Apple, Pecans, and Blue Cheese Salad with Dried Cherries

I’m so into Pioneer Woman lately!  If she’s not on the food network I check On Demand if they have her show.  I think it’s because I’m kinda intrigued with her life on their ranch, and I cannot get over her colorful Le Creuset pots!  LOVE IT!!!  She prepared this salad and it looked so yummy.  We are not big salad eaters in our house and I know we need to change that.  I didn’t use Pecans because we only have almonds.  I also made the dressing and I’m thinking from now on I will make my own dressing, it is so simple and much healthier compared to what you get in the store.  We loved this salad so much that we had it three times this week already!

sweet apples
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I really like this dressing
I got these raisins from our last trip in Vancouver..
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we had grilled salmon with the salad.
I saved my amazon cards through Ebates and swagbucks,so last week I ordered her cookbooks..I love cookbooks with pictures and she didn’t disappoint!

Ingredients (recipe:http:// thepioneerwoman.com)

  • 12 ounces, weight Salad Greens (spring Mix)
  • 2 whole Apples, Cored And Sliced Very Thin
  • 1/2 cup Pecan Halves
  • 1/4 cup Dried Cherries
  • 6 ounces, weight Blue Cheese, Cut Into Chunks
  • 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Dijon Mustard
  • 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup (more To Taste)
  • 1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar (more To Taste)
  • 1/4 cup Olive Oil
  • Salt And Pepper, to taste

Preparation Instructions

Add greens, apple slices, pecan halves, dried cherries, and blue cheese chunks into a large salad bowl.

In a small jar, mix Dijon, maple syrup, vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Put the lid on the jar and shake well to mix.

Pour a little salad dressing over the top of the salad and toss to combine. Taste salad and add more salad dressing to taste.

WIWW!

Here’s my WIWW link for the week!

Top,Jeans=Hollister,Zara bag,target boots
sweater,jeans=abercrombie,target boots
excuse my awkward face in the pic,We’re in a hurry when I asked the Hubby to take a pic..this is what I wore when we attended our marriage conference last saturday! Top,Jeans=hollister, Zara bag,Brown Jacket=J.Crew,target boots
top,my fave red jeans=Hollister,target sandals,zara bag
Top=nordstrom rack,Jeans=hollister,tory burch sandals

Red Thai Shrimp Curry

We had a simple curry dish for dinner tonight.  I bought the shrimp this weekend and I had planned to just roast them but Hubby prepared the tuna tartare last Sunday and we had a lot of extra ingredients like the coconut cream, lemon grass(they’re not cheap), and the red curry paste, so I just decided to make a Red Curry dish and use the shrimp instead of chicken (my choice of meat whenever I have curry).  I didn’t follow an exact recipe here but I did check Pioneer Woman’s curry recipe and the food network site to get some inspiration.  I sauteed the shrimps first for a couple of seconds because I wanted them cooked together with the spices.  Shrimp cook very fast and gets tough if you overcook them, so you gotta watch out!

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lemon grass reminds me of Home(PI),we use this a lot in our soups
fish sauce,a must in every curry dish!

After the shrimps, I sauteed onions, garlic, ginger,red peppers, lemons grass (smells so good in the kitchen). Then I added 3 tablespoons of red curry paste, coconut cream, fish sauce. Let it  boil, then I added young sweet corn because I like it but you can add other veggies if you want (like carrots, peas). That’s it!

I removed the shrimps while cooking the other ingrdients:)
makes me happy that I used my basil plant in my dishes!
I added back the shrimps 2 minutes before the dish is done:)
top with basil!
made Thai Ice Tea to accompany the curry:)

Tuna Tartare

This is the Tuna Tartare that Hubby made during my In law’s Birthday dinner we had last weekend. We almost always order tuna tartare whenever we eat out, it’s just so good! I get that not everybody will get this dish right away, especially since it is still “raw” fish after all.  Lucky for me, Hubby was able to turn me on to tuna tartare goodness:-)

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The recipe didn’t call for tomato but hubby likes tomato in his tartare..

Here’s the recipe: Tuna Tartare (Chef Stefan Richter)

Ingredients

For the sauce:

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons sweet chile sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 tablespoons siracha

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons coconut milk

1 tablespoon chopped lemongrass

1 tablespoon minced and peeled ginger

1 tablespoon Thai curry paste

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1/2 tablespoon fish sauce

For the tartare:

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 avocado

1/2 lb. raw sushi-grade tuna

Chopped cilantro and sesame seeds, to taste

Directions

  1. To make the sauce: combine all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Stir well. Heat over high heat until sauce comes to a boil.
  2. Transfer the sauce to a food processor or blender and carefully blend.
  3. Pour into a bowl that is set over an ice water bath. Let cool.
  4. Once the sauce is cool, mix 2 tablespoons of the sauce with the 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise.
  5. Cut the avocado and the tuna into uniform 1/2-inch squares.
  6. Carefully fold the tuna, avocado, and sauce together. Mix in the chopped cilantro and sesame seeds. Stir and serve.

Serves 2-4.

Weekend Fun!

