BLT Macaroni Salad

The first time I made this, I made a half batch because I wasn't sure if the family would like it.  You devoured it and then were upset with me that I didn't make more!  :) 

Ingredients:
16 ounces gluten free macaroni noodles, cooked
2/3 cup mayonnaise (plus 3-4 Tablespoons)
3 T rice vinegar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
8 pieces of cooked bacon, crumbled
1 cup chopped tomato, I used cherry tomatoes quartered
1 cup chopped baby spinach
3-4 Tablespoons coconut milk (or regular)

Instructions:

Cook macaroni, drain and set aside.

Mix together the remaining ingredients, except the 3 Tablespoons of mayo and coconut milk, while the macaroni is cooking. Toss with the macaroni. I added a tablespoon of coconut milk and mayo at first then put in the refrigerator until we were ready to eat. When I pulled the salad out of the refrigerator, it needed another tablespoon of each before serving. So add a little extra mayo and coconut milk until you get the consistency you like. Season to taste - enjoy!

Apple Cranberry Kale Salad

One of my favorite salads. Would make a great lunch, could easily add some grilled chicken and be a meal on its own or served as a side, which is what we did!

Ingredients for the salad:
6 cups chopped kale
1 red apple, cored and chopped in small pieces
2/3 cup crisp bacon bits (I cheated and used store bought)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Ingredients for the dressing:
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt + fresh cracked black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

In a large bowl add chopped kale, bacon, apple, walnuts, and cranberries. In a separate bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients: apple juice, mustard, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper. Toss with salad immediately before serving.

Chopped Mexican Salad with Roasted Peppers, Corn, Tomatoes & Avocado

This has been one of your favorite salads since you were 8 years old.  If I am in a pinch, I skip roasting the corn and use canned and skip roasting the peppers and just chop raw.

If you are roasting those veggies, make sure you give yourself some time, the corn and peppers need to roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

Ingredients:
2 large orange peppers
2 ears fresh corn (you can used canned corn if you are short on time)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small clove garlic
3 Tbsp lime juice
3 Tbsp orange juice
2 tsp finely chopped shallot
1 Tbsp honey
3/4 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and finely ground (I just just used cumin powder)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large firm ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded and cut into a small dice
1 small jicama, peeled and cut into small dice (I left this out b/c the jicama I bought tasted off, would add next time)
2 large firm ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and cut into a small dice
1 can 15 oz black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

Roast the peppers and corn:  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Cut the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the stem, seed core, and ribs.  Put the pepper halves on the baking sheet, cut side down.  Husk the corn and put the ears on the baking sheet.  Drizzle the oil over the peppers and corn and rub it around to coat them evenly.  Sprinkle the corn with salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven until the peppers are soft, slightly shriveled and browned, about 20 minutes.  Rotate the corn occasionally as it roasts.

When the vegetables are done, let them rest until cool enough to handle.  Scrape away the pepper skin and cut the flesh into 1/2 inch dice.  Cut the corn kernels away from the cob.

Make the vinaigrette:  Mince and mash the garlic to a paste with 1/4 tsp salt.  In a medium bowl, whisk the garlic paste with the lime and orange juices, shallot, honey and toasted ground cumin.  Slowly add the oil in a thin stream, whisking until well blended.  Season to taste with black pepper and more salt and honey if you like.

Assemble the salad:  Place peppers, corn, tomatoes, jicama, avocados, and place beans in a small platter or other wide shallow serving dish.  Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro.  You can allow each guest to pour the vinaigrette on their own plate or drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad platter before serving, which is what I did.

Avocado Caprese Salad

Caprese salads are my favorite.  But now that I am dairy free, I can't eat it anymore.   I saw this recipe that subbed avocado for the cheese.  Brilliant!  We used fresh tomatoes and basil from our garden and served it as a salad with dinner.  But it would be great served as an appetizer for a party as well.  Definitely a keeper!

Ingredients:
medium tomatoes
avocado
olive oil
salt and pepper
fresh basil

Directions:

Cut the avocado around the equator, remove pit and peel.  Cut into small rounds.  Slice the tomato and salt lightly.

Layer the tomatoes, avocado and basil leaves.  Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper.  Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad

This. Was. So. Good.

Yum.

Really, this salad was good warm and great the next day cold out of the refrigerator.  My oldest daughter liked it, minus the spicy factor.

I found this recipe on PreventionRD's website.  Great meal for lunch, dinner or to bring as a salad to a party.  Will definitely be making this again and again.

