She's Got Good Jeans

I have been on a kick lately embroidering my girls plain jeans into adorable creations. The hardest part is that I have to rip out the inseam (or side seam) to get the denim to lay flat under the embroidery machine. The rest is easy...pick out cute fabric for applique and sweet colors of thread.

You Say Tomat-o, I Say To-ma-toe

40 pounds of Roma tomatoes...10 orange fingernails...1 helpful husband...2 dozen canning jars...5 hours of boiling water (blanching and sealing)...4 slippery tomatoes falling to floor...1 wood floor needing to be mopped....10-15 meals ahead of tomato soup and homemade pasta sauce.

Peach Pie Season

Nothing makes me happier than going to Allred's Orchards and buying 1/2 a bushel of peaches (about 50 peaches). Homemade pie makes me giddy. Buttery flakey crust and sweet filling with a touch of nutmeg. Heaven on a plate. With all the bio-enginering going on, why can't they figure out a way to make peach season last longer than 8 weeks? Ah well, I've gone through a bushel of peaches and I'm determined to go through another in the next two weeks.

Chinese Chicken Salad

I've been making this salad for at least 8 years. I love large salads for dinner in the summer. It's just one of the best and can knock the socks off of any chinese chicken salad you'll find at those overpriced chain restaurants. Mmmm...good. The kids favorite part are the fried noodles on top. Please do not top this with packaged crunchy noodles. You'll ruin it. You will.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Salad:
2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
1-2 heads green leaf lettuce
green onions, diced
1 ½ cups slivered almonds (optional, I'm not a huge nut fan)
3 cans (8oz each) mandarin oranges
1 package (12oz) wonton noodles, cut in strips and fried crisp (found in produce section)

Dressing:
2-4 T. sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard (helps emulsify the dressing so it won't separate)
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/3 cups rice wine vinegar
2 T. sesame oil
2 T. water
½ cup canola oil
toasted sesame seeds

Whisk all the dressing ingredients and then slowly drizzle in oil while whisking.

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