Potato Salad!

I've got to be honest guys, I have never liked potato salad and because of this, I have never made potato salad.  I saw this recipe in my Vegetarian Family Cookbook and decided that just because I don't like something doesn't mean that my children shouldn't try it.  This was hard for me because it meant that I had to actually put the food on my plate and at least appear to be eating it... :/  Along with it we had some unblogworthy (that's a word, right? haha) burgers and some corn on the cob, my favourite kind of summer meal.  Turns out?  I LIKED this potato salad... not loved, but definitely liked.  Don't tell anyone though...

Golden Potato Salad

1 sweet potato

6 white potatoes

1 chopped red pepper

1 cup of peas

3 chopped green onions

 dressing:

1/2 cup mayo (I used vegan mayo because that's what I had)

1/2 cup yogurt (I used 10% MF because that's what I had :P)

3 cloves minced garlic 

Juice from 1/2 lemon

2 tsp dijon mustard

salt and pepper

1 large handful of chopped dill

*Peel and boil potatoes (and sweet potatoes) until done but still firm (You could leave the peel on but my potatoes had thick skin)

*Allow to cool to room temperature and cut into chunks.

*Place in a large bowl with red pepper, peas, and green onion.

*In a small bowl, combine dressing ingredients and stir together.

*Pour into potato mixture and place in refrigerator.

Two new salads in two days.

It's been hot.  Really very hot.  We have been practically living on salads and veggie burgers so I figured I could easily blog about at least 2 of them today.  I have a huge backlog of other photos/recipes to share but I never seem to get around to it.  Soon?  I hope so!  Yesterday we had these black bean burgers and an asparagus salad--super simple and delicious.  Today was these pinto bean sausages with rice and a cucumber salad--also very quick and easy!  This weekend we are off camping so I hope to share some of our meals from that on Monday.  Have a great weekend everybody!!

Asparagus Salad

1 bunch asparagus, lightly steamed and cut

1 finely chopped red pepper

1/2 finely chopped red onion

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

juice from half lemon

2 cloves minced garlic

1 tsp dijon mustard

salt and pepper

*In a large bowl, mix together asparagus, red pepper, and onion

*In small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over vegetables.

*Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Cucumber Salad

2 cucumber, halved-seeded-and sliced

3 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

juice from half lemon

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

*Whisk together all ingredients except the cucumber

*Pour over cucumber and chill for at least 1 hour.

Black Bean Taco Salad

Remember how I talked and talked about how it was never going to be warm?  Well, here we are.  It's not warm, it's HOT.  So hot that we spent the day playing in the water attempting to cool down.  As a side note, our a/c has decided not to work today so that was a big thumbs down!  Needless to say, making anything with the stove or anything that took longer than 15 minutes was out.  I had big plans for our meal but I scratched all of it from the menu in favour of a very simple (and very delicious) taco salad.  A one bowl, easy clean up, filling meal served with some fruit kabobs... perfect for this very hot and humid day.  Now all I need is for someone to fix my central air...

Black Bean Taco Salad

1 chopped onion

3 cloves minced garlic

1.5-2 cups cooked black beans mash half

1 cup corn

5 chopped tomatoes

1 cup salsa

1 tbsp chili powder

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

salt and pepper

3 cups chopped lettuce

1.5 cups Tex Mex blend cheese

1 bag crumbled tortilla chips

*Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft

*Add beans, corn, tomatoes, and half the salsa, and spices and cook another 5 minutes.  Let cool slightly.

*In a large bowl, toss together lettuce, bean mixture, remaining salsa and 1/2 cup cheese.

*Serve bean/lettuce mixture on top of a bed of crumbled chips topped with remaining cheese.

100 blog posts!

