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Wedge Salad, Starring Roasted Tomatoes

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Wedge Salad with Roasted Tomatoes, Bacon, Chia Seeds, Sauteed Onions, and Ranch Dressing

Last night I made what instantly became a Salad Legend in our kitchen: A wedge salad with bacon, chia seeds, ranch dressing, and the main attraction, roasted grape tomatoes.

I seldom give either sautéed onions OR bacon second billing to anything, yet here BOTH of them are… playing second fiddle to the humble, miniature grape tomato.

Wedge Salads: Iceberg Lettuce’s Call in Life

Iceberg Lettuce for Wedge Salad

Wedge Salads, Fixing to Happen

For a great wedge salad, you have to start with a fresh, crisp, clean, beautiful head of iceberg lettuce. Cut it into fourths and salt it a little under, over, around, and through. Iceberg lettuce has a shy flavor, you have to coax it out with a little salt.

Place your wedges on a plate and pour either Ranch Dressing or Blue Cheese Dressing on top – be generous.

Now, add your favorite toppings. You can choose from..

  • crumbled, cooked bacon (or bacon bits if you’re in a hurry or don’t want to mess up a skillet)
  • chopped tomatoes (grape or cherry tomatoes – roasted or not – are ideal for wedge salads)
  • green onions
  • crumbled Blue Cheese or Feta
  • sautéed onions
  • roasted vegetables
  • roasted corn (YUM!)
  • Chia seeds
  • sunflower seeds
  • etc…

A wedge salad can be as quick and easy or as elaborate as you want it to be.

The wedge salad pictured at the top (and at the bottom of the post) involved a little more time to make than the average wedge salad, but when it comes to sautéed onions and roasted tomatoes, I have all the time in the world.

How to Roast Grape Tomatoes

Grape Tomatoes for Roasting

Grape Tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the grape (or cherry) tomatoes and place them in a bowl. Drizzle them with olive oil, then season them with Kosher Salt.  Depending upon your preference AND depending upon what you’ll be eating at this particular meal, you could also drizzle a little Balsamic Vinegar on top of the tomatoes.

There are endless herb possibilities, too, but for this wedge salad, I just wanted to taste the roasted tomatoes… nothing but them in all their glory.

Large tomatoes or Roma tomatoes generally take upward of 30 minutes to roast, but the little guys don’t take quite as long.  Grape (or cherry) tomatoes usually begin to caramelize in about 20 minutes.  You’ll want to take them out and give them a quick little flip about halfway through the cooking time.

Don’t let the dark color rattle you. As cooks, when something turns dark, it usually means a trip to the garbage can, followed by another trip to the store – but when roasting vegetables, you want the darkness… that’s where the flavor is.

A word about roasting – I don’t want to venture too far off the beaten path here, but roasting vegetables is a woefully underrated and underused way of enjoying sides. Most vegetables can be roasted using the same approach I described above – most simply need more time under the heat.  Roasting vegetables brings out the flavor like few things ever could. Experiment with oils, seasonings, and even vinegars to mix things up.

Pan roasting on the stove-top (simply putting food into a hot skillet briefly) is a great way to bring out the deep, intense flavors of spices and herbs. Just keep an eye on them, they’ll burn fast.

Dressings for Wedge Salads

I favor using Blue Cheese Dressing or Ranch. I almost always make my own dressing but also love using Hidden Valley Ranch packets to whip up a great Ranch dressing. When it comes to dressing, I do prefer to make my own and, during the warmer months, I often have at least one made up at all times. During the colder months, when we aren’t having salads quite as often, I’ll turn to bottled dressing.

Topping Things Off

To finish off the presentation beautifully, and tastefully, add crumbled cheese (blue, mozzarella, or feta), bacon, snipped parsley or chives, sunflower seeds, salt, pepper, and/or chia seeds. Just find the combo that makes you smile.

Wedge Salad with Roasted Tomatoes, bacon, and Chia Seeds.

Wedge Salad

**** If you have to eat gluten free, always check everything you put on your plate and into your mouth. Never “assume” salad dressings, bacon bits, and all salad toppings are gluten free. Make  sure the label says “gluten free.”

