December 25, 2024

Roasted Potato and Cabbage Salad

December 4, 2015 by

potato cabbage salad

I found this delicious recipe here and I’m so glad I did!  This Roasted Potato and Cabbage Salad makes use of winter veggies to create a hearty and healthy side dish.  Next time I make this, I plan to add either raisins or another dried fruit, maybe diced apricots; I think a bit of added sweetness would set off the herbs and cabbage wonderfully.  Eat this with eggs cooked to your liking for a light supper.

Roasted Potato and Cabbage Salad
(recipe courtesy of www.eyecandypopper.com)

Ingredients:

  • 8 small potatoes (use different colors!)
  • 1 sweet potato
  • 1 or two tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1/2 head savoy cabbage, thinly sliced
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons tahini
  • 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • handful of almonds, crushed or chopped coarsely (I used pumpkin seeds)
  • fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 450*F.  Wash potatoes and sweet potato, slice thickly, and toss with a tablespoon of olive oil.  Line a pan with parchment paper and bake for about 25 minutes.  Take care they don’t burn!
  2. While the potatoes bake, prepare the dressing:  in a resealable container, shake together the mustard, vinegar, tahini, maple syrup, olive oil, and salt and pepper.
  3. Slice the cabbage and onion very thinly.  Put them in a large bowl and toss with the dressing.
  4. When the potatoes are roasted, remove from the oven and let cool 5-10 minutes, then toss into the salad.  Top salad with almonds and cilantro (and next time I’m adding dried fruit here too!)

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

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Wheat Berry Salad

August 14, 2015 by

Wheat Berry Salad

If you’ve never had wheat berries, you’re in for a treat!  These grains have a delightful chewiness and enough fiber to fill you up.  Combine them with a mild vinaigrette, some fresh vibrant herbs, and a little tangy fruit, and you have the perfect salad.

You may need to search around to find wheat berries, also known as hard winter wheat.  Whole Foods and other health food stores will have them in the bulk section.  They cook up just like any other grain (barley or rice); I actually cooked mine in my rice cooker.  This salad keeps in the fridge for a few days…so have some with dinner, or breakfast, or whenever you like.  Also try subbing out the dried blueberries with raisins, dried cherries, minced dried apricots, dried cranberries – you get the idea.

Wheat Berry Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup wheat berries
  • 1/2 cup dried blueberries
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley
  • 3 green onions, diced
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • salt and pepper
  • optional:  a few tablespoons of crumbled feta or goat cheese

Directions:

  1. In a heavy pot with a lid, or in a rice cooker, pour in the wheat berries, as well as two cups of water.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.
  2. The wheat berries should absorb all the water from the pot.  If not, drain them.  Pour them into a large bowl.  Add the blueberries, parsley, and green onions.  Toss to mix.
  3. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.  Taste for seasoning.  Keep  in the fridge until ready to eat.  When serving, you can sprinkle some crumbled feta or goat cheese over the top.

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet

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Summer Thai Steak Salad

July 31, 2015 by

Thai Salad

There were lots of adjectives to sift through in trying to create a name for this recipe!  ‘Salad’ had to be in there, of course…and ‘Thai,’ too, because of the peanut dressing.  But feel free to use chicken instead of steak, and you can switch out the veggies used to suit your tastes.  This Summer Thai Steak Salad is really flexible!  Ready?  Let’s go!

Summer Thai Steak Salad

(recipe makes two salads)

Ingredients:

  • 1 heaping tablespoon peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or use a little less apple cider vinegar)
  • 1 teaspoon sugar, honey, or maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil (use grapeseed or olive oil, if you have to)
  • a few handfuls of salad greens
  • 1/2 pound cooked steak or chicken, diced
  • 1 large or 2 small bell peppers, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 sweet or red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced into half-moons
  • 1/2 cup cooked corn kernels
  • other options:  tomatoes, avocado, basil, cilantro, carrots

Directions:

  1. In a food processor, blend together the peanut butter, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and sesame oil.  Taste for seasoning – add more sugar, or more vinegar, or whatever you want.  You can even give it a hit of Sriracha if you like!  Set aside.
  2. Wash greens and divide between two really big salad bowls.  Top with diced steak and thinly sliced veggies.
  3. Toss with lots of peanut dressing.
  4. Do a little happy dance in your chair!

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet

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Cobb Salad with Homemade Bleu Cheese Dressing

July 17, 2015 by

Cobb Salad with Homemade Bleu Cheese Dressing

I think you guys know how much I love a big salad for dinner.  One of my favorites is this Cobb Salad with Homemade Bleu Cheese Dressing, because it’s got so many different components.  So satisfying!

