Day 20

Salad-a-Day #20

Chinese Chicken Salad

Tuesdays are my "free" days to eat something I am trying not to eat during the week.  I allow myself one special treat (today was ice cream), and something a little more fattening for dinner, without beating myself up over it.  Tomorrow it is back to watching the diet!!

I got some good old Ben & Jerry's ice cream today.  It was sooooo good.  I actually only ate about 1/2 cup.  So I will enjoy it another Tuesday, too :)

Ben & Jerry - Strawberry Cheesecake - delicious!!

 

One of my treats today was meeting my good friend Jamie and her little boy at this cute new Bistro in Old Town Spring (in the North Houston area) for lunch.  I had a delicious grilled chicken sandwich.  Good company and a great lunch!!  Highly recommend this cute place on Main Street in Old Town Spring.

 

Chinese Chicken Salad

 I was in the mood for a chicken salad today - something different... Something not too heavy.  I searched through lots and lots of Southern Living Annual Recipes and looked on Pinterest - this is a combination of several recipes.  I think it turned out great!!  And, it wasn't too heavy.

Eat the rainbow!!

I think this is a pretty salad.

I love that the carrots and onions come from my garden :)

The wonton strips really give the salad a little extra flavor and texture.

I ate it quickly after this last picture!!  My husband really liked it, too :)

 

Chinese Chicken Salad

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked in:

4 cups water

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup vinegar

1/4 cup fresh ginger (peeled and sliced)

Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes - or until chicken breast is cooked through.  You just don't want to overcook it, or it gets tough and stringy.  Take out chicken breast and discard cooking liquid and ginger.

1 head of Napa cabbage sliced into thin strips

1 carrot, cut into match sticks

1 cup snow peas cut on the diagonal

1/4 cup sliced almonds

2 tablespoons sesame seeds toasted (in a small dry pan on very low burner, on stovetop, for about 5 minutes stirring almost all the time)

Dressing:

1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar (I didn't have this, so I used white wine vinegar)

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons water

2 sliced green onions sliced on the diagonal

Salt and Pepper to taste

Toppings - wonton strips (found in salad section of grocery - near croutons)

Place Napa cabbage, carrot, snow peas, almonds and sesame seeds in a large bowl.  Toss.

Dressing - mix all ingredients except the green onions, and whisk or mix well -  I put in a jar with a tight lid and shake like crazy.  Then add onions and shake again.

Pour over salad and toss to coat.  Add wonton strips and enjoy!

 

Hawaii Lemonade

 My husband and I had the good fortune to go to Maui, Hawaii last January.  We stayed at a fabulous resort in Wailea - the Grand Wailea.  It was such a fun time... I would love to go there again.  But, that was probably the trip of a life time!!  We loved walking and enjoying the lovely weather.  I was having serious leg swelling issues during this time, and we walked to "help" my leg get better even though it was terribly painful to walk.  I actually had Deep Vein Thrombosis, but didn't know it.  So just flying there was very dangerous and walking wasn't so good either.  But, it wasn't my time to go, and we found out my true diagnosis a couple of months later and I got the care and medicine to help dissolve those clots :)

Down the beach, from the Grand Wailea, was the Fairmont Hotel, and the Four Seasons Hotel.  Those hotels were even better than ours!!  So beautiful!  We loved walking down the beach and looking aound the hotel lobbys at the art and shopping in the resort shops - unbelievable!!  Not sure we were supposed to partake, since we didn't stay at the Four Seasons...  But they had FABULOUS complimentary lemonade in their lobby :)  It was Ginger-Mint Lemonade.  Al and I made the trek down the beach daily to give it a taste :)

I have tried to make my own version of this delicious drink.  I think I have finally come close to recreating it!!  Make it; I promise, your taste-buds will thank you.  Close your eyes and pretend you are in Maui, Hawaii at the Four Seasons - and pretend you have every right to be there drinking their complimentary lemonade :)

Ginger-Mint Lemonade

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup water

3 inches fresh ginger root, peeled and cut into chunks

6 - 8 sprigs of fresh mint, leaves removed to make about 1/2 cup

Mix all of these ingredients together in a saucepan and heat over low-heat until sugar melts.  Cool to room remperature.  After it sets a while to get all happy together, strain and discard mint and ginger.

