Thai Broccoli Salad

8 cups water
4 cups broccoli florets
1/4 cup Thai Kitchen® Sweet Red Chili Sauce
1 T lime juice
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup shredded carrot
Bring broccoli to a boil and cook for 1-2 minutes until tender-crisp. Rinse under cold water; drain well. MixX chili sauce, lime juice and salt in a large bowl with a wire whisk until well blended. Add broccoli and carrots; toss to coat well. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or until ready to serve.

Asian Broccoli Salad

1 large bunch broccoli with stems, chopped
1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped
1 red/green pepper, chopped-seeds removed 

1 cup almonds, chopped

For dressing take two parts extra virgin olive oil to one part white wine vinegar, then add sweetener of choice (I used agave and sucanat but sugar is fine too) plus a little lemon zest and juice, salt and lots of red and black pepper.

This salad does require some chopping! But then you just mix everything together and you have a super yummy and healthy salad!!

Super Simple Scrumptious Salad

 2 cups Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 Roma tomato, chopped
1/2 cob of corn, kernels removed
2 T Zesty Italian dressing
fresh cracked pepper
Only 174 calories!!

Scrumptious Baked Broccoli

The original recipe and picture can be found here. The writer, Adam Roberts, goes into a lot of detail about how to make this recipe so if you want to read his flowery descriptions and extra details please connect to the link above. I like to keep things simple and direct, so here is the recipe in a nutshell.

• 2 heads broccoli (washed, thoroughly dried, and cut into florets or small pieces)
• 5 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/3 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled & sliced
• 1/4 c Parmesan cheese
• lemon zest (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss broccoli with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Spread at in one layer on cookie sheet covered in aluminum foil (shiny side up). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove and zest with lemon (optional) and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve warm.

I have never had broccoli that tasted so delicious! And I mean, melt in your mouth and please give me second helpings, delicious.

Cauliflower Cream Soup

1 head cauliflower finely chopped
1 can (14 oz) cream of chicken soup
6 oz cream cheese
1 Tbsp garlic
2 Tbsp herbs de provence
2 cans (14 oz) milk (I use the empty soup can and fill it twice from my milk jug.)

Mix together and cook in a crockpot on low (4 to 6 hours) or high (2 to 4 hours.) The longer it cooks the more tender the cauliflower will be.

How to Order Your Bountiful Basket

I thought about creating a post all about how to order your basket. Then, I found a link for 'New Participants' on the Bountiful Basket website that had wonderfully detailed instructions, and decided not to waste my time when someone else has already done it so well. I have added the link (Ordering Instructions) to my sidebar under the title "Bountiful Baskets Online. There is also link to the Bountiful Basket homepage (Order Your Basket Here) and Facebook page (same title).

Don't forget to order your basket between Noon (local time) on Monday and 8:30 p.m. (Pacific time) Tuesday!

What's for Dinner?

The other night my husband, Michael, went golfing so the kiddos and I decided to have something a little different for dinner. We had yummy fruit (from Bountiful Baskets) dipped in chocolate and caramel. It was delicious, and fun!

August 27th

Today's basket included:

• 6 nectarines
• 2 heads of broccoli
• 2 bags of about 10 carrots
• 1 head romaine lettuce
• 8 bananas
• 4 green bell peppers
• 1 large tomato (vine or hot house variety, I believe)
• 6 ears corn
• 6 bose pears
• 5 pounds (approximately) white potatoes

For $16.50 ($15 basket + $1.50 handling fee) I received the above produce. When I arrive at my site one basket will be filled with vegetables and the other with fruit (see picture above.) Rough estimated value based on local prices in Utah:

• 6 nectarines (2 lbs @ 1.49/lb = $3)
• 1 bag of green grapes (3 lbs @ 1.29/lb = $3.90)
• 2 heads of broccoli (2.5 lbs @ 1.50/lb = $3.75)
• 2 bags of about 10 carrots ($2/bag = $4)
• 1 head romaine lettuce (1 head = $.79)
• 8 bananas (4 lbs @ 0.49/lb = $2)
• 4 green bell peppers (4 @ 0.59/ea = $2.40)
• 1 large tomato [vine or hot house variety, I believe] (1 lbs @ 0.99/lb = $1)
• 6 ears corn (3 for $1 = $2)
• 6 bose pears (1.5 lbs @ $1/lb = $1.50)
• 5 pounds (approximately) white potatoes (russet potatoes run $2 for 5 lb bag to use for comparison)

Estimated value before sales tax: $27+/-
Add on 4.25% sales tax: $1.15
Ending total (out the door at the grocery store): $28.15

All weights are estimated since I do not have a scale at home, and I tried to estimate low. Some price estimates may be a little high, others may be a little low. All estimates are based on current sale prices, and I had to go to six different websites to find ads with those prices.

This week I saved $12 and the expense of traveling to six stores.