An old favorite...

My daughter had to bring in a recipe for her final grade in her High School cooking class this past year and didn't know what to make. She went through all the recipes on my blog and ended up making this recipe for Apple, Cherry and Walnut Salad with Maple Dressing and received an A+! It was one of the favorites of the class. And ours. 

She hasn't made a thing since!

but at least I know she can :)

Apple, Dried Cherry, and Walnut Salad with Maple Dressing
Source: Bon Appétit, September 2002 - original recipe by the Mountain Town Station Brewing Company and Steakhouse, Mount Pleasant, MI
Printable Recipe

For the Maple Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar or any white wine vinegar
1/2 cup canola oil

For Salad:
1 bag baby spinach (or any mixed greens)
2 Fuji apples, peeled, cored, cut into matchstick-size strips (use any apple you like)
1/2 cup dried cherries (tart or sweet)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (or not!)

Note:
Keep some apple, walnuts and cherries on the side to sprinkle over the top of the salad when you serve!

For dressing:
Whisk mayonnaise, maple syrup, and vinegar in a medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in oil until mixture thickens slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Or put all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake it really, really well! (Dressing can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Shake jar or whisk again before using.)

For salad:
Toss spinach, apples, cherries, and walnuts in large bowl to combine. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Divide salad equally among plates. Sprinkle with remaining apples, walnuts, cherries and then serve.

Joining 

 Beth at Beth Fish Reads for the Weekend Cooking Party. 

Every weekend. It's open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share! Go on over and see some fun posts.
 

and joining

Souper Sundays (soups, salads and sandwiches) @ Kahakai Kitchen

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 Souper Sunday weekly round-up of recipes

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Walking on Sunshine Foodie Friends #3

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Busy Vegetarian Mom

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 Food on Friday at Carole's Chatter 

 

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Some Favorites for Cinco De Mayo

 

Just some of my all-time favorites to celebrate Cinco De Mayo. I love a good celebration, maybe not authentic but delicious!  

Wishing everyone a great weekend.

Chevy's Fire-Roasted Salsa

from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 by Todd Wilbur

Source: Perrys' Plate 

adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook

Printable Recipe

6 medium tomatoes

6-8 jalapenos (I use 2-3)

1/4 medium Spanish or Yellow onion

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 teaspoons salt

Preheat grill on high. Remove stems from tomatoes, then rub some oil over each. Leave stems on jalapenos and rub oil on them, too.

Place tomatoes on grill. After about 10 minutes, add the jalapenos. In about 10 minutes, turn the tomatoes and peppers. When almost all of the surface of the peppers are black, remove them from the grill. The tomatoes will turn partially black, but when the skin begins to come off they are done. Remove from grill to a bowl.

Remove skin from tomatoes and place in a food processor. Pinch the stem end from each pepper, remove any skin that has burned, and place into food processor with tomatoes.

Add remaining ingredients and puree on high for 5-10 seconds. Chill for several hours or overnight before serving. Makes about 2 cups.

 Fish Tacos
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook

Source: Epicurious, May 2009 – recipe by Lourdes Castro, Simply Mexican
Printable Recipe

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
About 1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar (I used 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar, a little less than 1/4 cup simple syrup and some water)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano (I used Mexican oregano)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped, plus more for garnish
1 jalapeño, stemmed and chopped
1 pound flaky white fish (such as mahi mahi or cod), cut into 4 pieces
salt and pepper
8 fresh corn tortillas (I used whole wheat)
Mexican crema, homemade or store-bought (I mixed 1 cup sour cream with the zest and juice of one lime, jalapeno, a little salt and pepper)
Fresh Tomato Salsa
2 limes, cut into quarters

Put the onion in a small bowl and pour in the vinegar to cover well. Set aside for at least 30 minutes or up to several weeks.

Pour the olive oil into a small bowl and add the ancho chile powder, oregano, cumin, chopped cilantro, salt, pepper and jalapeño. Mix well. Place the fish on a dish and pour the marinade over it, making sure to coat the fish well on both sides. Allow to marinate for 20 minutes. (I put it in a Ziploc bag to marinate)

Heat a nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat. Place the fish in the pan, no need for more oil. Cook the fish for about 4 minutes, then turn over, and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and flake the fish into the pan with a fork, making sure to mix in all the marinade that has stuck to the bottom of the pan. Check if it needs more salt and pepper. I cooked it on the grill, in a disposable aluminum pan and left the pieces whole!

