10 Years Ago Today...

Michelle and Nancy,

two proud graduates of the WJHS Class of 2001.

How time flies!!

Check back later this week

for a glimpse of what we've been up to lately!!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Strawberry season is upon us! And whether you are eating them in the sun, rain (or today) snow! Somewhere there is a sunny place where they are growing & it makes me hope for summer to come even quicker! This is my Mother-In-Law's recipe & the moment that I tasted it I knew it was a salad that I was going to make for the rest of my life!

Four simple ingredients:

Strawberries

Spinach

Carmelized Nuts {almonds, walnuts, whatever you want}

Poppyseed Dressing

psst! I'm not giving measurements because I kinda eyeball everything...I'm that kind of a cook. Also, it's not hard to measure out what you need for this recipe. So be brave with me. Take caution to the wind. If you are making it for a crowd, use the whole bag. Making it for one? pull out the portion that you want - that easy!!

 Washing the Strawberries. I learned from Food Network that strawberries are very porus. So if you put them under the water they will take that in and the taste will be watered down. So to properly clean a strawberry: take a moistened papertowel and wipe the strawberry down. Then cut into slices.

Carmelized nuts. I've used almonds and walnuts in this salad before (whatever I have on hand), but I think pecans would be really good too! I would tell you how I USED to carmelize nuts, but I found a much better way on Our Best Bites. Katie & Sara really have it down and from now on I'm carmelizing my nuts that way!

The Dressing. My Mother in Law uses Briannas Poppy Seed dressing (the one with the peach on the front of it). Katie from Dishn' & Dishes has a great Poppyseed Dressing recipe that I'm definatley keeping in my recipe box.I'm not a big mayo-based dressing eater and this one is onion based -don't judge just make it & you'll love it!!  

Combine the spinach, strawberries & nuts together and then pour the dressing ontop to coat!

There ya go. A salad bowl full of summer. Hopefully we will see it in the weather soon!

Fast Weeknight Dinner - Quick Sausage Supper

This is a really easy, tasty recipe that's sure to please.  I ate this as a kid growing up and it quickly became one of Mr. W's favorites, too.  After eating this for dinner one night, he smiled at me and said, "I can't believe I went my whole life without eating this!"  Pair it with a green salad, and you've got yourself a winner of a dinner!

Quick Sausage Supper

In 10" oven-proof skillet, brown 3/4-1 lb. country sausage and 1/2 c. onion; drain.  Sprinkle with 2 tsp. flour.  Add 14-oz. can UNdrained tomatoes, 4 oz. UNdrained mushroom pieces and stems, 1 tsp. oregano leaves, 1/2 tsp. basil leaves, 1/4 tsp. garlic powder, and pepper to taste.  Mix well.

Heat until hot and bubbly, stirring until slightly thickened.

Separate 1 can refrigerated biscuits into 10 biscuits; cut each into 4 pieces.  Arrange pieces over hot meat mixture; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 400 F. 12-16 minutes until golden brown.

*NOTES:  I use a can of Italian-style tomatoes and then skip the rest of the spices, and it tastes great!  I usually don't do the onion, either, but I salt and pepper the sausage as it browns.  The country-style sausage from my grocery store is sold in odd weight amounts (like 1.18 lbs), so I brown all of it at once and then save the extra sausage to use in biscuits and gravy.  Yum!!

Royal Wedding Attendees

As you know, we were

extremely excited

for the

Royal Wedding!!

So, like any normal, Royalty-obsessed people would do,

we made sure we had the best seats possible for the ceremony.

Well, almost the best seats possible.

Luckily for us, we blended right in.

Unluckily for us, Nan ended up with octopus-inspired headwear,

and Michelle could only find a dress made out of 1980s curtains.

After Will and Kate said "I will",

we were able to put our quick-change skills to good use.

What can we say?

After years of dreaming, we couldn't miss our chance

to be within arm's length of Prince William.

We had to keep our hands tightly clasped

so that we didn't absent-mindedly start petting his bald spot.

This also gave us the perfect opportunity

to bestow upon them our carefully-selected wedding gifts.

The new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

were so touched by our generosity that they invited us

(along with Mr. W and Mr. S and Tiny S, of course)

to join them for a barbecue at Balmoral on William's birthday.

Of course, we accepted.

Or not.

*Sigh*

However you look at it, we had a fabulous time

watching the Royal Wedding live last Friday morning.

Most importantly, we watched it together!!

How did YOU celebrate the Royal Wedding?

Or are we really that weird?