Kale, Brussels Sprouts & Cherry Salad

One of my favorite childhood stories about my husband is the time he filled his plate with Brussels sprouts because he thought they were cute, only to be taken aback by their less-than-pleasant taste.

Despite his disappointment, he knew he had to follow his family's rule of "take what you want, but eat what you take." So he "tried to swallow one whole to get them off my plate. And I choked and almost died!"

Instead, he sneakily stuffed the Brussels sprouts into his pants pockets. Later that night, he launched his dirty clothes down the laundry shoot — Brussels sprouts and all. They were only discovered days later when my mother-in-law did the laundry.

While Brussels sprouts may be an acquired taste for some (my husband enjoys them now) my boys are not big fans — yet.

This salad, which is from a Six Sisters Stuff menu plan, is my latest attempt to win them over. Alas, I still have some work to do.

I and my husband, on the other hand, loved this side dish. It has subtle sweet and savory flavors and holds up very well for a few days in the fridge.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Kale, Brussels Sprouts & Cherry Salad
Inspired by this recipe from Six Sisters Stuff

1 bunch purple kale, finely chopped
1 pound Brussels sprouts, finely chopped
1 cup dried cherries
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 green onions, finely diced
1/3 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese

Mix kale, Brussels sprouts, cherries and almonds in a large bowl. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, Dijon mustard, olive oil and salt and pepper until blended and smooth. Stir in green onions.

Pour dressing over greens and stir to combine. Sprinkle with cheese and serve. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Quick Cucumber Salad

Once again we have a bumper crop of cucumbers. They seem to be the only thing we can grow in our tower garden. Time to make cucumber salad, a nice, light side dish to a dinner in which the husband grilled burgers, sausages and chicken (for the week, not just one dinner!)

Even the kids LOVE this cucumber salad. I prefer it to the creamy Hungarian version, but that's good too. Put this on your culinary radar for when you have an abundance of cucumbers.

XOXO,
Amy

Quick Cucumber Salad
2 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced (I used the 1/16" setting on my mandoline.)
1/3 cup vinegar — apple cider or white
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh or jarred dill weed or parsley, if desired (I much prefer dill.)

Place sliced cucumbers in small glass or plastic bowl, preferably one that has a lid that fits.

Combine remaining ingredients and pour over the cukes. Cover and refrigerate at least three hours to blend the flavors. Drain cucumbers. Sprinkle with dill weed (or parsley). Serve.

Confession: I have made this when I've only had time to let the cukes sit and marinate for one hour, and nobody could tell as they were too busy stuffing their faces.

Creamy Shrimp Salad

When I served this salad, my husband was surprised to see large whole shrimp — which is why I decided to try this recipe.

I usually associate shrimp salad with those tiny "salad shrimp." An email from the Food Network highlighting this dish caught my eye.

This is perfect for a warm day or when you need a meal that you can prep ahead of time. (The dressing tastes even better if it has time to sit in the fridge for a bit.) Creamy shrimp salad is good on buns for lunch or on top of greens for a light dinner. Leftovers stand up well in the fridge, too.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Creamy Shrimp Salad
Inspired by this recipe from Ina Garten

2.5 to 3 pounds of large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tail off
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon orange zest (about the amount you can get from 2 oranges)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/4 cup minced dill
2 tablespoons drained capers
2 tablespoons red onion, diced small

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. You will need one or two large baking sheets so that the shrimp can be arranged in a single layer.

Place shrimp, oil, salt and pepper on a large baking sheet and toss together. Roast for 6 to 8 minutes or until is pink and cooked through. Remove from oven and let cool.

In a medium bowl combine remaining ingredients to make the dressing, beginning with the mayonnaise. Stir well. Add shrimp to a large bowl and pour about 1/2 the dressing on top. Gently stir to evenly coat.

Add more dressing to taste or until all shrimp are coated. Save any extra dressing in the fridge to add to leftover salad or to spread on buns or bread if you make shrimp salad sandwiches. A garnish of orange slices would be nice, too.

Ramen & Bok Choy Salad

This recipe is a bit of a classic. I've been making it for 14 years — ever since a good friend whipped some up during my bachelorette weekend in Myrtle Beach.

This summer's trip with my husband's family reminded me of this salad as my sister-in-law and I reminisced about that long-ago girls weekend.

When we got home from vacation, I wanted to see if my kids would like this dish, especially since Sam still loves ramen noodles.

