We first ate a salad similar to this at Marketplace Grill. Strawberry blueberry salad is so very delicious with a bright taste, I just had to see if I could make something like it at home. Not only does it taste good, but it’s beautiful on the plate. While not an exact copy of their’s, this salad was certainly tasty last night! It needed no other seasonings besides the dressing and it had a good balance of crunch and crisp to it along with the juiciness of the berries.

I’m just going to list the ingredients I used. How much of each is entirely up to you.

Strawberry Blueberry Salad

• Mixed baby spring greens
• Mixed lettuces
• Chopped tomatoes
• Sliced strawberries
• Blueberries
• Pine nuts
• Pecan pieces
• Wheat germ
• Roasted, unsalted sunflower nuts
• Real bacon bits, low fat variety

While light, this salad was also very satisfying. You could add pieces of grilled chicken to it for a fuller meal feeling, but we enjoyed it just as it was. Yum!

Technorati Tags: salad, Marketplace Grill, Strawberry blueberry salad, chicken

We ate a late night salad, and I’ll share the salad ingredients in another post. What made this salad special is the vinaigrette that I made for it, since the salad had fruit in it. Here’s the recipe for

Strawberry Blueberry Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 whole large strawberries
• 10 blueberries
• 1 tsp. sugar or Splenda, or equal amount sweetener of your choice

Method

I put all the ingredients into my “bullet” food processor. I’m sure you could use a regular food processor or blender, though, if you don’t have a “bullet”. I processed it until the ingredients were completely blended and it was all emulsified.

This came out a beautiful deep grape color with tidbits of the fruits. It was simply delicious on our late night salad, and I’ll definitely be making this again. It makes enough to top four large salads, so if you need more you’ll need to multiply the recipe.

Technorati Tags: salad, vinaigrette, food processor, blender

When I had a few boarders staying with me, I began to think I might like to own and operate a real boarding house or Bed & Breakfast. I enjoy fixing meals and making people comfortable. I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to operate such an enterprise, but it seems like a good way to meet new people and do some of the things I love to do best - cook, decorate rooms, and see about finding interesting things to browse through in my home.

We are in an area where there is lots of tourism, especially just a few miles north of here. That’s where the mountains really start and there are lots of visitors to this area to take in the sights and enjoy the waterways. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to offer them the home style accommodations and food available in a bed & breakfast?

Technorati Tags: boarding house, cook, tourism, bed & breakfast

I know I’ve spoken fairly often about sweet iced tea, such as we make here in the south. I don’t remember ever posting how we make ours here at home, though.

Sweet Southern Iced Tea

Ingredients

• 1 quart cool water
• 4 regular sized tea bags
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• Ice

Method

You can either microwave this or use a pan on the stove. If using a pan, simmer until the tea begins to create a foam, then remove from heat. If using the microwave, place tea bags and water into a microwave save bowl. Microwave for 8 minutes.

While the tea is brewing, put the sugar in to a half-gallon container. If it’s made of glass, you’ll also need to add a cup of cool water and stir the sugar. Otherwise, add nothing else to it. When the tea is finished brewing, pour it hot into the pitcher with the sugar and stir well. Add ice and cold water to fill the pitcher.

That’s all there is to it. Sweet southern iced tea, ready to enjoy on a hot afternoon. Add lemon if you wish, of course, and less sugar if you don’t like it as sweet.

The secret to sweet tea that’s served in the south is to be sure and melt the sugar with the hot tea. That really infuses the tea with all that sweetness and you have no grainy residue in the bottom of the pitcher. It also seems to make your tea come out clear and a beautiful reddish brown color. Serve it over plenty of ice!

Technorati Tags: sweet iced tea, microwave, tea, southern iced tea

I don’t know if this is a national chain or not, but it’s where we ate our lunch today. Elizabeth met us in town and that’s where she wanted to eat. We didn’t mind at all because they do a very good job on the sandwiches there. The sandwich buns are of a hearty size, both the tops and bottoms, unlike many places that have rather skimpy burger buns.

The burgers are plenty meaty, with good toppings such as sweet purple onions, romaine lettuce, and ripe sliced tomatoes. I got the waffle fries with mine. Brandon andf Elizabeth both got seasoned fries. These aren’t the curly ones that some places have. They are straight fries.

Even though I work in fast food, I really do enjoy Backyard Burgers’ offerings.

Technorati Tags: sandwiches, sandwich buns, burgers, waffle fries, seasoned fries, Backyard Burgers

Some of you probably have either home based businesses or online businesses. That’s great because either one can give you certain freedoms. A business opportunity that allows you to set your own hours also allows you to dedicate some time to volunteering for local charities can be very fulfilling. You can also dedicate a portion of your earnings toward financial contributions to those charities.

Which charities? It’s totally up to you. Everyone has their favorites - organizations that speak to their hearts or touch their lives in some way.

Technorati Tags: business, volunteering, charities, contributions

I was reading at MomsDailyDose.com a bit ago and she listed 6 benefits of using coconut oil. I have to say, I keep coconut oil here all the time. It’s a beneficial oil to use in cooking but it’s also great for a makeup remover.

Coconut oil isn’t too expensive to keep on hand for all kinds of uses.

I also keep a variety of other oils on hand. Olive oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, sesame oil, and peanut oil all have a place in my pantry and I use them according to what I’m cooking. You’ll notice “vegetable oil” isn’t listed. I don’t use it. It’s soybean oil and I try to avoid soybeans whenever I can.

Technorati Tags: MomsDailyDose.com, coconut oil, Olive oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, sesame oil, peanut oi, soybean oil

Right now, I have a great four-board farmhouse kitchen table and six ladderback chairs to go around it. That table is an antique and was hand built. It’s tough as nails and has withstood children climbing on it and me crafting on it. Yet, it’s still solid and steady.

If I had a separate dining room, though, I’d want nice dining room furniture to put in it. Maybe a golden oak pedestal table with claw feet and some pressback chairs to go around it. I’d even make a table runner to go down the middle of it, and put a basket of fruit in the center. To me, this setup is inviting and friendly without being terribly casual.

Technorati Tags: kitchen table, ladderback chairs, pedestal table, pressback chairs

Some might say that describes my legs, but in this case I’m talking about actual chicken legs.

Although we plan to go out for lunch, I’ve got chicken legs thawed right now for later this evening. I’ll put them in to brine while we’re gone, then when we get home I’ll make a full fledged fried chicken dinner. I think I’ve mentioned before that brining meat such as chicken or pork improves the flavor and makes the meat more moist.

To us, a full fried chicken dinner includes either rice or mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, and a couple of vegetables such as green beans and corn. It’s comfort food.

Technorati Tags: chicken, brine, fried chicken, comfort food

As I told you earlier, our children gave us an anniversary dinner one year that I have never forgotten. It was such a touching moment, how could I? There are always special ways to celebrate anniversaries and I am sure you’d have no problem thinking of some very creative ones.

For those extra special anniversary gifts, though, you need to take it a step further. CanvasOnDemand.com can supply you with probably the most beautiful gift you can imagine. You just send them a digital photo of the couple who is celebrating an anniversary and they will enlarge it and put it on a canvas. I’ve got one of these of my late husband, and it’s gorgeous.

Mine is a 16 by 20 inch enlargement on canvas and I have it sitting on top of the organ in my living room. They were able to do some touch-ups on it to remove the black marks his radiation therapist put on his face. The shot itself depicts Danny and his love of animals.

Believe me when I tell you, this would make an outstanding anniversary gift for your parents, grandparents, or anyone else you love.

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