Dinner in a Flash!

I had to go to a meeting on a Monday night so I only had a short amount of time after taking the dog on a walk (YES, we got a dog!) before I had to leave. Brent wasn't home from work yet. Yikes! What to do? Make something that can hold and/or be served at room temperature. Bingo.

Cannellini Bean and Arugula Salad
3 Roasted Red Peppers, canned, chopped
1 garlic clove
lemon zest
4 Tbs chopped parsley
14 oz can cannellini beans, drained
2 Tbs lemon juice
2Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 small bunch arugula leaves

Mix together beans, garlic, zest, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Place arugula on plate and drizzle with a bit more lemon juice and olive oil if you like. Scatter the beans on the arugula, top with peppers and then bean mixture.

I served with a simple baked salmon. I used similar flavors to make it all go together--squeezed a little lemon juice and some olive oil on the salmon before baking.

This was so light and fresh. Very healthy!

Cobb-ish Salad

As you can tell from my previous posts, I had some blue cheese, lettuce, carrots and other miscellaneous veggies to use up. So I decided to make a Cobb-ish Salad, minus the ham because I don't really care for it and therefore didn't have any. I also made a honey mustard dressing instead of traditional blue cheese or ranch.

Cobb-ish Salad

2 cups lettuce
1/2 cup of the following: tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, avocado
1/4 cup blue cheese and shredded cheese of your choice
1/2 cup sliced turkey

Honey Mustard Dressing

3 Tbsp yellow mustard
2 tsp light mayo
1 Tbsp honey (I only had agave nectar so I used that--honey would have been better)
Salt and pepper to taste

Arrange everything in a bowl and toss with dressing. YUM!

Some Like It Hot: Buffalo Chicken Salad

I love Buffalo Chicken wings--boneless, breaded, bone-in, naked, you name it. I can't handle quite as much heat as Brent can, but I think I hold my own. If you want some good wings and you're in Denver I recommend: Piper Inn (ride your motorcycle and get some fried rice too) or College Inn.

Last week, I decided to make my own but in the form of a salad with boneless, skinless chicken tenders. I was inspired by Ellie Krieger's recipe on foodnetwork.com and on her show: Healthy Appetite. It was good, but next time I need to make sure I have Franks or Texas Pete's hot sauce on hand. Chalula wasn't the flavor I really wanted.

Buffalo Chicken Salad
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders
Hot sauce, to your heat tolerance
1 head iceberg lettuce, torn
3 cups romaine lettuce, torn
6 stalks celery, diced
1 cup shredded carrots
3 Tbsp light mayo
3 Tbsp light sour cream
3 Tbsp skim milk
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles

Cook tenders in skillet over med-high heat, flipping until cooked to 165. Remove from heat and toss with hot sauce until well coated--or until you think your mouth will be on fire--whichever you prefer. Meanwhile, toss lettuce, celery and carrots together. In a small bowl combine mayo, sour cream and milk. Stir in blue cheese crumbles. Plate salad, dressing and then tenders.

Serves 4. I counted 6 points for one serving.

Next time I think I'll add a little vinegar to the dressing mix. It wasn't as tangy as I would have liked it to be. And, as noted above, I'll use Franks or Texas Pete's Buffalo Sauce.

Mmmm, Meaty Salad

Thanks to Real Simple for a very beefy June issue. It inspired my dinner tonight, but of course I couldn’t follow the recipe exactly as written. The original called for skirt steak. First, I can’t find skirt steak all the time and second, there are so many great beef cuts—why limit myself? So I went to the store and they had Flat Iron on sale. It’s a pretty new cut, so you may not be familiar with it. It's usually vacuum packed in the meat cases. Here’s a picture of it.

Beef Flat Iron

It’s a nice lean cut and if it’s been cut right, it should have very little connective tissue. It performs best at medium rare, so be careful not to overcook it.

Steak and Grilled Vegetable Salad

1 pound beef flat iron (sub skirt or flank steak if you like)
1 large red onion, cut into ½ inch rounds
1 pound white mushrooms, halved
1 pound green beans, cleaned and trimmed
3 roma tomatoes, ½ inch slices then quartered
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
Salt and pepper
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, divided
4 cups arugula (or you could use watercress or spinach or romaine)

Heat grill to medium heat. (I used an indoor grill pan because I was out of propane) Toss cut vegetables into large bowl and coat well with 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill each vegetable, except tomatoes, until crisp tender 8-12 minutes. Grill flat iron, brushing lightly with 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 5-7 minutes on each side until internal temperature reaches 145°F (med rare). Lightly grill tomatoes during the last 3 minutes. Remove beef and let rest at least 5 minutes before slicing against the grain into thin slices. Place ¼ of the vegetables atop 1 cup of arugula. Lay 5-7 slices of beef on top of salad. Drizzle remaining olive oil and vinegar on top of salads.

Makes 4 servings.

My grill pan--love it!

All my finished grilled vegetables

This was a beautiful dish. They say you eat with your eyes first and in this case your eyes will make your mouth water. The peppery-ness of the arugula added a nice touch. I chose a beer to pair with the meal tonight only because I was out of wine and a beer sounded so good after mowing my lawn.

If you’re counting points, I counted 5 points for one serving. I’m satisfied and full.

A beautiful dish, if I do say so myself