 C chopped green pepper
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1/4 C. heavy whipping cream

1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cider vinegar

1/4 C mayonnaise
1/4 tsp salt

In a small bowl, combine the cabbage, pepper and onion. Combine the remaining ingredients; add to cabbage mixture and toss to coat.

Grape Salad

2 ½ lb. red or green seedless grapes
8 oz. cream cheese
1 C. chopped nuts
4 Tbsp. orange juice
4 Tbsp. sugar

Soften and beat cream cheese. Mix orange juice and sugar with cream cheese. Pour over grapes and nuts. Mix well and refrigerate.

Sorry, same picture. I didn't take separate pictures.

Bacon Spinach Salad with Honey Dressing

6 C. spinach, raw
6 oz. bacon
slivered almonds
mozzarella cheese
2 tsp. honey
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

Wash spinach and place in large bowl. Cut bacon in 1” pieces and fry until brown (or bake). Drain and add to spinach. Reserve ¼ C. of the bacon grease. Combine vinegar, honey and mustard. Add to pan and cook on low heat, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping up any yummies that stuck to the bottom of pan. Add reserved grease and stir until hot. Pour over spinach immediately, toss and serve.

Romantic Dinner

Last night I hosted a RS Mini-Enrichment at my home. We had "romantic" food. I am going to post all of the recipes for you. We had French Dip Sandwiches which Marsha posted about previously, so I won't repost that recipe, just go to the link. We also had Spinach Bacon salad with honey dressing, grape salad, chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake that I got from My Kitchen Cafe, and Lemonbar Cheesecake that Camilee posted about previously as well.

Salad and Dressing

I got this salad idea from Jennifer, a friend, and the poppy seed dressing recipe from Jen my sister. We loved it!
For the salad:

• spinach
• sliced almonds
• craisins
• mozarella

Poppy Seed Dressing:

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons dry mustard

2 teaspoons salt

2/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 medium purple onion

2 Tablespoons poppy seeds

2 cups oil

Put everything but poppy seeds and oil in blender. Add 2 cups oil slowly while blender is running. Stir in poppy seeds.

Pasta Salad

Here's to SPAM!!!!




This is a salad I have been making for years (since right after we got married.) It tastes way better than it sounds or looks. It is always a favorite, I promise. For some reason the spam is really good in this. This time I left out the tomatoes, olives and cheese. It is great either way.


Pasta (any kind you want)
Green onions (or white)
Grated Cheese (optional)
Frozen peas
Spam (or ham or chicken, but spam is best)
Olives (optional)
Mayonnaise
Mustard
Tomato (optional)
Salt and pepper

Put about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of salt in a pot of boiling water (I promise this makes it good. It's not way too much, try it.) Cook and drain pasta. Mix everything together.

P.S. I put in an absurd amount of salt in the water when I boil potatoes for mashed potatoes. It's the secret to yummy potatoes. It makes a huge difference.

Cauliflower Salad

Cauliflower Salad

1 head chopped cauliflower
1 head chopped iceberg lettuce
1 lb. bacon fried crisp and cut up
1 medium purple onion, sliced in rings (I cut my rings in quarters, I like smaller onion chunks)
2 Cups Mayonaisse
1/3 C. grated parmesan cheese
¼ C. sugar
salt and pepper to taste

I also added chopped cashews. I love it with cashews. I've added slivered almonds before, too.

Mix cauliflower, lettuce, bacon, and onion in a large bowl. Stir together mayonaisse, cheese, sugar, salt, and pepper. Pour over salad and do not mix. Let stand overnight and mix before serving.

People always ask for this recipe when I take it to things.

Curried Chicken Salad

On Abby's Birthday, I had a play-date and invited some cousins/friends over to play. We had a great time and Marsha kindly remembered me to take a picture and post the recipe of my Chicken Salad that we had, otherwise, you would have been out of luck!

Curried Chicken Salad

5 lbs frozen chicken breasts, cooked & diced

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1/2 celery bunch (5 stalks), finely diced

Stir together, in seperate bowl, combine the following. Tailor to your taste - start with much less, then add...

1 T curry powder

1 T salt (I didn't add this much)

1/2 T. freshly cracked black pepper

1 c. mayonnaise (not miracle whip)

Add to chicken mixture and put in croissant rols. So good!

BBQ Chicken Chop Salad

First I make the chicken by marinating 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts in BBQ sauce. Then bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Chop into bite size pieces and refrigerate. (I forgot to take a picture of this part, sorry!)

Next I make the tortilla strips by placing the whole stack of flour tortillas on my (yes, it's very old) cookie sheet. I cut them into strips with my pizza roller cutter thing. Then I toss them with a little oil and salt. Bake for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees. You'll have to watch them because I don't know the exact time. Just get them light brown and crunchy. You can also buy tortilla strips made for salad toppings, but I love these.



Next, make the salad. I do this while the tortillas are baking.

1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
1/2 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
3-4 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 jicama, peeled and diced
1/2 C. cilantro, chopped
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 C. frozen corn, thawed
1/2 lb. Monterey Jack cheese, grated to sprinkle on the top (optional)




Assemble everything and serve with Ranch dressing (My favorite is Hidden Valley Ranch packet made up with Mayo and milk) and extra BBQ sauce if desired.



P.S. This is yummy with ham instead of chicken, too. Just another option. I made a ham in my crockpot with a mesquite marinade on it and then I shredded it and put it on instead of the chicken. We loved it. We love the chicken, too though.

BBQ Pork and Coleslaw Sandwiches

My friend Mindy told me about this recipe a few weeks ago, and I just got around to trying them tonight. We loved them! I never would have thought of putting coleslaw on my sandwich, but it was great. I cooked a pork roast in the crockpot on high one hour, and on low the rest of the day with BBQ sauce (I just dumped a bottle of it in, I don't think it matters how much because you can always put more on your sandwich later.) Alli's coming over in a while to eat one, so we'll see if she agrees!

I love Grandma's coleslaw recipe because it is so juicy and the juice in it is thin.

Grandma’s Famous Coleslaw

4 C. cabbage, finely chopped
1/8 C. carrot, shredded
¼ tsp. salt
1/6 C. sugar
1/8 C. milk
¼ C. mayonnaise
1/8 C. buttermilk
¾ Tbsp white vinegar
1 ¼ Tbsp. lemon juice
1/16 tsp pepper

Combine sugar, salt, pepper, milk, mayonnaise, buttermilk, vinegar and juice. Beat until smooth. Add cabbage and carrot. Let flavors blend at least 2 hours. Makes 5 servings.