Caesar Salad Dressing

My husband ate his very first salad EVER this year with this dressing. It's yummy!

1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese
1 C olive oil

Put everything except Parmesan cheese in a food processor and blend until homogenous. Add olive oil a little at a time, continuing to blend. Add the cheese, then blend just enough to mix it in. If the dressing is too thick, blend in a little warm water to achieve the desired consistency. Serve over Romaine lettuce, croutons, and fresh grated Parmesan [the best part of the whole deal!].

This dressing will keep for a week sealed in the refrigerator. Makes about 6 servings.

taco salad

I don't know how other people do it, but I'd never had taco salad like this. It was easy, make a LOT, and is good for leftovers. If you've got a crowd to feed, this is a great thing. Too bad Aaron decided to make all that for just two of us. Lots of lunches already made now though!

• Head of lettuce
• Pound of ground beef
• Taco seasoning
• 6 tomatoes
• Catalina dressing
• Chips
• Cheese
• Tortillas

Brown the meat and add any sort of spices you want. We did most of a packet of taco seasoning and some chipotle peppers. Chop up the entire head of lettuce and tomatoes and put in a large bowl. Crush handfuls of chips for some crunch, and add the ground beef. Add plenty of catalina dressing to moisten everything without drenching it. Either mix in the cheese or let people add it themselves. Best served in homemade taco bowls with a few extra crushed chips on top.

Taco bowls are the easiest thing to make! Just push a tortilla gently into an oven proof bowl and bake for 10-15 minutes at 350-400 degrees. Be sure to watch it so it doesn't burn, but that's all there is to it. We had whole wheat tortillas, and they turned out delicious!

Greek green salad

This is called maroulosalata, which means ... I have no idea. It's from the island of Cos, and we found this in a book called "Real Greek Food." Apparently, there's a restaurant somewhere called Real Greek, and this book has their recipes.

salad:
lettuce shredded very fine - we used Romaine
scallions finely chopped, including the green parts
dillweed

dressing:
150 ml extra virgin olive oil (I have no idea what that measures to - Adam made the dressing and I'm just typing it out of the book)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
pepper and sea salt

Seems really basic and maybe even a little weird. But I liked it!

Chicken Pasta Salad

Ingredients

1 lb. cooked, shredded chicken (I usually use can of Costco chicken)
1 lb. cooked rotini noodles (or bow tie)
2 heads broccoli, finely chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1/3 onion, chopped
1 can sliced olives
1 cup shredded cheese (optional)
1/3 - 1/2 cup ranch dressing (don't skip this--it's what holds it all together)

Dressing:
2 envelopes dry Italian dressing mix
6 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
4-1/2 Tbs. water
3/4 cup oil (you can reduce this some)

Combine cooled chicken, chopped vegetables, and olives. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over vegetables and chicken. Mix together. Add ranch dressing and cheese. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving (I usually am not organized enough to do this and it still gets devoured). Serves 8 - 10.

spinach and apple salad

Well, check me out! I told Adam recently that I was bored with the typical garden salad we were eating - leaf lettuce with chunks of tomato, bell pepper, onion, etc. with Italian vinaigrette. I even asked for fresh spinach to make salads with - how weird is that?!? (My sisters will tell you that it's very weird!) Anyway, this is the dressing Adam found to go on fresh spinach leaves and ... here's more weirdness - I don't normally like fruit in my salads but I liked this! My eating patterns just expanded a bit more. Crazy.

apple vinaigrette for spinach salad

Of note on the recipe:

1. This makes quite a bit of dressing, so you'll probably want to cut the recipe if you're feeding only a couple of people.

2. Adam cut the amount of apple cider vinegar in half (1/2 cup to 1/4 cup) and left the other amounts the same. I think if you put in the full amount of vinegar, that would be ... well, a lot!

3. He mixed it in the food processor so the apple and onion were pretty much mushed but there was still texture to it.

4. The salad is just the spinach leaves and the crumbled bacon. We did not use bacon because we didn't have any. Adam put in chunks of apple (mmm, Pink Lady apples). Next time, I will plan to use bacon because I'm curious about the mix of spinach, apples, and bacon.

