Hey guys!  I hope that you had a wonderful weekend.  Welcome back!  As you know it’s mmmMonday!  I think that we might have talked about a chicken salad recipe before.  This one is just a tad different and something to be filed back that you will pull out…quite often!

Our pastor’s wife introduced me to this type of chicken salad years ago.  She is a whiz in the kitchen and I am very thankful for that.  Down through  the years she has been one of the “moms” that I have interrogated in the culinary department.  You know…when you are trying to make something…and you dial them up…and ask all of the ins and outs?  These gals were foodies before we ever knew what a foodie was.  They were just trying to feed their families the good stuff.

So without further ado….

Sister T.’s Chicken Salad

(This may or may not have been tweaked…by me…but this is the jist.  Also..I am not putting measurements…and I will explain that in a minute.)

chicken, cooked, cooled and diced

grapes, sliced

celery, chopped

onion, diced

pecans, chopped

mayo

seasoned salt

garlic powder

freshly cracked pepper

Directions:  Mix all ingredients in large bowl….stir and serve on rolls or with crackers. (Chilling and making a day ahead…is wonderful.  The flavors meld and make it yumalicious!)

Okay…I know that seems lacking…but this is the reason why.  You can make this in small batches or large.  You can use a whole, boiled chicken, deboned, or you can use boneless, skinless, chicken breasts.  Whatever you use…just eyeball it and add as much or as little as you want.  Also…for the seasonings…do the same.  Give it a few dashes of seasoned salt, garlic powder and pepper…and then taste.  😉 (A bunch.)

I hope that you have a wonderful mmmMonday! Dirt Roaders.  May the love of God…come down in your little (or big) kitchen and inspire you to feed your family…the good stuff.

Smiles!

p.s. A big “thank you” to Adrianne and Amber for letting me photograph their sandwiches while they were partying.  😉

Hello!  There you are!  Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed?  Yeah…I’m having to work on that one too.  I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend.  We had a family get together on Saturday.  It was good.  It was also very interesting.  We all tried turduckin for the first time.  Have you heard of it?  A turkey, stuffed with a duck and a chicken.  It’s also stuffed with rice and seasoned up wonderfully…down in New Orleans.  It was very good.  It was a very special day…filled with lots of laughter. One of those days that makes thankfulness well up within your heart.

Sooooo…..onto the cauliflower!  Have you heard of it?  Have you seen it all over Pinterest?  Maybe you have already made it!  If so…then I won’t have to try to sell you on it.  I got a wild hair the other day and made it for the kids and I to munch.  It was all gone…quickly!  This has got to be my favorite way to make cauliflower of all time. What is it about roasting veggies in the oven that makes such a transformation in flavor?

As I do at times, I actually kinda toodled around on Pinterest and then combined a few things that I learned.  I do that.  I try new recipes and then tweak them a tad.  Sorry folks…I guess I have to blaze my own trail.  😉

GARLIC ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

…Whatcha need:

1 head of cauliflower

extra virgin olive oil

fresh garlic cloves

sea salt

freshly ground pepper

…How ya do it:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  While you oven is preheating, wash your cauliflower and remove the stalk.  The cut it or break it off into pieces.  Put in a large bowl that will give you plenty of room for tossing.  Peel and mince your fresh garlic and add to the cauliflower.  Drizzle with olive oil and add sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  With a large spoon toss to coat.  Place cauliflower on a baking sheet and roast in oven for thirty minutes…or longer if desired.  YUM!

I didn’t give measurements for the garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper.  To me…those things are a personal preference.  I like lots of garlic…but you may not.  Same with salt and pepper.  Eyeball it…and knock yourself out.  (Not really.)

I hope that your Monday doesn’t disappoint, Dirt Roaders.  I hope that you take a moment out in your busy day and find  some time to take a deep breath…and to do something nice for you.  I hope that you also serve others with your whole heart and I hope that the God of every day of the week…fills your heart with His love.  He is so faithful to do that…when we ask.

p.s.  If you swing by the market and grab some cauliflower for tonight’s supper….let me know whatcha think.  Or…if you have already tried it….I really want to know your opinion!  Leave me a comment!  I love ’em.

Did you party it up big on Mother’s Day?  We really did.  Between what we did here in our own little family and getting together with the moms and our Sunday morning church service…we partied hearty for Mother’s Day. I hope that it was a good day for all of you.

