Strawberry Spinach Salad

It's winter here in Wisconsin, though I think someone forgot to tell that to Mother Nature. The past few weeks have been summer temperatures. Today's normal high is 40 and they are anticipating our actual temperature to be 83 today. It's crazy and I love it, but it also makes me scared that it can't last and it's going to freeze again and my fruit trees aren't going to bare fruit AGAIN this year. They are just starting to bud out now. My plants are all coming up and it's looking more like May than March out there.

That being said, I have more energy (presumably because I'm outside and soaking up more vitamin D), and I am ITCHING to get my hands in the dirt. Along with nice weather, I always feel like eating better. Last night, I introduced my boys to a HEALTHY salad and they loved it!! It's soooo super easy and I want to try to keep things in the house to make it because it's an easy snack when I want something RIGHT. NOW. Enjoy!

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Dressing

Dressing:

1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 tbsp poppy seeds (more or less, depending on your preference. I skipped them last time because I didn't have any in the house and it was still good!)
1 tbsp honey (Skip this if you're using vanilla yogurt)

Salad:
3 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves, rinsed
4 strawberries, chopped

Top salad with 2 tbsp of the dressing. Easy peasy!

Cashew Chicken

A couple weeks ago, we were in this little tiny diner in Gresham and on the counter they had this 3 ring binder cookbook. It was from a "local author" and I was looking through it and saw SEVERAL recipes that I thought sounded good...but my DH didn't think I needed another cookbook....well, I thought differently and when he went to the bathroom I bought it and stashed it in the diaper bag (I'm gonna be sooooooo sad to stop carrying that big thing!) Rugby and Riley happened to find the book about a week ago and went through it, page by page telling me what they thought sounded good....so I set them up with a notebook and they wrote the recipe name, page and who thought it was gonna be a good one...now, I only have to look at their sheet for TONS of dinner ideas!! And I'll actually be using the cookbook, double bonus! We made chicken quesadillas the other day that were so good, but how do you screw that up? It's pretty simple. Anyway, another one that was marked "Both" (as in they both wanted it) was Cashew Chicken. My kids love chinese food and since most of what they like is simple stir fry stuff, I was happy to make it. This recipe is no exception. VERY SIMPLE and VERY tasty! I think the sauce would be good if I could figure out the breading to make peanut butter chicken. YUM! EnjoY!

Cashew Chicken

Peanut Butter Sauce:
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp honey

Mix together until well blended and set aside.

Stir Fry:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces
3 cups broccoli, chopped
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 green onions, chopped (I skipped this for the kids)
2 Tbsp vegetable or peanut oil (I used butter)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp grated gingerroot (next time, I might add a bit more, but I LOVE ginger)
2 packages ramen noodles, flavor packages discarded
1/2 cup cashews

In the oil, saute the chicken, garlic and ginger until the chicken is no longer pink. Remove from skillet and set aside. In the skillet, add a little more oil (or like I did: a bit of chicken broth...less than 1/4 cup) and saute (or steam if you added the broth) the celery and broccoli for about 4 minutes. Add the green onion and continue to cook, stirring often until the veggies are tender-crisp. Add the chicken back to the skillet and pour the sauce over. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. While you are waiting, add the ramen noodles JUST THE NOODLES, NOT THE FLAVOR PACKET to a pot of boiling water and boil for 3 minutes; drain. Add the noodles to the chicken and veggies. Sprinkle with cashews and serve.

Peanut butter flavor is very subtle, not at all over whelming. I hope you like it!

Honey Hot Wings

Sorry for the long delay in posting. The move has gone fairly well. The only thing that got broken (that we've found so far) was 4 jars of my grandma's pickled beets. I guess if that's the worst of it, that's not so bad. While we were settling in, we had my husband's parents and grandma over for dinner one night and we initiated a new grill that night, too. We needed a new one and Tim wanted to get it before he left for work so that I could still grill while he was gone. THANK YOU, HONEY!! As a kind of "thank you" to him, I made Honey Hot Wings. He LOVES hot wings. This recipe made enough for him with a couple for me, a couple for his mom, and one for his dad and grandma. Enjoy!


HONEY HOT WINGS

• 2 pounds chicken wings, tips discarded
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup honey, separated
  
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup hot sauce (I used Frank's Red Hot, but I think next time I make them, I'll use hot sauce from Apple Acres in Indiana.)
  

1. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil grate.
2. Wash the wings well and pat dry with paper towel. Season with cayenne, salt, and pepper. (I didn't measure the s&p or the cayenne...just gave the chicken a light sprinkling of them and it was perfect!)
3. Cook the chicken wings on preheated grill until cooked through and juices run clear, 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the wings. Brush the wings liberally using 1/2 cup of honey while they are cooking.
4. Melt the butter, pour into a large bowl and mix in the remaining 1/2 cup of honey and hot sauce. Remove the wings from the grill and immediately toss them in the hot honey butter sauce to coat. Serve the wings 'wet' or return them to the grill for 1 minute per side to set the sauce.

Honey Garlic Vinaigrette and Grilled Venison

A few years ago, I found and made this awesome dressing. I used it on lettuce from my garden with a little leftover grilled ribeye then. I rediscovered the recipe again and remember why I fell in love with it then....it's EASY, CHEAP and YUMMY! The ingredients are things I always have in the house which makes it even better! Last night when I made this again (with Farmer's Market lettuce) we were trying a new recipe for grilled venison. Tim's friend, Melissa, sent me the recipe on Facebook and I followed part of it. The part I did was super simple and tasty, again with things I always have in the house. (The part I didn't follow was adding grilled tomatoes, bacon and gorgonzola cheese...we didn't miss it.) I put the meat on my salad and it was an awesome concoction! Enjoy!


Honey Garlic Vinaigrette

1 cup vegetable oil (don't use olive oil as the flavor is too strong)
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp honey
2 (or 3) cloves of garlic, minced (I use my garlic press)

Put in a mixing container. I've used a blender or even a pint sized mason jar. Blend well. Allow to stand 45 minutes for flavors to meld. Stir/shake/mix again and serve.

Grilled Venison

Enough venison minute steaks to feed your crowd
Soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Garlic powder
Black Pepper
Olive Oil (I use EVOO)

In a glass dish or baggie, place meat and sprinkle with other ingredients. Cover or close bag and allow to stand at room temp for 30 minutes. Cook with indirect heat on grill until they are done.