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Spring Salad Recipe with Farro and Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette

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Spring Salad Recipe with Farro and Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette

Spring is in the air and the weather outside is just starting to turn for the better.  Winter’s here in Chicago are long and cold so it’s no wonder the city starts to erupt in March with more and more folks chomping at the bit to get outside at any sign of 40°+ weather.  For me it’s not only the opportunity to spend some more time outdoors, but it’s also turning the page in the produce department.  March brings about things like fresh peas, asparagus, avocados and arugula.  Sure, those things are available all year round but if you know me then you know I prefer to eat in season so now that all of these things are available, a spring salad recipe is definitely on my menu.

In addition to all of the spring produce that is available, I knew I wanted to have a delicious grain to act as the backbone in this recipe.  I’ve been saying it for years so clearly I’m still a ways away, but I’m trying to incorporate more plants into my diet so leaving the animal protein out of this spring salad recipe was a must.  Whether it’s grains, legumes or flours, Bob’s Red Mill is always our go to.  Bob’s products are superior in every facet and we trust them with their growing, harvesting, storing and packaging process, so we also trust them with our bodies and what we put in them.  Bob’s is transparent and they tell you about the entire process, and we love that!  I used Bob’s Red Mill Farro as the grain in this salad recipe and whoa was it delish!  If you’ve never had farro before I like to tell folks that it is a cross between brown rice and barley.  It’s got a wonderful chewy texture and subtle earthy-nutty flavors.  Farro is also really easy to cook as it’s done in under 35 minutes!

While the farro is cooking, this is great time to prepare everything else.  I’m loadin up this spring salad recipe with green beans, asparagus, peas, candied pecans, a few other veggies and an insanely delicious lemon thyme vinaigrette.  For the veggies it is essential that you blanch them in hot water and then immediately cool them.  I put the green beans and the asparagus into the hot water first because they take a bit longer to cook.  After about a minute or two I then add in the peas and cook for another minute or so.  I’m cooking these guys pretty quick because I want to ensure they still have some crunch to them.  There is nothing sadder than an over cooked vegetable so be sure to cook these veggies quick!

Next, I made my vinaigrette by simply adding all of the ingredients into a bowl and then slowly whisking in the oil.  Vinaigrettes are so easy to make and once you start making them yourselves for a few times you will never again buy them from the store, there’s no point.  A homemade vinaigrette is so delicious plus you can swap out and add ingredients to them to make them just how you want them.  I wanted a sweet vinaigrette with some hints of lemon and thyme because I figured those great flavors would be wonderful with the greens and farro.  A standard vinaigrette is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, but because I love vinegar so much I like to do 2-to-1 oil to vinegar so that I can get more of the flavor into it.

Making homemade vinaigrette is easy and so is homemade candied pecans.  When I started to make stuff like this at home on a frequent basis, the less time I spend looking for someone else who makes it.  You see, my whole goal is to inspire and teach people how to cook at home as it is one of my greatest fear that home cooking is on the way out the door and is being replaced with ready to eat meals.  There is nothing more satisfying than making, serving and eating homemade meals, nor will there be a better time to connect with your family on a daily basis then over delicious food.

The last thing is to simply assemble the salad.  I’ve got quite a few things on this salad but I want you to know that you can garnish yours with whatever you’d like.  If you start with the farro, veggies, vinaigrette and candied pecans then you are on your way to having a fantastic salad, the rest is up to you for accessorizing!  I hope you enjoy this recipe, and enjoy the time making, serving and eating it with your family.  Take some time to breathe and just enjoy it!

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Spring Salad Recipe with Farro and Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette
Author: 
Recipe type: salad
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6
 
The weather is finally turning, which means more produce is beginning to become available. This Spring Salad Recipe with Farro and Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette is packed with delicious seasonal greens and vegetables for an unbelievable flavor. This salad feeds a ton so be sure to scale it back as you see fit.
Ingredients
  • 4 cups of cooked Bob's Red Mill Farro
  • 1 cup of trimmed green beans
  • ½ bunch of asparagus, cut into 1" pieces
  • 1 cup of spring peas
  • Whisk together juice of 1 lemon, ¼ cup of white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 3 tablespoons of honey, 1 tablespoon each chopped chives and thyme and 1 cup of olive oil
  • 1 cup of light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons of water
  • 12 ounces of spring mix lettuce
  • 6 hard boiled eggs, shelled and cut in half
  • 1 bunch of cherry tomatoes
  • 2 thinly sliced radishes
  • 2 peeled, seeded and sliced avocados
  • micro greens for garnish
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Par boil the green beans, asparagus and peas in a large pot of boiling salted water. First add in the beans and asparagus for 90 seconds and then add in the peas and cook for a further 90 seconds. Rinse and chill immediately.
  2. Next, season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper and set aside.
  3. In a large pan over medium heat add in the brown sugar, butter and water and cook until it is boiling and becomes very thick, about 2 to 3 minutes.
  4. Stir in the pecans and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until the caramel sauce completely coats the pecans.
  5. Spread the pecans out on a sheet tray lined with a rubber mat or parchment paper and cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside.
  6. To Plate: Place the greens in a large bowl and accessorize with the cooked farro, par-boiled green beans, asparagus and peas, hard boiled eggs, cherry tomatoes, radishes, candied pecans, avocados and micro green and serve alongside the vinaigrette.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Bob’s Red Mill. The opinions and text are all mine.

 

Lemon Herb Flattened Chicken with Root Vegetable Panzanella Salad

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Lemon Herb Flattened Chicken with Root Vegetable Panzanella Salad

Let me first start by saying how much I’ve enjoyed creating these videos for you guys and this Lemon Herb Flattened Chicken with Root Vegetable Panzanella Salad may be one of my favorites.  I’ve only done a few of these long form videos, i.e. 10 mintues +, but still I like being able to share in more detail what and why I’m doing it instead of cramming so much cooking information into a 1 minute video.  No offense but I don’t carry any more about those and I’m not going to cook recipes that can be prepared in 20 minutes, that’s not my style and not what has gotten me to this point.  I have a culinary degree and 15 years of restaurant experience so I feel it’s my duty to share my story and cooking knowledge with you all and I hope in some way it inspires you to cook and enjoy every day in the kitchen.

Once you start appreciating every step of the cooking process you will truly learn to love cooking.  This honestly takes so much time and I never felt this way until about 5 to 6 years ago when I had time to focus on what I was cooking instead of tickets printing and a chef yelling at me to hurry up.  This Lemon Herb Flattened Chicken with Root Vegetable Panzanella Salad video is a little long but man everything about this recipe is so good.  The lemon herb chimichurri sauce is divine and the prep that goes into it amazing.  When you are preparing it stop and smell each herb.  Taste each one.  After chopping it, smell it and taste it again to see if it changed.  Take your time while doing this and enjoy it.  After you mix in the lemon and garlic, taste it, season it, and taste it again.  Set the lemon herb sauce to the side until it’s ready to be used.  I called it chimichurri just because to me it’s what it resembles the most, and also this stuff freezes really well if you’ve got any extra leftover.  Just a little FYI there.

For the flattened chicken, you need to remove the back bone.  Don’t be scared when you hear the word flattened chicken because it’s not really flattened, it’s just a chicken that is a little flatter because the backbone has been removed.  Think about it, when you buy a whole chicken it is called a whole chicken, so when it’s flat, it’s called flattened.   You can do this by using some really sharp kitchen shears or a meat cleaver.  If you are a traditionalist like me, save the back bone and freeze it because man you can make a delicious chicken stock with that long back bone piece so save it up.  Drizzle on some olive oil all over the chicken to help it brown and you want to season all sides of the flattened chicken with Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.  Also, drizzle on about half of the lemon herb chimichurri sauce all over the chicken.  As the flattened chicken cooks the herbs are going to infuse into the chicken making it so dang delicious.  You could actually marinate in the lemon herb mixture over night if you wanted to as well.  I personally like to use it more like a sauce at the end so that’s just my cup of tea but it does not have to be yours.  You want to roast this chicken at around 375° for a bit and then crank up the heat to help finish crisping up the skin before it’s ready to serve.

The root vegetable panzanella salad is super easy to make and honestly can be just about whatever you want.  I used a combo of French and multigrain bread but dang it use whatever artisanal homemade bread you’ve got lying around the house.  Remember when you bake it you just want it to be toasty on the outside and softer on the inside, you aren’t making crunchy croutons ok?!  Panzanella is Italian and the salad in it’s original form was so that everything in the kitchen got used up so if you had some leftover crunchy bread that was a few days old, you cut up and put into a salad with veggies and greens.  Obviously same concept here but my bread was fresh and needed to be toasted.  Toast it up and toss around with some seasonal greens.  It’s winter so things like chard, mustard greens, collards, kale and spinach are in season so try to stick with those!  The root vegetables can be an assortment of things.  I used beets, sweet potatoes and Brussel sprouts, but you can absolutely use things like carrots, celeriac root, turnips, parsnips, potatoes, etc, you name it you can use it if it’s a root vegetable.

Well that’s all I got, thanks for hanging out and listening to me blabber on about nothing.  Watch the video and be sure to subscribe to my channel.  Thanks!

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Lemon Chicken with Panzanella Salad
Author: 
Recipe type: main
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Break out that loaf of artisan bread and learn how to make this delicious Lemon Herb Flattened Chicken with Root Vegetable Panzanella Salad!
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 1 thinly sliced sweet potato
  • 15-20 brussel sprouts, cut into quarters
  • 1 each quartered and thinly sliced golden and red beet
  • ½ loaf each French and multigrain loaf cut into 1” cubes
  • 4 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 head each of kale and spinach, trimmed and cut into bite size pieces
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
  • optional garnishes: micro-greens and goat cheese
For the Dressing:
  • ⅔ cup of mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup of white balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon of grainy mustard
  • 2 tablespoons of honey
  • ¼ cup of olive oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Chicken:
  • 3 tablespoons each finely minced fresh parsley, chives, thyme, rosemary and oregano
  • 4 finely minced cloves of garlic
  • zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • ½ cup of olive oil + 2 tablespoons
  • 1 whole chicken, backbone removed
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
  2. Salad: Spread the sweet potatoes, Brussel sprouts and beets out on 2 ½ sheet trays lines with parchment paper and drizzle on 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper.
  3. Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until light browned and tender. Cool completely.
  4. Spread the cubed bread out on a ½ sheet tray lined with parchment paper and drizzle on 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until slightly crunchy on the outside but soft in the center. Set aside.
  5. dressing: Whisk together all of the ingredients in a medium size bowl until combined. Cool before serving.
  6. Chicken: In a medium size bowl whisk together the herbs, garlic, lemon and olive oil until combined to make a chimichurri style sauce and set aside.
  7. Place the flattened chicken on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and cover it on all sides with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper, and ½ of lemon herb sauce. Bake skin side up for 50 minutes.
  8. After 25 minutes turn the chicken pan around so that it cooks evenly on all sides.
  9. After the 50 minutes is up turn the heat up to 425° and cook for 15 more minutes or until the skin is golden brown and cooked throughout.
  10. To Serve: Serve the chicken with the remaining lemon herb sauce and place the bread, greens and chilled root vegetables into a large bowl and dress with the desired amount of dressing, salt and pepper and optional garnishes micro-greens and goat cheese.
  11. Enjoy!

