Sunny Summer Sunday Salad

b/c I love alliteration

This is another "Thanks Pinterest!" recipe I found. In the summer I hate to cook. I would just rather drink my dinner but I have two kids that need actual food. So I try and do as many stove free dinners that I can. This is a new one I found.

At first, I wasn't sure how good this would be. Avocado with fruit? That seems weird. Cilantro with honey? Ummmm, I don't know. But I bit the bullet and tried it and it was AH-MAZE-ING! The Good Son ate all my blueberries and The Good Daughter ate all the strawberries but I was able to stab their little hands back while I ate some. 

It was a light, refreshing dinner that would be great with a glass of sparkling lemonade. So, so yummy.

Ingredients:  
1 cup strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup blueberries
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/4 cup cilantro
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Italian dressing
Dash of lemon pepper
Pinch of salt

Directions:
~Arrange strawberries, blueberries and avocado on a plate.

~Combine the remaining ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour over fruit and toss to coat. Enjoy!

recipe modified from: Chocolate Chips and Glue Sticks

Asian Slaw with ginger peanut dressing

My doc recently told me that my fatass needs to cut down on meat and other shitty foods. I am not happy about that. But I am happy with I find a recipe that is meatless and tasty and somewhat healthy. 

And this is all that. Plus the grocery store had bagged cole slaw on sale for a dollar and I had to do something with it.

And, of course, this is another recipe that came into my life b/c of Pinterest.

The original recipe says it makes 6 side dish servings, but I ate this as a main course and had leftovers for 2 days. The dressing is a nice balance of hot and sweet, spicy and flavorful.


Ingredients:
For the Dressing
1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 large garlic clove, minced

For the Slaw4 cups prepared shredded coleslaw
2 cups prepared shredded carrots
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 cup cooked and shelled edamame
2 medium scallions, finely sliced
1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts (or you can leave them whole)
1/2 cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions
~To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend until well combined. Set aside. 

~Combine all of the slaw ingredients in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss well. Let stand 10 minutes.

recipe from: here

Mixed Bean Salad

As the days of summer were winding down, I got both soy beans and green beans in our CSA one week. I had a recipe saved on Pinterest for a while about a mixed bean salad and I thought it would be the perfect use for the produce I got. 

It also doesn't hurt that green beans are The Good Daughter's favorite. I love fresh green beans only, refusing to eat canned or frozen. And I will confess that eating cooked green beans with bacon and onions can get old after a while. 

I liked the fresh summer taste to this salad and it made a great side dish with some baked white fish.  

Ingredients:  
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise 
2 tablespoons cider vinegar 
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, finely chopped 
1 shallot, thinly sliced 
2 teaspoons grainy mustard 
2 teaspoons honey 
1 cup shelled soy beans 
1 can light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained 
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 
salt and pepper to taste  

Directions: 
~Bring a large pot of water to a full boil. Add a hearty pinch of salt. Cook green beans until tender crisp, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from water and submerge in ice water. Drain and rinse until cold. 

~In a large bowl add vinegar, oil, oregano, shallot, mustard and honey. Whisk to combine. Add all of the beans and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. 

recipe modified from:Martha

CSA Salad

So with what we had from our CSA this week, I had this for lunch and dinner.

I used the greens, along with the radish and onion and topped it off with feta cheese and dressed it with lemon juice and oil. All in all, not a bad salad.

Ingredients:
Salad greens
Radish, sliced
Onion, sliced
1/4 Feta cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of 1 lemon
Hearty drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
~Combine all and toss to coat with oil and lemon juice. Serve immediately.

recipe by: The Good Wife

I am irrational

I am irrational when it comes to a failed dish. I feel like someone punched me in the face and I want to yell, "Why?! Why you do this to me, Martha?" I feel like I just learned there is no Santa.

This was one of those dishes. Everything seemed like it would be great. I love every single individual ingredient in the dish. I just don't know where the hell it went wrong. Maybe because you are supposed to serve this dish cold. Maybe I didn't cut the noodles up. I don't know. But in any case, this dish was a fail.

