Happiness Is A Basket of Strawberries.......

Strawberries are one fruit we have in our house all year long, blueberries as well.  They are full of antioxidants and fiber, fight bad cholesterol, are anti-inflammatory and last but not least my favorite, they're anti-aging! What a great little fruit they are.  Strawberries have so many good things about them, besides the fact that they are just plain delicious and sweet. 

I try to find many ways to use my strawberries, outside of putting them in cereal or just eating them out of the box. I do put them in many different kinds of salads that I make, because we eat a lot of salad in this house too. Plain salad with vegetables is boring to me, so I like to push things up to a new level with salads, especially when that is the main course.  I made this fruit-full salad last night and it was spectacular! It was so filling I didn't need a dessert and still wasn't hungry when I woke up this morning. Check it out and make it, you'll love it.

Recipe Below.

I started with 2 boxes of greens, one was a mix and one was spinach. Don't mind the organic labels, unless you are an organic food eater.  This is what I buy, I have an organic vegan in the house so you all know how that goes.  I also used romaine in my salad for crunchiness.

Toss the lettuces together in a large bowl. Some of my ingredients.

 I added in a few more ingredients and chicken.

 Building the salad with all this healthy deliciousness.

 And what is a salad without cheese, any kind of cheese, and crispy wonton strips.

 And, what can I say about glazed pecans, they're so good! You could also use sliced 

almonds or walnuts if you like.

 Dice up and add the chicken breasts after they cool so your salad doesn't wilt.

 Now the best part, the Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette, it's awesome!

All ready to go.

 Let's Eat!

Hearty Chicken and Strawberry Salad

Ingredients for Salad

2 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 Tbsp. olive oil

salt and pepper

6 cups of mixed greens, washed

1 large head of romaine lettuce, washed and chopped

1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup matchstick carrots

1/2 red onion, sliced

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup bacon bits

1 cup crispy wonton strips

1/2 cup glazed pecans

Ingredients for Dressing

1 cup Strawberry Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 cup Olive Oil

1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt

1/4 tsp. Cracked Black Pepper

1/8 tsp. Cayenne Pepper, more if you like heat

Shake vigorously in a jar until all is combined.

Instructions

In a frying pan over medium high heat, add the olive oil and heat until hot.  Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides.  Cook the chicken breasts for 8 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.  Cover with a lid, turn off the heat, let cool.

In a large bowl, toss all the greens together.  Add the strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, carrots, onion, feta, bacon, wonton strips and glazed pecans. Add chicken around the sides of the bowl.

Toss with desired amount of dressing. 

Makes 4-6 servings

Awesome Vegetable Pasta Salad

My friend and I bounce different food and cooking ideas off each other all the time. We both have shared many old recipes and ways of making special food dishes.  Summer is here and to keep the kitchen cool and bellies full, lots of salads will be served over the next few months.  I usually back away from preparing heavy meals during the hotter months, I don't like to eat a lot when its hot.

So, my friend shared this great pasta salad recipe with me and now I will share it with you. It's great tasting, full of veggies, that's a plus in my book, and good for you too.  You can switch out the regular pasta for whole grain or wheat if you like.

Recipe below. 

To print recipe, click on it, highlight and print.

To view photos in a larger format, click on them.

I use Barilla pasta for my salad, I think its the best dry pasta around.  Fresh carrots, red and yellow bell peppers and English cucumbers.  The colors all mixed together are so pretty!

 Get the salted pasta water going on the stove and when it boils, toss the pasta in and stir.  I make mine al dente so they hold up in the salad.

 And while that water is coming to a boil, cut up those veggies and set aside.  I also use a can of black sliced olives in my salad.

 Drain the pasta when it's done, and run cold water through it until it's cooled.  Don't worry, you don't need that starch in there, rinse it off!

 Toss the pasta with the veggies in a large storage container. 

 Add cheeses.......

 and the golden Italian Dressing, it's the best.  Toss all together and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Vegetable Pasta Salad

Ingredients

1 lb. box of Barilla Pasta

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

3 whole carrots

1 large English cucumber

1 small can of sliced black olives, optional

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups of any brand golden Italian dressing

Directions

Start a pot of salted water on the stove.  When water comes to a boil, add the pasta and stir.  While pasta is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Seed and chop the peppers, peel and dice the carrots, peel and chop the cucumber.  When pasta is cooked al dente, a little hard in the center,  drain and run under cold water until cooled.  Make sure pasta is completely drained and transfer to a large storage container.  Toss the veggies and olives in and mix together.  Add the cheeses and mix. Add the dressing and stir it in.  Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  Salad may need extra dressing as it may be absorbed by the pasta.

