Massaged Kale Salad

I was hesitant to make this salad and I was hesitant to keep its title....I mean come on....MASSAGING a salad! Who has time? Who wants to massage lettuce? But guess what..it was SO good and the reviews were positive, so I decided to post it.
I got the recipe from Aarti Sequeira, a Food Network chef. It is a very easy recipe to make, very delicious and summery and super healthy. Kale is extremely high in Vitamins A, C and K and can pack a punch (a good punch) of nutrition to your diet.
Without further ado here is the recipe:

Ingredients
1 bunch kale (black kale is especially good), stalks removed and discarded, leaves thinly sliced
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Kosher salt
2 teaspoons honey
Freshly ground black pepper
1 mango, diced small (about 1 cup)
Small handful toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), about 2 rounded tablespoons

Directions
In large serving bowl, add the kale, half of lemon juice, a drizzle of oil and a little kosher salt. Massage until the kale starts to soften and wilt, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside while you make the dressing.

In a small bowl, whisk remaining lemon juice with the honey and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Stream in the 1/4 cup of oil while whisking until a dressing forms, and you like how it tastes.

Pour the dressing over the kale, and add the mango and pepitas. Toss and serve.

I didn't have pepitas on hand so I substituted with toasted slivered almonds and it was so good I think I would suggest making that substitution permanent. Also avocado would be excellent to add for additional protein.

Hearty Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is an incredibly easy meal to make and you probably already have most, if not all, of the ingredients at home. Simply chop some onion and place in a hot pot with a bit of olive oil. Simmer for a few minutes. Add chopped up chicken and continue cooking until chicken is almost cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add some freshly chopped veggies. I added zucchini, carrot, potato and celery. Cook for a few more minutes. Then, add some chicken broth to cover the chicken and veggies. I used some frozen homemade chicken broth. (Did you know how easy it is to make your own broth? Take a whole chicken, place in boiling water for hours with some celery tops and viola!) Then add some cans of beans you have on hand. I used some black beans, pinto beans and kidney beans. I also threw in a can of turkey chili for some thickening power. Then toss in a can of corn or a frozen bag of corn or heck some freshly cut corn. Add a can of diced tomatoes. Finely chop some fresh cilantro and add to the pot. Let the soup simmer for an hour or more to blend the flavors. Add some salt if needed.
Serve in a bowl with some fresh cojita cheese and mexican crema or sour cream. Top with fresh cilantro, avocado and crumbled up tortilla chips. Then, if you are like me, dump some cholula or your favorite hot sauce, stir and enjoy the goodness! Slice up some freshly baked cornbread and you've got yourself a meal.

Watermelon Mint Martini

In my humble opinion, watermelon only tastes good the day you cut it. So, what's a girl to do when the kids only eat half of it...why juice it and make martini's naturally! These watermelon mint martinis are easy to make and even if you aren't the hugest watermelon fan, the flavor it subtle and immensly refreshing.

Here's what you need:
1 cup watermelon juice (crush watermelon in a tall cup and strain through a metal strainer or cheesecloth OR if you have a juicer....score!)
4 ounces Vodka
splash of simple syrup to your liking
Juice of 1 lime
6 torn mint leaves
ice
lime wedge and mint leaves for garnishing

Place all ingredients in a metal cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously and strain into prepared martini glasses. We wanted a less sweet version so we opted to salt our rim using half sugar and half sea salt. Delish! Happy summer!

Homemade Blue Cheese Wedge

What a yummy, summery salad made with *almost* all of the ingredients you probably have stocked in your fridge. This was a filling salad, but oh so light.

For the dressing:
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced or garic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup milk to thin the dressing

For the salad:
1/4 head of iceberg lettuce rinsed
bacon crumbles
coarsley chopped walnuts
red onion slices
tomatos diced
salt and freshly ground pepper

If this isn't enough for a "meal" serve with burgers or a nice steak. Enjoy!

Easy Breezy Meaty Lasagna

Raise your hand if you've heard of The Pioneer Woman? I've been a long time follower of her blog. She is a mother of four, ranch owner, homeschooler, photographer and author. Mostly though, she loves cooking simple, delicious meals (not necessarily low fat!) which are relatively easy to throw together. Check her out: thepioneerwoman.com

This week I made her lasagna found here.

The ingredients are basic and it comes together pretty quickly. I made three lasagnas in about 40 minutes from start to finish and figure I spent under $20.00. I used the Trader Joe's no bake lasagna noodles (and bit my fingernails hoping they would work and not be chewy or uncooked) and they were fabulous. Who doesn't like a meaty, cheesy lasagna?

So, gather your ingredients and make a few. Throw them in the freezer unbaked and save them for a rainy day.

Enjoy!