The verdict? I still find this salad addicting and my husband still enjoys it. Not so much for my boys. But hey, more for me!

This recipe makes enough for a crowd. Leftovers still taste good on Day 2, but the ingredients will be a little less crunchy. If you want to make less, cut the recipe in half by using a small head of bok choy or 4-5 baby bok choy.

Do you make a version of this salad? Let us know how you do it at your house!

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Ramen & Bok Choy Salad
Inspired by my friend Claire

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 packages ramen noodles, broken into small pieces (Set aside seasoning packet for another use.)
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 large head of bok choy
1 bunch green onions, sliced (5 or 6 stalks)
1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white sugar

Note: You can prep this salad in advance, but don't add the dressing until you are ready to serve it.

Heat oil over medium heat in large sauce pan. Add ramen noodles, almonds, sesame seeds and sugar. Still until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

Chop the bok choy leaves and the white stalks into small pieces and place in large bowl. Add green onions. Stir to combine. Set aside.

To make the dressing, combine oil, vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in a container with a tight lid. Shake to mix. Set aside.

When ready to serve, combine ramen noodle mix with bok choy mix. Add half the dressing and stir to evenly coat. Add more dressing as needed. (You may not need all of it.)

Poppyseed Egg Salad

A few weeks ago, with my nieces in town to hang out with my girls for what is known as Cousin Camp, we had a tea party with some other friends. I made PB&J and cream cheese and jam sandwiches in the shapes of hearts and flowers. But what about for the adults? I hadn't thought that far ahead. Fortunately, egg salad popped to mind, because all of the ingredients — including poppyseeds, which give this version a subtle nutty flavor and crunch — are always on hand.

My friend Ashley, who brought her girls to the tea party, and I were like "Omigosh, egg salad is sooooo good." There wasn't a whole lot of talking during the eating, actually.

Why don't I make egg salad more often? Well, the hubby is watching his cholesterol, and the kids won't eat it. But I'm here to tell you, my friends, that it's good to make dishes for just yourself (and a like-minded friend) sometimes. Besides, taste buds change, too. I now have one kid, Lucy, who absolutely loves this egg salad. I found out about Lucy's new love of egg salad when the leftovers that had my name (figuratively) all over them for a late post-cycle class lunch were half eaten when I got to them.

I hope you enjoy this simple, classic dish with a twist. I hope that sometimes you make something that only you like ... for now.

XOXO,
Amy



Poppyseed Egg Salad
12 hardboiled eggs
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon poppyseeds
Salt and pepper, to taste

Peel and cut up eggs; transfer to bowl. Add rest of ingredients and stir gently (so as not to make the eggs a mushy mess) until combined.

Question: Do you know how to boil eggs? That is, do you know how to boil eggs so that the yolks are perfectly cooked without any greenish hint of being overdone? And do you know how to boil eggs so that the shells come off easily, without taking out hunks of egg white?

No? Well, here is what to do. Place eggs in a pot and add water so that it there's at least an inch of water over the tops of the eggs. Add some salt to the water and set pot over high heat. Once the water comes to a rapid boil, allow water to continue its full-paced boil and the eggs to cook for another two minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove eggs and transfer to a bowl of ice cubes and cold water. Peel eggs immediately after they are cooled, within about 10-15 minutes.

Oh, and here's Lucy enjoying an open-faced egg salad sandwich.

Grilled Eggplant Caprese

Oh, sweet eggplant. Paired with tomatoes, basil, oil and balsamic, this purple beauty really shines.

If you are enjoying an abundance of tomatoes from your garden or farmer's market, this dish is a great way to put that fresh summer taste to work. The eggplant caprese makes a great side salad, appetizer or vegetarian main dish.

Never grilled eggplant before? It's a quick way to get a mellow, smoky flavor, and the eggplant will hold up well the next day, too. If you like, you can grill the eggplant ahead of time.

If you are like me and just can't get enough of grilled eggplant, try these dishes, too — Grilled Eggplant with Chimichurri Sauce or Grilled Eggplant Salad. 

