Orange Strawberry Salad with Orange Dressing

Ingredients:

Salad:

1 pkg. spring mix greens *

1 pint strawberries, sliced

1 large orange, peeled, cut into small pieces **

3 green onions, sliced

1 c. sliced almonds ***

4 T. butter

4 T. sugar

* I just used a head of green leaf lettuce. It's our favorite

** OR 3-4 clementines, cut in half

*** I thought 1 c. of almonds was WAY too much. So, I recommend 1/2 c. almonds and 2 T. butter and sugar.

Dressing:

1/2 t. grated orange peel, or orange zest

1/3. c. fresh orange juice (1-2 oranges) *

2 T. red wine vinegar

2 T. sugar

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 T. dry Italian dressing mix

* OR 3-6 clementines, depending on how juicy they are

Recipe:

1. Put all salad ingredients together in a large bowl.

2. To make the candied almonds, mix almonds, butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter and sugar turn to a toffee color, stir constantly. Spread on waxed paper to cool.

3. Combine all dressing ingredients in a jar or Ziploc bag and shake well.

4. Serve dressing on top of salad. Enjoy!

Rating: 4.5 of 5

Seriously, so good! I loved the dressing. I never would have thought of mixing orange juice with Italian dressing mix. But, it is delicious!!! Sweet and tangy all at the same time. Add it with the salad and BOOM! explosion of flavor! The salad itself is a salad. I mean, we've all had oranges or strawberries on lettuce. But, the oranges and strawberries combined are pretty delicious. I really liked this one. Definitely a keeper. I do think you could add chicken to this one and make a main dish out of it. It'd be pretty good....

Source: See Jane Cook, Orange Dressing with Orange Strawberry Salad

Fruit Salsa

Ingredients:

1 c. finely chopped strawberries

1/3 c. orange, peeled and finely chopped

2/3 c. kiwifruit, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 c. finely chopped fresh pineapple or one 8-oz can crushed pineapple, drained

1/4 c. green onion, thinly sliced

1/4 c. yellow or green sweet pepper, finely chopped

1 T. lime or lemon juice

1 fresh jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and chopped, optional

1 recipe Cinnamon Tortilla Crisps

Recipe:

1. In a bowl combine strawberries, orange, kiwifruit, pineapple, green onions, sweet pepper.

2. Cover and chill for 6-24 hours. If you're going to chill for longer than 6 hours, then stir in the strawberries just before serving.

3. Serve with Cinnamon Tortilla Crisps.

Rating: 4 of 5

Well, LaDon did not think this was going to be good at all. But, surprise! It actually was. The green onion is pretty strong among all the fruit, but it off-sets everything well. Also, the sweet pepper is noticeable but is good with the kiwi and strawberry. I will definitely make this again at some point.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, pg. 65

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

Dressing:

3/4 c. strawberry jam

1 t. salt

1/3 c. sugar

1/2 t. dry mustard

3/4 c. canola oil

1/2 c. red wine vinegar

Salad:

Spinach

green onions, sliced

fried wontons (you can buy uncooked wontons at the store and then just fry them in canola oil)

chopped mushrooms (optional)

sliced strawberries

chopped nuts (I like to use macadamia nuts or almonds)

Recipe:

1. Mix the dressing ingredients together in a blender, food processor, or with a whisk.

2. Place spinach in a bowl. Layer the remaining ingredients.

3. If serving the whole salad with the dressing, put on just before serving.

Rating: TBD

We do a cooking group in our ward twice a month, and honestly, I can't remember the specifics about all the salads I had that night. They were all oh-so-good! I'll have to make this one and then rate it.

Source: Stephanie Hansen

Breakfast Muffins

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. white sugar

2 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

3/4 c. milk

1 egg

1/3 c. butter, melted

1-2 t. vanilla *

1 c. fresh blueberries or other fruit, or chocolate chips (rinse and coat with flour to prevent sinking while cooking) **

*I added the vanilla to this recipe and I think it makes a subtle, but important difference.

** I really like loaded muffins so I add 2 c. of blueberries or whatever other fruit.

Recipe:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

2. Add milk, egg, butter, and vanilla; mix until ingredients are moistened, do not overbeat.

3. Stir in fresh fruit. Spoon batter into 12 greased muffin cups.

4. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until tops spring back when lightly touched.