Also See: Ideas for Salads and Gluten Free Salad Toppings

Chicken Salad with Eggs: You’ll Be Surprised How Much Flavor the Eggs Add!

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Chicken Salad with Boiled Egg Recipe (Gluten-Free)

Chicken Salad with Boiled Egg Recipe (Gluten-Free)

When I  had to start eating entirely gluten-free (health reasons), I realized how much I took sandwiches for granted – especially favorites like chicken salad, pimento cheese, and egg salad. Throw them on bread and BOOM, you’re done. When you have (or choose to) eat gluten-free or choose to eat keto, you have to get creative. Thankfully this is pretty darn easy and actually just as delicious, if not more so.

If you’ll be eating this chicken salad recipe on bread (regular or gluten-free), you’ll probably want to chop the veggies finely and chop the chicken and eggs as much as possible. If, like me, you’ll eat it on the plate with lettuce, tomato, and all the pickles in the house (What? Not everyone is a pickle hound like me??), leave the chicken, boiled eggs, and veggies chunky (as in the picture above)- you’ll be glad you did when stabbing them with a fork.

After you’ve combined the ingredients, taste and add any extra mayo or seasonings desired.

Either way, I think you’re going to love this chicken salad recipe.

If you want an easier way to make “boiled” eggs, please do yourself a HUGE favor and check out the Dash Egg Cooker. I’ve used mine (at least once a week) for over a year and think, “This is one of the best kitchen gadgets ever made..” each time I use it. The eggs turn out PERFECT each time and are gloriously easy to peel.

If you’re looking for a great egg salad recipe, here’s one I use every single time!

The Best Honey Mustard Salad Dressing… Easy and So Much Better Than Store-Bought

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Honey Mustard Dressing and Salad

Honey Mustard Dressing

I am an absolute salad fanatic and feel there is no hope for me to be anything else. When we go to restaurants (when there isn’t a global pandemic, of course), I give one extra points for a great salad. If they bring out a salad that obviously came from a bag, it doesn’t much matter what else they do to try to impress me, they’ve already lost me.

And salad bars…..  holy cats do I ever love those?!

Tossing modesty aside, though, none of them can beat the salads I make at home. There are several reasons, I suppose, but one is I get crazy creative and experiment, not only with different vegetables, but also different greens (and combinations of greens), cheeses, seeds, herbs, and other fun additions like real bacon bits, baby corn, dried cranberries, etc.

Another special touch that turns an average salad into a delicious experience is a great salad dressing.

I prefer to make the salad dressings we use for several reasons:

  1. Since the pandemic, I find that the more things I can make at home, the fewer things we run out of and have to go get. I always have the staples on hand for my favorite dressings (French, Honey Mustard, Ranch, and Vinaigrette), so having my favorites in a rotation simplifies my life and keeps me out of stores!
  2. You can control the amount of sugar and/or salt in your dressings. Some of us like things a little less sweet than others or a little less salty. When you make the dressings, yourself, you have full control over what’s added.
  3. I love the idea of avoiding additives.
  4. I have to eat gluten-free (health reasons) and anything I can make, myself, gives me more peace of mind.
  5. Most importantly…. they simply taste A LOT better. Even if there weren’t a 1, 2, 3, and 4 above – I’d still make my own salad dressings for reason 5 alone. I mean, come on… taste trumps everything else!

The easy recipe, below, is in my opinion the absolute best honey mustard dressing recipe you’ll find. This is my go-to dressing for grilled chicken salads and I also love it on a great chef salad.

Obviously, adjust the amount of honey to suit your own tastes – Dijon mustard too, as far as that goes. However, I would suggest starting with this combination first – this way you can tell if you, personally, want less (or more… I won’t judge!) honey.

Tangy Southern Coleslaw: Fast, Easy, and Oh So Delicious!

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Tangy Southern Coleslaw

Tangy Southern Coleslaw

One of the things I love most in the world is coleslaw – or, I should say, GOOD coleslaw. There’s a lot of bad coleslaw out there which can be frustrating for me because I am coleslaw picky. Make that PICKY.

When you find (or make) great coleslaw, it’s just such a beautiful thing. And given that there’s so much bad coleslaw out there, it feels a little bit magical.