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Grilled Eggplant Caprese

1 medium eggplant, sliced into 1/4 slices
Olive oil (about 1/2 cup, plus more for drizzling)
Balsamic vinegar (about 1/2 cup, plus more for drizzling)
4 to 5 medium tomatoes, sliced
15 basil leaves, divided
1 pound fresh mozzarella, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh salad greens, optional

Heat your grill to medium. Brush both sides of eggplant slices with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Place eggplant slices on grill and cook until lightly browned, about 3 to 4 minutes. Turn over and grill another 3 minutes or so, until eggplant is softened and nice grill marks appear. Remove from grill and set aside.

Layer salad greens on a serving platter. Arrange eggplant slices on greens. Top each piece of eggplant with a slice of mozzarella cheese, 1 basil leaf and a slice of tomato. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Slice any remaining basil leaves into thin strips and sprinkle on top of eggplant stacks. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Arugula, Beet, Quinoa and Orange Salad

Salads that work for lunch and dinner are my best friends this summer. Here's another one I'm loving. So delicious and so easy to make.

My husband and youngest son love beets. When I spotted these sweet little containers of the ready-to-use veggies I snapped up a few.

This colorful dish is great as a side salad or a main entree. It holds up well the next day, too, but the quinoa will start to turn pink.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Arugula, Beet, Quinoa and Orange Salad
Inspired by a recipe in Diabetes Focus Spring 2017 issue

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 large orange
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
4 cups cooked quinoa
5 ounce package baby arugula
1 seedless orange, peeled and diced
2 6.5 ounce packages prepared beets, diced

In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, orange juice, salt and pepper.

Add quinoa, arugula, orange and beets. Gently stir to combine. Fold ingredients together until everything is coated with the vinaigrette.

Serve right away or chill until needed. Refrigerate any leftovers in an air tight container.

Grilled Pineapple & Watermelon Salad

I do love to grill and to me, there is nothing tastier than grilled fruit.

With pineapples and watermelon in season, I figured why not? 

Watermelon firms up over the flames and gains a mellow flavor. The pineapple becomes caramelized and even juicier.

The result was so tasty I ate nearly half the bowl myself. This smoky sweet side dish is a great partner to some spicy blackened grilled chicken. 

The next time you fire up the grill, give this a try.

Mangia! Mangia!

Andrea

Grilled Pineapple & Watermelon Salad

1/4 cup olive oil 

1 small pineapple, outer skin removed, cored and quartered

5 thick watermelon slices, cut from 1/4 of a large melon

1 bunch green onions, trimmed

1-2 teaspoons fresh basil, chopped

Heat grill to medium. Brush both sides of each piece of fruit with olive oil. Brush green onions, too.

Place each piece of pineapple and watermelon on grill. Place onions perpendicular to the grill grates.

Cook for 2 minutes or until nice char marks appear. Remove green onions and set aside to cool. Lower heat if fruit starts to burn. 

Turn over fruit and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more. 

Remove fruit and let cool until you can handle it. Cut off watermelon rind. Dice watermelon, pineapple and green onions into bite-sized pieces. 

Toss fruit and onions in medium bowl. Sprinkle with fresh basil. Serve warm or cold.

Simple Cucumber Dill Salad

We've been eating lots of salads lately for a few reasons:

• My kitchen is a work in progress. 
• We have baseball practice or games almost every night. 
• Our days are jam packed, too.

I know you fellow moms can relate. Here's my morning yesterday:

8 a.m. – Take dog for grooming appointment.
8:30 a.m. – Take Sam to baseball clinic, go to bank.
10 a.m. – Pick up Sam and drop off Max at baseball clinic. Go to post office and dry cleaners.
11 a.m. – Take Sam to saxophone lesson.
12 p.m. – Pick up Max from baseball clinic.
12:15 p.m. – Pick up dog from groomer.

Summer salads are easy, refreshing and can often be made ahead. One of my faves is Chick Pea Salad. If you make that and have some leftover dill, you can use it in this cucumber recipe.

Do you have a favorite summer salad? Let us know what it is!

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Simple Cucumber Dill Salad

2 English cucumbers, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 bunch green onions, (about 5 or 6) sliced
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
2 to 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and gently stir to combine. Let refrigerate for at least 1 hour to help the flavors blend.

Salt individual servings to taste.

Refrigerate any leftovers.

Creamy Tuna Avocado Salad

Baseball season is underway for my two boys, and that means I need to be able to serve up fast and easy meals – or get used to eating hot dogs and concession stand popcorn every other day!

A video for this recipe caught my eye on Facebook, so I gave it a try (with a few little tweaks). The result? Super yummy and super quick to prepare.

