Mandarin Orange Salad

A yummy salad that is good all year long is my Mandarin Orange Salad!  I wanted a salad with dinner a few months ago and this one has become a favorite.  Basically, I just put all the veggies I had in my fridge in a bowl and added the mandarin oranges and voila!  A yummy salad!  Here's the recipe:

1 bag of leafy green salad mix (or whatever mix you prefer)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 English cucumber
mandarin oranges (as many as you like)
Lite balsamic dressing (I prefer Newman's)

Place salad mix in a salad bowl and set aside.  Dice the red bell pepper and add to the salad bowl.  I prefer to cut my cucumber into fourths but you can cut whichever way you prefer; add to the salad bowl.  I also prefer the English or petite cucumber's because they don't have as many seeds and just have a crispier bite. I love lots of mandarin oranges on my salad so I pile them on!  You can also use another fruit if you don't like mandarin oranges, but the oranges really add a nice sweetness to the tang of the dressing.

*I usually do not add the dressing to the whole salad bowl.  This way, I can save the rest for another day and add leftover chicken to it for a light lunch*

Fun Family Day

We actually have a lot of family days, but today I remembered to take some pictures!  After church, we decided to spend some time with each of our daughters separately.  So Tom and Kailey played a few hands of "I Spy Go Fish" while Natalie and I baked my favorite chocolate cookie recipe (which you can find the recipe in an earlier blog post).  I love cooking with my kids because we are teaching them about following directions, patience, math, and the importance of spending quality time together.  Also, although not today, we learn that making a mess can be funny and interesting!  

Natalie and I finished our cookies about the same time that Tom and Kailey were on their fourth game of "I Spy Go Fish."  Tom was very excited that he won the last hand as he never wins when we all play together.  It's become his mission in life to win at this game!  I love this version of "Go Fish" because it's got fun pictures.  We love the "I Spy" books from the library.  

Sadly, spring has brought more snow.  We are supposed to be getting a storm this week :(  I'm ready for my spring and summer bulbs to bloom and I'm seriously considering planting a raspberry bush by the shed.  I was told recently that one used to grow there and the Christmas Tree store has them for $8.  Not a bad price but then again, I've never bought berry plants so I really don't know what a good price is.  But under $10 seems good to me!

Enjoy the pictures of our family day :)

                                                                               

                                                 Natalie was quite proud of our cookies :)  

We added heart sprinkles but sadly they were falling off when we moved them to the cooling rack

Tom basking in his win at "I Spy Go Fish"

Hmm...to play another game or not to play another game????