Broccoli Salad

This is another from Recipezaar. It's #24862. Dressing can be made ahead of time and makes plenty. It's very thick at first and then thins out as the sugar dissolves. I ended up having to add more broccoli to even out the flavor and texture. I used regular raisins and peanuts instead of sunflower seeds.

Ingredients

• 3 broccoli, heads (cut into bite-size pieces)
• 5-10 pieces crisp bacon, crumbled (Baco's do not work)
• 2 tablespoons red onions, chopped
• 1 cup golden raisin
• 3/4 cup sunflower seed (I use unsalted)

Dressing (best to add just prior to serving)

• 1 cup mayonnaise (low-cal will not be the same)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (optional) or 1/2 cup prepared mustard (optional)

Directions

1. Put all of the salad ingredients in a bowl and pour on the dressing.
2. Mix well.
3. Chill.
4. Keeps well in the refrigerator, but is best served within an hour or two while ingredients are still crunchy.

salads a la Charlottesville

When we were in Charlottesville VA for the past couple of weeks, we tried to eat at the local restaurants rather than the big chains like Applebee's. (Plus, there's the fact that I've read the Eat This, Not That website, and because of that, just the thought of Applebee's makes me want to hurl.)

We found one little local frozen yogurt place just down the street from our hotel called Arch's, and they also had sandwiches and salads. Here's their menu with the different ingredients right there on it, to give you some ideas. We didn't have any of the sandwiches. We had the Roasted Rotunda salad with sundried tomato dressing, and the Cowboy Baby. We didn't like the Cowboy one nearly as much, but the first one was excellent. I need to find a recipe to make sundried tomato dressing now - that was really good.

Also of note, here are the Build the Perfect Salad guidelines from "Eat this, not that." Very informative! And I'm happy to say that the salads we make at home are in the good category! We don't need to change anything!

grilled pork chops and chili slaw

This was recipe #26, and I made it exactly as the webpage said (all the way down to grilling the fresh pineapple slices as well), so I won't retype it all. Here's the link where I got it from Better Homes and Gardens:

grilled pork chops and pineapple with chili slaw

I was surprised at how good it was! I was a bit hesitant to try the slaw since I'm not a huge fan of it normally - it has too much mayo. I thought I'd give this a shot because it had no mayo, but even then, the vinegar smell was a little strong. Once I drained off the extra dressing that had pooled in the bottom of the bowl (after mixing everything up), it wasn't as bad.

Adam and I both definitely preferred to eat the slaw in the same bite with the pork. The slaw was okay by itself, and really good with the pork! I plated it with the pork in the center of the plate and the slaw directly on top of it, and the pineapple on the side.

That was our Father's Day dinner. For breakfast, we had these crepes with strawberries, blueberries, banana slices, and fresh whipped cream. Adam didn't get them in bed, because he was taking care of the whipped cream and doing other things while I was making the crepes. But he did get one of his favorites without having to make it himself!

And now I have to find another recipe to use the rest of the cabbage - I think this is the second time I've bought cabbage ever so I have no idea what to do with it. The other time was cabbage rolls with rice and meat in them, but that was a winter meal. I need something light right now.

Lettuce Roll-ups

Okay, so I made up the name of this concoction. Though I think I have seen similar ideas to this, I just did this on the fly the other day and thought that I would share.

What I did was to make some tuna salad and instead of putting it in between two pieces of bread I put a bit on one end of a piece of iceberg lettuce, and then rolled it up. It is a great alternative if you can't use bread.

I personally am starting to try to wean myself off of so much bread, because some days it just makes me feel yucky. No fun.

green salads

Green salads can get so boring when you put the same things in them all the time. We have some new options for you.

GREEN SALAD 1
mixed greens - we usually use red or green leaf lettuce
red bell pepper
tomato
scallions
celery
capers

Except for the greens and capers of course, chop everything in a very small dice. Yum!

