at home with ann

This was my first time cooking with napa cabbage.  At my market apparently the smallest napa cabbage you can buy weighs over 4 pounds, so I was a little nervous.  After conferring with my sister on alternative cabbage recipes, I'm planning to use the leftovers in some miso soup for lunch, but that has nothing to do with this. This salad is a mixture of textures, and the fresh crunch of the vegetables is complimented nicely by the saucy chicken.  You can substitute any meat, fish, or tofu you like here, or leave it out altogether because the edamame has protein.  It does call for a good amount of chopping, which might take you a while (or the entire afternoon, in my case), if you are being helped by someone whose new party trick is putting a blanket over their face and flailing around until you come take it off.  Over and over again.  Teriyaki Chicken Salad Serves 6-7 1 small head of romaine lettuce, cut into thin strips 1/2 head (equal to amount of ...

My friend Jackie is one of my favorite people in the world.  She's awesome in about a million ways.  We have been friends since college, and even though I never see or talk to her as much as I'd like, we always pick up right where we left off.  This is us before my wedding two years ago. I'm so excited she wrote a blog post to share with you all, enjoy! Sorry to all you New Englanders... I am clutching to the last bit of summer down here in good ol' Tennessee with one of my personal favorite recipes.  This simple chicken salad is fantastic on reduced-fat Wheat Thins or (my preference) straight out of the bowl. :) The Jackie's Tropical Chicken Salad 1 whole chicken, cooked 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped 2-3 stalks celery, chopped 3 stalks green onion, chopped 1 can chopped pineapple, drained 1 can mandarin oranges, drained 1/4 cup mayonnaise chopped cilantro to taste salt & pepper to taste I always use a rotisseri...

You know I am a big fan of kale, although I admittedly mostly eat it in chip form.  Kale is crazy good for you, lots of vitamin K, A, and C, among others.  One of my friends sent me this recipe (I love when they do that!), and I was excited to try it with some of the giant bag of kale I picked this week.  I modified the original recipe a bit to add some more ingredients and make it into a meal (and consequently, no longer officially raw, if you care about that sort of thing). Kale, Tomato and Avocado Salad adapted from Happy Foody 1 bunch of curly kale (I filled up about half a salad spinner to serve 2 as a main course) 1 large tomato, chopped 1/2-1 avocado, chopped 1/2 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil Juice of 1/2 lemon sea salt goat cheese, crumbled, for serving Rip kale leaves off stems and tear into bite size pieces. Mix in olive oil and lemon juice with your hands.  Really, use your hands.  The more it gets worked ...

I love salads.  Everything from greens dressed with just olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice, to giant piles of everything in the fridge.  That being said, we all burn out on greens occasionally, so here are a few ideas for lettuce-free salads.  One great thing about these salads, you can make them in advance without worrying about everything getting wilted and sad. Cucumber, Corn and Tomato Salad The title pretty much sums it up. Cucumber, chopped Tomato, chopped Corn, raw, shucked off the cob Avocado (add this at the last minute to prevent browning) Fresh basil or parsley, or both, chopped Olive oil Red wine vinegar This was great as-is, but I also served the leftovers over a bed of lettuce (I know, I promised no lettuce), and added chickpeas to make it a little heartier. Roasted Sweet Potato and Beet Salad Also, self-explanatory. Sweet potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes Beets, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes Onion, roughly chopped Olive oil Balsamic ...

This post is part of my vacation series highlighting some amazing recipes from my favorite bloggers! Eat Live Run - Spinach Feta Turkey Burgers We've spent the better part of a week discussing what kind of grill we'll be purchasing when we get back from vacation.  These would be a perfect kick off to summer grilling.  PS- We're going charcoal, time to be grilling purists.  PPS- We still have a gas grill so I can cook veggies all week and make them into wraps with goat cheese. Baked Bree - Mixed Greens with Berries and Glazed Almonds I love salads like this.  Greens, a fruit, and a protein are the perfect combination.  

I know you all know how to make salad.  I won't give you step by step pictures showing you how to cook chicken or chop tomatoes.  I will, however, tell you that this is an awesome salad, with a lot of flavor and variety.  It has a good amount of protein and healthy fat and will keep you full.  Also, you get to eat bacon. In the mix: Greens Chopped tomato Avocado Chicken - sauteed in olive oil with salt and pepper Bacon Hard Boiled Egg Blue Cheese A tip for cooking hard boiled eggs.  Put the uncooked eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water by about an inch.  Bring to a boil, covered.  When boiling, allow to cook for 1 minute and then turn off the heat.  Set the timer for 15 minutes and leave them alone.  After 15 minutes, immerse the eggs in a bowl of ice water until cool - just a few minutes.  Peel under running water. This was definitely not a five minute lunch, but it was so good it was worth it!

Since I know I'll be eating a lot of cookies today (the current count is 3...), I thought we could talk about something a little lighter for lunch.  This salad is great because it has protein from the chickpeas, vitamins from the greens and tomatoes, and healthy fats from the tahini dressing, avocado and goat cheese.  The dressing is the one I posted about a few weeks ago.   Here is the link .  Quick, simple, and filling. In the mix: greens cherry tomatoes chickpeas avocado goat cheese Lemon Garlic Tahini Dressing