Chicken and Blueberry Summer Salad

I have worked my butt off today at the Hot Rod Car Show, which was a total blast! 

                 (I love the 1950s style)

When I arrived home it was 94 degrees outside and my house was 82.  There was no way you could pay me to turn on our oven.  So, I had to figure out a cook free meal.  That is when I came across a few different salad recipes.  I combined what I'd found and came up with this:

Blueberry and Chicken Summer Salad:

1 package of fresh baby spinach

3 cups of strawberries, stem and slice

2/3 cup of pecan halves, roughly chopped

2 cups of blueberries 

1/2 tomato, chopped

3 cups of chicken chopped (Use leftover chicken breast, this is optional) 

Dressing

1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar 

1 lemon with zest and juice

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 cup of olive oil

Mix your dressing first by pouring in your balsamic vinegar, pepper, lemon zest, and squeezing lemon juice.  Whisk together and slowly add in your olive oil.

While that sits assemble your salad with the ingredients listed above to your desire.  (The amount above made 2 adult servings and 1 child serving) 

Pour a small amount of your dressing on the salad and enjoy! The flavors taste wonderful together. I honestly didn't have high hopes.  Even my six year old cleared her plate.  

Great for a refreshing meal on a hot day!

Strawberry Freezer Jam

Who doesn't love homemade jam?  As a kid I remember getting in my grandma's fridge and lathering my toast with the delicious jam. 

Now that I'm a mom, I want my daughter to enjoy this delicious treat too.  So I decided to try making my first batches of jam.

This was so easy and I'm baffled that I never tried it before now.

Ingredients for one batch

2 cups of mashed strawberries

4 cups of sugar

1 package of pectin 

1 cup of water 

Buy scrumptious strawberries from your local organic market!

Wash and stem your strawberries.

Mash your strawberries in a bowl.

If you want thicker, mash until chunky. If you want smooth, mash until liquid like.

Stir in four cups of sugar and allow your mix to set for 10-15 minutes.

Turn your burner on high.  Pour 1 cup of water into a small sauce pan, slowly pour in your Pectin packet while whisking.  Keep stirring until your mix comes to a boil and stir for one minute. 

Pour your pectin into the bowl you have had sitting and stir for three minutes.

Ladle out your mix into your clean freezer containers and leave 1/2 inch for the mix to settle.  Let sit for three hours then freeze.  

You're done! 

This is two batches