Poppy Seed Chicken Salad With Apricots

Salad
4 cups cooked, chopped chicken
1-2 green onions, sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
3/4 cup dried chopped apricots
1 diced apple
1/2 cup halved red grapes
1/2 cup toasted, slivered almonds
squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper

Dressing
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1-2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds

1. Combine all salad ingredients.
   
2. Whisk together dressing in separate bowl.
   
3. Combine salad and dressing about one hour before serving and put in refrigerator.

This was so wonderful. Alicia brought it to our last home group meeting. --Sarah

Use Vinegar as a Dishwasher Rinse Aid

Thank you to my mom for this tip...

Just fill the rinse aid compartment in your dishwasher with straight vinegar. The dishes dry completely and are totally spot free.

It works just as well as Jet Dry for a fraction of the cost. In fact, my mom has been using plain white vinegar for the last month, and she says it works even better than Jet Dry.

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

2 large boneless-skinless chicken breasts (boiled or grilled, then diced up or shredded)
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 small container (6-8 oz) Reg. Sour Cream
1 can Rotel
2 cups of Mexican Style cheese (divided)
8 Tortillas (usually use fajita size so enchilada is overstuffed, but burrito size works well too)
Sliced Jalapenos if desired

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix soup and sour cream. Smear some of the soup/sour cream mixture on the bottom of a 9x12 glass pan to prevent sticking on the bottom of pan. In another medium bowl, mix shredded/diced chicken, 1 cup of cheese and can of Rotel. Stuff and roll tortillas with chicken mixture, then line up enchiladas side by side in the pan. When finished, pour and smear the rest of the soup/sour cream mixture on top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle additional 1 cup of cheese on top of enchiladas. You can also add sliced jalapenos if desired. Cook for 40-45 minutes in oven until cheese is brown and sauce is bubbly.

This is a quick and easy meal that I make for my family when I don't have a lot of time to cook. It only takes about 15 minutes to throw it together and then just 40 minutes to cook. The leftovers are great too! This is a great meal if you need to make a casserole dish to use for those occasions when you sign up to bring food to people (ie. birth of a baby, loss of a loved one, illness in family, etc.) --Kristina

Greek Green Beans

1 Tablespoon butter or olive oil (or a mix)
half of a medium onion
2 cans cut green beans, drained (or equivalent amount of steamed fresh beans)
1 can Italian-style diced tomatoes (with oregano, basil, garlic)

1. Cut the onion in thin slices and then cut the slices into quarters.
2. Saute the onion on medium-high heat in the butter or olive oil, separating into strips. Cook for ten minutes or so, until tender and lightly browned.
3. Add the drained green beans and the tomatoes and cook through.*

*If you have time, simmer for an hour or so, or cook on low in the slow cooker. This gives the flavors time to blend.

We had this for Easter today, and it was so good and so easy. I'd like to try it with steamed green beans, but the canned beans were great! I noticed that the green beans tasted even better after sitting on warm in the slow cooker for several hours, so I think I'll make them that way on purpose next time. --Sarah

Cooking with Ground Turkey

Ground turkey can be a healthier alternative to ground beef--provided you buy lean ground turkey--and it's definitely a cheaper option. Here's a tip for making it more flavorful:

1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup diced onions
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup white wine or cooking wine

Brown the meat in the wine with the other ingredients. Drain well and use in spaghetti, chili, or other recipes where you would use ground beef.

We tried this in spaghetti, and we liked it BETTER than ground beef. --Sarah