Strawberry Spinach Salad with Homemade Strawberry Vinaigrette

There was a point where I ate this every day for lunch. I couldn't get sick of it. For awhile I switched it out for the green smoothies, but the other day I let it reappear on my plate. O, it was yummy.

Spinach (lettuce in the pictures, though), pecans, fresh strawberries, feta, a hard boiled egg and some cranberries. Piled high, drizzled with sweet strawberry dressing.

For the dressing I took 1/4 olive oil, 1/4 balsamic, 1 Tbsp honey and pureed about 4 strawberries. I salted and added more honey, more vinegar, as I thought I needed it. Next time, I'm trying raspberries. It was enough for about 4 salads.

Summery, healthful and tasty!

Watermelon Smoothie

Is there anything better than a good slice of watermelon on a hot July day?


Well, this watermelon smoothie might come pretty close.


It was an accident, really. I like to think I could eat a whole watermelon by myself (since Daniel doesn't like it. No comment there.) but honestly, after day three I'm starting to feel like a balloon about to burst. This girl can only take so much.


So I threw what was left of the melon in the freezer, and pulled it out the other day to add to my green smoothie.


I started with milk, since we were out of OJ. Added the yogurt, a banana, then the melon. It looked so frothy and pink there in the blender than I just had to taste a spoonful before adding the greens....


O. My. Word.


I was in heaven. I poured half of it into a glass and drank it right there and then. 


Try it. You'll be hooked.

I added spinach to the other half (and some frozen peaches to make it colder) and it was delish, too. :)


3 servings of vegetables and 4 servings of fruit never tasted so yummy.

Peanut Butter Green Smoothie

Before you freak at the color of this smoothie, let me promise that it only tastes of pure goodness! This has been my go-to for the last month. I've found it's a perfect breakfast, lunch or snack for the nursing mother. With over 20 grams of protein it keeps me satisfied for - well, until it's time to eat again. :-P

1 cup Greek yogurt

a blender-full of spinach (about 4 cups)

blended well

add: 

1 tsp honey, 1 banana, 2 tbsp peanut butter

blend til smooth

add ice as necessary, or freeze for a bit (my favorite) to make it thicker again, and eat it with a spoon!

Oreo Pie

Want a yummy dessert that's super to easy to make? How about Oreo Pie?



This particular dessert is Daniel's favorite. I've become rather attached to it too.

Confession: when I make it, we eat the left overs for breakfast. :-/

Ingredients:



1 regular package of vanilla pudding
milk
8 oz cream cheese, softened
12 oz cool whip/ whipped cream (I always make my own whipped cream)
About 1 package of oreos
1/2 stick of butter, melted

Recipe:
Grab a brown paper bag and crush about half the package of those oreos to smithereens... or chop them in your food processor. Whichever floats your boat.

Spread them in the bottom of a pie pan, and pour the melted butter slowly over top. Press the cookies down firmly with a spatula to create the crust.



**You can skip this first step by purchasing an already made oreo crust**

Using an electric mixer (preferably, but not necessarily) mix the pudding package with as much milk as the recipe calls for. Add in the cream cheese and whipped cream and beat until smooth.



Add crumbled oreos of you'd like (and why wouldn't you like?)

Pour on top of crust.

Top with more oreos if you'd like (see above).

Chill several hours, til set. Then enjoy for breakfast, lunch or dinner! ;)

Honey Ginger Chicken

Well, our menu planning is in its second month, and still going strong. I love the order it gives to dinner preparation and grocery shopping, and Daniel and I both like the variety. Not as many recipes as I anticipated carried over from last month though. We just weren't crazy about too many of the new ones. We found one this month that we both loved, though! Even though it was a little more time consuming than most of the meals I make, Daniel told me several times how much he loved it, so that made it more than worth the effort.

I also want to note before I give y'all the recipe, that I realized I did something wrong that effected the final results. I don't remember now what it was... but the glaze was supposed to turn out differently. So, keep that in mind when you look at my pictures. :-P

Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” chunks)

Oil (for deep frying)

Batter-

4 tablespoons cornstarch

¼ cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ cup water

½ teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 egg white

Sauce-

1 ½ tablespoons oil

2 teaspoon ginger (minced)

3 tablespoons garlic (minced)

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

½ cup water

1 teaspoon cornstarch (mixed with 1 teaspoon water)

Sesame seeds (for garnish)

Recipe:
First, cut the chicken into large chunks. In a large bowl mix all the batter ingredients until smooth. Toss chicken in batter to coat.

