Garlic Herb Salmon and Chopped Salad

Have you ever had a salad that you got excited about? There is something about eating a fresh salad filled with vegetables in every color of the rainbow. Chopped vegetables salads are a favorite of mine, but when you add a succulent piece of salmon and place it on a mound of chopped salad, it is next level deliciousness. This salad is quick, healthy, flavorful and full of nutrients. 

A good friend of mine made me a chopped salad that was similar to the way I make mine, but her addition of avocado, olive oil, sea salt and lemon was a great complement to the Kale, Spinach, radicchio and all of the other colorful vegetables that make this such a satisfying salad. I like to add as many vegetables as possible, so this salad has kale, spinach, radicchio, purple cabbage, red leaf lettuce,orange bell pepper, Persian cucumbers, carrots, fresh garlic, green cabbage, radish, cilantro and I like to add fresh chopped tomato or dried cranberries to balance out the flavors. 

Kale is full of great nutrients and it does not get soggy like Iceberg or Romaine

Spinach marries well with Kale and adds a nice balance

I love a crunch salad and red cabbage adds that perfect crunch

Carrots also add a hint of sweetness and crunch

Radicchio is slightly bitter, so just a hint of it is needed

I find that Persian cucumbers seem to stay crunchy longer than the traditional ones and love how they taste in the salad

Finely chopped cabbage adds a little more flavor and texture

Any type of bell pepper is perfect for this salad, but I like the flavor and color from the orange bell pepper

 A large creamy Avocado is delectable in this salad

And this is what all of those yummy vegetables look like in a chopped salad. Even without meat, this is a very satisfying salad and the fresh lemon, avocado, vinegar and salt bring out the brightness of the salad and add such a great flavor dimension that salad dressing is unnecessary. If you decide to add a little salad dressing, you will not need a lot if it.

This makes quite a bit of salad, so invite a few friends over or munch on this for a few days. The great thing about Kale and Spinach, is that they hold up well even with a light dressing on it. So are we ready to make this amazing chopped salad? Lets Go!

Salad Ingredients (serves 6-8)

1 Bunch of Kale

1/2 Head of Cabbage of small bag of chopped green cabbage

1/2 Head of red cabbage 

1 Bag of fresh spinach leaves

2 cups red leaf lettuce

1 small bunch of radicchio

2 carrots

1 orange bell pepper

1 bunch of radishes

1/4 cup cilantro

2 Persian cucumbers

1-2 fresh garlic cloves

1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar

1 avocado

1/2 Fresh Lemon

Dried Cranberries (optional)

 

Directions :

Wash all produce and then chop the salad ingredients finely and toss in a big salad bowl. Cut the avocado into small pieces and add to salad. Squeeze a fresh lemon all over the salad greens. Mix olive oil and Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar and then drizzle all over salad. (add more if needed) Sprinkle with a little sea salt and begin tossing the salad and making sure avocado, oil and vinegar is thoroughly mixed into the salad. Place a generous serving on a plate and top with a freshly cooked piece of salmon or your choice of meat. This salad will keep for a few days in the fridge, but is best eaten right away.

Salmon Directions:

Add olive oil to a frying pan. Lightly brush salmon with oil and sprinkle with garlic and herb seasoning. Sear until blackened and cooked through.

Note: One or two pieces of salmon is enough to go with the 6-8 servings of salad. Slice the salmon into several slices and place on each serving of salad.

 Bon Appetit!

Chicken Salad Cucumber Cups

 Sometimes it is hard to eat a clean diet when you want something delicious and satisfying and you don't want rabbit food. These delicious chicken salad cucumber cups satisfy that desire for something crunchy and is perfect for a low carb diet,or those times when you want to fill satisfied without being overstuffed.  The dill adds a nice depth of flavor and the pickle relish adds a hint of sweetness.

These cucumber cups also make great appetizers and are a perfect party food. If you are not watching your carbs, the chicken salad is delicious on squaw bread and makes a great sandwich!

