salad Archives - Page 2 of 2

Mediterranean Lentil Salad

July 17, 2013 ·

vegan mediterranean vegetable lentil salad with balsamic vinaigrette and feta cheese

Mediterranean Lentil Salad is a healthy, protein-packed, veggie-rich grain salad, mixed with a tangy balsamic vinaigrette. There are so many delicious flavors at play here, with red onions, garlic, parsley and, of course, the balsamic vinaigrette. This easy recipe is a great base recipe with lots of flexibility to customize it to your preference. You could add spinach, change up the amounts of tomatoes, onions, etc. Mediterranean Lentil Salad can also be vegan by simply omitting the feta cheese.

I really like using lentils because they are such a great source of lean protein and high fiber and iron too. Per the bag I used, there are 12 grams of protein and 14 grams of fiber…all with zero fat. I find lentils to be a great meat substitute in recipes, such as tacos. In fact, I am putting the final tweaks on a lentil taco recipe to share with you soon!

Mediterranean Lentil Salad

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 cup chopped red onion, plus 1 1-inch thick slice (for cooking water)
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, plus 3 parsley sprigs (for cooking water)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup dried lentils, sorted and rinsed
1 cup halved cherry (or grape) tomatoes
½ cup diced cucumber
½ cup feta cheese, divided
salt and pepper to taste
For the balsamic vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced

Instructions

COOK LENTILS: Add 2½ cups of water to a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add onion, parsley sprigs and minced garlic and bring to a boil. Stir in lentils, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook uncovered until lentils are tender (about 20-25 minutes). Drain and discard onion and parsley.
MAKE VINAIGRETTE: In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, water, vinegar, mustard and garlic until combined. Pour into a sauce pan (I just used the same pan used to cook the lentils) and heat on low until just warmed (do not boil).
ASSEMBLE: Place warm lentils in a serving bowl. Add cucumber, tomatoes, chopped parsley, ¼ cup feta and warm vinaigrette and toss to combine. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup feta and serve.

Notes

Adapted from Bon Appetit, March 1999, via epicurious.com

It’s my favorite time of month again…the Eating with the Alphabet Challenge hosted by Brenda from Meal Planning Magic! This month we were to showcase a recipe using a fruit, vegetable or grain that begin with the letters K or L. Lentils are the first that came to mind, and I had so much fun trying different, healthy recipes with them. If you’re a blogger, why not join us! It’s fun to come up with new, healthy recipes as well as see what other bloggers decide to make. Brenda has more information and sign up details here.

Filed Under: healthy, Recipes, salad, vegetarian Tagged With: alphabet challege, easy, grain, legumes, lentils, quick, stovetop, vegan

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad

April 30, 2013 ·

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad is a delicious entree salad made with quinoa, broccoli, carrots, tossed with a healthier version of buffalo chicken. Quick and easy, perfect for a weeknight!

This Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad is darn near perfection. We start with warm, shredded chicken tossed in a lighter buffalo sauce; add sautéed vegetables and combine it with the ever trendy (and tasty!) quinoa. Sprinkle blue cheese (or cheddar) on top, as desired, and you’re looking at a delicious and healthy Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad.

Not only is this salad am-a-zing, but it can be made in under 30 minutes! The quinoa and chicken cook simultaneously, allowing plenty of time to prepare and sauté the vegetables and whisk together the sauce. Put it all together and dinner is served! (Leftovers make great lunches too)

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad

Yields: 3 to 4 servings

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 cups vegetable broth (or water)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 8 to 10 ounces) OR 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup broccoli florets
2 to 3 green onions chopped, whites and greens separated
Cooking spray
½ cup hot sauce (I recommend Frank's hot sauce)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon salt
Optional toppings: blue cheese crumbles or shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Make quinoa: In a medium sauce pan, put rinsed quinoa and vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes and then fluff quinoa with a fork.
Poach chicken: While the quinoa is cooking, place chicken in medium pot, and add enough water to cover chicken. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer; cook for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let chicken stand, covered until cooked through (about 12 to 14 minutes). Remove chicken from liquid and shred with 2 forks.
While quinoa and chicken are cooking, sauté the vegetables. Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat. Add broccoli, carrots and the whites of green onions, and sauté for 5 minutes, or until desired crisp-tenderness. Set aside.
Make the sauce: Whisk together hot sauce, oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder and salt.
Pour ¼ cup sauce over shredded chicken, tossing to coat.
To a large bowl, add quinoa, chicken and vegetables, tossing to combine (You can add remaining sauce with this step OR drizzle as desired over each individual serving).
Sprinkle with remaining chopped green onion and serve.

