Salads | Simple By Cindy

Salad Dressing

Sep. 28
2015

Store- bought salad dressings are my biggest pet peeve! Why make your own salad dressing when there are so many varieties sold in the supermarket? Well… because there is just nothing good about market bought dressings.

The dressings you find in stores use a lot of poor quality products that are cheap and unhealthy. They contain preservatives, artificial coloring and flavoring, gums and way too much sugar. The sugar translates into too many calories and bad fats. Way too scary for me!

It is easy to make salad dressing (and cheap!). The benefit of creating your own is that you will be using better quality ingredients that are fresh and good for your health. They taste much better too!

Every dressing should be made with a few basic ingredients:

An oil- such as olive, walnut, hazelnut, flaxseed, or avocado.
A vinegar- such as balsamic, white wine, champagne, apple cider or brown rice. Fresh lemon (you know that is my go to!) or lime juice can also be added in addition to your choice of vinegar, or used by itself.
A thickener – such as mayonnaise, dijon mustard, brown seed mustard (delicious!) avocado or tahini. This acts as an emulsifier to help the oil and vinegar combine properly.

The basic rule for making your own vinaigrette is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. This is just a guide. I never follow it. I find that too much oil results in an oily residue, which I do not like. You can use a ratio of 1-1. I usually use more of the acid than the oil.

Don’t forget the salt and pepper. The salt brings out the best flavors in the dressing.

The possibilities are endless. You can use minced garlic or shallots. Any favorite fresh herb or poppy seeds will add another delightful dimension.

There are no rules. Just pick your favorite ingredients, combine, taste, season and taste again.

You will never go back to store-bought salad dressing again!

Here are three different salad dressings I would like to share with you.

Ingredients for Dijon Vinaigrette Dressing

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. mayonnaise
2 tbsp. dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup good olive oil

Mix all ingredients except for the olive oil into a bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil.

Ingredients for Champagne Wine Dressing

1/4 cup of champagne wine vinegar
2 tbsp. dijon mustard
1 shallot, chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup of good olive oil

Mix all ingredients except for the olive oil into a bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil.

Ingredients for Italian Dressing

1/4 cup champagne wine vinegar
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. fresh oregano, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup of good olive oil

Mix all ingredients except for the olive oil into a bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil.

I hope you will make your own dressing! Give it a try!

It’s that simple!

Pasta Salad

Sep. 18
2015

There are very few pasta salads I enjoy. Perhaps it is because so many use a mayonnaise-based dressing that I find unappetizing.

I came across this pasta salad, courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis. I am a huge fan and find that her recipes are always good. I can depend on her recipes and browse through them often when I need a good one. This one did not disappoint me.

I chose it because all the ingredients seemed to blend so well. I loved the use of the Italian tuna. This is a wonderful tuna that has become a staple in my pantry! I promise you will never go back to “Bumble Bee” ever again! The campanile pasta can be very hard to find. There are so many other kinds of pasta you can substitute. In fact choose your favorite! It will come out just as well!

Today’s hint: Add a hearty palmful of salt to the water you are using to make your pasta! This is the only time you get to season the pasta, and it is crucial to the overall taste!

Ingredients for the Pasta

1 pound Campanella pasta (or any pasta of your choice)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1/4 cup, set aside
1 small or 1/2 medium red onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic (I used 3), minced
1 (6-ounce) jar Italian tuna in oil, such as Flott, drained (I used 2 jars )
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
8 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and chopped
2 tbsp. capers, rinsed and drained (I used 3 tbsp.)
2 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tbsp. dried)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta, turn down heat to medium and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, occasionally mixing , about 8-10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

In a deep skillet, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, frequently stirring until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until aromatic. Add the tuna to the skillet and, using a fork, break into chunks. Add the tomatoes, artichoke hearts, capers, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to soften, about 8 minutes.

Add the pasta, the remaining cup of olive oil and the parsley. Toss until all the ingredients are well coated, adding a little pasta water if needed to thicken the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the pasta to a bowl and serve warm or at room temperature.

It’s that Simple!

Roasted Carrot, Chicken Quinoa Bowl

Aug. 19
2015

Tonight, I prepared a meal that is a little bit lighter than usual. I saw this in an issue of Cooking Light magazine and modified the ingredients to my families taste. For example, I substituted provolone cheese for goat cheese, knowing my family would prefer that.

I chose this recipe because it seemed fast, easy and healthy. I am usually right with my assessments. Not this time! It was easy and healthy, but it took much longer to prepare than I had anticipated. Give yourself time to prepare this one. Cooking and shredding the chicken takes time.

It was worth it! The result was delicious and my family loved it! The dressing was delicate and gave the salad just the right flavor. The quinoa added a nice texture. I hope you try this one!

Ingredients for the Salad

2 cups diagonally cut carrots (sliced thin)
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt plus another 1/2 set aside for the dressing
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups shredded skinless boneless chicken breast
1/2 pound provolone cheese
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Ingredients for the Dressing

5 tbsp. plain reduced fat greek yogurt
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp honey
3/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper

Combine yogurt, salt, lemon juice, honey, cumin and pepper into a bowl and whisk together. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 450.

Combine carrots, oil and 1/2 tsp. salt and toss.

Lay out onto flat baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Place in oven for 15 minutes until tender. Set timer! If they brown and carmalize, even better!

Lower oven heat to 350.

Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Place in oven for 20-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of each breast. Set your timer! Reset timer for 5 minutes increments if they are not fully cooked until they are ready to come out. Remember they will continue to cook when you remove them from the oven, so allow time for that or you will have overcooked chicken breasts!

When they have cooled, shred chicken into small pieces.

Cook quinoa according to package directions. allow it time to cool.

Todays hint: When you are washing any kind of salad greens, put them into a bowl filled with cold water and a teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar. Let them sit for a while. All of the dirt will fall down to the bottom of the bowl. Gently lift greens out of bowl. Rinse them one more time under water. Set greens on paper towels and gently roll the greens up in the towel to dry. Make sure you dry the salad greens well because any wet ingredient in a salad will make it soggy!

Combine all ingredients into a large bowl.

Dish out each serving separately, and add a small amount of dressing to each dish.

Now this may have taken some time as I said, but it was worth it!

Enjoy!

It’s that simple! Phew!