Shakin & Bakin Foodie Blog

We love broccoli, especially fresh broccoli and have been trying to incorporate more of this healthy green vegetable into our weekly diet. This particular recipe is one of our favorites and was given to me a few years ago by my great auntie who was known to be a fabulous cook.

Homemade Broccoli Salad Recipe

1 bunch fresh broccoli, chopped
1/2 lb. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked & crumbled
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 cup salad dressing
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp. white vinegar

In a large bowl combine together the fresh broccoli, mozzarella cheese, crumbled bacon and chopped red onion. In a separate bowl combine together the salad dressing, granulated sugar and white vinegar. Pour dressing into the broccoli bowl and toss gently with a spoon until all of the broccoli is coated. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours to allow flavors to infuse. Best if served chilled.

Summer is here! Pam Beattie, owner of luxury furniture and women’s lifestyle products company, Venetian Décor is sharing her homemade Raspberry Dressing recipe with all of the Shakin N Bakin Foodie Blog readers.

Pam crafts timeless pieces that unites a blend of shabby chic, French, boho, eco-friendly and refined glamour in her hand-crafted, family heirloom preservation and luxury furniture and vintage décor company, Venetian Décor. Venetian Décor gives new life through its exquisite furniture, pillows, cosmetic and jewelry travel bags, eye masks, phones covers and personal accessories that are one-of-a-kind timeless pieces. Venetian Décor, the leader in eloquent heirloom restoration (furs, brooches, pendants, etc.), aims at putting a new twist on family history and old world charm.

Homemade Raspberry Dressing Recipe


· 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
· 1/2 cup raspberry vinegar
· 1/2 cup grape seed oil
· 1/2 cup virgin olive oil
· 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
· 2 tbs. pure seedless raspberry jam
· Dash of salt and pepper

1. Mix and whisk together pure maple syrup, raspberry vinegar, grape seed oil and virgin olive oil together in a bowl. 2. Add Dijon mustard and pure seedless raspberry jam along with salt and pepper to taste to the mix. 3. Decant into a favorite heirloom bottle and serve with a summer salad made from tender baby summer garden greens.

When I was a little girl I used to spend a lot of time with my Grandma and one of the things we would enjoy doing together is cooking and baking. Matter of fact, I looked forward to those Sunday afternoons after we got home from church just because I knew I would be spending time with her and whipping up some great tasting food.

One recipe we used to make a lot of during the summertime months was Grandma's Homemade Freezer Slaw and to this day...I still make this recipe a lot for my own family. Over the years, my husband has grown quite fond of this freezer slaw and we always hit our local orchard to purchase organic cabbage, green peppers and celery when I make it for him. Here is the recipe which will make approximately size 1 1/2 cup container sized portions. Once frozen this slaw will keep for up to 1 year...although ours is always gone within 6 months.

Grandma's Homemade Freezer Slaw Recipe

1 large head of cabbage
3 stalks of celery
3/4 of a large green bell pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. mustard seed

When I make this recipe I used my Tupperware Quick Chef to shred up the cabbage, celery and green bell pepper. You can use a grater or food processor if you have one. You want to shred them up to a fine consistency. Place the shredded cabbage, celery and green bell pepper in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the salt into the bowl, stir and cover the bowl to sit at room temperature for 1 full hour. Drain liquid away.

In a large saucepan combine together the white vinegar, water and granulated sugar. Bring mixture up to a full boil and boil for 1 minute or until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the celery seed and mustard seed. Let the mixture cool to room temperature.

Once the mixture has cooled, dump it into the mixing bowl and stir all of the ingredients together until they are well combined. Spoon mixture into each freezer container, make sure you add some of the liquid to each container, filling them up until they are 3/4" from the top. Cover and immediately place them into the freezer.

On one Sunday every month I like to get busy in my kitchen preparing a variety of freezer meals and goodies for us to use at a later date. During the Summer and Fall months when I am trying to use up all of the cucumbers from our backyard garden...this is one recipe that I turn to.