I'll give you the recipe and hopefully if you are brave enough to try it, it will work for you. I hope it does since I do irrationally hate a failed dish.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 jalapeno chile, minced (ribs and seeds removed for less heat if desired)
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup dark-brown sugar
3/4 cup rice vinegar
4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken, skin and bones discarded (from 1 whole chicken), room temperature
1 package (8.8 ounces) cellophane (bean-thread) noodles, prepared according to package instructions
1 English cucumber, cut into 3-inch sticks
2 cups fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:
~ In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add jalapeno, ginger, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until garlic is golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add sugar and vinegar and cook until sauce is slightly thickened, about 6 minutes. Refrigerate until cool, at least 15 minutes (or up to 1 week).

~ Combine chicken, noodles, cucumber, and cilantro. Drizzle with dressing just before serving.

recipe by: Martha Stewart

Homemade French Dressing

It's been salad week at The Good Household. I've been a tad overwhelmed with planning for The Good Baby's first birthday, work and all the other tasks that seem to pile up, so I was more than happy to have an excuse to be lazy in the kitchen.

The Good Husband likes "manly" salads. That means salad with meat, basically. More specifically, a salad of romaine, carrots, tomato, cucumber, sometimes cheese but always sliced steak. His favorite dressing is French, which is good since I don't like it. We don't fight over the last drop out of the bottle.


Amazingly The Good Grandma had two recipes for French Dressing. This is from her Great Aunt and I now share it with you.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup oil (I used canola)
1/2 sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
~ Combine all the ingredients in a clean mason jar and shake the shit out of it until combined.

recipe by: A distant relative to The Good Husband

Farmer's Market Salad

I told you here, that I scored strawberries, spring purple onion, blue cheese and mesclun mix at the Farmer's Market the other day. I pondered what I would make for dinner with everything and on the way home wished I had walnuts to make a yummy salad. But lo and behold, I had a package hidden in the back of the fridge. Score!

A blue cheese and walnut salad with seasonal fruit is a favorite of mine. Now normally a blue cheese and walnut salad is good on its own. Add fresh strawberries and the dish only gets better. But what made this dish great was the blue cheese. F**k me softly with a chainsaw, if it wasn't the best blue cheese I have had in a long time. It was amazing and I hope they have it next week.

It was such a nice simple dinner and a great way to kick off the Farmer's Market season.


Ingredients:
5-6 strawberries, sliced
1 spring onion, sliced
1/4 cup walnut halves
4 oz blue cheese crumbled
1 handful mesclun mix
The juice of one lemon
A hearty drizzle of olive oil

Directions:
~Combine the first five ingredients and toss to combine.

~Dress salad with lemon juice and drizzle with olive oil.

recipe by: The Good Wife

German Potato Salad

This was the first Memorial Day in our new house so The Good Husband and I decided to invite over some of the neighbors over for a cookout. My job was to take care of the sides, while the other two couples were to bring a meat to grill and desert. This was dish one of three and honestly, I think the best.

I wanted something traditional for a cookout and potato salad is very traditional. The only problem is that TGH and I don't like American potato salad. TGH likes German Potato Salad but I had never had it before.

After reading a recipe for it in The Joy of Cooking, and learning it had bacon in it, how could it be bad?

Overall it wasn't bad for my first attempt at GPS. I think it could have used more of the dressing, since the potatoes soaked it all up and there was nothing in the bottom of the bowl. But one neighbor absolutely loved it and asked for the recipe, so success!

Ingredients:
2 pounds potatoes, whole, with skins
1/4 pound bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 dill pickle spears, chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions:
~Add the whole potatoes (skin on) to a large pot of salted water, bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are tender and can be pierced with a fork, about 20-40 minutes.

~Drain the potatoes and allow to cool to a temperature you can handle. Remove skins and cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces and place in a serving dish.

~Meanwhile, as the potatoes are cooling, cook the bacon in a small pan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the bacon has browned. Remove the bacon from the pan, reserving the drippings and set aside. Add the onion and celery to the bacon drippings and cook until tender crisp. Add the pickles and remove from heat.

~In a small sauce pan, combine the chicken stock, vinegar, sugar, paprika, mustard powder, salt, and black pepper and bring to a boil.

~To serve, combine the cooked bacon to the potatoes and pour warm dressing on top. Toss to combine and serve warm and with a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley.

recipe by: The Joy of Cooking

Coleslaw

This was dish 2 of 3 I made for our Memorial Day cookout. Again, it was the first time I had ever made this dish (a big hosting no-no) and you can certainly tell that it was my first attempt. I mean, have you ever seen pink coleslaw before?

