Adding chopped artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, Italian dressing and crunchy almonds make for a lovely and light meal.  If you need meat in your meal, as many people do, add a cup or so of chopped cooked chicken (grilled or rotisserie chicken from your grocery store).

This recipe comes from picky-palate.com.  She serves this salad tossed with arugula.  I served it over a bed of baby spinach.  If this is something you are not going to eat all of the first time around, don’t toss the almonds in with the salad.  They’ll lose their crunch, so just sprinkle some on top of each serving.  You could substitute quinoa for the couscous for an extra punch of protein.  Enjoy!

Artichoke & Sun-dried Tomato Couscous Salad

Courtesy of picky-palate.com

Ingredients

• 10 ounce box Couscous
• 15 ounce can artichoke hearts, chopped
• ½-1 cup sun dried tomatoes
• ½-1 cup fresh shredded or grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 cup Italian dressing of choice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1-1 ½  cups chopped cooked chicken (half of a rotisserie chicken)
• ½-1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 8 ounce bag baby spinach

1. Cook couscous according to package directions. Toss to fluff and chill until cooled.
2. Add artichokes, tomatoes, dressing, salt and pepper, and parmesan, stirring to combine. Serve or chill until ready to serve.
3. Serve over a bed of baby spinach, top with toasted almonds.

My mother in law turned me on to skinnytaste.com after making two meals for us with recipes from the site.  Both tasted great and were pretty healthy.  If you do Weight Watchers, then you’re in luck because Gina includes the points.

I added some grilled chicken to this salad to make it a meal.  Instead of apples I used pears, which I think pair better with the other ingredients.  You must, must, must toast the pecans.  The flavor of any nut is improved by a quick toasting in the oven or in a dry skillet on the stove.  Do the same when you are adding pecans, walnuts or almonds to baked goods.  They just taste better.  So take the extra 5 minutes.  You’ll be glad you did.

This salad recipe used measurements for the apples and cranberries, but I just added what I wanted.  This probably messes with the points, so here is the link to Gina’s original recipe.  If you don’t care so much about counting out how many cranberries or slices of apple you can use, then just pile on a plate the following ingredients and top with the dressing.

• Spring mix or baby spinach
• Dried cranberries
• 1 Bosc Pear, sliced
• Toasted pecans, halves or pieces
• Grilled chicken, sliced (optional)

The dressing was a little on the thick side when I made it, so I added a little more water, lemon juice and a touch of olive oil to loosen it up a bit.  After storing the leftover dressing in the fridge it was no longer pour able, so either let it warm up at room temp before you plan to use it again, or zap it in the microwave for a few seconds and stir it up.  Enjoy!

Honey Goat Cheese Dressing

Courtesy of skinnytaste.com

Ingredients

• 4 oz goat cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tbsp honey
• 2-3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1-2 tbsp water
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a small blender, combine goat cheese, honey, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, water.
2. Season to taste with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
3. Add more lemon juice, water, or oil to create desired consistency.

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is a really amazing food.  It is loaded with protein.  It has a good amount of fiber and it is gluten free.  It is also incredibly simple to prepare.  It takes about as long as white rice, and is much better for you.  The downside to quinoa is that is is a bit pricey.  I paid $6 for a 1 pound bag.

This recipe came from My Kitchen Addiction.  Here is the link.  As with most recipes I try for the first time, I followed this one almost exactly.  Here are my minor changes.

• I used a can of corn instead of fresh.
• I cut back the olive oil by 1 tablespoon with fine results.
• I substituted honey for the agave syrup since that is not something I have in my pantry.
• The second time I made this, a mere week later, I added some dried oregano and a dash of cumin.

This is a great salad that I’m going to play with some more.  The possibilities seem almost endless!  I might try a quinoa salad with diced cucumber, red onion, tomatoes, feta, fresh parsley, mint and a vinaigrette of olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and Greek oregano…quinoa tabouli! Yum.

Southwest Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
  (or about 2 cups cooked black beans)
• 3 ears of steamed corn, cut off the cob
  (or 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed OR 1 can, drained)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped (about half a cup)
• 1 lime, zested then juiced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon agave syrup or honey
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Combine quinoa and water in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, cover, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork.
2. While quinoa is cooking, combine beans, corn, red onion, red bell peppers and cilantro in a large bowl.
3. For the vinaigrette, whisk oil, vinegar, honey, lime juice and zest, spices and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Combine cooked quinoa with vegetables, then mix in vinaigrette.  Serve room temperature or refrigerate.

I only made one slight change to this recipe.  Since I am not a huge fan of drowning a salad in dressing, I simply drizzled the dressing over each individual serving of salad.  You don’t need much to add a nice zesty, and tangy flavor to this salad.  I left one serving completely naked except for a light sprinkling of salt and thought it was great.  The herbs provide so much flavor alone that you could do without the dressing completely.  It is up to you.

I served this with Quick Tandoori Chicken, here is the link.  I used chicken breasts instead of thighs.  The flavors were robust and yummy, but I wouldn’t serve these two things together again.  Serving this salad with a simple grilled steak or simple flavored grilled chicken would be wonderful so that you don’t have competing flavors.

Toasted Corn, Cherry Tomato and Edamame Salad

Courtesy of Fine Cooking (Here is the link)

Ingredients

• 1 cup frozen shelled edamame
• 5 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2-1/4 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 3 medium ears)
• 2 Tbs. plain low-fat yogurt
• 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. clover honey
• 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 heaping cup quartered cherry tomatoes (about 15)
• 1/4 cup very thinly sliced fresh mint
• 1/4 cup very thinly sliced fresh basil

Directions

1. Cook the edamame according to package directions. Drain and set aside to cool completely.
2. Heat 1 Tbs. of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until the kernels are golden brown in patches, about 9 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
3. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk the yogurt, lemon juice, honey, garlic, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Slowly pour in the remaining 4 Tbs. olive oil, whisking constantly until blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. In a medium serving bowl, combine the cooled edamame and corn, the tomatoes, and the herbs. Gently toss. Add half of the vinaigrette and gently toss. Add more vinaigrette and salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature.

