Month: August 2016

Summer Fruit Medley Green Salad

Mixed greens, strawberries, peaches, blueberries, feta, red onion and pecans combine to create a delicious, colorful, summer fruit medley green salad!Mixed greens, strawberries, peaches, blueberries, feta, red onion and pecans combine to create a delicious, colorful, summer fruit medley green salad!
I love salads during the HOT Summertime! They are light, cold, and taste yummy when it is too hot outside to want a heavy dinner. A few nights ago I made this delicious Summer Fruit Medley Green Salad.  It was soooo good, I’m making it again tonight!

Summer and fresh picked fruit just really seem to go together! Juicy sweet fruits, like blueberries, strawberries, and fresh peaches taste absolutely amazing when you pair them up in a savory salad.

Scroll Down For a Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

Fresh Fruit Makes This Fruit Medley Green Salad The Best!

The day I made this salad the first time, I had just picked fresh peaches at a local U-Pick Farm. I also had fresh blueberries, strawberries and mixed greens right in my little backyard raised bed garden! They were nice and RIPE! How could I NOT use them in something yummy?!!!

A collage of photos showing the fresh fruit in the salad.

The fruit medley green salad came together in a FLASH!  In about 10 minutes, I had all the ingredients in a serving bowl. It sure looks pretty with colorful fresh fruit, feta cheese, red onions, Romaine lettuce, mesculin greens, and pecan pieces in it!

The fruit medley green salad sure is colorful and delicious!

Add Salad Dressing And Serve

To dress the salad I made a super quick balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing (that took all of about 30 seconds to mix together), drizzled it over the salad, and BOOM! Love at first bite!  I served the summer fruit medley green salad with slices of rotisserie chicken on the side.

The sweetness of the fresh ripe fruit, paired with the slight saltiness of feta cheese, and the crunch of the crisp lettuce and pecans makes ONE GREAT TASTING SALAD!

This fruit medley green salad is drizzled with an olive oil/balsamic dressing.

Sure hope you will consider making this quick, easy, and scrumptious fruit medley green salad, especially now, when summer fruits are at their peak of delicious-ness! Gotta go now and get our dinner ready. We’re having salmon, with this salad on the side tonight! YUM! Have a great day!

Looking For More SALAD Recipes?

You can find all of my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have quite a few salad recipes for you to enjoy, including:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do soIf you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
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0 from 0 votes
Summer Fruit Medley Green Salad
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
0 mins
Total Time
10 mins
 

Mixed greens, strawberries, peaches, blueberries, feta, red onion and pecans combine to create a delicious, colorful, summer fruit medley green salad!

Category: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: fruit medley green salad
Servings: 4 servings
Calories Per Serving: 87 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • 1 small head Romaine lettuce , chilled and chopped
  • 2 cups mixed salad greens (Spring greens or mesculin, chilled and chopped)
  • 1 fresh peach (peeled, pitted, and sliced thin)
  • 5-6 fresh strawberries (sliced thin)
  • 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
  • 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/4 cup red onion (thinly sliced)
  • 8-10 pecans or walnuts (broken into pieces)
  • Optional Dressing: (but it goes perfectly with sweetness of fruit/saltiness of feta!)
  • 2 parts dark balsamic vinegar to 1 part olive oil (can make as much or as little as desired)
Instructions
  1. Place cold chopped mixed greens in large salad bowl.
  2. Add peach slices, strawberry slices, blueberries, and crumbled feta cheese. Top with red onion slices and broken pecan (or walnut) pieces.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the olive oil and balsamic vinegar together with a fork until fully emulsified/combined. Drizzle dressing over salad..
  4. Serve chilled, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes

NOTE: Caloric calculation does not include the optional oil/vinegar dressing.
If by any chance you happen to have a Peach-Cinnamon balsamic vinegar hanging around your kitchen... by all means, use it in the salad dressing!!!

Nutrition Facts
Summer Fruit Medley Green Salad
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 87 Calories from Fat 36
% Daily Value*
Fat 4g6%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Cholesterol 11mg4%
Sodium 145mg6%
Potassium 171mg5%
Carbohydrates 9g3%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 6g7%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 1010IU20%
Vitamin C 18mg22%
Calcium 64mg6%
Iron 0.6mg3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to add to your Pinterest boards!Mixed greens, strawberries, peaches, blueberries, feta, red onion and pecans combine to create a delicious, colorful, summer fruit medley green salad!

