Thursday, September 26, 2013

Not Your Typical Cobb Salad

Hey Everyone,
 I've been a bit busy lately and have not posted anything in a couple weeks, sorry about that. Hopefully this week's awesome salad recipe will make up for my neglect. When I first started this blog my biggest goal was to post something once a week. I was doing really well and then life happened, things came up, trips and just general laziness caused me to miss a week here and there but never fear, I'll never forget about my loyal readers out there. (All 7 of you!)

This salad might seem a little labor intensive but its really not, all it takes is a little prep and it can be thrown together in 5 minutes. Don't forget to go ahead and make a few extra servings for a grab and go lunch for work or general busy-ness.

Typical Cobb salads are made up of these 5 ingredients- C-chicken, O-onion, B-bacon, B-bleu cheese, but in my version I am leaving off the final B. This version is packed with so much veggie deliciousness and protein from 4 different sources, you won't be missing that extra B. Its such a hardy salad it will keep you full for hours. Eat it as lunch or dinner, feel free to leave out or add in anything you like.

The serving size is for one salad but go ahead and chop up the entire vegetable and just store what you don't use in a good Tupperware, that way when you need to make another one you can do it in a snap!

Cob Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup lettuce, mix green, Kale, spinach or mixture
1-2 tbsp. red bell pepper- chopped
1-2 tbsp. red onion- chopped
1/2 a small tomato- chopped
1-2 tbsp. bacon- finely chopped in small food processor or by hand
(Usually I cook 5-6 pieces of bacon, put them into a mini chopper and store in a small Tupperware. I'll use my homemade bacon bits all week)
1 hard boiled egg- chopped (I make 5 hard boiled eggs and store them in the refrigerator for the week)
1/4 cup sauerkraut
1/2 avocado
6-8 pistachios- dry roasted, unsalted
1/4 cup shredded chicken- I cook a whole chicken in the slow cooker on Sundays and then have chicken for the week. Or you could get a whole rotisserie chicken from the store, just try to look for one that doesn't have any added flavors to it.

Preparation:

I think we all know how to put a salad together. Put all ingredients into bowl and toss.

This salad has so much flavor it doesn't even need a dressing but I put a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil (2 tbsp.) and Balsamic Vinegar on top (1 tbsp.).

Are you a big, burly guy who requires their body weight in protein? No problem, add more chicken or another hard boiled egg.
Are you a dainty lady who fills up quickly? No worries just cut back on the amount of ingredients.
Are you a mouse? Go ahead, add a little Bleu cheese on there or some shaved Parmesan cheese. Let's try to keep the quality up and the quantity down.


This isn't written in stone people, use your own discretion as to how much of the ingredients you want on your salad.
Salads are like art class, its your time to be creative! Try adding some sliced mushrooms or some cooked veggies like squash or zucchini. Maybe some chopped jalapeno pepper or a little fresh lemon juice. The possibilities are endless, don't be afraid to experiment!
Here's my lunch for work tomorrow, made at the same time as the one above.
Please let me know how these recipes are working for you or if you have any questions. Just leave a comment below.

Don't forget to subscribe- its the box on the right that asks for your email address. Then go to your email and confirm the subscription.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Simple Salsa and Guac

Who doesn't love guacamole and salsa?! I eat it on eggs, I eat it on salads, heck, I'd put it on just about anything! Even though it's so easy to make my dog could do it, I thought I would share my super simple recipe for those folks new to cooking and just can't fathom making their own when a jar of the stuff is so convenient. Once you make your own fresh salsa and (as I call it) guac, you'll never go back and you will forever be able to tell the difference between fresh homemade and store bought.

So here it is, Simple Salsa and Guac- the spelling of this dip is more complicated than this recipe!

Simple Salsa
Serves 1-6

Ingredients:
2 cans diced tomatoes (I like mine with green chilies)
1/4 red onion, rough chop
1/2 a bundle of cilantro, about 1/2 a cup
1 jalapeño, rough chop
Juice from 1 lime
Preparation:
Place all ingredients in blender and blend till combined. If you want a chunkier salsa, drain one of the cans of tomatoes.


BOOM! DONE!

Guac
Serves 1-6

Ingredients:
3 Avocado
1/4 red onion- finely diced- I throw it in a mini chopper
1 large garlic clove- finely diced- Throw this in the chopper with onion
1 tomato- diced
1/4 cup Cilantro- chopped- Throw this in the chopper
Juice from 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon Salt for seasoning

Preparation:
Half the avocado and remove seed by sticking a knife in the middle and twisting, scrape out all meat into small bowl and mash a little with fork. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix. For chunkier guac, be sure to leave chunks of avocado when mashing.


BOOM! DONE!

Want to make your Guac a little fancy, cut up some mango or pineapple and throw that in there.

I will eat this stuff out of a shoe, but here's my dinner the other night, leftover grilled chicken, sautéed veggies, lettuce, salsa and guac. Simple but satisfying!



Walker really wants you to subscribe to her mom's blog and receive these AMAZING posts right to your inbox. She also loves to your feedback, but only positive stuff, she's very sensitive!