Strawberry Spinach Salad

Salad Ingredients:
Spinach
Red onion, thinly sliced
Strawberries, sliced into thirds
Almonds, toasted

Dressing Ingredients:
1 1/2 T. lemon juice
2 T. white vinegar
1/3 c. sugar
1 T. vegetable oil
1 tsp. poppy seeds

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Pineapple and Vegetable Stir-Fry

Another delicious recipe that tastes like take out! This is the first time I have ever made stir-fry without using a seasoning packet. Making the sauce homemade is super easy, and this dish was surprisingly quick to throw together!

I chopped the vegetables up in the afternoon and put them in a Tupperware, and I let the chicken marinate in the fridge all day. When dinner time rolled around I put everything on the stove in a pan and viola, dinner was served!

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 T. soy sauce

2 T. rice vinegar

3 T. vegetable oil

1 T. ground ginger

1 medium red onion, cut into thin strips

1 can pineapple chunks (save the juice!)

3 green onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped into big chunks

3 cloves minced garlic

Sweet and Sour Stir Fry Sauce

5 T. red wine vinegar

5 T. sugar

3 T. tomato sauce

3 T. pineapple juice reserved from can

½ tsp. salt

Combine sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Cut the chicken into chunks. Place in a large Ziploc bag and toss with the soy sauce and vinegar. Let it marinate for at least 15 minutes, but the longer it marinates the better it will taste.

Cook the chicken in vegetable oil in a pan on the stove for 3 minutes. Set aside in a separate bowl the chicken and all the liquid.

In the same pan cook in vegetable oil the onions, green pepper, and when they’re done add the drained pineapple and cook for 1 minute longer. Add the garlic and ginger; cook everything together. Return the cooked chicken and liquid to the pan. Stir in the sweet and sour sauce and stir fry together for 2 minutes. Serve piping hot over white rice.

Mango Salsa

My good friend Shelly made this delicious mango salsa for our dinner group appetizer Friday night. It was a hit! She got this fantastic recipe from The Food Nanny on BYUtv. Shelly served it with tortilla chips, but I think it would also be good over tostadas, vegetarian enchiladas, salmon or just about anything else. This salsa is addicting!


2 large ripe mangoes, chopped
1/4 medium red onion, minced
1/4 small red pepper, minced
1/2 small green bell pepper, minced
1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped
3 T. chopped fresh cilantro
1 slice (1/2 inch) jalapeno chile, minced with seeds
juice of 2 limes
1/2 tsp. cider vinegar
salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Combine ingredients in a bowl ~ enjoy!

Crab & Mango Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

Wraps:

8 ounces cooked lump crabmeat (can also use imitation crab)
1 ripe mango, peeled, pit removed, and diced into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup diced jicama (peel, then dice)
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
3 green onions, white and part of the green, finely chopped
10 leaves Boston lettuce, washed and dried well (other lettuce can be substituted, but Boston lettuce works particularly well)



Orange Sesame Sauce:

2 tablespoons lime juice
1/3 cup orange-flavored yogurt
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper


Preparation:

Add crabmeat, mango, jicama, cilantro, and green onions to medium bowl and toss to blend well.
Fill each lettuce leaf with about 1/3 cup (or slightly heaping 1/4 cup) of crabmeat mixture.
In small bowl, whisk together lime juice, orange yogurt, soy sauce, sesame oil, and pepper until smooth.
Drizzle a tablespoon of the citrus sauce over the crab mixture inside each lettuce leaf and serve!


Yield:
5 appetizer servings (about 2 wraps each)

{ My younger sister, Stacie, another blonde domestic goddess. She made these wraps for my Mom's birthday dinner. They were amazing! }

Sparkling Lemon Water

5 quarts water
lemons (however many you want)
1 ½ cups sugar
1 T. Citric acid
1 T. Lemon extract

Slice lemons. Mix all ingredients together and pour over 1 bag crushed ice.

*you can special order citric acid through the drugstore OR I think Whole Foods carries it*

*this is good even without the citric acid*

{ This is perfect for bridal and baby showers! }