 

 

 

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Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

You will LOVE eating these delicious classic Southern buttermilk biscuits for breakfast… big and tall, big and soft, and big in flavor!You will LOVE eating these delicious classic Southern buttermilk biscuits for breakfast... big and tall, big and soft, and big on flavor!
I love a good biscuit, especially if it’s Southern Buttermilk Biscuits!  I grew up eating homemade biscuits  because my Texas born and raised Mom made them perfectly! We ate our biscuits with jam OR smothered with thick gravy (made with bacon, NOT sausage!).

To me, a good biscuit has to be tall and fluffy! There’s something majestic about a good rise on one… a far cry from the “hockey puck like” ones I’ve had (and made, unfortunately) before.  Well this is a great recipe for making tall, homemade, fluffy buttermilk biscuits. They are easy to make, with a couple helpful “tips”.

SCROLL DOWN FOR A PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE

A Couple Of TIPS:

Tip #1 is to put the butter you are going to use in the freezer for about 20 minutes before using it in this recipe. (It keeps the butter from melting in the dough… little flecks of butter will remain intact, and be, oh so delightful).

Tip #2 is to not pat the dough down too thin. You want to cut the biscuits with the dough about 1-1½ inches thick. Trust me on this!  So here’s HOW you make these:

How To Make Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

First (while butter is freezing), sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Flour for biscuits in sifter over a white bowl

I used a cheese grater to grate the frozen butter. It’s easy when butter is frozen! Add the butter to the dry ingredients.

Grating frozen butter for biscuit dough into bowl

Use a pastry cutter and cut the butter shreds in with the dry ingredients until mixture becomes small coarse crumbs. (If you want, you can use a food processor to mix the dry ingredients and butter… pulse until it becomes small crumbs).

Using pastry cutter to blend in butter for biscuit dough

Make a deep well in the mixture.  Add cold buttermilk, then stir the mixture together until fully combined. The dough will be a bit sticky… don’t worry about it!

Cold buttermilk added to flour in bowl

Cutting The Biscuits

Turn the dough out onto a flour covered work surface. Put a little flour on your hands (to help prevent sticking), and shape the dough into a rectangle.

Buttermilk biscuit dough turned out onto floured board

Once dough is a rectangle shape, fold the dough over onto itself 6 times. I folded one end over to touch the other, then rotated dough a quarter turn and did it again, etc. until I had “turned” the dough over on itself 6 times (this helps to create “layers”).

Southern biscuit dough rolled out on floured surface

You should end up with a tall square. Use your hands to flatten down the dough until the dough is about 1-1½ inches thick. You can use a 2½ inch biscuit cutter OR use a clean half-pint canning jar (like I did – same size!). Cut out biscuits. Try not to twist the edges of the dough when you cut.

If you have leftover scraps, you can put them together and cut out more biscuits, but don’t combine the dough more than a couple times! I was able to get 12 biscuits out of the dough.

Cutting buttermilk biscuits from dough using glass jar

Time To Bake These Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

Carefully place the biscuit dough rounds onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Put the biscuits close together (just so they are ALMOST touching).  Bake biscuits in a preheated 450 degree oven for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Biscuit dough cut out and ready to bake

Brush melted butter over the tops of the biscuits when done. You can also take the biscuits out a minute or two before they are done, brush the melted butter on the tops, then put it back into oven for a couple more minutes. I’ve done it BOTH ways!

Melted butter being brushed on top of biscuits

Ready To Eat!

The finished biscuits should come out of the oven, with some nice height and soft layers!

Tall, fluffy Southern style biscuits

These buttermilk biscuits taste fantastic topped with butter and some jam (this is with some of my homemade raspberry jam!). Delicious!

Buttermilk biscuits with raspberry jam on top

They are also fantastic smothered in thick, homemade gravy. Here’s my recipe for Southern Bacon Gravy (for biscuits). Lip-smackin’ GOOD!

Southern Buttermilk Biscuits with bacon gravy on top, on plate

However you enjoy eating homemade biscuits (with jam, gravy or plain), I really think you will LOVE these delicious buttery buttermilk biscuits! If you really enjoy biscuits for breakfast, be sure to check out this one for Vanilla Glazed Blueberry Biscuits! They’re so good!

Close up of tall buttermilk biscuit

Have a great day!  I am grateful my husband and I were recently able to visit Victoria, BC for a weekend getaway (for my birthday). It was good to have an adventure together, see new sights, enjoy great food, each other’s company, etc., but it was sure good to come back to our home sweet home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest! For all of those blessings, I am thankful.

Looking For More BREAKFAST Recipes?

