Strawberry Spinach Salad

I love the blog, Our Best Bites. They have such delicious recipes! The lemon poppy seed vinaigrette is to die for! This salad will make the perfect side for your Easter meal!

Salad:
Spinach
Strawberries
Red Onion
Cucumber
Toasted Almonds

Vinaigrette:
1/3 c. lemon juice
1 t. lemon zest
1/4 c. rice vinegar
1/4 c. canola oil
1/4 c. sugar
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 t. poppy seeds
1 t. grated onion
1 clove garlic, finely minced

Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies

I love it when I find a new food blog. Thanks to this blog, I've added a bunch of new recipes to my "to make" list. These cookies are a new favorite in our house...chewy, tart, sweet & delicious!

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of one large lime
3 tbsp lime juice
½ cup toasted coconut
1/2 cup sugar for rolling cookies
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpats.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Using a mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and very fluffy. This will take a couple of minutes.
4. Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, lime juice and lime zest. Mix until well combined.
5. Gradually add in the dry ingredients and toasted coconut. Mix until combined, don’t over mix.
6. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of cookie dough into balls. Put sugar in a small bowl and roll cookie dough balls in the sugar. Place on lined cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.
7. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. The cookies will start to crack a little bit.
8. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes. Move cookies to a cooling rack.
*Note-to toast the coconut-place coconut on lined baking sheet. Bake for 5-8 minutes at 350 degrees. Tossing a couple of times. Remove from oven when coconut is light brown.*
Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Orange-Kissed Cookies

1 c. white sugar
1/2 c. butter-flavored shortening
1 egg
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (add another 2 tablespoons for high altitudes)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. thawed orange juice concentrate
1 Tbsp. grated orange zest
Frosting1 tsp. grated orange zest
1/4 c. thawed orange juice concentrate
1/2 c. softened butter
3 c. powdered sugar
2-3 drops orange food coloring (optional)
Preheat oven to 375.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a mixer, combine the white sugar and shortening. Beat until well-combined. Add the egg and beat well, then add the sour cream and vanilla and beat for about 1 minute or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture and beat until combined. Add the orange juice concentrate and orange rind and mix well.
Using a cookie scoop, drop the dough/batter (the mixture will be VERY moist–thicker than a cake batter but thinner than traditional cookies) by the tablespoon-ful onto a lined, un-greased baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies are set and just starting to turn golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.
For the frosting, combine the frosting ingredients with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Pipe or spread over the cooled cookies.
**Thanks to allrecipes.com for the recipe & ourbestbites.com for the photo**

Something to think about...

Recently I've picked up this book. It has been a really interesting read. I have been thinking a lot about the foods that my family eats since I watched Food, Inc, and when I saw this book, I knew that I had to read it. It's great for anyone who is interested in their health, or the health of their family. Now I'm not saying that I'm going to go Vegan (I can't imagine life without eggs & milk), but I will be making some significant changes in the way I eat. I plan on giving my family a lot more vegetarian options. I think both our checkbook & our waistlines would benefit from buying & eating less meat. Plus who doesn't want the added benefit of increasing your odds against developing cancer, heart disease and diabetes?