September Family Dinner

Some of my favorite shots from the last family dinner at the Barneys . . .





Three new arrivals at the Bunny Farm


These are shots from when Seth disappeared with my camera while I was distracted by baby bunnies. Most of the shots were of random blurry things, but I love these two.


Here are some of the recipes from our dinner.

Cous Cous

1 pkg original/plain cous cous, prepared

¼ tsp pepper

2 T lemon juice

3 T olive oil

2 large chopped tomatoes

1 peeled/chopped cucumber

½ cup fresh chopped basil

½ cup sliced green onions

¾ cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)

Combine all ingredients, chill for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.

Poppy Seed Dressing

(makes approx. 2 cups)

½ c sugar

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp salt

½ c olive oil

½ c vegetable oil

1/3 c vinegar

¼ c grated onion

1 ½ tsp poppy seeds

Beat together the sugar, mustard, salt, olive oil, vegetable oil and vinegar. Add onion and poppy seeds. Store in tightly closed jar. Will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks.

Serve over any green salad, but my favorite is spinach salad; spinach leaves, tossed with sliced mushrooms and green onions, hard-boiled eggs, and bacon pieces.

Pasta Salad

4 boxes of Suddenly Salad mix, classic style

1 large cucumber (English)
1 bell pepper (yellow or red)
2 green onions
2 avocados
2 cups grape tomatoes
2 cans black olives
1 can quartered artichoke hearts
1-1&1/2 lbs fresh mozzarella (Costco)
1 pkg pepperoni slices

You can experiment with the quantities and how large/small to cut the veggies, cheese and pepperoni. I didn't add any extra pasta to the Suddenly Salad mix because the seasoning mixture would become too bland. The veggies, cheese and pepperoni don't seem to water down the seasoning mix like extra pasta does. You can also add fresh mushrooms, but they turn brown really quickly, so leftovers don't seem so appealing--same with the avocados, but I like avocados too much to leave them out!

Sky High Dessert

Crust - 2 cups Graham cracker ( I used half vanilla wafers)
1 Stick Butter (melted) press into bottom of 9X13 baking dish.

Topping- 1/2 cup sugar
1 bag frozen strawberries partially thawed (10-16 ounce)
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
Whip on high speed for 15 minutes.
In a separate bowl whip 1 cup whipping cream and 1/2 cup powdered sugar.
Fold the whipping cream into the strawberry mixture, dish out over crust, and freeze.