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!

farmers market GIVEAWAY!

Because I picked my first tomatoes off my plants in my back yard last week.

Because it's the third week of August and the crops are at their peak.

Because I want you to GET OUT THERE and visit your local farmers market.

Because I just happened to be putzing around in the Model Drugstore in Holland Mi., and came across a few super cute things I could not resist buying.

Because of all the above....oh yeah AND because it has been WAY way too long since I have done a giveaway...feels like nearly an eternity since my last giveaway.

Because of ALL these things. I am doing a giveaway. And I'm as giddy as a girl in the front row of a Bon Jovi concert about it! It's been hard containing myself regarding these items for nearly a week. Are you sitting down?

I am giving away a cute bag...that looks like a strawberry. A colander with strawberry holes in it. A paring knife that has strawberries on it. AND brace yourself a pen that has a strawberry design! I KNOW, I know...it's a strawberrylicious GIVEAWAY!

I fit six large oranges in the colandar, just so you know it's not a mini colandar.

The pen even smells like strawberries! Just perfect for writing your list out for the market.

You have to admit, it is just too darn cute! And it has a nice sleeve to you could throw it in your picnic basket for cutting up apples or strawberries.

This bag is super cute. I think you could fit alot of produce in this bag and you could even put your dollars in the little strawberry pouch with draw string so you wouldn't even need to lug your purse along.

I'm hoping all this will motivate you to get out to your local markets, if you haven't already or have never.

My son thought I was giving away a construction hat with silly holes in it. Don't worry you germaphobes I will clean his head cooties out of there before I send it to the winner.

So here is the deal. You NEED TO COMMENT to be entered to win. Just one comment per person this time please.

Answer this question:

What is your favorite vegetable and how do you prepare it?

Remember it's nice to share...so please pass on this Farmers Market Goodie Basket Giveaway to all your peeps. You can go to my sidebar and share me real easy.

DEADLINE is SATURDAY August 21! NOON eastern standard time. I will announce the wiener on Sunday August 22.

LuvYA!

MORE strawberry recipes

Confession time: it's been one week today that the kids are out of school. I caught myself taking a peak ahead to see when it is they go back.

Oh am I a bad mom?

I used to look forward to summer when the kids were small, because we would have long days by the kiddie pool and running through the sprinkler. Now it's just so darn busy. So darn busy, in fact, I didn't get to make all the recipes that I wanted to bake...so I could take pictures of them for you.

Today was also the 1 week marker in my count down to visiting the PIOneer WOMens RAAAAnch! (that was my opera voice, you like?) GOOD golly Miss Molly. I still can't believe that I am heading down to Oklahoma "OOOOkLaaHOMe-A" . I keep just breakin out in song.

Also, truth be told my shorts are a little snug so if I bake any more goodies I might need to start boring you with my work out schedule.... I figured you all can live with out a picture or two.

You trust me right...right...RIGHT!

So anywho, I do have a couple more recipes I wanted to share with you so I am just gonna go ahead and get them off my chest and hope you enjoy.

Strawberry Short Cake

Or Biscuits they are the same thing in this house. I once posted about biscuits and boys if you care to read about it you can go back there. But I didn't share my biscuit recipe. Stingy Broad!

shortcake recipe

2 cups flour + more for dusting countertop

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup Crisco (or you can use butter make sure it's cold)

1 cup buttermilk

preheat 375

1. mix dry ingredients together in a bowl.

2. cut the shortening into the flour mixture, until it is crumbly and even in texture

3. pour in buttermilk and carefully fold dough together

4. give you counter top a generous covering of flour and then dump the dough out on top. shape the dough into a oval, about 1/2 in thickness

5. use a round cup or biscuit cutter and cut out your biscuits place them in a buttered dish and bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Crush 4 cups of berries add sugar to taste. Let set for at least an hour giving them time to get all juicy and the sugar to dissolve. Then serve over your shortcake enjoy!

Sour Cream POUND Cake

When I had my third child somebody brought me this pound cake along with a meal. I think I fed my family the meal and stashed away the pound cake for myself. I was a lactating mama, I needed my energy. To this day I love this cake. You can also add a 1/2 cup of blueberries mixed in the batter too. But it's the best with fresh strawberries.

