Running Mama Cooks

This salad recipe came from Ina Garten's Grilled Panzanella Salad recipe. I decided to leave out the bread and add a spinach and arugula mix instead. I never thought of adding grilled veggies to a salad, but I am glad that I now know how good it is.

Grilled Vegetable Salad
Heavily adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients:

Dressing -

Good olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


Salad -

1 bag spinach and arugula mix
1/2 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 small container grape tomatoes, cut in half
10 large basil leaves
1 red onion, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 3 large pieces
2 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 3 large pieces
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Directions:

Prepare grill.

In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, mustard, vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Place the cucumber, tomato, and basil in a large bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss together. Set aside.

When the grill is ready, brush 1 side of the onion slices and the peppers with olive oil. Place them, olive oil side down, on the grill and cook for 4 minutes. Brush the other side with olive oil, turn them over and continue cooking an additional 4 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the grill and place on a cutting board. Slice the peppers 1/2-inch thick, separate the onion rings and add them both to the cucumber mixture.

Add spinach and arugula mix to the cucumber mixture. Pour the reserved vinaigrette over the vegetables and toss together. Serve warm.

Cecily preparing the veggies for the grill:

Finn relaxing outside while we grill:

You are probably starting to see trends in my cooking when it comes to certain ingredients. I have been obsessed with Spinach lately, I cannot get enough of it! Definitely a good craving to have, unfortunately I have also been craving chocolate and peanut better :) This meal came about since I had leftover dressing from making Tortellini Spinach Salad with Balsamic-Tomato Vinaigrette. The dressing was so good I made it again over the weekend. It worked perfectly with the chicken, which instantly smelled amazing once it hit the grill. These wraps turned out great, earning 5 stars from Zach! Grilled Chicken Balsamic Spinach Wraps A Running Mama Cooks Original Recipe Makes 2 wraps Ingredients: 2 Spinach, Garlic and Pesto Tortilla (I got them at Wegmans) 3 thin cut chicken breasts 2 roasted red pepper 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese Balsamic-Tomato dressing (see below) 1 cup baby spinach Cooking spray Directions: Preheat a panini press. Marinate chicken in Balsamic-tomato dressing for several hours. Grill on barbecue or grill pan and slice into strips. Slice Roasted red peppers. Arrange chicken, roasted red peppers, mozzarella cheese and spinach onto each tortilla. Drizzle with dressing. Spray panini press with cooking spray and place folded tortillas seam side down. Grill until toasty. Balsamic-Tomato Vinaigrette Ingredients: 9 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano 1 ½ tablespoon tomato paste Salt and pepper to taste (about 1/8 teaspoon each) 3/4 cup olive oil Directions: In a blender add all of the dressing ingredients except for the olive oil and process until smooth. Then, while the blender is running, slowly add the olive oil and blend until completely combined. ZACH'S RATING: ***** Update - These are one of our usual quick dinners. We have taken to calling this dressing "crack dressing" because its so good! We also add sliced red onion now.

Cecily and I had company for lunch today, so it was a good opportunity to try out a salad I saw on Juliann's Easy Eats. I like salads, but do not eat them as often as I should, mostly because they are usually not enough to satisfy me. This was definitely an exception. I changed it around a bit to suit my tastes, adding turkey bacon and roasted red peppers, and found the dressing to be really delicious and the tortellini to great for filling me up.

I will probably eat the leftovers for dinner tonight, that's how much I liked it.

Tortellini Spinach Salad with Balsamic-Tomato Vinaigrette
Adapted from My Kitchen Cafe by way of Juliann's Easy Eats

Ingredients:

Salad -

20 oz package three cheese tortellini
6 oz turkey bacon, cut into chunks
6 oz bag baby spinach
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
3 roasted red peppers, thinly sliced

Dressing -

9 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 ½ tablespoon tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste (about 1/8 teaspoon each)
3/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

Cook tortellini in boiling water until al dente. Drain and toss with a teaspoon of olive oil to keep from sticking. Let cool in colander.

Cook turkey bacon until crisp. Remove with slotted spoon onto paper towel. Allow to cool.

In a large bowl, toss all the salad ingredients together after the pasta and bacon has cooled.

In a blender add all of the dressing ingredients except for the olive oil and process until smooth. Then, while the blender is running, slowly add the olive oil and blend until completely combined. If serving the salad right away, immediately pour the dressing over the salad and toss well (you may not need all the dressing). Serve.

Such a perfect night for grilling! We had these pork chops (sooo good) and a spinach salad.

This is definitely my favorite salad lately. I used 1/2 lb turkey bacon, a bag of baby spinach, 1/2 a sliced red onion, 1/2 container of sliced white mushrooms and lemon-balsamic vinaigrette.

I have had some trouble with salad dressings in the past, but this one came out really good. Could end up being my go-to vinaigrette.

Lemon-Balsamic Vinaigrette
Recipe from Bobby Flay

Ingredients:

1 small shallot, minced
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

Whisk shallot, juice, zest, vinegars, and salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in oil until emulsified.
A big thank you to Allison (once again) for turning me onto this salad and pork chop recipe!

ZACH'S RATING - ****

The weather is still summery and gorgeous! since we were eating outside, it felt like a good night for a salad. Plus a light dinner is a good idea with all the Easter candy still hanging around!

Asian Chicken Salad
A Running Mama original recipe

Ingredients:

Marinade:
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
4 minced garlic cloves
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp grated fresh ginger

Dressing:
3 tbs low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tbs canola oil
2 tsp brown sugar
a pinch red pepper flakes
1 sliced scallion

Salad:
1/2 head shredded napa cabbage
1 lb thin cut chicken breasts
1 large carrot, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup toasted almonds
1 11 oz can Mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 cup Chinese rice noodles, plus more for garnish

Directions:

Combine all ingredients for the marinade. Place chicken breasts in a ziplock bag and pour in marinade. Place in fridge for at least an hour.

Assemble all ingredients for the salad. Whisk together dressing and set aside. Grill the chicken until cooked through and cut into strips.

Toss dressing onto the salad and place chicken on top. Garnish with rice noodles.

ZACH'S RATING: ***

This is my second attempt to recreate this dressing that my husband gets at a lunch place by his office. While it came out better this time, its still not right. Anyone want to tell me whats missing?

Even if I end up not using it, it was a fun activity for us this afternoon!