I also love that coleslaw goes with so many things.. and those few things it doesn’t conceivably go with? I make it go.

The only drawback to loving a particular food so much is (as I said), it can make you hyper picky when you order it in restaurants (or, worse yet, when a family member makes some and it tastes like a movie prop). Let’s be honest, really truly wonderful coleslaw is a work of art and not many people pass for artists.

This particular easy, but delicious, southern coleslaw is spot on – a work of art that’ll make you a Picasso.

My personal favorite coleslaw is usually vinegar-based, but I wanted to add some creamy tanginess to the mix (literally), so  I opted to sort of combine a creamy coleslaw and a vinegar coleslaw. That’s where the buttermilk comes into play. It may sound unusual, but it really does make things interesting.

And delicious!

Notes:

  • I specify Duke’s Mayonnaise simply because it’s the one I always buy and use in my recipes. I simply think it’s the best. However, using Hellman’s will not alter the recipe. In fact, it’s pretty much the same… don’t tell my beloved Duke’s that though.
  • This is outrageously delicious on or beside a chili dog or pork sandwich.
  • One of the things that makes “Southern Coleslaw” in fact “Southern Coleslaw” is the sweetness. Our capacity to eat sweet food is unequaled. If you want to add a little less sugar, feel free to cut back a tad. However, a certain amount is very, very necessary to balance the acidity of the vinegar.


Brussels Sprouts and Kale Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

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Brussels Sprouts and Kale Salad
Brussels Sprouts and Kale Salad with Maple Vinaigrette
Even before I was a food blogger, one of my favorite things to do was to try new dishes in restaurants – then go home and use the inspiration in recipes of my own. It’s still something I get a great kick out of. Cooks love getting inspiration and ideas anywhere we can find them and let me tell you, restaurants are an out of this world source.

A while back, I tried the Brussels Sprouts and Kale salad at Cracker Barrel and the very next day ran to Kroger for ingredients to build my own.  Obviously, this doesn’t taste just like the one at Cracker Barrel – but, in my opinion, it’s just as good. As with most recipes I recreate (saying “copy” just makes me feel so cheap… and yet...), I intentionally make mine a little less sweet. Therefore, when attempting it, yourself, you very well may want to adjust the vinaigrette ingredients to sweeten the deal.

Speaking of the vinaigrette, it is delicious on its own as a salad dressing or simply to drizzle over raw or steamed veggies. Seriously, I keep some made up in the fridge at all times. When using it with salads, I often add a little lemon zest for the pretty factor as well as a little extra zip.

When making this particular recipe, use however much chopped pecans and dried cranberries as suits you. You could also use chopped almonds in place of the pecans but pecans are, in my opinion, better. I’ve tried it both ways and, even though I love these two nuts equally, pecans are better here.

Also, if you aren’t sure you like dried cranberries – give them a try in the recipe. They’re beautiful and delicious in this salad (and all salads, for that matter). If you still aren’t sure, start small… but I think after one taste, you’ll add more.

As for the maple syrup, you’re free to use the “expensive” syrup that comes in jars. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to call you hoity toity or anything. In fact, I’d be impressed… I’d be like, “So that’s who buys those?!” I use my favorite pancake, French toast, and waffle syrup (she’s been my steady breakfast date since high school), Aunt Jemima. She’s delectable on pancakes and she’s perfect in this salad.  Just be sure to get the Original… not the Lite or Buttery stuff.

{Brussels Sprouts Nutritional Info Below the Recipe}

MAPLE VINAIGRETTE

  • 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup (I use my favorite, Aunt Jemima)
  • 1/4 Cup EVOO
  • 2 TBS Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 2 TBS Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Black Pepper

