It has been stormy and windy here this week! Although the worst of it was south of us – more towards Denver and Castle Rock. Here’s a picture of a storm front approaching, from WH’s camera. I like the cracked earth between the rows. Although that just highlights how dry things are here.

This is almost ghostly, isn’t it? Wind currents sweeping around in the tall grass.

Last night we had a pretty impressive display of lightening across the sky. No thunder – just lots of lightening and wind. It was pretty cool.

I wanted to share a new salad recipe with you. It was so quick to throw together andit was a delicious evening meal.

Strawberry Chicken Salad

1 head of romaine (in bite-sized pieces)
4 grilled chicken breasts (cut into 1″ pieces)
1/2 sliced purple onion
2 avocados, sliced
Strawberries, sliced

Dress with Balsamic Vinaigrette (or Brianna’s Blush Wine Vinaigrette, if you have that in your local grocery store.)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sheri hopingfornomorestormsthisweekend

Good News: Mocha’s fur is growing out. So many of you have emailed to ask about him, that I thought I’d keep you posted. Interesting to see how much darker he gets as it grows. Here he is sitting on our deck with his “brother” James.

Bad News: Mocha and James don’t really understand why we let Zoe and Gracie in our house and we don’t let them in, too.

Good News: We also have cute squirrels in our yard.

Bad News: This one must have been having heart palpitations at the thought of cats on the deck.

Good News: Love this new recipe that we tried this week. (Original recipe from foodandwine.com, via Pinterest.)

Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter

1 pound asparagus
1 Tbl. olive oil
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. brown sugar
1 pound penne pasta
1/4 pound butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the tough ends from the asparagus and then cut the spears into 1″ pieces. Toss in olive oil and 1/4 tsp. salt and pepper and roast on a baking sheet for 10 minutes.

While the asparagus is roasting, put the balsamic vinegar in a small pan and simmer until 4 Tbl. remain. Stir in the brown sugar and the remaining 1/4 tsp. pepper. Remove from heat.

Cook the penne in a large pot of boiling, salted water, approx. 14 minutes. Drain and toss with butter, then add the balsamic sauce, Parmesan, and remaining 1 3/4 tsp. salt.

(You can also make this with broccoli instead of the asparagus. Or add in grilled chicken pieces. Yum!)

Bad News: I have this awesome 18 year old Balsamic Vinegar from the Rocky Mountain Olive Oil Company downtown. (So delicious.) When I told DH that the sauce was a little dark because of the aged vinegar, he thought I meant that I was using Balsamic that I had bought 18 years ago and was still in the cupboard. Ick.

Sheri gotanygoodnews/badnewstoshare?

Mmmmm – I love peanut butter and bananas. Does anyone else still eat peanut butter and banana sandwiches, like I do? Very filling. And yummy. I came across a recipe for these smoothies on Pinterest (where else?) and we tried them last week. They taste like peanut butter ice cream and are so filling. Great for a snack, but also great for breakfast.

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies (serves 2)

2 frozen bananas, sliced*
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup milk
3-4 ice cubes

Put oats in blender and blend until they’re powdery.  Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Share with a friend. (Or eat half and freeze the other half for tomorrow.)

*I froze the bananas whole. They were easy to slice frozen. The skins will turn black in the freezer, but the insides are great.

Happy weekend!

Sheri  bettingthatchocolatesyrupdrizzleontop
ofthatsmoothiewouldalsobelovely

Do you ever make something special for breakfast on the weekends? If so, you’re going to want to try this new recipe that I made last weekend. It’s oh-holy-cow yummy. It’s going to be on my menu for all special breakfasts in the foreseeable future! (Also appropriate for dessert any time.)

Buttery Cinnabun Cake (originally from Picky Palate)

Cake:
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted

Topping: 1 cup butter (softened), 1 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp. flour, 1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Glaze: 2 cups powdered sugar, 5 Tbsp. milk, 1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all cake ingredients together except for the butter. Mix well and then slowly add the 1/2 cup melted butter as your mixer continues to mix. Pour batter into greased 9 x 13 pan.

Mix topping ingredients until well blended. Drop evenly over the top of the batter and swirl lightly with a knife.

Bake at 350 degrees for 28-32 minutes.

Top with glaze while warm.

My friend Jody says she can tell I have a sweet tooth by all of the dessert recipes I choose to pin on Pinterest. I ask you – is there anything wrong with that? No, there is not.

We’re having fun seeing all of the yarn and colors you’re picking out for your Camp Loopy projects! I have to say, it’s making me go back and forth about my final choice. I’m the one who goes through and applies the discount to your orders, so I’ve taken note of what each and every one of you are picking out. Such pretty colors and combinations. I need to just stop looking.

Have a great (sweet) weekend – with or without Cinnabun Cake!

Sheri whogetsherbestrecipesoffofPinterest

No, not for me. But Knitting Daughter is home for a week and I’m a happy mom. (Also, Web Guy comes up from Castle Rock to stay a few days when KD is in town, so I’m a double happy mom!) The pantry and refrigerator are both full, which means some good cooking in the next few days.

Here’s a recipe that we tried recently and loved. I hope you like it, too.

Angel Chicken (originally featured in Midwest Living Magazine)

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
8 oz. pkg. button mushrooms, quartered
6 oz. pkg. shiitake mushrooms, sliced (no stems)
1/4 cup butter
1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian Dry Salad Mix
1 can condensed Golden Mushroom soup
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 oz. cream cheese with chives and onions

Melt the butter and then stir in the dressing packet, soup, wine (I left that out) and the cream cheese. Stir until melted.

Place sliced mushrooms in the bottom of a slow cooker. Top with the chicken breasts and then pour the sauce over it all. Cook on low for 5 hours. Serve over hot rice or pasta.

Have a great weekend. I hope you’re doing something fun!

Sheri whoneedstotrymorenewrecipessoon
soIhavemoretosharewithyou

Here’s a quick and easy way to entertain friends – a taco salad bar. (You know, this would have made a fun Superbowl party idea. I should have shared it awhile back. We had this for Christmas Eve dinner.) My friend Monica over at The Yummy Life blogged about these tortilla molds last fall, and I immediately ordered them. ($12.99 for 4 – great deal).

Making the bowls is easy. Buy 8″ diameter tortillas (the kind sold in a plastic bag at room temperature in the grocery store). Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put one tortilla in each baking shell (no need to grease or spray them – just tuck the tortilla down in there). Bake for 15 minutes, or until evenly browned, and move them to a cooling rack.

You can make these ahead and store them in a ziploc bag or plastic container for several days.

See how easy that is? But your dinner guests will be so impressed. Serve with all of the makings for tacos or taco salad and put them on a lazy susan so that everyone can reach them easily. For dessert, you might serve Mango Fruit Salsa with Sugar & Spice Tortilla Chips. YUM!

We have winners from the Fourth Quarter Challenge contest! Congratulations to Mary from Texas who won the Reader’s Choice Award with her beautiful Pemberley Sweater. And congratulations to Chanina from Israel who won the regular drawing for her gorgeous Snuggle Up Wrap. We’ve added $25 to each of your Loopy accounts for winning. Have fun finding something to spend it on!

What’s up for your weekend? I’m laying low with the cold of the century (ugh), so that means staying away from Loopy, knitting and Netflix, or a good book.

Sheri caution:grumpywhensick