The Nifty Foodie

I started really getting into spinach salads a couple of years ago. I actually prefer to purchase baby spinach at the store vs. lettuce, because I know if I don’t feel like eating a spinach salad, I can cook or bake with it as well to avoid wasting it/letting it go bad. Cooked lettuce isn’t quite so appealing.

A while back, I was invited to Hotel Indigo with a few other local bloggers to sample their restaurant’s menu, and they brought out this salad that had me absolutely smitten. It had spinach, local strawberries, feta cheese and pecans tossed in a strawberry vinaigrette. It was DIVINE. I knew one day I’d have to remake this for when we had company, and I actually made this a while ago. Like…Easter. I took pictures of this salad back in April and completely forgot about it. Oops!

Easter is smack dab in the middle of our strawberry season here, so I knew that this would be the perfect occasion to make this salad. It was ridiculously easy to throw together, and the salad was a hit. It tasted pretty darn close to the salad I enjoyed at the hotel, and I was thrilled about that. In fact, since I made this salad in April, I’ve made this vinaigrette multiple times. It’s just that good, y’all. I haven’t made the salad in quite a while, though, since I’m a strawberry snob and the season is long gone. I envy those of you who still have fresh strawberries at your local fruit stands!

Just to note: I realize that the pecans weren’t pictured here. I served them on the side though, since quite a few people in my family aren’t fans of pecans.

Spinach, Strawberry, Pecan and Feta Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette
Source: salad inspired by King Bar & Bistro, dressing from Rachael Ray

Salad Ingredients:

• 5 cups baby spinach
• 1 pint sliced fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup pecans

Dressing Ingredients:

• 2 tsp. strawberry jam (I used this freezer jam)
• 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. To make the vinaigrette, place the strawberry jam in a large bowl and whisk in the vinegar until everything is well-mixed. Keep whisking the mixture and slowly add in the olive oil. Whisk until the dressing doesn’t look like it’s separating. Season the dressing with salt and pepper.
2. Add the spinach, strawberries, feta cheese and pecans to the bowl and toss the ingredients together until everything is coated with the dressing. Serve immediately, or if you’re serving at a later time, just make the dressing separately and serve it on the side (make some extra dressing, just in case you have some dressing lovers) instead of tossing it with the salad ingredients.

I started calorie counting again a few weeks ago, and I quickly realized that the scrambled egg sandwiches at the cafeteria probably weren’t the healthiest things to start the day off with. Given how much oil they spray on the griddle, and the fact that their eggs look orangey out of the carton, I knew I could do better. My only obstacle was that I don’t have time to cook in the morning.

Yes, I know. I could wake up earlier and that would give me time but honestly, I’m not a morning person. I press snooze 5-6 times every morning. It drives my husband batty, I’m sure. So yeah…I definitely want something that I could grab out of the fridge and eat at work.

I’ve been curious about the baked oatmeal that has gotten popular on the blogs in the past year. My only issue of concern was that I HATE hot standard oatmeal. It’s way too mushy to me. However, in pictures, this recipe looked a little more dry and possibly something I could like. So, I decided to give it a try this weekend. If it worked out, I could scoop out a piece for work every day. At 180 calories a serving (since I omitted nuts), this would be the perfect foundation for breakfast.

The verdict? This baked oatmeal is awesome, y’all. It’s even better the next day, in my opinion, because it dries up a good bit, almost to a cake or bread pudding-like consistency. (I’m not saying it tastes like bread pudding…that would be a lie.) I think for this particular recipe, the cinnamon and bananas really make this dish. If you hate mushy oatmeal like me, but WANT to like oatmeal (really, you do), give this baked oatmeal a try. It comes together super quickly, contains no refined sugar and it’s calorie friendly!

Baked Oatmeal
Source: Skinny Taste

Ingredients:

• 2 medium ripe bananas, sliced into 1/2″ pieces
• 1 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1/4 cup honey (or agave…I used honey)
• 1 cup uncooked quick oats
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray an 8×8 inch ceramic baking dish with baking spray.
2. Arrange the bananas in one layer on the bottom of the baking dish. Add half of the blueberries on top. Then, sprinkle 1/4 tsp. of the cinnamon and drizzle 1 tbsp. of honey on the fruit. Cover the baking pan with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
3. While the fruit is baking, in a medium sized bowl, combine the oats, baking powder, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and salt. Stir the dry ingredients together until well-mixed. In another bowl, add the honey, milk, egg and vanilla extract and whisk together until the mixture well-combined.
4. Take the fruit out of the oven. Pour the dry oat mixture over the fruit and spread it to an even layer. Then, add the milk mixture over the oats, making sure to distribute the liquid evenly.
5. Bake the oatmeal for 30 minutes (uncovered), or until the oats on top are a golden brown color and the oatmeal is set. Let the oatmeal cool for a few minutes before serving. If you are eating leftover baked oatmeal, just heat it in the microwave for about a minute. Add a splash of skim milk if desired.