Homemade Freezer Cucumber Salad Recipe

4 cups thinly sliced cucumbers
2 cups onions, finely chopped
4 tsp. salt
1 to 2 tbsp. water
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tsp. fresh dill, chopped
1/4 tsp. celery seed

Mix together the cucumbers and onions. Add in the salt and water, stir to combine. Cover bowl and let stand for 2 full hours.In a large saucepan combine together the granulated sugar and vinegar; bring to a rapid boil, turn off heat and let cool to room temperature.Drain water from the cucumbers once 2 full hours have passed. Add the sugar and vinegar mixture to the cucumbers tossing to coat. Gently stir in the chopped fresh dill and celery seed.

Spoon the cucumber salad into freezer containers, making sure that you add some of the liquid to each container, filling each container within 3/4" from the top. Place lids on containers, label and freeze. Will keep for up to 3 months if properly frozen.

We love to eat salads all year long and we prefer to eat our salads with a wide variety of homemade salad dressings. If you make your salad dressings from scratch they are healthier for you and they save you a ton of money since bottled salad dressings are very expensive these days. Here is one of our favorite homemade salad dressing recipes.

Homemade Thousand Island Salad Dressing Recipe

1/2 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
1 hard boiled egg, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped green or black olives
1 tablespoon onion, minced
1 tablespoon green pepper, minced
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped (we use fresh)
1 teaspoon ground chili powder
1/4 cup steak sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a medium sized mixing bowl combine together all of the above ingredients and stirring until all ingredients are well combined. I don't use an electric mixer when making this as we like our egg, onion and pepper to remain intact. If you want a really smooth sauce then by all means use the electric mixer to combine the ingredients. Pour into a glass jar and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

A few weeks ago I participated in the Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Pasta Summer Pastabilities Recipe Contest and since that time I have received many requests to post my recipe in a blog post all on it's own to make printing it out easier. So for those who have requested it, it's below!

Heavenly Angel Garden Pasta Salad Recipe

8 oz. uncooked Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Angel Hair Pasta
8 oz. Italian Salad Dressing
2 Medium Tomatoes, chopped
2 Medium Cucumbers, chopped
1 Large Green Pepper, chopped
¼ cup Onion, chopped
¼ cup Pepperoni Slices, quartered or halved
¾ teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon celery seed
½ cup Cheddar Cheese, Shredded

Cook the Whole Wheat Angel Hair Pasta in water until done; drain water. Run pasta under cold tap water for 4 minutes while letting it sit in a strainer. Pour pasta in a large salad bowl. Gently stir in the 8 oz. Italian Salad Dressing. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Remove bowl from refrigerator and toss in the chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, green pepper, onion and pepperoni slices. Sprinkle salt, ground black pepper and celery seed on top, gently stir to combine. Sprinkle ½ cup Cheddar Cheese on top. Place lid back onto the bowl and refrigerate for 4 hours before serving.

Note: You can substitute the Cheddar Cheese with Mozzarella Cheese.

My mom has been raving to me about the Ocean Spray Craisins (dried cranberries) for the past few weeks and now...I finally had a chance to try them myself! The great folks over at Ocean Spray sent me a Craisins Make the Swap Challenge Kit which included 2 bags of Craisins and several recipe cards. This Make the Swap Challenge is all about replacing the raisins in your normal recipes with the Ocean Spray Craisins. I was certainly up for that challenge!

The Ocean Spray Craisins come in several different varieties, the ones I used for the challenge are the original ones which are sweetened dried cranberries. The Craisins are made with real fruit, peanut-free, gluten-free, naturally fat-free, no artificial colors or flavors, no preservatives and they are a great source of dietary fiber. I love that they are in resealable bags!

One of the recipes they sent along in my kit was for their Curried Cranberry Chicken Salad. I love Chicken Salad but not Curried...so I alterted their recipe to my own liking. Here is my version of the recipe.

Shelly's Homemade Cranberry Chicken Salad Recipe

3/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
2 cups cubed, cooked white meat chicken
1/2 cup green seedless grapes, sliced in half
3/4 cup Ocean Spray Craisins Original Dried Cranberries
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons minced onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

* I have a food chopper machine called a Quick Chef so I used that for all of my chopping and made my chicken salad almost entirely in that.

I first placed my cubed cooked chicken into the chopper and gave it a few turns so that it finely chopped it up. I then added my reduced-fat mayonnaise and lime juice. I gave it a few more turns to blend the ingredients together. I added in the chopped celery, minced onion, salt and ground black pepper and gave it a few more turns to chop and blend everything together.

