Healthy Salad Formula - Shredded Chicken & Sweet Potato Salad

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Making a good hearty dinner salad is a great way to eat light yet still get a good filling meal.  A lot of times salad have a lot of hidden ingredients that can make it full of calories if you aren't careful. 

So how do we make it worthy of dinner and still keep it healthy?  I'll show you.

THE BEST HEALTHY SALAD FORMULA

This formula is a great base recipe to ensure that you get a satisfying mix of leafy green and add-ins without going overboard with the carbs or the calories. 

So let's talk about this formula.  This mix of greens, produce, some grains or starch, plus lean protein will give you that hearty salad that you crave.  Then you get to put in some treats like cheese, garnish and a nice small portion of dressing to top it off.

I've gone ahead and given you some handy examples of each of the components so you can mix and match and make artistic salads of your own.  

Salad greens = 3 cups
Escarole
Baby Kale
Bibb Lettuce
Red Leaf Lettuce
Romaine
Baby Spinach
Spring Mix

Other Produce = 1/2 cup, non-starchy, cooked or raw
Bell Peppers
Carrots
Cucumbers
Green Beans
Mushrooms
Radishes
Snap peas
Tomatoes

Grains or Starch - 1/2 cup

Bulgur

Whole-wheat couscous

Farro

Baby Potatoes

Quinoa

Winter squash

Corn

Sweet Potatoes

Lean Protein = 3 oz.
Chicken breast
Chickpeas

Hard-boiled eggs

Pork Tenderloin

Shrimp 

Salmon

Flank Steak

Tofu

Cheese = 1/2 oz.

Blue Cheese

Cheddar

Feta

Goat Cheese

Monterey Jack

Moaazrella

Parmesan

Garnish = 1/2 oz.

Avocado

Almonds

Pecans

Sunflower Seeds

Dried Apricots

Dried Cranberries

Capers

Croutons

Olives

Salami or ham

Walnuts

Dressing = 2 Tbsp., Olive-oil based

Balsamic vinaigrette

Lemon vinaigrette

Red-wine vinaigrette

So what do we do with all of this?  Let's make a salad!  I made a wonderfully crisp and light salad bursting with fall flavors.  Perfect for a light dinner with some crusty bread this salad features shredded chicken for the protein along with sweet potatoes for the starch.  I included apples for the other produce and delicious buttery avocado and pepitas as a garnish, as well as a little sharp cheddar cheese.  All topped with a lip-smacking good apple cider vinaigrette.  YUM!  This really tops the list for my favorite salad thus far this fall season.

Enjoy the recipe below which is a base recipe for 1 serving.  Increase the ingredients as necessary to serve additional people.  Now go make some great salads and let me know what you come up with!

Shredded Chicken & Sweet Potato Salad

1 serving

3 cups torn butter lettuce

1/2 cup cooked diced sweet potato

3 oz shredded cooked chicken

1/4 cup sliced apple (I used pink lady)

1/4 cup chopped avocado

2 Tbsp unsalted pepitas

1/2 oz. cubed cheddar cheese

2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinaigrette (see recipe below)

Apple Cider Vinaigrette:

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/8 tsp each, salt and pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

To make the vinaigrette: In a bowl, whisk 2 Tbsp. cider vinegar with ⅛ tsp. each salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil until blended. Extra dressing will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. 

In a large bowl add all salad ingredients and toss with 2 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinaigrette.  Serve immediately.

Side Dish Galore: Asparagus and Avocado-Herb Dressing

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 Everyone needs a good side dish don't you think?

When I was planning my menu this past Easter I came across a wonderful side dish that screams "Spring" is here!  I knew instantly from the recipe that this had to go on my Easter menu.  I tell you it truly is a wonderful vegetable side dish!  The main star is Asparagus.  What says spring more than asparagus?  maybe carrots, but asparagus always reminds me to light spring meals.

This dish can be served at room temperature or made ahead and served cold.  Either way will do.  This is a good make ahead dish.  Nice tender asparagus is blanched until bright green, cooled, and then doused with an amazing avocado-herb dressing and topped with fresh basil, and chives!  Yum!!!!

