Wilted Spinach Salad

We are going camping this weekend...yay!!

And so I am trying to use up the fresh food I'm not planning on taking and since I have a huge amount of spinach in the firdge and don't want to come back to find it wilted and didn't want to buy more food...well I think Spinach Salad will make the perfect lunch.

Don't you?

Wilted Spinach Salad (2-3 servings)
6 cups baby spincah
2 slices bacon, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
a squirt of honey
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1. Cook bacon until crispy, set aside to drain on paper towel covered plate.
2. To bacon grease in pan add the olive oil and the onion and the salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the onion is soft.
3. Add vinegar and honey and swirl.
4. Toss the spinach with the dressing and add the bacon and the eggs.


Have a great weekend!!

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Fiesta Cole Slaw

Last night I made cornmeal crusted tilapia with roasted tomato salsa.

Tuesday nights are crazy around here. I have to be out of the house by six so dinner has to come together quickly.

And this meal did.

It was ready in less than half an hour, partially because I had salsa leftover from the weekend.

I also had half a bag of cole slaw mix, also leftover from the weekend, so I put my thinkng cap on and created...

Fiesta Cole Slaw
1/2 bag of cole slaw mix
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 packet stevia
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
cilantro (also leftover from the weekend)
In the bottom of a salad bowl whisk together the vinegar, stevia, and the salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil and add the cole slaw mix. Chop up as much or as little cilantro as you like and add to the bowl. Toss everything together and chill for at least 15 minutes.

This was a delicious salad. The sweetness of the stevia off set the vinegar well and the cilantro really pulled it all together. And I love that I was able to use what I already had on hand.

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Broccoli and Pasta Salad

Yesterday, in the morning, when I was planning what to have for dinner the sun was shinning brightly. It made me think of those hot summer days when the last thing one wants to eat is something heavy. It made me think of salad.

Yes, salad , a nice cool and refreshing salad.

But as the day wore on the temperature never seemed to. It never really got past 70 degrees and there was a definite breeze which coaxed me into a sweater, long pants, and closed toed shoes.

I’m not one for even the slightest chill in the air.

And when dinner time rolled around, well pasta salad was the plan.

I do think I’m rushing those warm summer evenings a bit.

But the salad was delicious just the same.

I based this on a Martha Stewart recipe with a few changes here and there.

Broccoli and Pasta Salad

2 pounds of broccoli
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
12 ounces penne pasta
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
juice of ½ lemon
8 ounce jar of roasted red bell peppers
½ cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
½ cup walnuts, broken into pieces and toasted

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Wash and dry the broccoli. Separate the florets into bite size pieces, trim about an inch from the stems and peel the outer layer and then slice diagonally into ½ inch slices. Spread out in a single layer ,on a large baking sheet, two if necessary. Toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Roast for about 20 minutes until lightly browned. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile boil a large pot of salted water and cook the penne pasta as the package directs. Drain the cooked pasta and rinse with cold water until cool and drain again. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl add the chopped garlic and the juice of the lemon. Whisk in the other tablespoon of olive oil.
4. In a large serving bowl add the pasta, toss with the dressing, and add the peppers, walnuts, and broccoli and toss again.
5. This may be served chilled or at room temperature.

Everyone enjoyed this salad. And I think it would make an excellent take along for a picnic or an outdoor concert.

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Chicken Cobb Salad

Yesterday I promised you the recipe for my chicken cobb salad so here goes...

I adapted this from Cooking Light's Shrimp Cobb Salad.

Only I didn't use shrimp because April(DD)doesn't really like it and I already had boneless chicken breasts in the freezer.

I also didn't use corn. I thought that I had corn in the freezer, but it turns out that I didn't.

And I made the dressing on the side.

I had to quick thaw the chicken breasts by setting them in the sink immersed in cold water, this took about half an hour. Then I pounded them a bit and I seasoned them with my all purpose dry rub seasoning mix.

I cooked the bacon as per the recipe, set it aside, and drained off most of the fat in the skillet and then I cooked the chicken until done and nicely brown on each side. And I set it aside.

I wouldn't call this a fast meal because I used a head of romaine instead of pre washed romaine and I grated the carrots I already had on hand instead of buying them pre-grated as the recipe suggested.

And I made the dressing differently:
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt to taste
2&1/2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
Whisk the first 4 ingredients together and them slowly whisk in the olive oil.

As you'll also notice I assembled the salads individually instead of all together in one large bowl.

I simply laid out all the plates and added lettuce, the grated carrots, the cooked chicken which I had sliced, the grape tomatoes, the bacon, and the sliced avocado.

If you wanted to you could easilyy adapt this to a quick meal. From Trader Joe's you could buy already cooked, white chicken meat, prepackaged salad mix, and prepackaged grated carrots.

This was a very refreshing, light salad that was a perfect fit for us on yesterday's warm summer like day. And it provided us with a mix of vegetables, a lean protein and healthy fats. Plus no artificial colors or flavors. Simply real food at it's finest.

We also had a special treat with this meal. My daughter, Kristina, made us a wonderfully, delicious baguette.

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Quick and Easy Potato Salad

Here's the potato salad recipe I promised you yesterday.

It qualifies as my kind of fast food as it can easily be prepared in the morning and pretty quickly.

Potato Salad(inspired by Rachael Ray)

1.5 lbs of little mini potatoes
1/2 onion
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
red wine vinegar, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup yellow mustard
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish

1.Wash potatoes and cut into quarters. Cover with cold, salted water and bring to a boil and cook until soft, about 10 minutes.
2.Drain potatoes and place back in pan over heat for a minute or two so they will dry.
3.Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and shake a bit of the vinegar, salt and pepper over them. Let cool.
4.Grate the onion into a small bowl and add the celery. To that add the mayonnaise, mustard and pickle relish. Mix until combined.
5.Toss the potatoes with the dressing and chill until dinner time.

This is a great salad. It comes together easily and it tastes delicious. It's also the perfect dish to take to a picnic or a potluck.

For tomorrow I'll tell you what I did with yesterday's leftovers.

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