chicken berry salad

Jeremiah took one look at the salad I'd served for dinner

and announced he wouldn't be eating his salad this evening.

So I told him,

"Goodnight ~ 'cause that salad is dinner."

He ate it

and lived.

I ate and enjoyed.

Lily enjoyed it, too.

I'm not sure about anyone else...

~

First

I made the blueberry poppyseed dressing

by mixing in the food processor:

1 c. blueberries

1/2 c. olive oil

1/2 c. water

1/3 c. vinegar (half apple cider, half white)

1 TBS honey

1 TBS poppy seeds

1/2 TBS mustard

salt & pepper

::

then

I fixed the salads:

lots of leafy greens

thinly sliced chicken* (cooled slightly)

strawberry rounds

pecans

slivered onions

~

delicious

and just perfect for a summer meal

*
I didn't do my usual 'smother it in Cavendars'

for the chicken;

the flavor would have been all wrong.

Instead, I soaked a few breasts in a brine

made of warm water, salt, brown sugar, honey and pepper

before cooking in a hot skillet with a lid for 9 minutes

~

for more ideas and recipes

using summer bounty

see here

~

speaking of cooking chicken in 9 minutes

(which is actually 2 minutes longer than usual, since I hadn't butterflied it)

I bought Lily a couple of frozen dinners for while the guys were gone.

I was worried she'd be hungry

and I wouldn't be able to fix her anything....

She liked the mac & cheese

but really

a dollar

for a tiny serving of mac & cheese

that took 5 1/2 minutes

??

Then there was the little chicken nuggets

with smiley face potatoes.

I pulled them out to put them in the microwave

and the package says it's best cooked in a conventional oven!

15 minutes to heat the oven & another 15 to cook

where

is the appeal??

One could cook real chicken

and microwave a baked potato

in less time than that

and

make extras for other meals.

I went with the less desirable microwaving.

Lily ate them just fine

'Til I sat down with a plate of guacamole and chips

and she said, "Guacamole! I love guacamole!"

and fed those smiley taters

to the dog.