How to Make a Quick and Easy Kale Salad

I love this salad. It's simple and tasty, ONLY HAS A FEW INGREDIENTS AND the perfect way to eat your leafy greens!

You will need one bunch of Kale. Wash and shake dry.

Cut leaves from center stems

Chop.

Place greens in a medium bowl

For the dressing you will need: 
2-4 cloves of garlic 
1/4 cup olive oil 
juice of one lemon
and salt and pepper 


Saute the garlic in the olive oil until lightly browned and smells wonderful. Remove from heat and add lemon juice, salt and pepper and adjust to taste.

Pour dressing over greens. Toss and let  marinate in the fridge for about 30 minutes (you can also let the greens marinate in a large ziploc bag)

Toss with:
roasted and salted sunflower seeds
panko bread crumbs and 
parmesan cheese ( I prefer shredded parmesan but I didn't have any for the picture)


Enjoy!

How to Wrap Vietnamese Egg Rolls (Plus Lynn's "Out of this World Recipe")

I am in love with these egg rolls. Crisp on the outside and bursting with the most mouthwatering goodness on the inside (pork, carrots, woodear mushrooms, spices)!  If you are an EGG ROLL fan these babies blow away the competition! Lucky for me..... my friend Lynn is the MASTER of the the this coveted egg roll and she is sharing the recipe with all of you devoted Lemon Poppy Fans!


(seeeeee there are benefits for for hanging around here.)


 **** I just wish these little beauties would pop off the screen and you could have a taste! Words cannot describe.  Now don't be intimidated to try these at home... you can get all of these ingredients at your local Asian market.   

FOR Lynn's RECIPE CLICK HERE

This past week Lynn's mom has been in town visiting from Alaska and apparently they like to spend their time in the kitchen (lucky for me)....Maybe in the future Lynn will share some more recipes! Or better yet..... put together a cookbook for us to buy!

How to Wrap Vietnamese Egg Rolls....

( the pictures will do the explaining)

For the full run down from Lynn herself Click HERE.

Enjoy!

Don't want to lose this recipe in the shuffle (trust me)...

Here is a quick "Pin it" button for you. Cheers!

Ali Eisenach

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

I thought I would share my new favorite recipe for Banana Bread! This recipe is WONDERFUL "as is", but I recently made this bread with 100% whole wheat, and less sugar and it was just as good! But first let me give credit where credit is due....this recipe is from Mel's Kitchen Cafe and can be found in the "Blogging For Fishes" recipe book. I still have a few copies left so you better hurry and snatch one up! Click here.

 Anyways if you want to make this bread 100% whole wheat there are just a couple of changes...


#1- Replace flour with 100% whole wheat flour
#2- Reduce sugar to 1 cup
#3- Optional: Add some chopped almonds, walnuts, or pecans and dark chocolate chips


I have made this recipe a couple of times and it's a big hit at our house!  I would recommend doubling this one. Enjoy.

Ali Eisenach

Mother's Day SPECIAL! Only $9.99

 Have you thought about Mother's Day yet? 

I bet you want to give your mom a nice gift, tell her you LOVE her and keep it under $10.00...

WELL....Here's an offer you can't resist!

 Pick ONE of your FAVORITE Lemon Poppy Books, we will include a card (whatever you would like to say) and 
SHIP IT PRIORITY (2-3 days) for

 ONLY $9.99!

(U.S. and Canada only)

Pin it and tell your friends!



****REMEMBER when you purchase the books there is a place where you can include a note to seller...Please include your mom (grandma, sister, mother-in-laws) address if you want me to ship directly to them....otherwise it will be shipped to you. Also let me know what you want the card to say for example:  "Happy Mother's Day to the BEST mom in the world" Love, Ali"

Click on the "Add to Cart" Button below 

the book you would like to buy....

When Life Gives you Lemons Recipe Book, with card $9.99 

When Life Gives you Friends Recipe Book, with card $9.99 

When Life Gives you a Chocolate Recipe book, with card $9.99

When Life Gives you Kids Recipe Book, with card $9.99 

BACON Wrapped Steak and Hot Pepper Kabobs (Pick me Ree!!!)

 I never enter cooking/recipe contests....I just don't have time for those types of shenanigans. I can barely keep my head above water trying to juggle mommyhood, the business, and my four most demanding clients (the kiddos)  BUT....I AM MAKING AN EXCEPTION because...  

OH.... HOW I WOULD LOVE TO MEET REE DRUMMOND! 

YES...The Pioneer Woman herself!

Ree has partnered up with Bush's Beans for the 2nd annual BBQ recipe CONTEST...4 lucky winners, selected by Ree herself will get to fly out to her Ranch for a BIG OL' COUNTRY cook out!

CAN YOU IMAGINE! Me and Ree chatting about life, cooking, recipes, homeschooling, photography, blogging, good books and all the rest!

PLUS JOSH and I could actually go on a little vacation together (that would be about a miracle...going on 6 years without a vacation with my hubby people)!

Are you catching the vision here?

So I am pulling out all the stops! 

Bringing a little taste of the SOUTHWEST to this cookout! We recently spent a weekend in beautiful southern Utah, hiking and spending some quality time with grandma, grandpa and the kids.

I knew I had ONE CHANCE to capture the PERFECT picture of the BUSH BEANS with the RED rocks in the background so I took the BEANS along for the ride! I tried my darndest to get a good picture but it was sooooo SUNNY!  I got a few though...

 After much consideration I think I have concocted the perfect SOUTHWESTERN BBQ recipe! This was inspired by the unbelievably delicious bacon wrapped jalapeño's and my favorite steak marinade, served up with Bush's Black Bean Fiesta Grillin' Beans. I am calling it:

Bacon wrapped steak and Hot Pepper Kabobs

 First get your steak marinating...

You will need 2 lbs. sirloin steak, cut into 1" pieces 

Ali's Secret Recipe Steak Marinade:

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 T. fresh lime juice

1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 t. chili powder

1 t. cumin

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

Combine all of the ingredients in a zip tight freezer bag. Seal and shake to combine ingredients. Add steak and seal bag. Marinate at least 3 hours (overnight is best).

NEXT you will need:

15 wooden skewers, soaked in water for 1 hour

1 lb. hickory smoked BACON

30 HOT peppers, including jalapeño's, serrano's and those bright orange habañeros! * if you are a wuss you can use red and orange mini sweet peppers, but honestly the HOT peppers become mild (and edible) once they cook.

 Thread bacon on first, add steak, and then cross over bacon. Add pepper and then thread bacon across until you have a beautiful kabob! *see pictures...

 Place on a medium grill (you don't want to cook with too high of a flame). The goal is to BBQ slow, at a lower heat allowing the fat of the bacon to crisp around the peppers, roasting the peppers and flavoring the steak. 

IS YOUR MOUTH WATERING YET?

 Bush's Beans has 2 "Southwestern" GRILLIN' BEAN flavors but I went with the Black Bean Fiesta Beans because I love black beans! They were DELISH!  Serve in a "throw-a-way" tin to get the real feel of this southwestern BBQ! 

SO there you have it Ree. 

This recipe is to DIE for...if you die from the heat! But the flavors are out of this world! Let's cook it up, you and me!

I can get on my knees and beg a little more...

but just for the record...it might seem like I have some unfair advantage since I am a blogger, and a photographer but seriously I have NEVER WON a cooking contest....

Hopefully thats about to change soon!

*but either way I still love ya.

And to all my friends,

If your mouth is watering and you want to save this to your favorites here is a quick PIN IT button for you. Cheers!

Ali Eisenach