{our best bites} strawberry spinach salad with lemon poppyseed vinaigrette

Here's another delicious recipe from OUR BEST BITES! Have I mentioned I LOVE them?! All their recipes are tried and true, normal ingredients and very reliable!

Inexpensive, delicious strawberries are a sure sign that spring is coming! Slice up a handful and toss them in this light, fresh salad. For a cool, quick dinner add some diced grilled chicken.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

1 (10 oz) bag fresh baby spinach

1/2-1 red onion, thinly sliced 

1 medium cucumber, seeded and sliced (you can peel it first if you want)

1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced

1 c sliced almonds, toasted

1/2 lb grilled chicken breast, sliced or diced, optional 

Directions:

For the salad, toss ingredients together and serve immediately. You can also arrange the ingredients on individual plates for serving.

Lemon Poppy Seed vinaigrette

2-3 large lemons (use as needed to yield 1/3 c juice and 1 t zest)

1 t grated onion

1/4 c rice wine vinegar

1/4 c canola oil

3/4 t kosher salt

1/4 t freshly ground black pepper

1/4 c sugar

2 t poppy seeds

1 clove garlic, finely pressed

Directions:

Using a microplane or other fine grater, grate 1 t lemon zest and 1 t onion. Place in a small container with a lid. Add remaining ingredients and shake vigorously. If possible, refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Shake well before serving. 

Quick meals for summer fun

Summer time is here and that means we're trying to pack in a lot of fun and adventure, which doesn't always leave time to be messing around in the kitchen. I thought I'd compile some of my favorite recipes that require little to no prep work and can be whipped up in a jiffy.

Find most of these recipes on my Recipe Index.
Meals On the fly-

Boiled, fried or scrambled eggs

Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches 

Broiled chicken breast atop salad (with feta, craisins, sliced almonds and balsamic vinaigrette)

Grilled hot dogs

Black bean quesadillas 

Italian style shrimp

Roasted salmon with fennel & red onions

Meals requiring a little prep work before you head out for the day-

Cafe Rio Chicken (tacos or with salad)

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork tacos or with salad)

Crockpot French dip sandwiches

Slow cooker pot roast 

Tangy hamburgers

Baked creamy chicken taquitos

Cilantro lime chicken tacos (or chicken atop salad)

Crockpot chicken teriyaki 

Herb roasted crockpot chicken

Slow cooker 20 garlic chicken

I hope this helps you. I'm excited to have this on hand for future reference! :)

Holy Guacamole!

I guess I must be growing up because I finally like, and appreciate some good guacamole. I used to think it was just bland before, but I guess I've had enough good guac to learn to like it!

Daddy makes some good Guacamole. Here's his recipe.

Daddy's Guacamole
2 avocado

1 T lime juice 

3 T cilantro lime ranch dressing or salsa (great way to use up extra Cafe Rio dressing)

Salt & pepper to taste

Mash and mix all together.
Eat quick with tortilla chips before it turns brown. (If it lasts that long.)

We LOVE the guacamole from Chipotle and found it online! Here it is. It's perfect! Just like their's!

Chipotle's Guacamole

THIS IS ALL YOU’LL NEED:

• 2 ripe Hass avocados (In the restaurant, we use 48 per batch, multiple times per day)
• 2 tsp lime juice

• 2 tbsp cilantro (chopped)

• 1/4 cup red onion (finely chopped) (red onion makes ALL the difference; white or yellow onion will not do the trick, we tried)

• 1/2 jalapeño, including seeds (finely chopped)

• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Choose the right avocado. It should feel squishy yet firm (like the palm of your hand), and be a nice dark green color on the inside.

2. Cut the avocado in half and the remove the pit (carefully!)
3. Scoop the avocados and place in a medium bowl.
4. Toss and coat with lime juice.
5. Add the salt and using a fork or potato masher, mash until a smooth consistency is achieved.
6. Fold in the remaining ingredients and mix well.
7. Taste the guacamole (over and over) and adjust seasoning if necessary.

{less sugar} strawberry jam

We went berry picking because we wanted to each some fresh strawberries, but also because we are ALMOST out of our strawberry jam from last year. Luckily we picked a BUNCH so we were able to do 2 batches of jam.

It's quite the process. Here's a peak.

Clean jars keeping warm and sanitized in the warm oven...

YES! I made 16.5 jars of jam. That should last us a while. :)

In the past I've used this Strawberry Jam recipe, but last year I also made THIS less sugar strawberry jam recipe. We really like the flavor of this less sugar recipe so I decided to do ALL my jam with this recipe. Less sugar and still tasty, SCORE!

Less Sugar Strawberry Jam

Ingredients:

6 pt strawberries (to make 6 cups crushed berries)

4 c sugar 

1 box Sure-Jell For Less or No Sugar Needed Recipes Fruit Pectin
1 t. Butter (if desired)

Directions:

1. Bring water bath or steam bath canner (filled with water) to a simmer. 

2. Put jars in dishwasher or wash in hot soapy water. No matter what method you use once your jars are clean move them to a baking sheet and place in oven on "warm" or low setting. 

3. Wish screw bands and lids in hot soapy water. Rinse. Place them in a saucepan. Cover with water. Bring to steaming but not boiling then turn to low. 

4. Prepare strawberries by washing, taking off the stems and mash with a potato masher 1 cup at a time for a total of 6 CUPS CRUSHED BERRIES 

5. Measure exact amount of fruit in to a 6-8 qt soup pot. 

6. Measure exact amount of suave into a separate bowl. Set aside. 

7. Mix 1/4 cup sugar from measured amount and 1 box Sure-Jell For Less or No Sugar Needed Recipes Fruit Pectin. Stir this mixture into strawberries in pot. Add butter to reduce foaming. 

8. Bring mixture to a rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. 

9. Stir in remaining sugar quickly and stir constantly .  Once it reaches a full boil start timer and boil, while stirring, exactly 1 minute. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam. 

10. Ladle quickly into prepared warm jars, filling to with 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. 

WATER BATH CANNER:

A. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. Water must cover jars by 1-2 inches. Add boiling water (from sauce pot with lids) if needed. Bring water to a gentle boil. 

STEAM CANNER: 

A. Place jars on rack. Put on lid.

11. Process jams 10 minutes. Adjust processing time according to altitude chart. Remove jars and place right on towel to cool completely. 

12. After jars are cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. If lid springs back the lid is not sealed and you need to refrigerate and use within 3 weeks. 

13. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Store in a cool,dry, dark place for up to 1 year. 

{meal plan} May 2015

For my future reference (and if it happens to help you too), here's some of what we ate during May. Most of these recipes should be found here.

{obb} guiltless Alfredo sauce with chicken and fettuccine

Paps baked chicken legs

Cauli pizza 

Mel's kitchen cafe: quick and easy pizza dough 

Grilled chicken

{obb} berry kiwi fruit salad

{obb} roasted potatoes with garlic & mustard 

Grilled hot dogs

Roasted asparagus

Caramel chocolate squares 

French toast, scrambled eggs 

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Priest Lake Lasagne

Congo Bars

Chicken Davinci 

Marshmallow fruit dip with pineapple, grapes and strawberries 

{obb} strawberry cheesecake bars 

Cafe rio chicken atop salad with Kraft Zesty Lime Vinaigrette 

Pot Roast

{obb} Italian roasted vegetables