Not your everyday FRUIT Salads.

Hopefully, I'm not too late for your weekend menu planning. I want to share with you a couple quick salads that include fruit, and a few links to some salads that I've shared in the past, to help with this weekends menu.

When someone says "fruit salad" do you automatically think of that mushy stuff with maraschino cherries in it, that was served on our lunch trays? Fruit Cocktail. My grandma tried to pass it off as dessert on occasion. Us kids, we weren't buying it, Yuck! I do appreciate a nice bowl of fresh fruit, cut up and tossed together, with nothing but their natural juices. But that's not what I'm talking about either.

The blue is hiding in this picture, but this salad is perfect for Independance Day because it's Red/White and Blue! It will look perfectly patriotic on your table!

I have shared a very similar salad with you before. This time I threw in some blueberries. Apple chunks also work well in this salad. This salad is terribly easy, and is always a hit. I know some of you have a goat cheese aversion, so to you I say GET OVER IT! Goat Cheese rocks. Sorry...what I really meant to say was, you can also use Feta Cheese if you prefer. Please and thank you .

Red White and Blue Salad

printable recipe

1 large head Red Romaine

1 pint Strawberries, sliced

2 cups Blueberries

1/2 Red Onion, sliced thin

1 cup Caramelized Pecans (How to caramelize pecans can be found here.)

5 ounces Goat Cheese

1 bottle Poppy Seed Salad Dressing

Clean lettuce and tear into bite sized pieces, place in shallow salad dish. Layer sliced strawberries, blueberries, sliced onion, pecans, and crumbled goat cheese over lettuce. Serve with dressing on the side.

The colors in this next salad aren't quite as patriotic, but I promise you will be whistling Dixie after you have your first bite!

My sister served us this salad last week. It is so simple and so perfectly scrumptious! I wanted to push my burger aside and eat only it.

Clean and pit peaches. Then slice into thin wedges.

Peach Salad

printable recipe

4 Peaches, sliced thin

1/4 of a Red Onion, sliced thin

1/4 cup Basil, chopped

1 lemon, juiced

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 teaspoon Course Salt

fresh cracked Pepper, to taste

After slicing peaches, slice onion very thin, chop basil, toss together with juice of one lemon, olive oil, coarse salt, and cracked pepper. Voila! Easy peasy scrump-dilly-icious Peach Salad!

The following are just a few of my tried and true favorites. I have served them over and over again, and they never get old.

Mini Wedge

Heart of Palm Salad

Caprese Salad

Napa Cabbage Salad

Sheesh after all this talk about salad I'm raring to get choppin'!!! I hope you are too.

Do you have a favorite salad you bring to picnics?

I would love for you to share it. If you have a blog post on it, leave the link in the comments. You can also find some other great Red White and Blue inspirations at Add a Pinch, go check it out!

Have a great weekend!

Drive safe and don't burn your fingers with the Sparklers!

Pico de Gallo and Guacamole

I told you I had a few things that I would throw at you before I move. Guacamole has to be one of the most frequently requested recipes that I make. I have posted a guacamole recipe or two, but I have never put this simple, fresh, limey, and I guess I could also say traditional guacamole to the page. There is a catch.....you can't make guacamole with out first making pico de gallo. Did I hear someone say "yes you can"? Well, whatever...this momma say, "you can't". Not if you want yourself some really good guacamole. And hey a little pico on the side never hurt anyone did it?

Get out your best choppin' up knife, a cutting board, and get prepared to chop.

It's best for the chip and for distribution of the flavors if you are careful to chop all your vegetables small. Not chunky. Small. Not minced. Just small...itsy bitsy.

Same for the tomatoes. First cut in half.

Then slice through again lengthwise, then slice into thin strips, all the while keeping the tomato together. This takes a sharp knife. Dull knifes are the DEVIL. Then slice the tomato through again crosswise and there you have it perfect, itsy bitsy diced tomaters!

Traditionally pico de gallo or fresh salsa is simply tomatoes, onions, jalapeno, cilantro and lime, but I have this love affair with red bell peppers that I cannot shake. I love him. Red Bell pepper come to momma....I know I'm playing with fire. Let's let this be our secret. I'm going to use just half of him this time. Slice in half, remove the white foamy membrane and seeds, cut in long thin strips and then cut again crosswise for those itsy bitsy pepper pieces.

Now for the hot one. Jalapeno. I use one whole jalapeno pepper, if you like less heat only use a half, if you like more heat then bring it on brother, use more!

Chop off the stem.

