Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, we can look forward to Christmas. That means Christmas decorations, Christmas parties, Christmas cookies, and so on. Unfortunately, statistics show that the average American gains one pound in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas largely due to the amount of food consumed at parties and cookies and treats enjoyed when at home.

To help you avoid that dreaded pound, I present to you a delicious fruit salad that would be a welcome addition to your Christmas Party spread. By cutting the fruit fresh, rather than using the canned variety, your salad will not only look fresh but you will avoid the sugary syrup that are often included in the cans. The poppy seed dressing elevates the salad to something special, more than just simply cut fruit. I hope you will enjoy this as much as I do.

Printer Friendly Version

Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing


Ingredients
2 bananas, sliced
2 apples, chopped
2 oranges, cut into slices
2 cups green grapes
2 cups pineapple chunks
1 cup white distilled vinegar
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Instructions

Pour the cup of vinegar into a large measuring cup and add the sugar. 

Add the oil and stir to combine.

Pour into a food processor.

Add the mustard

and poppy seeds.

Turn on the food processor and run for about a minute to fully blend.

Set aside.

Add the bananas,

apples,

oranges,

grapes, and pineapples into a bowl.

Toss to mix.

Cover with saran wrap and set in the fridge until ready to serve. Immediately before serving pour the poppy seed dressing over the fruit, or place in mini pitchers on the table for guests to dress the fruit themselves.

Pineapple Teriyaki Salmon

Another Salmon recipe! I decided to make this recipe when I was reading the titles of a few recipes to Bunker and he perked up when I read "Pineapple Teriyaki Salmon." I was really low on energy and not in the best of moods, so part of me wanted to go out to dinner, but the larger part of me wanted to stay home with the pups. Anyways...the deciding factor was Bunker. He was so excited about this recipe that he offered to go to the grocery store with me to gather the ingredients and then go to Blockbuster and get a movie for the night! It ended up being a fun family field trip, and the dinner ended up being simple perfection. So glad that we stayed home and cooked a yummy dinner for ourselves.

Sweet Shafer

Honestly, I know I am not a salmon aficionado, but this salmon was cooked perfectly and the flavors combined to make a fresh and bright dinner. We paired our salmon with a vegetable stir-fry of broccoli, carrots, mushrooms and brown rice. I only made about 8 ounces of salmon since it was just the two of us, therefore, I had extra sauce that I was able to use on the stir-fry. This recipe is from Cooking Light, and my only changes were using honey rather than brown sugar, 8 ounces of salmon rather than the amount specified, I used olive oil rather than Canola oil, and I cooked the salmon about 2 minutes longer than the recipe specified (due to the fact that my one 8 ounce piece was thicker than the 6 ounces pieces specified in the recipe).

Cute Cort

Not only was this recipe tasty, but I also learned something. So, in the title, they use the word Teriyaki, and I immediately went to my sauces to make sure that I had Teriyaki sauce. Well, take a quick glance at the ingredients. "Teriyaki sauce" is nowhere to be seen! Or is it? I looked up Teriyaki sauce, and indeed, upon further inspection, Teriyaki is clearly part of this recipe. Teriyaki is actually a technique in which you make a sweet soy sauce marinade produced by boiling together soy sauce with honey or sugar until it is reduced and thickened, and then brushed onto a meat that is grilled or broiled. Always fun to learn something new in the kitchen!

Printer Friendly Version:


Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of grated orange zest
1 (6 ounce) can of pineapple juice (yes...you will have to go ahead and buy the 6 pack...sorry)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1 salmon filet (8 ounces) (this was just the perfect amount for two people)

Steps:
1. Gather your ingredients.

2. Combine the honey, soy sauce, orange zest and pineapple juice in a small saucepan.

3. Bring the contents of the small saucepan to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 15 minutes. You want the sauce to be thickened and reduced to between 1/4 and 1/2 a cup. Set aside.

4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
5. Prepare the salmon fillet by sprinkling with the salt and pepper.

6. Add the olive oil to a small pan and heat to medium-high heat. Let the pan get hot before adding the salmon.
7. Add the salmon skin side up to the pan and sear for three minutes.

8. Remove the salmon from the pan and place in a baking dish that is sprayed with cooking spray.

9. Place the dish in the oven for one minute.
10. Remove the salmon and add as much of the sauce as you desire (I used about half and I used the other half as the sauce for our vegetable and brown rice stir-fry.

11. Return the fish to the oven for another 1 to 3 minutes depending on thickness. You want the fish to flake easily. Mine took 3 minutes as it was a bit on the thicker side.

12. Enjoy at home with a simple stir-fry!