Creamy Avocado Salad Dressing/Dip
This dressing is the BOMB! I’m trying to detox my diet and eat clean, including limiting dairy and starchy foods. I’m eating a lot of salads and have been using various oils and vinegars as dressing. Which is great but sometimes a girl wants a thick, creamy, luscious salad dressing. I threw this together, first without the avocado – and the dressing was watery, thinner than I wanted, and just kinda blah. I decided to add the avocado and VOILA! It is the holy grail of heart-healthy/low carb salad dressings. Put it on anything or everything! Eat it with a spoon! Use it as a dip! Or hair conditioner (only 1/2 kidding, it would probably be a great hair conditioner). You may want to slather this all over and roll in it (but PLEASE don’t use it as a lube – just. don’t go there.) If you’re not familiar with veganaise, I buy the Follow Your Heart brand, it’s fabulous and dairy free.
1/2 c vegenaise (or sub a decent mayo, I highly recommend Duke’s which is sugar free)
1/2 c almond milk
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
1 tablespoon Wocestershire (organic, vegan, regular – whatever you wish)
1/2 – 1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 large avocado
Pepper/Salt
Throw it all in a blender/food processer and blend until thick and creamy. Do the happy dance, because your mouth is about to rejoice.
Chopped salad
This is a basic iceberg salad with a little update.
1 head iceberg lettuce, sliced in 1/2 inch strips, then rough diced by chopping crossways
4-5 green onions, sliced thin on the diagonal
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped roughly
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved (may serve separately for those who don’t eat tomatoes)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 ripe avocado, diced
1/2 lemon, juiced over the salad
Chop and combine in a salad bowl. Serve with homemade bleu cheese dressing or dressing of your choice. Fresh salsa is good!
If you have leftovers this will keep for a day or so especially if the tomatoes are kept separate.
Filed under Salads | Comment (0)Blue’s Goat Cheese Salad
TO DIE FOR PEEPS! You’ll love it. Trust me. If there’s any two things I know something about, it’s goats and salads. Well, maybe not so much about goats, other than the fact that they produce some freaking awesome cheese.
Ingredients:
Goat cheese (log style)
Ritz crackers (my personal preference), or bread crumbs
1-2 egg whites
Olive Oil
Lettuce of choice
Cherry tomatoes
Almonds or pine nuts or candied pecans (any kind of nut will do here, even my nutty Tia Loco)
Perfectly ripe avocado
Blue’s Balsamic Vinaigrette
Directions:
Slice the log style goat cheese with dental floss, or fishing line, or thread (this works waaay better than a knife). You’ll want slices about 1/4″-1/3″ thick and you’ll wind up with lovely little rounds of goat cheese when you’re done.
Lightly beat the egg whites with a dash of water. Crush the crackers finely. Dip each goat cheese round in the egg whites and then coat with the cracker crumbs – push the cracker crumbs firmly onto the cheese (but not so firmly that the cheese falls apart). At this point you’ll want to refrigerate the breaded goat cheese in the fridge for at least 10-15 minutes (or longer, you can do this ahead).
To me the whole point of this salad is to make a salad that not only presents a powerful taste pop, but is also beautiful to look at. With this in mind…
Have your remaining ingredients ready to go before you cook the goat cheese. Your lettuce should be washed and dry, your tomatoes should be washed, the nuts should be standing by (comments from the peanut gallery are welcome). Your avocado should be sliced into lengthwise slices. I’d even go so far as to plate these up on individual salad plates, taking care to make sure the presentation is gorgeous. Place lettuce on the plate, then tuck the tomatoes on one section on top of the lettuce. Fan out the avocado slices in a pleasing manner and put them on top of the lettuce. Sprinkle the nuts on top. Drizzle with Blue’s Balsamic Vinaigrette.
Now we’re ready for the best part – the goat cheese. Pour a little oil in a skillet and heat the pan and oil over medium – medium high heat. Carefully put the breaded goat cheese rounds in the oil (don’t walk away, they cook quick!). When they are golden brown on the first side, flip them gently and cook a little longer until the other side is golden brown. The cooking process literally takes a couple of minutes.
Place several goat cheese rounds on each salad plate, and enjoy!
Filed under Family Recipes, Salads | Comment (0)Hawaiian Style Macaroni Salad
One of our favorite meals in Hawaii was a mixed plate lunch. Hawaiian mixed plate lunches always include pasta salad. I have taken a basic Hawaiian style pasta recipe and modified it to suit my taste. I added the cabbage, lemon juice and vinegar because that’s what I like but you can make the salad without them. If you do, it will be bland. I just love this recipe, it’s creamy and has less fat than most pasta salads. Relatively simple, easy to make, goes with everything.
Pour: 3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (approximately 1 pound)
Into: 4 quarts boiling water
2 teaspoons salt
Cook until soft. Al dente won’t be as good. This will take 10-15 minutes or does at the Lubbock elevation. True Hawaiians say, “Cook it till it’s fat.”
While it’s cooking, mix the dressing and shred the veggies:
2 carrots, shredded
1/2 head cabbage, chopped and shredded fine
Dressing (Whisk together in small mixing bowl):
1 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
1/2 cup milk
pepper & salt to taste
1 Tablespoons lemon juice
3 Tablespoons Bragg’s apple cider vinegar
Drain cooked pasta, reserving some pasta water to add back to the salad. While pasta is still warm, add shredded veggies and dressing, and 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Put in airtight container and refrigerate until cold if you can stand to leave it alone. Add more pasta water to loosen it up if needed.
Filed under Dip/Salad Dressing, Salads, Side dishes | Comment (0)Cranberry Apple Gelatin Salad
Another recipe from Tía Loca. I love Tía Loca more than a fat kid loves cake!
Ingredients:
1 3-ounce package cranberry or raspberry jello
3/4 cup boiling water
1 1/4 cups cold cranberry juice
1 cup tart medium apple, finely chopped (granny smith)
1 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of cloves
Directions:
Dissolve jello in boiling water. Add remaining ingredients and stir to blend. Pour into a 3 cup mold. Chill at least five hours. Serve as a relish with meat or poultry.
Filed under Family Recipes, Salads, Side dishes | Comment (0)