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Really tasty this time. A huge serving of salad with chicken, roasted potatoes, and roasted butternut squash on top. Everyone else ate it on a plate, with a tiny bit of the salad on the side and a huge slice of bread. My way was yummy.

anotherdinneronasalad

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Current guidelines for this time around are that there will be no weekend posts and any meal in a bowl on a bed of raw greens counts as a salad.

So, today I put my stir fry dinner in a bowl over a huge bed of raw spinach. The rest of the family is having brown rice, but I wanted to make sure to get my salad in for the day!

stirfrysalad

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I was making lunches early in the morning, and I knew I wanted a straightforward, no frills, very basic blue cheese dressing over a super crunchy salad. Something my grandmother would have enjoyed — familiar, simple, and tasty.

I grabbed romaine lettuce, carrots, celery for crunch, as well as italian flat leaf parsley and red onion for flavor, and I got to work.

Ingredients for Recipe for Creamy Blue Cheese Salad with Crunchy Vegetables

Ingredients, ready for action.

Ingredients:
(Serves one as a meal.)
1 heart of romaine, chopped.
4 baby carrots, cut into wheels.
1 rib of celery, coarsely chopped.
2 slices of red onion, quartered.
1/2 english cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced.
1 fistful of fresh italian parsley.
2 T blue cheese, crumbled.
Freshly cracked pepper, to taste.

Blue Cheese Red Wine Vinaigrette:
(Use only what you need. Refrigerate extra for a couple of days.)
3 T extra virgin olive oil.
1 T red wine vinegar.
1 T sour cream.
1 T blue cheese.
1/2 clove garlic, smashed and minced.
1/2 tsp maple syrup.
Pinch of salt, to taste.

Since I was making two salads, I doubled all of the ingredients listed above. I mixed up two jars of blue cheese red wine vinaigrette, and then I started chopping. I began by creating my beds of chopped romaine hearts, and then I added the carrots, celery, onion, and parsley. I crumbled the blue cheese and sprinkled it on top of the salad, before cracking black pepper over it all.

I nestled my husband’s salad dressing jar in the larger glass container with the salad and popped the lid on top to keep everything fresh for lunchtime. I tucked mine in the fridge for later.

Recipe for Creamy Blue Cheese Salad with Crunchy Vegetables

Packed to go!


The Verdict:
This turned out exactly as I intended. Very creamy, savory salad dressing and powerfully crunchy veggies. Celery is highly underrated — I really appreciated it’s crisp flavor with the blue cheese. I think this salad was a bit boring for my husband, but as he always says, my worst homemade salad is always far tastier than anything he can get from a quick lunch restaurant near his work.

Make it a Meal:
Done. If you want to amp up the protein, add some chicken breast, or deli meat, or kidney beans.

Pack it to Go:
Done.

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Time to make lunch!

We both had busy days planned, so I made two salads, one to go and one for me to eat at home before heading out with the kids for the afternoon. I’ve been on a citrus kick, so I decided to make a lemon citronette. I added navel orange for a sweet citrus punch, as well as daikon, red onion, and lots of cilantro and mint to give it a little bit of an asian fusion feel. I’ve always loved those fresh vietnamese spring rolls, and cilantro plus mint is an easy winning flavor combo for me. The daikon and red bell bepper added necessary crunch, and leftover roasted chicken provided plenty of protein.

Ingredients for Recipe for Salad with Citrus, Chicken, Daikon, Cilantro, and Mint

A rainbow of ingredients!

Ingredients:
(Serves one as a meal.)
4 cups of mixed greens, including red leaf, mizuna, radicchio, and frisee.
1/2 roasted chicken breast, skin removed, chopped.
1 roasted chicken thigh, skin removed, meat torn into bite sized bits.
1/2 navel orange, peel sliced off, quartered, and sliced.
1 large mushroom.
1/2 red bell pepper.
1/2 persian cucumber, sliced into wheels.
8 thin slices of daikon (use a sharp cheese slicer or a mandoline), halved.
1 thin slice of red onion, quartered.
1 fistful of cilantro.
1 fistful of mint.
Zest of one lemon.

