My children actually eat salad. I know. I was amazed too. But they seem to enjoy it. So based on that, I like to play around with ingredients and try different kinds of salads and ingredients to see what they will eat. This one was a big hit, and we’ve made a few modifications to it over the years which I will share in different recipes over the next couple of weeks. Enjoy – and be prepared for some good eating!

Delicious Cobb Salad Recipe

a few heads of Lettuce (we like to combine different types (watercress, romaine and spinach are our favorites but you can use any type)
2-4 sliced tomatoes
1 lb. crisp, cooked bacon
1 lb. chicken, cooked and cubed
6-12 Hard-boiled eggs
2 Avocado’s, sliced into small pieces
16 oz. Roquefort cheese
3/4 c. chives
Salad dressing – see recipe below

Wash lettuce. Tear into pieces and allow to dry on a towel. Add to large salad bowl. Add all ingredients. You can add more or less of what is called for depending on the size of the salad you make, your taste for the ingredients. Pour the salad dressing over everything.

Here is the recipe for the salad dressing:

1/4 c. water
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. black pepper
3/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
2 Tbs. minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup salad oil

In a bowl, combine the water, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Next add the sugar, salt, black pepper, dry mustard and garlic. Stir well until sugar has dissolved. Add the olive oil and salad oil and stir well. Pour over salad or put in a bottle to be added during a meal. Shake before using.

This salad is amazing!

Don’t worry, it sounded gross to me too, but as long as you like bologna, you will like it. It is a total kid-friendly recipe and my kids were the ones who made it. They were having some friends over and wanted to prepare a few snacks, this one was actually the first one that was completely gone, so I guess it’s really THAT good to kids. I did like it, but in moderation. I have no idea where we got the recipe, because my daughter actually found it online and copied it down in her cute kid handwriting, not citing the source of course. OH, and our spring form pan was in use, so we tried it with a regular cake pan and it worked out just fine, it was just a bit trickier to get out of the mold. (photos below)

Side note: We tried this a second time with ranch dressing instead of the italian dressing and with turkey and ham instead of the bologna (trying to make it a tiny bit healthier).  I actually liked it better than the original bologna cake. I figured out its a great way to make sandwiches for a party or get together. Use a square pan and don’t “ice” the outside, but “ice” each layer in between where it calls for the italian dressing instead using a ranch/cream cheese mixture (or just cream cheese). It’s really good and can be sliced thin.

Bologna Cake Appetizer Recipe

2 loaves of cheap white Bread, crusts cut off
8 Tbs. of Italian Dressing
1/2 lb. sliced bologna (we used Oscar Mayer all beef)
3/4 lb. american cheese slices (we used Kraft)
2 containers of whipped cream cheese
Ketchup (if desired)
Garnishes: Parsley, Black Olives, etc. (if desired)

Step 1. It is helpful if you use a springform cake pan, because everything holds together nicely. We did not use one the first time and found it slightly complicated to remove the entire cake at the end.

Step 2. Begin by layering the bread slices in a double layer in the bottom of the spring form cake pan. Tear or cut up some of the bread to fill in any gaps.

Step 3. Sprinkle 2 Tbs. of the Italian dressing over the two layers of bread (this is where on the modified version we added the ranch/cream cheese mixture instead).

Step 4. Next, you need to a layer using all of the bologna over the dressing and bread. Continue layering the bread again and again sprinkle with 2 Tbs. of Italian dressing.

Step 5. Next create a cheese layer using all of it over that bread layer. Use the rest of the bread to cover the cheese layer and again sprinkle 2 Tbs. of Italian dressing over the bread. Press the entire thing gently down into the pan.

Step 6. Next you make the ‘frosting’. In a large bowl, mix the rest of the dressing (2 Tbs.) with the two containers of whipped cream cheese. Remove the metal spring form pan.

Step. 7. Using a spatula, ice the cake with the whipped cream cheese the same way you would ice a cake. Transfer the cake to a serving platter or large plate.

Step 8. If you have a cake decorating kit, use any remaining cream cheese to pipe around the cake. Fill a small baggie with ketchup, seal and snip off the end. Use the ketchup to decorate the cake, write a phrase on the top or just as a side.

This really isn’t bad, and I was actually pleased. The kids absolutely loved it and garnished with black olives and did not want to use ketchup. (photos below)

It’s day two of the deviled egg explosion of recipes. I told you all earlier this week that I planned to pamper you with a nice variety of various deviled egg recipes all week long. All of these recipes have been tried by my family and are deemed edible and tastey. Just so there is no mistake, alongside the recipes for deviled eggs will be the normal Daily Recipe which usually goes up at 6am and the normal daily article which usually shows up around noon. These are CST.

Deviled Egg Recipe #2

6 hard-boiled eggs
2 Tbs. mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 green onion, thinly sliced
parsley, finely chopped,
salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
paprika

Cut eggs in half lengthwise and remove the yolks into a small bowl. Mash the yolks until crumbly. Add mayonnaise and dijon mustard. Stir in white onion and chopped parsley (save some to sprinkle on top at the end). Add salt and ppeper to taste. Spoon into egg halves. Sprinkle with sliced green onion, parsley and paprika.

To kick off the whole “healthy eating” party I am having on this blog, I decided that posting a favorite recipe with healthier/less fat alternative ingredients would be a good way to start. My goal is to show you that you can still eat favorites, but change how you eat them, control your portions and choose healthier/lower fat ingredients. This should help a lot!

Delicious and Healthy Loaded Potato Skins Recipe
Baked – not Fried. But equally as awesome!! Trust me!

2 med. russet potatoes, scrubbed clean
salt, pepper and/or seasonings of your choice
1 1/2 c. shredded reduced fat cheese of your choice
1/4 c. bacon, torn into small pieces OR 1/4 c. real bacon bits
1/4 c. reduced fat sour cream
2 Tbs. chopped fresh chives

Preheat your oven to 475 degrees.
Scrub your potatoes until clean and allow to dry somewhat. Prick the surface of the potatoes with a fork several times all around. Place on a plate in the microwave and cook on high for about 10-12 minutes or until completely cooked all the way through.
Allow the potatoes to cool until you can handle them.
Line a baking sheet with foil.
Cut each potato in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out most of the flesh of the potato. (save for homemade mashed potatoes!) Be sure and leave some potato lining the shell of the potato skin.
Set the potato skins onto the baking sheet. Spray them all over (inside and the outside) with nonstick cooking spray. Season them (inside and outside) with salt and pepper, or other seasoning. Bake the potato skins for about 10 minutes until they are golden brown and beginning to get crisp.
Remove from oven. Fill the skins with cheese (divide among the skins). Sprinkle the bacon over the top. Place the pan back into the oven for approximately 8 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. (watch this so the cheese doesn’t burn).
Serve with a nice dollop of sour cream on the top and sprinkled with chives.
They are SOOOOOO good!

If you try them, let me know what you think. If you do something differently, please share.

Extra note: For the record, normal Fried Potato Skins are about 40 grams of fat. If you make them the way this recipe suggests – you will be sitting at roughly about 7 grams of fat. Pretty awesome! (oh and calories are cut by about 300!)