We have finally started getting some beautiful weather. We had a lazy day today, just hanging around outside in the sun. On beautiful days like this I always like to eat something cool...something like a salad! As the kids continued to play outside I put together this simple but tasty dinner. The kids wanted more bread sticks right away but had to finish their salads first...which they did. The boy ate his dinner in about ten seconds flat.  I originally got this salad recipe from my good friend Amanda, she brought it over for a potluck many years ago and it has been popular here ever since!  Here is my 3 year old daughter's plate, she thought it should be her turn :)

Spinach Salad

salad

4-5 cups baby spinach

1/2 cup sliced dried apricots

1/2 cup craisins

1/3-1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2-3/4 cup feta

dressing

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp honey

1/4 cup olive oil

1-2 tbsp poppy seeds

salt and pepper

*Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl

*In a food processor, pulse together all dressing ingredients

tada (easiest meal ever)

Best Day, Ever.

Today was the best day, ever.  We went on a hike, had a wiener roast, played in the yard (and the neighbour's yard), I went to hot yoga, and it ended with an impromptu family bbq.  Needless to say, I don't have a supper post to share!  BUT, I did make something from Simple Suppers that I never got around to posting on Thursday.  We had a warm lentil salad with french bread and it was delicious. 

Warm Lentil Salad

1 cup (french) lentils I never found french and this salad was still great

1/2 tsp salt

1 medium head of escarole

1 fennel bulb

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves of minced garlic

2 tsp ground fennel seed

 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

3/4 cup chopped walnuts I forgot to add these, oops!

*Cook lentils according to package instructions

*Rinse, drain and chop the escarole.  Thinly slice fennel bulb.

*In a large skillet, saute garlic, ground fennel and thyme for 2 minutes.  

*Add fresh fennel and salt and cook for 2 more minutes.

*Add escarole and stir and cook for a few minutes.

*Remove from heat and drain of liquid.

*Stir in lentils and tomatoes (and walnuts-oops) and serve at room temperature

Recent Repeat with Coleslaw and Curried Butter :)

I know we just had tacos last week but they were such a hit that I figured while my husband was away we'd have them again.  Fun food for a fun day!  I doubled the recipe and we still only have enough for maybe 2 more, sorry husband - you missed them again.  Today I served the tacos with a mexican style coleslaw and corn on the cob with curried butter, these were the perfect side dishes!  My son especially liked the coleslaw and literally licked his plate clean.

Mexican style Coleslaw

1 small head shredded cabbage

3 shredded carrots

1 finely minced jalapeno

1 clove minced garlic

3/4 cup mayo

juice and zest from 1 lime

1/2 tsp sugar

3 tbsp vinegar

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cilantro

*In a large bowl, combine carots, cabbage and jalapeno

*In another bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over vegetables.

*Toss well and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Curried Butter

4 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

juice from 1/2 small lime

1/4 tsp cilantro

1 clove minced garlic

*In a food processor, pulse together ingredients.

Another Monday of trying to please a 2 year old...

I'm pretty sure the only reason any of this meal got eaten by our favourite Monday dinner guest is because we were having chocolate pudding for dessert.  Another Monday, another fail!  You just never know with a 2 year old!  Tonight we had spaghetti with a super easy (super delicious) lentil sauce and a tofu and veggie salad.  I just kind of threw the salad together at lunch and it went over so well I will definitely be making it again.  Possibly even this week, ha!  I basically just marinated the tofu in a simple balsamic vinegar marinade and then baked it in the oven for 30 minutes.  Then I threw it in a bowl with some tomatoes, cucumber, yellow pepper, carrots and the leftover marinade!  So for next week all I know is that our little friend likes bread and... well that is actually all I know for sure :)

Spaghetti and Lentil Sauce

2 small chopped onions

3 cloves minced garlic

1 1/2 cups of dried green lentils

3 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

freshly ground black pepper

1 can tomato paste

*Saute onion and garlic until soft

*Add lentils, broth, and spices and bring to a boil.

*Lower heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes (until lentils are cooked)

*Add tomato paste and mix well.