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Summer is finally here and I love seeing all of the fresh fruits and vegetables at the store and the farm stands!!  This is a simple fresh salad that you can change up anyway you like! Add whatever berries you like and if you don’t like goat cheese… change that too.  Don’t like avocado, simply leave it out!  I served this with a fruit vinegrette, it was perfect!

 

 

INGREDIENTS
9 ounces baby spinach
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup raspberries
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup chopped basil
1 avocado, chopped
4 ounces goat cheese

DIRECTIONS
Simply add all ingredients into a large bowl, mix well and serve with vinegrette.

Enjoy!

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I found this recipe at www.iowagirleats.com

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This salad was so refreshing! With warmer temperatures starting to arrive I have really been wanting all of those fresh summer flavors.  I also wanted something light and this hit the spot! So easy to put together and can easily be made for a crowd!

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS
3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large cucumber or two small, sliced
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill

DIRECTIONS
Mix apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, olive oil, sugar and salt together until well combined. Add your sliced cucumbers, halved tomatoes and thinly sliced red onion. Mix well covering your vegetables with the sauce. Add chopped fresh dill and mix again. This is best when it sits for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

 

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Thsi recipe can be found at www.lookwhoscookingnow.com

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This salad is so good! I ate a lot of salad over the summer and when school started back up, I went right into comfort food. Not really the best thing to do. But I wanted to make something for Craig who is a good friend who took some time out of his day to custom make something for me. (You will be seeing and hearing about that a little later) .  Craig asked me to make him a dessert so I did that, but also wanted to make him something a little more so this was it!  He and his shift at the fire station were able to enjoy this delicious fall salad.

INGREDIENTS
Pomegranate infused craisins
Granny Smith apple
pear
Romaine lettuce
Goat cheese
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 clove garlic
1 lime,  juiced
salt
pepper

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Pecans (recipe below)
2 cups pecan halves
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with non stick foil and spray with non stick spray. Put the pecans on the prepared baking sheet, sprinkle with pie spice,chili powder and sea salt. Drizzle with olive oil and maple syrup. Mix well coating all of the pecans. Bake for 15 minutes stirring every five minutes. Remove from oven, stir and let cool. Store in air tight container.

Poppy Seed Dressing (recipe below)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk (I used 1 percent)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
pinch of salt
Combine all dressing ingredients and whisk until well blended. Store in the refrigerator.

DIRECTIONS
The chicken will need to marinade for 2-4 hours.  Add the vegetable oil, rice vinegar, sugar, garlic, lime salt, and pepper to a heavy duty resealable plastic bag, mix well and add the chicken. Keep in fridge for 2-4 hours, remove from bag,  then bake  (keep covered with foil while baking) in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until cooked completely through.  When the chicken is done and cooled, chop the chicken into bite size pieces.

To assemble the salad start with the romaine lettuce and add the craisins, apple, pear, prepared pecans, goat cheese and the chicken. Top with the dressing and serve. I like the chicken to be slightly warm when I serve this!

Enjoy,

 

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If you read my Friday post about Pickity Place, I mentioned how incredible the salad was there. Guess what? If you sign up for their newsletter they send you recipes and lucky for me and you the recipe sent out this month was the incredible Farro salad that is on the August menu! I can’t tell you how delicious this salad is… ooooh sooooo gooood!

This recipe will serve 4-6

INGREDIENTS
1 large ripe tomato
1 small red onion, sliced
1 cup cooked farro (cook following instructions on box)
1 pound mozzarella
1 bunch fresh basil
1 pinch lemon salt
1 pinch granulated garlic
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 head Romaine, sliced into strips

To make the cheese, spray a sheet pan with non stick spray, spread parchment paper on the sheet tray and spray the paper with non-stick spray. Evenly spread cheese on pan and top with fresh basil, granulated garlic, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Bake in a 350 degree oven until melted about 8 minutes. Remove and let cool to room temperature. Cut into squares or triangles (or use a cookie cutter to make into various shapes)

To assemble the salad start with placing the romaine on the bottom of the plate, top with cooked Farro.  Next add a slice of tomato, lightly sprinkle with lemon salt. Add the onion. Dress with the sun dried tomato vinaigrette. Lastly garnish with the beautiful mozzarella cheese.

SUN DRIED TOMATO VINAIGRETTE
6 sweet basil leaves
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup canola oil
salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together and blend with a hand blender.
Add pepper to taste

Enjoy,

 

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imageI made this salad for dinner one night and we loved it!  Full of big BOLD flavor! We liked it so much we each had it for lunch the next day! Feel free to add whatever veggies you like to the salad.  I used what I had on hand that day!

INGREDIENTS
3 chicken breasts
1 bottle of Iron Chef General T’so’s Sauce
Romaine lettuce
red bell pepper
scallions
roasted peanuts

 

DIRECTIONS
Place the chicken and enough of the sauce to coat the chicken in a Ziploc bag and let marinate for a couple hours up to 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the marinated chicken in a baking dish and bake for 40 minutes or until cooked through. While the chicken is baking, chop your salad ingredients and place them in a large bowl. Add roasted peanuts. When the chicken is done, take out of oven and let sit for ten minutes. Chop the chicken into bite size pieces. Add the chicken into the salad and drizzle with some of the leftover sauce from the bottle.

Enjoy!

 

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