Happy May Day! I can’t believe it’s already May, y’all! Wasn’t it just December? I swear I’m still humming “Let It Snow” around the house…wishful thinking, I guess. Although, I’m currently getting a real kick out of this Justin Timberlake meme, which makes bringing in the month that much more awesome. Hello fellow *NSYNC fans…I know you’re out there laughing and singing along with me!!

Now, let’s talk about this pie, y’all. When it comes to baking, pie is one of those things I just don’t make that much. For some reason, pie always seems like a ton of work. I used to buy crusts in the freezer section, and when I first attempted homemade pie years ago, it just ended up taking a while for it to come together. After all of that work, the crust was a crumbly mess. UGH. I just sort of mentally blocked the idea of making pie, unless there was a pre-made crust involved.

Sometimes I forget that I have a stand mixer that happily does all of the work for me…..

I had a flat of strawberries in the house, and since I promised to bring a dessert for a lunch we were going to, I decided that I had to bring something involving strawberries. I didn’t want to bring the typical shortcake, so I went to Pinterest to help me brain storm. (Don’t you just love Pinterest?!) That’s when I saw this fresh strawberry pie. I clicked on the post, and thought about pie crust. Ugh. Then I saw that the directions involved the stand mixer. Oh heck yes! My pastry cutter can stay in the drawer? SA-WEET!

So, I made this pie. With the sweet, ripe local strawberries and the light, buttery crust, this pie was just a wonderful, refreshing dessert. It wasn’t too heavy, which really allowed the strawberries to shine.  It was a real winner at lunch. I didn’t end up bringing any of this home!

Fresh Strawberry Pie
Source: Annie’s Eats (originally from Williams-Sonoma and Cooks Illustrated)

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 8 tbsp. cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 3 tbsp. very cold water

For the filling:

• 4 pints (about 3 lbs.) fresh strawberries, gently rinsed and dried, hulled
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 1/2 tsp. Sure-Jell for low-sugar recipes (don’t use the regular Sure-Jell)
• Generous pinch table salt
• 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

1. To make the crust, add the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix everything together just to blend it. Add the butter pieces and mix together on medium-low speed to cut the butter into the flour until the butter pieces are no bigger than peas and the rest of the mixture resembles a coarse sand. Turn the mixer on low and add the cold water. Mix until the dough just comes together.
2. Mold the dough into a ball, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
3. Roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12 inch circle. Then transfer the crust to a 9 inch pie pan and crimp the edges. Cover the pie pan with saran wrap and freeze for 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 375 degrees and adjust an oven shelf to the lower middle slot. Take the pie pan out of the freezer and line the top of the pie crust with foil. Add pie weights on top or balled up foil pieces to prevent the dough from bubbling up and rising. Bake the pie crust for 20-25 minutes, until the dough no longer appears wet. Remove the pie weights/balled up foil and other foil. Then, bake the pie crust for 10-12 minutes more until golden brown. Place the pie pan on a wire rack and allow to cool fully.
4. To make the filling, weigh out 6 oz. of weird shaped, under-ripe or unattractive berries, halving those that are large. In the end, you should have about 1 1/2 cups of berries. Using a food processor or blender, blend the berries to a puree for about 30 seconds. Measure out the puree; you should have 3/4 cup.
5. Using a medium sized saucepan, add the sugar, cornstarch, Sure-Jell and salt and whisk the mixture to combine. Stir in the berry puree and cook the mixture over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Bring the mixture to a full boil and boil for two minutes, ensuring that the bottom and sides of the pan are constantly scraped with a silicone spatula or spoon. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the lemon juice; allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
6. Look through the remaining berries and weigh out 2 pounds of the most attractive berries. If the berries are very large, halve them. Add the berries to the bowl with the glaze, and fold the mixture gently with a spatula or spoon until the berries are well coated with the mixture. Add the berry mixture on the pie crust, piling the berries into a mound. If you’d like, turn down the berries that are cut side up for a prettier presentation. Chill the pie for about two hours and serve immediately (at the most, within 5 hours of making the pie since berries are extremely moist and will make your pie soggy). Optional: serve with fresh whipped cream.