No, I am sure you haven't. That's because the people that know how to make it, know how to make it not turn pink. I think my problem was that I added equal portions of both red and green cabbage to the mix. If I had stuck to a 2:1 or even a 3:1 ration of green to red cabbage, I could have avoided this pigmentation problem.

But it tasted fine despite the unique color. I will have to prefect this dish.

Ingredients:
1 small head green cabbage, shredded
1 small head red cabbage, shredded
4 large carrots, shredded
1 cup mayonnaise
4 scallions, chopped
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions:
~Combine the cabbage and carrots in a large serving bowl.

~Combine the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Pour dressing over cabbage mixture and toss to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

recipe modified from: The Joy of Cooking

For my 100th post...Pasta Salad

Wow! I can't believe that I am at 100 posts already. If life hadn't gotten in the way, I'm sure I would have 200 by now. But I will celebrate this small milestone with a festive and colorful dish.

To me nothing say summer like pasta salad. It is at every family get together and BBQ. I can't wait for summer this year, since The Good Baby will be making her appearance then and I think my summer social calendar might be booked this year. So, I wanted a taste of summer now. I also had a huge craving for salami and lunch meat and took a pregnancy gamble.

This dish is pretty easy to make, just like most of my other dishes. The most labor intensive part is all the chopping and the cooling of the pasta. But it came together in less than 20 minutes. It took me less time to eat it all.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole wheat pasta, any shape
4 oz hard salami, chopped
1.5 oz pepperoni, chopped (1.5 oz sounds like a strange amount, but it is half a package)
1 can of jumbo black olives, chopped
4 oz fresh mozzarella, diced
4-6 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 small red onion, chopped (I forgot to add this)
1 large handful of basil, chopped
1 recipe The Good Wife Italian Dressing Mix
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup white wine vinegar

Directions:
~Boil the pasta in salted water for 10-12 minutes. Drain and cool, rinsing with cool water.

~Combine the Good Wife Italian Dressing Mix with the oil, lemon juice and vinegar in a jar and shake to combine.

~Combine all the remaining ingredients with the pasts in a large bowl. Toss to coat.

recipe by: The Good Wife

Ingredient of the Week . . . Spinach

The ingredient I choose for this week is something I normally don't work with a lot. Like most kids I was never a big fan of spinach and that has translated into my adult life as well. I have only ever had spinach in two forms - leaf and canned.

I remember the first time I ever had spinach. I was in first grade and my school was having a lunch with your parents day. My mom took time off work to come and eat lunch with me. Already having to deal with sitting at a little table and chair, my mom was then also faced with the daunting task of finding something in the school cafeteria she could eat. Somehow she managed to find a salad that had leaf spinach in it. She gave me a bite and told me what it was. And it was good.

Flash forward two weeks and I was over at my paternal grandmother's house. They were getting ready to fix dinner and asked me what vegetable I wanted. I asked if they had any spinach and my grandmother seemed very happy that I liked spinach. That is until I was presented with a plate of green leafy snot. I stood there confused with a look of horrid disgust on my face.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Spinach," I was told.

"That's not spinach," I replied, trying to clam my gap reflex.

"Yes it is."

"No it is not! Spinach is leaves! That is not spinach!" I started to cry.

"Leaves? Leaves?! What are you talking about? Leaves? This is spinach and since you wanted it, you have to eat it"

Crying. "No."

And that was the last time I remember having dinner at my paternal grandmothers. I never did eat that damn spinach and I am sure my grandmother was pissed about the 89 cents I wasted, but I was convinced they were trying to feed me something other than spinach and were lying about it.

But I have discovered, even if I don't particularly like the taste of cooked spinach, nothing improves on flavor like butter, cream and garlic. Thus, I present: Spinach Gratin.

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cups chopped yellow onions, I used 4 large shallots, though since TGH is not a big onion fan
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups milk
3 pounds frozen chopped spinach, defrosted (5 (10-ounce) packages)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese, I used Swiss instead

Directions:
~Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

~Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions (or shallots) and garlic and saute until translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the flour and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Add the cream and milk and cook until thickened. Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the spinach (to do this I use a clean kitchen towel. I place the spinach in the middle and bring all four corners of the towel together and ring the water out of the spinach) and add the spinach to the sauce. Add 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese and mix well. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

~Transfer the spinach to a baking dish and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and the Gruyere on top. Bake for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Serve hot.

recipe by: Ina Garten

The next dish I used spinach in was a nice simple salad, since leaf spinach is still my favorite. When I worked at a grocery store, one of the perks was getting to read all the magazines when it was slow. I planned most of my wedding that way. Thank you Martha Stewart! Aside from all the gossip I was able to catch up on, I loved all the little recipe books. I have a ton of recipes I wrote on sales receipts that are now stored in my recipe binder. This salad I remember seeing in a magazine but I didn't write it down, since I thought it was simple enough.