Kale and Brussel Sprout Salad Recipe with Beets and Fried Goat Cheese

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Kale and Brussel Sprout Salad Recipe with Beets and Fried Goat Cheese

I am back at it this week with this insanely delicious Kale and Brussel Sprout Salad Recipe with Beets, Sweet Potatoes, Dried Cherries, Pistachios, Bacon and Fried Goat Cheese tossed in a tasty creamy red wine vinegar dressing.  I know I keep telling you that we are pushing to incorporate more greens into our diet and if this is what it takes to get there then count me in.  You wanna talk about flavor? DUDE, this thing is loaded with goodness!  Sure there are a few things I could eliminate to make this really healthy like the bacon and the fried goat cheese, but man it seriously gives it so much flavor and makes clean eating tolerable.

The problem I’ve always had with clean eating and trying to be plant first is that it is so life and time consuming.  I mean you have to plan on so much stuff because there’s no gluten, no dairy, no meat, no cheese, no nothing and it takes time to develop recipes and ideas to accommodate such a lifestyle.  While we are nowhere near perfect we’ve sort of met in the middle at chilling back on red meat, dairy and gluten and trying are darndest to be plant first.  I do hope one day that I will be about 90% vegan because when do have those successful weeks, oh my gosh do we feel amazing.  In those weeks where we are really heavy in plant eating I feel like I barely need coffee.

This Kale and Brussel Sprout Salad Recipe with Beets and Fried Goat Cheese is a variation of a bunch of other salads with a some new things sprinkled in, like fried goat cheese.  I really love the recipes that I’ve made so going back to reinvent some older ones or just taking a couple ideas from them to make new ones is really fun.  I knew I wanted to use julienne kale and finely shaven Brussel sprouts as the base for this salad because honestly I need as many earthy leafy greens as my body can get.  As I get older I crave vegetables and few can deliver like kale does.  I remember back in the day when kale was used as a garnish at steakhouses.  In fact no one ever ate it because it was so bitter, but hey it was bright green and looked good.  Fast forward 20 years and now people can’t keep their hands off of it lol, go figure.

I wanted to load this salad up with some tasty vegetables that are in season or are starting to come into season.  Sweet potatoes and beets are loaded with flavor and nutrients so roasting them up and putting them on this kale and Brussel sprout salad was a no brainer.  To keep things efficient I did everything in the same pan, including frying bacon and goat cheese.  Of course after pan roasting the beets I wiped down the pan because I really didn’t want purple bacon.  When frying the bacon I actually added a bit more oil because I decided halfway through cooking it that I wanted to fry the goat cheese in the bacon fat.  SCORE!!!

The fried goat cheese was actually pretty easy to make and if I were to do it over again I would probably do an herb panko instead of just a simple panko.  Don’t get me wrong, they are super good, I just think it could be better with herbs and seasonings in the bread crumbs.  When cutting the log of goat cheese you may experience that it breaks up a bit, but no problem because you can absolutely mold it back to a circle.  Goat cheese is sticky so honestly don’t worry about it falling apart.  Once the goat cheese is cut then you simply dredge through the stations of a standard breading procedure.

The dressing I used for this Kale and Brussel Sprout Salad Recipe with Beets and Fried Goat Cheese is a really simple blend of mayonnaise, sugar, red wine vinegar and poppy seeds.  The dressing is extremely creamy, tangy and sweet making it a perfect compliment to the bitter greens and roasted veggies.  Make this one, I guaranteed you’ll enjoy it!

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Kale and Brussel Sprout Salad Recipe with Beets and Fried Goat Cheese
Author: 
Recipe type: salad
 
Up your salad making game with this amazingly delicious Kale and Brussel Sprout Salad Recipe with Beets and Fried Goat Cheese!
Ingredients
For the Dressing:
  • ½ cup of mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar
  • ¼ cup of red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons of poppy seeds
For the Salad:
  • 1 log of goat cheese, sliced ½” thick
  • standard breading procedures: 1 cup flour, 2 whisked eggs, 1 cup of panko bread crumbs
  • 2 cups of pan roasted medium diced sweet potatoes in 1 teaspoon of olive oil
  • 2 cups of pan roasted medium diced red beets in 1 teaspoon of olive oil
  • ½ cup of chopped crisp cooked bacon
  • ½ cup of canola or healthier frying oil
  • 1 head of trimmed julienne kale
  • 15 thinly shaven Brussel sprouts
  • ½ cup of dried cherries
  • ½ cup of pistachios
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Dressing: Combine all ingredients together in a medium bowl and whisk. Keep cool before serving.
  2. Goat Cheese: Coat each goat cheese round in the flour, then eggs, then panko and set on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. keep cool before frying.
  3. In a large pan over medium high heat, roast the sweet potatoes and then the beets. Chill before serving.
  4. Clean the pan and cook the bacon until crispy. Chop the bacon and set aside.
  5. Add the oil to the frying pan and fry the goat cheese until they are lightly browned on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove and drain any fat before serving.
  6. To plate: Place the kale, Brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, beets, chopped bacon, cherries, pistachios, fried goat cheese, salt and pepper and dressing.

 

Summer Salad with Quinoa Recipe and Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing

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As I’ve been writing the last few weeks in some of my blog posts, we are on a mission to indulge in all things clean eating and that’s why I created this Summer Salad with Quinoa Recipe and Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing.  We aren’t perfect, nor are we striving for perfection, and we still appreciate a once a week cheat day.  We are still learning on what to cook and how to cook it, but one thing that is for certain, man do we feel better and our bodies seem happy with what we are putting in it.

One of my old chefs usually to always tell me that are bodies are temples and we should not be loading it up with a bunch of over sugared, over preserved and processed garbage.  When I was in college I could care less of what he was talking about, but now that I’m 36 and I can absolutely feel and see the effects of consuming a pour diet.  I feel sluggish, my mind seems foggy and all I want to do is nap all day long.  If you are feeling that way too then it is 100% time for a change.  Even if it’s a slow change for you, start to make it now don’t wait.  It’s better to invest in your diet now instead of health bills later when your pour eating habits start to reap serious effects on you.

I’ve always enjoyed vegetables and although all vegetables are good for you, I often wasn’t eating the right ones.  I love carrots and celery, and tomatoes, but what body’s crave most often are leafy greens.  No that piece of iceberg lettuce on your burger doesn’t count, you need to be digging into a green salad with tatsoi, arugula, spinach, etc, which obviously why I made this Summer Salad with Quinoa Recipe and Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing.

While I was craving a huge green leafy salad I also knew I wanted some delicious nutty grains in there so I looked no further than Bob’s Red Mill Quinoa.  We almost always have a bag of Bob’s quinoa in our cupboards and eat it quite often.  It is absolutely delicious cooked plain in some water and a bit of salt, and is even more amazing when mixed into soups, rice replacements, and my personal favorite, salads.  Quinoa is a complete protein with all of the essential amino acids and you don’t have to worry about the long term effects of animal protein fat or animal growth hormones.  Think of it like this, quinoa is a grain that is just as loaded with protein as the steak you may be consuming but is WAY healthier for you.

With my leafy green salads, I usually like to incorporate fruits into it.  Doing this seasonally of course makes the most sense and because tomatoes, fresh berries and peaches are peaking then why not load up a salad with all that goodness.  If it were winter I would add things like apples or pears, but since it’s summer I am trying to make it linger extra hard :-).

For the dressing I made a really simple creamy poppy seed dressing loaded with yogurt, lemon, white balsamic vinegar, a touch of honey, avocado oil and poppy seeds.  I put everything into a mason jar and shook it up like crazy until it was emulsified, or combined.  It is so dang delicious and honestly would phenomenal on just about any salad you may make, so in other words make it even if you don’t make this salad.

One of my favorite things about making salads is that you can put in it whatever you’d like, just always be sure to stay seasonal.  Nothing worse than eating a salad loaded with ingredients that don’t taste like they should when they’re in peak season.  By doing this you will save money since things like fresh berries are ridiculously expensive during those winter months, and definitely aren’t worth the money you will spend on them.  Well I hope this post for Summer Salad with Quinoa Recipe and Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing helps inspire you and motivates you to take better care of your body if you aren’t already.  Happy Salad Making!

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Summer Salad with Quinoa Recipe and Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing
Author: 
Recipe type: salad
 
This Summer Salad with Quinoa Recipe and Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing is loaded with nutrients and perfect for those hot summer days.
Ingredients
For the Dressing:
  • ¼ cup of whole fat yogurt
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • ½ cup of avocado oil
  • 1 teaspoon of poppy seeds
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Salad:
  • 2 cups of cooked and chilled Bob’s Red Mill Quinoa
  • 8 cups of packed leafy greens
  • 2 cooked chicken breasts, sliced, or 1 cup of pulled rotisserie chicken
  • ½ cup of blackberries
  • ½ cup of raspberries
  • ½ cup of blueberries
  • ½ cup of strawberries
  • ½ cup of pitted assorted cherries
  • 1 peeled, seeded and sliced avocado
  • 1 cup of sliced assorted cherry tomatoes
  • micro greens for garnish
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.
Instructions
  1. Dressing: Whisk all of the ingredients together in a medium size bowl until combined. Chill before using.
  2. Salad: Combine all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and dress with dressing.
  3. Serve!

 

Smoked Chicken Greens Salad with Zucchini and Cilantro Lime Dressing

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Smoked Chicken Greens Salad with Zucchini and Cilantro Lime Dressing

There are two things that I’ve really enjoyed preparing over the last year, making homemade bread and smoking food, see this smoked chicken recipe.  Making bread is therapeutic and delicious, smoking is time consuming and delicious :-).  I’ve only been smoking food for the last few years and up onto that point I didn’t have a ton of experience with it.  A lot of people just assume because I’m classically trained and logged a decade and a half in the restaurant industry that I know everything there I to know about all cuisines.  Sorry to pop that bubble but most chefs are specialized or really focus on few areas within which they thrive, or back into certain techniques and use those to bring out the flavors in their food.  The only smoking I had really done in the restaurant industry is with shrimp and turkey breasts.  We had an alto sham smoker, which is this tiny box that ignites a smaller box of smoker chips to help smoke out the bigger box with which the food is in.  it’s smoking, but it’s not smoking.

