Apple Manchego Salad

This salad is a family favourite around here! My mum makes it fairly often for big family gatherings because it’s super simple to make, looks really fancy, and tastes amazing! I always just serve mine up without the cheese :) just as tasty!

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp sherry vinegar (or pear vinegar)
• 1 tsp honey
• 1tsp grainy mustard
• 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
• 8 cups mixed greens
• 1/3 lb manchego cheese, shaved thin
• 4 apples, very thinly sliced

Directions

1. Toast the pumpkin seeds in a pan over medium-high heat with 1 tbsp olive oil. When they’re nice and golden, season with some salt and transfer to a paper towel to cool. Really important to keep an eye on them while they’re toasting and constantly stir them – they tend to burn very easily!
2. To make the dressing, combine the rest of the olive oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, and salt and pepper.
3. Now to assemble the salad! In a large salad bowl, throw in your greens, apples and cheese. Top with the pumpkin seeds and drizzle on the dressing. Serve and enjoy!

Celery Parmesan Salad

I’ve kind of been obsessed with celery lately.  Other then carrots, it’s my new favourite snack food.  So of course I would LOVE a salad made of celery. My mum made this a few weeks ago and I was in love.  Amazing side dish to go along with some baked chicken :) YUM!

Makes 4 – 6 servings       Prep Time: 1 hr 30 min 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp minced onion
• 1 tsp celery seed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 5 cups celery, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
• 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Directions

• To make the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, 1/4 cup lemon juice, onion, celery seed, salt and pepper.
• In a large mixing bowl, toss the sliced celery with 1 tbsp lemon juice and pinch of salt.
• Next, toss the celery with enough dressing to moisten well.  Cover and refrigerate for about an hour to marinate.
•  When ready to serve, place the mixture into a serving bowl.  Top with the parmesan, pumpkin seeds, and parsley.  Serve and enjoy!!

Original Recipe: foodnetwork.com

Kale Quinoa Salad w/ Pine Nuts and Feta

My lovely, beautiful sister made this salad for a family BBQ.  Thank god she made a ton because I seriously couldn’t get enough of it!! I was eating leftover quinoa for about 5 days after :) It was so flavourful! This recipe is a definite keeper.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 cups quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3 cups chopped kale, washed and taken off the stem
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
• 1/2 cup feta cheese (I used goat feta)
• unrefined salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

• In a medium pot over medium heat, add 1 tbsp olive oil.  Sauté the onion for about 5 minutes or until translucent.  Next, add the quinoa keep stirring for about 2 – 3 minutes until lightly toasted.
• Add the water and kale.  Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed.  Remove from heat and pour quinoa into a bowl.  Stir occasionally.
• To make the sauce, whisk together the vinegar and mustard in a small bowl.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper.  Slowing add 3 tbsp olive oil while whisking.
• Pour the dressing over the quinoa and give it a good stir. Next, stir in the pine nuts and feta cheese.  ENJOY!  You can serve this salad warm or cold it’s up to you!

Original Recipe: from Epicurious

Heritage Tomato Salad

Thank you to my lovely mother for this recipe! She made it for dinner last night and I was very impressed :)

GUEST POST

Serves 6       Prep Time: 15 min

Ingredients

• 6 heritage tomatoes
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1/2 sweet onion
• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• To prepare the salad, slice the tomatoes to 1/4 inch thickness. Next, slice the cucumber and the onion into very thin slices. Layer the veggies on a serving plate.
• To make the dressing, add remaining ingredients into a shaker bottle and mix until very well combined.
• Pour the dressing over the salad about half an hour before serving.  This will allow time to marinate :) ENJOY!

Asparagus Zucchini Noodle Salad

I’m completely obsessed with my new vegetable spiralizer.  It’s probably the most amazing kitchen gadget I’ve bought in a while.  Definitely worth every penny…and it was only $40 on Amazon!! I make zucchini noodles to go with pretty much everything right now and I didn’t even like zucchini before I bought the spiralizer.  They just taste like whatever sauce you put on! Awesome grain-free alternative to regular noodles!

I made this delicious zucchini noodle salad to accompany the Father’s Day dinner I made last weekend. Everyone seemed to really like it!  The only thing I would do different is make the zucchini noodles a little shorter…it was hard to dish up lol.

Ingredients:

• 2 large zucchinis
• 1/2 red onion, minced
• 2 cups asparagus, chopped into bite size pieces
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 slices of bacon, raw and diced (optional)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp coconut oil

Directions:

• Using a vegetable spiralizer, peel the zucchinis into noodles. Set aside.
• In a large skillet, melt the coconut oil over medium heat.  Once hot, add the garlic, bacon and onions.  Sauté them until the onion is caramelized (about 5 minutes).
• Add in the asparagus and thyme. Cook for about 5 minutes.
• Once the asparagus is almost fully cooked, add in the olive oil and zucchini noodles. Toss the noodles until warm and combined with the rest of the dish. Serve and enjoy!

My amazing vegetable spiralizer!

 

Conni’s Healthy Potatoes

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Another amazing guest post! My mum, Conni, created this dish one night when she needed a healthy dinner. She just grabbed what she had in the house already, which happened to be potatoes. Served up as a side dish to leftover chicken, it was the perfect quick dinner! I was overly impressed :) Unfortunately I ate it too quickly to take a picture haha so next time I make it I’ll be sure to post a photo!

Ingredients

• 8 small potatoes, sliced quite thin
• 1 big onion, roughly chopped
• 4 – 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 – 2 peppers, red, orange, green, as you like
• 1 – 2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
• half a package of spinach
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp chipotle powder (or chilli powder)
• 1 tbsp dried dill
• 1 avocado, sliced

Directions

• Heat a large skillet and drizzle in some olive oil. Sauté the onions until transparent.
• Add the garlic and the potatoes and cook on low heat until the potatoes soften.
• Add the peppers and tomatoes and cook for another few minutes.
• Then add the spinach, soy sauce, chipotle powder and dill. Sauté for another few minutes or until everything is cooked up. Serve up with a few slices of avocado.

Rosemary Crispy Brussel Sprouts

I absolutely love brussel sprouts, but I don’t eat them very often….not really too sure why now that I think about it.  I should really buy brussel sprouts more! I also really like finding different ways to cook up veggies.  Steaming and stir-frying gets kinda boring after a while so this recipe was great!

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes             Baking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 20-25 brussel sprouts, washed and cut in half
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp unrefined salt
•  2 tbsp fresh rosemary (can use dried as well but fresh is way better)
• pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place the brussel sprouts (which are already cut in half) in a medium size bowl.  Add in remaining ingredients and mix around until evenly coated.
3. Pour the brussel sprouts onto a baking sheet and spread out until they are evenly spaced.
4. Pop them in the oven on the middle rack and bake for approx 15 minutes.  Half way through baking, stir and flip the brussel sprouts to make sure they don’t burn. Serve up and enjoy! :)