GREEN SALAD 2
mixed greens
feta cheese OR gorgonzalla cheese
black olives
red onion

Each of the cheeses give it a different taste - Adam likes the feta better because it has more of a spicy kick to it. The gorgonzalla is very good but mild. I guess that one would depend on your personal preference.

BRUSCHETTA WITH WARM TOMATOES AND HERBS

BRUSCHETTA WITH WARM TOMATOES AND HERBS
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups assorted tomatoes, such as grape, cherry, or chopped heirlooms
3 tablespoons fresh basil, chiffonade, plus more for garnish (the thinner the better)
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
2 teaspoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 (1- ounce) slices ciabatta or sourdough bread
1 garlic clove, halved

Method:
Combine first 8 ingredients, and let stand 1 hour. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add tomato mixture, and cook 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush bread with olive oil and add to grill; cook 2 minutes on each side or until toasted. Rub 1 side of each toast piece with the cut sides of garlic clove halves. Serve tomato mixture over toast and garnish with basil.

*you can toast the bread in the oven if you don’t have either a grill or a grill pan that goes on the stove)

*Spanish paprika (pimento) would be good in this mixture

*use firmer tomatoes – cooks down sweeter

*Garnish with a little Maldon

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this is also fabulous, easy, and just so good!

HERILOOM TOMATO SALAD WITH HERBS AND CAPERS

HERILOOM TOMATO SALAD WITH HERBS AND CAPERS

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 cups assorted heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved

½ cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

¼ cup thinly sliced basil (chop this right before you add, otherwise it will wilt)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint (chop this right before you add, otherwise it will wilt)

1 tablespoon drained capers, chopped (rinse/drain these otherwise they wilt)

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 pounds assorted beefsteak heirloom tomatoes, each cut into 6 wedges (or slices to decorate the plate)

1 teaspoon large crystal sea salt, such as Maldon

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Combine first 9 ingredients in a bowl. Sprinkle tomato mixture with salt and pepper; toss gently

*use ripper tomatoes since you are making a salad

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This recipe is absolutely delicious. If you don't believe me - make it and try it. If you like tomatoes you are gaurenteed to love it. But really, heirloom tomatoes make all the difference. Oh, and if you can't get ahold of Maldon salt, try to find a coarse French sea salt or even Irish. Not the same taste, but similar texture.

pork with arugula and sauteed tomatoes

Okay, this one actually wasn't an ad in Martha Stewart ... aren't I cool! (Everyday Food, Jan/Feb 2007, page 96.)

PART 1 - pork
1. Use boneless pork loin chops - the recipe calls for 4, I used just 2.

2. Butterfly them by cutting each piece in half vertically, starting on the side without the fat and opening it like a book. Stop before you cut all the way through. Wrap the meat in Saran wrap, and pound it until it's about 1/4-inch thick.

3. On a plate, combine a small amount of flour, salt, and pepper. Coat each piece of meat with the flour.

4. Cook the chops one at a time in a skillet with olive oil. Because they're thin and flat, they cook in just a couple of minutes. Put on a plate and cover with foil to keep them warm while you're cooking the rest. Use 1 tsp of olive oil with each one.

PART 2 - sauteed tomatoes
Get a pint of grape tomatoes - cut them in half.

Saute the tomatoes in 1 tsp of olive oil until they're soft and just barely starting to get mushy. They're done.

PART 3 - arugula
Dressing: 2 tbl lemon juice, 1 tsp olive oil, slight amount of salt and pepper. Mix together.

Toss the dressing with the arugula greens. Optional - top the greens with shaved Parmesan (the real cheese, not the grated stuff in the green canister).

Extra notes - Of course I'm being "snobby" by having arugula because that's what Snob Barack Obama wanted to eat on the campaign trail (along with Dijon mustard. The shock of it!) Really, any salad greens or tomatoes would do - I just went along with the exact recipe for the heck of it. It was good! We like arugula!

Also, I made plain white rice as the side, with just butter and dried parsley sprinkled through it. With all of the more rich things (they did have a pretty strong taste), the rice was mild and a good addition.

3 for 50.