Wordless Wednesday

  

Tasty Tuesday

This salad was awesome.  Make it, soon!


Strawberry Balsamic Reduction


1 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup chopped strawberries
1/4 cup sugar

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium.  Cook until it is reduced by a third and thickened.

Glazed Pecans 


1/2 cup chopped pecans (or almonds)
2 TB sugar


Combine ingredients in small skillet.  Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar melts (about 5 minutes).  Let cool on waxed paper.


For the salad:
Toss together...
Spinach
Sliced Strawberries
Feta or Blue Cheese or Gorgonzola
Glazed pecans
Strawberry balsamic reduction

If you want to make it a meal, throw in some grilled chicken.  I think it would also taste great using blueberries in place of the strawberries.

Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

The strawberries came early this year.  I've already taken the boys out to the strawberry patch twice to pick over 30 lbs.  I've frozen a bunch (to make jam later, I find making jam from frozen berries is easier since they defrost mushy), made strawberry cream cheese ice cream, eaten a bunch (in yogurt and salads), and made this Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler.  I traded Sarah strawberries for some of her rhubarb.  Easier than pie and just as tasty if you ask me!


Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler


Fruit mixture

• 4 1/2 cups rhubarb stalks cut into 1-inch pieces (Trim outside stringy layer of large rhubarb stalks; make sure to trim away any and discard of the leaves which are poisonous; trim ends.)
• 1 1/2 cups strawberries, stemmed and sliced
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 Tablespoons of quick cooking tapioca **I used cornstarch**
• 1 teaspoon of grated orange peel

Cobbler crust

• 2 Tbsp white sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350°F.

1 In a bowl, mix the rhubarb and the strawberries with the sugar, tapioca, and orange zest. Let sit to macerate for 30 minutes to an hour.

2 In a medium bowl, combine 2 Tablespoons of sugar, the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter in with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the milk and egg until just moistened.

3 Pour fruit into a 2-quart casserole dish. Drop the batter on the fruit. Bake in a 350°F oven for 35 minutes until cobbler crust is golden brown.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

 

I still make soup for dinner every Monday when school is in session.  I teach water aerobics Monday evening after work, so it's an easy dinner that can be eaten early by Ryan and the boys, and can stay warm for me to eat a couple hours later.  Ryan then takes the leftovers for lunch the rest of the week.

I have many recipes that I pick from, but I still like to try a new one every so often.  I tried this one because I had everything on hand.  It was really tasty and easy, a good alternative to chicken noodle soup.

Turkey Lentil Soup

2 cups chopped, cooked turkey (or chicken)

1 onion, chopped

4 carrots, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes

1 lb dried lentils

2 qts veggie or chicken broth

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp pepper

salt to taste (depending on your broth)

Mix ingredients together in your crock pot.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Eat!

It's that time of year again...

Ryan started his mountain bike race season this past Saturday at Winona Lake.  He did awesome, his best race yet.  Brooks and Hudson did the Kid race, and finished 3rd and 4th.  Ryan also got our friend Aaron hooked on racing.  He did his first race and plans to do more.

Ryan at the start, before they headed into the woods.

Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

We smoked a couple turkey breasts on our Weber last weekend.  They were so good and it really was pretty simple.  The leftovers are making super sandwiches.  For our Mother's Day picnic we had smoked turkey sandwiches with avocado, roasted pepper jack, and chipotle mayo on homemade pretzel buns.


Chili Spiced Smoked Turkey Breast

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 lbs turkey breast, bone in
• 3 cups mesquite wood chips
• 
  

Directions

1. Combine the first 10 ingredients.
2. Marinade Turkey breast in a large ziplock bag or dish for 2 hours.
3. Soak wood chips in water for at least 1 hour.
4. Drain the wood chips well and make a smoke 'bomb' using 1 cup of moistened wood chips wrapped in thick tin foil with numerous holes poked in it.
5. Heat BBQ to 350-400.
6. When heated turn off the right side. Place smoke 'bomb' on the side with the flame and the turkey breast, skin side up, on the right side of the grill.
7. Maintain temperature of grill at about 300 degrees.
   Allow meat to cook slowly using indirect heat until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees, approx 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
   
   These margaritas are a refreshing treat on a warm evening.  
   Frozen Mango Margaritas
   

   Ingredients

   • 1 (10-ounce) bag frozen diced mango
   • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
   • 2/3 cup tequila
   • 2 tablespoons Cointreau or other orange liqueur
   • 2 tablespoons sugar
   • 2 cups ice water

   Directions

   Put all the ingredients into your blender and blend until smooth.
   
   

Wordless Wednesday