So….we are back to mmmMonday!  You know…I contemplated not blogging this week.  Please don’t cry.  (I kid…I kid.)  This week is just so crazy-busy for us.  Is the merry (crazy) month of may like that for you all?  We have three graduations to attend this week.  It’s exciting and “whew” all at the same time.  We are also having our annual fellowship meeting at church this week.  Whew…whew.  School also gets out so…throw a few award ceremonies and end of the year activities.  Whew…whew…whew.

Anyway…I didn’t want to leave you hanging.  We are friends, right?  Right.  We talk foodie things on mmmMonday…so that is what we are going to do.  We are going to herb it up a little.

Are you guys crazy about herbs?  I. am.  I have been for years and years.  I am crazy about their color, shape, texture and smell.  I think that I have even shown you pictures of my little herb bed out back.  I actually started out growing them when we lived in town.  My first little lavender plant grew by our front porch steps.  I would go out side and rub the leaves and then smell my hand.  Very….therapeutic.

Do you love to cook with fresh herbs?  In my little herb bed…there is dill weed…just waiting to hop into my summer pickles.  Sometimes I run out there for a sprig of oregano for a sauce or I grab a few chives for a topping of some sort.  I don’t use the spearmint much…and it is really fortunate that I let it stay.  The only reason is…the Mr. and I love the smell.  When he uses the weed eater out there…it smells wonderful.  Spearmint is very invasive though…you have to keep it in it’s boundaries…or it takes over.  I’m talking…growing up through your kitchen floor.  (No…not really. Why did I say that? Just making sure that you are paying attention.)  😉

When we were younger and before we had kids…we were house hunting.  We looked at this house that had a wonderful (overgrown) herb bed.  Herbs appeal to the side of me that kicks off my shoes and runs barefoot with the kids through the grass.  (Am I a hippie at heart?  I was born in the late seventies. Hmmmm……) They just seem wild and free.  They aren’t only pretty but they serve a purpose.  I love that.

I have a friend named Pat.  She is very passionate about herbs.  When we start talking about them…we are both in the zone.  Isn’t it fun to have a variety of friendships like that?  With each person it is something different that you connect over.  God is good…to put things into motion like He does.

Whether you like to cook with herbs or just look at them…they are a wonderful addition to your yard.  They are also lovely as a little cut arrangement to grace your counter.  I love that.  They stay green and perked up in water for days. One of the hashtags on my Instagram is #greenmakesmehappy. (If you want to join us on Instagram…we are alongthedirtroad)  Truly…there is something about all of this green around us…that God created…that does a special work down deep in my soul.  Seeing the creation…kindles worship in me…for the Creator.

Have a wonderful day, Dirt Road Friends.  Don’t forget to stop and smell the spearmint!

It’s mmmMonday! Dirt Road people.  I hope that you had a fantab weekend and that you are ready to talk food.  We are gonna jaw about burgers a bit today.  We all love burgers right?  I thought so.

Hamburgers are one of my all time faves.  I rarely ever get tired of them.  I grew up eating my mom’s pan-fried version.  She would cook them and then steam the buns.  Ahhhhh…..a tiny slice of Heaven on earth.  My MIL cooks her burgers the same way…and my kids want my husband to fry our burgers here at home…because he makes them like Mamaw.  (He can also grill a mean burger.)

Now days when we make burgers in the house we use an iron skillet.  I just love the way that they turn out.  The even heat makes a world of difference to me.  (I kinda have a “thang” for iron skillets…anyway.) I like my burger a little on the “done” side…and the iron skillet is perfect for this.

I’m wondering how you feel about toppings?  Are you a mustard and ketchup kind of person?  Do you love a burger dripping with mayo?  Would you like to know my absolute favorite topping on a burger?  It’s avocado.  I LOVE avocado on my burger and I have for quite some time.  I also love a big ol’ hunk of onion on my burger. ( Pass me a Cert please.)  I am patiently waiting for the garden tomatoes to add to my list of veggies that I pile on my burger.  Mmmm…..you can’t beat that.

When you think about it, hamburgers are such a simple food….and yet Google says that Americans as a whole consume 13 BILLION hamburgers in a year.  The average American eats one hundred hamburgers a year and that figures out to a fourth of a burger every day.  Wowza!  We are a burger eating people. (RV…that was for you.)

I hope that you have a wonderful mmmMonday! Dirt Roaders.  I hope that you fry a hamburger at home and add a little avocado.  (I hope that you like it.)  Try something new on your burger.  Go wild!  😉

p.s. I would love to hear about your burger routine.  Leave me a comment…..they make me so happy.  🙂