When I think of smoked foods I think of the south and some old timer up at 3 am making his coals and getting ready to put them into a huge black smoker with a gigantic pig in it.  I’ve smoked a few times doing a method like that but I much prefer the digital smoker these days because I’m busy.  Digital smokers allow me to put my food in away, set the timer and smoker and then I walk away until it beeps.  It’s glorious!  A normal grill smoker requires you to keep an eye on it every hour or so to make sure you are maintaining temperature.  Grill smokers are great if you’ve got the time, but sorry I’m city livin and dang busy so don’t judge me J.  Smoking beef and pork is much longer than making a smoked chicken.  While all smoked food is delicious smoked chicken only requires about 4 total hours and it is so versatile.  Smoked brisket and smoked pork are almost always married with BBQ, but smoked chicken can go in so many different things because it usually only has a light smoky flavor since it weighs far less and requires less cooking/smoking time then it’s barbecued brethren.

There are several things you can do to a chicken before smoking it.  You can brine it, rub it or even simply marinate it.  Since I wanted a smoky seasoned chicken I went with a rub.  It requires the least amount of prep time and it’s delicious.  I love the flavors of the herbs and spices on smoked chicken because it resembles a bit of bbq, which I’m obsessed with.  Brining and marinating are great too, all depends on what flavor you are going for.  In addition to the smoked chicken I wanted to do pair it on a seasonal salad.  I love the traditions and flavors of the three sisters, squash, corn and beans, so in addition to those being delicious I knew it would go great on a salad.  I simply seared the corn on the cob, and squashes, and then immediately chilled them.

I wanted to also have some sort of tomatoey flavor incorporated into the salad so I made a really simple fire roasted salsa using the canned fire roasted tomatoes.  I blended up the tomatoes with some onions, jalapeños, cilantro, lime juice and salt and pepper until it resembled a restaurant style salsa.  The salsa enhances all of the other wonderful flavors in this smoked chicken greens salad since all of the ingredients in it go so well with the produce anyways.  The greens on the bottom of all this goodness is a combination of Boston bibb lettuce and spring mix.  I also added in some avocado, radishes, assorted sliced cherry tomatoes and made an insanely tasty cilantro lime dressing.  Dude you want to talk about good?  This vinaigrette is money!!!  I added some olive oil, honey, white wine vinegar, lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper to a blender and blended it until it was smooth and emulsified and dang is it good.  I kept thinking how could something this simple be so flippin tasty.  It is and that’s all I can say.  Well happy smoking and happy salad making in this Smoked Chicken Greens Salad with Zucchini and Cilantro Lime Dressing!

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Smoked Chicken Greens Salad with Zucchini and Cilantro Lime Dressing
Author: 
 
Try this delicious Smoked Chicken Greens Salad with Zucchini and Cilantro Lime Dressing that is loaded with delicious vegetables.
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
  • 1 teaspoon of onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon of cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon of paprika
  • 1 teaspoon of dry oregano
  • 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons of Kosher salt
  • 1 whole chicken cut in half
For the Salad:
  • 1 15-ounce can of fire roasted tomatoes
  • ½ peeled yellow onion
  • 6 to 8 canned nacho jalapeños
  • juice of 1 lime
  • ¼ cup of fresh cilantro
  • 4 cups of packed spring mix lettuce
  • 1 roughly chopped head of Boston bibb lettuce
  • 1 sliced zucchini, roasted and chilled
  • 1 sliced yellow squash, roasted and chilled
  • 1 cup of cooked corn kernels
  • 1 cup of sliced assorted cherry tomatoes
  • 1 15-ounce can of rinsed black beans
  • 4 thinly sliced radishes
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Dressing:
  • ½ cup of olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of grainy mustard
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • ½ cup of white wine vinegar
  • juice of 1 lime
  • ⅓ cup of cilantro leaves
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the smoker to 225°.
  2. Chicken: Combine all of the spices and generously rub the split whole chicken on all sides and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
  3. Add the chicken to the smoker and smoke for 3 to 4 hours or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°. Rest before slicing and serving.
  4. Salsa: In a blender add in the tomatoes, onion, jalapeños, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper until slightly chunky. keep cool before serving. Note, there will be plenty leftover.
  5. Dressing: Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend on high until emulsified and smooth. Set aside. Note, there will be plenty leftover.
  6. To Plate: Place both lettuces to the bottom of a large bowl and place on smoked chicken, some salsa, zucchini, squash, corn, cherry tomatoes, beans, radishes, salt and pepper and dress accordingly!

 

Taco Salad Recipe with Chicken and Avocado Lime Dressing

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When coming up with this recipe all I could think about was that weird taco salad rendition that you would get in elementary school from the cafeteria.  Truth be told it was my second favorite day of the month behind pizza day J.  Fast forward 25 years I decided to make my own, un-inspired from what I used to eat back in the day lol.  Don’t get me wrong, the classic tortilla shell with iceberg lettuce, ground beef, salsa, cheese and avocado is super good, especially if you’re craving some grease while trying to be healthy, yes I know the irony but I’m sure you get it, is delicious.  Well I’m 35 now and need to watch a bit more of what I’m eating or else it’s going straight to my chin for all to see…  Not cool!

To make a taco salad that’s a bit on the healthier side you first have to start with what on earth you plan on doing with that oversized fried tortilla bowl shell thing.  Instead of saturating a salad in all that leftover fryer grease why not just crumble up a few baked, or lightly fried corn tortilla ships and mixing it in the salad?  Genius I know; I’m here to help!  Once you’ve got the tortilla part figured it out, it’s all about creativity and what you’d like to do with the taco salad.  I always say that you need to get to the grocery store and see what produce is in season, and possibly on sale.  No need to make an out of season $80 taco salad when you’ve got fresh peak season ingredients right in front of you.   The reason I always say things like this is so you can adapt this recipe to the seasons.  For instance, this taco salad recipe might look a bit different over the winter months.  perhaps you’ll use some tasty root vegetables like carrots, or fennel, or even celeriac root to give this dish a wonderful earthy flavor.  The whole point is to always make sure your making a recipe that is in season or to take the liberty to tweak it for whatever season you’re in.

One of my favorite things to put in salads are watermelon radishes but dang are they seasonal and kind of hard to find.  I honestly walked past it for a week until I read the dang label on what the light green root veg was before realizing it.  I don’t see them often so I forget what the heck they look like or it could be because I’m in Chicago and still a bit chilly here and I’m still swimming in root vegetables from the winter.  Regardless if you can find these suckers they are guaranteed to be the highlight of every dish because they are gorgeous and dang tasty.  They are a much milder spiced radish and about 4 times the size so use them freely.

In addition to the tortillas and radishes I decided to use spring mix as the base, since it’s spring, and then I loaded on black beans, toasted corn kernels from the cob, sliced cherry tomatoes, a homemade pico de gallo, sliced cucumbers, shredded chihuahua cheese and finally a spice rubbed and seared chicken breast.  Oh wait, I made an insanely delicious avocado lime dressing to go on top.  Since there are only a few things in here that need instruction let’s start with the pico.  It’s simply a combo of diced vine ripe tomatoes, yellow onion, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice and salt and pepper.  It works great on this salad and eaten with tortilla chips!  Next is the spice rubbed chicken.  I did a simple blend of 1 teaspoon each of dry onion, garlic, cumin, paprika, chili powder, oregano and Kosher salt.  Once I rubbed the chicken I cooked it up on our flat top and got it nice and browned, like in the pic.  From there I sliced it and loaded up the salad with all of these ingredients and put the dressing to the side.  Let’s talk about that dressing for a minute.

The avocado lime dressing taste almost like a Latin ranch dressing.  it’s a blend of mayonnaise, buttermilk, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, avocado, lime juice, fresh cilantro and salt and pepper.  I blended it until it was smooth and tasted it and then rejoiced to the heavens.  DUDE is this avocado lime dressing good!!  Dress the taco salad accordingly and enjoy!

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Taco Salad Recipe with Chicken and Avocado Lime Dressing
Author: 
 
Change up the old classic with this brand new delicious twist for a Taco Salad Recipe with Chicken and Avocado Lime Dressing!
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
  • 1 teaspoon of onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon of cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon of paprika
  • 1 teaspoon of dry oregano
  • 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons of Kosher salt
  • 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
For the Salad:
  • 4 seeded and small diced vine ripe tomatoes
  • ½ peeled and small diced yellow onion
  • 1 seeded and small diced jalapeño
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro
  • 8 cups of packed spring mix lettuce
  • 2 thinly sliced watermelon radishes
  • 1 cup of cooked corn kernels
  • 1 thinly sliced cucumber
  • 1 cup of sliced assorted cherry tomatoes
  • 1 15-ounce can of rinsed black beans
  • 4 peeled, seeded and sliced avocados
  • 1 cup of shredded chihuahua cheese
  • 1 bag of tortilla chips
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Dressing:
  • 1 cup of mayonnaise
  • ½ cup of buttermilk
  • 1 peeled and seeded avocado
  • ¾ teaspoon of onion powder
  • ¾ teaspoon of garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon of Kosher salt
  • ½ cup of cilantro leaves
  • juice of 1 lime
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Chicken: combine all seasonings together in a small bowl and generously season the chicken breasts on all sides. Note there may be some seasoning left over.
  2. heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and cook the chicken on each side until golden brown and cooked through out, about 5 to 6 minutes per side. Rest the chicken and slice.
  3. Pico: In a medium size bowl mix together the diced tomatoes, onions, jalapeño, lime juice, cilantro leaves, and salt and pepper until combined and keep cool before serving.
  4. Dressing: Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high speed until smooth. keep cool before serving.
  5. To Serve: In a large bowl add in the spring mix lettuce and then top off with sliced chicken, pico de gallo, radishes, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, black beans, avocado, corn, cheese and tortilla chips. Serve the dressing on the side.