1/2 cup butter softened

3 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

powdered sugar for dusting

preheat 325

1. Bring eggs, butter, and sour cream to room temp.

2. Grease and lightly flour a 8x4x2 or 9x5x3 loaf pan.

3.In a small bowl stir together flour, baking powder and soda . Set aside.

4. In a large bowl beat butter for 30 seconds, then gradually add the sugar, beating on medium speed for 5 minutes.

5. Add vanilla. Then add eggs one at a time blending well after each.

6. Alternate the flour mixture and the sour cream, beat on low until just combined.

7. Spread batter in pan. Bake at 325 for 1-1 1/4 hours. cool on wire rack 10 minutes in pan then remove from pan and sift powdered sugar over top.

Slice and serve with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped topping.

Right now I am very ticked at myself for not making this for you and taking pics....because as I am typing the recipe out, I am salavating like our golden retriever!

This pound cake is truly TO DIE FOR.

strawberry ALMOND banana MUFFINS

Something a lil' different. I made these and took them to my friends at the PRC. Little did they know that they are my guinea pigs. They loved them! So I thought I would share them with you too.

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup ripe bananas mashed (about 2-3 bananas)

2 cups sliced and diced fresh strawberries

crumb topping

1 cup almonds

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup cold butter

glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 cup milk

preheat oven 325

1. prepare muffins tins

2. with your mixture cream the butter, add sugar and blend for 3 minutes

3. add eggs one at a time until well incorporated. then almond extract

4. measure out flour add the salt and baking soda to the flour then add to egg/butter mixture

mix until all ingredients are mixed but not too long. the batter will be thick at this point

5. now add your bananas, then fold in the strawberries, see how I cut them up in smaller pieces, if you have too big of strawberry hunks in the muffins it will leaves wet doughy pockets in the muffins. We don't want that!

I used cupcakes papers, because I was taking them to the PRC for a meeting, but you can just grease the muffin pan and that is fine too.

6. Then make your crumb topping and generously cover muffin batter. (see crumb topping instructions below) bake for 15-20 minutes at 325.

7. remove from tins and let cool on a wire rack.

8. after they cool for 15 minutes or so, then drizzle the almond glaze over the tops

Ohh doggie these are so moist and scrumptous. And they smell fabulous. I need to contact someone about creating this in a candle scent!

Here is how I do my crumb topping. If you do not have a food processor you could use a blender or buy your almonds sliced and then chopped them up that way.

Pulse almonds until they are about like the below picture.

Then you can add in flour, brown sugar and butter and pulse until it is a nice crumb topping consistency. So easy...hope you think so too.

Well, friends this ends my week in STRAWBERRIES.

I hope you have enjoyed.

Now I am off to finish packing up my baby for her first weekend at camp....and myself for a night alone with my husband. YES. It's true. We are dropping our lil' gal off at camp and then heading up to Traverse City to chill, and eat, and I am sure we will find a winery or two. Oh I do love Northern Michigan. It's heaven....one night is really not enough. But these days I will take whatever I get with my man.

Have a super D duper weekend!

Luvya,

Heather's Strawberry Rhubarb CRISP

This doesn't look good or anything.....OH my gosh it is so fabulous...you won't know what hit ya!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

3/4 cup sugar

5 tablespoons all purpose flour

5 cups fresh strawberries sliced

4 cups rhubarb diced

topping

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup cold butter

3/4 cup old fashioned oatmeal

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

bake in a 9X13 baking dish at 375 for 45 minutes

Not sure if this the correct way to prepare rhubarb, but it's the way that I do it. And no I do not use Windex...just water and a knife. With the knife I peel back the outer later of the rhubarb stalk. ZIP peels off very easily.

There it is bare naked rhubarb.

Cut the stalks up like so...

Makes it easy to get the rhubarb into little bits, for the crisp.

Have you ever just taken a big bite off the end of a stalk of rhubarb? You oughta try it some time . It will make your face twist up and your tongue dry up and fall off. Very attractive.

I have also found it to be useful if your offspring are getting smart mouthed with you. "Hey sweety...mama would love it if you sucked on a piece of sugar cane." "OH whoops my bad...that's rhubarb."

