Strawberry Salad with Honey Poppy Seed Dressing

June 1, 2012

I thought that I wasn’t ready for my children to be out of school just yet. I thought that I was going to miss the routine and knowing what our days looked like. Turns out, I really missed them and like having them around. Having them home has been really nice. I feel like they spent so much time at school, that I really didn’t know what was going on with them. I like spending the mornings in our pj’s and watching cartoons before we get ready to tackle the day. I like running errands together and drawing pictures. I like having them to help me in the kitchen. By help, I mean make a mess, but I still like it.I might not feel this way in about a month, but for right now, it is good.

My kitchen is looking pretty sad right about now. My fridge is empty and I am trying really hard to not buy anything until the movers come on Tuesday. Our household goods are headed for storage so we cannot have any food, but I am going to pack a few of my favorite things that I cannot part with. My vanilla (I have been adding to this bottle for a year and half) and my sprinkle collection are the most important to me, but the spices might have to come to NJ too. I am such a nerd.

A few nights ago, we had friends over for dinner and I didn’t know them very well. Sometimes it is really hard to cook for people that you don’t know. You don’t want to make something too fancy, and you don’t want to make something too ordinary. I settled on this strawberry salad because it would make me happy if someone invited me over for dinner and served this. I added a grilled chicken breast to each salad because boys tend to turn their nose up at salad if there is not some sort of protein on it. I also made a corn chowder and I’ll share that with you soon; it is worth making again. Add some crusty bread and a cold glass of white wine, and you have some very happy dinner guests.

Honey Poppy Seed Dressing:

3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
salt and pepper
1/2 cup oil (I used sunflower)

Salad:

Mixed Greens
Spinach
green onions
blue cheese crumbles
sliced strawberries
pecans
grilled chicken

I like to make my dressing first. Put the vinegar, honey, dry mustard, lemon juice, poppy seeds, salt, and pepper into a mason jar. Put the lid on and give it a good shake to start dissolving the honey. Take the top off and add the oil. Shake again. Taste to make sure that the balance is right. Sometimes I need to add a little more vinegar and salt and pepper.

In a big bowl, add mixed greens, spinach leaves, and thinly sliced green onions. Keep it in the fridge until right before you are ready to eat.

Grab a kitchen helper and have them slice some strawberries for you. Tell him to watch out for his fingers, he is making me nervous.

I had everything ready to go ahead of time, and tossed it right before I served it. I was going to use glazed almonds, but changed my mind and used toasted pecans at the last minute. I was afraid that the salad would be more like dessert than dinner.

Throw everything together in the salad bowl. Drizzle with dressing, reserving some for the chicken. I marinated some chicken in olive oil, lemon juice, a few cloves of garlic that I smashed, some fresh thyme, salt and pepper, for maybe 2 hours? My husband grilled it and I put slices over the top of the salad. Drizzle some dressing over the chicken too.

I had some warm, crusty bread, and a nice little wine cocktail. I could eat this again right now, it looks so fresh and colorful. It’s Lazy Susan time! Head on over to Sara’s site to see what salad she made for us!