Easy, Healthy Chicken Salad

I used a lemon pepper roasted chicken from United and boned enough chicken for two salads. I added half a tomato and some spinach to each salad. Separately, I added fresh green beans, salt, and pepper to boiling water, tasting until the green beans were to my taste. For the dressing, I mixed olive oil and balsamic vinegar, more olive oil than balsamic vinegar. Can't get much easier than that, and it was good enough that I'm taking it for lunch tomorrow!

Guacamole

Eva Longoria (?) shared her recipe for guacamole on television yesterday. I made it and there's none left to take a picture of! She used large amounts of onion. I LOVE guacamole, and this is my favorite ever!

• 1 avocado and 1 tomato or two of each, etc.


• your taste of chopped onion, cilantro (fresh), jalapeno pepper, salt, and pepper

Primroses

Are these primroses? I love perennials.....no fuss! They're from Kayla's yard, and before that, from Wanda's yard. So pretty and so hardy!

Meryl at the Park

Meryl and Papa

Meet Meryl!

Cascaronies

• This is one of my favorite drawings, by Ashley. She is cracking a cascaroni on Aimee's head. My mother made us cascaronies when I was a child. I loved hitting my brothers on the head and it was ok to do it! It is a tradition from Mexico. One year, when the girls were teenagers, I didn't make cascaronies. They weren't happy, wanting to hunt and crack the eggs!


• I have been buying brown and blue eggs from Jenny at work to that I don't have to color the eggs. I made some for our 1 1/2 year old granddaughter, Meryl, this year.


• When you use an egg, you break it near the top so that you have most of the egg. Rinse it out and let it dry. Color the eggs and let them dry. Fill with confetti and glue tissue paper over the top. Hide the eggs on Easter and let the fun begin!

Lasagne

• This is a favorite recipe of our son-in-laws! I serve it with french bread and a green salad. It can be frozen or doubled.




• 1 1/2 lb. ground beef


• 1/4 c. chopped onion


• 1 clove garlic, minced


• 1 - 16 oz can tomatoes


• 1 -15 oz can tomato sauce


• 2 Tblsp. parsley flakes


• 2 Tblsp. sugar


• 1 teasp. salt


• 1 teasp. basil leaves


• 24 oz creamed cottage cheese


• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese


• 1 Tblsp. parsley flakes


• 1 1/2 teasp. salt


• 1 teasp. oregano leaves


• 8 oz. package lasagne noodles, cooked and drained


• 1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded


• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese




• Cook and stir ground beef, onion, and garlic in Dutch oven until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off all fat.




• Add tomatoes and break up with fork. Stir in tomato sauce, 2 Tblsp. parsley, the sugar, 1 teasp. salt and the basil. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 1 hour or until mixture is the consistency of spaghetti sauce.




• Heat oven to 350 degrees.




• Mix cottage cheese, 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, 1 Tblsp. parsley, 1 1/2 teasp. salt, and the oregano in a large bow. Keep back 1/2 c. meat sauce for thin top layer.




• In ungreased baking pan, 13x9x2, layer 1/4 each of the noodles, remaining meat sauce, the mozzarella cheese and cottage cheese mixture: repeat three times. Spread reserved meat sauce over top; sprinkle with 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese. You may cover and refrigerate lasagne for several hours or bake it.




• Bake uncovered 45 minutes. Allow and extra 10-15 minutes if it has been refrigerated. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

Pansies

I was hosting a wedding shower. My cabbages in my front clay pots were half dead. I went to Home Depot and bought beautiful pansies for $6.00. I halved them and put them in two pots. They have lasted a month!!! Yea!

Spring Wreath

I bought this wreath at an estate sale for $6.00. My favorite estate sales are in Rush (ritzy) and Tech Terrace (cool and artsy).

Texas Tech tee shirt

I need to finish my Texas Tech tee shirt.

Waters' tee shirt

Clarissa made my favorite Waters' tee shirt. I love it!!

Hot Sauce, by Debbie Johnson

1 stick celery, cut up

1 med onion, cut up (I use a little less onion)

2 green onions (and 2" of green), cut up

Tops of 5 stems of cilantro, cut up

1 can original Rotel

1 can Mexican tomatoes (I used regular)

Fresh garlic or garlic salt ( I used 1/8 teasp.)

1 Tbs. cracked pepper (I used a little less)

2 tsp. seasoned salt (I used regular salt)

5 jalapenos or to taste (cut stems off and cook in microwave 1 1/2 min) I used 1 jalapeno, no

seeds

Pour all ingredients in blender. Pulse until cut up but mixture isn't frothy. Chill.

Aimee's Pillowcases

Aimee's pillowcases

When we were in Austin, Aimee wanted sheets, etc. with crocheted edges. They were pricey! I found two crocheted pillowcases at an estate sale for $5, tea dyed the crochet, cut off the crochet and a bit of the pillowcases, made pillowcases out of satin I already had, and sewed the crochet onto the pillowcases. Now I want some, too!

Martha Stewart wanna be

Chicken Salad (adapted from Martha Stewart)

I put chicken tenders on top of fresh parsley and onions. Over the tenders I added salt, pepper, and lemon juice. I baked it for 30 min at 375 degrees. The chicken had a wonderful flavor, even my husband said so! Yea! I added chopped apple, lettuce, green grapes, some chopped pecans, and a mixture of 1/2 light mayo and 1/2 light sour cream. Great and easy dinner, healthy, and pleasing to the hubby!