Old Fashion Cucumber Salad

I was reminiscing the other day about foods my mom always use to make.  Cucumber salad was one.  I  would eat the whole bowl when she made it.  I loved cucumbers as a kid and I think her salad was the reason why.  When I think about how she made it or where her recipe came from, I found it odd that she used cloves in it.  But let me tell you, it's fantastic.  I don't know why the cloves make it taste better, they just do.  I think I duplicated her recipe pretty well.  I will get my sister to be the judge, she will know for sure.

Into a bowl - 3 English cucumbers, peeled, cut in half then sliced.  I used 1/2 of a red onion and 1/2 of a Vidalia onion, cut them in half then sliced them.  

Add 2 teaspoons of kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, 1 tablespoon of whole cloves and 1/2 cup of sugar, stir together.   Pour 1 1/2 cups of apple cider vinegar and 1/2 cup of water over the top and stir to combine. 

Cover the salad with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 2 - 2 1/2 hours.  Stir twice during that time.  After the salad has sat at room temp, drain the salad of some of the juice.  Stir, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Linguine With Fresh Clam Sauce

As I have noted in previous blogs, we eat a lot of pasta, we love it and make it so many ways.  The hubby and the kids enjoy Linguine and Clams, I am not a fan of clams, but I thought I could just eat the sauce and the pasta.  It's funny, I used to eat them when I was little, steamed and dipped in butter and thought they were so good, now I don't like the taste of them.  I bought a bag of fresh clams at Wegman's on Sunday and made my version of Linguine With Clam Sauce for the family.  This is how I made it -

The Clams - Cleaned and getting ready to be steamed.

One of my favorite store bought pastas.

Some white wine, lemon, lemon zest, garlic, fresh parsley, salt, pepper and butter.

Mixing up the good stuff!

Add more good flavor.

And the clammies!

Look at that sauce.....uumm uumm good!

Toss it all together and you have heaven in a bowl!

Don't forget the crusty bread, you don't want to leave any of the juice.

I served my pasta with a Greek salad made up of field greens, sliced tomato, feta cheese and Greek salad dressing.  A little wine for the cook, a white Merlot, very tasty.  Dinner was fabulous and this will definitely be on my pasta night dinner menu, coming up in June.  Buon Appetito!

Oh, and do not forget dessert.  What a better way to top off a great meal than Tiramisu Gelato, so good.

Linguine With Fresh Clams

Ingredients

1 box Barilla linguine

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, more if you like heat

4 big cloves garlic, minced

1 cup white wine, I use Pinot Gregio

50 littleneck clams, scrubbed

1/4 cup Italian parsley,chopped

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
3 tablespoons butter
1 lemon
Parmigiano - Reggiano cheese

Directions

Start a large pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a boil.  When it boils, add the pasta and cook to your liking. In another large steamer pot with a basket, fill 1/4 of the way with water.  Wash the dirt off the clams, then spread them out in the basket of the steamer pot.  Steam the clams on medium high heat until they open.  While the pasta and clams get going, in a heavy skillet on medium heat, add the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan.  Add the pepper flakes and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes, be careful not to burn the garlic. Take pan off the burner, reduce heat to simmer, add the wine, return pan to the burner. When clams are steamed, remove about 40 of the clams from their shells (reserve 10 for garnishing the pasta) and chop them up (discard any unopened shells) add to the garlic wine sauce, cover and simmer for 5 -7 minutes.  Mix together the parsley, oregano, lemon zest, salt and pepper in a bowl, set aside.  Drain the pasta, pour back into the pan and toss with the clam mixture, 2 small ladles of clam juice (from the steam pot, skim it off the top), the butter, parsley mixture and juice of a whole lemon.  Toss until the butter melts.  Serve in a large bowl and lay the reserved clams on top, sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley and serve with grated Parmigiano - Reggiano cheese .  Makes 6 servings.