Weekend Round-Up

WELCOME TO  WEEKEND ROUND-UP

New Saturday addition to Ever Ready-some of the week's best.

Iowagirleats created this snack idea using a Laughing Cow product for Memorial Day. 
Assembling looks easy.
For more snack ideas from Laughing Cow go to http://thelaughingcow.com/snack-ideas/

Pete the Cat series is a favorite with the younger crowd. The word repetition and rhyming make the lines easy to mimic and sing. One of my favorite books in the series is "Pete The Cat I Love My White Shoes."

Here is a link to some fun color sheets for the books.
http://www.momjunction.com/articles/best-pete-the-cat-coloring-pages-for-your-little-ones_0094533/

Roast Asparagus and Mushroom Chicken Spinach Salad with Bacon, Avocado and Goat Cheese

recipe from closetcooking.com
A nice summery chicken spinach salad with roasted asparagus, mushrooms, bacon and goat cheese in a balsamic vinaigrette.
Ingredients;

• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 8 ounces mushrooms, quartered or sliced
• 1 TB. olive oil, lemon or garlic olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 strips bacon
• 8 oz.chicken breast, pounded thin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 cups baby spinach
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
• 1 large ripe avocado, sliced
• 1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled

Directions:

• Toss the asparagus and mushrooms in the oil, salt and pepper, place on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast in a preheated 400 degrees. Roast until they start to caramelize, about 20 minutes, mixing half way through.
• Meanwhile, cook the bacon and set aside on paper towels to drain before crumbling.
• Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste, heat the grill (or a pan) to medium-high heat, brush with oil and cook the chicken until cooked through and golden brown, about 3-5 minutes per side, before letting rest for 5 minutes and slicing.
• Assemble the salad, toss in the dressing and enjoy!

Options:

• Top with a fried egg.
• Add julienned basil and/or lemon zest to brighten the salad up.
• Cook the bacon and chicken ahead of time.
• Remove the chicken and bacon, replace with sliced sundried tomatoes for a vegetarian version. 

A great read for your summer list. 

Kristin Hannah is a former lawyer turned writer and an award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels including Winter Garden, Night Road, and the blockbuster Firefly Lane which sold over 1.2 million copies. 

Her newest novel "The Nightingale" is an epic love story and family drama. It tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstances. Each of the sisters embark on their own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France.

The book is well written and quite an absorbing, page turner novel set during the French resistance in World War II. 

Reposting this cartoon for Facebook readers