On May 13th it was my 32nd birthday so Matt and the kids had a little party for me. They made me a yummy dinner with hot wings (seriously, my kids LOVE hot wings!) and some side dishes I like. They also made me a yellow cake with chocolate frosting--Yum! Here is a pic of me with the kids:
I also got some sweet new sunglasses that I had been wanting:
Yeah I'm stylin
Our anniversary also happens to be on my birthday (I know, bad idea, but that's just the way it worked out the year we got married!) so one day when the kids were at school I made Matt a nice lunch. In the business of my birthday, which also is around Mother's Day (last year all three were on the same day...poor Matt!) sometimes our anniversary gets a little overlooked, especially for Matt. So I made us a little lunch of turkey sandwiches on croissants, a yummy mandarin orange salad with poppyseed dressing, chocolate dipped strawberries and sparkling white grape juice. It was nice to stay home and have a nice meal together without the kids around. This year was our 13th anniversary--WOW!
This salad is soooo good, and there are many ways to vary it. It calls for almonds, but this time I used pecans. I also used red leaf lettuce instead of butter lettuce, and put some Craisins in. You could also add sliced red onions (I actually love it this way but Matt has a thing about onions). This recipe is from my friend Tammie, a hygienist I used to work with at Dr. Nance's. She's quite the gourmet chef, and her recipes are fantastic!! Here is the recipe:
Mandarin Orange Salad
Salad: 1 head butter lettuce
1 11-oz. can mandarin oranges, drained
Caramelized almonds:
1 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup sugar
2 TB butter
Melt butter in pan. Add sugar and almonds, stirring until almonds are toasted and brown. Spread out on buttered wax paper and let harden and cool. Break up and store in plastic bag. (You can make these ahead of time)
Dressing:
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. dry mustard
2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup vinegar
2 TB grated onion (red onion gives the best flavor--just grate it with a fine grater and use both the grated onion and the juice)
2 cups oil
3 TB poppy seeds
Mix together. *This makes a ton of dressing so I usually half the recipe.
Right before serving, mix salad greens, oranges, caramelized almonds, and dressing.
Salad: 1 head butter lettuce
1 11-oz. can mandarin oranges, drained
Caramelized almonds:
1 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup sugar
2 TB butter
Melt butter in pan. Add sugar and almonds, stirring until almonds are toasted and brown. Spread out on buttered wax paper and let harden and cool. Break up and store in plastic bag. (You can make these ahead of time)
Dressing:
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. dry mustard
2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup vinegar
2 TB grated onion (red onion gives the best flavor--just grate it with a fine grater and use both the grated onion and the juice)
2 cups oil
3 TB poppy seeds
Mix together. *This makes a ton of dressing so I usually half the recipe.
Right before serving, mix salad greens, oranges, caramelized almonds, and dressing.
5 comments:
Happy belated annv. and birthday! What a cute little lunch!!! Your girls are growin up!
13 years??? You guys are old. :)
yeah i know...old and crusty..
I love this salad. You also posted it in the ward cookbook and my dad and brother request it for EVERY family function! I add strawberries to it also. I love the varied colors in the salad. It is so heavenly!
Didn't realize this was all one post. I LOVE your hair, you always have cute hair, but I really like the color and a-line. Super cute. Happy B-Day and Anniversary.
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