Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

This is a recipe that is a combination of a recipe from an old church cookbook, and another that was found on Allrecipes. I have people who asked for the recipe, so I've decided to put down the recipe as I make it to share with others.

Ingredients

4 cups cauliflower cut into small bite size pieces (can add some of the stems chopped up)

4 cups broccoli cut into small bite size pieces (can add some of the stems chopped up)

12 slices of bacon (more or less can be used according to taste)

1 cup of either craisins or dried cherries (according to your preference)

1 cup roasted and salted sunflower seeds 

1 & 1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup either sugar or honey (can use a combo of both)

3 Tbsp. minced shallots

1 Tbsp. cider vinegar

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Ingredients can be adapted to your personal taste. My sisters sometimes use pistachios instead of sunflower seeds...

Directions

Brown cut up bacon in skillet until crisp. Drain the bacon on a paper towel.

Mix Broccoli, cauliflower, and Craisins or dried cherries.

Whisk Mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, sugar and or honey, shallots, vinegar and salt together in a mixing bowl. (I like to mix my dressing at least a few hours ahead of time so the ingredients meld.)

Pour dressing over salad, mix salad well, then add nuts and bacon and toss again until evenly distributed.

YUM!!!

 

Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing

 

This delicious homemade salad dressing is from a recipe I got from my sister Miriam. It's a keeper!

Ingredients

    3 cloves garlic, minced

    3/4 cup mayonnaise

    3 tsp. anchovy paste

    1/4 cup grated Parmesan

    1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

    1 tsp. Dijon mustard

    1 tbsp. lemon juice, or more to taste

    salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use, best overnight. I sometimes add a bit of half n half to thin down the dressing.

Low Cal Creamy Avocado-Cilantro Dressing

My sister gave me some Kefir she couldn't make use of, so I decided to make salad dressing from it since I've had Kefir dressings from the grocery store in the past. I'm very pleasantly surprised at how tasty and easy it is to make for something that has to be so low cal. The Kefir I used was 1%, which is only 120 calories a cup. So if I'm using 3 Tbs. of dressing that only has a little olive oil in it, the dressing has to be no more than 65 calories a serving. I think I'll be making my own dressings from now on. I can't wait to experiment with other ingredients.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup 1% Kefir (can be found at health food stores like Whole Foods...)
1 ripe avocado
1/3 to 1/2 cups chopped fresh Cilantro (to taste)
3 Tbs. olive oil (I used Bertolli Extra Light, which is 120 calories a Tbs.)
1 or 2 cloves minced garlic (I used 2 because I'm a garlic lover)
Juice of half a lime
2 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt


 Directions

Place all ingredients in a blender or use an immersion blender to combine until smooth and well blended. The dressing should be good until the expiration date of the Kefir. 

This dressing was delicious with a salad of mixed greens, shrimp, avocado, green onions, yellow bell pepper, mush, pine nuts, and fresh shredded Parmesan cheese.

Zucchini & Avocado Salad w/ Lemon-Thyme Dressing

No you're not seeing double...

Because my husband appears to have a  zucchini fetish, I find it impossible to use or even give away the amount he grows. I challenge myself to find new recipes each year.

I was so excited to come across this recipe that I adapted from Inspired Eating! It makes use of two of the herbs I grow, and I had all the ingredients in my home.(How often does that happen?) It was delicious!

I'm sure I'll be posting many more zucchini recipes this summer!

...this is the amount my husband plants each year.

Ingredients:

1 pound zucchini (about 4 small zucchinis)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 tbs. minced thyme or lemon-thyme leaves

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

1 ripe avocado

Romano or Parmesan cheese (I used Parmesan)

black olives

grape tomatoes

sea salt to taste

fresh pepper to taste

(I find it best to mix the dressing ahead so it can meld 

together.)

1. Whisk oil, lemon juice and thyme together in a small bowl. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. (Let sit for a bit while you prepare the rest of the salad) 

 2. Trim and discard stems from zucchini. Using a vegetable peeler, and holding zucchini as if you were going to peel it, slice thin ribbons from the zucchini into a large bowl, including skin and white flesh. When you get to the center seed portion of, stop peeling. (I also peeled down the one end of the zucchini that has the fleshy part.) Discard center and seeds.

3.Stack basil leaves and thinly slice crosswise into very thin strips. Add to bowl with zucchini. Pour dressing over the zucchini and basil and put in the frig.

4. Heat a small skillet over low heat, and toast pine nuts for about 2 minutes, tossing frequently, until fragrant and just starting to turn golden. Remove from pan and set aside.