Spoon your mixture into a small mixing bowl and hand stir in your sliced seedless green grapes and Ocean Spray Craisins, stir until ingredients are well combined. Place a lid onto your bowl and refrigerate your chicken salad for one to two hours to allow flavors to infuse. Serve cold on your favorite bread or bakery rolls. (we like ours on honey wheat bread).

I made this recipe for lunch a few days ago and let me tell you...my family gobbled it down in quick fashion. There wasn't a crumb left! They loved it so much that I made it again for them yesterday. It's a great chicken salad recipe for those of you who love great tasting sandwiches.

Once it gets a little cooler here I am going to try to make the Ocean Spray Oatmeal Craisins Chocolate Chunk Cookies recipe which you can find on their web site. I bet they are yummy!



Disclaimer: Shelly Hill has personally reviewed the product listed above. Shelly has not received any monetary compensation for her review. Shelly did receive a free product to try out so she could evaluate and use it for her review. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ. The Shakin N Bakin Blog is not responsible for delivery/shipping of giveaway items won from this blog nor are we responsible for mis-use or injury caused by items won from this Blog. Content on this blog is copyrighted, all rights reserved. We reserve the right to legally pursue anyone who violates our rights and/or steals our copyrighted material. This giveaway is not affiliated with Google+ or Facebook in any way. Thanks!

We love salads here in our home and eat them almost every day. With that said, I rarely purchase bottled salad dressings because we prefer the fresh taste of homemade salad dressings and this recipe is one of our favorites! It is really easy to make and I think you will enjoy having it with your next salad.

Bleu Cheese Salad Dressing Recipe

1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup Bleu Cheese, crumbled
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl except for the Blue Cheese...whisk together and then fold in the Bleu Cheese. Use this homemade dressing on your favorite garden or chicken salad.

Here is another great recipe from Rothschild Gourmet that was given to me by them back in June of this year. This is a fabulous recipe that utilizes a jar of their Robert Rothschild Farm Roasted Pineapple & Habanero Dip which you can purchase directly from their web site. This is one great way to spice up that old boring chicken salad to something that tastes fantastic!

Roasted Pineapple & Habanero Chicken Salad Recipe

3 1/2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded
1 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup Pineapple
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 jar Robert Rothschild Farm Roasted Pineapple & Habanero dip
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients together and mix well. Chill for a few hours in the refrigerator. Serve on a croissant or warm pita bread. (we like ours on a croissant). Garnish with an orange slice and either feta cheese or chopped walnuts. (I don't use walnuts since I am allergic to them). Serves 6-8 people.

Here is another fabulous recipe from the generous folks over at KRUPS and this coleslaw is super easy to make and tastes delicious!!! We love making fresh homemade coleslaw during the late Spring and Summer months and this recipe looks fabulous!

Homemade Coleslaw Recipe

1 head of finely chopped cabbage
1/4 cup diced carrot
2 tablespoons minced onions
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions: Chop cabbage and carrots in blender. Pour cabbage and carrot mixture into large bowl and stir in onions. Pour remaining ingredients in blender and mix. Pour over vegetable mixture and mix thoroughly. Cover bowl and refrigerate several hours before.

This is a guest blogger recipe post that was submitted to me by the PR firm working with Voga wines. Thank you for your submission. If you are looking for some fabulous wines I suggest you check out the wines that Voga has to offer.

Chilled Lobster Salad with VOGA Sparkling Recipe

Rich lobster deserves a rich wine. Go with VOGA Sparkling Pinot Grigio to add a delicious bit of complexity to this appetizer.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked, flaked lobster, 1 small lobster
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/3 cup mayonnaise, or to moisten
1/4 teaspoon salt
Lemon zest
dash pepper
1 bunch of asparagus

Method:

Sprinkle lobster with lemon juice. Add celery, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Gently stir in mayonnaise; chill thoroughly. Brush avocados with lemon juice. Arrange lobster salad atop green salad dressing (recipe below), Serve with steamed asparagus.

Green Salad Dressing

6 chopped scallions
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 anchovy fillets
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup creme fraiche
1/2 cup mayonnaise

Method:

Combine ingredients in a food processor. Puree until all ingredients are combined and the dressing is smooth.