Another bonus? By swapping out the mayo used in traditional tuna salad for avocado, you get a healthier dish.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Creamy Tuna Avocado Salad
Inspired by this recipe from Natasha's Kitchen.com

1 large can (12 ounces) and 1 small can (3 to 4 ounces) tuna in water, drained
1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
3 medium, ripe, avocados peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1/2 to 1 small red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
1/4 to 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice from 1 large lemon
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
Fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt, more to taste

**Note on the salt: If you are making this ahead, or if you are planning on leftovers, do not mix in the salt. Instead, salt each serving separately. The salt will make the cucumbers release water, which will make the salad soggy after a few hours.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Pour lemon juice and olive oil over ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix to combine. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Serve alone or on top of mixed greens.

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Citrus Salad with Lime Tarragon Dressing

When I was child, "orange salad" was a special dish served at Christmas time at my grandparent's house. It was simple – orange slices, black olives and some olive oil – but it seemed so exotic to me back then.

For the most part, my relationship with oranges is routine. I usually just eat them on their own, or mix mandarin oranges into a fruit salad. Oh, but oranges are capable of so much more.

When I traveled to Italy in my early 20s I discovered blood oranges. You've never smelled air as sweet as that near the groves along the rail line somewhere between Rome and Sicily.

Travel to other orange growing areas – Florida, California – and you'll meet new varieties and be introduced to new ways to use oranges.

This winter, I've been trying to broaden my orange-eating horizons. I now love using citrus in dressings, like Garlic Orange Shrimp Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette.

When I happened on a Mark Bittman recipe for Winter Citrus Salad, I had to try it.

My oldest boy loves blood oranges and my husband and youngest son enjoy grapefruit, so a side dish that combines them is a ready-made hit at my house. Bonus: this dressing is wonderful on a green salad, too.

What's your favorite way to use oranges? I'd love to know!

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Citrus Salad with Lime Tarragon Dressing

To make the salad:
2 blood oranges, peeled and sliced into wheels
2 Cara Cara oranges, peeled and sliced into wheels
1 pink grapefruit, peeled and sliced into wheels
Salt

Combine sliced citrus in a bowl and sprinkle the salt. Set aside.

To make the dressing:
1medium shallot, minced
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
Juice of 1 small to medium lime
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon

Combine all ingredients in a mason jar. Cover tightly with lid and shake until well combined.

Drizzle about 1/4 to 1/3 of the dressing over citrus. Refrigerate remaining dressing and use throughout the week.

Garlic Orange Shrimp Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

With oranges in season, I couldn't resist buying a giant bag at my local warehouse store.

They are super-sweet and full of vitamin C, and I secretly hope that every time my kiddos eat one, they gain some extra germ-fighting powers.

To brighten and lighten-up our dinner time fare, I started searching for recipes that use fresh oranges. I hit on one from Bon Appetit for a citrus vinaigrette, which got me thinking. I had two bags of shrimp in the freezer and some nice butter lettuce. Today's dinner was taking shape.

You'll have plenty of leftover dressing, so you can enjoy it all week.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Garlic Orange Shrimp with Citrus Vinaigrette
Inspired by this recipe from Bon Appetit

For the shrimp:
2 16 ounce bags of peeled and deveined shrimp, thawed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
Salt and pepper to taste
2 heads of butter lettuce leaves, rinsed and dried
1 orange, peeled and sliced

For the dressing:
1 small shallot, minced
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1 or 2 seedless oranges, (such as Navel or Cara Cara) peeled and sliced into rounds

Rinse shrimp and dry well with paper towels.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add half of the shrimp to pan and cook until pink. Remove shrimp to plate.

Add remaining oil to pan and swirl to coat. Add remaining garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add remaining shrimp and cook until pink.

Place all shrimp into pan and warm through. Sprinkle with orange zest, orange juice and salt and pepper. Stir gently.

Remove from heat and let cool for about 5 minutes.

Divide lettuce among 4 plates. Top with shrimp. Garnish with orange slices. Top with Citrus Vinaigrette.

To make the dressing:
Combine shallot, oil, vinegar, lemon and orange juices and zest in a medium-sized mason jar. Tighten lid and shake to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste, replace lid and shake again. Dressing keeps in refrigerator for about 1 week.

