Strawberry spinach salad recipe

This strawberry spinach salad is pretty popular around my house! It's definitely a summertime favorite! My mom came across the recipe somewhere on the internet years ago (if you know the original source, please let me know!) and I've made a few changes to the original recipe so it tastes even better! 

The salad is full of flavor and the perfect side to just about any dish! I hope if you give it a try you'll like it!

The salad itself is pretty simple, just these four ingredients!

I start off by chopping (or you can buy pre-chopped pecans) and placing them on a baking sheet. Toasting them in the oven helps to bring out the toasty goodness of the pecans and give the salad so much more flavor! 

Toasting the pecans first gives them enough time to cool down while you prepare everything else.

Next dice the cheese.

Wash the strawberries.

Slice or dice the strawberries into bite sized pieces. If you're using big strawberries, you might want to dice them, otherwise with smaller strawberries you could just slice them. However you prefer to eat them!
The dressing is pretty simple too; just a couple of ingredients mixed together!

And the salad is ready!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

For the salad

1 5oz sized package of spinach

1 1/2 cups pecan pieces

3/4 cup smoked Gouda cheese*

2 cups chopped strawberries

*I buy the smoked Gouda cheese in the deli section of the grocery store and ask for about a 1 inch chunk.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. 

2. Chop the pecans into pieces and spread out on a small baking sheet. Toast for about 6 minutes or until they start to smell toasted and look slightly browned. Set aside to cool.

3. Slice and dice the cheese, set aside.

4. Rinse or wash the strawberries in a produce wash, then pat dry with a towel. Cut strawberries into slices or cubes (whichever you prefer).

5. Place spinach in a large bowl, then top with strawberries, Gouda cheese, and the toasted pecans.

For the dressing

3 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

A little over 1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1. Stir until everything is combined.

And that's it! Pretty simple! Enjoy!

Quick and easy taco soup

Taco soup is one of my favorite easy dinner recipes! It's pretty much just dump stuff in, simmer, and you're done!

About 1 pound of ground beef (we buy the organic ground beef from Costco, which comes in a 1 1/3 pound package)
2 cans of black beans, drained
2 cans of kidney beans, drained
1 bottle of vegetable or tomato juice
1 bag frozen corn
2-4 cans of tomato sauce*
1 package (or about 3 tablespoons) of taco seasoning
1 medium sized onion
2 - 3 cloves of garlic
Olive oil

toppings: sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, & grated cheese

*depending on how much meat you use, you may want the soup thinned out some. I have also added a jar of salsa, or even a cup or two of chicken or beef broth, depending on what I have in the fridge. 

1. Cook ground beef in a skillet until browned.

2. While the meat is cooking, dice the onion (or just put it through a food processor like I usually do.) And mince the garlic.

3. In your stock pot, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil and sauté onions and garlic until slightly translucent. 

4. Once the ground beef is done, drain any excess fat if needed and and dump the meat into the stock pot. Then add the drained beans, vegetable or tomato juice, frozen corn, tomato sauce, and taco seasoning.

5. Bring the soup to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour. 

6. Top with sour cream, crushed corn chips, or cheese and enjoy!

Soup is so easy to make and it's great to have as leftovers during the week when you want a quick lunch or dinner!

Southwestern chicken salad

This Southwestern chicken salad became a family favorite over the summer! My family loves salads, so I am always looking for new and different salad ideas. It's really filling with the guacamole, beans, and chicken. 

1 bag romaine hearts

Grated cheddar cheese

Corn and black bean guacamole (you can also just use chopped avocado, but the guacamole is SO worth the time it takes to make it!)

Corn chips

2 chicken breasts (around 1 pound of chicken)

Barbecue sauce

About 1 tsp. Pepper

About 1 tsp. Onion powder

About 1/2 tsp Garlic powder

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 can black beans (rinsed) *

1 cup frozen corn*

*Optional if not making the corn and black bean guacamole.

Additional toppings: Black olives, chopped onion, diced tomatoes, peppers, and anything else you like!

Barbecue ranch salad dressing

1/2 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons barbecue sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp dill weed

1. Prepare your chicken breasts by removing any fat, then place them in a Ziplock bag with the barbecue sauce, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce. I don't typically measure out those ingredients, I just add enough to coat the chicken. Squish bag around to coat chicken, then place bag in the fridge. Refrigerate for at least half an hour.

2. Cut up, wash, and dry your romaine lettuce. Once the lettuce is dry, place in a bowl and set aside.

3. Prepare the corn and black bean guacamole. 

4. Grate cheddar cheese, set aside.

5. Prepare the dressing by mixing the sour cream, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce, milk, garlic powder, and dill weed. Feel free to add more milk to make the dressing as thick or runny as you like.

6. Heat your barbecue grill to about 350. Lightly spray grill grate with cooking spray, then place the chicken on the grill and cook for about five minutes. Turn over, and grill for another five minutes or until no longer pink in the center.

Once done, cut into bite sized pieces.

7. Fix your salad with all of the toppings and enjoy!

This should be enough for about 4 - 6 adult sized salads

Easy chicken and black bean enchiladas

Hello! Today I'm sharing my recipe for quick and easy chicken and black bean enchiladas. 

About a 1 lb package of chicken breasts

1 can of enchilada sauce

1 can of black beans

1 package of taco seasoning (3 tablespoons)

4 medium sized soft taco shells

Grated cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350° and lightly spray a 9x13in glass pan with cooking spray.

2. Pour 1/3 can of enchilada sauce in pan and tilt pan until sauce covers the bottom. 

3. Layer tortilla shells until bottom of pan is covered. (I used 2 medium sized ones.)

4. Drain black beans and set aside.

5. Trim any fat from chicken breasts and cook until done. 

6. Once chicken is cooked, place hot chicken into a Kitchenaid mixer and turn on medium-low speed to shred chicken. (You can also shred chicken by hand if you dont have a kitchenaid mixer, it just takes a little while longer.)

7. Once chicken is shreded, add black beans, 1/2 of the remaining enchilada sauce, and one package (3 tablespoons) of taco seasoning. Stir to combine. 

8. Pour chicken mixture on tortillas and spread around to cover pan. Top with two more tortilla shells. Then add the rest of the enchilada sauce and spread around. Top with cheese. You can add olives or green onions if you'd like. 

9. Bake for about 15 minutes or until cheese is completely melted.

10. Remove from oven and top with sour cream, more cheese, salsa, guacamole, or whatever else sounds good! Enjoy!