KALE AND BRUSSELS SPROUTS SALAD

  • 1 Pound Brussels Sprouts (bottoms cut off & discarded)
  • 1 Bunch of Fresh Curly Kale (torn away from stems)
  • 1/4 Red Onion or a Couple of Shallots, if you’d prefer
  • 1/2 Cup – 1 Cup Chopped Pecans
  • 1/4 Cup – 1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries
  • Pinch or Two of Salt
  • 2 TBS MORE Maple Syrup
  1. Combine the Maple Vinaigrette Ingredients and set aside.
  2. Using a food processor (or knife and cutting board if you’re a very patient person with a penchant for cutting tiny uniform pieces): Chop the sprouts, kale and onion. You want the pieces to resemble a VERY chopped salad – closer to coleslaw, actually, than a tossed salad (see the pictures).
  3. Toss the chopped vegetables into a bowl and salt them with a pinch or two of salt. Add the cranberries and pecans, stirring to combine. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and combine really well. Taste. If you’d like more of a maple flavor (I always do), add 2 more TBS syrup directly over the salad.
  4. Cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

We all know how excellent kale is for us. As far as I’m concerned, it’s pretty much a perfect food. Perfectly delicious, inexpensive, easy to work with, and darn good for you. Perfect. While not quite as inexpensive, Brussels Sprouts are pretty darn impressive, themselves. They have a healthy number of  valuable nutrients and are an excellent source of vitamin C and vitamin K. T

Brussels Sprouts are also a very good source of numerous  folate, manganese, vitamin B6, dietary fiber, choline, copper, vitamin B1, potassium, phosphorus and omega-3 fatty acids. To learn exactly how these particular nutrients “do a body good” and to find out more about Brussels Sprouts, see Dr. Axe’s article Brussels Sprouts Nutrition, Health Benefits & Recipes.


 

Food52 Mighty Salads: 60 Ways to Turn Salad Into Dinner

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Food52 Mighty Salads Cookbook
I think I’ve finally figured out why I’m such a salad fanatic and the it turns out it isn’t much of a mystery at all… I’m all about vegetables. And, oddly enough, it doesn’t have anything to do with their nutritional value. That’s just a bonus. I love the taste, the crunch, and the visual appeal of vegetables and a salad is sort of a masterpiece where they all come together.

Okay, so that’s a little flowery, but you get the idea.

Food 52 Mighty Salads: 60 Ways to Turn Salad Into Dinner is, understandably, my latest cookbook obsession. Here’s the thing about cookbooks – you can (and should) try out the recipes, as instructed… only substituting where necessary – like for allergies or intolerances or for ingredients you either can’t find or have zero intention of paying for (I’m looking at you $saffron). However, you can (and most definitely SHOULD) also use recipes in cookbooks as “guides” and “inspiration.” Mighty Salads is a beautiful example of the latter, in particular.

Granted, when it comes to salads, I am a pro. If salad making were a sport, I’d be LeBron James, Serena Williams, Peyton Manning, and Albert Pujols rolled into one. Sorry, I just don’t have time for modesty today. However, even I found innumerable ideas and creative inspirations in Mighty Salads. There were techniques I’d never thought of and even ingredients I’d never considered.

While salads are beautiful and delicious, they can also be next level nutritious, especially when you can add a variety of vegetables or fruits to your creation. So, a cookbook that gives you countless ideas for doing so is… in my opinion… priceless.

From the Inside Cover:

A collection of 60 recipes for turning ordinary salads into one-dish worthy meals.

Does anybody need a recipe to make a salad? Of course not. But if you want your salad to hold strong in your lunch bag or carry the day as a one-bowl dinner, dressing on lettuce isn’t going to cut it.

Make way for Mighty Salads, in which the editors of Food52 present sixty salads hefty with vegetables, meats, grains, beans, fish, seafood, pasta, and bread. Think shrimp and radicchio tossed in a bacon vinaigrette, a make-ahead jumble of white beans with charred lemon and fennel, slow-roasted duck and apples scattered across spicy greens. It’s comforting food made captivating by simply charring one ingredient or marinating another—shaving some, or roasting a bunch.

But because we don’t always follow recipes, there are also loose formulas for confident off-roading, as well as back-pocket tips and genius tricks for improving any old salad. Because once you know how to fix too-salty dressing, wash greens once and for all, keep an avocado from browning, and even sprout your own grains, the humble salad starts looking a lot more interesting—and a whole lot more like dinner.