Of course you can use store-bought dressing, but I decided to make my own.  You can really control how salty, how creamy, how peppery it is when you make it yourself – plus there are no binders, stabilizers, thickeners, et cetera like there are in bottled dressing.  (How else do you think they make that stuff shelf-stable?)  This is a basic recipe; feel free to jazz it up with a little lemon juice, hot sauce, or Worcestershire sauce to take it to the next level.  You can also add more veggies to the salad or change up the protein.  Have at it!

Cobb Salad with Homemade Bleu Cheese Dressing

Ingredients (for 2 servings):

  • 1/2 cup crumbled bleu cheese or gorgonzola
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • lots of ground pepper
  • washed salad greens, any kind
  • 2 hardboiled eggs, sliced
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 1 large chicken breast (or use two chicken thighs), cooked and diced
  • 2 (or more!) slices bacon, cooked crisp
  • sliced or cherry tomatoes (would be great, but I don’t like raw tomatoes)

Directions:

  1. In a mixing bowl, stir together the bleu cheese, mayo, yogurt, and milk.  Grind in lots of black pepper.  Let chill in the fridge until you are ready to eat.  (Do it a day before and get an even better-tasting dressing!)
  2. In two large salad bowls, divide the washed salad greens.  Into each bowl, add a sliced egg, half of the avocado, the diced chicken, and some bacon crumbles.  Drizzle with dressing and serve.

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet

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Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad

June 5, 2015 by

Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad

Happy Summer!  Today was my daughter’s last day of school.  Memorial Day is in the past, and it’s quickly heating up.  That means it’s BBQ time!  Next cookout you go to—bring this Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad.

This is an alternative to that played-out coleslaw.  Feel free to double or triple this recipe.  The cucumbers keep it light and crunchy.  You can adjust the balance of sweet to sour to suit your own taste.  I like this salad fresh, but the longer you leave it to mix and mature – up to two or three days – the more pickled and nuanced the flavors get.  Ready?  Let’s go!

Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 large cucumber (I like English in this recipe)
  • 1/2 sweet onion
  • 2 tablespoons vinegar – white or rice
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 4 tablespoons whole milk
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise, then slice into thin half-moons.  Place in a large bowl
  2. Slice the onion as fine as possible.  Add to the cucumber.
  3. Mix together the vinegar, sugar, and milk.  Taste, and add more of what you like, or leave it as-is.  Pour over the cucumber and onion.  Season with salt and pepper.  Keep refrigerated until ready to eat.  This is great the next day, and even more pronounced after two days.  Eat with spicy foods, BBQ’d meat, or really salty foods.

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

 

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Spinach Salad with Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette

November 7, 2014 by

Spinach Salad with Sun-dried Tomato Vinaigrette

This recipe, Spinach Salad with Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette, came from one of those happy accidents we all sometimes have.  Serendipity!  (Does anyone remember those books?) I was in the middle of  making a Caesar salad for dinner one night, and realized I was out of both eggs and anchovy paste!  I had half of a vinaigrette made, so I looked in the refrigerator for something to make it pop, worthy of a dinner salad.  There—far, far back on the shelf—was a nearly empty jar of sun-dried tomatoes.  Hmmm….

I put the ingredients for the dressing I’d already mixed in my food processor and emptied the jar of sun-dried tomatoes right in on top. I had about 2 tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes and almost a quarter cup of sun-dried tomato-flavored oil. Whiz, whiz!!  And taste – amazing!  Tart and tangy but it needed something a little creamy and fatty to offset it.  Aha!  Avocado and goat cheese!  Now, if you don’t have fresh herbs, just use small pinches of dried…or skip it, no biggie.  Dinner is done!  Et tu Caesar?  Who needs ya?!

Spinach Salad With Sun-dried Tomato Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves (I use the flowers from my plants, too)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  • splash of balsamic vinegar
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, plus as much of the oil as you can get out of the jar
  • olive oil
  • 1 bag of baby spinach leaves (wash again, no matter what the bag says!)
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • 2 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled
  • cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Directions:

  1. In your food processor, buzz together the mustard, garlic, herbs, and vinegars to combine.  Make sure the garlic and herbs are well broken down.
  2. Add the sun-dried tomatoes along with as much oil as you can get out of the jar; and salt and pepper.  Combine again.  Check the consistency and add olive oil if you’d like to thin out the dressing.
  3. Assemble the salad – a big bed of spinach, with bell pepper, sliced avocado, goat cheese, and cherry tomatoes on top.  Apply dressing liberally!

To make it a meal, you can add black olives and leftover cooked chicken (come to think of it, grilled shrimp might be good on this too!)  Serve with crusty bread and a white or rosé wine.

