 Throwing together a great salad is easy, right? Not necessarily. I tend get in a salad rut and I end up eating the same salad night after night. It's not that I don't have a big salad repertoire to pull from - it's just that I don't invest a lot of time (or thought) into my salads. I spend all of my time and energy getting the rest of the meal on the table and the salad is always the last thing that I throw together before we sit down to eat. Maybe I don't invest a lot of time in my salad because I am really the only person who appreciates it. Don't get me wrong, Ben eats salad but he's a pretty simple salad eater - lettuce, carrots and ranch dressing - the basics. He's definitely not a fussy salad eater. On the rare occasions that I do make a big salad for myself, I follow a few simple guidelines to make sure it's as nutritious as it is delicious.  Build a perfect salad guidelines 1. Start with a bed of dark green lettuce. I tend to alternate between spinach, romaine and soft Boston lettuce. 2. Layer on lean protein. If we have leftover chicken, I pile it on top. I also like to add black beans and chickpeas because I usually keep an extra can of each in the pantry. 3. I like to add lots of dark colored vegetables. The darker the better as far as nutritional value of veggies goes. Beets, tomatoes, carrots, zucchini and some of my favs. 4. A great salad has got to have some CRUNCH! I usually choose healthy nuts to add this texture to my salads - walnuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews, pecans. 5. I prefer a little sweetness to my salads. Fresh fruit is my preference - strawberries, raspberries, pears, apples. If fresh isn't available, I use dried fruit like cranberries, cherries or raisins. I even added canned mandarin oranges to add a nice citrus component to my salad. 6. Fresh herbs give a salad a nice brightness. Fresh basil and mint are my favorites but I also use parsley and thyme. I usually cut herbs from the herb pot on my porch for my salads.  So there you have it - my recipe for a perfectly delicious salad. No problem. Maybe I need to dedicate more time to my salads - just blogging about it makes me crave a big, hearty salad. If you still lack salad inspiration, check out this recipe for Harvest Salad with Cherry Vinaigrette from taste of home magazine. It will surely have you hungry for salad by the time you finish reading through all of the yummy ingredients in this recipe. I altered the recipe a little so I'll give you my version instead of the printed version.  Harvest Salad with Cherry Vinaigrette 3 medium fresh beets 1 package Romaine hearts 2 medium apples, thinly sliced 1 medium carrot, sliced 1/2 cup tomatoes, yellow and red 1/2 cup garbanzo beans 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1/4 cup fresh raspberries Vinaigrette 1/2 cup cherry preserves 3 Tablespoon olive oil 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1 garlic clove, minced 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper
Add veggies, fruit and nuts on top.
Drizzle dressing over salad just before serving.  So the verdict is in --- I am the only person in the Davis house who actually liked this salad. It was the beets who really turned everybody off. I made the kids try a tiny little beet cube and they were absolutely disgusted. Ryan said they tasted like "dirt" and Courtney described them as "gross." I should have expected that. I wasn't really all that disappointed to hear their comments though because it left more salad for me. I really enjoyed this salad - despite what everyone else thought about it. It really is yummy despite what my family might think.
Ciao!
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 I love it when we have out of town visitors because we get to do all of the fun "tourist" activities in Atlanta that we don't normally do. Not that my parents and my brother and niece our "guests" - they're family but we still get to do fun "Atlanta" things with them when they come into town. This year, we all went downtown to tour the new World of Coke museum while they were here. It was the first time for all of us - except Ryan who had been one other time. To say that we had a good time would be an understatement. #photobombers
It's funny how close you can live to something like the World of Coke and never actually take the time to visit. I love to visit new places ALMOST as much as I like to try new recipes. I found this new recipe on www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com. Not all recipes are worthy of making again, just like not all destinations are worth revisiting but this one is definitely a keeper.  Huli Huli Chicken Sauce: 2 cups unsweetened pineapple juice 1/3 cup organic ketchup 1/3 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup honey 1-inch piece of ginger, minced 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 1 tablespoon sesame or vegetable oil 3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce a pinch of red pepper flakes a squeeze of fresh lemon juice 1 + 1/2 pounds chicken breasts or cutlets (you can also use bone-in)
Add the sauce you set aside earlier for the glaze to a small saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil then maintain a slow simmer for 20 - 25 minutes, stirring often. Meanwhile preheat your grill on high heat. Grill the chicken on both sides until cooked through to an internal temperature of (164 - 175 degrees F.). Discard the marinade the chicken was in. Remove the chicken to a large platter and baste the tops with the hot glaze. Cover with aluminum foil and let rest 5 - 10 minutes.
