Salad Dressing with the Stars

For those of you that know me, or have visited here before, know that I am a huge Dancing with the Stars fan!  I have been hooked since Season 1.  There are a lot of very talented pro- dancers, but one of my favorites is Sharna Burgess.  She is not only an extremely talented choreographer and dancer, but she's got such a kind, generous and positive nature about her.  Very inspirational!  I have followed her on Instagram for quite some time ... her "Random Ramblings" Instastories are hilarious!  Anyway, when she announced that she was starting her own blog, I was beyond excited.  :)  If you are a Dancing with the Stars fan or just looking for a new, fabulous blog to read ~ head on over to sharnaburgess.com.  You won't be disappointed!

Recently, she posted a recipe for her homemade Go-To Salad Dressing.  It looked super simple and delicious.  Now if you are like 99% of the population who made a New Year's Resolution to eat healthier, than you have got to try this.  Honey & I are included in that 99% by the way, so we decided to make it last night for dinner.  I am delighted to say that IT WAS AMAZING!!  Even the kids tried it!  :)  

The ingredients are the following:

• 3 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar (I substituted white wine vinegar)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon of honey
• 1/2 cup olive oil (I was out, so I substituted vegetable oil instead)
• salt & pepper to taste

Whisk the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl to blend.  Then, gradually whisk in the oil.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  It can be prepared up to 8 hours in advance.  Cover and chill.  (I made it about an hour ahead of time) Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes & rewhisk before serving.  Makes about 3/4 cup.

According to Sharna, this dressing is great on so many different kinds of salads.  I choose to make one using your basic iceberg lettuce, carrots, cucumber, mushrooms, grape tomatoes and garbanzo beans. 

Time to add the dressing ...  :)

Honey also baked chicken breasts that he had marinated in lemon juice and poppy seeds.  I sliced mine up and added it to the salad to make a delicious and healthy meal.  

Yum!!!!  It was a super simple Sunday night dinner that the whole family enjoyed.  Not to mention, since it was packed full of healthy vegetables and protein .... I was able to justify eating a Coconut Pecan cookie for dessert.  :)  (Don't even get me started on those!!! Oh-My-Goodness!)

Thank you Miss Sharna for a new GO-TO recipe!  And for helping Honey and I keep our New Year's Resolution going .... minus the cookie, of course.  (I just couldn't resist!)

Happy Monday!

XOXO

N

*This is not a paid ad.  The opinions and comments are my own**

Where in the World Did 2017 Go?

Happy New Year!  I trust this all finds you happy, healthy and welcoming in 2018 with open arms.  As I sat today & relaxed with my family after the craziness that is the month of December, I found myself wondering where on earth did 2017 go??  

I know that I for one cannot be the only one who feels this way, but each year seems to fly by faster and faster.  And each year I promise to slow down to enjoy it more but then find myself right back where I am today wondering how yet another year has passed.  We did not get around to sending out Christmas cards this year, nor do I usually include a letter but if I did it may have read something like this...

2017 has been quite a year for the D family.  Like most of you, our lives seem to be in constant motion.  Being as I am still "old-school",  I carry around a planner the size of most college textbooks just to keep everything straight & even then still manage to miss things here and there.  

In January, C was accepted into the Disney College Internship program and spent his Spring semester working at Hollywood Studios.  You can only imagine how proud & excited we were for him.  It was an amazing opportunity and one that taught him a lot!!  He continued to finish up his last few courses online while in Florida, and flew home the beginning of May to become a 2017 Graduate of the University of Northern Iowa.  To say we are proud of him, doesn't even begin to express it.  He is currently living in Nebraska working for a respected company in his field of Human Resources.  And while for the last 22 years, Honey has been a constant presence in C's life ... raising him and treating him as if he was his own....  in November, it became official when he legally adopted C as his son.  :)

L continues to amaze us with his musical abilities.  As a Freshman in High School, he not only sings in choir, but was also accepted into the school's Prep Show Choir!  He's truly following in his brother's footsteps.  He continues to play the tuba in band, which was definitely the BIGGEST transition from Middle School ... Marching Band & a "50 pound" sousaphone (I don't think it's truly that heavy but he swears it is).  He also surprised us all by asking a friend to Homecoming this Fall.  Keep in mind this kid has NEVER wanted to go to a dance before in his life!!  So for him to come home from school and very casually mention that he asked a girl to Homecoming, you can only imagine the looks on our faces.  AND he did it in the most adorable way (because we all know that you can no longer just walk up to a person and simply ask them to a dance ~ it has to be an elaborate production of sorts)  He wrote her a poem.  :)  "Star light, Star Bright, Will you be my Date on Homecoming Night?"  (Melts my heart)   He's our shy one, so this was huge!  

Miss B just turned 10.  As the only girl, she continually keeps us on our toes.  She has officially traded in her soccer cleats for ballet slippers, tap shoes, jazz/ lyrical shoes, musical theater facial expressions (all you dance moms know what that means) and of course her favorite ~ hip hop sassiness.  This Fall, she also added tumbling to her repertoire.  Each week she comes home so excited to show us what she has learned!  Her abilities have improved so much in the last 6 months.  Our girl LOVES to Dance!  She's also doing very well in school and is on Student Council.  I swear every time I blink my eyes, she grows up just a little more.

And if all that wasn't enough, we adopted Miss Savannah Marie.  At 6 months old, she's still quite the puppy.  :)  I've said it before & I will say it again ... it's like childbirth.  You forget all the difficulty of labor, etc as soon as you see that beautiful little face but then when it comes time to go through it again with the next one, you say to yourself "Oh, wait a minute!  I forgot about this part!!!!!"  When we saw that tiny ball of fur in the pet store, I was by no means thinking about teething marks on my furniture, stealing socks from the laundry hamper or potty training (especially in below zero temps!!)  But we love her and are so glad that she has joined our family.

SO, if your still with me ... 2017 has been quite a year.  Honey and I are just trying to keep up.  LOL!  We are looking forward to all the things that 2018 has to offer.  Lots of love, lots of laughs and a lot more of life ...  if only we can slow it down just a little bit this year.   :)

Happy New Year Everyone!

XOXO
N