BLT Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing: a BYU food memory

When I was in college one of my favorite things to get as a special treat for lunch was a BLT salad with honey mustard dressing from the salad and wrap place at the student union building food court (aka the Cougar Eat). This was the perfect salad, and it was served with a white or wheat roll and a little pad of butter. The dressing came on the side, so I could put the perfect amount on. I don't know why, but the BLT-ness was great with the honey mustard dressing. Sounds weird? I know, but it wasn't.

So....I decided to try to recreate this salad at home for dinner one night. And it was so close to being amazing! My one mistake: I bought croutons and forgot to get them out at dinner time. 😔 So sad. Otherwise, it was just like being back in the food court on campus!

BLT Salad
Lettuce or salad mix
Tomatoes, chopped
Cucumber, chopped
Bacon, cooked and crumbled
Shredded cheddar cheese
CROUTONS!!! don't be a fool and forget like I did. Every BLT needs a bit of bread!
Honey Mustard Dressing. I got Ken's Steak House brand. I think this is the same kind they had on campus. But you could also use ranch or whatever you like.

Build your salad to perfection and enjoy!

Husband's reaction: he loves salad, so I knew he'd like it. I'm still not sure how the dressing was for him. He was nice and said he liked it, but he's more of a vinegrette guy.

Crock-Pot Mexican Chicken Chili with Cornbread Topping (can be a freezer meal)

Mexican Chicken Chili with Cornbread Topping

Yields: 6 servings
Ingredients
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped (about one cup)
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped (about one cup)
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 2 tablespoons and 1.5 teaspoons of homemade taco seasoning or 1 package of
store-bought taco seasoning
• 10.75oz can of condensed tomato soup
• 1/4 pound cheddar cheese, shredded (about one cup)
• 1 box of Jiffy corn muffin mix + the necessary ingredients listed on the box (Jiffy
calls for one egg and 1/3 cup milk)
Materials
• 1 gallon-sized plastic freezer bag
To Freeze and Cook Later
1. Label your freezer bag with the name of the recipe, cooking instructions, and
“use-by” date.
2. Add all ingredients to your freezer bag. ****except they say later to put the cheese and cornbread topping on after cooking for four hours... So don't add the cheese? I got confused, so I put it in at first and added extra at the end.****
3. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze.
To Cook
1. Thaw freezer bag overnight in refrigerator or in water in the morning.
2. Add contents of freezer bag to crockpot and cook on “low” setting for 4 hours in a
6-quart crockpot or 8 hours in a 4-quart crockpot.
3. Shred chicken with fork.
4. Cover shredded chicken chili with cheese and assembled corn muffin batter. ***See? Add the cheese now? How sneaky!***
5. Add lid and cook on “high” setting for 60 minutes or until cornbread topping is
cooked through.

Husband's reaction: I think he liked it. I liked it more than he did. And our four year old ate it only when I separated the chili and cornbread and spoon fed him. Oh brother. But he tried it! Also, I love how easy this was! Super easy.

Danny's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

This recipe comes from my husband. He has it memorized from when he was a teenager! He knows how to cook the important things in life. I'm mainly putting it on here so I always have the recipe...I don't have it memorized, and I have actually never made it myself! (The cookies in the picture were made by my mom, who followed Danny's instructions).

1 stick butter
1/2 cup shortening
(or 2 sticks of butter)
3/4 cup white sugar
cream together
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 3/4 cup flour
chocolate chips "to your enjoyment"
bake at 350 degrees 8-10 minutes

He claims that it doesn't matter if you don't cream the butter and sugar first, you can just mix it all together....I would cream the butter and sugar and then add the eggs and then the rest.

Slow cooker BBQ Baby Back Ribs (can be a freezer meal)

BBQ Baby Back Ribs recipe downloaded here: http://newleafwellness.biz/2016/01/31/40-pre-baby-freezer-meals/
Yields: 5 servings
Ingredients
• 3 lbs baby back ribs, cut to fit in crockpot
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Materials
• 1 gallon-sized plastic freezer bag
To Freeze and Cook Later
1. Label your freezer bag with the name of the recipe, cooking instructions, and “use-
by date” (which should be 3 months from the prep day).
2. To your freezer bag, add all ingredients.
3. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze.
Cook
1. The night before cooking, move frozen bag to your refrigerator to thaw.
2. The morning of cooking, pour contents of freezer bag into your slow cooker.
3. Cook on “low” setting for 6-8 hours or until ribs are cooked through and tender.
4. Pour ribs onto a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil. Bake for 15 minutes at
350 degrees F.
Serve with extra BBQ sauce and corn on the cob.

Husband's reaction: he liked it! You can't go wrong with ribs and my husband.