Restaurant styled Chopped Salad

Last night I put together this salad, which will look like an "everything but the kitchen sink", but it was awesome (if I should say so myself).  I topped it with a  piece of beautifully seared Salmon, delish!! But, you could serve on it's own or any other protein that strikes your fancy.  Be creative and have fun with it, remember it's just salad people!  

Salad mix

2 C. Romain lettuce

2 C. Red leaf lettuce

1/3 C. each of the following;

Red onion, small dice

Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced

Pepperoncini’s, stemmed and sliced

Sunflower seeds

French’s fried onions

Cannellini beans, drained and washed

Grape tomatoes, halved

canned beets, small diced

canned artichokes, sliced

Mushrooms, small diced

Fuji Apple, small diced

Dressing

¼ C. rice wine vinegar

Juice of halve fresh Lemon

2 Tbsp. Honey

1 Tbsp. Capers

1 clove Garlic

1 Tbsp. fresh Parsley

1 Tsp. Oregano

1 Tsp. Dill

1 green onion

2 Tsp. Dijon mustard

¼ C. Olive oil

½ C. Vegetable oil

S&P to taste

Garnish

Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Green onion, sliced thinly

Combine all dressing ingredients in a blender or large measuring cup, if using a wand mixer.  Process until emulsified and smooth.  Taste and correct seasoning.

Wash lettuces with very cold water and spin dry, chop to desired size.  Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add other salad ingredients.  Drizzle desired amount of dressing on salad mix and mix well. Plate portions in large bowls and top with Parmesan cheese and green onion (I like lots of fresh ground black pepper).  Serve and enjoy!

Peanut Noodles with Vegetables

So, Mondays are "meatless" in our house and I was feeling like Chinese. If you want this to be truly vegetarian, you can swap out the beef broth for vegeatable broth, water, etc.  This preparation is all about the prep, if you've got everything ready to go ahead of cook time, this goes really quickly.  Obviously, you could easily add other vegetables or any protein of your choice to this and it would be terrific.  I know it looks like a lot of ingredients, but the outcome is as good as any Chinese restaurant I've been to.  Enjoy!

4-6 servings

2 Tbsp. Avocado oil
1 onion, sliced thinly
2 stalks celery, sliced thinly
1 carrot, sliced thinly
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 zucchini squash, seeds removed then sliced thinly
1 head broccoli, florets only- cut small

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 Tbsp lemongrass paste

2 eggs, scrambled, cooked, chopped and cooled
1# spaghetti, cooked al dente then cooled and tossed with drizzle of oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Sauce-

1/2 C. Beef broth
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 C. Soy sauce
1 Tbsp Fish sauce
1 Tbsp Rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp peanut butter
1 - 2 Tbsp sriracha
1 tsp Dark sesame oil

Garnish-

1/4 C. Chopped roasted peanuts
1/4 C. chopped fresh cilantro
Toasted Sesame seeds
3 green onions, sliced thinly
Red chili flakes (optional)

In a large mixing bowl combine all sauce ingredients and reserve to the side.

Place large skillet over medium high heat and add avocado oil.  Once hot add onion, carrot, and celery, cook until they start to turn translucent 4-5 minutes.  Add mushrooms, stir and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until mushrooms start to release their liquid.  Now add broccoli, stir and cook until the florets turn vibrant green, about 2-3 minutes.  Add garlic, ginger, and lemongrass and cook for another minute; add zucchini squash, stir and add reserved sauce.  Let come back to temperature, about a minutre and add noodles, stir to coat well and continue to cook, letting liquid reduce and thicken.  Check broccoli (vegetable needing the longest to get tender) to make sure they are al dente.  Then add chopped scrambled eggs and cilantro, stir to incorporate.  Taste and correct seasoning with salt and pepper.

Serve hot on a platter; top with peanuts, sesame seeds, and green onion.  If you want to kick up the heat add red chili flake and serve.  Enjoy!