Lake Week with Family

 

We just got home from a week at the lake. The week started with a family gathering on the Fourth of July. After missing two Covid years we were back in full force. There had been two weddings since our last gathering so had new faces this time. 

There were 29 assorted cousins from multiple generations. it was so good to see faces that we had not seen in a couple of years. And of course, the food is always good. The fellowship is even better.

For the remainder of the week it was our immediate family. This time it included a 5-month old baby and a toddler who, as she proudly told everyone, turned 2-1/2 on July 4th. So it was crazy busy times for the entire week. We raced to keep everyone fed and to keep the littlest ones in dry diapers. I had forgotten how hard young mamas work.

Lucky for us, Little Sister and Baby Girl (who have really outgrown their blog names--but they like them!) are willing and able helpers. They kept babies entertained, helped out in the kitchen and ran back and forth between our old cabin and the new cottage. Saved us a million steps.

Little Sister volunteered to make an appetizer one night. We have basil growing by the back door so caprese skewers were quick and easy to make. Alternate grape tomatoes, mozzarella pearls and folded fresh basil leaves on small skewers. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with a balsamic glaze. They were gobbled up before I got a good photo!

We had one meal at the beginning of the week that was good enough for a repeat at the end of the week. Mommy makes a Baby Kale & Chicken Caesar Salad at her house on her regular rotation. She uses the recipe from Real Simple. It's super healthy with lots of fresh dark green kale and shredded Brussel sprouts and uses a homemade Caesar dressing. It's delicious.

But at the lake we took the Real Simple recipe and made it REALLY simple. This time we used more preprepped ingredients so that it was only a matter of quick assembly. We did keep the homemade croutons. The second time we had it at the lake, we added fresh corn and cantaloup from Daddy-O's garden. It was a perfect summer supper.

Here is how we did it.

CHICKEN CAESAR SALAD

1 bag hearts of romaine

1 bag butter lettuce

1 bottle Panera Caesar salad dressing (look in the refrigerated section)

1 rotisserie chicken from the deli

1/3-1/2 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese

1 loaf sourdough bread (we used a round loaf from 

Publix bakery)

shaved fresh parmesan for topping

Cut or tear bread into cubes and place in single layer on a lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss with hands to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in preheated 425º oven for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Pull chicken from the bones into bite size pieces. In a large bowl, mix lettuces and chicken. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Pour dressing over and toss to coat. Transfer to a large serving platter. Sprinkle croutons over and top with shaved parmesan.

The homemade dressing was very good. But the bottled Caesar was a pleasant surprise. The Panera brand was a cut above the other bottled brands I've had. I bought a couple of extra bottles to have on hand.

Mimi Camp starts today, so I'll be away from the computer for at least a week. Maybe I'll have something to share from our camp week at a later date.