Heat deep fryer to 350 - or cover bottom of skillet with oil and heat to 350

  Add chicken, and cook for 5 or 6 minutes, turning gently until cooked thoroughly. Let rest on paper towels.

Dispose of oil in pan. Keep 1 1/2 tsp reserve for sauce. Add garlic and ginger, and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add salt, honey, vinegar, water. Mix well. Combine 1 tsp corn starch with 1 tsp water, mixing well. Add to sauce and simmer for 2 minutes.

Coat chicken in sauce. Serve with white rice and your favorite steamed veggies.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today's my father's birthday. Happy Birthday Dad!!

Men, I think, are especially hard to buy presents for, especially men who have everything. :-P But no one loves cherries like my dad. Cherry pie, cherry cobbler, chocolate covered cherries, Black Forest Cake, and on and on the list goes. So when I saw the recipe for these White Chocolate Cherry shortbread cookies I knew I'd have to give them a try. They'll be perfect to dip in his afternoon coffee - not that Dad has time for afternoon coffee... but the holidays are coming!

The Ingredients List and Recipe are both pretty simple.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup drained, finely chopped maraschino cherries 

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup cold butter

12 ounces white chocolate, chips or squares, chopped into small pieces. [4 for the cookies, then some for dipping. I mixed it up and dipped some of the cookies in dark chocolate, too, so I used less white]

1/2 tsp almond extract

Red glitter sprinkles!

 Ok. First things first. Drain those cherries and put them on a paper towel to absorb all the high fructose corn syrup, I mean, juice. [I just used a 6 oz can, and chopped all of them, even though it was slightly more than half a cup... I wasn't going to do anything else with them :)]

Then, go ahead and mix your flour and sugar. And, depending on how long your oven takes to preheat, it'll need to be set at 325 F, so do that whenever necessary.

 Next, open up that butter and cut it into the dry mixture... [seriously, pastry cutters are a life saver]

 Cut it until it resembles "fine crumbs." . . . close, but not there yet.

Voila!

Chop those cherries up now... lovin' my one-touch chopper for projects like this!

And mix those cherries in with 4 oz of the white chocolate. [I was having so much fun with my chopper that I went ahead and chopped up my white chocolate chips, too.]

Mix together really well. And then, with your [clean] hands knead the dough til firm.

Pinch off pieces of dough and roll into 1 1/2 inch balls... 

... Then press 'em flat! Bake at 325F for 10 minutes. Cookies will harden while cooling, so don't over cook them.

[If you forget to press your first batch flat it's not the end of the world...] 

Once the cookies have cooled they're ready to be bea-ut-i-fied! So, prepare to melt the chocolate however you know best. I don't like to put the chocolate directly in the pan on the burner because it tends to heat too quickly, burn, and then harden. My solution to this is a glass bowl inside a pot of nearly boiling water.

 At this point you will also need your pretty sprinkles ready! Pour them into a small bowl, so they form a nice pile to evenly coat the cookies.

Add about 2 Tbsp of oil and the chocolate over your warm pan, 
and slowly heat until chocolate 
begins to melt.
Stir gently until smooth. Then, carefully dip one half of the cookie into the chocolate, allowing any excess to drip off.

Roll in sprinkles and place on parchment paper to dry.

Enjoy then with dark chocolate too!

Happy Birthday Dad! I hope you enjoy these (and don't share all of them... though I know you're going to anyway.:))

Pregnancy Cravings

So you read how gummies/chewies are my favorite "craving" right now, yes?? Well, can I tell you a little secret?

For all your 90s babies out there who relished the world of Sour War Heads something even better has hit the market!

Remember them?? O, we loved them. I remember having "sour contests" until our mouths were raw.

This is the only truly sour candy that I really do like. Sour stuff is just not my thing. But War Heads... they're different.

