Whole 30 - Another Salad Mix + Lemon-EVOO Dressing

No matter the time of year, and even though I live in Northern Minnesota, I almost always have a BIG fresh greens and vegetable mix in my refrigerator, so a salad can be put together in only a few minutes. This is my current one for the next few days. 

Salad Mix:

1 big petite or regular Romaine

6 big green onions

2 carrots

1 big handful of chopped kale

2c sliced-chopped purple cabbage

1/2 of a long, skinny, bumpy English cucumber

Slice the Romaine lettuce lengthwise into quarters. Cut into 1" cross sections. Wash well in your salad spinner, starting with warm-hot water, then drain and wash in icy cold water. Drain, spin several times to remove all the water. Rinse and dry the outer container then fill with the spun lettuce. Wash and prep the other vegetables then slice or chop them into the lettuce. Use this as the base for a tossed salad, like mine, or grab a handful and top with chopped chicken or tuna packed in EVOO. . .think of other ways to use these greens and vegetables. Chop up some fresh fruit: an apple, grapes, a whole Cutie Mandarin orange, including the skin! Put these on a bed of the greens and drizzle with the dressing. Mmmm, so good and fresh! Add to a pot of soup - grab a handful (put the cucumbers back in the mix) chop it fine and throw it into the pot.

Lemon-EVOO Dressing: 

1c single source EVOO*

1/2c pure lemon juice

2t Himalayan pink salt

1t black+cayenne pepper mix

1/2 -1t granulated roasted garlic - optional

*I can't stress strongly enough, how important it is to read labels on extra virgin olive oil. If there's a 'code' at the bottom - telling which countries the oil came from - PASS on it!! It's been proven, through chemical analysis, that often these multicountry offerings test as substances other than olive oil!! Buy only EVOO from one country / point of origin, i.e.: California, Spain, Italy, Greece, or the best by far: Moroccan.

Combine in a 14oz., or larger, glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake well. This keeps in the refrigerator a long time, a month or more, but probably won't last long. In addition to using as a salad dressing, it would be a good addition, just a drizzle, to mayonnaise for coleslaw, egg salad, tuna salad and also as an excellent marinade for meats.

Today, my salad for a 1pm breakfast-lunch was a big handful of the salad mix, with the addition of 1/2 medium tomato, 1/2 large avocado, 1 hard boiled egg and a handful of walnuts. Drizzled with a good amount of the dressing. Don't worry about this type of 'fat'. It's the absolute best type for your body. So many nutrients here! The fresh vitamins from the greens and tomato, the protein and fiber from the avocado, egg and walnuts. This is anti-inflammatory and it all tastes so great. . .Lin

Garden Salsa Guacamole

Finely chop all the vegetables into a large glass bowl.

1/2 skinny orange bell pepper
3 or 4 small avocados
6oz. salsa verde (green salsa)
2-3T fresh lemon juice
1 med. tomato, peeled
3T sour cream
garlic salt + black pepper

Peel, chop and mash the avocados then add the remaining chopped vegetables. Gently stir everything together.

Serve with breadsticks, tortilla chips, seedy crackers or spread on toast. . .Lin

My Version of KFC Coleslaw

 

In a big glass bowl whisk together then set aside:

3T sugar

2T lemon juice

1/2c mayonnaise

2T white Balsamic vinegar

1/2c cold fresh water

3-4T buttermilk powder

salt and pepper

To the dressing, add the chopped vegetables, mix well then cover and chill several hours.

8c chopped green cabbage

1½c chopped purple cabbage

1 lg. chopped carrot

3-4 sliced green onions

Serve with burgers, grilled chicken, meatloaf. . .Just about anything! . .Lin

Broccoli-Craisin Salad

3/4c craisins

1t fresh ground black pepper

1/4c fig white balsamic vinegar

Mix these 3 ingredients in a medium glass bowl first thing, to rehydrate the craisins.