I drew inspiration from this recipe and my Baked Buffalo Chicken Tenders recipe.

Filed Under: Favorites, gluten free, healthy, main dishes, Recipes, salad Tagged With: broccoli, buffalo, carrots, chicken, dinner, easy, onion, poach, quick, quinoa, sauté, spicy

Chicken and Potatoes with Mustard Vinaigrette

July 31, 2012 ·

With temperatures hitting record highs this summer, I am always happy to be able to cook a quick and healthy dinner that does require turning on the oven. This Chicken and Potatoes with Mustard Vinaigrette can be made on the stovetop in less than 30 minutes. It’s served over a bed of fresh baby spinach, making it healthy and delicious. I’d say this dish fits the bill of quick and healthy, making it a perfect dinner!

I actually found this recipe in a magazine at least 10 years ago and gave it to my mom. She has made it regularly ever since, and everybody is happy when she has it on the menu. This salad became an instant family favorite! While the original recipe calls for rotisserie chicken, my mom bakes chicken breasts and shreds them. In this recipe, I poached the chicken. The original recipe calls for watercress, but the spinach gives the salad a bit more substance. Arugula would also be a tasty substitution. Basically what I’m telling you is that this recipe is flexible. Go with what works for you to make this a family favorite of your own.

Chicken and Potatoes with Mustard Vinaigrette

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 pound small red potatoes
salt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon honey
black pepper, to taste
4 tablespoons olive oil
10 ounces fresh baby spinach

Instructions

Put chicken in a large sauce pan and then add enough water to cover the chicken. Add a couple pinches of salt. Bring liquid to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Then cover, remove from heat and let sit for 12 to 15 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.
While the chicken is cooking, put potatoes and 1 tablespoon salt in a medium sauce pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
While chicken and potatoes are cooking, whisk together mustard, vinegar, garlic, honey, and pepper in a small bowl. Gradually add oil, whisking constantly until incorporated. (Note: I then pour vinaigrette into a cruet for ease of pouring).
Once chicken is cooked, transfer to a separate bowl. Drizzle 2 tablespoons vinaigrette over warm chicken and let sit for a minute to soak in. Then use 2 forks to shred chicken.
Cut cooked potatoes into quarters (or halves, depending on size).
Place spinach in a large serving bowl. Add potatoes and chicken, and toss to combine. Serve immediately, drizzling with additional vinaigrette as desired.

Notes

You can add the vinaigrette to the serving bowl and toss, but I prefer to let others control the amount of dressing on their salad. For me, a little goes a long way!

Adapted from Real Simple

Filed Under: gluten free, healthy, main dishes, Recipes, salad Tagged With: chicken, dinner, mustard, poach, potatoes, spinach, stovetop, summer, vinaigrette

Chicken Tostada Salad

April 10, 2012 ·

This Chicken Tostada Salad recipe uses a technique for chicken that simply doesn’t cross my mind often enough – poaching! Poaching is an easy and healthy way to cook chicken, without any added fat, in about 20 minutes. In this recipe, the poached chicken is shredded and serves as a perfect blank slate for the salad, which combines simple but flavorful ingredients, such as red onions, chili powder, garlic, and lime juice.

The base of the salad is a crispy, toasted tortilla, with cheese baked right on it. I have used both romaine lettuce and mixed greens. It is good either way, but since I have mixed greens on hand at all times, that is what I tend to use. Go with what you like best! We enjoyed this tostada salad so much for dinner, I decided to make it for lunch again the next day. It was that good!

