Strawberry Spinach salad-Simple!!

So this a a quick throw together thing that I love.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  I know my husband gets sick of this cause I want to eat it all the time.  What can you expect...I'm pregnant and have to feed those cravings.  If he doesn't want his...I eat it too!!

This is one of the reasons I almost always have strawberries on hand.  Even in the winter  splurge and buy them.  Or I get them in my bountiful basket and then I don't feel guilty at all.  

So strawberries cut into bite sized pieces

I love baby spinach, but if the bunches of regular spinach are only $0.78 I can't really justify in buying the bags of baby spinach.  So I just cut off the stems and tear it up.  Then add the cut strawberries and top with this awesome poppyseed dressing(below).  I buy mine at the local Winco.  Love this salad, it's almost like a dessert to me. 

The oval sticker above says it's good on fresh peaches.....MMMM I tried it and totally prefer it with the strawberries!!

Is this one more readable?  

Enjoy this simple salad!

7-Up Chicken-Dutchoven turned oven recipe.

Got this awesome recipe from my Aunt Verla years ago and my Mom figured out how to do it in the oven.  Easily a family favorite, Home style meal.

Makes a lot, so you may want to half it.  Serves 8-10 depending on how much chicken you want.

Basic ingredients: 

1/2-1 pound bacon

little flour

8 chicken breast or 12 thighs

Lawry's seasoning salt

Garlic powder

pepper

Carrots 

potatoes

onions

1 can of 7-UP

Butter/margarine

Fry up bacon.  I cut mine before with my chicken shears to make it easier. 

Then  place your bacon in the roasting pan.  Save the bacon grease to brown your chicken.

Flour your chicken breast and then pan fry them in the bacon grease.  Add more oil if needed.

Then placed browned chicken breasts  in roasting pan.  Season LIBERALLY with Lawry's seasoning salt, garlic powder, and pepper.  This is where it gets most of the flavor.  I do it over board and then do some more.  You can always add it later in your cooking if it isn't flavorful enough for you.

I just use baby carrots so I don't have to cut them.  (I go for easy) And then I quarter a large onion when I'm making a half batch, but quantities all depend on your own preference of vegetables.

Then I peel the potatoes and throw them through my Bosch food processor french fry cutter (Love my Bosch)  A whole post in itself I'm telling you!!

Add 1 cube of butter/margarine, 1 cup of water, a can of 7-up and into the oven at 350 degrees.  Now depending on the size of your potatoes it can take between almost 1.5-2.5 hours .  With my potatoes cut like this 1.5 hours is usually sufficient.  If you are still in a dutch oven, it cooks over hot coals for about 45 minutes -1 hour. 

NOTE: this is not a meal that freezes well for later,unless you removed some for freezing before all the vegetables are done.  Otherwise you loose all the texture once you freeze it.  I suggest just halving and eating leftovers for a small family.

Strawberry cream muffins!!

 Strawberry Cream Muffins (or Raspberry)-

Taste of Home cupcakes and Muffin magazine

submitted by Stephanie Moon-Nampa ID.

This recipe is awesome, just a slight change that we did (okay really I only cut strawberries and then filled the muffin tins and my hubby did the rest!!  I know I'm spoiled rotten), but they were so tasty.  The best from scratch muffin I've ever had.  So delicious that they almost could pass for a cupcake!!  And I know I haven't really had recipes on here before, but I'm really trying this year to branch out and find new great recipes, so I'll throw them in every once in a while.  And if I find a good recipe, I'm always up for sharing.

Ingredients

1c. fresh raspberries (we used strawberries diced small)

¾ c sugar (we used 1 c.)

¼ c. butter softened

1 egg

½ tsp almond extract

½ tsp vanilla extract

2 ¼ c flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 c. half and half

1 c. finely chopped vanilla or white choc chips

Streusel

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp sugar

In a small bowl toss raspberries/ diced strawberries with ¼ c. (we did a ½c. from looking at other fruit muffin recipes) sugar; set aside. So if you you don't love sweet muffins go with the 1/4 c.

In large mixing bowl cream butter and other ½ c sugar. Beat in egg and extracts.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt: or just add to cream mixture alternately with cream.  Stir in chips (we put them in my little chopper so they were very small) and the reserved fruit.

This is after I had 12 muffin in tins. I had to make a few more.  Darn it leftovers!!

Fill greased or paper filled muffin tins ¾ full-full.  Combine the brown sugar and remaining sugar and sprinkle on top for the streusel.  

Bake 375 for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes and then remove to wire rack.  Make 12-16 muffins. 

I'm telling you these are a GOT TO try!!  Love them!

Stayed tuned for the fun Valentine's things I made up this weekend!  Way fun!!