Bok Choy Salad

Christmas Gathering at Mom and Dad's
(The bok choy salad is in the yellow bowl to the left)

This is another recipe from my aunt Linda that my mother-in-law asked for and I decided to share with everyone.

We were all together for a Christmas gathering at my mom and dad's (which -- one of these days -- I plan to do an entire blog post on) and my aunt Linda brought this salad.

My aunt prepared this salad a number of times for us when we were kids and we loved it! So my mom asked her to bring it at Christmas. It was my mother-in-law's first time having it and she thought it was delicious.

Enjoy!

Bok Choy Salad Recipe:

1/2 Stick butter

2 Pkgs. raman noodles (crushed so they are in 1/2" chunks (these will act as you "croutons")

1/2 cup sesame seeds (add at the very end -- they burn easily)

1/4 Cup sliced almonds

1 Head green savoy cabbage (if available)

1 Head Napa cabbage

1 Head bok choy

1/4 Head red cabbage (for color)

1 Bunch of green onions

Heat Butter in frying pan. Toast raman noodles first and then add sesame seed and almonds. Toast until light brown.

Use a sharp knife to slice cabbages into thin strips and then cut across strips into 2" pieces. You want it to be fine and edible with just a fork -- no knife needed. Slice green onions. Toss all together.

Dressing:

1/2 Cup rice wine vinegar

1/2 Cup sugar

Mix these two together first so sugar dissolves.

1/2 Cup vegetable oil

2 T. soy sauce

Add dressing right before serving.

Serves 12 people.

Chocolate Lover's Mousse Pie

Attention chocolate lovers:

My aunt Linda brought this decadent dessert to my mom's house for our first annual "Presidents Day Tea" on Monday and everyone loved it.

I told my mother-in-law about my aunt's chocolate pie recipe and posted it on here for her and all my family and friends who love chocolate as much as I do.

(Stay tuned - I'm writing an entire blog post on our "President's Day Tea" as soon as I get the chance.)

Chocolate Lover's Mousse Pie

Ingredients:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Baking Cocoa
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 3/4 cups (16 oz.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Milk Chocolate Morsels, divided
2 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
2 teaspoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 350° F.

COMBINE graham cracker crumbs, cocoa and granulated sugar in 9-inch pie plate. Stir in butter until moistened; press onto bottom and up side of pie plate.

BAKE for 8 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle 1/2 cup morsels over bottom of hot crust; let stand for 10 minutes or until all morsels are shiny. Spread chocolate over bottom and up side of crust. Cool to room temperature.

MICROWAVE 2 cups of morsels and 3/4 cup cream in large, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on high (100%) power for 1 minute, stir the morsels -- they may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted. Cool to room temperature.

BEAT 2 cups of cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract in chilled small mixer bowl until soft peaks form. Fold 2 cups whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Spoon into crust; swirl top. Garnish with remaining whipped cream. Refrigerate until firm

MICROWAVE remaining 1/4 cup morsels in heavy-duty plastic bag on high (100%) power for about 30 seconds; knead until smooth. Cut tiny corner from bag; squeeze to drizzle chocolate over pie. Let stand a few minutes before serving.

Fall Flashback: Anna's First Trick-or-Treat

The "Lil' Fam" Having Fun on Halloween!

We were so busy in the fall I didn't have time to post a lot of photos online. The last photo album I created on Facebook was our "First Family Vacation" in October. I'm going to try and play catch-up now.

We came back from vacation the day before Halloween, which was Anna's second Halloween and first trick-or-treat!

We went to Nana and Papa's for their annual trick-or-treat party.

Every year, for almost as long as I can remember, my mom has a get-together on trick-or-treat night for family and friends.

My mom always prepares a spread of hearty food, which tastes so good after trick-or-treating on a chilly October night.

It was such a special Halloween for me. It was so neat to take my daughter, along with my husband, to the houses I used to trick-or-treat at. I still know a lot of people that live in my parents' neighborhood and they loved meeting our little pumpkin!

This photo of Anna was taken a couple weeks before Halloween at a studio.

Halloween Photos:

The whole gang ready to trick-or-treat!

My Adorable and Amazing Niece -- Allison

My Incredible and Intelligent Nephews -- Andy, Alex and Jack

The Best Part of Halloween - Eating Chocolate!

More Studio Photos Below:

(Blog posts coming soon: Thanksgiving in Iowa, Home for the Holidays, Papa Miller's 60th Birthday, Fun in the Poconos, Winot Girls Staycation, Valentine's Day 2012, President's Day Tea and more!)

What's Cookin' Tonight -- Curry Chicken Casserole

We had Curry Chicken Casserole for dinner tonight. It's one of my favorite recipes. It's so easy to make and so tasty. However, you have to like curry, which not everyone does. Scott, Anna (believe it or not) and I love it. I usually serve couscous with it or some type of whole grain rice.

It's my sister Missy's recipe. I believe she posted it on her blog a while back, but I decided to share it again on my blog because it is that good!

INGREDIENTS:

• Boneless Chicken Breasts (About 2 lbs)
  
  
  
• 1 Bag of Frozen Broccoli (16 oz)
  
  
  
• 2 Cans of Cream of Chicken Soup
  
  
  
• 1/4 C Mayonaise (I use light mayo)
  
  
  
• 2 T Curry Powder
  
  
  
• 1 T Lemon Juice
  
  
  
• Panko Bread Crumbs (Optional -- I usually don't add them)
  

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Preheat over to 350 degrees
  
  
  
• Mix soup, mayo, curry powder and lemon juice in a large bowl
  
  
  
• Add broccoli to above mixture
  
  
  
• Cube uncooked chicken and add to mixture
  
  
  
• Pour into 13x9 casserole dish
  
  
  
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour*
  
  
  
• Optional -- Remove from oven, sprinkle Panko bread crumbs on the top of the casserole and bake for 10 more minutes

Yields about 6 servings
*Make sure chicken is cooked thoroughly before serving

To make this casserole even more healthy, I used Campbell's "Healthy Request" soup tonight. I noticed a slight difference in taste, but Scott didn't. He loved it and so did Anna.

As an appetizer before this meal, I sometimes serve hummus with cut up vegetables and/or whole grain pita chips. Yum!

Note: Please ignore the extra spacing on this blog post. I changed the HTML code to get rid of the spaces and my changes wouldn't save, so I'm leaving it as is and going to bed :-)