Seven Layer Salad

This salad recipe is a classic. Bright and pretty in color and decadent in flavor, you'll be shocked that it only takes about 15 minutes to put together! I've been eating this salad with lunch and dinner for the last three days, and haven't gotten tired of it one bit! My husband liked it so much he suggested removing the lettuce all together and serving it as a dip at our next football watch party....not a bad idea. 

So let's go over the perks of making this salad, shall we?

• The ingredients are super inexpensive (minus the bacon, but you can omit it if you want to)
• The ingredients are super easy to find
• Zero prep time
• It will last for up to a week
• It makes a ton of salad! (Perfect for a weekly make-ahead meal or a big family)

Convinced yet? Good.

And just like that, an old classic becomes a star again. What are some classic recipes that you love?

Seven Layer Salad

Preparation:  15-20 min Cook Time: 0 min Total Time: 20 min

Ingredients

        

          1 head of iceberg lettuce, chopped

          (1) 10 oz bag of frozen peas, thawed

          (1) 1 oz package of Ranch seasoning mix

          16 oz sour cream

          1 block of medium sharp cheddar, shredded fresh
          2 green bell peppers, chopped
          1 green onion, chopped
          6 pieces of bacon, cooked and chopped

Instructions

          1) In a large bowl, place your chopped lettuce in the bottom and pat down so that it is somewhat flat.

          

          2) In a separate bowl, mix your sour cream and ranch seasoning packet together. Set aside.

          3) Begin layering your salad. First add your peas, then your bell pepper, then your green 

               onion and bacon, followed by the sour cream mix and top with shredded cheese.

          4) Refrigerate and serve.

Enjoy!

Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad

I have been having a huge asian food craving recently. I'm blaming it on my withdrawals from our favorite Chinese/Japanese fusion restaurant. When we moved to the 'burbs, we left behind some fantastic go-to restaurants. This place had it all - ambience, great service, large portions and a low price. 

 I sat down to make a grocery list this week and decided to make every meal some variation of an asian-inspired dish. As a sort of follow up to my Meals Under $10 post, I thought this week's meals wouldn't hurt the bank considering they use several of the same ingredients. Don't you hate it when you buy a special sauce for a meal and then it sits in your pantry until it expires? No, no, not this week...you can keep it on the countertop.

 My favorite asian dressing from the grocery store is usually a ginger salad dressing. Ginger dressing just seemed too heavy for this dish so I decided to make my own. Mu dressing recipe for this salad is light, savory, and really makes all of the ingredients pop. Don't worry - it is super quick and simple to make...and don't forget about bragging rights. 

Even better, it will keep for about 2-3 weeks in your fridge. { happy dance! }

For a satisfying crunch I decided to add some cashews and crushed ramen noodles. A little bit of butter and a toss in the skillet makes these two the stars of the salad. 

I tailored this salad to keep it healthy and satisfying with a little bit of everything. Crunchy, soft, sweet, salty - this bad boy packs it all. 

I think this dish is a great start to our asian-fusion recipe week. Hopefully you won't be tired of asian food by mid-week. I think I have enough ideas up my sleeve to keep you coming back for more. Enjoy!

Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad

Preparation: 10 min

                  Cook Time: 15 min  Total Time: 25 min                       

Ingredients

        

          Dressing:

          2 tbsp white vinegar

          5 tbsp sugar

          4 tsp soy sauce

          1 tsp garlic powder

          1 ramen seasoning packet (chicken flavored)

           2/3 cup vegetable oil

           1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

           Salt & pepper to taste

          

          Salad:

          1 bag of garden mix salad (or iceberg lettuce)

          1/4 bag of coleslaw (the stringy kind)

          1/4 cup chopped green onion

          1/8 cup chopped cashews

           1-2 tbsp butter

           1/2 block of ramen (I use the chicken flavored)

            Cooked chicken breast

            Edamame (optional)

Instructions

        

          Dressing:

           In a bowl or glass measuring cup, add sugar and vinegar. Allow the vinegar to break down the sugar     

           until it is dissolved, stirring occasionally (about 2-3 minutes). Once the sugar is dissolved, add the 

           rest of the ingredients and whisk with a fork. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

          Salad:

          (I cooked my chicken ahead of time with a small amount of soy sauce and some olive oil in the skillet and 

           cut them into strips. Then set aside to allow to cool.)