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Mix, sugar syrup with lemon juice in a pitcher (glass if possible :).

Add ice and water until the desired level of sweetness.  I like mine on the sweet side.

Wicked delicious!!

 

I have managed to work on this post during most of the Dancing With The Stars so far tonight.  They haven't announced the winners yet, but I'm thinking it will be Meryl and Maks.  They are SO good.  But, I love all the stars this season.

I hope you are having a pleasant Tuesday.

Until tomorrow,

~ Joeby





Salad-a-Day #19

A Month of Salads

Day 19

Spinach Salad

 

I have had such a fun time thinking up salads, looking at cookbooks, getting advice and recipes, and then cooking or assembling these salads!  It started out as a way to hold myself accountable to eat a little healthier.  I have been in a terrible rut for the last couple of years - simply eating poorly and not exercising enough.  This is a month long journey, for me, to eat better, exercise more, and cut way back on sweets.

I hope you have had as much fun reading these posts as I have had creating them. 

 

Strawberry Balsamic Spinach Salad

Ingredients ready for salad making! 

My messy kitchen in the background...

I love strawberries and balsamic together - perfect combo.

Isn't it pretty?

Tonight was my husband's favorite salad that I have made so far - he just told me!! I really loved it too.  I can't believe how easy the dressing was to make either.  I am never buying store-bought dressing again :)  I did use white balsamic in this recipe, but I am confident that the regular "brown" one would be fabulous too, since it is so delicious.  I used it because I had bought it for another recipe that I made a few days back, and hate to not use it.  Very delicious!

 

Strawberry Balsamic Spinich Salad

Serves 2

3 tablespoons good olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

5 cups baby spinach leaves, washed and dried

1 green onion sliced into tiny pieces

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

fresh ground pepper - to taste, if desired

In small jar, mix olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt - shake like crazy.

Place spinach leaves in large bowl.  Add 1 - 2 tablespoons dressing and toss to coat.  Add strawberries, shallot and feta - toss lightly so the strawberries stay pretty.  Drizzle on more dressing and then put on serving plates.  Add a little black pepper if desired - and then enjoy!!

 

I must admit, this was one of my favorite salads, too.  Maybe because it was SO easy to prepare.

I had some of the cornbread salad that I made yesterday for lunch today - and it was even better today!!

I hope that all of you have had a good Monday - sometimes Mondays are hard... But, this salad will make it better :)

Until tomorrow,

~ Joeby





Sunday - Salad-a-Day #18

Cornbread Salad

 

I think my mother made the best cornbread in the world.  She always made it in a square pan and the corners were just the best!  I loved to have a cornbread and fresh tomato sandwich.  It was SO good.  Just take a square of cornbread and put a slice of fresh tomato in the middle and munch away.

Not only did my mother make the best cornbread, she also made the best biscuits in the world, too!  We had biscuits for breakfast almost every single day.  I would have one biscuit (no wonder I was so thin back then...), and I would have honey on one half and my mother's pear preserves on the other half.  I would want 2 or 3 biscuits now-a-days.  Isn't it fabulous how food brings back so many memories - mine are happy memories, and I hope that yours are, too.  I miss my mother every single day, but I know that she and my father are happy in Heaven together and that makes me happy.

I have been trying to lose some weight, and challenged myself to a salad-a-day for the month of May.  I have been really limiting "white" food.  But, I have been missing bread.  I can do without sugar, but I LOVE bread.  I was dreaming about cornbread this past week and even made some on this past Tuesday.  But, I only had one tiny piece.  I was dreaming about it again last night...  I woke up thinking about making a cornbread salad :)  Now, I have never had cornbread salad ever in my life and have honestly never heard of such.  Well, apparently other people have heard of such and there are lots and lots of recipes out there!!  I read lots of recipes and came up with my own version.  I remember my Home Economics teacher in high school telling us to make every recipe our own, so that is what I always try to do.  Thanks Mrs. Newton :)

 

A fresh pan of corn bread - nothing looks better :)

I posted a recipe for cornbread (here).

I cut the cornbread into pieces so that it would cool quicker. 

After it was completely cool, I crumbled it into a large bowl - trying not to nibble...

This recipe has bacon in it...cornbread and bacon - are you hungry yet??