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

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Chickpea Cranberry Salad

September 5, 2014 by

Chickpea Salad resize

When I was in 10th grade, I decided to become a vegetarian.  My mom made no objections, but she did make it known that it was up to me to make sure I was eating a balanced diet, and that I should do some research.  “You can’t live on cheese sandwiches!” she told me more than once.  So I read up (in actual books.  It would have been so much easier to go online, but the internet hadn’t been invented yet!) and found out which foods were good sources of vegetable protein.  Chickpeas are your meatless champions!  Try this Chickpea Cranberry Salad and see for yourself!

Whether you are a vegetarian (or making lunch for someone who is), or if you just want a few meatless options, chickpeas are your friend.  Stock up on canned chickpeas for making hummus or adding to soups and salads.  I like to buy them dried.  They’re cheap and they pretty much last forever in your pantry.  Soaking them the night before you make this will cut down on cooking time, and also helps eliminate some of the chemicals that can cause gas and bloating in more sensitive tummies.  I like them better this way, because you can cook them to your preference—you can make them soft like the canned kind, or (and I highly recommend this) a little bit al dente.  The toothsome texture makes them seem more filling to me.

Serve this Chickpea Cranberry Salad between slices of bread, like a sandwich, or wrap it in lettuce.  Out of lettuce, like I was?  Use half of a sweet bell pepper as a taco shell!  Crunchy, delicious, meatless, marvelous!

Chickpea Cranberry Salad

(makes two servings)

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup dried chickpeas (or use 1 regular can of chickpeas)
  • 1 stalk celery
  • 1/4 cup walnuts
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1-2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • squeeze of lemon juice

Directions:

  1. The night before you make the salad, pour the chickpeas into a large bowl and cover with water by at least an inch or two.  Cover the bowl with a plate and leave on the counter overnight.
  2. After soaking, drain the chickpeas.  Place in a pan and cover with water.  Simmer, covered, for about an hour.  Taste one and see if you like the texture.  Cook longer if you like.  When done, drain off the water and pour the chickpeas into a bowl.  Mash with a potato masher or the back of a fork.  I like to leave them a little chunky.
  3. Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

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Tarragon Green Bean Salad

August 29, 2014 by

Tarragon Green Bean Salad resize

Green beans – get ’em while they’re hot!  Or cold.  They’re in season now, so green beans are cheap and plentiful.  My husband likes them best splashed with olive oil and roasted in the oven, but sometimes you don’t want to heat up the house.  For a yummy, summery green bean dish that’s delicious warm or cold, try this Tarragon Green Bean Salad!

Fresh herbs are a joy, and this recipe uses parsley, tarragon, and green onions.  Technically this may be a green goddess salad dressing, and it IS wonderful on a salad with fresh tomatoes.  You will have enough dressing left over to do just that!  Make the dressing while the beans are cooking and this recipe is ready in a snap.  Let’s go!

Tarragon Green Bean Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound fresh green beans
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1-inch squeeze of anchovy paste or one small anchovy fillet (you can sub soy sauce if you must)
  • 1 fist full of parsley
  • 1 fist full of tarragon leaves
  • 2 green onions
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons yogurt (or sub sour cream)
  • juice of 1 lemon (or sub tarragon vinegar, if you’re fancy!)

Directions:

  1. Prep the green beans:  cut off tops and tails and cut the beans into 1-inch pieces.  Put the beans in a covered dish with some water and cover.  Microwave for about six minutes.  You want the beans tender-crisp.
  2. While the beans are steaming, make the dressing:  Blend all the rest of the ingredients in a food processor.  It doesn’t have to be homogeneously smooth, but you don’t want to bite down on a big chunk of garlic!
  3. To serve:  Toss the beans in half of the dressing.  Serve warm, or refrigerate until ready to serve.  It’s great cold too, especially with grilled meats.  Serve the leftover dressing with salad and tomatoes, or use it as a dip for carrots and peppers.

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

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Korean-Style Tuna Salad

August 22, 2014 by

Korean Tuna Salad resize

Now that school is starting up again, it’s time for some lunchbox ideas.  One of my favorites as a kid was tuna salad.  Growing up, I had it only two ways:  with mayonnaise, and the way my Mom made it, which was with mayo and chopped celery.  It wasn’t until I was in high school that I had tuna salad made with mayo and pickle relish.  (Thanks, Mrs. Carson!)  It’s really easy to believe that a food will only taste good if prepared in the way you’re familiar with.  I mean, even 15 years ago, I would have been hard-pressed to believe that I would like tuna salad made without mayonnaise.  But old dogs can learn new tricks, so here I present to you:  Korean-Style Tuna Salad!