Glazed Salmon with Rice and Asparagus

We don't eat a whole lot of fish in the Ferenc household, not because we don't love the taste, but because Mama doesn't like/know how to prep fish. This week's Sprouts ad came in the mail and I noticed they had Alaskan wild caught Sockeye salmon on sale. I decided to take the plunge and find a simple salmon recipe and hope for the best. I purchased the salmon with the skin on and placed the large filet in a simple marinade of:

• ⅓ cups Brown Sugar
• ⅓ cups Water
• ⅓ cups Soy Sauce
• ¼ cups Vegetable Oil
• juice from one fresh lemon
• ginger, pepper, garlic and any other fresh herbs you like

I left the salmon to marinate overnight, or longer then simply drained out the marinade into a saucepan and baked the salmon at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. While the salmon was cooking I simmered the marinade on low heat so we could pour over the salmon later. Cook up some rice, we had wild rice and place the salmon (with skin removed after cooking) on top of the rice and generously pour over the sauce.... it’s YUMMY. Serve with a side of fresh asparagus. The best way to cook asparagus is to heat up a skillet with some olive oil. Toss the asparagus in the skillet and season with garlic, salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes until the asparagus turns a pretty green. Immediately douse with fresh lemon juice and cook 1 minute more. Remove the asparagus and you should have some perfectly cooked, fresh and non-soggy asparagus.

I wasn't sure how the kids would respond to the salmon. I was prepared to put up a food fight and not give them any other dinner option and GUESS WHAT??? They gobbled this up, asked for more and loved it! They never cease to surprise me.

Bacon, Gruyere and Arugula Quiche

So, excuse the blurriness of the picture above...I said I can cook not take pictures! I just wanted to show you how pretty this quiche turned out. I almost didn't want to cut it. But, my taste buds got the best of me and I gave in. Meghan gave me the starting point recipe for this basic quiche. You can add just about anything you want in to it.

Quiche basic recipe:

6 large eggs

2/3 cup heavy cream or crème fraîche

1 cup milk (preferably whole)

8 ounces gruyère, emmenthal, or other Swiss-type cheese

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, salt, pepper and garlic to taste

After you make the basic recipe, just add whatever you feel like adding. I added some chopped grilled onion (grill it in the bacon fat...just do it!), bacon pieces, shredded gruyere cheese and fresh arugula. Then simply pour it in the pie crust, which I bought at Trader Joe's and bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. Watch to make sure your pie crust isn't getting too brown. If it is, simply throw a piece of tin foil over the whole thing and continue cooking.

I served our quiche with a nice simple spinach salad with toasted almonds, freshly sliced strawberries, red onion and feta. Toss with Trader Joe's Raspberry Vinaigrette.

The best thing about quiche is that you can eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It is so versatile and filling. Plus, you have plenty of leftovers to carry you through a busy week. Enjoy!

Meatball Parmesan Sliders

Here is the link for this weeks recipe. This meal was a big hit in our household. I modified it a little bit to fit our taste and needs. I opted to make the meatballs out of beef only. I would have added some ground pork but couldn't find any suitable. I also tripled the garlic...like I do for almost every recipe. I used more fresh parsley than stated and I added fresh basil as well to season the meat a bit more. I had never made homemade meatballs before and I have to say I will probably keep this as a staple in the freezer for those nights I find I want to just throw some spaghetti in the pot for the kids and with some frozen pre-cooked meatballs in the freezer I could pull a few out and thaw them right in the sauce. I used my big kitchen mixer and threw all of the ingredients together and then rolled out about 48 meatballs. My fear in making meatballs is that they might crumble or fall apart when cooking in the sauce...not so! Gently turn them over in the sauce if the sauce isn't covering the whole meatball and they will cook through nicely. Now, I couldn't find brioche bread either, so I opted for the mini slider buns at Trader Joe's and I think they were pretty good. Simply butter each side of the slider bun and toast for a minute in the toaster oven. Add the meatball and kind of push it down a bit so it won't roll off. Then I added a piece of provolone cheese, some red onion and a few fresh basil leaves and returned to the toaster oven until the cheese melted. You can also scoop an extra bit of marinara sauce on right at the end. Scrumptious! Throw in a ceasar and you have dinner girls!

Spicy Steak Salad

One of my favorite things to make almost weekly is a hearty, steak salad. You can really be creative and make this salad with everything you love and customize it to fit your families needs. Last week I made this steak salad with organic mixed greens, sliced cucumber, baby pearl tomatoes, red onion, marinated mushrooms, crumbled sheep feta and of course spicy tri-tip. We used a balsamic dressing from Trader Joe's but one of my absolute favorite stand by dressings is just sprinkling rice vinegar and sesame oil over the salad. It gives it a nice, subtle Asian kick. I wish I could remember who first introduced me to this easy dressing because I would probably kiss them. The way I like to marinate mushrooms is to heat up some olive oil in a pan and add the mushrooms in to cook for about 3 minutes. After the mushrooms soften, add some generous splashes of balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic powder or fresh minced garlic if you have it. Let the mushrooms continue to cook and simmer down. Go ahead, walk away and even forget about them for 15 minutes until the aroma in your house is undeniable. The come back in turn them off and add them warm with the juices into your salad. Your husband will thank you....at least mine did.

Dijon Pecan Crusted Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 3 Tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1 cup panko crumbs
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix the eggs, dijon, milk and honey. Put aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together panko crumbs, cinnamon, pecans, salt and pepper.
3. Dip the chicken in the egg mix, and press in the pecan mix.
4. Place chicken in a baking dish and pour melted butter over the top.
5. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Turn to broil for last minute to toast pecans.