Homemade Salad Dressing & Croutons

I read a post today on one of my favorite craft blogs, Infarrantly Creative, where she shared a few of her great ideas. I love getting tips from people on how to simplify and improve our lives in easy ways. She's also giving away two of my favorite things to go along with her linky party- a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker and a Metal Cookie Scoop. I've gushed about both of those before and can't imagine my kitchen without my drawer full of scoops.



Since I loved her post so much I thought I would join in and got me thinking about something I do on a regular basis that we love. Sure I make crazy treats occasionally, but it's not all brownies and cupcakes for dinner (though I'm sure Baby Strawberry wouldn't object!) I always need more healthy, quick, and economical meal options. Making croutons and salad dressing go right in with that. I heard a quote once about how the French think Americans are bad cooks because we actually BUY our croutons. Making them is quick and tastes SO much better. I usually use the heels or unwanted end of the loaf of French bread from last nights dinner. Toss with salt and pepper, olive oil, and some seasoning and you are pretty much done. A few minutes in the oven or tossed on the stove and the house smells good, you have a nice bag of delicious croutons, and it was pretty much free (that's fuzzy Anne math for you there!) You can even use left over rolls, hamburger buns, whatever bread you have around. They taste incredible in Panzanella too.

You can see the crouton recipe here.

Making salad dressing is just as easy. I use my blender bottle (a lidded jar works too) and just dump everything in. I will include the recipe below but when I make it, it usually goes something like this, "one inch of vinegar, two inches of olive oil, a scoop of brown sugar, a pinch of garlic, salt and pepper." Shake and serve. It tastes 100 times better than store bought dressing and I love knowing exactly what went into it. Swap out spices and vinegar for a completely different flavor, too! I think people see 'Balsamic Vinaigrette' and think that's something you could only buy. I hope you'll try making your own dressing and see how it goes, it's really easy and delicious (a winner in my book!)

Do you have any simple, great ideas that make life easier for you? I'd love to hear em!


Anne Strawberry's Simple Balsamic Dressing
(adapted from Emeril)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (regular, sea salt, whatever will do)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (it's cheap at Costco!)

Combine all ingredients in a blender bottle (or jar) and shake to combine. Toss salad and serve immediately. This makes a lot of dressing so I usually half it and store my extra dressing in the fridge for couple of weeks- but it always gets eaten before it goes bad.

Serve with my Cheesecake Factory Knock Off French Country Salad (with goat cheese!), panzanella, or your favorite green salad. You can't go wrong here.

You can see the crouton recipe here.

Yogurt Waffles

{printable recipe here}
My husband loves breakfast. It makes sense since his nickname is Mr. Carbohydrate and most breakfast foods seem to be carb layered on carb. When I saw these gorgeous waffles on the lovely Whisk and a Spoon I knew they would make a great, easy weekend dinner. Please tell me you do breakfast for dinner too, right? Right? Well anyways, I like serving breakfast and calling it a decent meal because I don't love going to the grocery store, so occasionally I run out of regular "meat and potatoes" kind of meals. And for some reason my husband persists in being hungry every single night when he gets home from work. I omitted the spices hoping that he wouldn't miss the usual Bisquick. Nonetheless, he still prefers the boxed variety. But as for me and the little mouths I feed, we are going to stick with these waffles. Easy, yummy, and full of creamy, healthy plain yogurt. I served them with peanut butter and syrup (and fruit if you have it). Don't knock it till you try it. The peanut butter is all melty and delicious. Besides the inevitable sugar coma, it's a great dinner!


Yogurt Waffles
from Anne Strawberry
adapted from Fine Cooking via a Whisk and a Spoon
{printable recipe here}

9 oz. (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon (I omitted this but will add it next time)
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg (same as above)
1/8 tsp. ground cloves (same as above)
1-1/2 cups plain full-fat or low-fat yogurt
3/4 cup whole milk
2 large eggs, separated
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 200°F and heat a waffle iron, preferably a Belgian waffle iron. In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, milk, egg yolks, vegetable oil, and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, with a wire whisk or electric hand mixer, beat the egg whites to soft peaks.
With a spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the yogurt mixture until just combined (the batter should be a little lumpy). Fold the whipped egg whites into the batter until just incorporated.