 

Kale Salad with Apples and Roasted Acorn Squash Recipe

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Kale Salad with Apples and Roasted Acorn Squash Recipe

You all know it’s that time of year where everyone is setting goals like crazy.  Whether it’s getting in the gym, losing weight or heck even trying to pay off debt, all of us are looking for that reset button, including me!  I didn’t work out on January 1 mostly because our church had a chili cook off and I for sure wasn’t going to miss that one so right out of the gate I didn’t start off too well.  However, the next day I was able to hunker down and get after it while also whipping up and eating this Kale Salad with Apples and Roasted Acorn Squash Recipe.  This is one of my wife’s favorite salads that I make and it’s incredibly versatile.   By that I mean you can accessorize with toppings as much or as little as you’d like.  I personally love that because I can tailor it by what’s in season and available to me from my local grocery store.  One of my other objectives for this 2017 year is to eat cleaner and in season.  Sure there will be some recipes I create that may have a tomato in it during the winter months or even some berries, but those mostly come from folks I work with, and ugh I got bills to pay J.  For now, we’ll just focus on making this Kale Salad with Apples and Roasted Acorn Squash Recipe, and a little look back at 2016.

This past year has been incredibly challenging for me.  I had some body aches, a minor surgery, an ER visit, and a couple other ditty’s that set me back.  It’s crazy because I’m only 35, which I feel is still fairly young, and man did I feel like I fell apart a bit this year.  My lower back made me miserable and the surgery recovery was no fun either…  However, throughout all of my minor setbacks I can now look back and be thankful for everything that happened.  I feel incredibly humbled and blessed still that I get to do what I love and spend a solid amount of time with my family.  Time has become my new currency and I want to spend as much of it as I can with my family.  The aches, and pains, and recovery time has taught me that my body will eventually fail me someday and that I’m here temporarily on this earth and am just passing through…  In addition, to be thankful during the times when I’m 100% healthy and feeling great.  While I still am feeling a few aches to kick off this new year, I’m going to remind myself on just how faithful God is and how much he is growing me and blessing me.  Ok Reverend Billy, let’s do this recipe J.

The best my body felt in a long time was a few years ago when I did a 21-day fix through one of my good friends who works at Beach Body.  I ate really well, got in some great cardio and slept like a champ!  I want to find my way back to that so I wanted to kick off this year by exercising, sleeping well and making great food, starting with this Kale Salad with Apples and Roasted Acorn Squash Recipe.  It’s a wonderful combination of kale greens, seasonal vegetables and perfect sweet-tart combination from the apples and dressing that really brings this one together.  One of my favorite parts about this salad is just how easy it is to make.  I also love the fact that this is an all kale salad that actually tastes really good, because to be honest I’ve had a few that would go really well with a trashcan.  The dressing and other ingredients on top really offset the bitter taste from the kale, and quite frankly compliments it more than it masks it.  I told you my wife loves this salad, but I think even more than that she’s happy when I eat healthy greens.

The research that has been done from people who eat greens regularly versus people who do not is staggering.  There are stories where people eat a raw food diet and literally unclog their 80% plus blocked arteries.  While I’d never be able to commit myself to a lifestyle like that, I still need to do a better job of eating more leafy greens.

So in the end sorry for all of the sad and hopeful stories of 2016 and 2017, but I hope in the end it will inspire you in some way to eat a little better and get some exercise.  Here’s to a healthy and prosperous future to all of us.

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Kale Salad with Apples and Roasted Acorn Squash Recipe
Author: 
Recipe type: salad
 
Looking for some healthy recipes after the new year? Try this full flavored Kale Salad with Apples and Roasted Acorn Squash Recipe!
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 1 acorn squash sliced into ½” thick slices, seeds removed
  • 1 tablespoons of olive oil
  • ½ cup of red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon of sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of Kosher salt
  • ½ thinly sliced red onion
  • 3 bunches of roughly cut fresh kale, stems removed
  • 1 each cored and sliced Granny Smith and Fuji apple
  • 1 thinly shaved bulb of fennel
  • 3 stalks of thinly shaved celery
  • ½ cup of pistachios
  • ¾ cup of dried cherries
  • Parmesan cheese for garnish
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Dressing:
  • 2 heaping tablespoons of mayonnaise
  • 1½ teaspoons of sugar
  • 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
  2. Coat the squash in olive oil, season with salt and pepper and place on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and roast in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned and al dente, or slightly crunchy. Chill.
  3. Next whisk together the red wine vinegar, sugar and salt until dissolved and submerge the onions. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  4. In a small bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper, and set aside.
  5. In a large bowl toss together the kale, some of the pickled red onions, apples, fennel, celery, pistachios and cherries and season with salt and pepper. Add a few tablespoons of the vinaigrette and toss together. Finish with Parmesan cheese and top off with chilled roasted acorn squash.

 

Winter Salad Recipe with Roasted Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Seeds

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Winter Salad Recipe with Roasted Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Seeds

I know, it’s a winter salad from Chef Billy Parisi that has close to 9,000 ingredients in it.  I realize quite a few of my recipes have a decent number of ingredients in it but man once I’m creating something I being to think, “Well this other thing would go great in here, and then this, and then this, and then this,” until I get completely carried away like in this Winter Salad Recipe with Roasted Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Seeds.  All I can say is, at least it’s good haha.  That’s my fall back.  However, with a lot of my recipes the ingredient list may be on the longer side but the procedures are incredibly easy, just like in this Winter Salad Recipe with Roasted Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Seeds.  I mean you are simply combining all of the ingredients in a bowl and then drizzling on some vinaigrette.  Easy right?  The only thing you really have to do in this is roast up some butternut squash and shave some carrots, which to me is pretty dang simple…

To ensure you get this salad out on time the first thing you must do is peel, cut up and roast the butternut squash.  Now because I am known to get lazy at times when prepping I prefer not to even cut the bottom portion of the butternut squash where you have to scoop out the seeds.  I really only ever use the top portion because it’s easy to peel and a whole lot easier to cut, plus there is no scooping out of the seeds.  So now that you know how lazy I am let’s talk the removal of some of these ingredients so your head won’t explode at the grocery store while looking for everything.

First, you can completely remove of the following from this Winter Salad Recipe with Roasted Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Seeds:  the carrots, the granny smith apple, the feta cheese, the kale, and the homemade balsamic vinaigrette – just buy a pre-made balsamic vinaigrette from the store.  That should significantly help out the ingredient list and complexity of flavors.  I think the reason I like to pound in so many ingredients in to salads is because I don’t often eat them and I want to get as many nutrients from it as possible.  I want these bad boys to be packed with healthy deliciousness because chances are I’m going out for a burger afterwards or simply eating cookies all day.  I know it’s a cop out but it’s one of the main reasons I like to pile on so many things into a salad.  This Winter Salad Recipe with Roasted Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Seeds was really made more for holidays and entertaining over those cold months that can really impress your guests.  Most folks just make simple romaine or ice burg based salads with out of season produce like tomatoes and such.  With that mentality you can understand why this winter salad recipe is a little more glorious…

I’m definitely a creature of habit when it comes to making homemade vinaigrettes and almost always resort to my honey balsamic vinaigrette.  It’s so easy to make and honestly goes dang good with just about any salad someone would whip up.  It’s got the perfect balance of sweet and tangy to finish off any greens with.  With that being said you can definitely try another vinaigrette if you’d like.  I think anything with a red wine or white wine vinegar base would work well or you can get all fancy faced and try a champagne vinegar or even a berry vinegar, point being you can change it up.

Lastly for the cheeses I thought it would be a cool to do a combo of feta cheese and goat cheese.  You can definitely use 1 or the other but if you only want to choose 1 then I’d go with the goat cheese, it will compliment more of what’s in this salad and help cut some of the bitterness from the kale greens.  To finish off this salad I used some of those thinly shaven almonds which I toasted up in the oven on 350 for like 10 minutes, and then with some dried cherries and pomegranate seeds.  Try not to eat all those cherries because dang are they addicting.  Well that’s all I got on this one, so if you want to impress your guests this winter season with a killer salad then be sure to make this Winter Salad Recipe with Roasted Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Seeds.

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Winter Salad Recipe with Roasted Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Seeds
Author: 
Recipe type: salad
 
Try this Winter Salad Recipe with Roasted Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Seeds this holiday season and wow your guests!
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 1 small peeled and medium diced butternut squash
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 3 thinly shaved tri-colored carrots
  • 1 peeled, cored and small diced fuji apple
  • 1 peeled, cored and small diced granny smith apple
  • 1 cup of dried cherries
  • 1 cup of toasted thinly sliced almonds
  • ½ cup of pomegranate seeds
  • ½ cup of crumbled feta cheese
  • ½ cup of crumbled goat cheese
  • 4 cups of packed baby spinach leaves
  • 1 head of trimmed red or green kale leaves
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Balsamic Vinaigrette:
  • ½ peeled small diced small shallot
  • 1 teaspoon of grainy mustard
  • 1 ½ teaspoons of honey
  • ¼ cup of balsamic vinegar
  • ½ cup of olive oil
  • 1 tablespoons of chiffonade fresh basil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
  2. Coat the butternut squash in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper and spread out on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until tender. Do not over cook.
  3. Cool the butter nut squash immediately in the oven.
  4. Salad: Toss all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and keep cool.
  5. Dressing: whisk together all of the ingredients until the vinaigrette is emulsified and dress the salad and toss together.
  6. Serve!

 

Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Grilled Lemon Chicken

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Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Grilled Lemon Chicken

My wife came down stairs after a nap and spotted this Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Grilled Lemon Chicken just as soon as I was done photographing at and just starred at it haha.  She was like, “what is that and can I eat it?!”  After a few bites she said with her mouth completely full, “this is what I want to eat every day of my life.”  I just laughed, but she’s right this Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Grilled Lemon Chicken is dang delicious!!

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If you’ve been following me for a bit you know I am all about flavor balance, so when I can get just about every profile your palette can handle in one bite then I’ve done my job.  The sliced chicken that goes on top was marinating in a very simple lemon-white balsamic vinegar dressing for 4 hours.  I know that’s a bit of time, but the flavor that comes from it is incredible.  If you don’t want to marinate it and want to grill it asap, fine I won’t stop you but can’t guarantee all the flavor combos will be there.  Also, keep that vinegar out because we’re going to use it later.

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While the chicken is marinating this is perfect time to prepare everything else in this dish.  Because I am loving whole grains in my salads and for some more protein I cooked and added in Bob’s Red Mill Quinoa.  Quinoa is gluten free, so is this salad, and is absolutely packed with nutrients and protein.  In fact, it’s considered a complete protein due to providing all the essential amino acids. In other words, see you later steak and hello quinoa!!

