Recipes: Top Ramen Salad, yummy quiche & Caesar Salad Dressing

We've been doing a lot of traveling to friend's homes over the holidays and I've made several dishes to bring with us. I thought tonight I'd share three of the recipes. 

I love to cook and am instilling that same love into my girls. I rarely tell them no when they ask to help in the kitchen. If a cookbook interests them I try to get it for them. If a recipe looks good I try to let them make it. 

Kat loves Caesar Salad and I stumbled across a recipe I had for a Creamy Caesar Salad dressing from Pampered Chef. One of my goals is to begin even making our salad dressing from scratch. I think this Caesar recipe is a keeper. 

Creamy Caesar Salad Dressing

1 lemon

3/4 tsp. Dijon Mustard

3/4 tsp. worcestershire sauce

1 lg. garlic clove, pressed

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1/4 c. mayonnaise

1/2 c. vegetable or olive oil

1/4 c. grated fresh parmesan cheese

Juice lemon to measure 2 Tbs. juice; place in a small bowl. Add mustard, worcestershire sauce, garlic and black pepper; whisk until blended. Add mayonnaise; whisk until smooth. While continuing to whisk, add oil to mixture in a thin, steady stream. Continue whisking until blended. Stir in Parmesan cheese; refrigerate until ready to serve. Store dressing in a covered container in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

The next recipe I made was one of my favorite salads. I received it years ago from a friend of mine. She called it Fumi Salad.

Fumi Salad

1 head cabbage, chopped

6-8 green onion stalks, chopped

2 pkgs. uncooked top ramen (chicken flavored), broken up

1 c. slivered almonds

1/2 c. sesame seeds

1/4  c. butter

1 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. vinegar

1 tsp. accent (or salt)

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. pepper

In a large bowl combine cabbage, top ramen and green onions. In a skillet melt a good amount of butter (I use about 1/4 c.). Add almonds and sesame seeds and cook till lightly browned. Let cool. In a separate container combine all remaining ingredients and pour over cabbage mixture. I usually test the dressing and add more salt if needed. You can also add some of the top ramen seasoning to it.  Chill until ready to serve. 

This morning Nan helped me put together a couple of quiches to take with us today to our friend's house. So simple. Combine a ratio of 4 eggs to 2 c. half and half. That's the base of it. I seasoned it with some salt and pepper.  In one sprayed pie pan I put chopped up mushrooms, spinach and tomato. I topped it with some sharp white cheddar and then poured the egg mixture on top. In the other pan I just used bacon and cheese. Cook them in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until done. They were so good. I have a few other quiche recipes that I've made in the past that have turned out great. I'll share them another time. 

Today was another day of playing cards. I am definitely ready for some "home" time. Tomorrow the plan is to take down all the Christmas decor and clean house. I'd like to take some inventory of what I'd like to decorate with. I also want to organize my cupboards in the pantry. When we first moved in I simply put things on shelves to get them "on shelves". Now I'm ready to make more sense of them. Especially now that I'm more comfortable with how my kitchen functions. 

I've yet to really sit and make any goals. Maybe in the next few days. It also seems that my internet is allowing me to load pictures a bit quicker, which is great. 

With Joy UNquenchable,