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
2 skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
2 cups broccoli
3/4 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 crumbled blue cheese
4 green onions chopped

1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Frank's hot sauce
1/2 tsp seasoned salt

Directions:
In a fine mesh strainer, rinse quinoa under cold water for 1-2 minutes.  In a medium pot over medium high heat, combine quinoa and 2 cups water.  Bring to a boil, cover and turn heat to low.  Cook until all the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes.  Remove from the heat, fluff the quinoa with a fork and transfer to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, combine the olive oil, hot sauce and seasoned salt in a small bowl.  Whisk and set a side.

Heat the pot used to cook the quinoa over medium heat, adding a tablespoon of olive oil.  Add the chicken and cook 3-4 minutes or until nearly cooked through.  Add the broccoli and saute for about 2-3 minutes or until bright green and slightly tender.  Remove from heat and stir in carrots and cabbage.  Add about 1/2 of the buffalo sauce and stir.

Transfer the chicken and the veggies to the bowl with the quinoa and toss with remaining dressing.  Add the blue cheese and half of the green onions.  Toss again and serve warm or chilled.

Favorite Fall Salad

My close friends know I love a good salad.  We have one almost every night with dinner.  Most nights it is just lettuce and a few veggies with ranch dressing.  But every now and then I make a nicer salad.

Ingredients:

Baby lettuce mix

Sliced cherry tomatoes

Sliced cooked beets (I get mine ready to go from Trader Joe's)

Crumbled blue cheese

Chopped pecans or walnuts (I used pecan pralines from Trader Joe's but you don't have to)

Dressing of your choice, I made a balsamic vinaigrette that went very nicely.  

Directions:

I don't measure ingredients when making a salad.  If it looks like it needs more, just add!  Toss all ingredients together and enjoy!

Cucumber & Tomato Salad

We had a lot of cucumbers from our CSA box (sounds like my previous post with onions, yes?  :) and I wanted to make sure we used them up before they went bad.  We were invited to a friends house for a cook out and needed to bring something.  I found this cucumber and tomato salad recipe on this blog and decided to give it a try.  It turned out super yummy!  It's really refreshing and goes nicely with BBQ. I made a few changes and they are listed below.


Ingredients:
10 cherry tomatoes sliced in half
2 medium sized cucumbers
1 tablespoon dill
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 tablespoon of Water
1/2 teaspoon of sugar 
1/4 teaspoon of salt

Sliced onion (about half of one)

Cut the cucumber, onions and tomatoes. I sliced the cucumbers and then cut them into quarters.  The cherry tomatoes I just cut in half.  The onion I sliced and then cut in half.

Add in the oil, vinegar, water, dill salt, and sugar. Stir and put into the fridge to chill.  I chilled for about an hour and then stirred and tasted.  I added a tad bit more olive oil, apple cider vinegar and salt.  Just go by taste.  This salad definitely gets better the more it sits.  I thought it was best the next day.  Gotta let those flavors meld!  Enjoy! 

Summer Corn Salad

Jordan found this great corn salad in a Taste of Home Grilling edition magazine. He pointed to it and asked if I could make it. Why yes, I can and I was so glad he found it because it was delicious! Very refreshing and a great side to something grilled.

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce
5 tsp olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tsp cups fresh corn (or frozen)
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup finely chopped cucumber
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 Tablespoons minced fresh basil
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk the lime juice, salt, pepper sauce, and 4 tsp olive oil; set aside.

In a large skillet, saute corn in remaining oil until tender. Transfer to a salad bowl; add the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, & basil. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat.

Let salad stand for 10 minutes before serving or refrigerate until chilled. Sprinkle with cheese just before serving.

Quinoa Salad with Peaches

I made this salad to go with the Spicy Honey Brushed Chicken Thighs that I made a few weeks ago.  Both recipes came from a Cooking Light magazine.  I didn't even know what "quinoa" was but thought it sounded yummy so we gave it a try.  I also looked quinoa up on wikipedia -  "Quinoa has a light, fluffy texture when cooked, and its mild, slightly nutty flavor makes it an alternative to white rice or couscous."

Well there you have it!  If you ever get tired of making plain old rice give this quinoa salad a try!  It's delicious! 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup quinoa
1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped green onions
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp pepper
1 sliced peach (I sliced mine into bite sized pieces so it would be easier to eat)

Directions:

Bring water to boil in a medium saucepan.  Add quinoa.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.  Cool quinoa slightly.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Enjoy!

