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Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Mint Dressing

June 16, 2014 By Erin Kennedy Leave a Comment

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Fruit salad and summer go hand in hand. Especially in this house. When the temp reaches in the triple digits, and stays there for 3 – 4 months, we want to eat something cool and refreshing.

The mint lime dressing is the perfect accompaniment. It is almost like a fruit mojito. You have to try this dressing. It is so yummy and I can’t get enough of it on any kind of fruit. Not to mention that it is so simple, it is almost a crime not to add this dressing onto your fruit salad.
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Fruit-Salad

I made this salad for a tapas date night, so I used fruits that were tropical and my vibrant. I included pineapple, strawberries, kiwis and watermelon, but you can use any of your favorite fruits for this recipe. I just love the combination of the fruits I chose and I love how vibrant and bright these fruits are. I used a melon baller for the watermelon, but that was mostly just for presentation. It is optional obviously. But I have always loved a good melon baller to make my fruit in little bite size shapes.

IMG_9151 [Read more…]

Filed Under: Appetizers, Clean Eating, Desserts, Dinner Parties, Entertaining, Recipes, Salads, Sides, The Skinny, Vegetarian Tagged With: fruit salad, lime mint dressing, tropical fruit salad, vibrant fruit

Southern Sweet Tea

June 10, 2014 By Madison Wetherill Leave a Comment

When I moved to North Carolina, sweet tea was a bit of a foreign concept to me. For one, I don’t really enjoy the taste of any tea (I know, shameful). Two, my parents have always had unsweetened tea, which is apparently like drinking decaf coffee to any coffee connoisseur. So I can vividly remember the first time my mom and I were in North Carolina visiting my future college and when the waitress asked her sweet or unsweet, she burst out laughing because she forgot that was a thing here.

Anyways, I digress. I’ve never had an issue not liking tea even though I am in the south. The problem came when I married a guy from Virginia. When my best friend would come to visit, she’d always bring a large mason jar of sweet tea. Finally I decided it was time to ask for her prized recipe. She graciously offered to share it with me and let me share it with y’all!

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Drinks & Smoothies, Entertaining Tagged With: iced tea, southern sweet tea, sweet tea

Quinoa Arugula Salad with Beets, Peaches & Walnuts Tossed in a Pinot Noir Vinaigrette

May 7, 2014 By Erin Kennedy Leave a Comment

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I just tried quinoa for the first time last year. I don’t know why I was scared of it. So I just avoided it. But last year, I had the opportunity to try it at a luncheon. I loved it! It has such a nice nutty flavor. The flavor was completely unexpected, but I really liked it a lot. I also like that fact that it is a healthy grain and yet gluten-free.

I chose to make a beet salad with quinoa to make it hearty and beets are in season right now. Once you roast them, they are some tasty treats. I thought that a red wine vinaigrette was the perfect accompaniment to the beets.

I made this delicious salad for my Farm-to-Table Potluck. You can see all the recipes from that event here. 

Arugula-Peaches-Beets Salad

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Quinoa Arugula Salad with Beets Peaches & Walnuts Tossed in a Pinot Noir Vinaigrette

Ingredients

    Salad
  • 3 cups cooked quinoa
  • 2 cups washed arugula
  • 2 medium beets (I used 1 red and 1 yellow)
  • 2 peaches
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • Pinot Noir Vinaigrette
  • 3/4 cup Pinot Noir
  • 1 1/2 tbsp runny honey
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

    Salad
  1. Cook quinoa according to package instructions
  2. Scrub beets, wrap in tinfoil and roast at 375 degrees until easily pierced with a fork for about 45 minutes.
  3. Once beets are cooked, remove from oven and let cool. Peel off skins and chop into 1? pieces.
  4. In a bowl add the quinoa, arugula, peaches, beets and walnuts. Add beets at the last minute or after you have tossed in vinaigrette or you will have a pink salad, unless that is what you are going for!
  5. Vinaigrette
  6. In a bowl whisk wine and honey. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste
3.1
http://mycookingspot.com/quinoa-arugula-salad-with-beets-peaches-walnuts-tossed-in-a-pinot-noir-vinaigrette/

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Filed Under: Clean Eating, Dinner Parties, Entertaining, Entrees, Gluten Free, Recipes, Salads, Sides, The Skinny, Vegetarian

Deconstructed Pasta Salad with Lemon Chardonnay Vinaigrette

May 6, 2014 By Erin Kennedy Leave a Comment

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 I love this salad because:

1. I think it looks beautiful and

2. It is so yummy and full of farmer’s market fresh ingredients.

This is the type of salad that is to surely please your guests. A deconstructed pasta salad is great because you can use any ingredients, but I chose these specific ingredients because they are all in season for spring, the bright colors, and they all came from the farm (besides the pasta of course.)

I loved the color of the egg yolks, and I was able to include these farm fresh eggs in this salad because it is deconstructed. If I mixed this salad all together, the eggs would fall apart. Honestly, the eggs with this vinaigrette could be a snack all on its own it is so tasty. So I couldn’t leave them out.

I wanted it to be easy for my guests to take a scoop of the salad ingredients and not worry about the dressing. So I tossed the pasta and mozzarella balls before I placed them in their line up. However, if guests wanted more, they could always add more vinaigrette.

This salad was perfect for my Farm-to-Table potluck that I threw. With all the fresh ingredients, it was the perfect accompaniment.

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Print
Deconstructed Pasta Salad with a Lemon Chardonnay Vinaigrette

Ingredients

    Salad
  • 2 cups mini bowtie pasta
  • 1 english cucumber
  • 1 cup heirloom mini tomatoes cut in half
  • 6 - 7 basil leaves chopped
  • 1 1/2 cup french green beans
  • 3 - 4 hard boiled eggs cut in quarters
  • 1 cup mini mozzarella balls
  • Lemon Chardonnay Vinaigrette
  • 1/3 cup chardonnay
  • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. honey
  • salt & pepper
  • 3/4 cup olive oil

Instructions

    Salad
  1. On a large platter, line each ingredient next to each other in rows except for the pasta and mozzarella. Cook pasta per instructions. Rinse. Toss pasta in vinaigrette and line in row. Toss mozzarella in vinaigrette and line on platter.
  2. Vinaigrette
  3. Whisk lemon, chardonnay, honey, salt and pepper in a bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Chill for an hour. Will last for 1 week covered and refrigerated.
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http://mycookingspot.com/deconstructed-pasta-salad-with-lemon-chardonnay-vinaigrette/

 

 

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You can see all the Farm-to-Table recipes for my potluck here. 

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Filed Under: Appetizers, Dinner Parties, Entertaining, Recipes, Salads, The Skinny, Theme Parties, Vegetarian

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