Salads are BIG Right Now

I thought I was just going on a salad binge. But it seems like I’m not alone. My Hubs works at a grocery store sometimes, and he says he’s noticed more folks getting wackier greens, like kale. Yum, I love kale. But my receipt printer doesn’t like it so much; it’s WILDLY expensive. I;m growing uit in the garden this year, my first time with it. I’m trying a lot of new stuff, mostly from the cabbage family: cabbage, collards, chard, kale. We like lettuce, but the leafy greens like kale and chard just seem meatier.

I’m really looking forward to making (and eating) more salads this summer. The stuff in the stores is so expensive.. almost criminal! I can’t wait to have things fresh.

Here are some of the things we like in our salads right now. The star next to the vegetable is something we are growing in the garden this year.
Raw garlic cloves*
Leeks*
Cucumbers*
Kale*
Iceberg lettuce
Red peppers
Black olives
Red cabbage*
Green cabbage*
Carrots
Romaine lettuce*
Mixed lettuce*
Spinach*
Tomatoes*

So you can see that I’m going to grow my salads this year. I wish I could grow olives, YUMMM. I love them. I also add feta cheese or bits of salmon, if I have it. Fresh food is SOOO good for you! I’m starting to really dislike cooked food, more and more.

Super-Easy Hummus Salad Wrap

My daughter, a fanatic about hummus (good girl!), created this terrific little lunch wrap. She made one for me the other day, and it is so good that I just have to blog about it! We don’t have a name for it… maybe Super-Easy Hummus Salad Wrap?

I love the colors, too. It looks like a plate full of toys or something. Pretty!

All you do is spread some hummus (we used Roasted Red Pepper hummus onto some flat bread. Layer it with salad greens and a few diced red peppers. YUMMMM. It’s surprisingly filling and it’s so healthy!

Leftover Turkey Salad Pasta Primavera

I know it’s an unusual name. It’s a very unconventional kinda recipe.

BUT OH MY GOSH THIS IS DROP-DEAD GOOD!!!

I am *still* using my leftover turkey. No no, not from Thanksgiving. Not from Christmas, either. Not New Year’s Eve, even. (My husband wanted a nice dinner that evening, so I made him one. Mmm, roast turkey. Salad. Mashed potatoes with garlic and parsley. And Rum and Molasses Apple Pie– I’ll have to post that recipe sometime). After the holidays, turkeys go on sale and I scarf them up as quickly as I can! I love turkey. YUM. And the cold house feels a little warmer with roasting poultry in it.

Well, we had some salad and turkey left over recently, and the salad was starting to wilt pretty bad. What to do? I concocted a great dish off the cuff! Kind of like a gumbo-style, throw-in-the-pot-and-see-what-happens new orleans la style cooking.

Here’s what you need:

This:

Oh, and this:

MMM, and this:

To get this:

OK, in English:

Wow Chow Leftovers Primavera

Left over turkey, cut up in bite-sized chunks
Left over salad (in my salad: lettuce, spinach, mushrooms, red pepper, red onion)
Pasta (any kind, I used rigatoni)
Alfredo Sauce

Boil the pasta.
Get a frying pan and add a little olive oil. Add the turkey and saute just a little until heated through.
Add the salad, and saute until heated through. Add some prepared minced garlic (to your liking).
Remove from heat.
Drain the pasta.
Combine the pasta, turkey and salad, and alfredo sauce.
EAT!

It’s so good. SOOOOO easy. And it gets rid of the leftovers. No more bland turkey casseroles when you’ve got this!

Simple Summer Meal Ideas

Now that it’s officially summer, we are all scratching our heads again this season, wondering what we’ve got for simple summer meals. Summer is a busy time of the year for me, and I have a few ideas up my sleeve. I thought I’d share.

1. Think salads!
Salads are great for the summer. We have a garden full of greens– lettuces and spinach of all kinds. It’s a breeze to pluck the leaves and toss into a salad bowl. I usually have just the leaves in a big bowl with shredded carrot. Any other veggies, i serve on individual plates at the table, for everyone to pick and choose to add to their salad: cucumbers; tomatoes; red onions; olives; cubanelle, red bell, and green peppers; chickpeas; crumbled feta cheese or other shredded cheese; raw snow peapods; shredded red cabbage; and more.

2. Grill those veggies!
I do a lot of grilling in the summer, but I don’t do meat as much as I grill the vegetables: white onion slices; eggplant slices; zucchini and yellow squash sliced lengthwise; leftover boiled potatoes, sliced; and more. I sometimes marinade my veggies in a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar before throing on the grill. Yum!

3. Eat Greek style!
I love Greek food, and it’s perfect for summer dining. Serve plates full of lettuce greens, feta cheese, sliced grilled meat (like chicken or lamb) and olives. These combines with flat bread and some table fruits like grapes and watermelon make for a fancy, easy meal.

4. Stir Fry!
Stir fry meals are so easy. I slice the chicken or beef and saute in a large wok with a little olive oil and soy sauce. Once cooked, I throw in every veggie I can find– mushrooms, garlic, sliced carrots, fresh broccoli and cauliflower, and onions. I saute very quickly for about 10 minutes. Serve with hot rice (from the rice cooker) and it’s ready. This meal adapts well to frozen vegetables, too. I often dump a bag of frozen broccoli into the wok instead of chopping up the fresh broccoli. It’s still so yummy!

5. Make ahead meals!
I often make extra of a recipe and freeze it. This makes meals so easy– all I have to do is pull the meal out of the freezer or fridge, thaw it, and cook. I often do this with my Hybrid Lasagna (I’ve never frozen the meal, only refrigerated it), and my Wow Chow meatballs (which freeze very well). The meatballs are great– all you have to do is cook the meatballs in sauce, and boil water for pasta. Easy!

Summertime is when I get more creative with my meals, because fresh vegetables are plentiful. They are so versatile, and there are so many of them (and all so yummy!) that the possibilities are endless! Enjoi.