Avocado-Crab Salad

This summer has been sweltering in Charlotte. After days and weeks on end of 90-plus degree days and what feels like 90-plus percent humidity, I have new found appreciation for meals that don't require the oven. Allow me to introduce you to my new favorite beat-the-heat, no-oven-required dinner: avocado-crab salad.

Even the hubby, who typically doesn't like avocado any other way than guacamole, likes this a lot. Here's what he said to me the second time I made this, "Amy, are you sitting down? I want you to know that I'm now open to eating avocado more ways." Success!

XOXO,
Amy

Avocado-Crab Salad
Serves 4 or serves 2 for dinner and 2 for lunch the next day

2-4 teaspoons red onion, finely chopped
Juice of 2 limes
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
4 grape or cherry tomatoes, dices
4-6 slices of red pepper, finely diced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
8 ounces lump crab meat, drained and gently pulled apart (or you can take your kitchen scissor like I do and roughly cut up the meat)
2 medium Hass avocado (about 5 ounces each), cut in half and pitted
2 butter leaves or handful of spring mix salad (optional)

In medium bowl, mix together all ingredients, except crab, avocado and lettuce. Add crab and gently toss.

Fill each avocado with crab salad and serve atop lettuce, if desired.

Eat leftovers within two days.

Additionally, I think a little bit of finely chopped celery would go well in this salad. Also, if you don't have red onion on hand, I would sub with green onion if you have that.

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Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

A few weeks back the husband took the kids to his folks' house for the weekend (thanks, honey!), and I hosted a little reunion for my college girlfriends here in Seattle.

We talked until too late at night and then slept in. We were tourists at Pike Place Market and took in the sights of Seattle on a sunny summer day. We went to the beach and did some shopping. We missed our kids and our husbands, but at the same time we reveled in our girls-only time. And we ate. Oh, man, did we eat.

One of the meals we cooked included Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad. Maybe it was the company or the fact that I didn't spend the entire dinner chopping food into small pieces for the baby, but I couldn't stop thinking about this salad.

With a hearty helping of parsley and lemon, this salad reminded me of tabbouleh. But instead of bulgur wheat, I used quinoa for a gluten-free, protein-packed dish. The colorful veggies make it refreshing and healthy.

Whether it's for a girls' weekend, a barbecue, or just dinner with the family, Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad is perfect for your summer menu!

Let's get cooking!
Erin

P.S. If you have dietary restrictions, this recipe is low FODMAP in addition to being gluten free!

Gluten-Free Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

2 cups water or broth
1 cup quinoa
Salt and pepper
Juice of 1 1/2 - 2 lemons*, divided
1 bunch parsley, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 English cucumber, quartered and sliced 1/4" thick
1 bell pepper, chopped into 1/2" pieces
11 ounces grape tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Combine water or broth and quinoa in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. (If you're using water, I recommend adding a hearty pinch of salt to help season the quinoa while it cooks.) Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. Allow the quinoa to sit, covered, for 5 minutes then fluff with a fork. Pour juice of half a lemon over warm quinoa and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set cooked quinoa aside to cool while you prep the veggies.

Combine parsley, cucumber, bell pepper, and tomatoes in a large bowl. Stir in juice of 1 lemon and olive oil. Stir in cooked quinoa. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If you want a little more zip, add a bit more lemon juice. Serve at room temperature or store in the fridge until you're ready to serve.

*Sometimes after the salad sits in the fridge for a while, it dries out a little bit. If this happens, stir in juice from another 1/2 a lemon and a drizzle of olive oil.

Beat-the-Heat July 4th menu

A couple weeks ago a friend messaged me for July 4 menu ideas that were easy to make, didn't need the oven and would work well for feeding a crowd.

That got us thinking. Amy, Erin and I put our heads together and came up with some suggestions.

These recipes should satisfy your guests, earn you some rave reviews and keep your house cool so you can beat the heat and spend more time celebrating summer and our nation's independence. Happy July 4th to you and yours!

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Main Dishes:

Brats! They're so Midwest. You can boil them in beer ahead of time and grill them last minute.

Turkey Feta Spinach Burgers. Change up the usual burger fare with these super-tasty gems.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork – 2 ways.If you have time to apply a rub and let your pork sit in the fridge overnight, tryNorth Carolina Pulled Pork in the slow cooker. If you want an even easier but just as tasty version, use a bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce and get cooking with this recipe!