One of our favorite types of salads to eat is a delicious homemade Taco Salad. With that being said, we don't top ours with salad dressing...we like to top ours with some homemade chili or with some homemade salsa.

Sam's Taco Salad Dinner Recipe

1 head of lettuce
2-3 tomatoes
1 large onion
1 lb. browned ground beef
1 can chili beans
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
l bag of taco chips

You will want to chop up your lettuce, tomatoes and onions and combine them all together. Brown and drain your ground beef and stir in the can of chili beans and heat over medium heat until hot. Remove from heat. Let cool and then pour beef mixture over top of the lettuce mixture. Sprinkle cheddar cheese and taco chips on top.

Now you can top the salad with what-ever it is that you like.

During the summer months, we are often invited to backyard bbq's, family picnics and various parties and always asked to bring a dish. One of the items I like to make and take is this delicious chicken pasta salad.

The recipe does take a little time to make and is made in 2 parts...the pasta salad and then the dressing.

Old-Fashioned Chicken Pasta Salad

Step: 1

4 cups rotelli pasta, cooked, rinsed and drained
2 cups cooked chicken breasts (white meat)
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup onions, finely chopped
6 cups fresh spinach, rinsed, drained and chopped up

Mix up all of the above ingredients and set aside.

Step: 2

1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3-4 tablespoons granulated sugar
salt and ground black pepper to taste

In a large frying pan, lightly brown the sesame seeds in 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Let them cool for 10 minutes. In a bowl, combined the sesame seeds with all of the other ingredients listed above. This will be your dressing for the pasta salad. Once you have everything mixed, add in Part 1 until well combined.

Place lid on your bowl and refrigerate for several hours to allow the dressing to infuse into the cooked pasta mixture.

During the summer months, it seems like we are invited to a picnic or family gathering every other weekend. One of the dishes I like to take to these type of gatherings are homemade Potato Salad. Now I am not going to lie to you...this recipe does take some time to make...but your cooking efforts will be well rewarded with a ton of compliments.

Old-Fashioned Potato Salad Recipe

You will need 7 large potatoes that have been cooked and diced for this recipe. Once done, set aside and work on the dressing.

How To Make The Dressing

1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup white vinegar
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon yellow or dijon mustard

Combine all of the above dressing ingredients in a large saucepan. Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

How To Finish It Up

1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped

In a medium-sized bowl, combine together the chopped onion, mayonnaise and the chopped hard-boiled eggs. Stir in the prepared potato salad dressing. Fold in the cooked, diced potatoes. Cover your bowl and refrigerate for 4 hours before serving to allow all of the flavors to infuse.

During the summer months we eat a lot of salads here in our home...our family just loves salads! When it comes to making salads, I like to offer a wide variety of them so that we don't get tired of eating them.

This recipe is what I call an Asian-Style salad because it utilizes chow mein noodles, water chestnuts and sesame seeds. Below you will find the recipe to make the salad as well as the recipe to make the delicious salad dressing.

Asian-Style Summer Salad Recipe

Salad Ingredients:

1 head of iceberg lettuce, torn into small pieces
1 onion, finely chopped
1 can water chestnuts, drained
1 cup chow mein noodles
1 cup cashew nuts
1/4 cup sesame seeds

Mix all of the above salad ingredients together and set aside while you make the dressing.

Salad Dressing Ingredients:

1 tablespoon minced onions
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar.

Mix all of the above ingredients together in the order that they are given. You can adjust the salt, granulated sugar and ground black pepper to taste. Pour this delicious dressing over your Asian-Styled Salad.

Creamy Cucumber Salad

Every year my husband and I plant a large garden and one of the items we plant are cucumbers. If you plant cucumbers, you know that you can get tons of them every season. One of the things we like to make with our fresh cucumbers is Cucumbers In Sour Cream Salad. This recipe will make 4-5 hearty servings.

If you are looking for a freezer cucumber salad recipe I do have one of those here on my blog too.

Optional: Chop 10 cherry tomatoes in half and toss into the mixture until blended.

Cucumbers In Sour Cream Salad Recipe

2 large cucumbers, sliced
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon minced or finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon dill

Wash and slice your cucumbers and place them into a bowl. Sprinkle with the salt and cover your bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

In a separate bowl, combine together the sour cream, white vinegar, chopped onion, granulated sugar and the dill. Pour this mixture over top of the slice cucumbers and refrigerate for 2-3 hours to allow it to marinate.