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In addition to the greens and cooked and cooled quinoa I wanted to add in some fresh berries, toasted sliced almonds, roasted bell peppers and sliced avocado.  You can toast the almonds on a sheet tray in the oven or in a sauté pan, I did the later over low heat and it worked great!  For the peppers I pulled a card out from culinary school and roasted them right on my burner over high heat.  If you aren’t comfortable doing this I get it, roast them in the oven on high heat or over the grill.  Once they are charred on the outside put them in a big and seal them up for a few moments.  This will help the char peel off with ease.

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Pull that vinegar back out because we are going to make a really tasty vinaigrette.  It’s incredibly easy to make and bursting with flavor.  It consists of white balsamic vinegar, grainy mustard, olive oil, honey, poppy seeds and fresh thyme leaves.  Whisk it together, season it with salt and pepper and set it aside.

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At this time everything for the salad is done and now it’s time to grill the chicken.  You can either grill it over the open flame or in a grill pan.  I went with the grill pan because I’ve been really into searing protein lately and I just wanted to do it!!

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I know I know this final picture of this Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Grilled Lemon Chicken looks crazy and intricate, but really I just spread all of the ingredients all over a platter and drizzled on the vinaigrette.  I used both feta and goat cheese, but you can feel free to just use 1.

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Definitely make this while all of these tasty ingredients are in season, and maybe I’ll come back in the fall with some in season updated produce!

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Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Grilled Lemon Chicken
Author: 
Recipe type: salad
 
Looking for a delicious salad recipe? Try this Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Grilled Lemon Chicken that is sure to satisfy!
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 small diced shallot
  • 3 minced cloves of garlic
  • ¼ cup of white balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar
  • ⅓ cup of olive oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
  • 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
For the Vinaigrette:
  • ¼ cup of white balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon of grainy mustard
  • 1 teaspoon of honey
  • ⅓ cup of olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon of poppy seeds
  • ½ teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Salad:
  • 2 cups of cooked Bob’s Red Mill Quinoa
  • 6 cups of packed baby spinach
  • 1 cup of sliced strawberries
  • 1 cup of blueberries
  • ½ cup of toasted almonds
  • 1 sliced avocado
  • 2 sliced yellow bell peppers, roasted, scraped and seeded
  • ¼ cup of crumbled feta cheese
  • ¼ cup of crumbled goat cheese
  • ½ cup of micro greens
Instructions
  1. Chicken: In a large bowl whisk together the lemon juice, shallot, garlic, vinegar, mustard, sugar, olive oil, salt and pepper until combined and submerge the chicken breasts and marinate for 4 hours.
  2. Once it’s done marinating remove the chicken and grill it over high heat on for 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until cooked throughout. Slice and set aside.
  3. Vinaigrette: Whisk together all of the ingredients in a medium size bowl until completely combined.
  4. To Plate: Simply combine all of the salad ingredients together and place on a platter. Next place the sliced chicken over the top and drizzle on the vinaigrette.

 

Classic Nicoise Salad Recipe with Mustard and Lemon Vinaigrette

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Classic Nicoise Salad Recipe with Mustard and Lemon Vinaigrette

At least once a week we indulge in an all-out vegetable fest and this Classic Nicoise Salad Recipe hit the nail on the head!  I make so many rich, delicious foods and desserts that a few times a week we just crave nutrients from vegetables so I try to get all vegetarian, or in this case pescatarian, and create something amazing.  I have always been a sucker for Nicoise Salad, in fact I did one some years back but roasted every single ingredient on the grill including the romaine lettuce.  This time around I wanted to use up the new kitchen goodies so I parked it inside for this one.

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Many people have asked me what my favorite thing is in the entire kitchen.  My answer usually leaves the questioner with a blank stare on their face when I say, “My Franke Pot Filler Faucet.”  What about the Wolf Stove or your prep table??  Nope, it’s all about that pot filler.  It just makes things so convenient and puts less pressure on my back to be carrying all these heavy pots of water across my kitchen.  It’s seriously the greatest invention of all time!

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If you’ve never made a Nicoise Salad, get that knife sharpened up because there is some vegetable prep in store.  I also want to say that you don’t have to follow this recipe verbatim.  You can absolutely take out or add in vegetables that you like, or even use something you may find on sale, like chickpeas.  However, this recipe would definitely fall under more of a “classic” ingredient format.  Start by parboiling some fresh picked green beans, fingerling potatoes and eggs.  P.S. be sure to cook the eggs though J.  Once the vegetables are al dente and the eggs are cooked through immediately strain them and chill them in some ice water.  Once the cool, cut the potatoes in half short ways and cut the hardboiled eggs in half long ways.  Be sure to keep them cook before serving.

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For the salad I used a combination of Romaine lettuce and spring mix.  It’s a simple combinations of greens but it’s always my go to for the family because it’s so easy to prep.  I’m in love with our Franke Farmhouse Sink because it’s nice and deep compared to our old sink which seemed so shallow that things would just splash all over our granite.  Not the case in this beauty.  There are so many yummy vegetables in this Classic Nicoise Salad Recipe and you can see just how beautiful all of the colors are.  If you want to save some time prepping just buy the pitted olives, I promise you’ll thank me for it!

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I decided to go with fresh Ahi Tuna instead of the canned because there is obviously a huge difference in quality and flavor.  Simply sear it until it’s cooked through in a little salt and pepper and olive oil over medium high heat, and then chill it.

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What would a delicious salad be without dressing?  Keeping in line with the French I went ahead and whipped up a mustard vinaigrette using only fresh lemon juice, white wine vinegar, grainy mustard, Dijon mustard, olive oil and sugar.  It’s super simple and incredibly delicious.

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To show this salad off put it on a large platter and fan out all of those tasty fresh vegetables around the outside with the lettuce greens underneath.

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I garnished with some fresh kale microgreens for no reason at all other than I am obsessed with garnishing things with microgreens.

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The vibrant colors are certainly something to show off so this Classic Nicoise Salad Recipe may be something you want to show off to some friends at your next get together.

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If you’re anything like me and crave vegetables a few times a week, then this recipe is sure to satisfy!

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Classic Nicoise Salad Recipe
Author: 
Recipe type: salad
 
Vegetables, Ahi Tuna, Mustard Vinaigrette, this Classic Nicoise Salad Recipe is loaded with delicious flavors and nutrients!
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 1 head of cut Romaine Lettuce, rinsed and drained
  • 4 cups of packed spring mix lettuce, rinsed and drained
  • ½ pound of parboiled and cooled picked green beans
  • 1 pound of parboiled and cooled tri colored fingerling potatoes cut in half short ways
  • 5 cooked and cooled hardboiled eggs, shelled and cut in half long ways
  • 1 cup of assorted cherry tomatoes cut in half
  • ½ julienne red onion
  • ½ sliced cucumber
  • 1 can of drained and quartered artichoke hearts
  • ½ cup each Spanish, Kalamata and nicoise olives
  • 3 thinly sliced radishes
  • 1 pound of fully cooked, cooled and roughly chopped ahi tuna
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
  • kale microgreens for garnish
For the Dressing:
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon of grainy mustard
  • 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
  • ½ cup of olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. For the Salad: Mix together the lettuces and place on a large platter. Evenly fan out the remaining ingredients next to one another on top of the lettuces. Garnish with the microgreens and season with salt and pepper.
  2. Dressing: Combine all of the ingredients in a medium size bowl and whisk until emulsified. Serve alongside of the salad.

 

Salmon and Lentil Salad Recipe

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I always say how I love summer produce the most and how the variety is so much more grand, but after this Salmon and Lentil Salad Recipe, I think my perception has changed a little bit.  Sometimes I need to make something that I haven’t in a while that helps bring me back to my roots on why I like certain things so much.  I mean I haven’t had an acorn squash in a while, or poached salmon or even a blood orange but the combination of flavors in this salad are to die for!  First let’s start with the lentils!

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I used Bob’s Red Mill® Petite French Green Lentils because this dish seemed overly French in a way just given I poached some salmon :-).  Lentils may be the oldest cultivated legume in history. Archeological digs have produced artifacts dating lentils clear back to 8,000 to 7,000BC! Petite French Green Lentils are a bit spicy with a mottled, dark green appearance. They are the most intensely flavored of the lentil family and are prized by chefs for their rich, earthy flavor and hearty texture. They hold their shape when cooked and make a delicious side dish or a bed for entrees.

Though small in size, lentils are a nutritional all-star. They’re rich in fiber and contain about a steak’s worth of protein, making them a healthy meat substitute for vegetarians and vegans. Lentils are also packed with folate, iron, phosphorus and potassium.

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Next of course was the veg!  The cool thing about this salad, as elegant as it may look, it was really made up of things that were on sale and in season.  Acorn squash, blood oranges, green beans, radishes, peas, all things that are available at your local store.  In fact you can use whatever you want in this salad, just as long as you start with lentils as the base!

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I know it may be hard to see, but that little orange thing floating at the top is salmon… Salmon poached in butter, white wine, chicken stock, salt and pepper, and it is nothing short of glorious!  I haven’t had poached salmon like this since my first gig out of culinary school at a 3 star French restaurant, Malmaison!

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It’s best to serve this salad almost like a buffet and let people pick and choose what they want on there.  Outside of the salmon being poached in butter this dish is relatively healthy.  All of the legumes were boiled in salt water, that’s it!

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There is a little dressing drizzled on there as well.  I made an incredibly easy to make balsamic vinegar which was literally white balsamic vinegar, grainy mustard, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper, that’s it!  And for a little flavor affinity I drizzled on some truffle oil, but that part is optional!

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There’s a good shot of everything!

If you prep all of the ingredients ahead of time this salad will actually last a few days.  So, when you want to eat it just pull out the ingredients place’em in a bowl, dress’em up and eat away!

