rosemary chicken, bacon and avocado salad.{HowSweetEats}

Found this recipe while perusing Instagram in the middle of the night while nursing the babe. I almost got up and made it right then and there. Not really. But it IS just THAT good. Thank you HowSweetEats... you are my new favorite food gal. So, so good. And perfect for your Texas summers. 

ingredients:
4 slices thick-cut bacon
1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
6 cups spring greens and/or butter lettuce
1 bunch watercress
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 large avocado, thinly sliced

rosemary vinaigrette
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
salt and pepper

directions:

Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add the bacon. Cook until it's crispy and the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon and place it on a paper towel to drain any excess grease.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Cover with the rosemary. In the same skillet, over medium-high heat, add the chicken and cook until golden and crisp on both sides, about 5 to 6 minutes per side. Remove the chicken and let sit for a moment while you assemble the salad, then slice it.

Toss the greens with the watercress and the tomatoes. Top with the sliced chicken, the bacon and the avocado. Drizzle with the rosemary vinaigrette!

rosemary vinaigrette 

Whisk together the mustard, oil and vinegar. Whisk in the rosemary and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Israeli Couscous.

I got this one day at the Central Market deli counter. Fell in love. Tried to recreate it myself the next day. Fell in love again. A little pat on my back, and here ya go. Cheaper and a healthier version...

The portions are pretty forgiving. The measurements here are a starting off point that I just adjust. I combine it all then let it sit in the fridge for a couple hours to give everything time to get along. The key ingredients to me? The olives, sundried tomatoes and toasted sunflower seeds. Don't skimp on those.

1 cup israeli couscous
14 oz. spinach, frozen or fresh
1 cup peas
1/2 red bell pepper, small dice
1/2 green bell pepper, small dice
handful tomatoes, oven roasted
4 or 8 halves sundried tomatoes, small dice
1-12 kalamata olives, quartered lenth-wise
2 scallions, chopped
1 cup sunflower seeds, toasted

1/2 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
1/2 tablespoon thyme, chopped
1-2 tablespoons italian parsley, chopped

1/2-1 teaspoon harissa
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
a swirl around the bowl evoo
black pepper

pretty similiar to the one from Central Market, huh?

5/15/2012

Wild Rice Salad with Dried Cherries.

When my husband was first "diagnosed" with borderline diabetes 9 years ago... I found myself at Wal-mart in the cookbook section looking for anything to help me feed my husband... and not push him over the edge into diabetesland. Not a peaceful place to be. I found the Betty Crocker's Diabetes Cookbook... bought it... and tried to live by it for the next few months.

 

It helped, and had a lot of yummy stuff in it. Yummy stuff that left us satisfied. So, that's good. And of course now that I've educated myself even more on the subject - we've found something that works even better for us. Something that has changed my husbands "diagnosis" completely... and made those sugar levels just like yours and mine. Miracle? Somewhat. But I know it's because of some healthy eating on his part.

 

Anyhow, this is one we always come back to. And I love it because it 's good. But it reminds me of a time when I was close to loosing all hope and deeply concerned about the health of my most favorite person in the whole wide world. It's good to be reminded of where you've come from and how far you've traveled.

 

1 1/2 cups long-grain and wild rice

1 apple, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 stalk of celery, chopped

1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped (or craisins)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

1/3 cup dry-roasted peanuts, toasted

 

Cook rice according to directions, and spread evenly in thin layer on a large cookie sheet to cool. Let stand 10 to 12 minutes.

 

Mix apple, bell pepper, celery and cherries/craisins in a large bowl. Mix soy sauce, water, sugar and vinegar in small bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add rice and soy sauce mixture to apple mixture. Gently toss until coated. Add peanuts. Gently toss.

Taco Nut "Meat" and Leftover Salad.

This salad started as a way to get rid of the stuff in my fridge before we went out of town... but turned into so.stinkin.good! Then I realized I never posted the raw taco nut "meat" that i love from love veggies & yoga. So, here goes...

leftover cabbage, spinach, corn on the cob, vegan ranch, tomatoes.... and the "meat"

Raw Vegan Taco Nut “Meat”
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup walnuts
1/3 cup {smoked} sun dried tomatoes, loosely packed (If using oil packed, may slightly reduce amount of olive oil added)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil (or hemp, flax, etc.)
Optional: 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Put all ingredients into blender and blend for about 30 seconds or until desired texture is reached. Don’t overblend and pulverize the mixture, or you will have taco meat spread rather than chunky taco “meat”.

This will keep in the refrigerator for about 4 days.

Note: The flavors marry and develop better after approximately 6-12 hours, so I like to make it in the morning for that night’s dinner if possible.

*The seasonings are all to taste. You can add some taco seasoning too, like a McCormick.

Asian Noodle Salad. {Pioneer Woman.}

My sister-in-law, jami, turned me onto this one... and man, I am SO glad she did. I first wanted to try it because it's one of their new favorites. Sold. Then I found out it was Pioneer Woman. Sold. Then I saw that it was basically healthy. Sold. Then I read her write-up on it. Sold and salivating. I got the ingredients that day and made it for dinner.

