Joshua's Blessing Dinner

Graciously, Mom hosted EVERYONE at her house for Joshua's Blessing and Father's Day dinner. We had a simple menu, that was delicious!

Marinated, BBQ-grilled Chicken
Tossed Lemon and Strawberry Salad
Tri-Colore Orzo Salad (substituted spinach for the arugula)
Aunt Terri's Pear and Feta Salad
Grilled Asparagus
Tamara's Homemade Rolls
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream

Tossed Lemon and Strawberry Salad
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C corn oil
3 Tbsp lemon zest
1/4 C lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp mustard seed
1/4 C sliced almonds
3/4 C dried cranberries
3 green apples
15 whole strawberries
12 oz. raw spinach

Combine first 4 ingredients in a blender. Add mustard seed and blend again. Toast almonds on a cookie sheet at 350*F, for about 3 minutes. Rinse and diced apples. Rinse and slice strawberries. Wash spinach and remove stems, tear into bite-size pieces. Toss spinach with dressing and top with almonds, cranberries, apples, and strawberries. Serve immediately.

Aunt Terri's Pear and Feta Salad
Salad:
1 bag Riviera or mixed salad greens
1 pear (Bartlett or Bosc) cut in ½ “chunks
1 cup crumbled Feta
½ cup dried cranberries
1 cup caramelized or toasted Pecans
Dressing: (only make ½ the recipe)
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
¾ cup sugar (you could try Splenda)
2 t. Dijon mustard
1 t. salt
2/3 cup white wine vinegar
2 cups vegetable oil
1/1/2 T. poppy seeds

Blend onion, sugar, mustard, salt and vinegar in a blender or food processor. Slowly drizzle vegetable oil while blending. Stir in poppy seeds, don’t blend them up.
Add dressing just before serving. Even ½ the dressing recipe is too much for one salad you will have left over dressing.

Tamara's Homemade Rolls
2 Tbsp yeast
2 C warm water
2/3 C powdered milk
1/2 C sugar
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 C melted margarine
7 - 7 1/2 C flour

Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Stir in milk, sugar, salt, eggs, margarine, and 2 C flour. Mix until smooth. Mix enough of the remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. Turn dough onto a lightly foured surface, knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 min). Place in a greased bowl, turn greased side up, cover. Let rise in a warm place until double in size. Form rolls. Let rise 40 minutes before baking. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake rolls for 15-20 minutes.