Showing posts with label salad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label salad. Show all posts

Friday, October 11, 2013

Quinoa salad

1 cup cooked quinoa
diced carrot
diced celery
chopped kale
diced onion
diced cucumber
pressed garlic

Mix together with olive oil and lemon juice - refrigerate.

The smaller you dice the veggies the better. I meant to put broccoli in mine but I forgot.

Tip: soak and rinse your quinoa first - it removes the bitter taste.

Grilled chicken salad with spiced pecans

Ingredients for Spiced Nuts
1 bag (roughly 2c) pecan halves
vegetable oil
about 1 TBS sugar
basil
cayenne pepper
paprika
onion powder
garlic powder
ground thyme

Ingredients for Salad
about 1lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 bell pepper
1 bunch Romaine lettuce
2 zucchini
fresh wedge of Parmesan cheese
lemon juice
extra virgin olive oil
salt
prepared spiced pecans (recipe will follow)

Pound chicken breasts so they are thin. Grill for a few minutes on each side until juices run clear. Meanwhile, rinse your veggies. Chop or tear the romaine into pieces. Slice the bell pepper into strips. Cut zucchini into very thin slices. Use a vegetable peeler to thinly slice the Parmesan cheese. I sliced about half of an 8oz wedge of cheese. Break the thin slices into smaller squares, about 1x1", and gently toss with zucchini. Add some lemon juice and a little olive oil; toss again to coat. Salt lightly according to taste.

When chicken is finished, cut into strips. Assemble your salad: torn Romaine pieces, bell pepper strips, zucchini/Parmesan mixture. Serve onto plates or salad bowls and sprinkle with spiced pecans. Top with 3-4 chicken strips per salad. 

To Make Spiced Nuts
Preheat your oven to 350°. Pour pecan halves in a bowl and mix with about 2tsp vegetable oil (start with a little bit, stir, and continue adding oil as needed until the pecans are thinly coated). In a small bowl, combine 1T sugar with dashes of all the other spices except salt. Add as much as you want of each spice according to your taste. When spices and sugar are mixed to your satisfaction, pour them over the pecans and toss pecans to coat. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven.

Cranberry Spinach Salad

1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered
1 pound spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
1 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons minced onion
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook and stir almonds in butter until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and let cool.
In a large bowl, combine the spinach with the toasted almonds and cranberries.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, white wine vinegar, cider vinegar, and vegetable oil. Toss with spinach just before serving.