honey-dijon fall berry salad

This salad recipe is literally the best salad I've ever tasted.  Unfortunately, it didn't have a great start.  It seems as though I have an ongoing battle with knifes in the kitchen on this blog.

Originally, I was going to put homemade apple chips on top of the salad.  I pulled out the mandolin for the first time.  I was really excited about making the apple chips because it seemed so easy.  Without a second thought, I began sliding the apple up and down the mandolin.  I realized I was good at slicing so picked up the pace.  The upbeat tempo cause a downhill, painful slice.

My pinky got caught in the blade.  I won't go into details, but it was not pretty.  The husband came flying out of his office and immediately helped fix the situation.  I was in a bad way.  This was also when I learned that mandolins have safety guards (you can only imagine my fury.)  I laid down for a bit, and he finished cutting the apple.  When the ibuprofen kicked in, I got back to work on my salad.  Note: You will notice that the apple chips did not make the recipe...they did not turn out. So my pain was for no gain :(

Above you will see a picture perfect salad.  I learned from the best (my mom), how to make salads look pretty before you toss it all together to serve.  The flavors just magically came together.  It was beautiful.  So beautiful, that we have eaten it three nights this week.

Honey-Dijon Fall Berry Salad

For dressing:

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1/2 cup EVOO

Salt

Pepper

For salad:

1 bag of romaine lettuce

Walnuts/Pecans (Cinnamon, Splenda, and butter)

Gorgonzola cheese

Dried berries (Aldi has a great triple berry!)

For dressing: Whisk all ingredients throughly.  Refrigerate until use.  Shake or whisk before pouring over salad.

For salad: Melt 1 tbsp of butter and pour over nuts.  Stir in equal parts cinnamon and Splenda (or sugar if you prefer).  Heat nut mixture in a skillet over medium heat, continually stirring for about 5-7 minutes.  If they start to blacken, they are burning.  Set aside to dry.

Add crumbled gorgonzola and dried berries to the lettuce.  Once the nuts dry, add them as well.  Toss salad in dressing and serve!

parmesan-peppercorn wedge salad

I guess you could say I'm officially on a salad kick!  Currently, we have two heads of lettuce, and two different bags of lettuce in our refrigerator.  David doesn't seem to mind all of the greenery on his plate, especially because I have been making my own dressings!  I'm sure most people would agree with me, homemade dressing always tastes better!  Plus you have the added benefit of knowing exactly what is in it!  At the end of the week, I will have made four homemade dressings to share with you, and I'm really excited about it!  Anyone who knows me can tell you, I'm really picky about salad and generally have to be in the mood to eat it.  However, I have recently come to love it.  

Last week, I bought pecans, walnuts, slivered almonds, pumpkin seeds, feta, gorgonzola, and dried berries.  I also got a bottle of balsamic vinaigrette--just incase I didn't have any homemade on hand.  We already had a few other salad toppings in the refrigerator.  I thought it would be easier to eat salad if they tasted GOOD.  So to motivate myself, I invested in an assortment of salad toppings.  So far, we've had a few greek salads and salads with gorgonzola and bacon vinaigrette.  But last night we added to our salad rotation--and it's a definite keeper!

I knew I wanted to make a wedge salad to go with some leftover cauliflower soup.  I found an article by Bon Appetit magazine that really helped me decide what to do.  I found myself googling peppercorn salad dressings, because I really love peppercorn flavored foods and came across one I really liked.  I had to make some adjustments, for my personal tastes.  But, a huge thank you to Simply Scratch for introducing me to this dressing!

Parmesan-Peppercorn Wedge Salad

For Dressing:

2 minced garlic cloves

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

3 tbsp parmesan cheese

6 tbsp mayonnaise or sour cream (I used a olive oil based mayo)

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 + 1/8 tsp ground peppercorn

For Salad:

1 head of lettuce

Crumbled bacon

Chopped tomato

Croutons

For the dressing: Mix the dry ingredients together first, then whisk in the vinegar and mayo.  Refrigerate before topping your salad.