Sold.

Even my pickiest eater, Ava, can get this all down. And even told me, "Mom, this is actually good!" As if it was a freakin surprise her mom actually makes her something good for dinner. Sheesh.

I changed it up a little, but the real deal is here. But try it. Seriously try it. And if I haven't convinced you enough... and the colread what she wrote herself. Then come back and tell me how sold you are!

It makes a huge amount. For my family I half it. It says for 6 portions. Well, that is a LOT of salad. Even for us plant eaters. It's good for leftovers too. The cashews MAKE it.

SALAD INGREDIENTS:
1 package Linguine Noodles, Cooked, Rinsed, And Cooled
1/2 head Sliced Napa Cabbage, Or More To Taste
1/2 head Sliced Purple Cabbage, Or More To Taste
1/2 bag Baby Spinach, Or More To Taste
1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Sliced Thin
1 whole Yellow Bell Pepper, Sliced Thin
1 whole Orange Bell Pepper, Thinly Sliced
1 bag Bean Sprouts (also Called Mung Bean Sprouts) 
Chopped Cilantro, Up To 1 Bunch, To Taste
3 whole Scallions, Sliced
3 whole Cucumbers, Peeled And Sliced
1 can (about 10 Oz.) Whole Cashews, Lightly Toasted In Skillet

FOR THE DRESSING:
1 whole Lime, Juiced
8 Tablespoons Olive Oil
8 Tablespoons Bragg's Liquid Aminos (soy sauce)
2 Tablespoons (up To 3 Tablespoons) Sesame Oil
1/3 cup agave nectar, coconut sugar or brown sugar
3 Tablespoons Fresh Ginger, Chopped
2 cloves Garlic, Chopped
2 whole Hot Peppers Or Jalapenos, Chopped
Chopped Cilantro

Mix salad ingredients together. Whisk dressing ingredients together and pour over salad. Mix with tongs or hands and serve on a platter.

Note: dressing keeps for up to three days before serving, without cilantro.

Hail to the Kale Salad. {Chef AJ}

Love this Chef AJ salad. And love kale. Who'd a thought?! Chef AJ says, "Like a woman, this only gets better with age." I'd have to agree. On both accounts. You can watch her make it on YouTube here.

 

salad

2 large heads of kale

chopped almonds

tomatoes

 

dressing

1 cup raw almond butter (unsweetened and unsalted)

1 cup coconut water (or regular water)

1/4 cup fresh lime juice & zest (about 2)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 inch ginger, fresh, peeled & grated (or to taste)

2 tablespoons low-sodium tamari

4 pitted dates (soaked in water if not soft)

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

 

In a  high-powered blender combine all ingredients until smooth and creamy.

 

Remove the thick, larger stems from the kale, chop and place in a a large bowl. Pour 2 cups of the dressing over the kale and massage the dressing into the kale.

 

Sprinkle with seeds or nuts, and any other salad toppings before serving.

 

Chef's Note: It is also delicious when made with peanut butter and you throw some shredded raw beets and carrots into the salad. If you have a dehydrator, dip kale leaves in dressing and dehydrate for delicious kale chips. If you are allergic to nuts, use tahini (sesame seed paste) or sunflower seed butter in place of the nut butter.



Black Bean Taco Salad With Lime Vinaigrette & Taco Bowls.

These yummy bowls is a recipe from my friend Brooke's blog, Simply Real Foods. I think I made them the day that I saw the recipe. Everyone loved them... and the only change I made was cutting the olive oil. Awesomeness Brooke, thanks!

If you can find a good whole wheat tortilla, when you toast them into bowls - the taste is nutty and totally adds to the overall flavors.

Vinaigrette
1/4 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon grated lime peel
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 garlic clove, peeled


Salad
1 cup chopped tomato
1 large zucchini, chopped (and/or 1 cup chopped green pepper)
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1 cup frozen corn, partially cooked, rinsed with cold water and drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 avocado, diced
lettuce greens, torn into bite-sized pieces or shredded
crushed tortilla chips or Taco Bowls (directions below)

vinaigrette: combine first 11 ingredients in a blender or food processor, process until smooth.

salad: combine all chopped veggies except lettuce. Pour vinaigrette over top and toss well to coat.

Serve on a bed of lettuce greens. Top with crushed tortilla chips or inside a taco bowl.

Baked Taco Salad Bowls
Whole wheat flour tortillas
cooking spray
salt

Preheat oven to 425*.  Place up to 6 tortillas between damp paper towels on a microwave safe plate and microwave for 30-45 seconds, until steamed.  Arrange 6 empty metal cans or mold of your choice on a large sheet cake pan.  Drape steamed tortillas over molds and press sides down to form folds.  Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt if desired.

Bake taco salad bowls in oven for 7 minutes.  Remove taco bowls from forms and turn right side up on baking sheet.  Place back in oven for about 3 minutes.  Let cool on rack.  Repeat until desired amount of bowls have been baked.

Rainbow Tomatoes and White Beans.