Side Dishes:

Greek Quinoa Salad stays fresh in the fridge. It's a very complimentary side for grilled meat or a stand-in main dish for when your cousin's vegetarian girlfriend shows up unexpectedly.

Summer Salad with Berry Vinaigrette. Erin figured out a way to bottle summer with this recipe! 

Dessert & a Cocktail: 

Popcorn Marshmallow Bars. Get patriotic and add red, white and blue M&Ms to these treats.

Watermelon Raspberry Rum Punch. Grown-ups need a treat, too. This cocktail is refreshing, slightly sweet and oh so yummy.

Baby Greens, Apple & Onion Salad

I'm a big fan of salads. My typical lunch is usually chicken and baby greens topped with dried cranberries, goat or feta cheese and balsamic vinaigrette. But things have changed.

Two weeks before Christmas, when I was stretched thin and looking for fast and easy foods to put on the dinner table, I found this salad. It quickly became my new favorite (I had it for lunch again yesterday) and I know I'll be eating this often as I try to detox after the holidays. I’ve already memorized the recipe.

The dressing whips up in 5 minutes. The taste is such a great combo of sweet and tart that I don't even miss the cranberries and cheese. 

This simple salad goes nicely with a festive meal, too. I made this for Christmas at my mother-in-law's house. To keep things stress-free and simple, she ordered a catered holiday turkey dinner from Kroger. Despite the pre-cooked bird needing more time in the oven than we anticipated, the food was delicious and we were able to spend more time with each other rather than in the kitchen.

When we got to dessert (my sister-in-law whipped up a lemon meringue pie and I baked a Brownie Pudding Cake) I was pretty glad we had added the salad! 

If you need something green to go along with a New Year’s meal or you are craving a healthy and light main dish, give this salad a try. Add some cooked chicken or turkey and dinner is served.

Happy New Year and Mangia! Mangia!

--Andrea

Baby Greens, Apple & Onion Salad

Inspired by Rachel Ray

¼ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon grain or brown mustard

1 tablespoon honey

16 ounces salad greens (baby spinach, spring greens or a mixture)

1 large apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (Golden Delicious or Fuji works well)

¼ red onion, thinly sliced

Ground pepper to taste

Place oil, vinegar, mustard and honey in a small jar or plastic container. Cover tightly with a lid and shake until well blended. 

Place greens, apple and onion in a large bowl. Pour dressing over greens and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Here's the salad brightening up our Christmas dinner.

Chickpea Salad

My husband has been known to lament on Facebook that some days he has quinoa salad for lunch and chickpea salad for dinner. Geez, there I go again, trying to keep us all healthy.

But if Jeff is being honest, he loves it. After all, he's always picking up quinoa at the store and whenever I haven't made this chickpea salad in a while, he drops some subtle hints. Hey, we have lots of cans of chickpeas in the pantry. Why don't you make chickpea salad?

This recipe is adapted from my favorite vegan cookbook -- The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon. I have made the vegennaise (that's "mayo" without the oil and egg) Angela calls for in this recipe just once. Sorry, Angela, but some things taste better with mayo -- Duke's mayo to be precise. Also, I don't put in as much dill pickle as Angela calls for, because it makes the salad (mine, anyway) too wet. I also add carrot. And I always double the recipe, because the chopping takes some serious time, so why not make more while I'm at it? And besides I love my hubby.

XOXO,
Amy

PS: You will see later this week that one of my kiddos likes chickpea salad in her school lunch. Bless her.

Chickpea Salad
Adapted from The Oh She Glows Cookbook

2 (15-ounce) cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 stalks celery, finely chopped
3-6 green onions, thinly sliced
2 carrots, finely diced
1-2 dill pickle spears, seeded and finely diced
2 bell peppers, each one a different color, finely chopped
4-6 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
4 teaspoons dill
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Toasted bread, crackers, or lettuce for serving

Put chickpeas in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher until some of the chickpeas appear flaky in texture and others are still whole or mostly whole. Combine all other ingredients, adjusting mayo, mustard, salt and pepper to your taste.

Serve this salad with toasted bread, crackers, lettuce -- or eat plain.

Greek Salad Quinoa Salad

I eat quinoa every day. Every day. Usually, it's my Tomato-Avocado Quinoa Salad. But recently I needed to shake up my quinoa routine, so I created this yummy Greek Salad Quinoa Salad, using ingredients that I just happened to have on hand and that would normally go into a Greek salad.