This is the type of salad that you want to keep refrigerated and serve chilled.

This is a really easy to prepare dessert salad recipe and better yet...it only takes 5 ingredients! You can serve this year round but we really like making it during the summertime for all of our family backyard barbecues and parties.

Pistachio Salad Recipe

1 lb. canned crushed pineapple
1 small pkg. instant pistachio pudding
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 (9 oz) pkg. cool whip

Don't drain pineapple. Mix all ingredients in order given. Chill 1 hour and then serve.

This recipe by Tupperware would be great served as an appetizer or if you are like me, it would make a filling lunch. It will take approximately 15 minutes to prepare and it will make 6 hearty servings.

Crottins de Chèvre on Frisée Salad Recipe

Crottins:

1 French bread baguette (20 slices)
1 pkg. (5 oz.) goat cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
1 head frisée lettuce
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Zesty Vinaigrette:

1/2 tsp. Cayenne pepper
1/4 cups white wine vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
2 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp Simple Indulgence™ Simply Garlic
10-12 drops of hot pepper sauce
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat broiler. Slice baguette with Chef Series™ Pro Bread Knife and slice the cheese into thin slices with the Chef Series™ Pro Chef's Knife. Place on a baking sheet. Place one slice of cheese on each bread slice to make a Crottin (a little slice of bread) and sprinkle with a little freshly ground black pepper if desired. Broil until cheese turns golden. Place frisée on salad plates, top with 2-3 crottins and sprinkle with walnuts.

Zesty Vinaigrette:

Combine all ingredients except for the vegetable oil in the Quick Shake® Container. Shake vigorously until combined. Slowly add the vegetable oil and shake until well incorporated. Drizzle over or toss frisée with the vinaigrette.

This is a fabulous recipe by Tupperware for a special meal that you might be planning. We love lobster here at our home and like to spoil ourselves with a lobster dish every 2-3 months. Hubby and I made this for our anniversary dinner last week and LOVED it!

Serves 8
Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Lobster Salad Recipe

1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (3 ears)
4 cups lobster meat, chopped
2 cups tomatoes, seeded and diced
12 oz. Arugula
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Garlic Vinaigrette Recipe

2 tbsp. Simple Indulgence™ Simply Garlic
2 tbsp. reduced fat mayonnaise
1 tbsp. mustard
4 tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring water to a boil in a Chef Series™ 2 QT. / 2 L Covered Nonstick Saucepan. Add the corn and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain in Double Colander and run under cold water to stop cooking. Drain and pat dry. Remove kernels from cob. Using a Saucy Silicone Spatula, gently combine the corn, lobster, and tomatoes in a bowl. In the Quick Shake® Container, combine all ingredients for the vinaigrette, except for the olive oil. Drizzle in olive oil and shake until thickened. Just before serving, season the salad with salt and pepper and toss lightly with the vinaigrette. Arrange the arugula in the center of a large platter and top with the lobster salad. Garnish with the parsley.

If you like shrimp, I think you will enjoy this easy to make recipe. I got this recipe from the following cookbook and altered it slightly to suit my needs and tastes. This recipe is a combination of a salad and a stir fry and is easy to make. I had some fresh broccoli on hand so I threw some of that in to add more substance.

Cookbook: Simply Quick & Easy Recipes by: Parragon Publishing, ISBN 1-84273-218-8 which happens to be one of my favorite hardcover cookbooks!

Chinese Shrimp Salad Recipe

8 ounces thin egg noodles
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 1/2 cups beansprouts
1 mango, sliced
4 onions, sliced
1 small radish, thinly sliced
12 to 14 ounces peeled and cooked medium sized shrimp
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Place your egg noodles in a large mixing bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover. Leave stand for 10 to 12 minutes. Drain the noodles and pat away any moisture with paper towels. Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok. Add the noodles and stir-fry for 5 minutes, tossing frequently. Remove the wok from the heat and stir in the sesame oil, sesame seeds and beansprouts, tossing to mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix together the sliced mango, onions, radishes, shrimp and soy sauce. Toss the shrimp mixture with the noodles. Serve immediately.