Few salads have earned the right to be in the Nelson Family cook book. And I can guarantee you that every single one of them is amazing. Peggy has such a wonderful ability to pair flavors and she always whips up homemade dressings that will have you wanting to lick the bowl. This pear salad is no different. Its the perfect balance between sweet and savory, and has a wonderful salty crunch to it.

Salad Ingredients: 

2 heads romain lettuce

1 pkg mixed greens

1/4 cup walnuts, toasted

1/2 lb cooked and crumbled bacon

4 oz gorgonzola cheese

3 pears

Dressing Ingredients: 

2 cups sugar

2 tsp salt

2 tsp dry mustard

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 cup red wine vinegar

1 1/2 cup oil

2 tsp poppy seeds

Directions: Roast Walnuts for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, then cool. For the dressing, combine the first 5 ingredients in a blender until the onions are finely chopped. Slowly add oil while the blender is still running. Stir in poppy seeds. In a very large bowl mix greens with bacon, pears, walnuts, and cheese. Toss with dressing and serve immediately. If you like your salads slightly underdressed you can always make 1/2 of the dressing. 

This is the perfect flavor combinations for a salad, all coming together in one beautiful bowl. We hope you try it and look forward to your feedback!

You are in for a treat today! Chicken and Dumplings is such a family favorite around here! Its a real treat and something we often make for special birthday meals. This recipe hails all the back to the 80's. So grab a turtle neck and curl your bangs, and lets get to it! 

Ingredients: 

1 Roast Chicken
1 pkg cream cheese (room temperature) 
2 pkgs pillsbury crescent roll dough
1 cup butter (room temperature) 
1 cup pepperidge farm herbed season bread crumb stuffing
1 cup crushed walnuts 

The night before prep:The stock is the part that makes a good dumpling a delicious one.  Rinse you chicken under cool running water.  Put in a large stock pot and cover with water.  Add salt, peppercorns, onion, carrots, celery, bay leaf, thyme, sage and whatever else you have. Bring to a boil and simmer until chicken is cooked.  One way I tell if it is cooked, is if I can pull the leg off the chicken.  Remove your chicken from the liquid and refrigerate both separately over night. 

The next day all the fat will have risen to the top of your liquid, skim that off. You will use this liquid to create a gravy. Drain the stock of all veggies.To make the gravy, take a couple of cups of stock and add 2 chicken bullion cubes.  Mix about 2 tbs. of cornstarch with a bit of water add to stock, stirring well, and bring to a boil.  You can make it as thick or as thin depending on the amount of cornstarch

Remove the chicken from the carcass (debone it) and shred. Mix the chicken with the 1 cube of butter and cream cheese. 

Take the crescent roll dough out and pat out each triangle to make it a little larger. Place spoonful of the chicken mixture in the middle of the dough and fold the sides over so the mixture is completely covered by the dough. 

Melt your other cube of butter in a bowl. Pat your chicken rolls flat then dip in the butter. Then dip in the breadcrumbs and walnuts and place them all on a cookie sheet. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve over rice and top with the gravy you have made from your chicken drippings. 

This is seriously such a wonderful family favorite of ours. Its something you'll be certain to love as well. 

These cookies are a Nelson family favorite! They are chewy, crunchy, and full of goodness. The reason these cookies are called "Kitchen Sink Cookies is because they pretty much have everything but the kitchen sink in them. They use a ton of ingredients, which is great if you are wanting to clean out your pantry, and also great because they are packed full of healthy items as well. I love knowing that my toddler is getting omega 3's through the walnuts, while he feels like he's getting a treat because its in cookie form! 

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter room temp

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups rolled oats

2 cups Cornflakes or Branflakes 

1 cup coconut 

1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts are great)

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. You want them just barely golden on the outside edge. If you use a cookie scoop, you should get about 45 cookies from this recipe. 

Like I mentioned earlier, these cookies have a lovely chewiness from the coconut, crunchiness from the nuts, sweetness from the chocolate chips. They are a great way to switch up your routine from a regular old chocolate chip option. Enjoy!

Tonight I made a delicious salad that features two of our favorite Lavender Apple farm products! Lavender Honey and our farm pressed apple juice. It was sweet, savory, and a easy to put together. 

For the salad:
4 ounces fresh spinach
1 red apple, sliced
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/3 cup dried cranberries 

For the dressing:
1/2 cup apple juice
1/8 cup vegetable oil 
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon lavender honey (plain honey will also work, but why use that when lavender honey exists!) 
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Mix the dressing together, combine salad ingredients, pour dressing over salad and serve immediately. Makes enough salad for 4. 

Its always wonderful to have a hearty goat cheese salad when we are all working so hard on our new years resolutions. The winter cranberries and autumn apples make this a wonderful treat for lunch or a great side at dinner.