Salads

Lemony Orzo Salad with Chicken

Leah Short — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 16:23:00 +0000

It’s two days from officially being spring. Two days! I’ve never been so excited for winter to be over. I’m starting to crave lighter foods like this amazing Lemony Orzo Salad with Chicken. Not only is it light as in the opposite of a rich, heavy meal, it’s also light as in low calorie. You know I love me some super tasty low calorie eats! This salad is really quick and easy to prepare. It’s mixed with a tangy lemon dressing and tossed with rotisserie chicken, cucumbers, green onions, fresh dill, and goat cheese. I’ve been eating it for lunch all week with no complaints!

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Clean Slate: Quinoa Salad with Zucchini, Mint, & Pistachios

Leah Short — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 21:33:15 +0000

In my previous post, I mentioned how I’m cooking from the Clean Slate cookbook and seeing if I actually enjoy clean eating. Before, I assumed clean eating meant bland eating, and I’ve learned that’s absolutely not the case! For breakfast I’ve tried Barley with Pineapple, Coconut, & Flaxseed. It sounds unusual but tasted so good! Next up was trying something for lunch. I picked this Quinoa Salad with Zucchini, Mint, & Pistachios because it’s all of my favorite ingredients and I usually have most of them on hand.

So, how’s it taste?

Another hit! I loved the combination of flavors in this salad, plus it was really easy to put together. Instead of cooking the zucchini in a pan, next time I’ll roast it and increase the amount. I love, love, love roasted vegetables, especially zucchini so the more the merrier! I really like the contrast of textures with the quinoa and crunchy pistachios. The pistachios also gave it some saltiness. The mint and lemon brighten the salad, while the scallions gave it a touch of subtle heat (and more crunch!). I took this salad to work for lunch several days in a row and the leftovers were just as tasty, although I will warn that the quinoa continues to soak up the oil and lemon juice so it can get a bit dry.

Even with such simple ingredients, this was really filling for lunch. I’m finding out clean eating is really tasty eating! The dishes you see in the pictures above are part of the Martha Stewart Collection white dishware available exclusively at Macy’s. Fantastic dishware for everyday use, plus they’re dishwasher and microwave safe!

Yield: 4 servings

Quinoa Salad with Zucchini, Mint, & Pistachios

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups water
1 cup quinoa, rinsed & drained
coarse salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup roasted salted pistachios, chopped
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves, chopped, plus more for garnish

Directions:

1. Bring the water, quinoa, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until liquid has been absorbed and quinoa is tender but still chewy, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl; fluff with fork and let cool.

2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and golden, about 7 minutes. Add garlic; cook until fragrant (do not let brown), about 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper, and add to quinoa.

3. Stir in scallions, pistachios, lemon zest and juice, and mint. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

per serving: 286 calories, 13g fat, 36g carbs, 8g protein, 5g fiber

Source: Clean Slate by the editors of Martha Stewart Living

Disclosure: I received a copy of Clean Slate: A Cookbook and Guide: Reset Your Health, Detox Your Body, and Feel Your Best and the Martha Stewart Collection white dishware at no cost. All opinions expressed here are solely my own, as always. This post contains affiliate links.

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Peach & Fresh Mozzarella Arugula Salad

Leah Short — Tue, 26 Aug 2014 18:15:48 +0000

Welcome to my new obsession. Peach & Fresh Mozzarella Arugula Salad has been my dinner for more nights than I can count. And don’t hate me for finally sharing this with you now that peaches are ending their season. It’s cruel, I know. My sweet friend Natalie at Tastes Lovely shared this salad on her blog back in July and used fresh burrata instead of mozzarella. I haven’t been lucky to score any burrata where I live, but fresh mozzarella makes a mighty fine substitute. I love the simplicity of this salad, and it looks so pretty plated. It’s a breeze to create and you won’t believe how incredible it is. It’s actually quite filling, too. Sweet peaches, creamy mozzarella, and peppery arugula in a tangy balsamic vinaigrette. The finishing touch is a sweet balsamic glaze.

