Recent Favorite Salads
I mentioned yesterday how much I wish I could convince people to stop buying expensive pre-made salads when making your own at home is not hard, is much cheaper, and can be personalized to meet your precise desires. So I wanted to post some of the recent, delicious 'salads' that I have been inhaling. I put 'salads' in quotes, because some of these are closer to a grain bowl perhaps. But all the same, hah!
Roasted Cauliflower, Feta, and Orzo Bowl
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| Recipe from Cravings by Chrissy Teigen. |
This recipe pairs cooked orzo with roasted cauliflower, feta, dried cherries (we subbed in dry cranberries because we had some in the pantry), red onion, baby spinach, and a light mustard dressing. It took almost no time to put together: roasting the cauliflower was definitely the slowest aspect, but even that could have been sped up if we'd cranked the oven higher and cut the cauliflower smaller.
- 1 cup orzo (boiled per the package's instructions), preferably still warm when you toss it with the other ingredients;
- about 1/2 cup dried cranberries;
- about 1 cup of feta (we just used the amount in the little pre-crumbled package from Aldi);
- 1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced;
- 3 handfuls of baby spinach;
- 1 head of cauliflower, chopped and roasted with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper for about 30 min at 400 degrees;
- Dressing: 3 T. olive oil; juice of one lemon; 1 t. Dijon; 1 t. honey; salt and pepper. Whisked and tossed over the salad.
Cauliflower Shawarma Bowls
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| Recipe from Eat What You Want by Gaby Dalkin. |
I think this recipe is the one that I have managed to personalize the most. And there have been several weeks where I prep 4 bowls of the toppings for this salad and purchase a package of spring salad mix, and use that for lunches for the week. The most work goes into seasoning and roasting the cauliflower, but otherwise, it's just chopping some veggies!
- 1 head of cauliflower, chopped. Toss with 1/4 c. olive oil; and about 1 T each of paprika, turmeric, cumin, coriander. Add salt and pepper. Roast at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes until nice and singed. Still warm when you add it to the salad!
- cherry tomatoes, halved
- romaine lettuce, chopped. Or spring salad mix.
- feta crumbles
- hummus
- cucumbers, thinly sliced
- lemon wedges to dress the salad
BLT as a Salad
This recipe is my invention and I think it was quite a stroke of genius.
Recipe:
- 2 slices of bacon, cooked until crisp, and chopped. Preferably still a bit warm!
- 1 hard-boiled egg, chopped
- cherry tomatoes, halved
- avocado, chopped. (optional)
- romaine lettuce, chopped.
- your choice of vinaigrette.
My Sweetgreen Guacamole Greens Dupe
When I lived in the DC area, I loved going to Sweetgreen. But the cost for one salad is honestly nuts. And you can pretty easily duplicate a lot of those salads. So I started trying to figure out how to best duplicate my absolute fave salad of theirs: Guacamole Greens.
Recipe:
- boneless, skinless chicken breast. Cooked through and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces. Preferably warm, still!
- avocado
- cherry tomatoes, halved
- red onion, thinly sliced
- tortilla chips, crumbled up
- cilantro, chopped
- your choice of vinaigrette. I'd go with a pretty mild one, rice vinegar or champagne vinegar rather than red wine or balsamic.
Today's Delights:
- Yesterday was the most exhausting, stressful work day that I've had in a long time. But honestly, I was pretty proud of myself for getting through it. I slept like a rock afterwards, ha!
- Last night, my husband and I got takeout fish for Lent friday and watched John Wick, which I'd never seen! It's ....too much.... but kind of exciting and fun. I do not intend to watch the other movies in that series, but it was kinda fun.
- And this morning I cooked such a great brunch for us! I was really proud of it and wish I had taken a photo! Crisped corn tortillas mixed into cheesy, spiced eggs and topped with scallions, cilantro, and radish. Oven-cooked bacon on the side of course :)
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