4 green onions

2 med. broccoli crowns

1/2c sunflower kernels

1/2c± mayonnaise

1/2t turbinado sugar

1-2T fresh lemon juice

a pinch of salt

Slice the green onions, separate the broccoli into florets. Finely slice-chop the tender part of the stems. Put onion and broccoli into the bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, gently mix everything together. Refrigerate an hour before serving. . .Lin

Cajun Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

20oz. cajun seasoned chicken breast

1/2 med. sweet or yellow onion 

2T EVOO

Cut the chicken, into bite size pieces. Sauté it in a big pan over medium heat with the chopped onion and oil, until it's sizzling and beginning to brown. Add a little water, stir and cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

1 big sweet potato

some thin-sliced green onion

salt and pepper - if needed

Scrub the potato and peel off any bad spots. Cut in cubes or slices and add this to the pan once the chicken browns. Move the pieces around to coat them with the cooking liquid. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the chopped green onion, cover and simmer another 5 minutes. Makes 2-4 servings. . .Lin

Dandelion Greens and Spicy Sautéed Shrimp

a big bunch of well washed dandelion greens

bacon grease

6 big garlic cloves

3 green onions

3T real bacon crumbles

ground red and black pepper

4-6oz. frozen Argentinian Red Shrimp

*3/4c sour cream - optional

Steam the greens in a little water for 5 minutes. Add bacon grease, sliced garlic sauté a few minutes, then add green onions, fresh ground black pepper and some cayenne pepper. Cover and steam-sauté another 5 minutes or until the greens are almost cooked. Add the next group of ingredients, heating and stirring while it sizzles a little, adding *(sour cream) at the very end. Cover again, remove from heat to finish cooking for another few minutes. Serve like this or over angel hair pasta. . .Lin 

Salsa - Guacamole

Ahhh, I can tell it's heading toward warmer weather when I start craving this!

Make this right before serving.  It doesn't keep well, it's a mix and serve sort of thing.

Heat up 3 quarts of water to a simmer.  Drop the tomatoes in and gently stir them for about 30 seconds.  Drain and immediately put them in ice water.

Zest and juice the lemon, or a lime, into a medium bowl for mixing. Add your favorite salt-pepper, seasoning blend. Chop all the other ingredients shown, into the bowl. Peel and chop the tomatoes. Add them and ⅓c chopped kalamata olives and 2-3T of finely chopped jalapeño slices. Stir everything together and serve with your favorite chips.

You could also add a can of black beans and/or corn, rinsed and drained.

Today I decided to just keep it all fresh.  Be bold. . .have fun experimenting. . .Lin

Four Onion - Mushroom Soubise

IN A 5 QUART POT:

1 lg. red or Yukon gold potato

½ lg. yellow onion - finely chopped

finely ground red and black pepper

1T black truffle infused EVOO

IN ANOTHER POT:

1T black truffle infused EVOO

8oz. thinly sliced mushrooms

½ lg. yellow onion

1 lg. Vidalia onion

6-8 lg. cloves garlic

3 green onions

1-2t dark, thick balsamic vinegar

4-6c fresh cold water

1-2T Better Than Bouillon - Mushroom

¾c chive-onion sour cream

Finely chop the peeled potato and combine it in a 5 quart pot with the onion and ground peppers in the first group.  Simmer-saute' over low-medium heat until everything's sizzling and there's a little browning on the potato and onion.  Add tiny dribbles of water, as needed, to continue the saute' and keep it from sticking or getting too brown.  When everything's a nice golden color, and the onions are translucent, add just enough water to blend everything well, with an immersion blender.  Pour this into a Pyrex measuring pitcher or a bowl with a spout and set aside.

In the empty pot, combine the EVOO and mushrooms, stirring to wilt and brown them, adding a little of the water as needed.  Reduce the heat and let this simmer to create its own flavorful brown broth.  After 15 minutes, stir in the four types of thinly sliced onions and vinegar.  Add water in small amounts as needed, so as not to let the onions stick.  When everything is beginning to brown, just a tiny bit and soften, pour in the remaining water, soup base and simmer, over low heat 20-30 minutes, or until all the garlic and onions are translucent.

With a wooden spoon, whisk or the immersion blender, incorporate the sour cream into the blended ingredients. Pour this into the big pot, stir to combine. Heat everything until just beginning to steam. Serve topped with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and some crispy croutons.

This would pair very nicely with fresh mixed greens, tossed in an EVOO-Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing. . .Lin