Rating: 4 of 5

This is my favorite muffin recipe so far. Quick and easy. Little mess and tasty. And they freeze great! Daniel loves blueberry muffins so this is the perfect breakfast and snack for him!

Source: AllRecipes.com

Strawberry Bread

Ingredients:

2 c. fresh strawberries *

2 t. white sugar **

3 c. + 2 T. all-purpose flour

2 c. white sugar

1 T. ground cinnamon

1 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

1 1/4 c. vegetable oil

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/4 c. chopped pecans (optional)

* I actually doubled the amount of strawberries called for which led to a doubling of the 2 t. of sugar

** Doubled the sugar because of the double strawberries

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Lightly grease 2 5x9-inch loaf pans.

2. Slice strawberries and place in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with 2 t. sugar, and set aside. *

3. Combine flour, 2 c. sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl; mix well.

4. Blend oil and eggs into strawberries. Add strawberry mixture to flour mixture, blending until dry ingredients are just moistened. Stir in pecans. Divide batter into pans.

5. Make in the preheated oven for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely.

Rating: 5 of 5

At first glance this bread does not look appealing at all! I would describe what first popped into my mind when I sliced the bread, but then no one would want to try this recipe. Anyway, the best way that I can rate this bread is by saying: it's a strawberry version of banana bread. Basically, it's much more delicious than it looks. Oh! I also think this would look good, possibly taste good, with powdered sugar sprinkled on top.

Source: AllRecipes: Dinner Tonight, pg. 282

* So, I had started making this before I realized I had no eggs. So, the strawberries actually sat over night in the fridge. The bread still turned out fine, but as this was a first time recipe, I really didn't have anything to compare it to.

Strawberry Shortcakes

Ingredients:

1 quart strawberries, sliced

1 c. sugar

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 T. sugar

3 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

3/4 c. milk

1/3 c. margarine or butter, melted

Recipe:

1. Sprinkle strawberries with 1 c. of sugar; let stand 1 hour. *

2. Preheat the oven to 450.

3. Mix flour, 2 T. sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in milk and margarine just until blended.

4. Sprinkle a surface lightly with flour. Turn the dough onto the surface. Gently smooth into a ball.

5. Knead 20-25 times. Roll or pat dough 3/4 inch thick; cut into shortcakes with a floured 3 to 32 1/2 inch biscuit cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. **

6. Bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes.

7. Split warm shortcakes crosswise; fill and top with strawberries. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

* I put the strawberries back in the fridge for that hour.

** I don't have cookie or biscuit cutters and just used a large cup.

Rating: 4.5 of 5

I am not a huge fan of shortcake, but I thought this was pretty good. It actually tasted a lot like my Grandma's biscuits which are sooo good. You can never go wrong with strawberries and whipped cream though. LaDon declared it "perfect" while eating.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

(Sorry for the terrible picture - it was already mostly eaten!)

Ingredients:

1 c. white sugar

2 T. cornstarch

1 c. boiling water

1 3-oz. package strawberry flavored gelatin*

2 1/2 quarts fresh strawberries, stems removed**

1 9-inch pie crust, baked

Whipped cream (optional)***

*I didn't have strawberry, so used cherry. If I didn't know I used cherry, I probably wouldn't have been able to taste it.

**I sliced the strawberries so that it would be easier for Ally to eat

***We used vanilla ice cream as topping

Recipe:

1. In a saucepan, mix together the sugar and cornstarch; make sure to blend cornstarch in completely. Add boiling water and cook over medium heat until mixture slightly thickens. Remove from heat. Add gelatin and stir until smooth. Cover and let mixture cool to room temperature.

2. Place strawberries in baked pie crust, pointed ends facing up**. Pour cooled gelatin mixture over strawberries.

3. Refrigerate until set. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Rating: 3.5 of 5

We liked this recipe and think it's great with the ice cream. I do think it will probably be better with the strawberry flavored jello instead of cherry. This is a super quick and easy recipe and I didn't feel bad about eating it for breakfast!

Source: AllRecipe: Dinner Tonight book, pg. 319