Thankfully, I came across a perfect summer side dish recipe from Erin at vittles for the voracious.  This salad would a great accompaniment to the grilled steak and the Asian flavors.

The salad has tons of yummy, crisp vegetables.  It tastes fresh but still has a great rich flavor thanks to the dressing.  You can change this recipe to fit your likes and needs.  Add any other vegetables that you like.  Erin suggests water chestnuts, broccoli florets, snow peas, and asparagus pieces.  Along with the recipe required broccoli slaw and edamame, I added extra purple cabbage and snow peas.

For the dressing I used Brianna’s Ginger Mandarin dressing, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and 1 teaspoon hot chili sauce.  I don’t like a dressing-drenched salad, so this was just enough to get the flavor without losing the vegetables.

Here is Vittles link, and here is my variation.  This is a great salad.  Thanks, Erin!

Asian Vegetable Slaw

Ingredients

Salad:

• 1 package (10 oz) broccoli slaw mix
• 1 cup red cabbage, chopped
• 1 can mandarin oranges, drained
• 2 cups shelled edamame
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup blanched snap peas

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup Asian dressing (I used Brianna’s Ginger Mandarin)
• 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon hot chili sauce

Directions

1. Combine all vegetables (and mandarins) in a large bowl and toss together.
2. In a small bowl, whisk dressing, peanut butter and chili sauce.
3. Pour sauce over the vegetables and toss well.
4. Chill until ready to serve.

The other nights at the house we cooked.  My sister Lisa and her husband Randy offered to make Bulgogi one night.  We were all pretty excited about the menu and that excitement only increased as they started cooking.  The combination of sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, soy, ginger and garlic were so incredible.  Along with the beef and chicken Bulgogi, we had white rice, kimchee, pot stickers and a salad of thinly sliced cucumbers, bean sprouts, and scallions with crispy fried scallions and rice wine sesame dressing.

Bulgogi means “fire meat” in Korean because it is traditionally grilled over an open flame, but can be cooked in a pan.  Randy did the grilling.  Grilled meat always smells good, but the marinade on the chicken and beef made for an especially wonderful aroma wafting from the grill downstairs to the kitchen window.  I always find it funny how men seem to flock to a heated grill.  Once the first tray of meat went to the grill every man in the house grabbed a beer and headed outside to help supervise.  This attraction of men to a fire will always amaze me.

The meat is sliced thin and wrapped in large lettuce leaves usually spread with ssamjang, the jar of spicy red sauce you find in the Asian food aisle.  When we ate this meal, we also put rice in the lettuce leaf.  It was delicious.

The fresh and crunchy cucumber salad was a perfect side dish.  About the kimchee…it is an interesting dish that I was a little unsure about.  Vegetables, usually cabbage and scallions, are pickled and fermented for 4 or 5 days.  It turned out to be very good, so I’m glad that I gave it a chance.  Here is a recipe for homemade kimchee…Lisa and Randy just picked up a jar of it at the grocery store.

This was quite possibly the best meal of the week.  I will definitely be trying this out at home for Ben.  He had to head back to Amarillo early in the week, so he missed this incredible feast.  When I make this I will be sure to drop little hints about how wonderful it was to see Randy doing so much of the work in the kitchen with Lisa…very subtle hints.

If you were not yet convinced of how good this food was, just ask Beckett.  If it made a kid this excited, you know it has to be good.

Beef Bulgogi

(From Chowhound)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Japanese or Korean dark soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for grilling
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
• 3 medium garlic cloves, crushed, peeled, and grated
• 3 scallions, root and dark green ends trimmed, and 6-inch stalks minced
• 2 pounds marbled sirloin or rib steak, sliced paper thin against the grain

Directions

1. Whisk together the soy sauce and sugar in a bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in the vegetable and sesame oils, sesame seeds, garlic, and scallions until well combined. Add the beef, tossing it with your hands to make sure it is evenly coated on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate it, allowing the meat to marinate for 30 minutes. Drain the beef, shaking off the excess liquid and scraping off the scallion and garlic.
2. Grill the beef, laying the slices flat on a table hibachi. If using a grill pan, brush a generous amount of vegetable oil on the cooking surface and heat it over medium-high heat. When it starts to smoke, add the beef slices and grill to your preferred doneness, but no more than 5 seconds on each side, so the beef remains tender.

Chicken Bulgogi

(From Chowhound)

Ingredients

• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 6 medium garlic cloves, smashed
• 3 medium scallions, ends trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 (4-inch) piece ginger, cut into 1/4-inch coins
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup Korean malt syrup, or 1/4 cup corn syrup
• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions

1. Lay chicken in a single layer on a cutting board. Cover with plastic wrap and, using a meat mallet or rolling pin, evenly pound to 1/2-inch thickness.
2. Place everything except the chicken and the sesame seeds in a large nonreactive dish or a resealable plastic bag and mix until evenly combined. Add chicken and turn to coat evenly. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 2 hours.
3. Heat a gas or charcoal grill to high (about 400°F) and rub the grill with a towel dipped in oil. Remove chicken from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature while the grill heats up, at least 20 minutes.
4. Remove chicken from marinade and let excess drip off. Place chicken on the grill. Cook uncovered, turning rarely, until charred and juices are running clear, about 10 minutes total. When ready to serve, garnish with sesame seeds.