Corn, beans, onion, sweet pickle relish, mayonaise, tomaotes, bell pepper & cornbread.

Well...it doesn't look outstandingly delicious, not bad, but it tastes SO, SO good!!

A big plate of cornbread salad!!  I could have eaten 5 times this much..

Cornbread Salad, a pretty pot of flowers on the patio table, and my cute patio owl.  What more could a girl want on a lovely Sunday afternoon?

It looks prettier in this picture :)

 

Cornbread Salad

1 pan of cornbread, crumbled (and let set out to dry out a bit - like an hour or so, at room temperature)

1 pound of bacon cooked crispy and crumbled

1-15oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed well

1 1/2 cups frozen corn, cooked until not frozen (2 minutes or so in the microwave does the trick)

1 small red onion chopped

1 bell pepper chopped finely (I used orange, but you can use any color)

1 cup diced tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes) - salt and pepper after dicing to add more flavor

1 1/2 cups mayonaise

1/4 cup sweet pickle relish

2 tablespoons of the sweet pickle relish juice

1 tablespoon bacon grease (you can omit this if you are cutting back... but don't)

Place cornbread, bacon, pinto beans, corn, onion, bell pepper, and tomatoes in a large mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl mix combine remaining ingredients - mix well.  Add to cornbread mixture.  Toss to coat all ingredients with the dressing.  Cover and chill a couple of hours before serving, so the flavors get aquainted with each other.

Eat and enjoy!

 

I hope that you will give this salad a try.  It is wicked delicious!!!  I think it would be fabulous at a BBQ or potluck.  Or just on a Sunday afternoon, like we did.

I hope your day has been pleasant, and I hope you are ready for a new week!

Until tomorrow,

~ Joeby





Salad-a-Day for a Month Day 17

Happy Saturday!!

 

Today was a busy day, but fabulous.  The weather could not have been better.  Hot weather and South Texas and late May goes hand-in-hand.  But, this past week has been fabulous.  A gift.  It was a little warmer today - high of 86 with low humidity.  I was hoping it would be a tad cooler for the Ironman Texas athletes today. 

 

My husband and I had the honor of keeping two of our precious grandbabies for 8 months a couple of years ago.  Both of their parents are in the military and were deployed at the same time.  They were both babies - 1 1/2 and 4 years old.  I was so scared at first, but it turned out to be one of the best parts of my life.  Not a day goes by that I don't miss those precious babies!  While they were here, I totally splurged and bought myself a fabulous (really nice) spin bike to do indoor cycling.  I love, love spin classes at our local YMCA and had been attending classes several times a week for years.  I knew all of the spin instructors.  Any class they could throw at me, I felt confident that I could keep up - even the dreaded "race day".  Well, when the babies were here, I could not seem to get me and them dressed and us all out of the door and make a spin class.  And, that is why I bought the spin bike.

Lately, I have gotten back into doing spin at home.  I am falling back in love with spin again!  I did an hour ride this morning while watching Food Network (ha ha).  I have managed to spin 3 times this past week.  Watching the Ironman athletes riding around on their road bikes gave me an little inspiration this morning to try a little harder :)

 

Frozen Orange Pecan Salad

Because I worked out so hard, I made a fattening salad for today... It is another "sweet" one (aka - not a real salad...).  But, I burned calories like crazy spinning and working in my garden today (and I didn't eat much of the salad).

I must say, licking the bowl was delightful!!

And, isn't this old blue bowl the best?!  It is another one of my flea market finds.  Love the deep narrow bottom - makes mixing things easy :)

All of the goodness spooned into a glass loaf pan.  I got this glass loaf pan years and years ago. 

When I was right out of high school, I started working at a bank in England, Arkansas.  We would give away promotional gifts for new accounts.  I got a set of glass bakeware when I opened a savings account.  I have faithfully used them for almost 30 years!

Ready to eat - after freezing for 8 hours.

Delicious-ness on my cute new Anthropologie plate.

Frozen Orange-Pecan Salad
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted (350 degree oven for 6 minutes)
1 8oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup chopped pitted dates
1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
Beat cream cheese and orange juice at medium speed with mixer until fluffy.  Stir in pecans, and next 3 ingredients.  Beat whipping cream and sugar at high speed until soft peaks form.  Fold sweetened whipped cream into cream cheese mixture. 
Spoon into a buttered 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.  Cover and freeze 8 hours.  Unmold onto serving platter.

