Tossed Spinach Salad

This is a wonderful recipe I got from my mother-in-law. It is one of our family's favorite salads, it is easy to make and always a crowd pleaser.

Salad Ingredients

1 package of baby spinach (10 oz.), torn

1 pound of mushrooms, sliced (I bought mushrooms already sliced ... I don't like them, but the slices were big enough that I could pick them out)

1/2 pound of sliced bacon, cooked & crumbled (I used about 1/2 cup of Hormel Real Crumbled Bacon ... I got a big bag of this at Sam's and love it! So easy to use!)

3 ribs of celery sliced (I "stripped" my celery before I sliced it ... I took a veggie peeler and peeled all the strings off of it and get it down to the tender white part ... it is much tastier and easier to slice this way)

1 c. of shredded cheddar (I used about a cup and 1/2 of Kraft Sharp Cheddar Crumbles)

3 hard boiled eggs, chopped (I love egg in my salad)

3 to 4 green onions, chopped


Dressing Ingredients

1 Cup of Ketchup

3/4 c. of white vinegar

3/4 c. of vegetable oil

1/2 c. of sugar

1 tsp. of salt

1 tsp. of Worcestershire Sauce

In a LARGE salad bowl, combine the salad ingredients and toss. You'll need a large bowl to start out, but once you add the dressing you could transfer it to a smaller bowl.

Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together or put them in a jar with a tight lid and shake. Wait to toss the salad with the dressing on until you are ready to serve the salad. And, when you do, only put about 1 and 1/2 cups to 2 cups of dressing on it at the MOST. The recipe makes about three cups, but that is WAY too much dressing!

Creamy Italian Noodles

I get in a side dish rut. My "go to" is always instant brown rice cooked in chicken broth. It is good, but it gets boring after a while. So, I found this recipe and adapted it a little bit. All three of my little boys LOVED it and asked for seconds. You could add cooked chicken to it and make it a main dish.

Ingredients

1 (8 oz.) package of whole wheat pasta (the original recipe called for wide egg noodles, but I used whole wheat penne pasta)

1 package of dry Italian salad dressing mix

1/2 cup of milk (I used whole milk but you could use whipping cream or fat free milk)

1/2 stick of butter

1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook noodles according to package direction and drain. I didn't rinse mine ... just drained it.

2. Cut the butter into chunks so it melts easier. Stir that up in the hot noodles. Add the remaining ingredients and stir.

3. Serve hot.

Best Light Salad Dressings

I cannot tell you how many light and fat free salad dressings I have bought only to end up throwing them away because they tasted SO bad. I know one good tip is to water down your favorite dressings ... that at least cuts the calories down a little and you get the taste.

Anyway, I thought I would share five of my favorite light dressings, and therefore I think the best. I have not found a good light ranch dressing, yet. I don't like the bottled full fat ranch dressings, though ... so that may not be possible. The ranch dressing you make from the package of dry mix is my favorite.

My favorite light salad dressings in no particular order:

1. Wishbone Balsamic Breeze Spritzer ( I have not tried the others, but this dressing is fabulous ... even my husband who will eat NOTHING low fat - he's skinny and hates low fat stuff ... go figure - likes this dressing.)

2. Newman's Own Light Honey Mustard (I just found out they even have recipes at this site using this dressing ... I'll have to give those a try)

3. Ken's Steak House Lite Ceasar

4. Ken's Steak House Lite Honey Mustard

5. Ken's Steak House Fat Free Raspberry Pecan