My husband asked me to make this for him several years ago, because this is the way he grew up eating canned tuna.  Believe it or not, Koreans do enjoy tuna salad, and even make a dish called Tuna Kimbap with it – tuna salad rolled up in rice and seaweed (kind of a Korean sushi roll.)  In this Korean-style dish, the mayonnaise is gone, replaced by savory sesame oil.  The celery is joined by minced carrot and green onion, and the whole dish is seasoned with a little vinegar and a healthy shake of sesame seeds.  It’s a whole new take on tuna!

Try this wrapped in lettuce or served on crackers for lunch.  Ready to break out of your comfort food comfort zone?  Let’s go!

Korean-Style Tuna Salad

Ingredients:

  • 2 cans tuna, drained
  • 2 green onions
  • 1 large carrot
  • 2 celery stalks
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil (or more, to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar (or use lemon juice)
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

  1. In a mixing bowl, add the tuna.
  2. Finely mince the green onion, carrot, and celery.  Add to the tuna.
  3. Pour in the sesame oil and rice vinegar.  Toss to combine.
  4. In a small bowl, combine the sesame seeds and salt. Crush them together with the back of a spoon until most of the seeds are crushed.  (You can also do this quickly in a mortar and pestle, if you have one.)  Pour the sesame seed salt mixture over the tuna and mix well.  Taste – now you can add more sesame oil, vinegar, or salt.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Explore, experiment, enjoy! — Dana

To view even more of Dana’s unique recipe, you can visit her at Frugal Girlmet!

 

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Arugula, Peach, Quinoa Salad

August 18, 2014 by

Recently a friend told me about this delicious ‘rice’ salad that she and her family were enjoying that she purchased at her favorite grocery store from the fresh salad bar. Well, as it turns out it wasn’t rice (when I questioned her thoroughly) but red quinoa!  Oh, I do love quinoa…so I was quite interested!  Here is my variation on this salad.  You can surely make this ‘your own’ by varying the fresh veggies added, what type of fruit you put in (berries would also be lovely!), the kind of vinaigrette you use (perhaps use your family’s favorite bottled vinaigrette!), and what variety of nuts you sprinkle across the top!  I would love to hear how you changed it up; leave a comment below!

Quinoa <kEEn-wah> is a grain but it is the seed that we eat! (Good news for those who eat low-carb, right?)  And it is jam-packed full of protein.  Have you and your family enjoyed quinoa before?  To find quinoa in your grocery store, check the natural food section, or the rice/pasta aisle.  Usually when I prepare a pot of quinoa, I make extra to use for another meal. Our favorite is ‘red’ quinoa although it also comes in white (or golden), and black variations. Check out these nutritional facts.  This light salad fits well into our ‘healthy but oh-so-yummy’ POV since it has a great vegetable protein base, and lots of fresh veggies and fruit!  Serve it alongside something yummy from the grill—chicken, shrimp, or salmon, for example.  Oh, and if you DO grill…throw the peaches on the grill for 5 minutes or so, too!  Enjoy!

Quinoa, Peach and Arugula Salad

2014-08-17 19.34.04

ingredients:
1 cup red quinoa
1+3/4 cup water
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup mango (or orange) juice
1 tablespoon honey, agave or maple syrup (optional)
2-3 splashes of white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon minced garlic (I use jarred)
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
3 cups arugula
2 ripe peaches (or mango), chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1 cup cucumber, small dice
handful of sugar snap peas (defrosted from frozen OR fresh)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1/3 cup nuts (pistachios, pignoli, chopped almonds)
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

directions:

  • prepare quinoa: bring water to a boil in a small saucepan; add the quinoa, bring back to boil, stir, cover, and then reduce heat to very low and simmer until the water is absorbed (10-15 minutes).  remove from the heat, keep covered, and let sit for 5 minutes.  fluff up with a fork and transfer to a large mixing bowl to cool2014-08-17 18.59.45 HDR
  • make vinaigrette:  whisk together the juice, garlic, sweetener (if using), balsamic, and s&p; slowly drizzle in the olive oil while continuing to whisk away ‘til thoroughly emulsified. (this can be done in your food processor or using an immersion blender)
  • assemble:  add the veggies, arugula and herbs to the quinoa already in the large mixing bowl, ; toss together
  • pour 3/4 of the vinaigrette evenly over the mixed salad; season well with additional s&p to taste
  • top with sliced peaches, nuts, and cheese

♥   ♥   ♥   ♥   ♥

God loves you!  ♥  (Don’t ever forget that!)

♥  coleen

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