culinarianlibrarian

Musings on cooking, reading, and life in general

Archive for the tag “salad”

“Green” Chicken Salad

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Well, the chicken isn’t green, but just about every other ingredient is!  This is what’s for lunch tomorrow since I’m still adhering to Meatless Mondays:

Ingredients:

  • 2 large cans of chunk chicken
  • 1 small bunch of chives, chopped
  • 1 stalk of celery, chopped
  • 1 c. green grapes, halved
  • 1/4 c. walnuts
  • 1/3 c. light mayo
  • 3 tsp pepper
  • 2 tsp dill

Combine all ingredients into a small bowl and mix thoroughly.  Serve over spinach as a salad, on rye bread as a sandwich, or eat it straight out of the bowl.  For a bit of a change-up, defrost a cup of frozen peas and use in place of grapes.

Time: 15 minutes; Serves: 6-8

Meatless Monday – Caprese Salad

It’s day one of spring break and I am back in the kitchen!  This is partly because I finally got my second trimester energy surge and partly because I’m tired of relying on take-out and/or overly processed foods as my main staples.

I found this recipe via Pinterest (Best. Site. Ever.) a couple of days ago and figured I’d give it a go.  You can use it as a main dish, a side, or even a snack.  Or you can just sit with the bowl in your lap and a remote in your hand and proceed to inhale it all while watching back episodes of Dateline (um, not that I would know anything about this).

Ingredients:

  • 1 pint of cherry tomatoes
  • 8 oz mozzarella balls
  • 18 fresh basil leaves, chopped (I used my herb scissors – LOVE them for making even pieces)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 tbsp olive oil

Halve tomatoes and cut mozzarella balls into quarters (I find that a serrated knife works best for both of these tasks).  Rip or slice basil leaves into small pieces.  Combine in a bowl with salt and pepper; dress with olive oil and mix well.  Chill in fridge for at least an hour for best taste.

Time: 10 minutes; Serves: 4 normal people or one pregnant woman

Original recipe: http://savorysweetlife.com/2011/08/tomato-basil-mozzarella-salad/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+savorysweetlife+%28Savory+Sweet+Life%29

Meatless Monday: Spinach & Pear Salad

I cried on Monday evening.

This wasn’t an “I saw the newest E*Trade commercial with all the newborn babies” cry, or even a “Can’t fall asleep, thanks to my bass-thumping neighbor” cry.  No, this one was even sillier.  I cried over a piece of fruit.

A Bosc pear to be exact.  See, my recent aversion to the smell/texture/mention of meat means that I’ve had to get more creative with my dinners.  I have, in recent weeks, become particularly enamored of an Epicurious salad recipe.  The combination of flavors is perfect, and the addition of walnuts and cheese provide me with some much-needed protein.  So on Monday night, I made my salad, and settled in to watch The Bachelor.  I took my first bite, expecting it to be glorious as usual.  But the pear?  Totally underripe. My response? A total meltdown.  My creation put the ‘pear’ in ‘despair.’

Anyway, really stupid jokes and prego hormones aside, you HAVE to try this salad (and the dressing is particularly perfect):

Ingredients:

  • 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 medium shallot, minced
  • 1 1/2 tsps chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/2 c. olive oil
  • 5 oz. spinach
  • 2 large Bosc pears, chopped (make sure they’re ripe!)
  • 1 c. crumbled blue cheese (pasteurized, of course)
  • 1 c. walnuts, chopped

Toss spinach, pears, blue cheese and walnuts in large bowl.  Combine other ingredients to form dressing and shake well.  Stir into salad.

Serves:4-6; Time: 5 minutes

Original recipe: http://www.epicurious.com:80/recipes/food/views/Baby-Greens-Pear-Walnut-and-Blue-Cheese-Salad-107065#ixzz1oRxsrCPH

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