Ambrosia Salad

Bryan's company is having its summer barbecue today and I'm pretty excited. I love, love being a stay at home wife and not having a job but sometimes I really like to have events to go to. During the day the only people I see are strangers at the store. Thank goodness for my cat so that I have another living soul around to interact with. Translation: excited.

I'm supposed to bring a side. I was torn between a chip dip I'd found on Pinterest and this recipe that I grew up with-- my mom would take it to church barbecues as well. I was concerned that maybe it was too dessert-ish since other people are to bring desserts. Am I possibly a little obsessive-compulsive? Then my friend Ashley said, "Everyone loves a sweet salad!" So, it won. Like mother, like daughter, I guess.

See below for full recipe. Here's what you'll need:

I didn't make a neat little grid of pictures showing adding everything together like I did with Taco Salad because I just didn't have the time so you can see all the pictures below. Suffice it to say all you do is mix everything together and then refrigerate it until you're ready to serve it.

I don't even like pineapple and I love this salad!

My mom didn't have exact measurements when I talked to her so I'll just provide what I did but they are very give-or-take kind of ingredients.

Ingredients:

1/2 a bag of mini marshmallows
1 large can of pineapple chunks, drained
2 small cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 10 oz. jar of maraschino cherries, drained
7 oz. shredded coconut (I just used half a 14 oz bag)
1 lb. sour cream

1. Mix together all ingredients.
2. Store in refrigerator until ready to be served.

Wasn't that easy?

REVIEW: Zucchini Bread

Okay, so this is a quasi-review in that I think zucchini bread is a pretty basic recipe but this is my go-to zucchini bread recipe and I have always loved it.

Bryan and I planted a small garden this summer and, though my husband is not a huge fan of squash, I begged him to let us plant some zucchini. He gave in when I promised zucchini bread. Duh! That's probably why I wanted to plant it in the first place... I do like zucchini sliced and fried, though. Anyway, our zucchinis are finally coming to a stage where some of them can be plucked. I trust this recipe to always be good but I do change it up a little. Here is the base recipe:

Zucchini Bread

Sometimes I add the nuts it calls for, if I have them. I seem to almost always have coconut on hand so I throw that in along with about 1/2 C. of chocolate chips. Once I have poured the batter into the bread pans and before cooking I top it with a mixture of 2 Tbsp white sugar, 2 Tbsp brown sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon, an idea I got from Our Best Bites. It's to die for!

Taco Salad

This is a very cool and refreshing dinner in the summer time. Everyone probably already has their own variation on this. This is simply what I grew up having my mom make and I loved it. I think this is the reason I love Fritos so much. Anyway, this is a very basic and simple meal. See below for full recipe. Here's what you'll need:

Here is everything but the green onions, which I forgot to get at the store and the ground beef that I was already browning on the stove when this picture was taken. Oops.

Here's a tip I learned about slicing avocados. Cut it in half and slice it it while still in the shell and then just pop the slices out. Also, if you have a bigger knife you can whack the seed with it to pry it out. I'm realizing that both of those tips need to be followed by: Caution! Don't slice your hand open while doing so.

I decided I didn't need to post every picture. First, brown your meat and then basically, just put all the ingredients in the bowl, making sure to tear the lettuce. I use maybe 2 cups of cheese but you really can put however much of any of these things as you want.

 

Toss the mixture and then pour Italian Dressing over it until wet. Maybe like 1/3 cup? Depends how much you like the Italian Dressing flavor. I made the mistake of using the whole bottle once in my early days of cooking...

 

Serve with Fritos! (This is the best part of the meal, in my opinion :))

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 can Kidney Beans
1 can sliced olives
1-2 tomatoes, diced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1-2 avocados, sliced
About 2 cups Mexican Mix (or other) Cheese
1 head lettuce, torn (I use romaine because it's better for you than iceberg but crispier than spinach)
About 1/3-1 cup Italian dressing (however much you want)
Fritos

1. Brown meat and rinse off fat.
2. Place browned meat, kidney beans, olives, tomatoes, green onions, avocados, cheese and lettuce in the bowl.
3. Toss mixture and then coat in Italian dressing until wet.
4. Serve over Fritos.

Lemon Cooler

This frozen treat is delicious and simple-- something I remember having a bunch as a kid. There was one summer when I remember my sister making this like once a week! We start with a basic graham cracker crust. See the end for the full recipe.For the crust you'll need:

Not all graham cracker crusts call for cinnamon but I happen to love it. If you have your own favorite graham cracker recipe you can skip this little tutorial to the end (the crust is actually more 'complicated' than the filling itself). For the filling you'll need:

Half a gallon of vanilla ice cream and frozen lemonade. Pretty simple!

 

 Start off by bringing your ice cream out of the freezer and putting it in a bowl so it can soften since you'll have to mix it with something later. I would give it an hour to an hour and a half. On to the crust!

Pull your graham crackers out of their sleeve and put them in a large bag. Break them up a bit.

You want the crumbs to be fine. I use a rolling pin to finish off the process.

Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Make sure they come together well and then add your melted butter. I used 4 Tbsp. butter even though many recipes call for 6 Tbsp because it comes out too 'wet' when I used the larger amount.

See how that is nice and sandy looking? You don't want it to be too wet or it won't turn out right. Pack the crust down with a spoon or clean fingers, if you will. You want it to come up the sides and be firmly packed. Cook at 375 degrees for about 7 minutes (you don't want to overcook the crust, you just want to keep it from crumbling later on).

While that is cooking you can start on your filling.

Pour the ice cream into the bowl it was sitting in and then pour the lemonade over top.

Mix it together until it is smooth. I usually use a wooden spoon. I have never tried beaters but it could work-- that's your prerogative.

Now that the crust is done it should look something like this. I would let it cool for a bit before putting the filling in (you're going to be putting it in the freezer again and you don't want the hot pie plate to morph the plastic bottom in your freezer. This has actually happened to me... I know, I know. We all do dumb things sometimes!). Once it has cooled, pour in the filling. You can sprinkle graham cracker on the top if you like.

Here it is before going into the freezer. I let mine sit in there for a day but it could take less time. Just keep an eye on it. It will probably need at least three or four hours.

Ta da! Here is our finished, frozen Lemon Cooler pie. It is great for summer (or any time, really!). I made the mistake of trying to travel with it for an hour and a half and then refreeze it but, even after a couple of hours, it wasn't completely done. We ate it as a melty mess but it still tasted great.

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 1/2 C. graham cracker crumbs (about 1 sleeve, or 9-10 crackers)
1/3 C. sugar
4-6 Tbsp butter, melted(*see note above about butter usage)
1/3 tsp. cinnamon

Filling:
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream
1 can frozen lemonade

1. Let the ice cream sit out in a bowl for 1-1.5 hours while it softens.
2. Crush graham crackers so they are powdery.
3. Combine them with sugar and cinnamon. Mix well.
4. Stir in butter with a fork until it is sandy, but not too wet.
5. Pack graham cracker mixture down into a pie plate and on the sides.
6. Cook in pre-heated oven at 375 for 7 minutes.
7. Mix softened ice cream together with lemonade until smooth.
8. Pour mixture into the cooled graham cracker crust. Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs if desired.
9. Refreeze until set, at least 3-4 hours but overnight is best.
10. Enjoy!