 Start with fresh cucumber. Wash and cut the cucumber into 1 1/2 to 2 inch rounds. Use a spoon to hollow out some of the cucumber without touching the bottom. Fill the small hollowed out space with chicken salad and top with more chicken salad.

Ingredients

1 Rotisserie Chicken Shredded or chopped in small pieces

2 Celery Stalks finely chopped

2 green onions chopped

1 tablespoon minced dillweed

1/4to 1/2 cup sweet pickle relish (depending on your taste)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup unsweetened plain yogurt

1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar 

Salt and pepper to taste

1-2 cucumbers washed and cut into hollowed out rounds

Set the chicken aside and chop the celery, green onions, relish and dillweed and add to the chicken. Add the relish, mayonnaise, yogurt and vinegar to a medium bowl and mix. Taste to make sure the mixture has enough seasoning and then combine with chicken mixture and mix thoroughly. Chill the chicken salad for a couple of hours.

Fill each cucumber round with the chicken salad mixture and serve.

Kale Cranberry Apple Salad

This salad is full of good stuff and perfect for the Holiday season. Apples, cranberries, pecans and a melange of crispy veggies balance nicely with the robust kale. If you are looking for a great holiday salad for your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, this is it!

Kale is a very robust salad green and can handle a lot more dressing than the typical salad. Massaging some of the dressing into the kale takes away some of the harshness that kale can have and the longer it sits with the dressing on it the better it tastes. Another great trick to make kale salad even better is to warm the vinaigrette and let it slightly cook the kale and take some of the rough edge out of it. This salad has a nice sweetness, a little tartness, crunch and lots of flavors that blend well together.

 Start with fresh kale and chop the leaves as small and thin as possible

Red Cabbage adds some flavor and texture

Carrots add more color and a little sweetness

Dried cranberries add so much flavor and more sweetness that balances well with the kale

Apple marries well with all of the other ingredients. My favorite apple to use in salads is granny smith or pink lady, but your favorite one will work perfectly

Pecans add that delicious crunchiness that we love in a good salad

This is so good, you will want to eat it all the time. Try making this for the holidays

Ingredients

1/2 cup pecans

8 ounces of kale 

1 carrot

1/2 cup chopped red cabbage

1 granny smith apple

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Dressing Ingredients

6 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons honey

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and spread on a cookie sheet or baking pan and bake for about 5-7 minutes. Wash kale and remove the stems. Chop the kale into bite size pieces/  Sprinkle a dash of sea salt over the kale and massage by the handful by scrunching with your hands gently. Set aside.

Grate the carrot and chop the red cabbage into thin shreds. In a small bowl, whisk the salad ingredients together. Take a couple of tablespoons of dressing and massage it into the kale. Add the carrots, red cabbage, apple, and cranberries. Toss the ingredients and let sit for 20 minutes. Add the pecans and toss once before serving.

The apples are so good in this salad and you can swap the apples for pears and it works beautifully

 

This is a great way to get your fruits and veggies in one meal

What are you waiting for? 

Bon Appetit!

Turkey and Italian Sausage Zucchini Boats

To say that I love to eat would be an understatement. Usually the things we love to eat are super unhealthy, so I am always working on ways to make healthy things taste like the super fattening things I love. I like green vegetables, but I would be lying if I told you they got me as excited as a pizza dripping with cheese. sausage and a great marinara sauce. These zucchini boats are delicious and make me feel like I am eating pizza. Even my son loves them!  The first thing he said when he looked at it was: "I don't like it." I have very clear rules that he must taste something before he decides if he likes it or not, so after one bite: "Mom, this is good, what is it? 

Aren't kids hilarious? LOL

What gives these so much great flavor is the Italian sausage. I use Turkey Italian Sausage and mix it with ground turkey.  It is super flavorful and healthy, but you can use any meat you want and this would be just as tasty, but if you are going for healthy, stick with turkey or chicken. I mix ground turkey and turkey Italian sausage, but you can certainly use all sausage or all ground turkey. I like to mix the turkey Italian sausage with the ground turkey so that I can freeze half of it and use it for spaghetti sauce or lasagna at a later date.