Brush the waffle iron with a little vegetable oil. Working in batches, cook the batter in the waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions until crisp and golden. Set the waffles directly on the oven rack to keep warm. Do not stack them.

Serve the waffles with syrup and peanut butter (I freeze the extras and toast them later for an easy breakfast).

Irene's Maple Syrup
from Anne Strawberry
2 cups Sugar
2 cups Water
1/2 cup Dark Karo Syrup
1 teaspoon Maple extract
1 teaspoon Vanilla

Combine all ingredients in sauce pan, place over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Boil for five minutes and serve over pancakes. Store leftovers in a screw-top glass jar for a few weeks (reheat in the microwave or on the stove).

Cafe Rio Pork Salad and Burritos with Cilantro dressing

{printable recipe here}

This is probably my most requested recipe so I'm going to repost it. It's simple and easy and always a hit with a crowd. I made it this weekend and used chicken tenders since that's what I had on hand, but I usually use pork loin. It tastes amazing as a salad (for the ladies usually) or as burritos (for the guys). The next day I like to make crispy quesadillas and after they are cooked I sneak in handfuls of spinach that melt right in so no one notices. It's easy to freeze the leftover meat and everyone loves it. I like to serve this with homemade refried beans (also cooked in the crock pot- you can do those first over night then start the meat in the morning). Yum.


Cafe Rio Pork Salad and Burritos
from Anne Strawberry
{printable recipe here}

1 pork loin or boneless pork roast (about four pounds, whatever you find)
1 can Dr. Pepper (NOT diet- and I prefer Coke normally but Dr. Pepper is better in this I think)
1 cup brown sugar
2 T. dry mustard powder
1 T. dry cumin powder
2 cloves minced garlic (or granulated garlic if you're in a hurry)
1 can Chipotle chiles in Adobo Sauce

First, open the can of chiles and drain the sauce into the Crockpot. Then discard the chiles. Chipotles are just roasted jalepenos and are plenty hot- so omit them unless you want lots of heat! I can find this stuff in the Mexican food aisle at Fry's and Safeway, so look around. Don't use the plain Adobo sauce (mine came in a tall little jar with a yellow lid) because the flavor is all wrong and I had to throw my last batch of pork out!

Then add sugar, mustard, cumin, garlic, and Dr. Pepper. Stir everything and toss in the trimmed, whole pork loin. Try piercing it a few times so the flavor steeps in during cooking. Rotate throughout the day and after about 5 hours on high the meat should be shred-able. Reduce heat to low, pull apart the meat with two forks and leave the lid off the Crockpot for a bit to let some of the extra liquid evaporate and soak into the meat (the longer it cooks shredded the tastier it will be, just watch and make sure there is enough liquid).

Meanwhile, make the dressing in a blender. Serve pork with tortillas, black beans, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, and cilantro dressing. Dish it up and enjoy! I also like topping it with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Cilantro Tomatillo Dressing

4 Tomatillos (throw away the outer peel and quarter)
1/2 Cup Mayo, not Miracle whip
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Packet Ranch Dressing mix
pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
1 bunch of cilantro, washed and stems discarded
1 Lime

Blend all ingredients (except lime) in a blender and let thicken in the fridge. For more spice, add a Serrano pepper. Serve with a squeeze of fresh lime and enjoy.

Cheese Straws

Today I rolled out of bed, late (7:10, haha!) since my son is "speddin da nite" at his Grandma and Grandpa's. My tall man and I had a hot date last night watching the new Harry Potter and capped it off with a good slow morning (for me anyways, he's out mowing the lawn- maybe I should make him some waffles?). I checked my email, without insistent tugs on my leg for a glass of milk, some cereal, or to come play outside in the heat, and found a new header in my inbox from my wonderful and talented cousin (who I pretend is actually my sister in law). Well needless to say I was excited, because let's be honest, I haven't worked on my blog layout in a while and even when I do work on it, I don't have any idea what I'm doing. I should ask my legit brother in laws for help, because they're actually programmers, but it just hasn't panned out. Hopefully the layout will get more attention soon, but until then, at least there's good food around here. And good food for trade for some programmers help.