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One last shot way up close because why not!  The recipe is below and don’t forget to follow my good friends at:

  • facebook.com/bobsredmill
  • twitter.com/bobsredmill
  • Instagram.com/bobsredmill

I want to stress that there may seem like there are a lot of ingredients to this recipe, BUT the only must uses are the lentils, salmon and vinaigrette, all of the veggies are fair game!!!  HAPPY COOKING 🙂

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Salmon and Lentil Salad Recipe
Author: 
Recipe type: Salad
 
Spice up your night with this delicious butter poached Salmon and Lentil Salad Recipe that is loaded with fresh vegetables!
Ingredients
For the Salmon:
  • two 6 ounce salmon fillets
  • 1 pound of unsalted butter
  • ½ cup of chardonnay
  • 1 cup of chicken stock
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
  • For the Vinaigrette:
  • ⅓ cup of white balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon of grainy mustard
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • ⅓ cup of olive oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon of white truffle oil
For the Salad:
  • 4 cups of cooked and cooled lentils
  • 2 peeled and sliced blood oranges
  • 1 bunch of boiled and cooled asparagus
  • 1 cup of boiled and cooled green beans
  • 1 cup of boiled and cooled peas
  • 1 cup of boiled and cooled lima beans
  • 1 cup of mixed green lettuce
  • 1 cup of Brussel sprout leaves
  • ½ thinly sliced sweet onion
  • 3 thinly sliced radishes
  • 1 seeded, sliced, roasted and cooled acorn squash
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh chives
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped cooked crispy bacon
  • 2 tablespoons of montamore cheese
  • 2 tablespoons of micro greens for garnish
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Salmon: Add the butter, wine, stock, salt and pepper to a small pot over medium heat and add the salmon and cook for 8 to 19 minutes or until it is cooked through out. Remove and chill immediately.
  2. Vinaigrette: Whisk together all of the ingredients into a bowl except for the truffle oil until combined and set aside.
  3. To Plate: Add all of the salad ingredients together in a large bowl or separate them out on plates. Drizzle on the vinaigrette and then the truffle oil followed up by adding on the salmon
  4. NOTE: For the boiled vegetables simply add them to a large pot water with lots of salt salt in it (the water should taste like the ocean), strain and cool in the fridge.
  5. NOTE: Drizzle a little olive oil, on the acorn squash, salt and pepper and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and roast in the oven on 400° for 25 minutes and the cool.

 

Butter Leaf Lettuce and Quinoa Salad with Oranges

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The goal of every single recipe that you make should be the balance of flavors.  The right amount of sweet, sour, umami and salt will always render a perfect flavored dish, however it’s not that easy to achieve on a consistent basis.  I do find that achieving that perfectly balanced recipe can often times come in the form of salad because of all the different components you can add in like vinegar for sour, prosciutto for umami, candied pecans for sweet and Kosher salt for salt.

 

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To give some more sustenance to this Butter Leaf Lettuce and Quinoa Salad with Oranges I used Bob’s Red Mill® Red Quinoa.  It helped balance this salad out by soaking up some of the delicious vinaigrette dressing and not making it too acidic.  The quinoa also helped add some protein to the dish and some texture with it’s unique bite.  It could definitely be me, and how I cooked it, but the red quinoa seemed to have a nice bite to it, almost as if it was perfectly al dente.

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Ok enough with the culinary speak!  With all of these things going on, I wanted to add in some seasonality so using butter leaf lettuce and fresh figs were key  to building it up and making it oh so delicious.  I always say that recipes are guidelines so find out what’s on sale and what’s in season and use it!  While the balance is nearly perfect in this salad recipe it could certainly take some different ingredients and still be tasty.  And the vinaigrette, to die for; At the very least make that!

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It’s a nice combo of champagne vinegar, grainy mustard, honey, 1 fresh vanilla bean seeds, shallot, olive oil and fresh lemon thyme!

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There’s a nice pic below for pinning!

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Butter Leaf Lettuce and Quinoa Salad with Oranges
 
Try this refreshing and delicious Butter Leaf Lettuce and Quinoa Salad with Oranges recipes that will be sure to become a new family favorite!
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 2 heads of butter leaf lettuce leaves
  • 4 oranges cut into segments (supremes)
  • 2 figs cut into thin wedges
  • ½ head of thinly sliced fresh fennel
  • ½ thinly sliced red onion
  • 1 cup of cooked and chilled Bob’s Red Mill® Red Quinoa
  • 2 julienne slices of prosciutto ham
  • ½ cup of candied pecans
  • ¼ cup of goat cheese crumbles
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Dressing:
  • ½ small diced shallot
  • ⅓ cup of champagne vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon of grainy mustard
  • 1 ½ tablespoons of honey
  • seeds of ½ fresh vanilla bean
  • ¾ cup of olive oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Dressing: Whisk together all of the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and set aside
  2. Salad: Mix together all of the ingredients in a large bowl and drizzle on some of the vinaigrette and serve.

Summer Caesar Salad Recipe with Homemade Dressing

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You know I can’t keep things normal, I’m always trying to twist up something new, and this Summer Caesar Salad Recipe with Homemade Dressing is my latest.  While some of it had to do with wanting to eat a chicken caesar, the other had to do with just wanting to use up some things I had in house like assorted cherry tomatoes, eggs, sourdough bread, etc.  When making things like this I am always reminded at how easy it is to make recipes that seem so difficult like homemade caesar dressing or even homemade croutons.

There are certainly other things I could have put in here to make it more summery if you will, but lately I’m all about trying to use up what’s laying around.  Even the croutons could have easily been made out of French or Italian bread, and the tomatoes could have just been plain Roma’s or vine-ripe.  The whole point is to get the most out of what you already have.  Lastly for the Caesar dressing it was as easy as putting all of the ingredients into a blender and  turning it to high for 10 seconds, easy right?!  There is also nothing better than homemade salad dressings, nothing!  So on to the salad.

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You’ll also notice little shreds of kale in this salad for a an extra healthy kick, and flavor.

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and of course a big guy below for pinning!

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Summer Caesar Salad Recipe with Homemade Dressing
 
Try this delicious Summer Caesar Salad Recipe with Homemade Dressing with a twist!
Ingredients
For the Dressing:
  • 2 egg yolks
  • ½ cup of shredded Pecorino cheese
  • juice of 1 ripe lemon
  • 1 tablespoon of anchovies paste
  • 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon of grainy mustard
  • 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Croutons:
  • ½ cup of melted unsalted butter
  • 6 cups of 1" inch cut sourdough bread
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Salad:
  • 10 Romaine leaves
  • 2 cups thinly sliced kale
  • 3 hard boiled eggs sliced in half
  • 1 cup of chopped crispy bacon
  • ½ cup of shredded Pecorino cheese
  • 2 cups of assorted cherry tomatoes cut in half
  • 2 six ounce chicken breasts
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Dressing: Add all of the ingredients to a blender and turn on hi for 10 seconds. Remove and keep cool.
  2. Croutons: Add all of the ingredients in to a large bowl and toss until completely coated and spread them out on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake at 375° for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Set aside
  3. Chicken: Coat the chicken in olive oil and season with salt and pepper and cook on a very hot grill (450° to 550°) until grill marks have formed and the chicken is cooked through. Slice thin and set aside.
  4. Salad: Place the Romaine lettuce down onto a sheet pan and sprinkle on the kale, bacon, croutons, Pecorino cheese, and tomatoes. Next, place on the hard boiled egg halves, sliced chicken breasts and drizzle on the dressing. Enjoy!

Grilled Chopped salad with Sweet Mustard Vinaigrette

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One of the things I absolutely love about the spring and summer is the fresh produce that is available at the local grocery store. Fresh tomatoes, fresh corn, fresh asparagus, the possibilities literally seem endless. All of these vegetables are also great for grilling. Our family often roasts vegetables over the open fire simply with olive oil, salt, pepper, and they are delicious. And because all of this fresh produce is available to us, we always are making fresh salads.

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However, have you ever considered roasting every piece of your salad? That’s right, I grilled romaine lettuce and so should you. A slight char is all you need to really enhance the flavor of the lettuce, and from there all you need to do is roast up your vegetables coated in a little olive oil, salt, pepper and you’re good to go.

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To make sure we get a little protein in the mix, I decided to use a blackening season on some large chicken breast and I slow roast those on the grill as well. You can make a homemade blackening seasoning or they make a couple different options at the grocery store, so what ever is most convenient for you.

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I decided to make a really simple sweet mustard vinaigrette to complement the fresh vegetables as well as the spice from the blackened chicken, and it balanced out the salad perfectly. You could even make a mayonnaise-based sweet mustard salad dressing, as opposed to this vinaigrette if you wanted to be a little bit thicker.

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This salad is definitely a must make this spring and summer season, however feel free to use whatever ingredients you have on hand or what’s on sale at the local grocery store. Don’t forget the pin the big picture below 🙂

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Grilled Chopped salad with Sweet Mustard Vinaigrette
 
Change up your salad recipe with this all star Grilled Chopped salad with Sweet Mustard Vinaigrette!
Ingredients
For the Vegetables:
  • 1 yellow squash sliced longways
  • 1 green zucchini sliced longways
  • 1 thickly sliced red onion
  • 1 small bunch of asparagus
  • 3 ears of corn
  • 1 cup of cherry tomatoes
  • 1 bunch of green onions
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeds and stem removed
  • 1 head of romaine lettuce sliced in half
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Dressing:
  • ¼ cup of Gulden’s® Spicy Brown Mustard
  • ¼ cup of honey
  • ¼ cup of white wine vinegar
  • ½ cup of olive oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Chicken:
  • 2 large chicken breasts
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of blackening seasoning
Instructions
  1. Preheat the grill to high heat.
  2. Chicken: On a plate mix together the olive oil and blackening season and coat the chicken on all sides and place on the grill.
  3. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes on each side or until dark grill marks are formed and they are cooked through. Set aside to rest for 2 to 3 minutes before dicing.
  4. Vegetables: Place all of the vegetables on a sheet pan and coat them thoroughly in the olive oil, salt and pepper and roast on the grill for 3 to 5 minutes or until slightly charred and slightly crunchy. Removed them and chill. Note that the romaine will cook in 1 to 2 minutes and the corn in the husk will grill for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the husks, remove the corn from the ear and chill.
  5. Once the vegetables are cool cut them to a medium dice.
  6. Dressing: In a bowl whisk together the mustard, honey and vinegar until combined and then slowly drizzle in the olive oil while continuing to whisk. Season with salt and pepper.
  7. Add all of the chopped vegetables to a large bowl along with the diced chicken and dress with a few tablespoons of sweet mustard vinaigrette and toss until coated.

Shaved Vegetable and Spinach Salad

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This Shaved Vegetable and Spinach Salad is a bit of an extension of the healthier version of Spinach Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette except I used French bread in the vinaigrette.  That’s right there is bread in the vinaigrette and dang was it good.  It really helps to provide some body to the dressing and honestly it tasted a lot like a Caesar dressing minus the anchovies.  I think this salad can go a lot of different ways as long as you keep the spinach and vinaigrette in place.  What I mean is anything else you put in there from a vegetable stand point would work just fine.  Fine some vegetables that are on sale or are inexpensive like peas, beats, celery, etc.  From there simple shave’em thin and pop’em in the salad.  When making salads remember to dress the outside of the bowl so that you coat the salad and not saturate it in dressing.  Also remember to season the salad with salt and pepper.  Shaved Vegetable and Spinach Salad pictures and recipe below.