So the only regret with this dish is that it took me so long to get it to you.  It was outstanding!  The dressing really makes the dish so don't skip that part.  The dressing actually makes a ton but it will keep for a few days and can be used on salad or as a dip for veggies.  Dang that stuff is good!  The addition of  fresh torn basil and chopped chives takes this dish over the top.   We liked this dish so much that I've made it three times in the last 3 weeks.  Gotta get that good asparagus in my belly while it's in season!

What do you eat this with?  This is the perfect side dish with Grilled Pork or Grilled Chicken or even a nice juicy Steak!  

This is definitely a side dish you will want in your recipe box!  Make this soon and enjoy!







Asparagus and Avocado-Herb Dressing

serves 8


2 lbs fresh asparagus, trimmed
1 ripe avocado sliced
1 c buttermilk
1/4 c fresh basil, divided
1/4 c fresh sliced chives, divided
1 1/2 oz goat cheese
1 Tbls white wine vinegar
3/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat.  Add asparagus and boil until crisp tender, about 3 minutes.  Drain, rinse under cool water and pat dry.  Set aside.

In a blender combine avocado, buttermilk, half of the basil, half of the chives, the goat cheese, vinegar, pepper, salt, and sugar.  Blend until smooth.  

Arrange asparagus on a platter.  Drizzle with dressing and top with the remaining basil leaves and chives.  Serve at room temperature.



adapted from : Cooking Light

Roasted Carrot Noodle Salad with Honey Thyme Vinaigrette

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It's definitely spring here and I want to bring to you several great spring recipes I've made lately.  The trees are budding, flowers are blooming, and birds are singing.  A family of blue jays have taken up residence in my backyard and we enjoy watching them flit around in the morning when we eat breakfast out on the patio.

However, as I type this it's raining again! What is up with this weather? Usually it is hot and we are swimming by March/April, but not this year.  An extra long winter has made me crave some healthy Spring food loaded with fresh veggies and fruits.

ROASTED CARROT NOODLE SALAD WITH HONEY THYME VINAIGRETTE

First up is a wonder salad.  Carrots are in season right now and what is better than sweet tender carrots?  How about roasted, sweet tender carrots!  In a salad no less. So that's what we are going to make.

This salad uses a spiralizer to make rings of carrots.  It's very hard to find gigantic carrots that will create noodles.  They have to be about 2-3 inches wide and those are rare.  So the rings made from smaller carrots are just fine.  Don't have a spiralizer?  Use a peeler to make long fine strips and you'll be fine.  

What gives this salad it's edge is that we roast the carrots.  Toss them with some olive oil and honey, adding a little thyme to give them extra flavor and they come out sweet and completely tender. They are the star of the salad!

Wonderfully sweet and tender roasted carrots sit atop a bed of arugula, mixed with thin sliced Easter egg radishes, and doused with a honey thyme vinaigrette.  Doesn't that just sound amazing?  Well it is.  And don't skip the dressing.  It is the BOMB!  It totally makes the salad.  I wouldn't think of eating it without this dressing, it's that good.

We had this for Easter along side our ham, and some roasted chicken.  It was so wonderful that I've made it twice since!  This would be the perfect salad to eat all Spring and Summer long.

Enjoy!

Roasted Carrot Noodle Salad with Honey Thyme Vinaigrette

1½ - 2 lbs Carrots peeled & spiralized (about 8 large carrots)

3-4 Radishes assorted colors – thinly sliced

4 cups Arugula

1/3 cup Slivered Almonds 

Dressing:

1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil plus more for carrots

2 tbls White Wine Vinegar

2 tbls Honey plus more for carrots

1 tbls Thyme Leaves plus more for carrots – roughly chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up. 

Place carrot noodles on the baking sheet and toss with 1 ½ tablespoons of oil and 1 teaspoon of honey.  Add 2-3 sprigs of thyme among the carrots.   Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. 

