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.

Eggs for Breakfast!

This week I am going to give you one of the simplest and tastiest breakfast recipes. This egg, bacon and sausage cup can be made a variety of ways and once you have the basic idea you will be able to mix it up and create your own. This breakfast cup is easily transportable and will have everyone in your office drooling! Its packed with great protein and healthy fats and will keep you full until lunch time.

Egg, Bacon and Sausage Cups:

Makes 5 servings

Ingredients:

• 5-10 strips of bacon- super thick cut, you probably only need 1 piece, thinner slices, use 2. 
• Make sure this is quality bacon- Applegate Farms or some local bacon from the meat counter or butcher. 

• 10 eggs- Farm Fresh preferably

• 6 Sausage Links- I use Mild Italian, make sure its good quality, like the bacon, with the least amount of added ingredients. 

• 5 Ramekins or Extra Large Muffin Pan

Directions:

• Line 5-10 strips of bacon on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Place in a cold oven and heat to 400 degrees for 15 mins. you want the bacon cooked but still flexible. 

Always cook bacon in a cold oven, this will reducing shrinking

• Once bacon is cooked, place on paper towels to soak up excess grease. With the left over grease on the baking sheet, pour a few drops into each ramekin or muffin pan and use a brush or paper towel to grease the edges and bottom. Save the remainder of the grease for future recipes.

• Line the outside of each ramekin or muffin pan with 1-2 pieces of bacon depending on the thickness of the bacon. 

• Crack two eggs into each ramekin or muffin pan.

Bake on 350 degrees for about 25mins. You want the whites to be mostly cooked while the yolks remain runny. If the white look uncooked put back in the oven for 5 min increments until desired doneness. This is also done if you prefer your yolks cooked through.

**If you are planning on reheating this in the microwave, you want the eggs slightly under cooked so when reheated the yolks won't cook through and you can still have the runny deliciousness.

• Cook sausage links on grill or on saute pan over med- med-high heat until cooked though. 

• Once cooked, slice up links and add a couple pieces to individual packaged egg cups. 

•  Reheat in the microwave for about 1 min. Cut open and enjoy!!

Variation: 

• Usually when I do this, I will cook some ground sausage and put a tablespoon in the bottom of the cups but you don't get as much protein this way and I find that adding some of the sliced sausage in the tupperware with the cup works just as well. 
• If you don't like over easy eggs you can add a scramble mixture instead of the whole eggs. Feel free to add some onions or spinach or other veggies to you scramble mixture. 
• This can recipe can easily be doubled if you are cooking for two people. 

Just for fun!!

This past weekend my husband and I went took our dog (daughter), Walker to Bark-in-the-Park to take watch the Braves take on the Mets. Even though its been unseasonably cold and rainy in GA the sun came out and we had a great time! Take a look at our family portrait! Walker was such a good girl and we can't wait to go back next year!