Recipe for Blueberry Garden Salad

Thanks to blueberries, walnuts, and leafy greens, this salad is rich in flavor, omega-3s, and antioxidants. The lime twist in the creamy dressing helps to blend the flavors of the smoky Gouda with the blueberries and walnuts. Enjoy this versatile blueberry salad as a hearty first course or stand-alone meal.

Blueberry Garden Salad Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients for the Salad:

8 cups salad greens, such as Romaine or spring mix, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
1 and 1/3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup walnut pieces
1 carrot, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
1/2 cucumber, peeled and sliced into quarter rounds
1/3 cup grated smoked Gouda cheese

Ingredients for the Creamy Cucumber Lime Dressing*:

1/3 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into pieces
1/3 cup nonfat plain yogurt
2/3 cup mayonnaise (do not substitute Miracle Whip)
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 teaspoon maple syrup, honey, or sugar
1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes or fresh chopped parsley

*Quick alternate dressing version: Add 1 teaspoon lime juice to 1 cup of bottled cucumber ranch dressing.


Salad Preparation:

1. Place 2 cups of salad greens on each plate or in salad bowls.
   
2. Sprinkle carrot rounds and cucumber quarters atop greens. Add walnuts and grated smoked Gouda.
3. For best presentation, top with blueberries after the desired amount of dressing has been poured over each salad.
   

Dressing Preparation:

1. Add seeded cucumber (1/3 cup) and remaining dressing ingredients to blender jar. Blend until dressing is smooth and creamy.
2. Pour desired amount of dressing over each salad.

Recipe for Sparkling Blueberry Pineapple Punch

Blueberries evoke some of my earliest memories of traipsing through the Canadian bush with my cousins and grandfather. Though we are far from the woods I once roamed, I still want to share the delights of blueberries with my own children. I have found success whether serving them plain and simple, like the wild berries I picked in my youth, or blended with other flavors, like pineapple or chocolate. This first blueberry recipe is a recent creation that is elegant, easy, and refreshing.

Sparkling Blueberry Pineapple Punch Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
2/3 cup fresh pineapple chunks
1/3 cup pineapple juice, blueberry-pomegranate juice or blueberry nectar
2 cups ginger ale, chilled
extra blueberries and pineapple wedges, optional (for garnish)


Preparation:

1. Place blueberries, pineapple chunks, and juice or nectar into blender and pulse until blended.
   
2. Pour ginger ale into four cups and then add blended blueberry mixture.
   
3. If desired, top with additional blueberries and add a pineapple wedge on the rim for garnish. Recipe may also be doubled or tripled and served from a punch bowl.
   

Fabulous Frugal Ideas I Simply Must Try

I just happened across this post by Stephanie O'Dea:

A Year of Slow Cooking: Slow Cooking During a Recession

Her tips and recipes on "how to make your own take out" were especially appealing.

So Thursday's fried rice can be cooked in my crock pot?! I'm compelled to try it.

Starting the week with a menu (and fresh bread!)

The scent of freshly baked bread is what I awoke to on this Monday morning. Programmable bread machines are wonderful. Enjoying some Raisin Bran Bread got this Monday off to a better start than usual. Playing some of Laura Story's praise music was also a promising beginning to the day.



Seeking the counsel of my husband is not something I have done for a while with our menu, but we tried to return to that practice this week. Things usually go better with the input of his wisdom, especially since I tend to be random and forgetful!

Monday:

• Salmon Stroganoff (with mushroom soup versus sour cream & mushrooms)
• Blueberry salad

Tuesday:

• Venison steaks
  
• Corn on the Cob
• Okra
  

Wednesday:

• Chicken fajitas

Thursday:

• Fried rice
• Shrimp or fish

Friday:

• Turkey burgers
  
• Sauteed zucchini

Saturday:

• Venison steaks or roast
  
• Corn on the cob
• Okra

Indeed we did diverge from last week's menu--Thursday, Friday, and Saturday! The best evening of eating "off the plan" was Saturday, when we were invited join some new friends of ours for dinner, which was lovely. Hence, we are having venison twice this week, which my husband and children won't mind in the least. Using more of what we have will help us save money on our grocery costs, which we simply must achieve.

Menu Plan for the Week of 7/20

I often diverge from my menu plan, but having one is decidedly better than not. So here is my first time to share with the world what's (probably) for dinner this week:

Monday:

• Chicken kebabs
• Steamed rice
• Sauteed Vegetables
• Cucumber salad

Tuesday:

• Sloppy Joes
• Potato Salad
  

Wednesday:

• Scallop risotto
• Sauteed zuchinni
  
• Tossed salad

Thursday:

• Venison steaks
• Pita with hummus
• Okra
  

Friday:

• Chicken Parmesan
• Sauteed zucchini

Saturday:

• Fried rice
• Shrimp or fish

These meals usually come in at around $5 or less, even the scallop risotto (I will only spend $4-$5 for 1 lb. of small scallops). We sometimes do splurge on wild caught salmon or lamb. Our kids absolutely love to eat both of these, and so do my husband and I!

I've also recently become enamored with free menu planning resources, which I reviewed in the article "Zero Cost Menu Planning." Last night I enjoyed my pizza topped with fresh basil leaves from my garden, an idea I gleaned from one of the menu calendars. Variety, here I come!

A Free Night at the Museum in Lincoln

My kids had a grand time exploring the UNL museum for free on Thursday night last week. We dined at the picnic tables outside before heading in to see the mammoth, dinosaur, and animal exhibits. The only drawback to the evening was parking; the free spots for museum guests were full when we arrived. But it was certainly a night to enjoy and remember later. Hopefully we can return before the free Thursday evenings end on July 30th! You can find more information here.

Patriotic Pinwheel Wreath

With little time and energy remaining, we still wanted to celebrate this 4th of July weekend somehow. So my wheels were turning and I came up with this simple craft to decorate our door. Here are the 6 supplies we used:

- 1 paper plate, center cut out, 1-inch rim remaining
- hole punch
- scissors
- 8 brass fasteners
- white printer paper
- red construction paper

We made 4 squares from one piece of red construction paper. I found a printable pinwheel template at the Family Fun website, and made pinwheels. We punched holes in each pinwheel, pushed brass fasteners through, and then attached them through 8 evenly-spaced holes I had punched around the plate. Voila--a patriotic pinwheel wreath!

This idea was featured at Tip Junkie in May of  2010 and is also linked to: