A precious friend sent me a wonderful cookbook from the Richardson Womens Club called Texas Blossoms…Food, Flowers & Friendship!

It has been such a delight to not only see new recipes but read about different parts of Texas and the flowers which grow and stories of recipes origins! This salad sounded so good, it will be the next salad i make!

Prosciutto Dressing

6 tables olive oil

1/4 cup chooped prosciutto (about 1 1/2 oz)

2 tables minced garlic

6 tables dry white wine

6 tables lemon juice

2 tables sugar

Salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and stir until well combined.  Drizzle over salad right before serving! 
Salad

1 10 oz bag fresh spinach

2 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Combine spinach, mushrooms, walnuts and cheese in a large bowl. Toss with dressing to taste!

Serves 4-6

It feels so wonderful to sit in the sun room and look through recipe magazines. This morning i found a picture of gardenias that i am dying to attempt to paint.  Hopefully they will end up looking like gardenias and not weeds, but that is another story! Flipping through pages of a Southern Living, this recipe got my attention!  It also made me think about how i could use leftover dressing at Thanksgiving or just make a little extra dressing to put in the zucchini and serve that as a side dish. But first I’m going to make it just like the recipe because it sounds delicious.

3 cups coarsely crumbled cornbread 

4 zucchini (use the middle to larger sized ones, using same size so they cook evenly)

3 tables canola oil, divided

1 tsp kosher salf

16 oz ground chicken

1/2 cup chopped red onion

4 garlic cloves, minced 

1 tsp paprika

1/2 teas black pepper

6 oz white Cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 & 1/2 cups)  

1/2 cup whole kernel corn

3 tables chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Spread corn bread in an even layer on one end of a baking sheet. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Using a serrated tomato core or melon Baller,  Scoop out zucchini pulp to equal 3 cups of pulp, Leaving a 1/2 inch shell in tact. Coarsely chop 1 1/2 cups of pulp; reserve remaining pulp for another use.

Brush zucchini shells with 2 tablespoons of the canola oil. Place zucchini shells on baking sheet with cornbread, and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Bake zucchini and corn bread at 375° until cornbread is slightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°.

2. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground chicken to skillet, cook stirring to crumble until browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Add onion, garlic, paprika, pepper, reserved one and 1/2 cups zucchini pulp, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon of salt to skillet: cook stirring occasionally, until onion is tender, about three minutes. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and stir in corn bread, cheddar cheese, corn and parsley. Divide chicken mixture evenly among zucchini shells. Place shells on a baking sheet.

3. Baked stuffed zucchini at 350° until filling is lightly browned and zucchini is tender, about 25 minutes.

Serves 4

Yesterday i served this incredible soup to some friends who came over for lunch and cards!  It was a hit!   It is easy and so flavorful!  Great soup especially for this time of year!  This recipe served 8

1 store bought rottisery chicken, deboned and chopped

2 1/2 boxes (the 32 oz box) low sodium chicken broth, so that would be 80 oz)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup chopped celery

4 tables butter

2 tables olive oil

1 8 oz container sliced white fresh  mushrooms 

4 carrots, sliced thin

2 cups washed and torn pieces of fresh spinach

1 box of Zatarain’s Long Grsin &  wild rice mix

Garlic powder (or chopped fresh garlic) salt and pepper to taste! 

Make rice according to directions on box! Set aside! 

In large Dutch oven, melt butter with the olive oil. Sauté the onion and celery in the butter olive oil mixture until onions are clear and transparent and celery begins to get tender. Add washed mushrooms, cooking the onion, celery mushroom mixture for about five minutes. Add the chicken broth and the chopped chicken until it is heated thoroughly. Add the seasonings to broth!  Add your chopped fresh spinach and carrots to the soup. Cook the soup for 1 to 2 hours over low heat until all vegetables are tender. About 10 minutes before you’re ready to serve the soup add the rice to the soup mixture allowing it to heat thoroughly.