Winter to Spring Spinach Salad

I wish I could put off spring just a little longer. If winter were one of my students, I'd make him repeat a grade, just to enjoy him a little longer. Maybe I should move to Alaska. It's a secret escapist fantasy of mine, anyway. You might think that I don't love spring, but you'd be wrong. I love the chirping birds, the bright blue skies, the colorful flowers, the urge to be outdoors tossing a frisbee. But I love winter, too. I love the coziness, the sparkly frost and snow, the shadowy silhouettes during the dinner hour, the pots simmering and the oven baking, and the solitude of shrinking in and away. If I were Mother Nature, you would be assured 6 months of ice and snow. I'd be about as popular as Obama.

But I'm not in charge. So here comes spring in just a couple of weeks, officially. In the meantime, I find myself craving leafy greens and tender berries, in spite of myself. I'm still hanging on to my zesty citrus and hearty apples, so I created this salad to represent the best of both winter and spring. I admit to eating it daily for lunch. The dressing is sweet with caramel undertones from the brown sugar, yet zesty from the apple cider vinegar and a hint of mustard. The dressing is also deceptively low in fat, but you'll never notice that. But it's spring and that means its almost almost almost swimsuit season. Groan. Just another reason to love winter.

Winter to Spring Salad

Estimated Cost: $5.00

Money Saving Tips: It's almost time to plant spinach! Plant a row of spinach a week to keep you saving all throughout the spring. Choose any apples or berries that you find on sale and vary the nuts according to what you have on hand. You'll have plenty of extra dressing for more salad later in the week.

1 (6 ounce) bag baby spinach

1 large orange, peeled and sectioned

1 sweet apple, sliced thin

1 cup sliced strawberries

1/4 cup paper thin slices of red onion

1/3 cup toasted pecans, broken into bits

For Dressing:

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1/4 cup vegetable oil

salt and pepper to taste

For Salad, layer spinach, orange, apple, strawberries, onions, and pecans on a platter. Combine all dressing ingredients in a jar with a screwtop lid. Shake until well combined. Just before serving, drizzle dressing all over salad.

Next Up:

Captain Crunch Chicken

Orange Pecan Butter Cookies

This is a circle.

This is a more perfect circle. Num, num, num.
Here's another circle to consider: I've been nominated as a Circle of Mom Favorite for Money Saving Moms. I'm coming into the race a day late and a dollar short, so help me out by heading over and casting your vote. Much obliged, partner.
I don't know why it happens this way, but for some reason, whatever West is studying in school turns into something to eat. This week, he's been learning about the rotations and revolutions and seasons of the earth. We got an orange and marked it up with equators and poles. Then we poked a skewer through the center for an axis and headed to a dark room where I manned the flashlight in my role as the light-giving sun. Then in an elaborate and dizzy dance, West rotated and revolved with his orange-Earth. It was starting to get sticky. The orange, not the dance. What to do with a bleeding orange? I remembered a recipe I'd read recently in The Taste of Home Baking Book for orange pecan cookies. (I'm still in the money with pecans, thanks to Ramona. ) West and I mixed these up yesterday afternoon. Bonus-making a recipe helps him with two belt loops for Scouts, too. These little cookies are addictive. They're buttery and crisp, with more than a hint of orange and a crunch of pecan. They make a perfect after school or mid morning snack. So even if you don't have an assignment to finish or planet to imitate or a belt loop to learn, you're going to love them.

Orange Pecan Butter Cookies from Taste of Home

Estimated Cost: $1.50 for 2 dozen

Money Saving Tips: Stock up on butter and freeze it when you find it on sale. These cookies make good use of an orange by using up both the zest and juice. Don't fret if you don't have pecans-almonds, walnuts, or cashews would make good stand-ins. These will last all week in the fridge, so slice and bake only what you need for that day.

1/2 cup butter softened

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon orange zest

1 tablespoon orange juice

1 egg yolk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 and 1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup chopped toasted pecan

In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add zest, orange juice and egg yolk, mixing well. Sprinkle salt and soda over dough and mix to combine. Gently mix in flour in three additions. Gently stir in pecans. Shape dough into 12 inch cylinder. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 1 week. Slice off generous 1/4 inch thick slices. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for about seven minutes.

Up Next: Chicken Paprikash with Buttered Noodles
PS Don't forget to vote for your favorite money-saving Mom. Especially if it's me. :)

20 minute Orange and Rosemary Pork Chops with Couscous

The end of the school year marks not only an academic farewell. Besides graduation ceremonies, there are also recitals, concerts, desfiles, plays, and sundry performances to compete for the busy family's time and attention. The result is a mad dash from event to event, exhausted hungry children, and a desperate wish for a simple, sane summer. I can't help with the closing chaos, but I can help with dinner. This terrific meal will come together in less than 20 minutes. It's yummy and fresh and best of all, there's a leftover bonus to help you jump start dinner in a couple nights when you get home from the Kindergarten Poetry Recital and Dance-a-thon. See the notes below.

20 minute Orange and Rosemary Pork Chops with Couscous

Estimated Cost: $6.50

Notes: For a leftover bonus, cook two extra chops (do not add back into the orange sauce), sprinkled with a pinch of salt and pepper. Slice and toss it in a bag with a couple tablespoons of soy sauce. In two days you'll be ready to make Sesame Lime Pork Noodles. I'll post the recipe on Wednesday.

4 pork chops, about 1 lb.

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

1 cup couscous

about 6 sprigs fresh rosemary

1/4 cup orange marmalade

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1/4 cup honey

Season pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add chops and brown for one minute on each side. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook chops for four minutes on each side. Remove chops to plate, tent with foil. To same skillet add 2 rosemary sprigs, marmalade, Dijon, and honey. Cook and stir over medium high heat, until thick and syrupy, about two minutes. Remove rosemary sprigs and add pork back to skillet. Meanwhile, in a medium microwaveable bowl, place chicken broth. Heat in microwave on high until boiling. Stir in couscous. Cover and let stand until serving time; fluff with fork just before serving. To serve, divide couscous between four plates. Top with pork chop and orange sauce and garnish with rosemary sprigs.

Coming Tomorrow:

Tuesdays With Dorie

French Chocolate Brownies