           

           Blend the salad mix with the coleslaw in a large bowl. Set aside. With the ramen still in it's 

           packaging, break up the noodles by hitting it with a rolling pin or large spoon. In a large skillet, melt the 

           butter  over medium heat and add half of your container of ramen and chopped cashews. Bring the 

           temperature down to medium-low heat and stir occasionally, making sure that no pieces of the ramen 

           burn. Once they are golden brown remove from heat and place in a bowl to allow them to cool.

           Add your chicken, crunchy mixture, chopped green onion, and edamame to your salad mixture. 

           Top the salad with the homemade dressing and toss.

Homemade Green Goddess Salad Dressing

Homemade Green Goddess Salad Dressing

Is there anything better than fresh, homemade salad dressing?

 If you have never made your own dressing, you need to start. It's a little luxury that takes so little time! I've been on a kick recently to make foods from scratch that I usually get from the grocery store. I've been working on homemade breads, pastas, and dressings. I've very weight conscious and have always been somewhat fearful of carbs. Shockingly enough, since making my own breads and pastas, I've lost weight! Hallelujah! I could not believe it.

We have been working in the yard a lot recently. With the summer being so rainy this year, we have seen a ton of growth. I have the dreaded black thumb. It's a shame because I love buying plants. Poor things didn't have chance when I brought them home. The last two months, my plants have been flourishing. Thanks to mother nature, my ferns and herbs are huge now! I guess a little water doesn't hurt, right?

Since I have a bounty of herbs now, I thought that it would only make sense to use them in my kitchen for a new recipe. I was at Panera Bread the other day and tasted their green goddess salad. I'm not usually a fan of green goddess dressing from the store, but this really hit the spot! It tasted so fresh and herb-forward with a large amount of basil. I found myself craving more all week.

Garrett and I love fish. Growing up in Florida, we had so much fresh fish available and my mother never wanted to cook it. She claimed it made the house smell too badly and she didn't know how to cook it well. Why cook it at home when the restaurants cook it for the same price? Not a bad point, I thought. Now living in Georgia, I buy my fish from local grocers where I know it's fresh. 

I brought home salmon and decided I was sick of the normal pairings I make with it. That's where this green goddess dressing was born! I grabbed a heap of herbs from my garden and popped them in my food processor with a little greek yogurt (I have a problem, I know) and mayonnaise. For a kick, I added fresh lemon juice and a lot of garlic. We served it with blackened salmon off the grill, avocado and ciabatta bread. Mmmmm.

Green Goddess Dressing

Preparation: 10 min

                  Cook Time: 0 min  Total Time: 10 min                       

Ingredients

        

          2 tbsp fresh chopped basil

          2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

          2 tbsp fresh chopped chives

          3-4 tsp lemon juice

          8 oz plain greek yogurt

          1/4 cup olive oil mayonnaise

          2 tsp chopped garlic

          Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

        

          Mix your herbs in a food processor until well chopped. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until 

          well blended. Use immediately or store for up to 5 days in an air-tight container.

Summer Salad

Summer is finally here and in full swing! Move over soups and stews and bring on the fresh amazing produce and light bites! 

So as some of you may know from following my Instagram, we recently moved. These last few weeks have been very hectic and I realized that it has been a month exactly since my last post! If you've moved, you can understand how little downtime you get. So we went from a townhouse in Buckhead to a 'house house' in the 'burbs....yep, never did I think at 26 I would already be living in suburbia with no kids; but it happened.

Let me give you a small back story and then we will get to this fabulous recipe....

We were going to buy our townhome. We really loved the location and saw that it had great bones. We lived there for right at two years and from the moment we moved in we just knew it was ours. I made all of the updates and fixes I would to my own home, even though we were just renting. It's where we evolved from our late-night party scene at the college bars to our upscale dinners and cocktails out at the newest and trendiest places. The best part? We were about 2 miles from all of it! Yes, it was heaven.

Strangely enough, our small community of townhomes had been quite out of our age range. Most of the tenants and owners were in their 60's-80's with a few odd ages in between. We didn't mind. It somewhat gave us a sense of relief after going from such a young apartment complex. At the old place, we always found beer cans in the bushes early in the morning, loud terrible 'trap' music playing on nights we had to wake up early for work and of course the oh-so-annoying dog owner who always "forgot to bring a bag". I can't tell you how many shoes ended up ruined. Yes, the townhome was a great upgrade. 

What's funny about life is no matter how much you plan and budget and make arrangements for your future, you're never really in control. We learned that quickly with our home. We were ready to buy. Then, new neighbors stepped in...