You may want to wear plastic gloves while working with jalapenos or any pepper with heat. If you choose not to wear some sort of cooking glove, then I suggested not rubbing your eyes or picking your nose at any time during or after the jalapeno chopping process. I would actually suggest that you refrain from nose picking entirely while cooking, but that's just my opinion. (I've got a funny booger recipe that I will have to share with you sometime...now is not the time, but I promise someday I will share.)

Slice in half, revealing the seeds.

Using your sharp knife, run the tip of the knife underneath the seeds. Removing them and the white membrane in one quick slice.

Voila!

Now for the mincing. Slice pepper into very thin strips, then take knife and chop like a maniac. Chop, chop, chop, chop don't stop until you have very tiny micro bits of jalapeno pepper.

You will need some of this. Morton Nature's Seasoning is my favorite seasoning....I think I've said that before. I use it everyday. It's a perfect salty seasoning blend. Get yourself some.

As you chop your vegetables place them in a bowl, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the seasoning salt.

The most tedious task of this whole recipe, for me anyway, is the cleaning and de-stemming of the cilantro. Run your Cilantro through a salad spinner, getting it nice and clean. Or if you don't have one of those doo-hickeys then run cilantro under cold water and lay out on paper towels to dry. Remove leaves from stems. You will need a good handful or approximately 1/3 cup cilantro, roughly chopped.

Let it get all cozy with the other ingredients, give the cilantro a toss.

That looks fabulous, does it not??? But there is one more ingredient that is not to be forgotten.

THE LIME.

Roll, roll, roll your lime...gently on the table...give it a squish with your palm, and cut through the.....

meeeedle.

Ah the songs of my youth! Seriously if you roll the lime along the counter with some pressure, it will loosen the juices on the inside and make it easer to juice. If you have a juicer well then great, if not you can join me in my fork juicing method.

Fork juicing method 101: After rolling, and cutting in half, hold one half of the citrus in the palm of your less dominant hand, ram the fork into the middle of the citrus....

Squeeze hard while twisting the fork. Squeeze, twist....squeeze, twist....the juice will run flow freely from the citrus. It's marvelously simple.

Toss the chopped vegetables with the lime juice. Take tortilla chip in a pincer grip, scoop some pico on the chip, and enjoy!

Oh but wait....now you need to make Guacamole! Have you ever heard this song? It makes me giggle.

Look at that. It takes my breath away. The color. I really need to paint a room in my house this color. I'll get right on that one...NOT. I hate to paint walls. I leave that up to the professionals.

Slice avocado in half. Whack your very sharp knife into the pit, and give a tiny twist to remove.

Now cut vertically and horizontally, like so, using the tip of your knife, with out cutting through the skin.

If you are civilized you can take a spoon and gracefully scoop out the flesh of the avocado, or if you are sufficiently uncivilized like myself you can give the avocado half a squeeze and squish it's innards out into a bowl.

Repeat the roll, roll, roll of the lime. Squeeze one entire lime into the avocados. I think that more lime is better, so feel free to add another half of a lime, or more. Always taste as you go. As they say the proof is in the puddin' or in this case the quac.

Mash the lime into the avocados with the back of a fork.

Add 1 cup of the pico de gallo that you just made.

Give it a stir. There you have it heaven in a bowl.

Pico de Gallo & Guacamole

printable recipe

Pico

4 Roma Tomatoes, diced

1 medium sweet Onion, diced

1/2 Red Bell Pepper, diced

1 Jalapeno Pepper, minced

1 hand full fresh Cilantro leaves rough chopped, or 1/3 cup chopped

1 teaspoon Mortons Nature's Seasoning Salt

1 Lime, juiced

Guac

4 ripe Avacodos

1 Lime, juiced

1 cup Pico de Gallo

What's the saying? "It ain't over till the fat lady sings." No that's not it. "All is fair in love an war." "A monkey in silk is a monkey no less." "Great minds think alike." No that's not it either. Hmmm..."what's good for the goose is good for the gander". OO OO OO I got it....

"It's not a party with out some GuacaMoleee, bay-beh."!

Alls well that ends well,

Spicy Ginger Coleslaw the perfect side for a BBQ!

One of my favorite Summer side dishes is Coleslaw! Unfortunately, quite often coleslaw can be boring. Average. Not worthy of seconds. Add some extra carrots, tart apple and the zing of fresh ginger, and Oh! let's not forget the cayenne pepper, and you will be going back for thirds!!