You can find ALL my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have a wonderful variety of breakfast recipes to check out, including:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do soIf you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:
Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
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Have a WONDERFUL day, friends!

Author's signature

Recipe Source: http://www.thechunkychef.com/buttermilk-biscuits-and-sausage-gravy/

4.67 from 3 votes
Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
12 mins
Total Time
27 mins
 

You will LOVE eating these delicious classic Southern buttermilk biscuits for breakfast... big and tall, big and soft, and big on flavor!

Category: Bread, Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: southern buttermilk biscuits
Servings: 12 biscuits
Calories Per Serving: 159 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • 6 Tablespoons butter (frozen-put in freezer 15-20 minutes before using)
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk (cold)
  • 2 Tablespoons melted butter (for brushing on tops of baked biscuits)
Instructions
  1. Put butter into freezer for about 20 minutes before beginning! Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  2. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Grate frozen butter into the bowl. Using a pastry blender (or two forks), cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture becomes coarse crumbs (with butter about the size of small peas).
  3. Create a "well" in the middle of the crumbs. Add buttermilk. Mix the ingredients together until combined, and you have a slightly sticky soft dough.
  4. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Flour your hands and shape dough into a rectangle. Gently fold the dough onto itself 6 times. End to end, rotating between folds. Once done, you should have a rather tall square piece of dough. Pat this down until dough is between 1 and 1½ inches thick.
  5. Cut biscuits out of dough (using a 2½ inch biscuit cutter OR you can use a half pint canning jar (like I did). Try not to twist the dough as you make the cuts. If you have leftover dough, you can combine them and cut some more biscuits (but only do this once or twice or the dough will flatten).
  6. Place cut biscuit dough onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Place them very close together, so that they are ALMOST touching.
  7. Bake biscuits in preheated 450 degree oven for 12-15 minutes, or until they are golden brown on top.
  8. Brush the finished biscuits with melted butter right when you take them out of oven OR take them out right before they are finished, brush them with melted butter and pop them back in oven for last couple minutes. (I've done BOTH).
  9. Serve, and ENJOY!
Recipe Notes

* When freezing butter... I cut the amount needed, froze the cube, then grated it while frozen. You can also cut the butter into small chunks, put the pieces on a plate, then freeze. You can mix the dry ingredients and frozen butter in a food processor, then transfer to a bowl, but I found it just as easy (and less cleanup) to do it all in a bowl, from start to finish!

Nutrition Facts
Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
Amount Per Serving (1 biscuit)
Calories 159 Calories from Fat 72
% Daily Value*
Fat 8g12%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Cholesterol 22mg7%
Sodium 305mg13%
Potassium 150mg4%
Carbohydrates 18g6%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 265IU5%
Calcium 71mg7%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!You will LOVE eating these delicious classic Southern buttermilk biscuits for breakfast... big and tall, big and soft, and big on flavor!

 

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Watermelon, Feta, And Balsamic Bites

Watermelon Feta Balsamic Bites are a simple appetizer for a hot day! Chilled cubes of watermelon, with balsamic vinegar, feta cheese and mint garnish!Watermelon, Feta, And Balsamic Bites / The Grateful Girl Cooks!

Looking for a quick bite summer appetizer? How about these cute little Watermelon Feta  Balsamic Bites?  Your family or friends will enjoy this unique “finger-food” appetizer, that’s so easy to prepare you won’t even need a recipe!

I first tried these watermelon feta balsamic bites at a “Watermelon” themed dinner some dear friends hosted. Every single part of the dinner from beverages to dessert HAD to include watermelon in some form, and we all contributed dishes!

Below you can see a lot of the watermelon-themed food we enjoyed that evening! Some cute watermelon cube appetizers (not shown) caught my eye, so I decided to try making my own at home!

Photos from our watermelon-themed dinner party.

Watermelon feta balsamic bites are so very easy and quick to make, and your family or dinner guests will love them!  The sweetness of the watermelon contrasts nicely with the slight “tang” of balsamic vinegar and the salty feta crumbles!

How To Make Watermelon Feta Balsamic Bites

The most important thing is to begin with a very COLD, sweet, RIPE watermelon! Start by slicing about a 2 inch wide wedge of watermelon. Cut off the rind, then square it off, and cut into even sized cubes.

Slicing the watermelon before cubing.

Place watermelon cubes onto serving platter.  Take a very small spoon or knife and scoop out a tiny hole in each watermelon cube.

IMPORTANT TIP: Do NOT scoop all the way to the bottom of each cube (anywhere there is a hole besides the one in the middle, the balsamic will leak out!).