For the salad: Slice the stem off your head of lettuce and divide it into 4 parts.  Drizzle dressing on and add additional toppings.

gorgonzola, candied pecan, and bacon vinaigrette salad

A couple days ago during my government class, I reminded the students it was election day.  Then the following conversation occurred.  This is real life, all statements are true.

Me: Does anyone remember what type of elections are taking place in the state of Georgia today?

(Several hands go up, but I called on an extremely excited girl bouncing out of chair with hand in air.)

Student: The presidential election!  We get a new president!

(Class bursts into laughter and tears.)

Student: Oh wait, that's not right.  I think I'm confused, who is the president again?

In this little girl's defense, she has probably only been in my class a total of eight days all year.  She is frequently absent.  But still, really?

I've been scouring the internet the past few days for a fall salad.  I had a few flavors in mind and I searched for a recipe that would bring them all together.  Unfortunately, that was hard to come by.  So instead, I ended up piecing together the different flavors I wanted in my salad by pulling together different recipes I found.

The end result was amazing.  During dinner, David said he could eat it every day.  It definitely made me feel good about how this salad turned out!  We both devoured our dinners.

Gorgonzola, Candied Pecan, and Bacon Vinaigrette Salad
Serves 4

1 bag of hearts of romaine lettuce
5 oz gorgonzola cheese
1/4 cup pecans
1 tsp Splenda
3 tbsp EVOO
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp bacon (we used turkey bacon)
1/2 tsp minced onion
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp Splenda brown sugar (or regular)
Salt
Pepper
Optional: Cranberries, blackberries, or baked chicken strips

Heat up a skillet with a little butter in it.  Add the pecans and stir around.  Next add the Splenda and stir continuously for several minutes so that the sugar does not burn.  Once the pecans are a nice brown color, put them on a paper plate or towel and let them dry.

Put the lettuce in a bowl.  In a jar mix the remaining ingredients (EVOO, vinegar, bacon, onion, mustard, brown sugar, salt and pepper) together with a whisk or put on a lid and shake.  Once blended, pour over lettuce and stir.  Cover the lettuce well.  Then add pecans and gorgonzola cheese.  Toss the salad more and enjoy!

the real hunger games

We started our legislative branch unit in government this week.  Before we can really get into things, I try to lay a foundation of what the branch is about, how it functions, and its different parts.  Today, we discussed the House of Representatives.  I gave the class a map of Georgia, and we all drew the 14 districts, which led to conversations about apportionment and gerrymandering.

One of my students looked dazed.  She was obviously in deep thought.  I asked her what was wrong and she exclaimed, "Y'ALL, THE HUNGER GAMES IS REAL!!!!" Then another student screamed, "I WISH I LIVED IN THE 12th DISTRICT! THERE MIGHT BE A REAL KATNISS! AND MORE DISTRICTS!"

I cried I laughed so hard.  I literally couldn't wait to get to lunch to tell the other teachers.  I hope this little girl was showing me how she applied her new knowledge today, instead of totally dazing out as soon as I said 14 districts!

A few nights ago, I tried a new salad out for dinner!  I found the recipe in a magazine but needed to make some adjustments.  It turned out to be very good.  There was so much flavor!  I would definitely recommend giving it a try!

Brussels Sprout Salad

One bag of fresh brussels sprouts

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 tbsp Splenda brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

Using either a chopper, food processor, or knife, shred the brussels sprouts.  Whisk the next five ingredients together.  Pour over the shredded brussels sprouts and toss until covered.

Refrigerate until serving and ENJOY!

chickpea summer salad

Confession: I follow most of the Full House stars, as well as Pretty Little Liars on Instagram.  Polar opposites right? I know, but I love these people!

Especially, DJ Tanner or in real life, Candace Brue.  A few weeks ago, she posted a picture of a chickpea summer salad and I have literally been obsessed with it ever since.  I had to make it.  It looked so good and easy.  It also looked like something that would be yummy to pack up for lunches, so I was sold.  I googled and pinterested recipes, eventually making up my own recipe through the combination of several recipes.  I ate my summer salad for dinner last night and it was delicious!  It would be a great dish to take to a party or summer picnic!

