Red Wine Vinaigrette

Photo Credit: Family Education

 

Last weekend I made a spinach salad to share with friends. I topped the spinach with chopped apples, sliced almonds, and dried cranberries. For the dressing, I made a Red Wine Vinaigrette. I measured the ingredients into a mason jar and covered it to take with me to my friends house. On our way out the door, I enlisted my children to help me carry all of the food that we were taking with us. However, before I had even locked the front door, my precious six year old dropped the dressing on the front walkway!

I headed back into the house and quickly mixed up a new batch of salad dressing while my twelve year old picked up the glass. When I got to my friends house and served the salad, everyone raved about the salad and sweet dressing. I'm so glad something so simple was so pleasing to my friends, especially after our minor disaster.

Red Wine Vinaigrette

¼ cup olive oil
2 Tbsp. Red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. Sugar (white or raw)
A pinch of salt

Measure all ingredients into a mason jar, cover, and shake to combine. Serve over salad. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Orange Oil

At Christmas time, I told you about a recipe for White Chocolate Orange Crunch. When I initially purchased the ingredients, I bought the wrong thing. I got orange oil instead of orange extract. Not knowing the difference between the two, I went back to the grocery store and purchased the orange extract.

However, now that our cross country moving is rapidly approaching, I knew that I had to find a use for that orange oil, or it would end up going to waste. So, this weekend, I made Cinnamon Syrup. And, I added ½ a teaspoon to the syrup with the other ingredients and it turned out GREAT! It is so much stronger than the orange extract and the flavor is more natural.

I think that I have fallen in love with orange oil. I plan to try it in Overnight Oatmeal and chocolate cupcakes later this week. If you have any other recipe ideas, I would love to hear about them. 

Frugal Tip: Be intentional about using up what you have in your pantry and fridge instead of letting food go to waste. Make plans to eat up leftovers, nearly expired food, or wrongly purchased ingredients.

This post has been linked to Frugal Tuesday Tip.

Spinach Salad with Balsamic Dressing

Photo Credit

Last week I purchased a bunch of fresh spinach for salad; but, as I was putting my groceries away this week, I found that week old spinach in the back of my refrigerator. It was limp and lifeless. As you know, I hate to throw away food, so I thought I would try the old celery trick with the spinach. I cut the ends off and put the bunch into a tall glass of water. Within two hours my spinach looked good as new. With this food waste crisis averted, I proceeded to make salad with my refreshed spinach.

This Balsamic Dressing is perfect for spinach salad. We like ours topped with chopped apples, walnuts, and blue cheese.

Balsamic Dressing

¼ cup olive oil

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp. raspberry or strawberry jam

¼ tsp. onion powder

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. ground black pepper

Whisk all ingredients together and serve over salad. 

This post has been linked to Frugal Tuesday Tip.

No-Bake Energy Bites

If you are looking for the perfect after school snack, stop right now. This is it. But, watch out because these No-Bake Energy Bites are addictive! They are quick and simple, and the kids will enjoy getting their hands dirty while rolling the mixture into balls. These definitely receive a 5 out of 5 rating at my house, and if they could, my kids would eat them every single day. But, these are not just for the kids. Adults love them too.

I have made these with smooth peanut butter, crunchy peanut butter, and almond butter. (If you have not tried almond butter, you should. It is the adult version of peanut butter.) I have also used whole flaxseed, as pictured above, because I bought the wrong thing at the store. Oops! They still taste great, but are a little more difficult to form into balls.

  

No-Bake Energy Bites 

1 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 cup natural peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/3 cup raw honey

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 tsp. vanilla

Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. (You may need to use your hands.) Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll into balls (about the size of a super-ball), and serve. Store energy bites in the refrigerator. Yield: 3 dozen

This recipe is not original to me; however, I am not sure who deserves the credit.

  

A Bread Baking Mishap

Once a week I make sandwich bread for our family. I normally make 3 one pound loaves. Sometimes I make whole wheat, sometimes multi-grain bread. I put two loaves in the freezer and keep one out to eat immediately. Yesterday I made bread and it turned out as usual. However, when I cut into the first loaf this morning to make sandwiches for my kid’s lunches, there was a hole in the middle of the loaf. Not happy about this, I cut three slices from each end to make the sandwiches.

In ten years of bread baking, I have never had this happen before. My hope is that this is unique to this loaf of bread and that the other two will be fine. Needless to say, the middle portion of this loaf is not going to make it into the lunch boxes this week. I’ll probably add it to my Baked French Toast bag in the freezer instead.