Watermelon cubes have a small round scooped out of them before filling.

Fill each hole of the watermelon feta balsamic bites with a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar. Next, sprinkle the tops of the watermelon cubes with crumbled feta cheese, and garnish with mint leaves!

The watermelon feta balsamic bites are ready to eat!You can see the balsamic vinegar inside each watermelon appetizer.

That’s it! No “recipe” necessary for these fun and delicious, quick mini-bite appetizers!

One happy watermelon!

Hope you will consider trying this appetizer! We sure enjoyed these watermelon feta balsamic bites! The combination of the sweet watermelon, slightly salty feta cheese crumbles, and tangy balsamic is a winning one I believe you’ll really enjoy!

Looking For More APPETIZER Recipes?

You can find all of my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. These wonderful appetizer recipes include:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do soIf you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:
Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram: jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

Author's signatureOriginal Idea From: Shari Altree

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!Watermelon Feta Balsamic Bites are a simple appetizer for a hot day! Chilled cubes of watermelon, with balsamic vinegar, feta cheese and mint garnish!

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Lemony Chickpea Salad

Lemony Chickpea Salad is a quick (5 minute), easy and healthy side dish, featuring chickpeas (garbanzo beans), in a light lemon, olive oil, and garlic dressing.Lemony Chickpea Salad / The Grateful Girl Cooks!

I collect cookbooks, and love adding new ones to my collection. Recently I was fortunate enough to buy a couple cookbooks with gift cards I received for Christmas. While checking out my new “Cooking Light” cookbook, I found a super quick and light recipe for Lemony Chickpea Salad. The lemony chickpea salad looked good, so I decided to give it a try!

NOTE: Did you know chickpeas are from the legume family, and are a great source of healthy protein, dietary fiber, and contain numerous vitamins and minerals? You can learn more about this nutritious legume here.

Less than 5 minutes later I had this simple, yet great tasting, healthy side dish! The recipe for lemony chickpea salad is healthy, easy to make, and DELICIOUS!

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The bottom Of The Page

Here’s How Simple It Is To Make Lemony Chickpea Salad

First, rinse and drain a can of chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans). That’s about the hardest thing you will need to do to make this side salad!

Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) draining in colander

Ready To Serve Lemony Chickpea Salad

Place the rinsed, drained chickpeas in a serving bowl. Add olive oil, fresh lemon juice, chopped fresh parsley, minced garlic, and crushed red pepper. Stir to fully combine the chickpeas with the light lemon dressing and the herbs and spices.

Chickpeas mixed with lemon juice, olive oil and parsley in bowl

That’s it! See? I told you this healthy side salad was EASY!! Garnish the lemony chickpea salad with a lemon slice and a fresh sprig of parsley, if desired.  Serve salad at room temperature, for best taste!

Lemony chickpea salad with parsley and lemon garnish in white bowl

Have a fantastic day!  I am choosing today to be thankful for the many blessings in my life, those seen and unseen, mercifully provided by the God I love with all my heart.

Looking For More SALAD Recipes?

You can find ALL my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have lots of yummy salad recipes to check out, including:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do soIf you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:

Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest:
The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram:
jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

Author's signature

Recipe Source: The cookbook “Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast Weeknight Meals”, published by Oxmoor House, Inc., 2010, page 62.

0 from 0 votes
Lemony Chickpea Salad
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
0 mins
Total Time
5 mins
 
Lemony Chickpea Salad is a quick (5 minute), easy and healthy side dish, featuring chickpeas (garbanzo beans), in a light lemon, olive oil, and garlic dressing.
Category: Salad/Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: lemony chickpea salad
Servings: 4 servings
Calories Per Serving: 153 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • 15 ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley , chopped
  • 1 garlic clove , minced
  • 1/8 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper
Instructions
  1. Place drained chickpeas into small serving bowl.
  2. Add lemon juice, olive oil, chopped parsley, minced garlic and crushed red pepper.
  3. Stir very well, to fully combine ingredients.
  4. Serve at room temperature. (If you are making this ahead of time, cover and refrigerate. Remove from refrigerator half an hour before serving, to allow olive oil in recipe to liquefy again!).
  5. Enjoy this light and healthy side salad.
Recipe Notes

Recipe makes approx. 4 (1/2 cup) servings, but is EASILY doubled.

Nutrition Facts
Lemony Chickpea Salad
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 153
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!Lemony Chickpea Salad is a quick (5 minute), easy and healthy side dish, featuring chickpeas (garbanzo beans), in a light lemon, olive oil, and garlic dressing.

 

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