Favorite Summer Salad

I love salads that have fruit in them. This is a salad that I make on a regular basis in the summer. You can use any type of lettuce you like. I used spinach leaves & sweet butter lettuce this time.

This salad changes depending on what type of fruit I have. This time I sliced up a few strawberries & cherry tomatoes and added some canned Mandarin oranges. Then put on your favorite vinaigrette. I like to use a balsamic vinaigrette. Then top with dried cranberries and crumbled Gorgonzola cheese or feta.

This salad is great to make ahead and take to a party. Just put the cranberries & feta on top and drizzle the dressing on before it's time to eat!

Give this salad a try - I promise you won't be disappointed!!

Flank Steak with Rosemary, Black Pepper & Balsamic Vinegar

Finally, a post! :)

Just having a baby plus a toddler makes it hard to find time to cook let alone cook new recipes! Things are settling down a bit so hopefully you'll see some regular posting again.

I made this recipe a few weeks ago and I really liked it. Jordan liked the meat and the sauce but left the lettuce on his plate. When I asked him why he didn't eat the lettuce with the meat he said, "I don't like leaves with my meat." Oops! Jordan likes salad but as a side. Who knew?!

Well, I thought it was good and for those of you who like "leaves with your meat" I think you'll like this too!

Ingredients:
1-1 1/2 pound flank steak, trimmed and cut into four portions
4 1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 tsp finely crushed black peppercorns
3/4 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
8 oz arugula (I used bag lettuce I had in the fridge)

Directions:

Combine rosemary, pepper and salt. Press it into the steaks. Coat a large skillet with the oil and set it over high heat. When the oil is just barely smoking add the meat, lower the heat slightly, and sear the steaks (in batches if necessary) for 4-5 minutes on each side for medium rare.



Transfer the meat to a cutting board and tent with foil. Lower the heat to medium and add the vinegar - it will bubble furiously, and the fumes will be sharp at first. Raise the heat and bring the vinegar to a boil. Continue boiling and stirring until vinegar is reduced - about 5 minutes. Stir in any juices collected from the meat. Cut the steaks into 1/4 inch thick slices. Portion the arugula onto four plates and arrange the meat slices on top. Spoon the sauce over the meat and greens and serve.



I served ours with corn on the cob and potatoes. Enjoy!

Granny's Potato Salad

Granny's Famous Potato Salad Recipe.  :)  

 It's easy to make but there really isn't a recipe per say. I'll try my best though!

Ingredients:
5 pound bag of potatoes
Hard Boiled Eggs  (1 egg for every potato)
2-3 stalks of celery, chopped
minced onion - how much depends on if you like onion. I'm not much of a fan so I only put in a handful
Hellman's mayonnaise (must be Hellman's)
yellow mustard
garlic salt or garlic powder and salt
pepper

Directions:

Cook potatoes with skins on in a large pot of boiling water with salt until fork tender. Drain and peel skins once the potatoes are cool enough to handle. Cut potatoes into chunks and place in a large bowl.



Chop eggs, onion & celery and toss in with potatoes. Everything from here is added to taste. With this batch I ended up putting in about 6 heaping wooden spoonful's of mayo. I would start out with a few, stir - then add more if you think it needs it. Add mustard, pepper & garlic salt - all to taste.

Give it a good stir and taste. Add more seasonings, taste. Repeat until you have a potato salad you are happy with. :)

Southwest Orzo & Black Bean Salad

The office manager at my office made this salad for a work function a while back. This is so good - definitely something I will make often, especially during the summer. It's cold and refreshing - a great compliment to grilled chicken!

I made this during the warm spell we had a few weeks ago. We did have it with grilled chicken and ate out on the deck. So nice & yummy!

Dressing Ingredients:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Combine and mix well with whisk or put in a jar and shake.

Main Ingredients:
1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
2 cups cooked orzo pasta (or rice)
1 cup frozen corn, thawed (I used canned corn)
1/2 jar (7.25 oz) roasted red peppers, sliced
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
Chopped fresh cilantro to taste (optional)

Combine all ingredients and then add dressing. Toss to coat well and let marinate for several hours in the refrigerator. Allow to stand at room temperature for about 1 hour prior to serving.



I let the salad come to room temperature the first night we ate this. For the leftovers I did not and really I thought it tasted just fine cold so you may be able to skip that step.