Broccoli Salad

This is a picture of the salad that I made and took to Easter. (Okay, I admit it, I'm a bit behind on my blogging.) It was my first time making it, and it got rave reviews. The recipe is my mom-in-law's:

BROCCOLI SALAD
( 4-6 servings)

• 2 Broccoli Heads - cut into bite size pieces
• 2 medium Tomatoes - de-seed and dice up into bite size pieces
• 2-3 strips of Crisp Bacon broken into small pieces (I use the microwave kind, so there's no mess!)
  
• 2 bunches Green Onions
• Sunflower Seeds - salted - amount is up to you
• 8-10 small Mushrooms - sliced

You just put all the ingredients into a bowl, coat them with lemon juice (half a lemon is plenty) and then add a bit of mayonnaise and mix it up.

Thanks again, Leslie, for the tasty recipe!

Homemade Convenience Foods

When I am in the middle of working on a play, as I am now (stage managing Steel Magnolias at Magenta Theater, whoo!) I tend to eat whatever I have on hand that I can grab and go. So I took an evening and made up what I think of as homemade convenience food. I prepared a number of veggie trays with little snack hummus packs that I got at Costco. See:

I made up a bunch of them and then when I was on my way out the door I could just grab and go!

What are some of your favorite grab and go snacks?

Growing My Own

Here are a few snapshots of my garden as it is right now. The promise of strawberries...

And veggies...

They are growing in my backyard in the square foot garden that my husband built for me a few years ago. This Spring I just added some compost, and planted my seeds.

The strawberries, now in their third year, look like they will produce quite a few berries. Yay! And, they are the ever bearing variety, so once those bees get to work pollinating them, we should have strawberries all summer long. Come on, bees!

(For a glimpse at my edible gardening escapades of days past,
click on any of the links above.)

St. Patrick's Day Fare

Last night, I wasn't feeling very "into" cooking dinner. You know that mood, where you wonder why the food can't just get up and cook itself? I told Bryan we were going to just have chicken and rice. As I left the office to head to the kitchen, he said,

"Ok, but I think the rice should be green."

Suddenly, supper was fun. Here is a picture of our St. Patty's Day meal:

It is the little things that make our lives fun and interesting. Do something surprising to dress up a meal for your loved one today. It only takes a moment, and it will make a memory!

Enjoy!

Monochromatic Breakfast

You know how healthy food is supposed to be an array of beautiful, fresh colors?

Behold:

Steel cut oats and chai tea with soy milk should be healthy right? So how come my breakfast is all the same color?

Hmmm...

Slow Cookin' Goodness

I confess, I love my crock pot.

Whether I'm fixing a roast and potatoes...

or just turning simple ingredients into a simmering soup...

I just can't go wrong.

What is your favorite thing to slow cook?

It's a Wrap?

Today for lunch I had the great idea that I was going to make myself a wrap. My co-worker, Vicki, is always bringing wraps to eat at work, and they always looks so tasty and healthy, that I thought I would give it a try. Here is my wrap before adding the lettuce:

Components:

• toasted flour tortilla
• Miracle Whip, honey mustard, salt & pepper
• turkey
• tomato
• olives

Then I added the lettuce and attempted to roll it up. This is what I ended up with:

I could barely cram it into my bento box and get the lid on! I ate it like a big taco, because I never could get it to wrap up right. (I guess there was too much filling.)

Do you ever make wraps for lunch? If so, what is your secret? And what do you like to fill them with?

Happy Bento!