I drooled over this one in Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine... I love tomatoes, white beans, capers and pine nuts - so this was a shoo-in for me. But I knew I'd be the only one eating it (sadly, no one likes tomatoes in my family except for Nolan-and I don't think he was there yet when I first made this) and so I halved it. BIG mistake. I could have eaten it all in 2 lunches. The picture had me hooked again. I swear, good food photography will get me every time. 

from the magazine... so enticing, huh!?!?

2/3 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons drained capers, chopped
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lb. multicolored tomatoes (orange, yellow, green, red), cut into thin wedges
1 can (15 oz.) cannellini beans, rinsed
1/4 cup pine nuts

In a large bowl, combine the parsley, capers, vinegar, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; whisk in the olive oil.

Add the tomatoes, cannellini beans and pine nuts and toss to coat. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Fruity Kale Salad with Coconut Lime Dressing.

When I saw this on Crysta's blog, I immediatly wanted to try it. It sounded so, so good. And it was. I was totally worried about the kale tasting bitter... but knew being soaked in the lime juice for a while would break it down. I didn't know how my kids would like it... but knew there was enough of what they like in there they'd be happy. And then for Shayne... he's a man... and salads typically aren't a main meal for him - but he really liked this.

6 large leaves of fresh kale, rinsed and dried

1 banana, chopped
3 strawberries, sliced
4 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 half of an avocado, cubed
1 clementine, or half of an orange peeled and divided
1 apple, chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro (chopped fresh is best, but can use dried)
toasted & sliced almonds {my addition}


dressing
1/4 cup dried coconut
2 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoon agave
1 teaspoon flaxseed

Chop up kale into bite sized pieces and toss with a pinch or 2 of salt. Mix up the ingredients for the dressing in a separate small bowl until well blended.

Massage the dressing (using your very clean hands) into the leaves until the kale becomes wilty and well coated with the dressing.

Now, in a separate bowl, take all of the chopped fruit (except for the avocado) and toss with cilantro. Mix fruit with the wilted kale.

Top with the chopped avocado and a little more of the dried coconut & toasted almonds.

from my friend Crysta who got it from ManifestVegan

Mesclun Salad with Tarragon, Grapes, and Apple

Shayne was not excited when he came home and saw that we were having salad, leftover soup and muffins for dinner tonight. Mainly because he was worried about the salad. When he took his first bite, it was "Now that is good!" Score.

For vinaigrette

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons oil substitute
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon, crumbled


For salad
1/4 cup sliced almonds
20 red seedless grapes
1 crisp apple such as Fuji
8 ounces mesclun (mixed baby lettuces) {red & green lettuce}

In a large bowl whisk together mustard and vinegar. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified. Whisk in tarragon and salt and pepper to taste. Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a shallow baking pan toast almonds in middle of oven until pale golden, 6 to 8 minutes, and cool. Halve grapes. Core apple and cut into 16 wedges. Add mesclun to vinaigrette and toss to coat well.

Divide greens and apple slices among 4 plates and top with grapes, cheese, and almonds.

belly biters: all loved, except Coco because she's still figuring out lettuce

saw it on Anne's blog

who got it off Epicurious

Salads & Sun Drenchers.

I've never really gotten into salads. Weird, huh? My problem with them is that it takes so many ingredients to make it taste really good... which means a little more work then I'd like. And, salad dressings are notorious for being crap in bottles.

But, after I saw this video on Green Smoothie Girl... and went to their website and read all about it... I had to order the Sun Drenchers salad dressing right away... and give them the old college try (thanks to Shayne, I've added that phrase into my repertoire).

The salad dressing is amazing... and it should be at $10.99 a bottle. No worries, I go way easy on my dressings. But now I usually have a big ole salad for lunch, followed by a Shrek Shake for afternoon snack. How's that for some awesome raw, whole foods?!

I'm diggin mine with romaine lettuce, corn, peas, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, beans, sprouts, sweet peppers and carrots.

Pasadena Salad

I love, love, LOVE this salad. I first had it at my brother's house just before we switched over to our current eating arrangements - and had to figure out to healthy it up even more. And it was success!

1 head Romaine lettuce, cut
1 cup celery pre-washed, chopped
4 green onions, sliced
1 sliced & cubed avocado
1 granny smith apple, cut up with skin on
1 - 11 oz. can of mandarin oranges, drained
¼ cup dried cranberries (or currants)
½ cup sliced almonds

Dressing:
¼ cup fat-free oil substitute (or extra virgin olive oil)
2 tablespoons fresh, chopped parsley
1-1/4 tablespoon agave nectar (2 tablespoons sugar)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
½ tsp. pepper

Make dressing in blender and set aside. Combine all other ingredients, add almonds and dressing... toss & serve!

NonVegan/NonNatural Sweeteners Version

Add 3 shredded chicken breasts cooked

½ c. crumbled bleu cheese

Caramelize almonds by placing them and 3 tbsp. sugar onto skillet and heat until sugar melts. Don’t burn! Cool before adding to salad ingredients.

Recipe Origin: Mary Ann Cropper
Prep Time: 60 minutes

Serves: 6-8