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Spinach Walnut Power Salad

Leah Short — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 12:08:47 +0000

According to Pinterest, I pinned this salad 47 weeks ago. FORTY-SEVEN. Not only is Pinterest a time suck, it’s also where recipes go to die, lol. It’s supposed to be your virtual spot of reminders to interesting things on the web, but for me it ends up being a way for me to pin and forget. I should set a weekly date for me and Pinterest where I review pins and get to eating! I finally made a slightly adapted version of this salad and renamed it Spinach Walnut Power Salad. Now I’m kicking myself that I let all that time pass without this salad in my life. So let me save you some guilt and tell you to make this salad right now! Pin it, but don’t forget it!

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Crunchy Ramen Chicken Salad

Leah Short — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 12:19:21 +0000

This Crunchy Ramen Chicken Salad brings back so many good memories for me. After almost five years of blogging, I really don’t know why it has taken me so long to post about it. I first made this salad about 15 years ago when I was just getting started with cooking. If you’ve read my About page, you know that this all started when my mom bought me one of those Betty Crocker small magazines that you see in checkout lanes. This recipe wasn’t in that first one, but a couple of issues later. I instantly fell in love with this salad and must’ve made it a bajillion times. Then, like so many of my beloved recipes, it kind of dropped off the radar. I’m slowly going back through those favorites so I can make sure they get shared with you and find a home on the blog.

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Warm Brown Rice and Chickpea Salad with Cherries and Goat Cheese

Leah Short — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 14:17:44 +0000

This Warm Brown Rice and Chickpea Salad with Cherries and Goat Cheese may sound a bit unusual, but it’s fantastic. I really wanted to make it with Rainier cherries, but I don’t think they’re quite in season yet. You could make this with any kind of cherry, but I opted for dried cherries. I can’t wait to make this again with fresh Rainiers! I made this salad twice, tweaking the recipe just a bit each time. Just small changes made it a different salad, but I loved both versions. Using a precooked pouch of brown rice makes this a cinch to get on the table. Perfect for when you’re busy and don’t want to fire up the stove, but want something homemade.

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Moroccan Salad with Cilantro Orange Dressing

Leah Short — Thu, 29 May 2014 14:51:18 +0000

I’m a big salad lover, especially ones with different flavors, textures, and unique ingredients. I made this Moroccan Salad with Cilantro Orange Dressing over the holiday weekend and it was fantastic. You can eat it warm or cold, and it makes a great light meal, but fills you up thanks to the bulgur. This recipe comes from the Everyday Healthy ebook, which I’m slowly eating my way through. Healthy can really taste good!

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King Kong Couscous

Leah Short — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 14:30:32 +0000

Psst…I’m giving you a sneak peek today. Coming up early next week on the blog is a shrimp showdown! I don’t want to give away too many details, but you’ll want to stay tuned for that post for sure. I’ve been having fun in the kitchen learning how to devein shrimp and cooking up a storm. Who knew it was so easy…with the right tools {hint, hint}. When it comes to shrimp, there’s one dish that always pops into my head. King Kong Couscous. It’s on the menu at East Nashville’s Silly Goose and it’s life-changing good. It’s made several appearances in my dreams and I practically jumped up and down when I found the recipe for it in a new cookbook! I can’t believe they gave this recipe away…but I’m sure glad they did!

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Soba Noodle Salad

Leah Short — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 15:32:14 +0000

I adore Giada De Laurentiis. Giada at Home is one of the few Food Network shows I still watch and I loved Everyday Italian. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her latest cookbook, Giada’s Feel Good Food: My Healthy Recipes and Secrets. Plus I’m a sucker for any cookbook that lists nutrition information. I was a tad bit disappointed in the cookbook overall because I had to thumb through it several times to find a recipe that I really wanted to make. Out of the entire cookbook, only about five appealed to me. This Soba Noodle Salad stood out because of the dressing ingredients. Almond butter, soy sauce, lime, honey, ginger, wasabi. I had to have it!

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Garden Salad with Herbed Vinaigrette

Leah Short — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 14:41:42 +0000

This is the last side dish of my awesome 420 calorie meal. I told you about the delicious Baked Sage Breaded Pork Chops and gave a rave review of Creamy Corn with Chives. This Garden Salad with Herbed Vinaigrette needs some time in the spotlight, too. It’s really a very, very basic salad and to be honest I wasn’t excited about it. You see, I like my salads full of cheese and bacon and croutons and dripping with a creamy dressing. I wasn’t so sure about one with just veggies and a homemade vinaigrette. Happy to report it was full of flavor and completely surprised me with how much I loved it.

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