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Pin it below!

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Shaved Vegetable and Spinach Salad
 
Try this delicious and refreshing Shaved Vegetable and Spinach Salad that is perfect all year round.
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 2 cups of packed fresh spinach
  • 1 thinly shaven golden beat
  • ½ cup of peas
  • 2 thinly shaved radishes
  • Parmesan cheese to taste
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Vinaigrette:
  • ¼ loaf of French bread
  • ⅓ cup of red wine vinegar
  • ⅔ cup of olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon of grainy mustard
  • 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
  • ½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Vinaigrette: Submerge the bread in a bowl of water for 5 minutes.
  2. Next, squeeze as much liquid out of the bread as possible and add it to a blender.
  3. Add in the vinegar, mustard, sugar, and cheese and blend while slowly drizzling in the olive oil. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.
  4. Salad: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss with a small amount of vinaigrette.
  5. Serve with more fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Thai Salad Recipe with Peanut Dressing

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And the healthy eating continues.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned through this process it’s to pay attention to what and how much you put into your body.  Even during my deepest temptation to eat cookies, and cakes and pies, I pause for a moment and think about how much sugar is in that pie, or what ingredients are in there than can potentially be harmful to me.  Don’t get me wrong sweets in themselves aren’t harmful when eaten in moderation, but that’s just my problem..  I don’t eat just 1 cookie at a time, I eat 5.  I don’t just eat a slice a pie, eat 2 in one sitting.  I think a lot of folks are like that really, and I’m sure that’s what contributes to the obesity issues we face as a country.  We eat and eat and eat and expect nothing will happen.  While I have been fortunate in my life to not gain a ton of weight over the years, I notice when I eat poorly.  I’m sluggish, I’m extra groggy, my energy levels are low, and my insides are screaming at me for some vegetables.  I digress 🙂  Now on to this Thai Salad Recipe with Peanut Dressing beauty.  Really it was about using some of the leftover vegetables I had cut up from the Fried Brown Rice Recipe with Chicken and Vegetables I made yesterday.  I am all about throwing everything but the kitchen sink into my salads for extra goodness and flavor.  Honestly, I would have thrown the brown rice I cooked in there if I had any left.  In any event, this Thai Salad Recipe with Peanut Dressing is really good, especially the dressing, and I want to encourage you to throw in ingredients that are on sale, no need to do exactly what I did.  If you find some zucchini on sale use it, or even egg plant.  Ok it’s officially recipe time.  Enjoy the pics below!

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Had to get up close to see all of the vegetables in there.

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For some appetizers, try grilling the chicken and coating them in the peanut dressing to eat as a satay!

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And of course a pretty picture below for you to pin!

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Thai Salad Recipe with Peanut Dressing
Author: 
Recipe type: salad
 
Make this refreshing Thai Salad Recipe with Peanut Dressing that is loaded with vegetables, chicken and fresh herbs!
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 1 cup of shredded savoy cabbage
  • 1 cup of shredded red cabbage
  • 1 head of Romaine lettuce cut up
  • 1 cup of edamame
  • 1 cup of sliced snow peas
  • 1 cup of sliced bell peppers
  • 1 cup of sliced green onions
  • 1 cup of sliced cucumbers
  • ½ cup of dry roasted peanuts
  • ½ cup of cilantro leaves
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint
  • 1½ chicken breasts
  • 1 tablespoons of sesame oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Peanut Dressing:
  • ½ teaspoon of grated fresh ginger
  • 1 grated clove of garlic
  • 1 cup of coconut milk
  • 1½ cups of creamy peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
  • ¼ cup of water
  • 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
  • juice of 1 lime
  • ½ cup of canola oil
  • 1 tablespoon of Sriracha or chili garlic paste
Instructions
  1. For the Dressing: Whisk together all ingredients except the oil in a large bowl until completely combined. Slowly drizzle in the oil while continuing to whisk until the dressing has emulsified. Set aside.
  2. Season the chicken breasts on all sided with salt and pepper and place them in a hot saute pan on high heat with 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown and turn over. Finish the chicken in the oven on 350° For 10 to 12 minutes. Let the chicken rest before slicing.
  3. In a very large bowl add in the cabbages, Romaine lettuce, edamame, snow peas, bell peppers, green onions, cucumbers, peanuts, cilantro, mint and salt and pepper and mix together.
  4. To Plate: Place the salad on a large plate and top off with the sliced chicken breasts. Pour on the desired amount of peanut dressing.

Spinach Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette

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My first recipe from my 21 days of healthy eating is finished.  I knew salads were going to be a big part of this diet so why not start with one.  This Spinach Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette recipe is somewhat of a twist on something I had at a restaurant down town.  Healthy enough and tasty enough to be on the menu for sure!  There are definitely some power greens added to this salad including spinach, arugula and kale.  So to make this salad have a little more sustenance to it, I thought I’d add on some chicken breasts.  Not just any chicken breasts, lemon and thyme roasted chicken breasts 🙂  You know I’m not going to be boring when it comes to making recipes, even healthy ones.  The hardest part about eating like this is knowing how much of thing I can and can’t have.  So I just figured instead of measuring all of these little things that once it’s put together it becomes the proper amount.  So now that I have made this Spinach Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette recipe I am trying to utilize the left over ingredients from it.  Let’s see what I can come up with!!

A shot of the chicken after it was cooked!

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Some of the greens and veggies before adding the dressing…

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A shot of the finished product.

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And a big fat picture for you to pin!

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Spinach Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette
 
Try this delicious and refreshing Spinach Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette. Add in asparagus, peas and radishes for a little kick.
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 4 cups of packed power greens
  • ½ cup of thinly shaven radishes
  • ½ cup of cooked and thinly sliced asparagus
  • ½ cup of cooked peas
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Vinaigrette:
  • ½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese
  • ⅓ cup of red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard
  • ⅓ cup of olive oil
For the Chicken:
  • one 8 ounce chicken breast
  • 1 teaspoon of olive oil
  • 1 lemon
  • 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. In a saute pan on high heat with 1 teaspoon of olive oil add in a seasoned chicken breasts. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the the chicken over, squeeze on the lemon juice, add in the squeezed lemon, place the thyme sprigs right on top of the chicken and finish cooking in the oven on 350° for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the pan and let it rest for 2 to 3 minutes before slicing.
  2. Place the Parmesan cheese, vinegar, and dijon mustard into a blender and turn it to high. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the dressing has emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. To Make: Place the greens, radishes, asparagus and peas into a bowl and add in some dressing and toss. Season the salad with salt and pepper and serve with the sliced chicken breast.

Raw Vegetable Salad Recipe with Blue Cheese

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I got the inspiration to make this Raw Vegetable Salad Recipe with Blue Cheese from two things really.  The first is that I had an all shaved veggie salad at this amazing restaurant called Au Cheval here in Chicago and the other reason I wanted to make it is because dang have I been eating bad lately.  I know that sounds odd, but man I’ve been on the go so much lately that I have just been snacking and eating really poorly.  So with that I figured I would create my own version of the salad and make it really good and fairly healthy to restore some order in this body.  This Raw Vegetable Salad Recipe with Blue Cheese is loaded with every kind of veggie I want in a salad and the beautiful thing about that is you can add what you want to yours also.  It doesn’t have to be exactly how I made mine verbatim, feel free to use ingredients that you love or are perhaps on sale.  Oh yeah, if you don’t have a mandolin slicer or some pretty good knife skills than I’m not sure this salad recipe is for you.

Raw Vegetable Salad Recipe with Blue Cheese

On the other hand, figure out how to make this cause it’s awesome 🙂

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A little close in to see all the deliciousness that is this Raw Vegetable Salad Recipe with Blue Cheese

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And a pretty picture below for your to Pin!

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Raw Vegetable Salad Recipe with Blue Cheese
 
Try this refreshingly delicious Shaved Raw Vegetable Salad Recipe with Blue Cheese. Learn how to make a tasty honey shallot vinaigrette.
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 4 cups of spring mix lettuce
  • 3 peeled and thinly shaven golden beats
  • 3 peeled and thinly shaven carrots
  • 5 peeled and thinly shaven radishes
  • 1 peeled and thinly shaven cucumber
  • 3 thinly shaven celery stalks
  • 2 thinly shaven granny smith apples
  • 1 cup of thinly shaven red cabbage
  • 1 thinly shaven bulb of fennel
  • 2 ounces of crumbled blue cheese
  • chopped chives for garnish
  • parsley leaves for garnish
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Vinaigrette:
  • 1 finely minced shallot
  • ⅓ cup of red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon of grainy or dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons of honey
  • ½ cup of olive oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl whisk together the shallots, mustard, honey and red wine vinegar. Once combined slowly drizzle in the olive oil while constantly whisking. Finish with salt and pepper.
  2. To Plate: In a large bowl add in the spring mix and all of the shaved vegetables and place a pour a small amount of the vinaigrette in and toss until all of the vegetables are coated. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Top off with blue cheese, chives and parsley.

Mediterranean Vegetable and Bean Salad Recipe

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So I hooked up this Mediterranean Vegetable and Bean Salad Recipe to go alongside this Mediterranean Grilled Rack of Lamb Lollipops Recipe and dang was it awesome.  My wife actually doesn’t like lamb (I know…) but put some roasted sliced chicken in it and she absolutely love it!  It’s really easy to make and literally would be a great side to any main dish.  In addition if you wanted to step it up even more, try adding some cherry tomatoes, olives and capicola or salami!  So the next time you are struggling to come up with a great side dish, try this Mediterranean Vegetable and Bean Salad Recipe.

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Tons of awesome flavor in this Mediterranean Vegetable and Bean Salad Recipe

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Pin for later with the image below!

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Mediterranean Vegetable and Bean Salad Recipe
 
Looking for a delicious side dish? Try this Mediterranean Vegetable and Bean Salad Recipe that is loaded with flavor!
Ingredients
  • two 15 ounce cans of strained and rinsed northern beans
  • 1 sliced zucchini
  • 1 sliced yellow squash
  • ½ sliced red bell pepper
  • ½ sliced green bell pepper
  • ½ sliced red onion
  • 1 finely minced clove of garlic
  • 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
  • 4 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh basil
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh oregano
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Place the zucchini, squash, peppers and onion in a bowl and coat them with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  2. Next, cook the vegetables on a hot grill for 3 to 4 minutes. They should still be slightly crispy.
  3. Chill the vegetables as soon as they are cooked.
  4. Once the vegetables are chilled, dice them up and them to a large bowl along with the northern beans, garlic, balsamic vinegar, remaining olive oil, sugar, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Chill before serving.