Place four of the tortillas on a plate and sandwich them between two slightly dampened sheets of paper towel. Microwave on high for about 45 seconds. Place the warm tortillas in a towel-lined basket or plate and cover. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

To assemble the tacos, place a big spoonful of the fish onto the center of a tortilla. Top with the marinated onions. I also added a sort of cole slaw to the taco's. Serve with salsa.

Fish Taco Cole Slaw
1 bag shredded green cabbage
1 cup sour cream
juice and zest of one lime
minced fresh jalapeno (half of one jalapeno)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the sour cream with the lime juice, zest, jalapeno, salt and pepper. Mix shredded green cabbage in with the crema and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

Mexican Black Bean Salad

adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook

Source: StacyS (gardenweb)

Printable Recipe

1 cup frozen (thawed) whole kernel corn, drained, or fresh cut from the cob

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 - 2 whole fresh jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, chopped in a very small dice or 1 4-oz can of chopped green chilies

1/2 pint or more grape tomatoes, sliced in half

chopped fresh cilantro, to taste

4 cups torn iceberg lettuce or romaine (or both)

2 avocado, diced

Shredded Monterrey Jack, Cheddar or Mexican Cheese blend

Tortilla chips for garnish

Dressing:

1 tablespoons honey (little bit more, I just poured about 2 tablespoons)

2 - 3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon lime juice (I used juice of one lime)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Whisk all the dressing ingredients in large bowl.

Add all salad ingredients except lettuce and cheese; stir until well coated. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour to blend flavors.

Toss the lettuce, avocado and cheese with the bean mixture a little while before you are ready to serve. Garnish with tortilla chips at the last minute.

 Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Source: Marilyn (DanaIN) - Gardenweb Cooking Forum
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4 corn tortillas (regular or fried)
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes with chilies (I used 2 10-ounce cans of Rotel tomatoes with chilies)
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon turmeric (I omitted)
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
juice from 1/2 fresh lime
1 cup diced, seeded Roma tomatoes or 1 cup salsa for garnish
Sour cream for garnish
Tortilla Chips for garnish

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; sauté onions and garlic for 3 minutes. Slice or break tortillas into small pieces and add to onions and garlic; sauté until they are soft. Add tomatoes, broth and spices and bring to a boil. Remove from heat; allow to cool for 5 minutes. Puree soup base in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth, return soup to pot. (I used an immersion blender)

Add chicken, corn and cream and return to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Reduce heat to medium-low and sprinkle in cheese and cilantro; stir to melt cheese. Add lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with tomatoes and a dollop of sour cream.

Joining 

 Beth at Beth Fish Reads for her fun Weekend Cooking Party. Every weekend. It's open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share! Go on over and see some fun posts.
 

AND

 Mosaic Monday  at the Little Red House

AND
 

Souper Sundays (soups, salads and sandwiches) @ Kahakai Kitchen

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 Souper Sunday weekly round-up of recipes

 

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Tomato Vinegar

Salad with Tuna, Feta, Chick Peas and Broccoli Slaw with Tomato Vinaigrette

This was a simple dressing. All I did was use about two tablespoons of the vinegar and one tablespoon of olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. For me that means lots of pepper. The tomato vinegar went really nicely with the feta, tuna (canned, in oil, drained well) and chick peas.  Tomato vinegar is new to me, and I loved it. Was really delicious. The vinegar had such nice flavor, a little goes a long way. If you can find it, give it a try!

Joining 

 Beth at Beth Fish Reads for her fun Weekend Cooking Party. Every weekend. It's open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share! Go on over and see some fun posts.
 

Souper Sundays (soups, salads and sandwiches) @ Kahakai Kitchen

with the

 Souper Sunday weekly round-up of recipes

 

 Mosaic Monday  at the Little Red House

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Tomato Salad

A simple vinaigrette with supermarket tomatoes. 

Tomato-Onion Salad
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

tomatoes, quartered

red onion, sliced

salt and pepper, to taste

fresh parsley, chopped

Basic Dressing:

approximate, it's all to taste!

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil (more or less to taste, we like more vinegar than oil)

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

salt and freshly ground pepper

Mix the dressing in a jar and shake to combine. Pour over the vegetables, chill in the fridge for a bit. Serve.

Joining 

Beth at Beth Fish Reads for her fun Weekend Cooking Party. Every weekend. It's open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share! Go on over and see some fun posts.
 

AND

 Mosaic Monday  at the Little Red House.

 

 

AND 

 Food on Friday at Carole's Chatter 

 

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