So, the other day I was in Target (don't go into Target much, since it's in the opposite direction that I usually travel) and LOOK WHAT I FOUND:

O, be still my pregnant tummy. It took all my will power to wait until I got to the car to tear it open and try some.

They didn't disappoint, either. Much more sour than gummy worms, with the classic War Head flavors we all love - they were delish. Plus, how cute are they?

Watermelon was the best. I may just have to run back out to Target and stock up for the next 4 months. ;)

I am not a baker.

Honest. Ask any of my family members, and they'll agree. I still try, though, and along the way there are a few things I've learned... like: softened butter is not melted, vanilla brings out chocolate's flavor, you will not die if you eat cookie dough, mixing wet and dry separately is important, and...

sometimes if you halve (or double) a baking recipe the results are not the same. I've found this especially true with cookies and breads.

For families of 10 this is not a problem. 3 dozen chocolate chip cookies get eaten quickly. But, for families of 2 (or even 4) making a whole batch of chocolate chip cookies yields more than can be moderately consumed and a reasonable amount of time.

So, what to do, what to do?

Well, here's what I did recently, and I'm so happy with the prospect of it!

Place clumps of cookie dough on a baking sheet like you would to bake, only put them in the freezer until firm, instead.

Place in freezer-safe container in groups of 1 dozen.

Stack and Freeze! Next time friends come over, or you just have to have a cookie, pull out as many as needed, let thaw, and bake.

p.s. (I've also discovered you're much less likely to eat raw frozen cookie dough, than baked, frozen cookies.)

Menu Planning

At first it was fun, now it seems simply necessary. Honestly though, I find it a lot of work, and it makes me think of how small my recipe index must be. 

I've decided to be diligent about meal planning though, through the end of the year, and see how well things go.

I try to only make two big grocery trips a month. I've found that most fresh stuff, if stored properly, can keep that long. The first trip is always bigger, and I nearly always cringe at the final total. The second one is sort of a refresher - certain things, like milk and bananas, just don't keep all month.

I like going to the store less because I am certain I spend less. Let's be honest, how many times do you go in for milk, eggs and baking soda and come out with ten things besides the initial three? Shopping twice a month is also a time saver. An hour or two tops twice a month - from start to finish - instead of several trips during the week is definitely a time-saver. I do the once-a-week shopping for the family I work for, and know that I spend more time and money on their grocery bill than I do on my own.

So, to go along with this schedule I've spent some time planning meals for the rest of October. 

One tip that helped Theme for the Day:

Mondays: Pasta (spaghetti, alfredo, stirfry, macaroni, etc)

Tuesdays: Huge Salad (cobb, buffalo chicken, Greek, etc)

Wednesdays: Soup (trying to utilize my crock pot on Wednesdays and Sundays. Fall is the perfect time for that)

Thursday: pizza (Pizza and Seinfeld on Thursday night is a Wells tradition Daniel grew up with)

Friday: Mexican (Like Daniel says, "It's basically all the same, just mushed together differently. ;))

Saturday: Sandwiches (grilled cheese, paninis, cold sandwiches... it's Saturday, we usually work hard then crash, or chill all day anyway)

Sunday: Soup again (hot meal after church? O, yeah. :))

The theme for the day helps to save on buying tons of specialized items. We'll be having pasta once a week, so I'll know to stock up. Having a Mexican night means avocados and tomatoes galore!

Another tip: Next month, I'll be repeat almost all of these recipes, or themes, so that the work and time I spent this month will last twice as long. I may change out a theme - Mexican might turn into Indian, or pizza to breakfast-for-dinner. But, having the same recipes over again (but still nearly a month apart) will make it o, so much easier on me, without making us sick of a certain food. (Pregnant women get sick of food fast, fyi).

On the menu I have the meal for that night, with the recipe book, or online site (Pinterest) where I can find the recipe in parenthesis. In brackets below that is a simple list of ingredients. If it calls for salt, I don't list it. That's a staple I always have. If it calls for canned tomatoes, something I don't usually keep on hand, I list the amount. Otherwise, if it's something like 1 cup diced onion, I just write "onion."