Salad recipes, tips, and ideas cover lettuce-based salads, pasta salads, and potato salads. While this is not a “gluten-free” cookbook, each recipe can be easily adapted to fit those of us who have to or choose to eat gluten-free.  Also, while there are a lot of recipes that call for meat, vegetarians will find them equally easy to tweak. In fact, I think this cookbook is IDEAL for vegetarians (as well as anyone looking for ways to add more vegetables to their diet.

I just can’t tell you how many innovative ideas and creative tips are included in this one very handsome cookbook. It’s packed with them!

{Continued Below….}

Food52 Mighty Salads Cookbook
Recipes Include:

  • Fresh Corn Cakes With Crab-Tomato Salad
  • Roasted Potato Salad with Mustard-Walnut Vinaigrette
  • Wilted Escarole with Feta and Honey
  • Grilled Bread, Broccoli Rabe & Summer Squash Salad
  • Lemony Greek Pasta Salad
  • Thai Pork Salad with Crisped Rice
  • Charred Broccoli & Lentil Salad
  • Shaved Brussels Sprouts, Endive & Apple Salad
  • And many, many more great salad recipes and ideas.

“While Emily’s and the other recipes in this book are mighty, they are just the beginning. Even if you never make a single recipe in the book to completion but instead create a mash-up you like better or that serves as a happy home for your leftover vegetables, we’ve done our job.” – From the Introduction

Food52 Mighty Salads Cookbook and Salad!

Food52 Mighty Salads: 60 New Ways to Turn Salad into Dinner
When doing cookbook reviews, I detest the idea of giving away any of the recipes or tips the author(s) work so hard to compile. However, sometimes a “tease” helps give the reader an idea of what they can expect – as well as a hint as to why I’m so excited about the book. One of the coolest ideas I take away from this book of beautiful and innovative recipes is the idea of “shaving” unexpected vegetables into salads. Brussels Sprouts, asparagus, and beets to name a few. The “shaving” technique makes them easier to incorporate into a salad, easier to eat, and… let’s face it… beautiful to behold (and photograph, if you’re a food blogger and/or foodie).

I also (as an experienced salad pro… still zero hint of modesty) found myself saying, “I agree!” or “Preach on!” again and again. For example, when making your salad’s dressing, they tout the importance of taste-testing the dressing, not on a spoon or finger, but on one of the salad’s stars. A great dressing is meant to be a co-star – it isn’t meant to be the star attraction. It should compliment the diva of the salad and the best way to see if it’s worthy of sharing the spotlight is to test it on a cast member.

I completely and whole-heartedly recommend Food52 Mighty Salads: 60 New Ways to Turn Salad into Dinner. It’s a great-looking cookbook that’ll make your kitchen healthier, more colorful, more creative, and (perhaps most importantly) more delicious. If you click through any of the links above, you’ll find a recipe from the book: Cobb Salad with Hard-Boiled Egg Dressing!


Note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. The opinions are entirely my own.

Bacon and Eggs Salad with a Creamy Mayo Dressing

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Bacon and Eggs Salad
Bacon and Eggs Salad 
My love of animals, birds, butterflies, and bees is so great that it’s a part of my DNA. I’m somewhere between a modern day Snow White and Ellie May Clampett (without the little men or pigtails – though I’d kind of fancy having both around).

As you’d expect, I only buy cage-free eggs. They cost a little more, but the way I see it.. it’s more than worth it. The thought of any animal being confined and miserable – unable to enjoy fresh air, sunshine, and… well… life – makes me miserable and that’s a feeling I’m not wild about. The way I see it, if we were to all DEMAND better for animals (be their voice, if you will), their treatment will improve.

Talk about worthwhile goals!

When I saw Nellie’s Free Range Eggs website, the first thing that caught my eye was a precious picture of a beautiful little girl holding a beautiful hen like a cherished pet. Not only am I obsessed with animals, having raised three beautiful little girls of my own – I’m terribly partial to that “critter” as well!

Above the precious picture were the words that have stuck with me… “We Love Our Hens.” Maybe it’s because I’m a sentimental animal lover with few rivals for the title of Queen Sentimental Animal Lover, but that struck a chord with me. The love for their hens has led Nellie’s Free Range Eggs to be Certified Humane (click the link to learn exactly what this means).