Needless to say I think I have modified it beyond the original version. So I just call this salad Harvest Apple Salad.

Ingredients:
1 large sweet apple, chopped, I use Pink Lady apples since I think they are the best ever
8 oz blue cheese crumbles
1 cup walnut halves
2 cups of leaf spinach
1 1-2 cups honey mustard citrus vinaigrette (recipe to follow)

Directions:
~Combine all the ingredients and toss with dressing. Serve as 4 side salads or 2 entree salads.

Honey Mustard Citrus Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon prepared Dijon-style mustard
1 tablespoon orange juice
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup vegetable oil

Directions:
~Whisk together all the ingredients in a small bowl and pour over desired salad.

recipe by: The Good Wife

The Good Wife Potato Salad

The Good Husband called me from work yesterday afternoon to say his company was having a last minute potluck today and he wanted me to bring a dish. My go-to potluck dish is potato salad. It is one of those dishes that I love to make but don't really care to eat. I can eat a small dish of potato salad but it is not my all time favorite. Since I am not tempted to eat most of it as I am making it, it makes for a big dish to bring to any potluck.

But I make this version, The Good Wife Potato Salad, for family get togethers and it is always a hit. Regular potato salad can be kinda blah so I spice mine up a bit. Note: This recipe is for a large serving for a get together. You can easily cut it in half.

Ingredients:
10 large potatoes, I used red
4 eggs
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 tablespoon celery seed
1/2 cup mustard
2 cups mayonnaise, I use a combination of both real mayonnaise and Miracle Whip
4 slices of thick cut bacon
1 bunch of green onion, chopped
Paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
~Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 2 large pinches of salt. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, peel and chop.

~In a skillet over medium heat, brown the bacon. When browned, remove from pan, drain on paper towels and crumble. Set aside.

~While you peel the potatoes, place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil; cover and boil eggs for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from water, cool, peel and chop, reserving one egg for garnish.

~In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, 3 of the chopped eggs, celery, onion, celery seed, mustard, pepper, salt and mayonnaise. Mix well to combine.

~To garnish, slice the hard boiled egg into thin slices. Arrange the slices around the edges of the bowl, evenly spacing them. Sprinkle the bacon crumbles over the top and lightly dust the top with paprika. Finish the dish with the chopped green onion. Let sit overnight to combine the flavors.

Napa Cabbage Salad

I first time had this salad at The Good Aunt's house. One bite and I fell in love. The salad was like nothing I had ever had before. The ramen noodles added a nice buttery crunch to the cool crisp cabbage. I had to get the recipe. Ingredients:
1 head napa cabbage
1 bunch minced green onions (I omitted the green onions)
1/3 cup butter
2 (3 ounce) packages ramen noodles, broken
2 tablespoons sesame seeds (I omitted sesame seeds but added 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil)
1 cup slivered almonds (I used sunflower seeds instead)
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:
~Shred the head of cabbage. Combine the green onions and cabbage in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

~Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium low heat. Mix the ramen noodles, sesame seeds and almonds into the pot with the melted butter. (I used just the noodles and sunflower seeds). DO NOT USE THE RAMEN SEASONING PACKET. Toast the noodles and seeds until the are golden brown, careful to not burn them. Stir frequently.

~In a small saucepan, heat vinegar, oil, sugar, and soy sauce (and sesame oil if using). Bring the mixture to a boil, let boil for 1 minute. Remove the pan from heat and let cool.

~Sprinkle the top of the salad with the noodle mixture and then pour the dressing over. Allow to sit for 15-30 minutes before serving. If you are not serving right away, then do not top the dressed salad with the noodle mixture or it will get soggy.

This is a nice light summer supper or a good side dish to Sweet and Sour Chicken or other Asian dish. I need to work on my shredding. The cabbage shreds were a little thick and I think I used too much of the white, ends of the Napa. But this salad hit the spot.