Lemon Citronette:
(Use only what you need. Refrigerate extra for a couple of days.)
3 T extra virgin olive oil.
1 T lemon juice.
1small clove of garlic, smashed and minced.
1/2 tsp maple syrup.
Pinch of salt, to taste.

I doubled all of the ingredients above to make two identical salads.

As usual, I prepared a lush bed of greens and zested my lemon over the top. I mixed up two batches of citronette in small jars, and I added the navel orange to the salad dressing so that it wouldn’t wilt the greens. Then I sliced the veggies, herbs, and chicken, layering it all over the greens. For the daikon, I like peeling it with a vegetable peeler and then using a really good cheese slicer (mine were all brought over from Norway in our suitcases) to get nice thin slices quickly. Once the salads were made, I nestled my husband’s jar of dressing in his bowl and snapped a quick picture.

Salad with Citrus, Chicken, Daikon, Cilantro and Mint Ready to Go

Two salads, one packed to go and one ready to stay home.

The Verdict:
Great meal salad. The chicken works well with the citronette, and the diverse veggies and herbs added color, crunch, and flavor.

Salad with Chicken, Daikon, Cilantro and Mint

Ready to eat!

Straightforward and tasty, but not elegant or refined. This is a fun, hearty meal. Enjoy!

Make it a Meal:
Done.

Pack it to Go:
Done.

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I bought a jar of grilled cipolline onions in oil recently, just because they were next to the cocktail onions that were on my grocery list, and I was hungry, and they looked intriguing. The cipolline onions are very tasty, but other than randomly nibbling on them, I haven’t been quite sure how to use them.

While trying to plan a lunch salad, the cipolline onions and a carton of hard boiled eggs caught my eye, and I got an idea. I wanted strong, strong flavors — the intensity of a Nicoise salad, but with a different palette. I pulled out the parmigiano-reggiano, and some vegetables, and got to work. I knew this salad would need some serious crunch to measure up to the soft egg and the slippery onions, so I chose romaine and carrots to diversify the textures.

Cipolline Onion and Egg Ingredients

All the ingredients for two salads.

Ingredients:
(Serves one for lunch.)
1 heart of romaine, chopped.
2 scallions, chopped.
1/2 carrot, quartered lengthwise and chopped.
1/2 orange bell pepper, sliced.
1 hard boiled egg, cut into wedges.
1 fistful of basil, chopped.
1 T – 1/4 cup of fresh grated parmigiano-reggiano, to taste.
Cracked pepper, to taste.

Vinaigrette:
(Use only what you need; refrigerate extra for several days.)
1T red wine vinegar.
2 T extra virgin olive oil.
5 grilled cipolline onions, in oil.
1/4 tsp maple syrup.
Pinch of salt, to taste.

Cipolline Onion and Egg

Two salads, side by side.

I doubled all of the ingredients listed above, and prepared two lunches at the same time — one packed up to go to work with my husband, the other for me to enjoy later in the day. I started by making a nice hearty bed of romaine, and then I chopped up the vegetables and added them. I dusted it all with parmigiano-reggiano and black pepper, and then placed the sliced egg on top. I quickly mixed up my vinaigrette, nestling one jar in my husband’s packed lunch, and leaving the other on the counter for me.

Cipolline Onion and Egg, Eat

Ready to eat!

Verdict:
Powerful flavors. This salad was really delicious. I loved the egg and onion with the parmigiano. The carrot and romaine definitely played a key part. I’m not totally sure about the basil and the orange bell pepper — I think I could’ve omitted both, or maybe just added less of them. I’d like to try this salad again — it was really striking.

Cipolline Onion and Egg, Packed

Packed to go!

Make it a Meal:
Done.

Pack it to Go:
Done. Just keep the dressing separate until you’re ready to eat, then add only as much as you need, fork toss (or put the lid back on and give it a few quick shakes), and enjoy.

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