Spicy Ginger Coleslaw

printable recipe

1 14 ounce bag Coleslaw

1/2 Red Bell Pepper sliced thin

1 cup or half a bag matchstick Carrots

1 Granny Smith Apple shredded (or any other tart variety)

1 tablespoon fresh Ginger grated

1 cup Mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tablespoon Sugar...more if you like your slaw sweeter

1/2 teaspoon Morton's Natures Seasonings Salt

1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper...more if you like it spicy

1/2 teaspoon Coleman's Mustard Powder

salt and pepper to taste

Paprika for garnish

In a large mixing bowl combine bag of coleslaw, matchstick carrots, shredded apple, and Red Bell Pepper cut into thin strips. Toss to combine. In a smaller bowl whisk together mayonnaise, grated ginger, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and seasonings. If you like spicy don't be afraid to add more cayenne, or more sugar if you prefer a sweeter slaw. Make it your own...I will never know (wink). Pour dressing over slaw mixture, fold until combined. Give it a taste, add salt and pepper if you feel the need. Transfer to a smaller bowl and sprinkle with paprika to make it look purdy.

Spicy Ginger Coleslaw made a slaw lover out of my Kenny. He is not one for salads with mayonnaisey dressings, but this one has enough flavor and crunchy texture from the apple, pepper, and extra carrots, that is has won him over.

Pair this coleslaw with these BBQ Ribs.......

Or with these Hawaiian Burgers. Is it just me or do you have a hard time spelling Hawaiian? It's a freaky word to me...anyway...however you spell it, these burgers are amaaaZING!

Then add these Taters.....

And this SCRUMPTIOUS Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp, from my gal Heather at Down Home with the Nesbits and you will be the BBQ QUEEN guaranteed!!!

There you have it I just put your next outdoor BBQ Menu together for you! Like I said you will be the BBQ Queen, unless that is you are of the male persuasion then you will be the BBQ King.

Looking for some more great summer recipe ideas? Head over to my friend Kim's new blog Recipes to Run On!

Have a great weekend!

LUV yuh!

SHRIMP boil

Two days ago we returned from family camp, we look forward to this week all summer, but when it's done it marks the end of another summer. We get back and it's time to get in "back to school" mode. I strongly dislike back to school mode. I dislike it because I am reminded of all the things I wanted to do this summer but did not. This summer most of those things were project type things.....so I guess I can put them on my list of things to do when the kids go back to school. Ugh, the procrastinator side of me is groaning......

One thing our summer did not lack of was time with friends. Right from the get go we were making the most of our summer. One thing we try to do at least once a summer is a Shrimp Boil, it's always extra fun if we do it with a family that has never done it before.

Our good friends invited us to a Boil a couple years ago. And after several phone calls to my friend Rebecca I got the Shrimp Boil thing down, kinda. We have done several of our own since. Sometimes in our backyard. Sometimes at the beach. It's always a bit of a trial and error process...but it is always a blast.

Back in July, if you remember, we rented a cottage with Big D and her family. The last night at the cottage our good friends the Boumas joined us and we decided to end our stay at the beach with a BANG!

There is nothing like fresh air, boiling shrimp and lots and lots of butter!

This particular night we had 8 adults and 11 kiddos around our shrimp boil table. Needless to say...in the hub-ub of everything (the Sangria might have added to problem too...sometimes these things will slow you down) I did not quite get all the pictures I would have like to get, so you would have the absolute full on immersion of how a Shrimp Boil is done from beginning to end. I also did not have all my stuff that I am used to using from home.....since we were at a rental, but we made it work. I am hoping you will get the general idea and maybe give it a try before summer is over.

Here is what you will need more or less:

click here for your printing pleasure

Red (small) potatoes 1 per person

Small onions, 1 for every 2 people

Sweet corn, 1 cob per person, cut in 1/2

1 lb of shrimp (unpeeled) , per 2 adults

2 Zaturans Shrimp boil Seasoning bags, more if you like spicy (usually come 2 bags in a box)

Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausages cut in 1" chunks (we used 1 lb)

lemon wedges

salt and pepper shakers

Hot Sauce/Cholula

sticks of melted butter or Squeezy Butter

cocktail sauce (if you like)

2-4 loaves of fresh French Baguettes

paper towels/napkins, several medium to small bowls for shells and cobs, newspaper or butchers paper, Turkey Fryer with large pot(18-20+quart)&strainer, a long table

We have never put sausages in with our Shrimp Boil before, but we had so many kiddos and some of them where scrunching their noses at the sound of shrimp eaten on news paper so we thought what the heck...and it was great and the kids loved it! Yeah! "You say Hillshire", "I'll say Farm" GO MEAT!