Teaching Kids About Healthy Cooking and Humane Living

{Continued Below…}

Nellie's Free Range Eggs Hen
My Buddy, the Nellie’s Free-Range Eggs Hen (My Cats Love Her)
I’m a huge advocate for teaching girls and boys how to cook (safely, healthily, and deliciously). When our girls were growing up, they took turns helping in the kitchen. I showed them simple things like…

  • how to always turn the pot handles toward the back of the stove
  • how to pour ingredients safely to keep them from splattering all over your face
  • how to handle knives without incident
  • where to store eggs in the fridge (not on the door)
  • what foods need refrigeration and what ones don’t
  • how garlic powder and an iron skillet make the best burgers ever
  • etc, etc, etc..

While it wasn’t really an issue when my girls were children, today parents and grandparents would be great to teach their little cooks about food allergies and intolerances. Teaching them that it’s always considerate to take things like allergies into consideration when cooking for others.

I’ve also preached to my daughters (and anyone else who’ll listen!) about the importance of mastering certain recipes that’ll serve you well throughout your life. Egg recipes are among the ones that I think are most important to master.

Everyone should be able to make EXTRA special…

As is the case with many recipes, perfecting egg recipes simply takes practice – and attention to detail. I love eggs to distraction – I guess that’s why I have (over the years) worked so hard to perfect my egg recipes. It’s why I’ve always found ways to get eggs into as many meals as possible.

They aren’t just for breakfast you know!

When it comes to summer meals, one of my favorite ways to enjoy eggs is a Bacon and Eggs Salad with a Creamy Mayo Dressing.

{Bacon and Eggs Salad Recipe Below…}

Bacon and Eggs Salad and Dressing

Bacon and Eggs Salad

Round up the usual suspects: Romaine Lettuce (or your favorite leaf lettuce – don’t let me tell you what to do), chopped green onions, bacon, hard-boiled eggs (chopped), tomatoes if you’ve got them… and any other vegetables you want to invite. Most of the time, I want the bacon and eggs to be the stars they are, so I keep things ridiculously simple.

Creamy Mayo Dressing:

For some reason, the dressing looks almost yellow in the picture below, but don’t let it fool you.. it’s white. I guess the mid-day sunlight coming through the kitchen window pulled a fast one.

1 cup mayo (I love Duke’s and Hellman’s)
4 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 TBS sugar
salt and pepper

This is the basic dressing I use for the Bacon and Eggs Salad – but you can jazz it up a little with chopped chives (fantastic on just about any tossed salad) or other herbs. You can also add a little lemon juice if you so desire. Again, I don’t want anything upstaging the bacon and eggs, so I keep it basic. As you can see from the pics, the last time I made this I didn’t even involve tomatoes. They sat in a bowl looking at me but I was like, “Nah, I’m good…”

{Concluded Below…}

Hard Boiled Eggs
Hard-Boiled Eggs without Pepper? I Do NOT Think So!
 As long as we have our children’s attention, we should also teach them about compassion. Along with my love for great, healthy food and cooking, I passed on to my girls a great love and compassion for every human and animal involved in the process – from farm to table. The kitchen is one of the easiest places to do this. Strike up conversations with your kids about the importance of things like supporting local farmers and buying free-range eggs. Visit Nellie’s Free Range Eggs with them (they’ll love the pictures!) and show them “the right way” to do a business.

Nellie's Free Range Eggs
I was sent a gift certificate for Nellie’s Free-Range Eggs in exchange for telling you all about them. I decided to do more than just tell you about them… I decided to RAVE because everything about the way Nellie’s does business makes this animal lover’s hear soar.

Hard-Boiled Eggs

Place your free-range eggs in a saucepan and cover them with cold water. Place the pan on high heat and cook until it reaches the boiling point. Take the pan off of the heat (don’t forget to turn off your burner… I used to be AWFUL about that!) and cover the pan. Allow the eggs to sit in their hot bath for about 13 minutes. Peel, pepper and enjoy!

Hard Boiled Eggs

When You’re Gluten-Free But HARD Craving a Big Mac, You Improvise

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Big Mac Salad

What you’re looking at, above, is what happens when a gal who grew up eating delicious Big Macs like it was her job gets a killer craving BUT now has to eat entirely gluten-free.

