We like the crisp crunch of cauliflower. Add celery and peas and ranch dressing, a bit of tangy onion and crispy bacon, a handful of chopped cashews -- a quick and easy, delicious and colorful Crunchy Pea Salad. You can thaw the peas in the fridge ahead of time. Or not. (I usually don’t.) Break or cut the cauliflower into bite size pieces. I like the looks of the little florets in the salad, but sometimes a knife is needed to keep the pieces small enough to eat easily. Crisp the bacon yourself and crumble. Or use about 3 tablespoons of genuine crumbled bacon off the shelf to save time. Add cashews, just slightly chopped for a bit of texture and taste to “fancy” it up, if desired. I don’t usually keep cashews on hand because they disappear long before they can go into a recipe. (oh, ... [Read More]
ranch dressing
Bacon Ranch Chicken Pasta Bake
Bacon Ranch Chicken Pasta Bake --Soooo good you’ll want seconds – and thirds! Everything goes together fairly quickly. While you are preparing the pasta, you can also cook the bacon and then the chicken. I prefer to use thinner chicken breast cuts because they cook quickly and can be more easily cut into uniform pieces. Cut the bacon before browning, either with a knife on a cutting board or with a pair of kitchen shears. I always burn my fingers trying to cut bacon after it is browned! Roux is melted butter (or other fat) and flour mixed together. When the flour has been incorporated into the fat, cook just long enough for the mixture to turn slightly golden before adding the liquid. Cooking too long or over too high a heat will make the sauce lumpy. Better to prevent lumps than try to ... [Read More]
Creamy Italian Ranch Crockpot Chicken
Creamy and flavorful chicken from the slow cooker served over brown rice, this is a very satisfying meal requiring minimal preparation and easy peasy cooking in the crockpot. Great for those times when your attention is focused on other projects. Cooking during a kitchen remodel has definitely been a challenge!! The stove is out in the garage and the kitchen is full of three guys wielding power tools. My cooking space is one crockpot on a tv tray in the front hallway adjoining the dining room and a second crockpot on the little chest in the dining room. The dining room is stuffed with boxes full of cabinet contents. They were orderly when the project started four days ago. Operative word – “were”. The motto is: “Keep calm and cook on.” Because that keeps the crew fueled ... [Read More]
BLT Ranch Burger
First time I made Ranch Burgers, I used ranch dressing out of the bottle. They were moist – just like I thought they would be. That was a good thing. But they were so moist they came apart and slid down into the barbecue flames. Not a good thing. And they were so soft that it was impossible to slide a spatula under them to lift anything off the grill. Really not a good thing! Good idea -- bad execution!! This recipe using dry ranch dressing mix gives the taste and tenderness without the falling apart mess. Save the bottled ranch dressing to replace or supplement your ketchup allotment. Works much better! Adding the BLT takes a good sandwich up a notch. Or maybe it’s the other way around – adding a burger to your BLT takes a good sandwich up a notch! Either way marrying ... [Read More]
