Pomegranate and Feta Salad

 

This is a tasty simple salad that is a real crowd pleaser. Simple enough for a week night meal and great for company as well. If you don't have pomegranate seeds use dried cranberries instead. 

Ingredients:

One head romaine lettuce, washed and chopped

2-3 cups spinach, stems removed, washed and torn

Seeds from half of a pomegranate or 1/2 cup dried cranberries

1-2 cups cucumbers, chopped

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds or pine nuts, toasted

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Dressing:

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Toss lettuce and spinach together on a platter or bowl.

Add cucumbers.

Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over greens.

Sprinkle pumpkin seeds over salad.

Sprinkle crumbled feta over the salad.

In a jar add all dressing ingredients, shake.

When ready to serve add the amount of dressing you want and toss salad. 

Print Recipe: Pomegranate and Feta Salad

Pitcher Margarita

 

This is a great party drink that you can make ahead of time and serve in a pitcher. This is a classic margarita and a real crowd pleaser. I sometimes add a little club soda to each glass for a little fizz.

Chicken Satay Skewers

 

This recipe comes from one of my favourite cooking websites called Recipe Tin Eats.
The chicken thigh meat is so tender and flavourful. The homemade peanut satay sauce is very easy to make. I divide the sauce into smaller containers and freeze as it is too much for one recipe. I serve the peanut satay with coconut rice and cucumbers and red onions drizzled with a homemade vinaigrette.

Rice Krispies Squares

 

Here is the original Kellogg's Rice Krispies Squares recipe. I have wanted to post it for many years now an for some reason it has never made the cut. This is always a favourite with young and old. I typically use a 13x9 inch pan but if you like thicker squares use a smaller size. I have also doubled the recipe and spread on a cookie sheet and then carved out large numbers for a birthday cake.

Vinaigrette

 

This is my go to salad dressing. It is so easy to make and so much better than store-bought dressings. Once you start making homemade vinaigrette, you won't go back. You simply mix up some basic ingredients, and you'll end up with a dressing that tastes infinitely better than store-bought. No preservatives here and no more bottles of old dressings that you didn't like expiring on the shelves of your fridge, taking up precious real estate. The only thing to remember that the olive oil will solidify in the fridge and you will need to take it out before you actually need it on your salad. Sometimes I forget and I just set it in some warm warm to hasten the process. I love red wine vinegar but you can swap out for other vinegars. I also use more vinegar compared to the classic French ratio of one part vinegar to three parts olive oil. The beauty of making your own dressing is that you can customize to your tastes. I will add a couple teaspoons maple syrup if I want to add sweetness and leave it out when I don't. The recipe makes a small quantity but you can double or triple depending on your requirements. 

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

 

This is a super easy cookie to make. The center of the cookie is a MINI peanut butter cup.

The cookie dough contains three ingredients, crunchy peanut butter, brown sugar and a egg. All you do is mix the cookie dough together and then divide the dough between a 24 cup mini-muffin pan. Bake for 10 minutes and then immediately stuff each cookie with a Reese's peanut butter cup.

This is a great gluten free cookie.

Buttermilk Pancakes

 If you are looking for a fluffy pancake, look no further. One recipe yields about 18-20 pancakes, so good for a crowd. I will make a full batch and then freeze the leftovers for another day.