 

A Little Gardening on a Pretty Day

Some of my tomatoes have a tomato disease...  But these are doing great!  Isn't the color fabulous?

Baby eggplant - can't wait to make eggplant parmesan!

Cucumbers are coming along - I see sweet pickle relish in my future.

Tomatoes, Eggplant, Zucchini

A little harvesting today.  The squirrels keep digging up my potatoes!!  So, I dug these today from one of the beds in the garden.  I planted beans and okra where these were today.

Aren't the carrots beautiful?  This is my best crop of carrots ever!!  I can't wait to munch on some.  And, bake some with the new potatoes.  I got to share some with my friends, Paula and Eli who rode their bikes over to visit today.  Food tastes better when you share it.

 

I hope your Saturday has been a good one!

Until tomorrow,

~ Joeby

 



Salad-a-Day #16

Salad-a-Day #16

Grilled Corn & Quinoa Salad

with Black Beans and Yummy Cilantro Dressing

Friday!!!  I love Fridays :)

I am always anxious to spend so many hours with my husband, and see what we decide to do together - even to just stay home and read.

And, the weather here in The Woodlands has been outstanding these last few days.

My leg, although doing much, much better, was swollen today.  I decided to sit outside and prop up my leg - while catching up on my magazine reading.  I'm afraid I have a magazine fetish.  I love a wide variety of magazines... And, unfortunately, I keep them all!!  One of these days, maybe, I will post a picture of my "collection" so that it will embarass me enough to throw some of them out.  I think I can move beyond the point where I am afraid that I will be stranded "somewhere" and "need" them to have some entertainment...  Not to mention my paperback book collection - that is a story for another day...

 

My husband came home a little earlier than usual today.  He grilled for me so that I could make this yummy salad today.  It is really good!  I used quinoa again in a salad like I did on day #2.  You can find that recipe (here).  This recipe is completely different, although, a couple of the ingredients are the same. 

 

Rub butter on corn, then salt and pepper - wrap in foil and grill.  My husband said to grill for 15 minutes on a hot fire.  You can see pork and shrimp kabobs in the back ground that we had for dinner too :)

The corn cut off the cob (I used 3 ears).  We grilled one bell pepper (1/2 red one and 1/2 yellow) and 1/2 sweet onion.  I chopped it up a little more than it is in this picture of the salad.

Salad dressing makings in the blender.  This blender is my $10 special from the grocery store.  I was shopping one day at our local grocery store (HEB) and saw them for only $10!!  I couldn't resist.  Especially since my 20 year-old one was in a bad way...  And, how fabulous is the red color? 

Delicious Dinner - Salad, grilled shrimp and roasted sweet potatoes - yum!

Grilled Corn & Quinoa Salad with Yummy Cilantro Dressing
3 ears of corn, grilled and cut off cob
1 can black beans, drain and rinse
1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions
1 bell pepper, grilled and chopped
1/2 onion, grilled and chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
Dressing:
1 cup cilantro leaves (not packed)
3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
Lime - juiced
2 dashes of hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste
(Other ingredients needed are butter for the corn.  Olive oil, salt and pepper and french herbs for grilling the peppers and onions).
Place corn, beans, quinoa, bell pepper, onion, avocado and cherry tomatoes in large bowl. 
For dressing - blend all ingredients in blender until smooth (taste for salt and pepper - add a little at a time until you like the taste).  I like a pretty good bit of the dressing on this salad - it is delicious!!  I would dress the salad individually rather than the whole bowl.  That way your delicious left-overs do not get soggy.
Hints - I rubbed the corn with butter and then sprinkled with salt and pepper then wrapped in foil and my husband grilled for 15 minutes on a hot fire turning two times.  For the veggies toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and french herbs (just a mix of savory herbs).  We grill them in a grill basket for 10 minutes - tossing them around occasionally.  Or, you can cook them in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes.  Either way is fine and the taste is almost the same.

Deliciousness

This can of San Pellegrino Sparkling Blood Orange beverage is wicked delicious.

I wish it did not have 140 calories...  And, I wish they weren't kinda expensive.  But, mostly I wish it had zero calories :)

 

I hope you have a fabulous weekend!!