5. Right before serving cut up avocado, grape tomatoes, and black olives and add to the zucchini along with the pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately

Served with whole grain bread covered in pesto

Asian Wonton Salad

I'm not sure why, but in the summer I LOVE Asian salads, I find them so refreshing! I'm serving this salad at a Reception/Reunion up in Sparta, WI. I've served it to groups from our church and they have loved it!

Sweet Sesame Dressing

2/3 cup rice vinegar

1 cup canola oil (I used grape seed oil)

2 Tbs. sesame oil (store in frig after opened)

4 gloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbs. soy sauce

1/2 cup sugar

4 Tbs. sesame seeds (store in freezer after opened)

Place all ingredients into a quart jar (or something equivalent) and shake vigorously. If desired, make ahead of time and store in the fridge. (dressing recipe from ourbestbites.com) Sesame seeds and sesame oil go rancid quite quickly, be sure to refrigerate the oil, and put the seeds in the freezer for future use.

For the salad:

1 large head of Napa Cabbage cleaned and cut into bite sized pieces
1 large bag of Romaine lettuce
5 or 6 green onions cut up
slivered almonds
 Wonton strips (store bought, or you can bake a healthy version-recipe below)
(you can also add a little chopped cilantro to the salad like Panera does in their Asian Sesame Chicken salad)

I like to toss just the cabbage and lettuce with the dressing first (you won't use all of the dressing) to coat the lettuce, and then add the other ingredients so they stick. You can make a meal out of the salad by adding slices of chicken breast.

Wonton Strips

Stack wonton wrappers on a cutting board and cut them into 1/2 inch-wide strips. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Separate the strips, lay them on the baking sheet, and mist them lightly with the cooking spray. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Scrunch each strip to give it a wavy shape, if you like. Bake at 375 until golden, 7 to 9 minutes.

Guacamole/Pica de Gallo/Lemon Quinoa Cilantro Chickpea Salad

Appetizers for the grad. party. There is just nothing like some good guacamole! Combined with pica de gallo, it's a match made in heaven!

guacamole

Ingredients                               

2 ripe avocados

1 clove of garlic minced

Juice from 1/2 of lemon

About 1/3 to 1/2 cup salsa

About 1/4 cup chopped onion

A dab of sour cream

Salt to taste

Peel and mash avocados and add the rest of the ingredients. To store before serving place plastic wrap on bowl so that it is actually touching the dip to keep the air from turning the dip brown.

Ingredients

Pica de Gallo

5 Roma tomatoes seeded and chopped                                      

2 cloves of minced garlic

Juice from 1/2 lemon or lime

Chopped cilantro to taste (about 1/4 cup)

About 1/2 cup chopped onion

Sprinkle on a little "Fiesta Party Dip Mix" by Tastefully Simple

Salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together, chill and serve

Also served a quinoa "salad" that I got tons of compliments on, but used it as a chip dip.  Recipe revised from  thediva-dish.com

Lemon Quinoa Cilantro Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 C. dry quinoa

2 C. vegetable broth or chicken broth

1 can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)

1 c. cherry tomatoes cut in half

2 avocados diced

5 oz. pkg. of baby spinach

1 bunch cilantro

1/4 C. onion

2 small cloves garlic

For the dressing:

Juice of 2 lemons

zest of 1 lemon

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

2 tsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. to 1 1/2 tbsp. agave nectar

1/2 tsp. cumin

dash of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Make your quinoa first. Soak the quinoa in a pot in the veggie broth for about 15 minutes. After that, turn on the heat to medium high and let the quinoa come to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat to medium/low and let quinoa simmer. Stir every so often, and cook quinoa for about 20-25 minutes just until the liquid absorbs. You don’t want it completely dried out, so when there is just a TINY amount of liquid left in the pot, remove it from heat and put a lid on it. Set it aside, and make the rest of the salad.

 2. In a food processor, add your spinach and cilantro. Make sure to wash you greens.

 3. Process the greens until they are finely diced. You can do this by hand as well if you don’t have a food processor.

4. Add the greens to a bowl, and set aside. Next take your onion and garlic and finely dice those (I do this in the food processor to), and add to the greens mixture. Next add your chickpeas and stir until everything is combined and coated. If the quinoa is cooled, you can add it to the chickpea mixture next.

5. Make your dressing by whisking all the ingredients together. Pour over salad, and mix until combined. Add in tomatoes and avocado and mix. Set in fridge for about 10-15 minutes before serving so the flavors set.

The honored graduate, congratulations Chantelle!!!