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!

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?