What a nice SUNNY weekend we had here in the Puget sound!  Hubby and I attended a marriage conference that our Church organized, it was a great one and I pray that we’ll apply all of the Biblical lessons we learned towards our marriage and through our marriage we can Glorify the Kingdom of God, after all it’s not all about us.  After the conference, we went to happy hour at John Howie Steak in Bellevue. We love their happy hour with its affordable and quality food:)  Then Sunday, we celebrated my Parents In Laws Birthdays.  We had lasagna and roast beef sandwiches that my Dad In Law prepared from scratch!  YUMMM! Hubby made tuna tartare for our appetizer and it was a HIT! I will post the recipe later this week! For now enjoy the pics!

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Beecher’s Mac and Cheese
Ahi Poke

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Visited the nursery
tuna tartare that Hubby made!
lasagna that my Dad In Law prepared!
Kathy and Zach!
Mom In Law Kathy
my permi (his new nickname)
family
Riley having carrot cake
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He’s always the center of attention
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Buffalo Chicken Wedge Salad

My Husband really loves Buffalo Chicken wings.  I always bake the wings so it’s more “healthy” for us. We would be in big trouble if I did it the unhealthy way (hello frying!). So when I saw this recipe online, I couldn’t wait to try it, and Hubby really liked it too.  I will probably make this again.

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dinner last night!

Recipe (www.ValSoCal.blogspot.com)

1 Rotisserie chicken, shred the breast meat
1/2 cup Pete’s buffalo sauce (I used Frank’s Hot sauce)
1 tablespoon butter
1 head Ice-burg lettuce
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
2 tablespoons milk
quarter cup red onion, chopped
salt and pepper
celery and carrots, to go on side

1) Pull the chicken meat off of chicken set in bowl. Microwave buffalo sauce and
butter, about 30 seconds. Pour over chicken. Stir to coat.
2) Mix Sour cream, gorgonzola and milk together. Season with salt and pepper.
3) Cut lettuce into wedges.
4) Place chicken on lettuce….add sauce and red onion.


WIWW

It’s been a while since I participated in WIWW with Lindsey at  (thepleatedpoppy.com). I took a lot of pictures while on vacation with my Hubby in Florida,so I wanted to join this time:)

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F21 romper,Tory Burch flipflops,HnM hat,Oakley shades

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Hollister Tshirt,levis skirt,Tory Burch flips,zara bag

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F21 dress/cover up, Burberry shades(gift from sister)

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Abercrombie dress,hollister cardi,Burberry shades,Tory Burch sandals,zara bag

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Abercrombie dress,Hollister cardi,Tory Burch sandals

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Zara top,Hollister blue jeans,Tory Burch sandals,Zara bag,Burberry shades

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Bathing suit=TJ maxx, HnM Hat, Burberry shades

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Abercrombie dress,hollister cardi,Tory Burch wedge,LV bag,express earrings

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Abercrombie top,hollister jeans,Tory Burch flipflops,zara bag

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Cardi,top,jeans=Hollister,target wedge,LV bag

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Top,Cardi=Old navy,jeans=hollister,target Boots(my new fave) LV bag

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Top,Jeans=Hollister,Target Boots,Michael Kors shades

Fig -Prosciutto Pizza with arugula

We are finally back home from our vacation in Florida! It was such a fun and relaxing time with my Hubby.  Last Saturday (our last day in FL.) while waiting for Hubby to get ready, I was watching the Food Network and the Pioneer Woman was on, she was making this pizza and it looked so good!  Since then,I’ve been thinking about this Fig- Prosciutto pizza, I LOVEEEEEEE anything that has prosciutto,well actually I LOVE LOVE LOVE prosciutto( I hope you get the idea). So I made this for dinner tonight, and after eating half of it, the cravings gone!  I will definitely make this pizza again, so good and so easy ( I bought the pizza crust from the store)! Just delicious and I’m in prosciutto heaven.

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I love prosciutto
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arugula
last stop: shaved parmesan..
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the pizza and buffalo chicken wedge salad!

Recipe (thepioneerwoman.com)

Ingredients

  • Pizza Crust
  • 1 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
  • 4 cups All-purpose Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 1/3 cup Olive Oil
  • FOR THE PIZZA:
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 4 Tablespoons Fig Spread Or Jam
  • Kosher Salt To Taste
  • 12 ounces, weight Fresh Mozzarella, Sliced Thin
  • 6 ounces, weight Thinly Sliced Prosciutto
  • 1 bunch Washed And Rinsed Arugula
  • Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 cup Shaved Parmesan

Preparation Instructions

NOTE: PIZZA INGREDIENTS IN THIS RECIPE ARE FOR 1/3 OF THE PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE. USE LEFTOVER DOUGH TO MAKE OTHER KINDS OF PIZZA!

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.
In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise for at least an hour. Use right away or store in the fridge until you need it. ***It’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Roll out 1/3 of the pizza dough as thinly as possible. Place on a large baking sheet.

Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt. Spread fig spread (or jam) all over the surface of the dough. Sprinkle lightly with salt.

Lay sliced of mozzarella all over the surface. Sprinkle lightly with salt and freshly ground pepper. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly.

Remove from oven and immediately lay prosciutto over hot pizza. Just before serving, sprinkle on arugula and Parmesan shavings.

Cut into wedges or squares and serve immediately!