Lunch

Strawberry Stand Spinach Salad

Local, fresh fruit makes the best recipes even better. This salad makes a perfect light lunch.

¼ cup sliced, toasted almonds
2 cups hulled, sliced strawberries
1 cucumber
1 small, thin sliced red onion
12 oz baby spinach

1 lemon
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
½ cup sugar or substitute
2 teaspoons canola oil
2 teaspoons poppy seeds

Place spinach in a salad bowl. Hull and slice strawberries. Cut cucumber lengthwise and using a spoon, remove all of the seeds, slice ¼ inch think. Cut onion in half then slice each half into thin pieces. Sprinkle strawberries, cucumbers and onion on top of the spinach.

For dressing, zest lemon to measure 1 teaspoon. Juice lemon. Combine zest, juice, vinegar, sugar, oil and poppy seeds in a small bowl. Whisk until blended then pour over salad, gently tossing to coat. Sprinkle with almonds and serve immediately.

THE EXTRA MILE: Before cutting the cucumber peel stripes lengthwise down the cucumber giving it a more garnished presentation.

ChefBoyRV TIP: Cucumbers will last longer after being cut when seeded. This tip is ideal if you want to make Strawberry Stand Spinach Salad before you leave for your trip. Store in an airtight container for 1-3 days.

(recipe courtesy of ChefBoyRV)

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Classic Corn Dogs and Cheese on a Stick ( same batter recipe used by the famous corn dog 7 chain of stores! )

Ingredients:

1. 6 cups Krusteaz Pancake Mix ( I don’t think any alarms would go off if you used Bisquick or Aunt Jemima, but the Corn dog 7 recipe called for Krusteaz, and I do what Corn Dog 7 tells me to do….seriously, just do what Corn dog 7 tells you to do and you’re good to go. )
2. 2 cups Yellow Corn Meal
3. 2 whole Eggs, Slightly Beaten
4. 6 cups Water, More If Needed To Thin Batter
5. Hot Dogs
6. Cheese, Cut Into 1/2-inch X 3 Inch Sticks
7. Chopsticks
8. Canola Oil, For Frying
9. Spicy Mustard, For Serving

Preparation Instructions

**USE CAUTION WHEN FRYING WITH OIL. KEEP POT AWAY FROM SMALL KIDDOS**

In a large bowl, combine pancake mix and cornmeal. Stir to combine. Add eggs and water, adding more water as needed for the batter to become slightly thick (but not overly gloopy.) Start out by adding 4 cups, then work your way up to 6 cups or more.

Heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Drop in a bit of batter to see if it’s ready: the batter should immediately start to sizzle but should not immediately brown/burn.

Insert sticks into hot dogs so that they’re 2/3 of the way through. Do the same with the cheese sticks.

Dip the hot dogs into the batter and allow excess to drip off for a couple of seconds. Carefully drop into the oil (stick and all) and use tongs or a spoon to make sure it doesn’t hit the bottom of the pan and stick. Flip it here and there to ensure even browning, and remove it from the oil when the outside is deep golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Then, when it’s nice and deep golden brown, remove it from the oil and let it drain on a paper towel-lined plate. (And don’t worry if it has a couple of tails or lumps. Just call it rustic and you’re good. )

Repeat with cheese, allowing it to get as golden as possible so that cheese will melt completely.

Serve with spicy mustard.

Whip these up sometime, guys! They’re fun to make and really, really yummy. Marlboro Man and the boys, the corn dog connoisseurs in our RV, love them because they’re crispy on the outside and soft on the inside….Yum!

(recipe courtesy of Ree Drummond….thanks, Ree!)

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Jim’s bar-b-que grilled shrimp

INGREDIENTS

1 lb jumbo shrimp
1 package turkey bacon

bar-b-que sauce

DIRECTIONS

Rinse shrimp and assemble on skewers. Spray grill with olive oil cooking spray.  Lay turkey bacon on grill and cook until crisp, turning as needed to prevent burning. After bacon cools, crumble into tiny pieces.  Re-spray grill and lay shrimp skewers on, cooking until shrimp is no longer translucent – again, turn once during the cooking process to prevent burning. Remove shrimp from grill and immediately cover with bar-b-que sauce. Then sprinkle with bacon.