Salad Season is Here!

It is no surprise to anyone that I enjoy food, but I wasn't always a huge fan of salads as meals. I've always loved a nice salad as a side, but the idea of only eating a salad as my entire meal always seemed like a horrible idea. I thought I would be hungry an hour later. What about the meat? The carbs? The protein? It turns out, those are what make a delicious salad delicious. The avocado, the cheese, the nuts, the dressing, the fruit, and of course the vegetables. :-)

I've gotten more into salads over the last year, and I came across the following recipe online. I've made it two nights in a row now, each time doing it a little different. I doctored it up a bit, and it turned out to be a very filling, satisfying, delectable meal. As the weather warms up, summer produce begins to sprout, and I crave more light, heart-healthy foods, I plan to make a version of this salad weekly.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Harvest-Salad/Detail.aspx

Changes I made:

I left out the red onion and tomato, because I didn't have any on hand.

I added cucumbers, strawberries (hooray for delicious organic strawberries!), and slivered almonds (toasted for about 3 minutes in the toaster oven).

I added about a cup of shredded rotisserie chicken (picked up the cooked chicken at Whole Foods, and this is the second meal in which I've used it)

I also used a blend of organic mixed greens instead of just spinach.

Last night I made the dressing using raspberry preserves, as it calls for, and tonight I used strawberry preserves. I slightly preferred the raspberry, though both were pretty yummy.

Who doesn't love a super healthy meal you can make in 10 minutes?!? And the best part (for me, anyway), was that I could just chop up some avocado and chicken super fine for my 9 month old, and she gobbled it up. :-)

Chewy Oat Bars

My friend JoAnna sent me this delicious recipe:

http://tammysrecipes.com/oatmeal_chocolate_chip_cookie_bars

I made the following changes:

I used 1 cup of whole wheat flour, and 1/2 cup white flour

Took out 1/2 of a stick of butter (so I used 3/4 of the butter it called for)

Took out half of the chocolate chips

Added 1/4 cup of ground flax seed

Added 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Added 3/4 cup sliced almonds

Instead of a 9x13 inch pan, I scooped the dough into two greased 8x8 glass dishes. I was holding my 9 month old while I made them, and she refused to let me put her down. My 9x13 inch pan was too high for me to reach while holding her, so I used the ones that were more accessible. If you don't have kids, you now think I'm ridiculous. If you have kids, you probably understand. :)

These came out so so so good, and were pretty simple to make. They were delicious straight out of the oven, all warm and gooey, but they will make a great snack later when they firm up a bit as well. And the best part, they are fairly healthy! :)

Crockpot Chicken Nachos

These are heavenly, scrumptious, delicious, and amazing. I only have one picture from the entire (simple, but lengthly) process because I was so excited to plop down on the couch and eat them, I forgot that I might want to blog about them.

These are perfect as a meal, an appetizer, or a snack. And don't be scared by "lengthy." The only reason they take a while is because the crockpot is involved. Actual hands-on time is almost nothing.

Ingredients
Two frozen (or thawed) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Two cups of your favorite salsa (I LOVE Margaritaville salsa from BJ's, and Trader Joe's medium salsa as well)
One cup of water
One can of corn, drained
One cup shredded cheddar
A pile of tortilla chips (I used Wegman's organic yellow corn tortilla chips)

Put the chicken breasts in the crockpot, pour salsa, water and corn over chicken, place lid on crockpot, and cook on high for 5 hours. (I'm sure cooking on low for 10 hours would do the same thing).

Place a single layer of tortilla chips on a nonstick foil lined baking sheet, and sprinkle half of the cheese onto the chips. Top with a thin layer of the chicken mixture (shredded), then top with remaining cheese. Bake for about five minutes, or until cheese is melted.

The last step is very important. Add a small pile of tortilla chips on the side, so you have some slightly baked/soft chips, and some crunchy non-baked ones as well. The combo of textures is delightful.

Enjoy with a glass of red wine, while your children sleep, your husband is out of town, and you are catching up on DVR'd Kardsashian episodes. Or, if you don't want to admit to all of that, just enjoy. ;)