Panzanella Recipe with Tomatoes and Pesto Vinaigrette

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The Panzanella salad was invented in Italy, simply because we are the best!  Just kidding 🙂  Seriously though, the Italians, like many European cultures do a great job of utilizing every piece of food they have.  So when there was a bunch of left over crusty bread, or a few random things from the garden, why not throw a salad together?  I’ve also heard the Panzanella called a garbage salad, but that just sounds hideous for obvious reasons.  This Panzanella Recipe with Tomatoes and Pesto Vinaigrette became a reality when I noticed how many random things I had laying around.  Some leftover spring mix and arugula, along with some spare cherry tomatoes, peaches, a ton of basil and a few ounces of Feta and boom this thing came together.  This is a super balanced salad that is just dang good leftovers or bought fresh.

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Lots of goodness going on in this Panzanella Recipe with Tomatoes and Pesto Vinaigrette!

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You could also try a simple balsamic vinaigrette as well!

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Last but not least, some up close love…

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Panzanella Recipe with Tomatoes and Pesto Vinaigrette
 
Utilize all of your ingredient leftovers in this delicious Panzanella Recipe with Tomatoes and Pesto Vinaigrette. Add a grilled chicken breast to change things up!
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 1 loaf of French bread cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1 cup of assorted colored cherry tomatoes sliced in half
  • 3 stalks of sliced celery
  • ½ seeded and thinly sliced cucumber
  • 2 pitted and sliced peaches
  • 2 cups of arugula
  • 2 cups of spring mix
  • ½ cup of Feta cheese crumbles
  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 4 tablespoons of olive oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Pesto Vinaigrette:
  • 2 packed cups of fresh basil leaves
  • juice of 1 large lemon
  • ⅓ to ½ cup of olive oil
  • ¼ cup of grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tablespoons of pine nuts
  • 3 tablespoons of water
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Coat the chicken in 1 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper and grilled on a hot grill until cooked through. Once cooked remove from the grill and let rest.
  2. Next, coat the cubed French bread with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper and place on a hot grill or in the oven on 400° to quickly toast the outside of the bread. Note: you are not making croutons, just toasting the outside.
  3. In a food processor or Vitamix, add in the basil leaves, lemon juice, pine nuts and Parmesan cheese and quickly pulse for 5 seconds. Next slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the dressing becomes emulsified. Finish with water, salt and pepper to make a pesto vinaigrette.
  4. In large bowl add in the toasted bread, tomatoes, celery, cucumber, peaches, arugula, spring mix, feta, a few tablespoons of the pesto vinaigrette, salt and pepper and toss until coated.
  5. Slice the chicken and serve on top of the salad.

Berry Summer Salad Recipe with Curry Chicken

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Whenever I know I have a lot of carb heavy recipe development and photography coming, I try to make the prior to cooking as light as possible to try and balance off the week.  I was looking for something refreshing and in season so I created this Berry Summer Salad Recipe with Curry Chicken which was just so dang tasty.  My wife loved it too, but since she isn’t as huge a vinegar fan as I am she would have liked the dressing to be a little less intense.  The work around for that is just to add more olive oil.

This week is crazy heavy with homemade casseroles so a salad just seemed right!  Even if you aren’t looking to balance anything, you should really give this beauty a try, it was really good and loaded with bold flavors!  I know it seems like a lot of ingredients and procedures, but really outside of coating and cooking the chicken you are really just combining stuff.  Enjoy it!

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The fresh herbs are such a nice finishing touch.

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Something magical happens when you eat the curry chicken and goat cheese… I promise!

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Berry Summer Salad Recipe with Curry Chicken
 
Enjoy this refreshing Berry Summer Salad Recipe with Curry Chicken that goes perfect on hot days. Learn how to make a delicious white balsamic vinaigrette.
Ingredients
For the chicken:
  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 tablespoons of dry curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon of crushed coriander seeds
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Dressing:
  • ½ small diced shallot
  • ½ teaspoon of fresh chopped ginger
  • 1 teaspoon of grainy mustard
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • ⅓ cup of white balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons of honey
  • ⅓ cup of olive oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Salad:
  • 8 cups of arugula lettuce
  • 1 thinly sliced fresh peach
  • ½ cup of raspberries
  • ½ cup of blackberries
  • ½ cup of blueberries
  • ½ cup of quartered strawberries
  • ½ cup of crumbled goat cheese
  • fresh chopped thyme for garnish
  • fresh chopped chives for garnish
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. In a bowl whisk together the curry, coriander, cumin, salt, pepper and olive oil until combined. Add the chicken and coat on all sides and cook on a hot grill (450° to 550°) for 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until cooked through out. Once it is cooked remove from the grill and let it rest before slicing.
  2. In a separate large bowl whisk together the shallots, ginger, mustard, lemon, honey, and balsamic vinegar until combined and slowly drizzle in the olive oil while continuing to whisk to make a lemon-ginger and white balsamic vinaigrette. Once combined, season with salt and pepper.
  3. In a large bowl toss together the arugula, sliced peaches, berries, goat cheese, herbs, and salt and pepper until mixed and dress lightly with the lemon balsamic vinaigrette. Slice the chicken and serve on top.

Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken

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So what do you do when you have a ton of leftover southwest rubbed and grilled chicken?  You make a salad of course!  Really this dish was just about utilizing some more leftovers to carry over the cooked southwest chicken.  The only thing I had to do was literally open up a can of black beans and cook some frozen corn.  From there it’s all about assembly which is putting a bunch of ingredients in a bowl and forgetting about it.  Oh and also I may have made a honey-lime vinaigrette.  You know I can’t help myself and I always have to put my little culinary twists even on the simplest of dishes.  So if you made my last dish, then I think it’s a no brainer to make this Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken for your next meal.

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Simple, refreshing and delicious!

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The vinaigrette was the bomb!

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One last shot 🙂

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Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken
 
Try this tasty Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken that is loaded with vegetables. Learn how to use leftovers to make this great dish!
Ingredients
For the Salad:
  • 1 cup of chopped leftover grilled chicken
  • 2 cups of spring mix lettuce
  • 2 cups of chopped iceberg lettuce
  • ½ cup of diced cucumbers
  • ½ cup of cooked corn kernels
  • ½ cup of diced tomatoes
  • ½ cup of rinsed black beans
  • ½ cup of small diced avocados
  • ⅓ cup of sliced green onions
  • ½ cup of sliced red bell pepper
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Vinaigrette:
  • ¼ cup of balsamic vinegar
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard
  • ⅓ cup of olive oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl whisk together vinegar, lime juice, honey, mustard, olive oil salt and pepper and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl toss together all of the salad ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Dress the salad with the vinaigrette and serve.

Easy Greek Salad Recipe with Roasted Chicken

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Sometimes you just need a refreshing salad loaded with nutrients to cut into your weekly routine of protein, fast food and junk to feel better.  There have literally been days where I would eat like crap and literally feel terrible all day because my body was running on garbage.  We are an on the go family so I don’t have hours every night to make some insane meal, but I do have some time to make things nice.  One of my chef’s used to always say take the extra 10 or 15 seconds it takes to make things nice.  Making this easy Greek Salad was really nothing and took less than 20 minutes from start to finish.  A little herb rub for the roasted chicken, chop up some vegetables, make a quick vinaigrette and boom you’re in good shape.

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A lot of love going on in this salad!

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Make sure to caramelized up that chicken so it becomes full flavored.

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Gotta have a close up to show you all the goodness.

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Easy Greek Salad Recipe with Roasted Chicken
 
Try this Easy Greek Salad Recipe with Roasted chicken for the perfect lunch or dinner. Also make a simple vinaigrette to compliment the salad.
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon of cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of oregano
  • ½ teaspoon of garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon of onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon of paprika
  • cracked pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
For the Vegetables:
  • 8 cups of spring mix
  • 1 roughly chopped head of iceberg lettuce
  • 1 cup of small diced Roma Tomatoes
  • 1 cup of small diced cucumbers
  • 1 cup of sliced olives
  • 1 cup of chickpeas
  • 1 cup of artichoke hearts
  • ½ cup of small diced sweet onion
  • ½ cup of Feta cheese
For the Vinaigrette:
  • ¼ cup of red wine or balsamic vinegar
  • ½ cup of olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon of grainy mustard
  • 1 tablespoon of honey
  • ½ small diced shallot
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. For the Chicken: In a small bowl mix together the herbs and spices until combined. Generously season both sides of the chicken breasts with the spice blend.
  2. Next, in a large hot saute pan on high heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil cook the chicken breast on one side until golden brown (3 to 4 minutes). Once brown flip over and place the pan in the oven to finish the chicken on 350° for 10 to 12 minutes. After cooking, remove from the pan and slice.
  3. For the Vinaigrette: In a medium bowl add in the vinegar, mustard, honey, shallots, salt and pepper and slowly whisk in the olive oil until it has become emulsified. Set Aside.
  4. To Plate: Mex together all of the vegetables and lettuces in a large bowl and dress with appropriate amount of dressing and toss until completely combined. Season the salad with salt and pepper and mix again. Serve with sliced chicken on top.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 4

Roasted Garlic and Shallot Vinaigrette Recipe

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I always like making new vinaigrette dressings so instead of using raw garlic and shallots I decided to make this Roasted Garlic and Shallot Vinaigrette Recipe with honey.  There is a lot more flavor in this vinaigrette from the vegetables being slow roasted and dang is it great on salad!  In addition to this Roasted Garlic and Shallot Vinaigrette Recipe being great on a normal leafy green salad, it would be great on a pasta salad or perhaps even a potato salad it’s that good.  Look, if Paul Newman can make salad dressings so can you 🙂

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Roasted Garlic and Shallot Vinaigrette Recipe
 
Looking for a great salad dressing? Try this simple to make and delicious Roasted Garlic and Shallot Vinaigrette Recipe.
Ingredients
  • 1 large peeled shallot cut in half
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 cup of red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
  • ¼ cup of honey
  • 1½ cups of salad oil
  • Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. coat the shallot and garlic in olive oil and place in a saute pan and roast in the oven on 325° for 30 minutes. Once they are golden brown, remove from the oven and cool.
  2. When the shallot and garlic are cool, place in a blender with vinegar, mustard and honey and blend on high until the shallot and garlic are finely minced.
  3. Next, turn the blender down to low speed and slowly drizzle in all of the oil until combined. Season with salt and pepper and chill before using on salad greens.