Meanwhile, make the dressing.  In a small jar add oil, vinegar, honey, thyme, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Shake to emulsify. 

Place arugula on a large platter.  Top with roasted carrots and sliced radishes.  Drizzle about 2-3 tablespoon of the dressing over the salad.  Sprinkle with almonds.

Serve at room temperature.  

adapted from: Spring Roasted Carrot Noodle Salad with Thyme Vinaigrette

Instant Pot: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

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Have you jumped on the Instant Pot train?

I recently got an Instant Pot for Christmas and have been using it more and more as I find recipes.  I haven't posted any recipes for it because a lot of the dishes I made were good, but not outstanding enough to go on my blog.  Until today.  

I was under the weather recently with a really nasty cold and I was craving some chicken soup.  Not the canned stuff but some really hearty homemade soup.  To tell you the truth I didn't have the strength to stand around and make homemade soup so while I was vegetating on the couch I looked up some recipes to make soup in the Instant Pot.  Having the method down, which is really easy by the way, I chose the ingredients I liked best and tested it out.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup cures all that ails you!  Being the best soup when you are sick I still wanted to have one that tasted homemade.  Instead of just dumping the ingredients in the pot and turning it on (which you could do) I decided to sauté my chicken, onions, carrots, and celery just a few minutes to bring in some more flavor. This technique along with some choice spices and a boost of concentrated stock turned this soup from wow to pow!!  Plus it was done in under 45 min. start to finish.  

Now THIS is why you buy an Instant Pot!  Hot hearty soup bursting with comforting flavors and it's all homemade in under and hour!  You'll surely want more of this dish.

Enjoy!



Items you might like to make this soup:

• Instant Pot
• chicken stock concentrate
• wooden spoons
• chef's knife
• bowls

Instant Pot: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

1 Tbls butter
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups yellow onion, diced
1 cup celery, sliced - 3 stalks
1 cup carrots, diced - 3 carrots
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbls chicken broth concentrate - Better than Bullion - low sodium
8 ounces small shell pasta
1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Set the pressure cooker to the sauté setting on medium heat.

When it reaches temperature add the butter.  Once melted, add the chicken and cook until the outsides of the chicken chunks are mostly cooked, just a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add your onions, celery, and carrots, and continue to cook and stir for a few minutes.  Turn off the sauté setting by hitting cancel.  

Add the chicken broth, concentrate, pasta, seasoning and pepper. Stir to make sure all ingredients are submerged in the liquid.

Cover and lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Select the manual pressure cooking button and set the time to 10 minutes on high pressure. Perform a quick release to allow the steam to escape and stop the cooking.

Stir the contents, taste and adjust salt and pepper to taste.  Serve.

This post contains affiliate links to items you can purchase, in which I get a small amount of compensation for at no cost to you. I bring you items that I actually use that are of great quality that I can pass along suggestions to you

Slow Cooker Lighter King Ranch Chicken Soup

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I'm back with another soup recipe today!

Work has been a bear these past two weeks.  I'm working on an enormous 2 month project and yesterday was the deadline.  I don't have time to even get up from my desk, which causes me to sit for long periods of time, eating lunch in front of the computer and not doing much else other that pushing this project through to completion.

Needless to say I come home after long, long work hours and I am too tired to cook.  As you can see from my lack of posts I'm too tired to blog as well!  The only cooking I'm actually doing is on the weekends, and then I'm still tired so the cooking has to be easy.

Today's soup recipe is just that...easy.  This is a slow cooker soup recipe that is to die for! It may take one additional step to make a roux, and some chopping of veggies, but it's pretty easy to throw together.  

SLOW COOKER LIGHTER KING RANCH CHICKEN SOUP

I'm sure you've heard of King Ranch Chicken Casserole right?  Well I came across a recipe that is a riff off of that infamous casserole in soup form.  You know I love a good soup, and with this long winter that just won't let go, a hot hearty bowl of soup hits the spot.  I was also drawn to this soup because of the word..."lighter".   King Ranch Chicken Casserole is filled with cheese and cream of chicken soup.  Two items that load up the calories in a dish.  This soup is lighter on the cheese and there isn't a can of cream of anything in sight!

