Yesterday I had to work at one of my cleaning jobs so when I got home I only had about 15 minutes to get lunch fixed before Miles came home. I should have had more time, but I locked myself out of the house where I was cleaning, and I had to go to the neighbor's house to use the phone to call poor Traci. She had to have her morning interrupted to come back and let me in. She told me not to go out or I would lock myself out before she left. I told her I usually never do, which really isn't true after I think about it, because I clean the windows on her front door every week and step out to do so. It didn't even dawn on me until I had cleaned all four windows and went to turn the knob. Someone make me a dunce cap or wait patiently for my VBS brain to go away and my real brain to return!
Back to salad..... When I am in a hurry we have a favorite salad that usually consists of cucumbers, tomatoes, feta, chicken sausage, and my homemade mustard vinaigrette or a light Ceasar that we like. But yesterday I was in the mood for something a bit more summery.
The lettuce was the rest of the red leaf and a 50/50 mix of organic baby spinach and a spring mix. The spinach was the perfect choice for this salad. I added strawberries this time and left out the tomatoes. I also added walnuts for some crunch and decided that I would rather have more of a balsamic dressing then the mustard dressing. It goes better with the strawberry thing. I had already sliced up the chicken sausage and cooked it in a small pan quick in case you are wondering.
I really have a thing for fruit on my salad. It looks pretty and it also adds a unique flavor to just about any salad combination.
When I sat down to eat this Faith said, "Strawberries on a salad? Where's the cucumbers?" Ooops! I forgot the cucumbers. I am blaming that on VBS brain as well. I got up and chopped a few slices quick otherwise my salad wouldn't have had much vegetable content. I love cucumbers!
If you want to make it easy on yourself there are several balsamic dressings you can buy ready made that have very little calories. I like Newman's Own in particular but it is pretty easy to whip one up as well. I like to make a homemade Greek dressing that has the same ingredient list but uses white wine vinegar so I just subbed in this balsamic from Whole Foods which is quite good by the way! I left it out of the picture but you do need olive oil for this dressing as well. I used my handy dressing mixer again (that is what we had leftover in the container) and of course I didn't measure. I know I drive some of you crazy. Sorry.
I also used these four ingredients- onion powder, garlic powder, basil, and oregano. It is better to use fresh garlic, but I was in a hurry. If I had fresh oregano or basil I would use that too but this works fine also. I should probably just learn to measure for all of you who need me to be precise but here is my best guess on the measurements.
2-3oz. of olive oil
2 oz. aged balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. garlic powder or 1-2 garlic cloves minced
Give it a stir or whisk and taste. Add what you feel is lacking. If the mustard or vinegar taste is too strong then add more olive oil. I suppose the reason I never measure much when making dressing is that I am just looking for a good flavor. You can't mess it up too much so give yourself a little freedom to just dump!
It was a very refreshing salad and I am already thinking about my salad for today!
Now for the fun part..........last night's photos!
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We have the MOST AWESOME crew leaders! The kids really get to know their leader and get attached to them and these leaders make the week so fun for them!
Learning about what Jesus did on the cross for us.
Laying our "sins" on the cross and asking Jesus to forgive us for them.
This was a beautiful picture and a great visual for the kids.
This is my daughter and her fun personality caught on camera. She absolutely adores going to VBS every night. She will be sad when it ends tonight.
And some running and screaming just because that is what kids do best. I bet these children have been sleeping very well every night.
I think I might go back to sleep for a bit now. I will be up late tonight getting everything put away at the church. I am hoping I can leave there before 11pm.
Want to come help me anyone?
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