Readers, I have found a new favorite quinoa salad.

PS: If you loved Erin's Bulgar Salad with Tomatoes and Cucumbers, you will love this, too.

Greek Salad Quinoa Salad

3 cups cooked quinoa
1 cucumber, seeded and diced
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
Heaping 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Ground pepper and sea salt to taste
Cherry tomatoes (if desired), cut in half, for serving
Greek olives (if desired), for serving
Fresh basil (if desired), for serving
Olive oil (if desired), for serving (FYI: I put a 1/2 tablespoon on the above serving.)

Combine quinoa, cucumber, red pepper, red onion, pepper and salt. When serving, add whatever combination of the "if desired" ingredients suits your fancy. Or maybe you can think of other toppings to make this dish your own. On the day I created this yumminess, I didn't have any fresh basil or Greek olives on hand.

BTW, the reason I add the tomatoes at the end is because I think the salad will keep better in the fridge and not get soggy.

Also, you can totally adjust the ratio of ingredients to suit your taste buds.

Finally, fyi, just as with the Hungarian Sour Cream Cucumber Salad, I got to use a cucumber grown on my Tower Garden!

Hungarian Sour Cream Cucumber Salad

We grew cucumbers! It only took two and a half months from seeds to cukes, but we did it!

Just before we harvested our first cukes from our Tower Garden, I asked friends on Facebook for their favorite recipes. My friend Brian suggested a sour cream cucumber salad and several friends backed that up. Apparently, this is a quintessential Southern summertime dish. While I have lived in Charlotte for the past 12 years and have also lived in Birmingham, Alabama, and Lexington, Kentucky, I had no idea! Definitely making this again!

XOXO,
Amy

PS: I added Hungarian to the name, because I saw other versions of this salad use that in the recipe phrase AND the hubby and I just visited -- and loved -- Budapest!

Hungarian Sour Cream Cucumber Salad
Inspired by Tasteofhome.com

1/2 cup sour cream (I use light)
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon white sugar
Ground pepper to taste
3-4 cucumbers, peeled (if desired) and thinly sliced
1 small sweet onion or 1/2 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
Dill to taste

In a large bowl, whisk together the sour cream, vinegar, sugar and pepper. Add the cucumbers and onion, tossing to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours. Top with dill and serve.

Note: When preparing this for a dinner party Chez George, I forgot to read the recipe sufficiently in advance, so I didn't know about the fridge time. The salad was able to sit in the fridge for only about an hour. It still tasted good, but it was definitely better the next day. Sometimes things just have to marinate.

Here is my younger daughter Penny, who harvested our first cucumbers from our Tower Garden.

Summer Salad with Berry Vinaigrette

Here in the great Northwest, school doesn't start until September. It was the same when I was growing up in Buffalo. So I've been flabbergasted by all the back-to-school pictures plastered on my Facebook feed this week.

In my crazy brain it goes something like this, "These kids look so cute with their fresh haircuts and backpacks! Wait...backpacks. What? How are these children going back to school already?! It's mid-August! I'm not ready for school supplies! Or leaves falling! Or cold weather! It's practically Christmas. Oh, geez. And where's my snow brush. I should put that in the car..."

See the slippery slope to snow? Yeah. Not cool.

So I'm here to remind all of us that it's still summer. Hear that? IT'S STILL SUMMER! Eat the corn! And the ice cream cones! And the berries! Allllll the berries. We'll start with this glorious Summer Salad with Berry Vinaigrette. And we'd better make it quickly, before the snow gets here.

Let's get cooking!
Erin

Summer Salad with Berry Vinaigrette
Dressing adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

For the Dressing*:
1 cup raspberries
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the Salad:
8 ounces mixed greens
1/2 cup raspberries
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup toasted pecans
3 ounces crumbled goat cheese

Using your food processor or blender, blend together all the dressing ingredients except for the poppy seeds. Once the dressing is smooth, stir in poppy seeds. Refrigerate until you're ready to serve.

Place greens in a large bowl and top with berries, pecans, and goat cheese. Drizzle with some of the dressing just before serving. You can serve extra dressing on the side.

*This recipe makes about 2 cups of dressing, which is probably more than you need for this amount of salad. But the dressing is so delicious you'll want to drizzle it on everything for the next few days! Just use what you need and keep the leftovers in the fridge.