Strawberry Almond Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Strawberry Almond Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

1 bag salad mix (what ever you like, I use a mixture of baby greens and romaine)
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup slivered almonds toasted
2-3 thin slices of purple onion cut in bite size pieces

Toss all the above ingredients together and top with Poppy Seed Dressing (recipe to follow)and toss again.

Poppy Seed Dressing

1/2 cup olive oil
3 Tbls red wine vinegar
1 Tbls lemon juice
2 Tbls honey
2 Tbls minced shallots (can substitute with onion)
1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
Pinch of salt and pepper

Mix Vinegar, lemon juice, shallots and honey together in a cover container until honey is dissolved. Add oil, poppy seeds, salt and pepper and shake until well combines. FYI this dressing recipe should be enough for 2 salads depending on how much dressing you enjoy on your salad.

Tomato Basil Bruschetta

Here's a quick and easy recipe to accompany just about any meal, that is delicious.

Tomato Basil Bruschetta

1 loaf Italian Bread
1 pint grape tomato
1 clove garlic sliced very thin
6-10 fresh basil leaves, stacked and sliced thin
freshly grated Parmesan, Asiago or Romano cheese
olive oil

Coat large frying pan with olive and heat on medium heat, add garlic and tomatoes. Cook and stir until tomato begins to soften. Once tomato skin splits smash tomato with flat side of a wooden spoon. Continue to cook and stir until all tomatoes have popped. Mean while, slice Italian bread at a diagonal in 1/2 inch slices and brush with olive oil on both sides. Place bread on a cookie sheet and bake in 375 degree oven until lightly browned. Top bread with a spoonful of tomato, sprinkle with cheese and top with basil. Bon Appetite!

Chicken Teriyaki

Well, it's finally here, the recipe I've been promising for a while now. I hope you enjoy this as much as we do.

Chicken Teriyaki
Serves 4

4 boneless skinless chicken breast cut in 1 1/2 in dice
1 green bell pepper cut in 1/2 inch wide strips
1 yellow onion cut in 1/2 inch wide strips
3 gloves garlic sliced thin
2 medium zucchini cut in 1/2 inch slices
2 stalks celery thick sliced at an angle
1 bag broccoli florets
Olive oil
1 jar Kikkoman Teriyaki Baste & Glaze
4 servings of cooked brown, white or basmati rice

First begin cooking rice according to package directions, then take cut up chicken breast and place in large baggie, add enough teriyaki baste & glaze to coat all. If you have the time let chicken marinade for a few hours. If you don't have time you can coat and begin cooking. In a large frying pan (or Wok) heat enough olive oil to coat the pan on high heat and add chicken. Cook and stir until chicken is cooked approximately 10 minutes. When cooked add a little more teriyaki to coat chicken pieces and set aside. While chicken is cooking heat a large wok (or frying pan)with enough olive oil to coat pan on high. Add all veggies and drizzle with terriyaki glaze and cover. Be sure to stir in the teriyaki glaze before covering. Stir veggies every few minutes until they are crisp cooked approximately 10-12 minutes. Taste veggies to be sure there is enough terriyaki flavor, add more if needed. To serve spoon rice on plate, add veggies and top with chicken. Viola! Enjoy!!!

Don't Give Up On Me!

Sorry for the delay with the "Chicken Teriyaki" recipe, it will be posted by the end of the week. Life has been a bit crazy, so I have not had the opportunity to sit down and compose the recipe. It is much harder than it seems to translate something you do without a recipe to specific measurments. Try it sometime and you will see (that doesn't include boxed meals!). Just kidding to those of you who actually buy that junk. JUST COOK ALREADY!
Have a wonderful day!

Chicken Terriaki is On the Way!

Anybody like Chinese food? Well if you do you are going to be very happy because I have finally perfected the dish "Chicken Teriyaki". I love to order that at the restaurant "Pei Wei" and I have finally figured out how to make it just like they do. I will update you with the recipe over this weekend. I hope all of my followers have a wonderful weekend! Stay tuned!

Easter Blessings!

Happy Easter, I pray that you have a wonderful day with family and friends and are reminded on this day of the incredible sacrifice Jesus made just for you. It really is beyond understanding, when you take the time to think of it.
Today our family will be enjoying a traditional Ham dinner, Amy's potato casserole, Sig's fresh asparagus, Aunt Lu's deviled eggs, and my pear and blue cheese salad and chocolate dipped strawberries. Ahhh, what could be better!

It's Strawberry Season!

I love this time of year because you can find wonderful strawberries, in the stores and farmers markets. I am always looking for new things that I can do with strawberries, and have even tried making home made jam. Last season was my 1st attempt at making jam in I must admit, although the flavor was fabulous, I ended up with jars of something that more closely resembled strawberry sauce. I will try again this year, but for today I thought I would share a family favorite. "Chocolate Dipped Strawberries", they are delicious, beautiful, and very fast and easy to make. The 2 most important thing to remember when you are making this is that the strawberries need to be completely dry after washing, and they need to be cool. Other than that you can accomplish this recipe in 10-15 minutes start to finish.

2 quarts fresh strawberries with leaves on top
1 11-12oz package Semi sweet chocolate pieces

Start by washing and drying strawberries and placing them on a cookie sheet. Place them in the refrigerator while you heat the chocolate. In a tall narrow bottom glass bowl microwave entire package of semi sweet chocolate pieces for 2 minutes and 15 second on high power. When time is complete with a rubber spatula stir chocolate pieces until smooth. Be aware that when you remove them from microwave it will look like they are not all melted, but that is OK, just stir them until smooth. If you microwave them until totally melted they will become grainy and you will have to through them away, so beware.
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper or parchment paper. Hold strawberry by the leaves and dip and roll in chocolate almost to the top. Place on wax paper, when all strawberries have been dipped place back in the refrigerator to harden. About 10-15 minutes before serving, remove strawberries from refrigerator and place on a serving plate. If you try to eat them directly from the refrigerator the chocolate will break off the strawberry when you bite them, so be patient and let them warm up a bit.

I hope that everyone that reads this will have a Blessed and Happy Easter!