This is one of my favorite salads-I also like to stuff a tomatoe with it also. "Sharon's Shrimp Salad" ************************ *4 cups cooked pasta (the tiny "O" ring pasta..al dente) * 1/2 lb cooked shrimp-sliced in half lengthways 1 cup thinly sliced celery 1 cup frozen green peas-cooked till just done! 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes-diced 1/2 cup diced sweet onion 1 small jar of marinated artichoke hearts, cut in chunks salt & pepper to taste grated rind & juice of 1 lemon DRESSING: ********* Equal parts of MARIE'S Blue Cheese Vinagrette (in produce case at the grocery) and Catalina dressing.Blend together & mix into the pasta salad. Mighty Tasty!!

Easy Italian Chicken 4-6 chicken breasts 1 very large tomato 1 large bottle Italian dressing (fat free is ok too) Grated Parmesan cheese (as much or as little as you like) Place chicken in baking dish. Pour Italian dressing over top.Cut up tomatoes to bite size pieces and place on top of chicken. Add cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for at least an hour or until juices run clear. Serve white rice and pour juice over rice from the chicken. Source: SOAR My way of making this: I use skinless, boneless chicken breasts & cut each breast into thirds. Ive never used a whole bottle of Italian dressing. I like to sprinkle dried rosemary and dried basil over the chicken & tomatoes along with some garlic powder and dried red pepper flakes. I usually serve with vermicelli on the side. You can make everything the night before, cover with saran wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake. Sweet Potato Casserole 4 large sweet potatoes ½ cup granulated sugar ½ stick butter 1 Tbsp Half & Half (or more if it needs thinning) 1 tsp. Vanilla extract Walnut or pecan halves ½ cup Brown sugar 1/3 bag Miniature Marshmallows Boil, peel & mash sweet potatoes. Add butter, granulated sugar, Half & Half. Then add vanilla. Whip potato mixture in electric mixer until smooth. Pour into casserole dish; swirl in brown sugar and about 1/3 bag of miniature marshmallows. Top with walnut or pecan halves. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. (Recipe can be made ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before baking.) Note: I have also added the miniature marshmallows towards the end of the baking time so that theyre partially intact/melted. This is delicious! Thin Noodles with Bacon This was a favorite supper of mine as a kid. Cook noodles or thin spaghetti or orzo until al dente. After draining and placing in bowl, I add butter and then parmesan (either grind up a wedge or get the Digiorno shredded in the little plastic container). Salt and freshly ground black pepper. (sometimes I squirt a little fresh lemon juice over the pasta at this point). Then I sprinkle with crisp bacon cut in bite size pieces . Serve this with a tossed salad with vinaigrette or Italian dressing. You might want to just start with the noodles, butter and bacon to see if your family likes it and add the parmesan on your own serving. Meat Loaf 2 eggs 3 oz tomato paste ½ cup water 1 tsp salt 15 grinds fresh black pepper (probably should use way less ) ¼ tsp cayenne pepper 2 lbs ground beef, 85-90% lean ½ cup plain breadcrumbs 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, pressed Preheat the oven to 350. Whisk together the eggs, tomato paste, water, salt, pepper and cayenne in a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and work together completely until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Place the meat mixture into a baking pan and shape into a loaf about 11" x 4" wide. The loaf should be in the middle of the pan. Blend some ketchup, a little chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder and a little bottled BBQ sauce and spread over the meatloaf. Cover with foil. Bake 45 minutes, then uncover, and remove as much liquid as possible. Return to oven uncovered and bake another 15 minutes. Source: I adapted this recipe from Dave Liebermans recipe, "Bubbys Meatloaf". You can cut back on the onions, black pepper and cayenne pepper a bit.--Ann Great with whipped potatoes (I like to add butter, milk or Half & Half, salt & pepper and a little garlic powder, to boiled potatoes, then whip in electric mixer until very smooth).

Because the last few falls in Kentucky have had unseasonably cold days, you might want to consider something hot. The balancing act is to prepare it ahead of time, and hold it so it stays warm but doesn't get overcooked. So that can limit your choices. Crockpots and electric skillets are invaluable for keeping things warm while you do something else, though. You might think about something like: Meatballs in Almond Sauce 2 slices whole wheat bread, crusts removed 3 tbls water 2 lb ground pork 1 large onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 2 tbls flatleaf parsley, chopped. 1 egg, beaten Freshly grated nutmeg Salt & pepper All purose flour, for coating 3+ tbls olive oil Squeeze of lemon juice Almond sauce: 2 tbls olive oil 1 slice whole wheat bread Generous 3/4 cup blanched almonds 2 garlic cloves, minced 2/3 cup dry white wine Salt & Pepper 1 3/4 cups vegetable or chicken stock For the meatballs: Put the bread in a bowl and add water. Let soak 5 minutes. Squeeze out the water and return bread to the dried bowl. Add the pork, onion, garlic, parsley and egg, then season generously with nutmeg and a little salt & pepper. Knead the ingredients well together to form a smooth mixture. Spread some flour on a plate. With floured hands, shape the meat mixture into small balls (I use a 1 1/2-tbls sized scoop), then roll each meatball in flour until well coated. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed skillet. Add the meatballs, in batches, so they do not overcrowd the skillet, and cook for 4-5 minutes or until browned on all sides. Use a slotted soon to remove meatballs and set aside while you cook the rest, adding more oil if needed. Make the sauce: Het olive oil in same skillet in which the meatballs were fried. Break the bread into pieces, then add to the skillet with the almonds and cook gently, stirring frequently, until the bread and almonds are golden brown. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds, then pour in wine and boil 1-2 minutes. Season to taste with salt & pepper and let cool slightly. Transfer almond mixture to a food processor.* Pour in the vegetable stock and blend the mixture until smooth. Return the almond sauce to the skillet. Carefully add the meatballs to the almond sauce and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the meatballs are tender. Taste the sauce and season with salt & pepper if necessary. Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice (or put a lemon wedge on each plate) and a sprinkle of chopped parsley. *You may have to do this in batches, or it's likely to overflow the processor container. Or use a blender instead. I'm thinking you could prepare these to the final simmering stage, put them in a crockpot, and turn it on while the tour is in progress. By the time you're done, so will they be. If the tour runs long, nothing will be hurt. I would serve them on a bed of broad egg noodles, with a salad on the side. An apple/Ceasar salad complements this dish nicely.

Well, I haven't found the macroni salad recipe but I did come up with a really good chick pea sandwich spread that I found at allrecipes.com, submitted by Carole. Mock Tuna Salad 1-19 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and mashed 2 T. mayonnaise 2 t. spicy mustard 1 T. sweet pickle relish 2 green onions, chopped salt and pepper to taste In a medium bowl, combine garbanzo beans, mayonnaise, mustard, relish, chopped green onions, salt and pepper. Mix well. Teri's notes: I mashed the beans in the Cuisinart until creamy. Used about twice as much green onion. This makes a great sandwich spread with lettuce and a little more mayo on toast. Try not to expect tuna; it's not. But it's a wonderful sandwich spread.