Strawberry Spinach Salad

I love that it feels like summer and I get to make this salad again! I didn't used to like pairing fruit with my greens and realize others out there might feel the same. How glad I am that I kept tasting them at church functions, restaurants, and dinners with friends because I sure love it now! This is the one I make most often:

spinach

strawberries, sliced thin

sweet yellow bell pepper, sliced thin

pecan halves, I like to roast them with sugar first

I've added grilled chicken to this salad before too for a light, main-dish, summer supper. Yum.

Dressing:

½ Cup sliced fresh strawberries

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp raspberry vinegar (last time I used a pomegranate balsamic vinegar which was very good too)

1/3 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt

¾ tsp poppy seeds, optional

 

In blender, puree ½ cup strawberries till smooth. Add sugar and vinegar; blend well. Blend in yogurt. Stir in poppy seeds. Refrigerate until serving time. 

Chicken Lemon Pasta with Green Beans

I modified my earlier post with the pancetta and broccoli to use what I had on hand. This was pretty tasty. So pardon the repeat (sort of) and lack of picture (I forgot!).

2 thin chicken breast pieces
1/2 bag frozen green beans
Thin spaghetti
5 cloves garlic
1/4 c. butter, melted
1 T. finely grated lemon peel
2 t. fresh lemon juice
pinch of dried thyme leaves
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper chicken. Heat olive oil in medium pan and saute chicken until cooked through but not dry. Remove and let stand on cutting board. Transfer to paper towels.
Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted (VERY salted) water until firm. Add green beans and cook until green beans are heated through. Drain pasta. Add garlic to oil in pan (you might need some more oil). Saute until light golden brown. Add butter, lemon peel and juice and thyme leaves to pan. Add pasta and toss to coat. Add sliced chicken and cheese; toss to blend. Season with pepper and serve.

Veggie Lasagna

This basis of this recipe came from a vegetarian friend in Texas--what a great alternative to regular lasagna that honestly feels too "heavy" sometimes. I've made this quite a few times and am always tweaking it depending on what I have on hand. One of these days I'd like to try a spinach variety...

The kids don't think they like it but they always eat it just fine! 

(these measurements are for the above size meal--a 7*11 baking dish)

lasagna noodles, cooked al dente, about 1/3 of a box of noodles

1 yellow, crookneck squash, chopped

1 medium zuchinni, chopped

handful of shredded carrots

handful of chopped onions

1/2 a jar of spaghetti sauce

white cheese, mozzarella or monterey jack (I prefer the mj or a mix so that it's not so stringy/rubbery)

cottage cheese or ricotta cheese (vary amount depending on your preference--I did not use the entire small-size container) (also, I've always used cottage cheese because I generally have some around--I used to think that sounded gross, but, I don't mind it!)

Add your veggies to the spaghetti sauce and let it cook on the stove for a few minutes (mostly just to heat everything up to same temp and let flavors start to meld---do NOT cook your veggies into a mush!) You may want to add a little water but not too much because the veggies have a lot of liquid.

Gently mix your cheeses together. 

Layer in your baking dish: sauce (cuz you don't want noodles to stick to the bottom of the pan), noodles, sauce, cheese, noodles, sauce, cheese, etc. so that it creates a yummy stack that you can't wait to eat!

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Uncover and let it bake for another 5 minutes or so.

**sorry this recipe doesn't give exact amounts! I never take measurements of my vegetables and the rest is largely due to personal preferences--I've noticed people are generally pretty picky about how they like their lasagna!

Chili and Cornbread

Chili

1/2 lb. ground beef

1 can pinto beans, drained

1 can kidney beans, drained

1-2 cans diced tomatoes (I like using petite-diced)

1 tsp chili powder

chopped onion

cumin

brown sugar

Brown the beef. Throw in some chopped onions. Add beans and tomatoes. Add 1/2 cup or so of water till you get the consistency you like. Add chili powder, some cumin (1/2 - 1 tsp) and some brown sugar (1 Tbsp or so) and adjust to taste. Let simmer while you get the rest of the dinner ready.

**This is a pretty basic chili recipe without anything fancy.  What kind of chili do YOU make?

Cornbread

The recipe I used for above photo was from Smitten Kitchen and I did NOT care for it. I chose it because it was different from my usual recipe and used buttermilk (something I've been experimenting with a lot and love to use in pancakes). The following is my good ol' standby:

2 cups flour

8 Tbsp cornmeal

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, melted

Mix dry ingred. together. Add eggs and milk. Gently stir in melted butter. Pour in greased pan (I vary the pan size 9*9, 7*11, pie pan, etc.) and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. 

**I halve this recipe for our little family.  I've also been using powdered milk to rotate it through our food storage. It tastes fine with powdered milk but is a bit more crumbly. I keep tweaking it to compensate for that.

A Wish

I wish i was home more often to actually cook...then you'd see a recipe from me once in awhile! I can dream!

Shredded Beef Sandwiches

So dang easy!

3 lbs. beef chuck roast

1/2 large onion, chopped

1/4 cup vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced (I used more)

1-1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Place meat in slow cooker. Top with onions. Combine vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour over meat. Cover. Cook on low 8-10 hours or high 5-6 hours. Shred meat (you can drain the broth to save for dipping, or shred the meat and combine it with the broth--I like it combined because it keeps the meat moist).

I usually add bbq sauce to it after I shred it, and then pile it on top of buns sandwich-style. That's Geoff's favorite way--it's a Texas thing. I think it still makes good sandwiches without the bbq sauce too--it's just a little plain.

Original recipe is from "Fix-It-and-Forget-It-Entertaining"

Salmon Teriyaki

When salmon is cheap in Seattle, it's CHEAP! We bought and froze a whole boatlaod (well, not exactly, but quite a bit) and I've been looking for recipes ever since. The agrodolce sauce is good but Aaron was getting tired of it.

Enter this recipe. This isn't the recipe I used - it's the one I will use next time. I'm just using the sauce from the beef stir-fry and using it for the salmon.



The sauce/marinade:

6 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoon red wine vinegar (or rice wine vinegar if you happen to have it)

2 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoon oriental sesame oil

5 large garlic cloves, minced

1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled, minced



4 4-6 oz. salmon fillets

Combine sauce ingredients in small saucepan and heat just to dissolve the sugar. Let cool to room temperature and then pour over your salmon. Let it marinate at least 30 minutes - 1 hour.

Heat some oil over moderately high heat. Transfer salmon to skillet and cook skin side up, and then flip. Brown on both sides. Add leftover sauce to pan and simmer a bit, about 1-2 minutes.

I served this with rice and some veggies. Super yummy!