Chopped Salad

Mom/Dad, this is the salad I served with pork chops last week....Well, this is the recipe that was my starting point.  :)  I change the ingredients all the time depending on what I have in the fridge (see below) and it's always yummy:
 

Ingredients:

 

*6 to 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce

*2 medium pears, chopped

*1 cup dried cranberries

*1 cup chopped pecans

*8 slices thick-cut bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled

*4 to 6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

*Poppyseed Salad Dressing (I use T. Marzetti)

*Balsamic Vinaigrette (I use Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette)

 

Instructions:

 

Mix a cup of dressing (roughly 70% poppy seed and 30% balsamic), drizzle over salad and toss.

 

 

Variations I've tried with success:

 

*I have used all kinds of lettuce/spinach, sometimes chopped, sometimes not.

*Apples instead of pears. 

*sliced or slivered almonds instead of pecans

*shredded swiss instead of feta (I prefer feta)

 

I've never tried without cranberries...I think they kind of make the salad, so I won't mess with them.  I've also never messed with the dressing and don't plan to.

 

 

Easy Cream Cheese Danish

I love a good cream cheese danish.  Starbucks has a good one, as does Costco.  This recipe is pretty darn close to those, and so super easy.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of crescent rolls (I would recommend using the largest ones you can find)
• 1 8oz package of cream cheese at room temp.
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 3/4 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp sour cream
• Optional: pie filling or fruit preserves of your choice

Icing:

• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp softened butter

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350.
• Open the crescent rolls carefully to avoid unrolling or tearing the dough. You'll need to leave it in it's cylindrical shape. 
• Slice the dough into pieces about 1/4 inch thick (as though you're slicing cookie dough). Place the slices on a cookie sheet and press the center in to make an indentation for the cream cheese filling (I used the back of a spoon).
• In a large mixing bowl, mix together the cream cheese, white sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and sour cream. 
• Add a dollop of the mixture to the indentation you made in each circle of dough. 
• If you like fruit with your danish, you can also add it to the rolls before the cream cheese mixture. 

• Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.

While the danish are baking, you can make a quick royal icing to drizzle over the tops. Mix together the confectioner's sugar, milk and butter in a small bowl. You can use a spoon to drizzle it over the tops of the danish, or you can put it into a small zip-top bag and snip off the corner for an easy "piping bag." I put it in one of my condiment bottles I bought off Amazon, and it worked great for drizzling.  Take the danish out of the oven and allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes before icing.

These were supper yummy and so easy, plus the recipe for the filling could be used in a variety of other ways.  It would be a good dip for cinnamon breadsticks, apple slices, etc.  I personally used the leftover cream cheese filling on my pancakes the next day.  :)