Serve with the leftover glaze for dipping. No one in my family actually opted for dipping. The chicken had so much yummy flavor that it really didn't need any more sauce.
If this were a toothpaste commercial, I would say that 3 out of 4 Davis' recommend this chicken to their friends and family. (Courtney was not a fan but couldn't really pinpoint what she didn't like about it.) Ciao!  Do you have friends in your life who you can go long periods of time without seeing and then when you get reunited, you just pick right back up where you left off? Courtney and her cousin have that kind of relationship and I absolutely love it. They are like two little peas in a pod and they don't get to spend a whole lot of time together because they live so far apart but when they reunite, it's like they've never been apart.  My niece got to come for Christmas this year and she made 2 requests before she arrived. She asked if we could have a taco night and she asked for cream puffs. I had never really thought about making cream puffs for Christmas but it seemed like a perfectly acceptable dessert for the holiday - don't you think? I decided to fill them with tiramisu filling (our traditional Christmas eve dessert) on Christmas Eve. It turned out that the kids really enjoyed the tiramisu cream puffs! (I take 0 credit for that idea.)  Cream Puffs (makes 24) 1 cup boiling water ½ cup butter 1 cup flour 4 eggs Combine boiling water and butter. Stir until butter melts.
Pipe small cones onto a silpat lined baking sheet.
Bake 25 minutes at 400. Remove from oven. Cool.
Cut off in half and fill with the filling of your choice. (I used some extra tiramisu filling.)  I'm interested in what other filling you like to put in your cream puffs. Send me your comments and your recipes.
Ciao!  This recipe is and oldie but goodie. I've made it for so long that I've completely forgotten where I got the original recipe from. (If you happen to know where it's from - send me a comment.) This chicken is always a big hit with my family and I think your family will like it too. It's simple to make but it's always a crowd pleaser.  Sticky Grilled Chicken Drumsticks ¼ cup ketchup ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes ¼ cup marmalade ½ teaspoon chili powder ½ clove garlic ¼ teaspoon dry mustard 1 Tablespoon vinegar chicken drumsticks
Continue to cook until chicken is cooked through.
Serve with fresh green beans and a slice of whole grain bread and you have a great meal in under an hour.  I was completely out of marmalade jelly so I substituted apricot preserves. It was just as delicious. and no one in my family seemed to even notice the swap. You can kick up the heat a little by adding more red pepper to the mixture if your family likes it spicy. Of course, you don't have to stick with drumsticks either. Try brushing the mixture on a chicken thigh to breast or even a turkey leg. Be creative and enjoy.
Ciao!  Did you know that salmon find their home waters by a sense of smell which is even more keen that that of a dog or a bear? I'm not sure why I'm so fascinated by salmon but for whatever reason, I find them really interesting. I learned recently that they are "anadromous" too. That means that they live part of their life in fresh water and part of their life in salt water. Their entire bodies have to make a drastic metabolic change not once - but twice! (To go from fresh to salt water and then back again.) Pretty amazing creatures, don't you think? Salmon is one of my favorite things to cook too because it doesn't require much of anything to make it taste great. Salmon is really best with very little adornment at all. I've been making this recipe for so long that I have absolutely no idea where the recipe originated. This recipe is really good and it's super easy to prepare. I made mine with sockeye salmon but you can use it on your favorite type of salmon or fish.  Maple Glazed Salmon ¼ cup maple syrup ¼ teaspoon salt 1 Tablespoon ketchup ¼ teaspoon ground mustard 1 teaspoon brown sugar dash hot pepper flakes 1 teaspoon cider vinegar 1 pound of salmon filets 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
Marinate and Grill - Doesn't get much simpler than that.  Weeknight meals don't have to be boring. If you have a sensitive nose (like a salmon) you can cook your fish outside on the grill to keep the smell out of the house. Give this one a try.
Ciao! |
