Julie's Spinach and Strawberry Salad

We've been trying to eat healthier, so I thought a salad was probably a good idea. It's officially fall, but it's Florida, so strawberries are always in (and I love them). 

Mommom wrote in her note that this was from one of my Texas cousins. If I'm thinking of the right Julie, then this is my mom's cousin's daughter's recipe to be exact. I'm not sure I've had it before, but if I had it when Julie made it then she had to have brought it to a family reunion. If she did that then I probably ate it. After all, it has spinach and strawberries on it and something is wrong if I say no to that...

The recipe has a good number of options. I went mostly with the main ingredients. Like I said, I love spinach and strawberries, so I wasn't going to switch them out with something else. I decided against the bean sprouts, but obviously went with the bacon (who says no to bacon anyway?). I cooked some turkey bacon and crumbled it up on top. I'm sure the bacon bits you can buy in can would be just as good and I'm positive that what Matt likes to call "man bacon" (pork) would be delicious too. I also quartered (is that the right word?) the recipe since it was just Matt and I eating it.

We both thought it was great! I've been very impressed with Matt for expanding the type of salads that he likes. When I met him, the only salad he'd eat was chicken caesar salad. When he saw we were having salad he had two questions: "Will there meat too?" and "Are you going to put avocado on there?". He was satisfied that was going to be served with blackened shrimp and was ecstatic that the recipe had absolutely no avocados. If/when I make this again, the only thing I would "change" would to add some sort of cheese like crumbled feta. The recipe was very refreshing and everything I hoped it would be. 

Julie's Spinach and Strawberry Salad

Ingredients:
10 cups spinach (or red leaf lettuce or mixture of both)
3 cups strawberries (may use green grapes or mixture of both)
1 cup broken walnuts
fresh bean sprouts (optional)
4 oz bacon bits (optional)
Dressing:
1 1/2 cups oil
1 1/2 t. worcestershire
1 1/2 t. paprika
3/4 t. dry mustard
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup poppy seed
1 1/2 t. red onion

Polynesian Volcano

I was standing in the middle of my living room the other day just staring at my huge bookshelf of just cookbooks and smiled proudly. I have so many cookbooks it's crazy and I love all of them. They each have a story, but my favorite story is for the one that sits first in line at the very top. A few years ago, my grandma (my mom's mom and will hence forth be referred to as Mommom) asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted all her recipes. All her favorites that she's collect from cookbooks, magazines, friends, etc over the years. Not only did she come through for me with all the recipes, but at the end of most of them was a little note of the history of the recipe and maybe a tidbit of who's favorite it was/is and who makes it best. I was in love! I haven't made most of the recipes in it. I might have been a little intimidated at first, but I'm ready now. I have decided to set off on an adventure of making at least one of her recipes a week until I've made them ALL and to blog about each one! Wish me (and Matt) good luck!

First off the block, Polynesian Volcano! The reason I decided to make this one first is because I hosted "girl's night" this week and I like to theme my meals around the movie we're watching (we happen to be in the middle of watching the top 100 Disney movies). This week's movie was Swiss Family Robinson. While I don't think their ship wrecked anywhere near the Polynesian islands, I still wanted an island feel for the dish.

Mommom didn't have a note for this one, but I do know it's one of my Uncle Joe's favorites. We've had it at least three years for his birthday that I can remember. He probably knows the history of the dish or it might even be his recipe. I don't know. Funny story from his birthday this year, my great-grandmother (Granny) wasn't too thrilled with him or anyone else really (she gave him a tomato for his birthday) and she wouldn't really comment on the dish (she had obviously had it before). She just kept asking who's birthday was next and they better want something "American". She was essentially insulting his choice without actually saying it. Fun fact: The Hawaiian islands are part of Polynesia and therefore their meals would be considered "American". If you are feeling a burger though, don't make this. You'll be disappointed. Granny has since passed, but this was a fun story to remember while prepping the meal.

The recipe doesn't give the quantity for each ingredient, so I kind of just guessed a good amount of each for the number of people that were going to be eating it (the amounts I used in purple below). This would easily serve 4 adults. I hate celery. I felt I needed to keep it in the recipe though. After all, I didn't have to put it on my volcano. Ashleigh and Shannon both loved the meal and even went back for seconds. That's the biggest compliment I think there is!

Polynesian Volcano

Ingredients:

Rice, cooked (2 cups uncooked in my rice cooker)

Chinese noodles

Chicken, cooked, cubed (1lb)

Can crushed pineapple, heated (8oz can)

Celery, chopped (2 stalks)

Green onion, chopped (2)

Shaved coconut (1 cup)

Sliced almonds, toasted (1/2 cup)

Grated cheddar cheese (2 cups)

Chicken gravy made from chicken broth (1/2 cup) and cream of chicken soup (8oz can) 

Directions:

Arrange food on table in given order. Serve to plate in like order.