Start with fresh zucchini that has been washed and slice in half.

 Hollow out the zucchini by scraping out the inside. Chop the inside that you scooped out and set it aside

Before you go any further. Boil some water and drop the zucchini halves in for in minute and remove

In a large skillet or saucepan, saute your meat until brown remove from skillet and set aside. In same pan, saute your onions, zucchini and garlic until translucent and then add your ground turkey and Italian sausage

Place a half cup of sauce in the bottom of a baking dish and place zucchini halves on top. Fill the hollowed out zucchini with the cooked turkey zucchini mixture

Once you top the zucchini halves with marinara sauce and a generous sprinkle of Mozzarella Cheese...

It will evolve to something so delicious you will think you are eating a great pizza:-) I promise you will love this! It is a filling and delicious low carb meal, but if you aren't concerned with carbs, garlic bread would be amazing with these zucchini boats.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup Marinara Sauce

4-5 medium zuchinni

1/2 small onion finely chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

1/2 cup diced bell pepper 

1/2 package turkey Italian sausage

1/2 package ground turkey

1 cup shredded low fat mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400

Slice zucchini in half and scoop out the flesh. Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop the halves in for in minute.  Put the halves aside.

Chop the scooped out zuchinni, onion, garlic  and bell pepper and put aside.

Place sauce in the bottom of a baking pan and place zucchini halves in pan.

In a large skillet or saucepan, brown the meat and remove. In same pan, saute the zucchini, onion, garlic and bell pepper. Add the browned meat to the mixture and cook for another minute or two. Fill each hollowed out zucchini with the turkey zucchini mixture and top with approximately two tablespoons marinara sauce. Top each zucchini with a tablespoon of parmesan cheese and a couple of tablespoons of Mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. 

This is a great way to trick the kids into loving vegetables

Bon Appetit!

Baked Goat Cheese Salad

Baked Goat Cheese adds a delicious element to a green salad. I often order this salad in high end restaurants and wanted to recreate this dish at home. I wanted to make this a little healthier by baking the goat cheese, but you can also pan fry this and get the same crispy results. This starts with a mix of arugula and spring salad mix, a delicious vinaigrette and these crispy baked goat cheese rounds. If you have never tried Goat Cheese, you are truly missing out on some extreme deliciousness.

Slice goat cheese into rounds discs (approximately 3/4 inch thick) . You can also use dental floss to slice the goat cheese. It is less messy this way, which I found out after starting with a knife. Roll each disc into a round golf ball size. Roll cheese into chopped chives.

This is what the cheese looks like before it is dipped into crumb mixture. I like to use a mixture of seasoned bread crumbs mixed with Panko crumbs, but rather you combine the bread crumbs, or use one type, this will be very tasty.

Toasted Hazelnuts and the herbed goat cheese taste amazing together. I like to dress this salad with a bright citrus vinagrette, but this works well with any vinaigrette, especially balsamic.

Ingredients

8 oz log of fresh goat cheese

1/2  cup chopped chives

1/2 herb bread crumbs

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

6 cups spring lettuce mix

1 cup Arugula

2 Tablespoons toasted Hazlenuts

Vinaigrette

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

Cut goat cheese into 8 discs. Roll into balls and dip into chopped chives. Mix the two bread crumbs and place into a bowl.  Roll the cheese into the bread crumbs. You can also lightly brush the balls with olive oil to get the crumbs to coat the cheese better.  Flatten each ball with the bottom of a glass and place the goat cheese rounds in freezer to set for 30 minutes.

While the cheese is setting in the freezer. Preheat oven to 375.  Wash salad greens and tear into bite size pieces.  Toast the hazlenuts until they are golden brown (about 5 minutes).

In a medium bowl, whisk all of the vinaigrette ingredients together. Place goat cheese in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Flip halfway through cooking so that both sides are crispy and golden brown.

Toss salad and sprinkle with toasted hazlenuts and top with 2-3 rounds of goat cheese.

Bon Appetit!