Rumbi Island Aloha Mango Chicken Salad

White chicken breast meat cut into chunks (about a cup)
3 cups chopped Romaine Lettuce 
1/3 cup red pepper diced into pieces
1/4 cup red onion, sliced very finely and then diced tiny
feta cheese crumble a tablespoon over each salad when serving
1 mango diced into half inch squares
slivered almonds
tortilla strips over the top

Citrus Salad Dressing
1/4 cup frozen orange juice from concentrate (I just did 1/2 C of orange juice)
1 Tablespoon fresh lime
1/3 cup rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar (I did rice vinegar)
1/4 cup sugar 
1/3 cup salad oil
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon Lawry's or Johnny's Seasoning Salt
A few shakes of pepperI prefer to set all the ingredients out in their own bowl and everyone can dish up the quantities they like.  And it also keeps longer in the fridge when it's not combined.

Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of shredded hashbrowns
• 18 eggs
• 1 C. milk
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. pepper
• about 16 oz of shredded cheese
• 1 or so packages of cubed ham

Directions:

1. Mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper
2. Grease crockpot
3. Layer Hashbrowns, ham, cheese- repeat until hashbrowns are gone
4. pour eggs over top of everything
5. cover with lid and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours

Notes:

This feeds about 12 to 14 people.  So great to make the night before, cook over night.  Especially if you are going to feed a lot of people and won't have a ton of time in the morning!

Source: Activity day companion

Unbelievable Carrot Cake

 
Cake:
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1 lb. medium carrots (6 to 7 large carrots), peeled
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (10 1/2 ounces)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable or canola oil
Frosting (I double the recipe below to frost a 9-inch layered cake):
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 5 tablespoons butter softened to room temperature
• 1 tablespoon sour cream, light or regular
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar (4 1/2 ounces)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Grease and flour a 9X13-inch baking pan or 2 9-inch round pans.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in large bowl; set aside. In a food processor fitted with large or fine shredding disk, shred carrots (you should have about 3 cups); transfer carrots to bowl and set aside. You can also shred by hand on a box grater if you don't have a food processor.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or in large bowl and using hand-held mixer), beat granulated and brown sugars and eggs on medium-high until thoroughly combined, about 45 seconds. Reduce speed to medium; with mixer running, add oil in slow, steady stream, being careful to pour oil against inside of bowl (if oil begins to splatter, reduce speed to low until oil is incorporated, then resume adding oil). Increase speed to high and mix until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 45 seconds to 1 minute longer. Turn off mixer and stir in carrots and dry ingredients by hand until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain.
4. Pour into prepared pan(s) and bake until toothpick or skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 32 minutes for 9-inch round pans and 40 minutes for a 9X13-inch pan. Let cakes cool for about 10 minutes in the pan and then invert them onto a cooling rack to cool completely (the 9X13-inch cake can be cooled completely in the pan if you don't plan to invert and ice all the sides). At this point, once the cakes are cooled, they can be wrapped in plastic wrap and put in a ziploc bag and placed in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature prior to frosting.
5. When cake is cool, mix cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla at medium high speed in clean bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment (or in large bowl using handheld mixer) until well combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add confectioners’ sugar and mix until very fluffy, about 1 minute. Frost and eat!
6. (I think it would be even better if you put it in the fridge for a little while until you're ready.)

I made this for Easter....Amazing.  I'm making every year!

Oatmeal Pancake Mix

Oatmeal Pancake Mix

INGREDIENTS

• 3 1/2 cups rolled (quick) oats (I usually put in blender and grind up a bit into a flour)
• 3 cups whole wheat flour (Usually use whole wheat pastry flour but works well either way)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (I've used all whole wheat flour before and it's hearty but yummy)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 cup vegetable or canola oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixer with a paddle (or by hand). If desired, grind the oats in a blender or food processor before adding to the other dry ingredients for a smoother mix. With mixer on slow speed (or gently by hand), drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it stays together, it is just right. If it is still crumbly, add another tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct (I’ve never had to add additional oil). Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.
2. To make the pancakes: whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1/2 to 1 cup buttermilk* (depending on how thick you want your batter), and 1 egg. The mixture may seem thin at first but the oats will soak up the milk as it stands while the griddle preheats. Heat a griddle and drop the batter onto it. When the edges look dry and bubbles come to the surface and don’t break, turn the pancake over to finish cooking on the second side. As a sidenote, buttermilk can be frozen indefinitely for future batches of pancakes, so it’s worth keeping it around.