Chicken Tostada Salad

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 pound chicken breast, boneless, skinless (or rotisserie chicken breast)
4 corn tortillas
Cooking spray
¾ cup Monterey Jack cheese, plus additional for topping (optional)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup red onion, diced
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup water
Coarse salt and pepper
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon lime juice
½ head of romaine lettuce, shredded OR 5 ounces of your favorite mixed greens
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
1 avocado, diced
Fresh cilantro, for serving (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken in medium pot, and add enough water to cover chicken. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer; cook for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let chicken stand, covered until cooked through (about 12 to 14 minutes). Remove chicken from liquid and shred with 2 forks.
Spray corn tortillas with cooking spray and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Baked until golden and crisp (about 8 to 10 minutes).
While tortillas are in the oven, in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add half of the onion and cook until softened (about 5 minutes). Add chili powder and garlic and cook, stirring until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add chicken and the water and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until chicken is warmed through and water has evaporated (about 2 to 3 minutes). Stir in 1 teaspoon lime juice and remove from heat.
After tortillas are toasted, sprinkle each tortillas evenly with cheese and bake until cheese is bubbling (about 3 minutes). Remove from oven.
In a large bowl, combine lettuce and remaining lime juice, season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss well to coat and divide evenly among tortillas; top each with chicken mixture, tomato, avocado, remaining onion, and cilantro or cheese (optional, for topping).

Slightly adapted from Everyday Food Light

Filed Under: healthy, main dishes, Recipes, salad Tagged With: chicken, dinner, Mexican

mixed green salad with roasted sweet potatoes and tangy yogurt dressing

Red-Leaf Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes

January 17, 2012 ·

Red-Leaf Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes is all things good wrapped up in a salad. You have your roasted sweet potatoes and red onion, green beans and pepitas, all on a bed of red leaf lettuce and topped with a tangy yogurt dressing. Sound good? Umm..yeah, I thought so too! Mike and I don’t typically put dressing on our salads, but the first thing that he commented about this dish was ‘how good is that dressing!’ The dressing has some zip, so a little goes a long way. It goes perfectly with the sweetness of the roasted sweet potato and onion. There are so many yummy vegetables in this dish, I would happily eat it every day of the week.

I made a couple changes of note from the original recipe. First, I used nonfat Greek yogurt instead of low fat regular yogurt. The Greek yogurt adds a nice little protein boost, and frankly is what I always have on hand. I’m sure regular yogurt would work just fine. The other change I made was using pepitas, in lieu of walnuts, due to my tree nut allergy. Pepitas are always tasty and added a nice little crunch. However if you are a walnut fan, I suspect they would also be quite delicious in this dish. Frozen green beans worked really well, but I look forward to using fresh green beans when the season hits.

Mike and I were talking in terms of ‘next time we have this’…which tells me there will definitely be a next time. This salad is a keeper!

Red-Leaf Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

3-4 cups sweet potato, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 red onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and Pepper
10 ounces frozen cut green beans, thawed (or 1½ cups green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces)
⅓ cup pepitas
½ cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 head (10 ounces) red leaf lettuce (or spinach or mixed greens)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil.
Place sweet potato and onion on baking sheet and toss with olive oil. Roast until sweet potatoes are tender, approximately 30 minutes. Add green beans and pepitas and roast another 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, vinegar and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Place lettuce on bowl and top with sweet potato mixture. Drizzle dressing on as desired and serve.

Slightly adapted from Everyday Food Light

Filed Under: gluten free, healthy, main dishes, Recipes, salad, vegetarian Tagged With: dressing, green beans, light, meatless monday, olive oil, onion, roasted, sweet potato, vegan, vegetable, yogurt

Balsamic Portobello Mushroom Burgers

June 27, 2011 ·

I am always looking for tasty vegetarian options for the grill, and these Balsamic Portobello Mushroom Burgers are a definite winner. The thirsty mushrooms soak up the balsamic vinegar and garlic, yielding an amazing flavor. Paired with the goat cheese, it is a combination that pleases both non-meat and meat eaters alike.

These burgers are very quick to make. Just mix the marinade in the baking dish and let the mushrooms and peppers soak. You can even get your preparation out of the way the day before, intensifying the flavor by letting everything marinate overnight.