Until tomorrow,

~ Joeby

 

 

Thursday - Day 15

Simple Salad Thursday

 

I am exhausted today.  So today will be a simple delicious salad!!

 

My honey grilled some chicken a few days ago, so I am using that as the protein for my entree salad today.  I love to find whatever I can in the refrigerator and pile up a salad :)

 

I have been really into spinach and arugula lately.  For the last year I have been on blood thinners, but recently got to stop taking them (yeah!!!).  You do not get to eat many dark green veggies when on blood thinners because the high vitamins in the veggies messes up your blood level "numbers".  I am making up for lost time by eating lots of dark green vegetables!

I started with a combo of spinach and arugula and then added some of the grilled chicken my husband cooked a few days ago.  He cubed the chicken and made kabobs this time.  We love kabobs because the meat cooks evenly and cutting it into pieces makes more surface areas for the marinade to adhere when grilling.  Always a good thing :)

I have been eating a variety of fruit for breakfast lately.  It is my favorite breakfast.  I made a little too much this morning, so I saved it to add to my salad for lunch.  The fruit this morning was - strawberries, blueberries, grapes, pineapple and mango.   I love the combination of sweet from the fruit with the chicken and lettuce.  I also added a handful of walnuts, and my favorite salad dressing - Green Goddess.

I have a fantastic recipe for Green Goddess that I will share in a few days.

 

I hope everyone has had a pleasant Thursday!

Until tomorrow,

~ Joeby



Salads, Fabulous Weather, Ironman Volunteering

Fab Weather - Volunteer

It is a fabulous day in the North Houston area today.  I love crispy cool weather, especially when it is unexpected.  Well, it is very unexpected for mid-May in Houston.  It is usually in the 90's, but today it was in the 70's.  I am so happy because I volunteered outside at Registration for Ironman Texas in The Woodlands today.  It was SO nice.  I love volunteering, and today was one of my favorite volunteering days. 

If you ever have the opportunity to attend an Ironman, please do so.  I have been to Ironman Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Ironman Lake Placid, New York, and Ironman Texas.  All are fabulous!  Nothing is more inspiring than cheering on the athletes as it approaches the midnight cutoff.  Those individuals have been working out since 7am - lmost 17 hours for many of them.  The first one I attended was Coeur d'Alene in 2008 when my brother competed.  I LOVED watching the athletes cross the finish line.  It was very emotional for me.  I remember one man in particular who was pretty old (in his 70's).  He had competed in every Ironman Coeur d'Alene.  He started training as a way to keep up with his grandchildren! 

How cool is that?

And NOTHING can compare to the mass swim start. 

This is the mass swim start for Lake Placid in 2010.  My daughter is one of the heads out there.  I was completely freaked!! 

She did such a fabulous job.

 

Salad-a-Day #14

Green Bean and New Potato Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

 

I have green beans and new potatoes right now growing like crazy in my garden.  It is a good problem to have :)

I harvested these red new potatoes a couple of days ago.  The sweet precious squirrels that have taken up residence in our back yard have been going to the garden and harvesting veggies for themselves.  I noticed several dug-up potatoes with bites out of them...  So, if we want to enjoy any potatoes, I needed to get busy digging potatoes to beat the squirrels.

Fresh from the garden!!

Fresh green beans, a couple of yellow squash, and new red potatoes!

Green Bean and New Potato Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Delicious!!

 

Green Bean and New Potato Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 1/2 pounds new potatoes (red or white)

3/4 pound fresh green beans, trimmed

1 small purple onion, chopped finely

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

dash worcestershire sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

Steam potatoes, covered, for 20 minutes or until tender (cut potatoes in half after they have rested for about 5 minutes).  Place in a large serving bowl. Steam green beans, covered, for 10 minutes or until crisp tender.  Add green beans, onions and basil to potatoes in serving bowl.  Add balsamic vinaigrette to potato mixture and toss gently.  Serve immediately.  (Also good to serve cold).

For vinaigrette - combine all 8 ingredients and whisk to blend really well. 

Toss potatoes with a few tablespoons of vinaigrette to absorb more flavor.  I also sprinkle a little salt over to give the potatoes a little more flavor since I like my potatoes slightly salty :)

 

I hope that everyone is having a fabulous Wednesday!

Until tomorrow,

~ Joeby