With just 4-6 hours on low or 2-3 hours on high this slow cooker soup is ready when you are.  We typically go for a drive or over to Barnes and Noble's book store to relax on  Sunday's so making this before we leave is a great idea, because dinner is ready when we get home.

I have to say, I think this soup is my new favorite soup!  Imagine a bowl of steaming hot and hearty soup that is filled with shredded chicken, peppers, tomatoes, and southwestern flavors that pack a huge punch! Man! I'm getting hungry right now.....

Enjoy!





Slow Cooker Lighter King Ranch Chicken Soup

serves 4

3 Tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 Tablespoon cumin
1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (to taste)
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 jalapeno pepper (minced and seeded)
1 red bell pepper (diced)
1 yellow onion (diced)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Tortilla chips

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add in the garlic and stir for about 1 minute. Whisk in the flour (whisking continually for 1 minute so that it does not burn).

Slowly pour in the chicken broth, whisking as your pour it in, and stir for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened up.

Remove the saucepan from the heat, and stir in the seasonings (chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper). Set the sauce aside for a minute.

Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker. Top them with the diced tomatoes, jalapeño, bell peppers, and onion. Pour the sauce over the top.

Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours (or high for 2-3 hours), making sure to not overcook the chicken.

Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and stir the cheese into the slow cooker.

Using 2 forks, shred the chicken and add it back into the slow cooker, stirring everything together. Let the slow cooker cook on low heat for 15 minutes, allowing the cheese to melt.

Serve topped with crushed tortilla chips if desired.

slightly adapted from Six Sister's Stuff

Homemade Minestrone Soup

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Happy weekend everyone!

I so enjoy my weekends lately.  It's a time for much needed relaxation after a grueling week at work.  We are seeing the first signs of spring here this weekend.  The weather is actually starting to warm up during the day and the sun is shining nice and bright.  But this is just a teaser of whats to come because they say there's rain in forecast again this week.

With all the cold weather and the rain I've been on a soup kick all winter.  I've made some of my old standards like Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup and Italian Chicken and Bean Soup and Cheesy Potato Soup and I've made some mouthwatering new ones.  So I going to bring you a couple of new soups to make before spring truly hits beginning with an Italian staple.

HOMEMADE MINESTRONE SOUP

This insanely easy dish will make your jaw drop.  It's that simple, and that GOOD!  The secret to a good soup is a good broth, and allowing the flavors to meld and develop a rich taste.  This soup is chock full of hearty vegetables and beans that are simmered in a chicken tomato broth and spiced just right with wonderful Italian herbs.  I also added a little kick to the soup by adding a pinch of red pepper flakes.  If you don't want the heat then you can certainly leave it out. 

What do I need to make this soup?  A good sturdy dutch oven such as this one is a must.  I just love mine and use it for so many soups and braised dishes.  A good knife like this one really makes chopping vegetables easy.  Wooden spoons such as these, make stirring a breeze.  To round this out some wonderful soup bowls such as these hold a nice portion of soup and are pretty too!

This soup cooks in about 1 hours which is ideal for weeknights and weekends.  We tend to cook them on Sundays after a day of running around.  They are perfect with a loaf of crusty bread and a nice salad.  This soup will is so tasty and filing it's sure to become a new favorite in your household.

Enjoy!

Homemade Minestrone Soup

serves 6


2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 small carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
1 small yellow squash, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
6-7 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juices
1 (15 oz) can Cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz) can Kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups chopped fresh baby spinach
1 cup Ditalini pasta
salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender.  Add the zucchini, yellow squash, and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth to deglaze the pan, using a spoon to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. 

Add the remaining chicken broth, oregano, thyme, black pepper, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, tomatoes, and drained beans. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for at least 20-30 minutes.

Add the spinach and the pasta.  Cook for 10 minutes more until the pasta is al dente. Remove the bay leaves and season with additional salt and pepper as needed.