Chickpea Summer Salad

Serves 12

2 cans chickpeas (drained)

2-15 oz cans black beans (drained)

1 carton grape tomatoes

1/2 diced cucumber

1 cup cilantro

1/2 small red onion

4 small limes

2 tbsp cumin

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp EVOO

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Optional: Corn

Start by draining all chickpeas and black beans.  I typically layer a paper plate with paper towels and place them there.  You especially don't want any of the extra black bean juice. Set these aside.

Dice up half of a small red onion, I may have used a little less than this, but I'm not a big onion eater.

Quarter all of the grape tomatoes. Set onions and tomatoes aside.

In the bowl, you will be storing or serving this dish in, mix the following together, juice of 4 small limes, cumin, salt, EVOO, and red pepper flakes. Once it is stirred together well, mix in the chickpeas, black beans, onions and tomatoes.

Lastly, chop a cup to cup and a half of cilantro.  Mix it in and garnish with cilantro.

ENJOY this yummy and fresh summer salad!

Garlic and Herb Salad with Chicken

Today was my last day with kids! Woohoo! The kids are out for the summer! I'm not quite out yet, but it's getting closer and closer! YAY! 

Now onto the salad....

One thing my new husband can attest to since marriage is that I am a creature of habit.  And I don't like change much.  Or handle it well for that matter.

The most basic example of my habitualness is seen at dinnertime.  If I try out a new recipe and we like it, you can be assured I'm making it again (probably the next night!)  I don't think David minds too much!

This salad is super easy!  I cooked some seasoned chicken over the stove.  I used onion powder, garlic salt, and some Italian seasonings.  The salad dressing is a packet I found at Kroger, Good Seasons Salad Dressing Garlic and Herb.  On the packet they give two preparations.  One with more olive oil and one with less.  Depending on how much you use will depend on the calories in your salad.  However, they are still low if used sparingly.  Lastly, I chopped up some cherry tomatoes, YUM!  It made for a beautiful, yummy and EASY dinner.

Garlic and Herb Salad with Chicken  

1-2 Chicken breasts

Any seasoning you want for the chicken

Good Seasons Salad Dressing Garlic and Herb

Romaine lettuce

Cherry tomatoes

Optional:

Cheese

Onions 

Grill chicken over stove in seasoning.  Cut into strips when done.

Mix salad dressing and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Mix everything together!

So easy, but I had to share!  We love making new healthy dressings for salad!

Are there any dressings that you love?

thankfulness

So it's been awhile...
life has gotten in the way again!

Just before we went on Thanksgiving Break, I got the flu.  And I had it for roughly two weeks.  It was so awesome, but not really.  Let's just say if my kiddos have something, I always get it!  Thanksgiving break was just what I needed to get over it for good!

We kicked it off with a GEORGIA game!  David and I had such a good time!  We even got to help Uga crowd surf!  To be honest, I'm probably a little too proud of the picture below.  I whipped out my phone so fast and jumped off the bleacher to get this beauty!

David has officially kicked off finals and all the fun studying that comes with it.   So I went to visit my parents for a whole week!! It was so much fun!  But just before I left, David and I celebrated 5 months of marriage.  And how much fun we've been having!

We treated ourselves to a Last Resort supper, Jittery Joe's coffee, and a walk around North Campus.  And of course, I had to have the chicken praline.  I get it every time and it never disappoints.

Then we ate an incredible lunch at Five Star Day, just before I hit the road to spend some quality time with the fam! Soup and salad!

Over the last week, we made our first step towards celebrating our first Christmas together by participating in Operation Christmas Child!  We love knowing that we have made some litter girl's day.  We highly recommend you get involved if you are interested!

And speaking of celebrating...my sister was almost a turkey baby!  We got to celebrate her birthday on Thanksgiving this year.  My grandma made a HUGE peppermint ice cream cake for Claire!  It was three times as big as her head!  She is 24 now... wow she's getting old!

And her precious dog, Margo LOVED helping her open gifts!  She can seriously rip up some paper!

It was so great to see so much family over Thanksgiving break!  I am so thankful for David, my family, job, and church.

Now I just can't wait for the weekend!