So you want to get your ingredients all prepped. Thaw the shrimp. Clean the potatoes, onions, and corn. Cut up sausage if using. Get your butter out and in dishes or if you want to make it really easy buy some of the squeezy butter in bottles and sit it on the table. Cut up your lemon wedges.

You will want to prepare the table well before people get there, or if you are us you send the kids out with news paper and tape and let them have at it! You definitely want to make sure that the table has at least two layers of paper on it. Then when the meal is finished you can just roll up the mess and voila, presto change-O! throw it in the garbage and your mess is all gone!

Also set out the salt/pepper shakers, sauces, paper towels, baskets for bread, bowls for shells and cobs.

NOTICE: there is not dinnerware involved in this meal. This can be a problem for some guest. If you sense they are ready to pack it up and head out, then by all means get them a plate, but most people with a little nudge, will see that it is really fun, and they will get over it and dig in. Full on drop their face on the table kinda fun!

This is our turkey fryer. We love this guy. He has allowed us to have many fond memories with family and friends. You want to get the gas hooked up to your fire thingy and get that going a good 1/2 hour before you are ready to start cooking so about an hour before you want to eat. Fill the pot to the fill line if there is one or about 2/3 full.

Throw your spice bags in. And get the water to a full rolling boil.

The key to the shrimp boil it the timing, which means remembering what to put in the pot when and how long it needs to cook. So here is the time line more or less. Our pot was full of vegi's because of the number of people so we had to do the boil in two stages.

time line:

20 minutes potatoes

15 minutes corn and onions

5 minutes out sausages if you do them

**now if you were going to do it in two stages you would pour this out on your table
2-3 minutes for the shrimp

That is what Big D's man is doing here dumping the vegi's out on the table. Then you want to have your shrimp ready...stick the strainer back in the boiling water, make sure you have the seasoning packets in the water (they might have gotten dumped out on the table). Throw the shrimp in boiling water...this will go super duper fast. Sing yourself a rousing rendition of your favorite T.V. shows theme song.....like maybe Gilligan's Island or something and then the Shrimpys will be done. It only take the shrimp 2-3 minutes max! As soon as they are all pink pull those babies out of the water and dump them out on top of the other goodies. But if you have a big enough pot, by all means do it all together, just add the shrimp in 2-3 minutes before the rest is done.

There are the taters and corn all lonely waiting for the shrimps!

AAAh there they are!

It will look like your table is kinda strewn with food, and maybe like there is not enough. But believe me if you follow the list above there will be plenty. We always have leftover shrimp...well almost always.

My heart aches when I look at this picture. It was so much fun. Truly I have never done a boil or been to a boil that hasn't been overwhelmingly memorable...like you don't want the meal and the conversation and the laughs to end.

You can pull chairs up, we have. But this night we stood.

It takes time this meal, the peeling of the shrimp, the tearing of the bread. It's a little bit of work, but great memories and conversations revolve around this type of meal. Look at those cutie patootie faces....oooh it's killing me.

Peel and eat shrimp!

It's fun to see who has the biggest pile of shells and cobs next to them. Pig! Oinker! "hey save some for the rest of us we're starvin' down here!".

I usually don't serve a whole lot else when I do a Shrimp Boil. Maybe a light appetizer, but you want people to come to the table full of anticipation, and hungry tummies.

Oh yeah this is serious business...as you see my son otherwise known as HotSauce he has the hot sauces all lined up.

That's Big D and her ginormous girls...the are giantesses (giant cutie PIES that is!). These two love the "tradition" of the Shrimp Boil with the Johnsons! Big D was not just wearing a towel to the table in case you wondered. We were at the beach, that is her bathing suit cover up. (She is going to kill me....)

Here is the reason three woman in Michigan get up everyday and thank the Lord above. I am not joking. These three are the nicest, sweetest, funniest (well the two on the outside are funny anyway) guys you will ever meet. Hearts of gold these three! They have known each other since high school, maybe before. Mr. Bouma is on the right. This guys is funny just breathing. He does a killer impersonation (no pun intended) of a dead man floating in the water....not funny you say...well not until you have seen Mr. B do it on the beach with 80 million kids running around...somehow it is just gut busting hilarious. Big D's hubby is on the left. He always makes everyone smile and my kids think he is the best ever. And the one in the middle is my Kenny of course. You gotta luv um. We do. I think this pictures is what frames were meant for.

Two weeks from today school starts here in Michigan. We intend to make the most of these last days of summer. Hoping you are too!