The first time I ever tried Strawberry Lemonade was at Chilis. I went to dinner once with friends, and in the many times we went there as college students, I never noticed the drink before until the waitress mentioned it. I really thought it would be a disgusting Hi-C drink, but when the waitress bought it out, it contained strawberry puree. I was in love. I’m sure it had 900 calories a glass, but it was just SO good and sweet! Now, I don’t go to Chilis as much anymore, but whenever I end up there, I have to have it! I’m sure some of y’all are judging me for liking something at Chilis, but just give me a little slack here. I think the last time we ate at Chilis was several months ago…it’s definitely not a place we frequent.

A while back, I saw this recipe for homemade strawberry lemonade. I waited until strawberry season came around, bought a bag of lemons, and made a pitcher of the stuff. Let’s just say I had three glasses of this in a row that evening. This stuff is GOOD and super easy to make!

Homemade Strawberry Lemonade
Source: My Baking Addiction

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups of water, divided
• 1 pint fresh strawberries
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 8-9 small lemons)
• 4-6 cups cold water (I used 5 cups)

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Make a simple syrup by heating and occasionally stirring the mixture on medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Allow the mixture to fully cool before doing the other steps.
2. Puree the strawberries in a blender or food processor with 1/2 cup of water.
3. In a large pitcher, add the strawberry puree, cooled simple syrup and lemon juice. Stir the mixture until everything is well-mixed.
4. Add 4 cups of cold water and taste. If you feel the lemonade needs more water, add it a cup at a time until the lemonade tastes great to you!
5. Stir the lemonade really well and serve it over ice.

Note: It lasted about 2 days in the fridge (since I finished the pitcher by then), but it may last longer.

I’m fairly sure I mentioned before that when I was a kid, I had a terrible allergy to strawberries. It was an absolute bummer for years, because there’s nothing like a good strawberry, especially when they’re local strawberries. I ended up purchasing a flat this past weekend, and just couldn’t wait to dig in and make something fun.

I’ve been craving a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich (I know…I’m totally 6 years old right now.), but I just wasn’t in the mood to make shelf-stable jam. I’ve always been curious about freezer jam, though, since people insist it’s so much better & fresher tasting than the cooked/shelf stable jam. Freezer jam doesn’t require canning supplies, except for freezer safe jars, which they sell near the mason jars. No need to violently boil the cans and hope/pray that the lids “pop” revealing that you canned everything perfectly. You just cook the pectin, add it to your fruit/sugar mixture, let it set up and freeze/enjoy! It’s pretty darn fantastic and it really is much fresher tasting..if you want to make homemade jam easily, this is the way to go.

Strawberry Freezer Jam
Source: Kraft Foods

Ingredients:

• 2 cups crushed strawberries (about 2 pints of ripe strawberries)
• 4 cups of granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 box Sure-Jell pectin (in a yellow box)

Directions:

1. Wash and rinse 5 (1 cup) freezer safe plastic containers and lids with boiling water. Dry the containers and lids thoroughly and set on a clean towel.
2. Hull and crush strawberries really well with a potato masher or two forks, 1 cup at a time. Make sure to measure out 2 cups of crushed berries into a large bowl. Add the sugar and stir until well-mixed. Allow the mixture to stand for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally during that time.
3. In a small sauce pan, mix the water and pectin together with a whisk. Heat the mixture, stirring often, until boiling, Keep stirring and allow the mixture to boil for a full minute. Remove the pan from heat, and add the pectin mixture to the sugar mixture. Constantly stir for 3 or so minutes, until the sugar is completely dissolved and everything is well-mixed.
4. Working quickly, fill all containers with the jam, leaving a 1/2 inch head space. (The great thing about freezer jam containers is there is a line drawn in on the jar to show where to stop pouring.) Wipe the edges of the containers and cover with the lids. Let the jam stand at room temperature for 24 hours to set up, and then place the jars in the freezer or fridge to use.

Note: You can store the jam in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks or in freezer up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator before using.