Notes: I love make-ahead breakfasts! This makes a big batch and then you can use it whenever you want for a quick, warm, and hearty breakfast. I usually use about 3/4 C of milk (adding some lemon juice to make it like buttermilk) per 1 C of the mix. I usually double for our family!

All credit (recipe and pic) to Mel at http://www.melskitchencafe.com/oatmeal-pancake-mix/

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Ingredients:

• 5-1/4 to 5-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I usually do 3 C whole wheat pastry flour and have also tried with all whole wheat, which is great, just denser).
• 2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 2/3 cup nonfat dry milk powder
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 2-1/2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, oats, milk powder, brown sugar, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, heat water and butter to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add egg; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a firm dough. Stir in raisins.
• Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bow, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into an 18-in. x 9-in. rectangle. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Set aside 2 tablespoons for topping. Sprinkle remaining cinnamon-sugar over rectangles to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a short side; pinch seam to seal.
• Place seam side down in two greased 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with reserved cinnamon-sugar.
• Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cover loosely with foil if tops brown too quickly. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. 
• Yield: 2 loaves (16 slices each).

Notes: We have made this several times and I love it for toast in the morning. It's a nice make-ahead breakfast option and the kids love to snack on it as well. It's filling, especially if you use whole wheat flour, and has a bit of sweetness that makes it even more appealing to the kiddos. 

Source: My sister Camille!

Baked Oatmeal

Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:

•  2 cups quick oats
• ½ cup packed brown sugar (I used less and it was still quite sweet)
• 1/3 raisins (or cranberries, dates or other dried fruit, or a combo)
• 1 tbsp. of chopped walnuts (I usually don’t have walnuts on hand so I often omit)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 ½ c. skim milk
• ½ c. applesauce (other fruit puree or something similar i.e. pumpkin)
• 2 tbsp. melted butter (or canola oil)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Dash of salt

Other additions/substitutions:

Double for a 9x13 pan (this is what we do for our family)

Wheat bran (add up to ¼ c. and maybe just a little extra milk)

Wheat germ (not too much b/c wheat germ can change the flavor)

Flax meal (great!)

Cranberries, other dried fruit

Almonds

Coconut

A little dash of vanilla extract

Dash of cinnamon

Agave nectar (or honey or maple syrup) instead of brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Combine the first five ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine the milk, applesauce, butter (oil), and egg. Add milk mixture to oat mixture, stir well. Pour oat mixture into 8 inch square pan coated with cooking spray (glass pan cleans up very easily!) Bake for 20 minutes (give or take a few, depending if you’ve really let the oven warm up)

Serve warm – with a drizzle of milk to cool it down a bit.

Notes: Another great make ahead breakfast option. I love mixing it up the night before and just popping it in the oven when I get up. The kids LOVE oatmeal and usually Jordo and EmmaMae then eat it throughout the day. My sister Camille has tried lots of the variations. I'm excited to try the pumpkin variation next!

Source: My sister Camille!

Refrigerator Bran Muffins

Refrigerator Bran Muffins

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups wheat bran flakes or plain wheat bran
• 2 cups bran buds (look like little pebbles) or all-bran (look like little twigs)
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 quart (4 cups) buttermilk
• 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) butter, melted
• ½ cup (no-added sugar) applesauce
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 5 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl with a tight fitting lid, place the wheat bran flakes (or plain wheat bran) and the bran buds or all-bran. Pour the boiling water over the bran and mix well. Stir every couple of minutes while the mixture cools to room temperature. The mixture will become very thick and sticky.
2. After the mixture cools, add the buttermilk, melted butter, applesauce, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well to combine all the ingredients together.
3. The batter can be covered well and kept in the refrigerator for up to 30 days. To bake, scoop the batter into greased or lined muffin tins. Fill 3/4 full. Bake at 375 degrees for about 14-16 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

Notes:

I know that Grandma Lauritzen and Mom Toone used to make bran muffins. Due to Jordan's unpredictable schedule, breakfast time is sometimes our only consistent meal together as a family so we are trying to make it more of a sit down event, even on busy school mornings. I LOVE these make ahead muffins! It helps get us out of the cereal rut and makes my morning so easy! They are filling and pretty healthy and paired with fruit make a meal. I have made this big batch about 4 times now and each batch makes about 4 dozen muffins. I love having it just sitting in my fridge, waiting to be made. I highly recommend these. I see them as a staple of our school mornings now. (And now that our church has changed from 1pm to 9am, we eat them on Sundays as well).

Source: (recipe and picture)

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/09/healthy-and-delicious-refrigerator-bran-muffins.html