Pear and Spinach Salad with Lemon-Shallot Dressing and Roasted Sausages

Simple, flavor-packed... No reason to not make it! I found the original recipe in Everyday Food and modified it a little to fit our diet. It has become one of our favorite post-workout meals because it's so quick.

Serves: 3-4

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pear (I like using Red Anjous - the contrast is pretty!) cut lengthwise into 1/4" slices

1 heaping tablespoon minced shallot

3 tablespoons olive oil

Coarse salt and pepper

5 ounces of baby spinach (or your favorite leafy greens - I used a combination since our gardens have finally started producing!)

4-6 sweet turkey sausages

1) In a small bowl whisk together lemon juice, shallot, and oil. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. 

2) Heat oven broiler to high and make sure the rack is about 4" below the heat. Pierce sausages all over with a fork and place on a rimmed baking sheet under the broiler. Cook 8 minutes, turning once. (I always cut into one just to ensure that it's really done before I take them out!)

3) In a medium bowl toss together pears and greens. Divide among dinner plates, and drizzle with dressing. Dinner is served!

"Good Fer Yer Eyes" Salad

When I was growing up, my mom was deathly afraid that all of her many (7!) kids would follow in her and my dad's genetic footsteps and grow up to be blind. Well, not truly blind - my dad is legally blind, and she wears glasses, so I think she was mainly trying to avoid the glasses for all of us. The easiest and cheapest way to do this was to include carrots in each and every one of our lunches. I hate eating carrots now. I really do. But I have to say, this salad has really made them quite palatable, if  not just downright delicious. Make it, eat it, discover a love of carrots previously unrecognized...

Total time: 5 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

6 carrots, cut into long, thin strips with a vegetable peeler
1 lime, juiced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
Coarse salt and pepper

1) In a medium bowl, toss together all ingredients to coat evenly.

2) Serve!

Cold Cucumber-Avocado Soup

So earlier this week, I was pretty convinced that summer was officially here. And while the weather today completely disproves that idea, I did stumble across this amazingly simple little soup recipe that is perfect for a warm spring evening! Yes, as my man pointed out, it is basically a smoothie with no ice in it, but something about eating a fresh and tasty cold soup for dinner feels so... grownup. Love it!

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 English cucumber, peeled, diced, and 1/4 cup reserved for garnish
1 avocado, diced, removed from skin, and 1/4 reserved for garnish
1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest, plus all the juice from the lemon
1/3 cup chopped cilantro, plus a tablespoon reserved for garnish
1 scallion, white and light green parts only
1 jalapeño (I left the seeds in mine, but if you prefer a milder flavor make sure you remove the seeds!)
1 small container of plain Greek yogurt
1 cup cold water
Coarsely ground salt and pepper

1) Puree ingredients in blender until smooth and slightly frothy. Pour into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 1+ hour before serving. Garnish with leftover avocado, cilantro, and cucumber.

White Wine and Garlic Chicken with Roasted Cabbage

I learned something new about marinades yesterday - apparently if you freeze the meat in the marinade, it actually forces the marinade into the meat, resulting in a much more flavorful dinner! I put this chicken recipe together in the morning, stuck it in the freezer for a few hours, and then thawed it right before cooking. It tasted like it had been marinating for days. Who knew? (In case you are short on time, if you have even an hour to marinate the meat, it will still be tasty.)

White Wine and Garlic Chicken

Serves: 3-4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Total time: 20 minutes + marinating and thawing

Ingredients:

8-10 chicken cutlets

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup white cooking wine 

3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons of fresh thyme (plus extra if you want to garnish!)

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1) Melt butter and stir in wine, garlic, and thyme. Layer chicken cutlets two deep in a ziplock bag. Pour marinade in bag and freeze. 

2) Thaw chicken, and heat coconut oil over medium high in a large skillet. Shake excess marinade from chicken, and cook for 5 minutes total, flipping once. 

3) I love the flavor of thyme, so I put a little extra on top when serving. Plus it's pretty...

Oven Roasted Cabbage Slices

Serves: As many as you have slices for

Prep time: 5 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

1 head cabbage

Coconut oil

Salt and pepper

Caraway seed (or fennel, or fresh thyme)

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut off base of cabbage, and then cut as many 1" thick slices as you need. (1-2 per person)

2) Arrange on a rimmed baking sheet, and spread about 1/4 teaspoon of coconut oil on each slice. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle each round with caraway seed.

3) Roast in oven for approx. 30 minutes, or until cabbage is tender and the edges are beginning to brown.