A “Big Mac Salad.”

I’ve found that when I crave anything in particular that I can no longer have, it’s almost never the gluten/wheat that I’m craving. It’s all the other flavors. And the wonderful thing about flavors is this – they can be recreated, on your own terms… and in this case, the terms are gluten-free.

Big Mac Salad

Lots of Cheese – Lots. Of. Cheese.

When I recreate flavors, I generally turn to one of two approaches:

  1. Salads
  2. Bowls

This one was pretty obvious – what I needed was a Big Mac Salad.

Before going any further, let’s take a minute to appreciate the Big Mac. This sandwich is one of the best-tasting fast food sandwiches known to mankind. The combo of the hamburgers, lettuce, and that sauce… holy cats, there’s just nothing about them I don’t love.

To recreate this lifelong favorite, I had to determine the different flavors/ingredients of this beautiful (yet decidedly not gluten-free) sandwich:

  • all beef patties
  • “special sauce” (Thousand Island)
  • lettuce
  • cheese
  • pickles
  • onions
  • … “on a sesame seed bun” (hearing the jingle in your head yet?)

Lettuce, hamburgers, shredded cheddar cheese, and pickles are easy enough – you just have to know the right ingredients and invite them to the party.  If I were making this salad and knew we’d be eating it at one setting, I would have added white onion (after sauteing it in the hamburger’s skillet). However, I knew that I’d be sending leftovers to work with my husband for his lunch the next day and I didn’t trust white onions to refrain from “taking over,” so I went with green onions. They’re milder and don’t overpower a salad overnight. If I’d had scallions or red onion, I might have used one of them.

But, I love green onions to the ends of the earth and back, so I went with them.

Big Mac Salad

As for pickles, I chopped my hamburger pickles into fourths and tossed them into the salad. I ended up adding a few extras to my salad because it just seemed like the right thing to do.  As you can tell, I decided to keep this whole salad really chunky. I wanted to have the full-effect of a Big Mac, so everything went into the salad in hefty portions.

As for the “special sauce,” that’s none other than a bottle of Thousand Island dressing. If you have to eat gluten-free, too, be sure to read the label and make certain the dressing is gluten-free.

One of the most distinctive flavors of a Big Mac are the sesame seeds on the bun. Truth be told, they’re one of the funnest things about the whole situation, aren’t they? I didn’t have any gluten-free hamburger buns on hand when the craving hit, so I simply lightly buttered some gluten free bread, tossed some sesame seeds on top, and toasted them – making, in effect, sesame seed croutons for the salad.

I cut up plain old American cheese slices and threw them into the salad. When trying to copy cheeseburgers you fall in love with in fast food restaurants, the American Cheese slices are the way to go. Sure, the fancier cheeses are delicious for everything else, but go with the old familiar plastic-wrapped slices for this sort of situation. It makes such a huge difference.

Because I’m an anal food-blogger always looking for the best picture, I also added shredded cheese on top (as you can see in one of the pictures above). HOWEVER, the best taste came from the American cheese slices. When you get a fork filled with the cheese, beef, lettuce, pickle, crouton, and sauce…. it’s just amazing.

It sent my brain and taste buds right back to a booth in the McDonald’s in my hometown and it was a very tasty trip.


Salad Bar Salads… So Very Much YUM!

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Salad Bar Salad
I’m pretty sure I’ve confessed my salad fixation to you at some point during our relationship. However, if it has been an oversight, allow me to ‘fess up now. Basically, I meander through life going from salad to salad. My fixation is so bad that even when I’m enjoying a great salad, part of my brain is thinking of what I will or will not include in my next salad – to say nothing of the dressing and condiments that’ll go on top.

One of the fascinating things about salads is that you can, literally, have one every single day of the year and never have two exactly the same. Of course, if you have a particular combo that rocks your boat, you can easily have the exact same one every day – I won’t judge you.

Salad Bar Salad with Ranch Dressing
Obviously salads are wonderful for many reasons….