Then, I go and make my grocery list. This month I've used a handy all-in-one grocery check list I found at grocerylists.org. Certain items that I prefer to buy at a certain store I marked in red pen, and items on the menu that I knew I could not buy until a day or two before (fresh cilantro) I underlined in red on the menu.

Overall, I'm super excited! I think this will help us have regular, healthful meals within budget, while still trying new recipes (like Mediterranean pasta), and enjoying all-time favorites (enchiladas).

Do you like menu planning? What are some tips that have helped you along the way?

Sourdough French Toast

Have I ever mentioned how much I love breakfast? Well I do. In fact, I could eat breakfast three times a day. Maybe it's because breakfast foods are warm and sweet, cozy almost? Whether it's a bowl of cinnamon life, or a stack of steamy-hot, maple-syrupy pancakes I simply take delight in that first meal of the day. Always have. Always will.

But who has time to make elaborate breakfast dishes every morning? Not me. So, breakfast for dinner becomes a perfect compromise. Many Sunday evenings we'll whip together a batch of pancakes, and always enjoy them. But this week when the craving for breakfast for dinner came, I knew pancakes weren't going to cut it.

The loaf of fresh sourdough I had just bought beckoned from the cupboard and I knew french toast was just begging to be made.

So, here's what we came up with. Me, and that sourdough loaf.

Ingredients: (
- 8 large pieces sourdough bread
- 1 1/2 cups warm milk (about 80 degrees)
- 3 large egg yolks
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt

(so honestly, I totally just eyeballed those last 7 ingredients. They make the "coating" for your toast, so if you're serving more or less than the recipe makes you can easily adjust accordingly. My never ending "eye balled" recipes are probably why I make the world's worst baker, but can get away with cooking occasionally. ;))

Directions:

1. Preheat over 300F, and "toast" bread on baking sheet for about 8 minutes each side. Bread should be dry and hard, but not burnt. Let cool 5 minutes, reduce oven to 200F, or "warm."

2. Whisk together last 7 ingredients in large bowl. Transfer to baking pan if bread will not fit in bowl.

3. Dip each slice of bread in wet mixture about 20 seconds each side. Bread should be saturated, but not too soggy. 

4. Place wet bread of greased and heated skillet for about 4 minutes each side. Transfer to baking sheet and place in warm oven til all slices are complete.

5. Top with your favorite syrup, fruit or sugar and enjoy!

O, my word...

... I love these things

The Newlywed Kitchen Cookbook Returns!

Well, it's been awhile, I know. I want to finish this, because I started it, but I think I honestly don't like blogging about food. And truthfully, sometimes I'm so hungry by the time I've finished cooking that I forget to get the camera. Do you need a reminder of what we were doing with it?

We enjoyed Kale, White Bean and Sausage soup before I could take a picture. We served it over rice. So delicious and healthful. Also tried out The Ultimate Grilled Cheese, but stinky cheeses don't please our palete. I'll remake this sometime with provolone, perhaps. For a church luncheon I made the Orzo Pasta Salad with Arugula and Cherry Tomatoes. I didn't have a bite left in the bowel. It was so yummy I've already made it twice, and will probably make it again. So, I'll try to post that recipe eventually.

This past week I made (and took pictures) of the Balsamic-Glazed Turkey Meat Loaf. It was lighter and sweeter version to traditional meatloaf, and easy to make.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 cup finely diced sweet yellow onion

1 cup diced red bell pepper

1 lb ground turkey

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp dried thyme

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1. Heat olive oil in skillet, and add onions and peppers (I forgot what the red pepper in the fridge was for and ate it... so I used yellow). Cook until softened, remove from heat and let cool.

2. Put ground turkey in large bowel and add salt, pepper, thyme, cumin and fennel seeds. Gently mix in the egg and bread crumbs. Then mix in the onions and pepper. Take care not to overwork.

3. In separate bowl whisk together balsamic vinegar, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce.

4. Add 3/4 of sauce to ground turkey mixing until just combined.

*gag*

5. Pat the meatloaf into a lightly greased load pan. Brush the remaining glaze on top of the meatloaf and bake for 50-55 minutes at 350F

6. Let cool 5-10 minutes before slicing. Serve and enjoy!