Add your diced rhubarb to the sliced strawberries.

Then you can measure in the flour and sugar.

Mix the flour and sugar up with the fruit, so it is covering every piece.

Then go ahead and spread it in your 9X13 dish. I did not grease the dish.

Now for the yummy stuff on the top. It's really low fat, no fat in this topping, only butter. That does not count. Butter is good. It is good for your skin and your brain. And it gives you a nice soft middle.

So as I was saying add the oatmeal, brown sugar, and spices toss it around a bit. Then add in the butter I cut mine up into little pieces then I cut it in with a pastry cutter.

One thing I would grab if my house started on fire, after my kiddos of course, would be my pastry cutter.

There it is. That is how it should look all nice and Incorporated and not any big pieces of butter hanging around.

Now evenly layer the crisp topping over the berries and rhubarb.

Like so.

Then bake it at 375 for 45 minutes. and it will get all bubbly and caramely around the edges. Delicious!

Let it cool for ten minutes or so then serve with vanilla ice cream. This time I made whipped cream and gave it a big O dollop!

This recipe was given to me by a good friend and lover of yummy food, this friend had the audacity (audacity= daring, bold) to move herself and her boys (husband included) to the great big state of Wyoming! Heather and John were in our small group for awhile....we miss our friends and there funny boys. Especially the funniest boy...John. So this is Heathers recipe. It is extremely yummy. Hope you enjoy it.

Thanks Heather for sharing! Miss you Lady!

LuvYA,

STRAWBERRY pecan saLAD

This recipe is a twist on a salad that I had at some point in my life. I can't remember when or where. I do know they used apples, which I use if I make this salad in the Fall. But when I have fresh strawberries there ain't no apple coming near this salad!

First you need to sugar coat some pecans. Candy them...what ever you want to call it.

Candied Pecans

1 cup whole pecans

1 cup sugar + some more for good measure

tin foil, zip-loc bag, smashing tool

You want to get out a good sized frying pan. Put equal parts sugar to nuts in the pan. Turn the heat on medium high and stick around....do not go walk the dog or pee or anything. You want to keep moving these babies around with as the sugar starts to melt.

BEWARE you're pan is going to be a mess. It's nothing a good soak in hot soapy water won't fix.

Keep up moving with a spatula, they are going to look like they are burning a little bit. That's OK.

Dust a little more sugar on there, and move move move those nuts around. Oh they are having so much fun. WOWZA...candy coat me mama!



Yes, they look a little burned like I said that is perfectly fine. Just don't stop moving them around. Do this for about 5 minutes or so then spread tin foil out on your counter top. Pour the nuts out on to the foil, try to spread them out as good as you can on the foil.

You will be tempted to eat one....DO NOT do it! Wait until they are cooled. I have burnt my big fat tongue one too many times snitching these nuts.

When cooled you can toss them in a zip-loc bag and give them a little smash. Just enough to break up the large clumps and bust the pecans up a bit.

This is enough for two or three salads. They keep well in a airtight container.

Strawberry Pecan Salad
1 head of red lettuce

3 green onions

1 cup of crumbled blue cheese

candied pecans

Brianna's Poppy Seed Dressing

Wash lettuce, tear and put in a large salad dish.

Wash and slice strawberries, layer over salad.

Slice green onion, also layer over salad.

At this point you can stop and just before serving sprinkle nuts and cheese over the salad and drizzle with salad dressing. Brianna's is our favorite. You can use another brand but if you have Brianna's in your grocery store, I would make the purchase, you will not be sorry. If you never heard of Brianna's Salad Dressing you can go to this sight and see where you can find them.

Now sometimes I leave the dressing on the side and let people dress their own salad. This is mainly selfish on my part, because as you can see...I am not a rabbit when it comes to salad...I like me some dressing on there. DROWN the salad I say, drown the salad!!!!

Mmm, mmm, mm, mm, mmmmmm. I just had the thought come to me that diced prosciutto might be really nice on this salad. Get a little of that salty sweet thing going on...I might just have to give that a try next time.

If you want to make a meal out of it, slice a grilled chicken breast and lay it over top.

Enjoy!