  • They’re colorful and beautiful! A gorgeous salad makes any meal look more beautiful. They’ve been known to even upstage a lasagna.. trust me, I was there.
  • They’re delicious. Even people who don’t think they like vegetables CAN find salad combinations they like. Iceberg lettuce, which doesn’t have a lot of flavor is a great start for the non-veggie crowd. Add tomatoes (which almost everyone loves) and go from there. A lot of strides can be taken with those who “don’t like salads” with the dressing. If they’re fans of mustard, try a honey mustard dressing. If they love Ranch (who doesn’t?), make them a great Ranch dressing.
  • They’re healthy. Along with soup (something else I’m all about), salads present you with a perfect opportunity to get your daily veggie count up. Leafy greens are one of the healthiest foods you can eat, as are broccoli and cauliflower and they’re all excellent salad co-stars. But it doesn’t stop with the veggies. You can work EVEN more nutrients and vitamins in by topping your salad with flaxseed, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, and/or chia seeds.

Salad Bar Salad
One of my favorite ways to enjoy salads is to have what I call a Salad Bar Salad. These fun and delicious salads are built from your favorite salad bar options, such as:

  • colorful lettuce – several varieties, preferably
  • deviled eggs or hard-boiled eggs
  • cherry peppers
  • olives
  • baby carrots
  • celery
  • pickled beets
  • broccoli
  • cauliflower
  • shredded cheese
  • bacon bits (extra points if they’re homemade)
  • cherry or grape tomatoes
  • spinach
  • radishes
  • pickled okra
  • chopped green onions
  • chopped bell pepper
  • pickled jalapeno slices
  • several dressings to choose from
  • Topping Ideas: sunflower seeds, chia seeds, flaxseed

My Favorite Buttermilk Dressing Recipe:

I’m as fanatical about making homemade salad dressings as I am about what I put into my actual salad. Pre-made dressings are filled with preservatives and, generally speaking, a lot of unnecessary sugar. It’s healthier, smarter, and a lot more delicious to simply make your own.

Think of your own favorite dressings and find or create recipes that blow you away. It’s always best to have quite a few in your arsenal. My favorite salad dressing is French (see the Best French Salad Dressing), so I almost always have a jar of homemade French Salad Dressing made up.

Another of my favorite “dressings” for salads is to simply drizzle the salad with really good olive oil, squeeze on some lemon juice, then top with freshly ground black pepper and a little salt. This is more delicious than it even has a right to be.

If you like creamy Ranch and Buttermilk dressings, you’re going to love the one below. It’s one of the best dressings you ever put a fork into. This is a recipe from an old Betty Crocker’s cookbook, called Buttermilk Dressing and it is the bomb diggity.

3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon instant minced onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of freshly ground black pepper (or white pepper to keep the dressing whiter in color)
1 clove garlic, crushed

Mix all ingredients and cover with wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Refrigerate any left over dressing. Makes 1-1/4 cups dressing.

The cookbook also says that you can make this a Buttermilk Parmesan Dressing by adding 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. I love the original so much I’ve never even tried this version – but now I want desperately to do just that!

Hmmmm, guess I’d better make a salad….

Salad Bar Salad with Ranch Dressing
 

Kentucky Coleslaw: Like Your Big-Hearted Southern Aunt Tess Would Make

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Best Coleslaw Recipe: Kentucky Coleslaw
 

Kentucky Coleslaw
I love coleslaw on the level some people love cheesecake.

Not that I wouldn’t, at any given time, wrestle a crocodile in a bad mood for cheesecake, mind you.

Over the years, I’ve played and tinkered with coleslaw recipes – adding this, adding that, leaving this out, leaving that out… you know, tinkered.  In the end, the one that remains my favorite is the simplest.

I, for personal reasons I can’t even begin to explain, prefer my coleslaw coarsely chopped as opposed to shredded.  I know. Weird, right?  But, there you have it. Maybe it’s because I like it crunchy and snappy.  I grate my carrots, but finely chop the cabbage and green bell pepper.

My husband teases me about the amount of time it takes for me to make a batch of coleslaw, but I’m never more relaxed and at peace with life than when I’m cooking, so it’s all good.

After you’ve poured the cooled mixture over your vegetables, whatever you do, don’t pour out what you think to be “excess” liquid – that’s where the flavor lives.