I swear..there wasn't one drawer that opened our toilet that flushed that I didn't hear. Every conversation through the wall was crisp like I was listening to a soap opera. Try having friends over at the same time? Forget about it. It was like a competition to see who could be louder. Call me old school, but I really value a little thing called privacy. 

So we decided to start looking. I tell you, I would wake up at 4:00 am and see a property that had JUST surfaced on Zillow and by the time I contacted the property management team, there were already 5-6 people who applied. Without even seeing it!!!! After we had made our decision we received a two-week timeline to move. I was so stressed we were going to end up on the streets or worse...back home with my parents.

I logged on one morning to Zillow as I had done for 5 days in a row, and found a spot that wouldn't be available for another two weeks. The pictures showed no appliances and dead grass. Honestly, I didn't care. It had the perfect amount of bedrooms and bathrooms and was about 40 years newer than our old spot. Jet tub? BONUS! Screened porch? Talk dirty to me...

I oversold the place to Garrett (my boyfriend) so that we could go ahead and apply. We were the only applicants at that time. Which I wasn't sure whether to feel excited or scared by. I really hoped we didn't make a huge mistake. We were called the following afternoon to view the property. Yellow exterior with green shutters...eek. Not very 'chic' but I can work with it. White brick fireplace....okay growing on me...amazing lighting and screened windows throughout - I'm starting to love it. Deal sealed? Backyard. The photo online was taken in the winter and didn't even capture the whole thing. It is absolutely huge. We signed that afternoon. Now I can't wait to start planting my jasmine and hydrangeas and cooking herbs....we really lucked out. 

The house has come together over the last month but still needs some work. I can't wait to share our BBQ's and improvements as we work on it. Summer is always such a nice time to move because it brings new life for things to come in the next year. 

Here is my favorite summery salad to share with you and your friends:

For this salad you will need:

Asparagus

Walnuts

Sugar

Champagne Dressing from Girard's

Red Onion

Craisins

Spring Mix

Blue Cheese

Begin by cutting your asparagus into thirds and placing them into a skillet of water, medium heat.

Once bright green remove them from the water, and place them in an ice bath.

Now let's start on our walnuts. Put about 1 cup of sugar into a pot and set your temperature to low-medium heat (about 5).

Keep a close eye. Sugar can burn very quickly. You will see the sugar start to turn amber in color. Be sure to mix it with a spatula or spoon to keep the temperature even throughout.

When the sugar is ready, it should look like this. Immediately remove from heat and pour in your walnuts.

I like to use raw walnuts for this salad.

After you toss the walnuts in the melted sugar, toss and mix it thoroughly. The texture will be similar to a rice krispy treat. Once you feel the walnuts are well coated and set, remove them from the pan and spoon them out onto wax paper or foil.

Wait for the walnuts to cool and harden. (about 1-2 minutes) Then you can break them apart with your fingers or put them in a Ziploc bag and smash them with a rolling pin until they are small morsels.

After the walnuts are done, give a fine dice to your onion. Use about 1/4 of your onion for the salad.

By this time, your aspargus should be chilled and ready to go in.

Combine everything together, toss and serve. Let me know how everyone like it!

Recipe:

1 package spring mix

1 cup walnuts

1 cup sugar

1/4 red onion, diced

1/3 cup craisins

6-7 asparagus

1/4-1/3 cup blue cheese

Champagne dressing to taste (I prefer a light coating for this salad)

Instructions:

Cut asparagus into thirds, removing stems. Fill a pan of water and place asparagus in the pan. Cook over medium heat. Stir occasionally until asparagus is bright green and tender (about 4-5 minutes). Then transfer asparagus into an ice bath. Set aside.

Place sugar into a pot over medium-low heat. Keep a close eye over the sugar as it heats. Continue stirring the sugar until it becomes amber and melted. Remove from heat and add your walnuts. Toss the walnuts in the melted sugar until well-coated. Spoon your candied walnuts onto wax paper or foil and wait until cooled. While cooling, begin cutting your onion until finely diced. By this time, your asparagus should be chilled. Remove from ice and place asparagus pieces onto a drying surface such as a kitchen towel or paper towel and allow to dry. Pour your walnuts into a Ziploc back and crush with the side of a large knife or a rolling pin until they come smaller morsels. Now you may assemble your salad. 

Take a large bowl, and pour the spring mix. Follow by adding asparagus, candied walnuts, onion, blue cheese, craisins and dressing. Toss and serve.