I can, however, upload a new header, so I did that and sang Kristi's praises in my quiet little house. And since I can't post again without a recipe, I thought now was the time to post Ina's cheese straws I made for Bastille day a few weeks ago (because it was Kristi, brilliant Kristi, who requested them). This simple appetizer requires only a sheet of puff pastry, an egg, some cheese, and some herbs. It only takes a few minutes in the oven and leaves a big impression- I'll just say that even the toddlers wolfed these down. These make a fun appetizer and everyone was more than willing to munch away, but I think you could even turn these into dinner with a nice salad or soup. I know I'll make them again.

PS Don't forget to check out Kristi's photography and design site here... She also does amazing invitations and announcements.

Cheese Straws
from Ina Garten
2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry (such as Pepperidge Farm), defrosted overnight in the refrigerator
Flour, for dusting
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup finely grated Gruyère cheese (or Swiss)
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves (Italian seasoning would work here too)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out each sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured board until it is 10- by 12-inches. Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the surface of the pastry. Sprinkle each sheet evenly with 1⁄4 cup of the Parmesan, 1⁄2 cup of the Gruyère, 1⁄2 teaspoon of the thyme, 1⁄2 teaspoon of the salt, and some pepper. With the rolling pin, lightly press the flavorings into the puff pastry. Cut each sheet crosswise with a floured knife or pizza wheel into 11 or 12 strips. Twist each strip and lay on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned and puffed. Turn each straw and bake for another 2 minutes. Don't over bake or the cheese will burn. Cool and serve at room temperature.

Smitten Chili for Halloween

This is the second soup we made for the Halloween party and it makes a big, crowd-pleasing portion of soup (leftovers freeze well, I'd guess, though I didn't have any!). I like a rich, flavorful chili with more beans and tomatoes than meat. I adapted a recipe from Smitten Kitchen and loved the final product. This would be easy to put together in the crockpot for a nice dinner ready after work, or just cooked on the stove in a dutch oven and held in the oven until ready to eat. Use whatever beans you have on hand and watch this chili disappear (don't forget to add corn, like I did!). Happy Halloween!

Smitten Chili
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen (from Real Simple Magazine)

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (or turkey, if you don't have a husband like mine who would never forgive you)
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup beef broth
1/3 cup chili powder (Yep, it's a ton, but you won't regret it)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
2 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 small can of tomato sauce
1 can green chilies
2 15 1/2-ounce cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 1/2-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 1/2-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons cider vinegar

To taste:
Sriracha chili sauce
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne
1 to 2 tablespoons chipotle en adobo puree

Toppings and sides:
Sharp Cheddar
Sour cream
Minced jalapeno
Corn bread

Place a large Dutch oven or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until browned, about 5 or 10 minutes. Add the onion, stirring well, and cook until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Gradually add the broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, cocoa, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and green chilies. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add the beans, salt, and vinegar, stirring well. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes more. Adjust flavor with your spices of choice. Stir in the frozen corn and garnish with the cilantro, Cheddar, sour cream, and jalapeno, if desired. Serve hot in a bread bowl or with cornbread.

Oriental Chicken Wraps

After I saw Camilla's post about Superfoods I busted open my package of spinach and got to work. Mostly, I needed something light and easy- this was a tasty alternative to a green salad with chicken (my go-to meal for the past month... stupid diets). It would also taste great with some oriental salad dressing, but I think the "Rooster" sauce gives it a spicy, substantial flavor.

Oriental Chicken Wraps
1 Chicken Breast, grilled (I used the grill pan) and shredded
2 Carrots, shredded
1 package Bean sprouts
1 Cucumber, thinly sliced
1 C. Prewashed Spinach, packed
4 Flour Tortillas, cooked (I like the uncooked ones from Costco best)
Sriracha Chili Sauce
2-3 T. Reduced sodium Soy Sauce
1 T. Honey

In a hot skillet, toss the shredded chicken, carrots, and bean sprouts. Add a few tablespoons of soy sauce, a little chili sauce (I used about 2 tsp. but it was too hot for my husband, adjust to taste), and the honey. Stir and cook over medium high heat until the veggies are soft and everything is warm.

Lay tortillas flat and put 1/4 of the chicken mixture in the center. Top with a good handful of spinach, some sliced cucumbers, and tuck in the ends. Roll up the tortilla and enjoy!