Heath Blonde Brownies

I LOVE these bars.  Yum!

1 1/2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c butter (softened)
1 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 bag chopped Heath

Cream butter with sugars.  Add vanilla & eggs.  Beat until fluffy.  Add flour, baking powder & salt.  Stir in Heath.  Spread over well greased 9 X 13 baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  When cool, cut into bars.

Strawberry Banana Fruit Salad

I LOVE this fruit salad.

small instant vanilla pudding
1 cup milk
1 large can of fruit cocktail, drained
1 pint sliced strawberries
8 oz thawed cool whip
1 c mini marshmallows
2 bananas, sliced

mix together pudding and milk
add fruit cocktail & strawberries
fold in cool whip and marshmallows
add bananas just before serving

Italian Kabobs

We do different variations of this.  My girls like it in there lunch as a sandwich alternative.  Pictured here is fresh mozzarella, grape tomatoes, pepperoni & basil.  It is drizzled with a Balsamic Vinaigrette.  Other variations include cubes of Italian bread, black olives, sausage, peppers.

Minion Lunch

This is not a recipe, but it is a fun lunch for your kiddos.  Pinterest helped me with the banana & Twinkie.  I added a sandwich, minion yogurt, minion cheese crackers & minion graham crackers.  For the sandwich and Twinkie, I put them in bags and drew on the baggie.

Fresh Summer Salad

This is a FAVORITE of my extended family.  I had it at a friend's graduation party & loved it!  I couldn't wait to make it for the next family gathering.  My family was skeptical and thought the combinations sounded weird.  Now it is a frequent request & everyone has a copy of the recipe.  I know there are a lot of versions of this out there, but this is the one that I use.

2 pkg chicken flavored Ramen noodles
1/4 c green onion
4 c shredded cabbage
2 T sesame seeds
1/2 c sunflower seeds
6 T vinegar
2 T sugar
4 T oil

Soak noodles in hot water to soften.  Drain well.

Combine noodles with cabbage, onion, & seeds.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the two seasoning packets, vinegar, sugar, & oil to make a dressing.

Drizzle dressing over noodle mixture & mix well.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Five Cup Salad

I'm back!  Between not having a computer for months, getting our house ready to be put on the market, selling our house, packing the old house, moving, unpacking the new house...I've been busy!  But I am so glad to be back.  AND we still have a little bit of summer left that I can experiment on my family.  Today I had company for lunch and served my PF Chang Lettuce wraps, Five Cup Salad (this post) & Fresh Summer Salad (next post).  I found this on KRAFT's website.

1 c mini marshmallows
1 c shredded coconut (although this was a bit too much coconut...next time I will to 1/4 to 1/2 cup)
1 c sour cream (I used "light")
mandarin oranges (11 oz), drained
pineapple chunks (8.25 oz), undrained (reserving 1 tbls juice)

Whisk together sour cream & reserved pineapple juice.  Gently add coconut, pineapple, & oranges.  Fold in marshmallows.

Cherry Pie Sugar Cookie Bars

This recipe is super simple.  I pinned it quite some time ago knowing that my husband would likely love these.  He did.  Ate an entire row so far, and he's only been home an hour.  They are delicious just the way they are, but I bet warm with some vanilla ice cream would be great too.  The almond extra is what puts them over the edge!  Thank you "Mostly Homemade Mom" for the great recipe.

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) sugar cookie mix
1/2 c butter, melted
1 egg
1/4 tsp almond extract
21 oz can cherry pie filling

Mix egg, butter & sugar cookie mix into thick dough.  Reserve 3/4 c and set aside.  Press remaining dough in greased 9 X 9 pan.  In separate bowl, mix almond extract & pie filling.  Spread over cookie dough.  Crumble remaining dough on top on pie filling.  Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes.