This week is Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week at my school.  We had a beautiful luncheon, which included a cake that several said was too pretty to cut.  Here’s the recipe for this impressive cake that was also delicious:

INGREDIENTS:

• Artisan Fresh Lemon Crunch Bundt Cake, 50 oz. (from Sam’s) or any large, moist lemon bundt cake
• 2 pints fresh strawberries, cleaned

Place the cake on a large, pretty plate.  Fill the center of the bundt cake completely with fresh whole strawberries so that the strawberries are overlapping onto the top of the cake a little bit.  Place remaining strawberries on the plate, completely surrounding the bottom of the cake.  Enjoy!

Central Market has a kale salad recipe that sounds great.  However, I had only one of the ingredients…kale.  But I did have ingredients that make good substitutions, so below is what I came up with plus some added ingredients such as sesame sticks and chicken.  (The pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, almonds and cranberries were in the Central Market recipe plus crystallized ginger, chopped.) My husband and I liked the substitute recipe so much that we’ve had it for supper two nights in a row.  This  makes enough for two servings.

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INGREDIENTS:

• 2 large kale leaves, torn into bite size pieces
• 2 cups Romaine lettuce
• 2 celery  stalks, thinly sliced – we used organic celery from Walmart (or sliced almonds)
• 1/8-1/4 cup dried cherries (or dried cranberries)
• 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds (or roasted pumpkin seeds or sesame seeds))
• 3 tablespoons sesame sticks (we use oat bran sesame sticks)
• chicken cut into bite size pieces (leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken, or 1 large can chicken breast chopped and cooked in olive oil)

DRESSING:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar – we use Bragg brand
• Juice from 1 small clementine (or 2 tablespoons orange juice)
• 1/8 teaspoon ginger
• Stevia – just a tiny bit to sweeten to taste

Are you looking for some special recipes?  And not only special recipes but healthy ones as well?  When loved ones and friends come to visit or even if it’s just our own family at home, we like to fix something special for them on holidays or certain occasions and might need a new recipe.  Or maybe we’ve gotten into a recipe rut and fix the same things week after week and need a recipe revival.

Whatever the reason, here are some delicious sounding recipes I’ve seen recently on a Bed & Breakfasts Foodie Blog: Eight Broads in a Kitchen.  These recipes come from Kristie at Lookout Point Lakeside Inn which got an award of Innkeepers of the Year a couple of years ago.  I can’t wait to try them!

• Monte Carlo Sandwiches– a lower fat twist on the Monte Cristo
• Fruited Ricotta Muffins: a recipe adapted for all seasons
• Nutty Fruit Bars–A Healthful Snack
• Almond-Coconut Crisps, an Afternoon Delight in Hot Springs
• Berry Breakfast Shortcake
• Healthy Organic Quinoa Salad, Perfect for Weight Watchers!

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These are great, and you don’t have to heat up the house with the oven to make them. Just use Food for Life or Ezekiel 4:9 Organic Tortillas and make personal-size pizzas on the stove top using a griddle.

(Scoops Tortilla Chips, Ranch Beans, cheese queso (from a jar), chopped onions)

What an unassuming little cookie!  Just to look at Dad’s Original Oatmeal Cookie, one would never guess how delicious they are.  We first encountered them a year ago when we visited the St. Louis Gateway Arch (the nation’s tallest monument at 630 feet).  Unseen from ground level is an underground mini-mall area complete with an impressive little museum and shops.  We (hubby, me, and our son) went in this cute little 1900-style market.  On the checkout counter stood a cookie jar filled with oatmeal cookies, priced modestly at 3/$1.  We needed a little snack so I bought several cookies.

When eating these cookies later, we were surprised how yummy they were and wished we had bought more.  We were headed to Springfield, Missouri, and figured we might could buy more there but were disappointed to find out the cookies are sold only in the St. Louis area.  Sometime after we got back home, I researched Dad’s Original Scotch Oatmeal Cookies and found out their interesting history. I searched and searched for the recipe but didn’t find one that sounded suitable until one day I found this Whole Grain Thin and Crispy Oatmeal Cookie Recipe (minus the walnuts) that sounds like it’s very close to Dad’s cookies.

My dear husband suggested ordering some of the cookies from Dad’s website recently, but I would rather wait since I’m trying to lose weight.   If I need to bake a batch of cookies to take somewhere, though, I just might try the recipe I found online!

Photo courtesy of our son!

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Even when a person is trying to lose weight, it’s good to have little treats or rewards along the way.  Here’s a healthy cookie with fiber and nutrition that makes a nice treat:

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup unbleached flour (or whole wheat flour)
• 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats (can use instant)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar  (or 3/8 cup brown sugar & 2 KAL spoonfuls of  KAL Stevia Powder)
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup walnuts

Cream together the olive oil, butter and brown sugar.  Blend in the egg and applesauce.  In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.  Add to the creamed mixture.  Blend well.  Mix in the vanilla.  Add the oats, raisins, and walnuts.  Drop by spoonfuls on baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 9-12 minutes.