Curried Egg Salad

Not much mystery to this one... just your run of the mill egg salad - with curry added to make things interesting! My husband loves curry, but I don't often know what to make with it so I tried adding it to egg salad one day and he loved it. Tonight I also used plain yogurt instead of mayo since I was out and I thought it tasted even better. It gets rid of that heavy, thick taste.

Tomato Soup

My daughter requested tomato soup for dinner today so I pulled out an old favorite that I haven't made in awhile. I actually got this recipe from my sister-in-law, whose mother is a wonder in the kitchen. I think this is a improvement on something they tasted in a restaurant once. The best part is that it's super easy!

2-12 oz cans tomato juice

2-14 oz cans diced tomatoes

1-8 oz package cream cheese

1 tsp Italian seasoning

salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the tomato juice and cream cheese over medium heat, stirring to break up the cream cheese and help it melt. If you're impatient like me, you can use an immersion blender to speed up the process once it's started melting. Add diced tomatoes and seasoning. Let simmer for 20 minutes. Serve with crusty bread.

Crunchy Poppyseed Chicken Salad

This salad was absolutely delicious! I love the flavor of the broccoli slaw and you MUST use the cashews for the full effect. I actually had less poppyseed dressing than I thought so I used another fruity one I had on hand (pomegranate/blueberry) and it was just as tasty.

4 cups broccoli slaw

2 large red peppers, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

4 carrots, shredded (about 2 cups)

1 can (8 oz.) pineapple tidbits, drained

1 cup grilled chicken breast, chopped

1/2 cup poppyseed dressing

1/4 cup cashew

Combine all ingredients except cashews and toss to coat with dressing. Sprinkle cashews on top just before serving.

Spinach and Orzo Salad

This yummy salad was another big hit. It has a very mediterranean taste which I love! Next time I'll use half as many onions and add a can of garbanzo beans to make it more kid friendly.

Tomato Paella

I served a mission in Spain where paella is more work than it is worth, in my opinion. However, this paella is super easy and is probably my favorite way to cook luscious homegrown tomatoes during the summer. It's okay with grocery store tomatoes, but for the best flavor either grow your own or visit the farmer's market.

Mollie Katzen

In an attempt to get my kids more involved in our dinner choices - so they would hopefully eat the results more willingly, we checked out a couple of Mollie Katzen's cookbooks for kids.

Here are some of the dishes we tried - with varying results...

*Broccoli Cheese Quiche - this was the winner this week - both kids gobbled it up! Next time I'll use a milder cheese though, the swiss almost lost them

*Zucchini Moons - the kids had fun making this but weren't so interested in eating them

*Sweet Potato Surprise - These sweet potatoes were excellent! Lincoln loved them, but Leah wasn't so sure

*Polka Dot Rice - the fun of this rice dish is that the kids get to assemble it themselves at the table, adding the veggies they prefer

*Noodle Pudding - don't forget the raisins!

Cabbage & Apple Slaw

This slaw was so tasty! I left out the onions and added 1/2 tsp of celery seed instead and replaced the honey with corn syrup because of allergies. Very creamy and fresh tasting!