On each burger is a slice of red pepper topped with a portobello mushroom, topped with goat cheese, topped with another portobello. Then sprinkle on a little more goat cheese, top with spinach, close the sandwich and eat!

Balsamic Portobello Mushroom Burgers

Yields 4 servings

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for grates

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

4 garlic cloves, minced

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), cut into 4 equal pieces

8 portobello mushrooms (about 1 pound total), stems and ribs removed

4 onion hamburger buns

4 ounces goat cheese (crumbled or log; if using a log, cut into slices to place in between the mushrooms)
several spinach leaves

In a shallow dish (a 13 x 9 baking dish works well), whisk together oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add bell pepper and mushrooms, turning to make sure everything gets coated. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes up to overnight.
Heat grill to medium; lightly oil grates. Grill bell pepper, skin side down, until blackened, about 10 minutes; remove from grill and place in Ziploc bag. When cool enough to handle, remove and discard skin; set bell pepper aside.
Starting with dome-side down, grill mushrooms, covered, until lightly charred. Flip and grill the other side of mushroom until lightly charred and mushroom is tender. (approx. 3 to 4 minutes per side).
Dividing evenly, top bottom half of each bun with bell pepper and mushrooms. Put goat cheese in the middle of the 2 mushroom caps. Top with spinach and sprinkle with remaining goat cheese. Close burger, and serve immediately.

Alternative: This recipe would also make an excellent salad (great for someone who is watching carbs or if you just want more veggies). To make this into a salad, follow the directions above through step 3. Then slice the mushrooms and peppers, toss with a bowl of spinach or mixed greens and top with goat cheese.

Adapted from Everyday Food

Filed Under: main dishes, Recipes, salad, vegetarian Tagged With: dinner, goat cheese, grilling, mushrooms, portobello

Radicchio, Spinach, Apricot Salad with Goat Cheese

June 17, 2011 ·

My husband and I are creatures of habit. We have a salad with dinner (almost) every night. It’s usually spinach or mixed greens and tomatoes with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and sunflower seeds. It’s simple. It’s tasty. It’s routine.

So when I had leftover goat cheese from the Tomato and Leek Frittata with Goat Cheese, I wanted to shake our routine up a bit. Radicchio, Spinach, Apricot Salad with Goat Cheese became a welcome change from our usual salad. The creamy goat cheese with the bitter radicchio with the sweet apricots is a combination that is simply a-ma-zing!

Since I had mixed greens on hand, I decided to use that in place of the spinach. This salad is equally delicious using just spinach. I reduced the amount of the oil in the vinaigrette, which is nice and light and just pulls everything together. Soaking the apricots is an excellent method to plump up the fruit into soft juicy bursts of sweetness.

Have a Happy Father’s Day weekend!

Radicchio, Spinach, Apricot Salad with Goat Cheese

Yields 4 servings

1/2 cup dried apricots

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

coarse salt and pepper

1 head radicchio, halved, cored and roughly torn

5 ounces fresh spinach or mixed greens

2 ounces soft crumbled goat cheese

Place apricots in a small bowl and cover with boiling water; let stand for about 5 minutes. Drain and pat try with paper towels. Cut into small pieces, if desired.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, salt and pepper.
Add spinach and radicchio to bowl with vinaigrette and toss to combine. Add apricots. Serve topped with crumbled goat cheese.

Adapted from Everyday Food (November, 2007)

Filed Under: Recipes, salad, vegetarian Tagged With: apricots, dried apricots, goat cheese, quick, raddichio, radicchio, spinach, tomato leek frittata

Mixed Green Salad with Dried Cherries

June 3, 2011 ·

I love this salad! It’s simple. It’s elegant. It’s delicious.

mixed green salad dried cherries and pepitas with balsamic vinaigrette

What’s not to love really. Mixed greens. Mustard and red wine vinaigrette. Sliced red onion. Sweet dried cherries. Toasted pepitas.

The tangy vinaigrette is the perfect complement to the sweetness of the cherries and red onion. And the roasted pepitas add a complexity that tops off the salad perfectly.

Mixed Green Salad with Dried Cherries