Making you dinner tonight!

A crispy chickpea wedge salad is on the menu and it.is.perfection. Perfection, I tell you!

I know that I might be in the minority, but I LOVE iceberg lettuce. Not necessarily in a sad chef salad (which always reminds me of school cafeteria food), but as a wedge or a lettuce wrap or something, I just find it super refreshing. And hydrating!

And that crunch. Oooh that crunch. As a texture freak, it’s a must.

So a wedge salad is something I’m all over. The layers that you cut through and crunch through. It’s just so good! The dressing gets in all the lettuce nook and crannies and it is just so delicious. I have no other words – it’s delicious.

Here’s the thing. Of course, I’ll always be the first person to order the wedge with bacon and tomatoes. It’s a dream. But since I’m the predictable millennial who is always bored and must try new things? Well. I’m always going to try new things!

And this salad is an amazing new thing!

Okay okay, the crunchy chickpeas aren’t new at all. I’ve been making them for years! I make them to eat as a snack, to put on salads, to put in wraps – we just love them. So even though I practically consider it to be sacrilegious, I replaced crispy bacon with crispy chickpeas! They are so satisfying and filling that I knew I could actually turn this wedge into a full blown MEAL with them.

A light, lovely summer meal. I mean… maybe with dessert?

But anyway,  I also drizzled on an avocado ranch. That’s not new at all either. I make it all the time! I don’t love regular ranch but I freaking adore avocado ranch. Weird stuff.

Lots of fresh herbs on top too because it’s that time of year. I am soooo thrilled it’s that time of year. I’m practically using all my herbs already. Ooomph. Must grow more.

And finally some diced radish. For a bite and for color. Because… hot pink.

So here’s the thing. I have lots of recipes for the avocado ranch and lots of recipes that use crispy chickpeas. I suggest that when you plan to make this recipe, take a look at those other recipes and make them in the same week. That way, you can have extra avocado ranch for another weeknight meal (like these chicken skewers!) and chickpeas on another salad or in a pita or something. Double duty and no waste!

Now isn’t this just a perfect Monday? All those exclamation points are deserved.

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Crispy Chickpea Wedge Salads with Avocado Ranch

Yield: serves 4

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 large head iceberg lettuce, quartered
• 1/3 cup diced radish
• 3 tablespoons chopped chives

avocado ranch

• 1 ripe medium avocado
• 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped dill
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

Place the chickpeas on a paper towel and pat the as dry as you can. Remove any loose skins.

Put the chickpeas on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil or the oil of your choice. Sprinkle on the salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder and toss well to coat. Make sure the chickpeas are in a single layer. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, toss well and flip, then bake for about 15 to 20 minutes more.

This might make more chickpeas than you want to use – if so, keep them in a sealed container and you can reuse them! They will lose their crunchiness, but still taste delish.

To assemble the salads, slice the head of iceberg into quarters. Place each on a plate and cover it with salt and pepper. Drizzle with the avocado ranch. Sprinkle on chickpeas, radishes and chives. Serve!

avocado ranch

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until creamy, scraping down the sides occasionally when needed. Taste and season additionally if desired. Store avocado ranch in a seal-tight container for 1 to 2 days.

All images and text ©How Sweet Eats.

Ooooh that crunchiness.

The post Crispy Chickpea Wedge Salads with Avocado Ranch. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

Here’s a sneak peek into my lunch world.

Because I cannot stop eating this strawberry poppyseed salad! I mean, I am eating it every day. It is to die for. Delicious. So fresh. Satisfying but not heavy. Major flavor bomb. And it’s also kind of a copycat panera strawberry poppyseed chicken salad. Secrets!

We’ve developed a once-a-week habit of going to (or bringing home) Panera because Max is obsessed with bagels at the moment. Like, they are probably his favorite food right now and for those of you with toddlers, if there is a favorite food that isn’t mac and cheese or hot dogs… we are ALL over it.

I didn’t eat at Panera for YEARS. I mean, maybe ten-ish years? After college, I burned myself out on it and wasn’t really interested in the options. I don’t love deli meat or cold sandwiches and for a long time, the salads were sad. Just couldn’t do it!

But then Eddie started grabbing lunch there occasionally and would mention it. And once Emilia was born, I think that is when we started getting it once a week or every other.

And while I’d love to get a massive bread bowl of soup every single time, it is super heavy and not really conducive to hot summer weather.

Enter that freaking strawberry poppyseed salad. It is SO good. Sometimes I get the strawberry poppyseed salad on its own. Sometimes I get the strawberry poppyseed salad with chicken. Even better.

There has never been a more SUMMER meal than this.

Now I will say! It is sweet. It is a really, really sweet salad. I practically feel like I’m eating dessert. It has strawberries, blueberries, oranges and pineapple. Plus a fairly sweet poppyseed dressing that I added lime and orange to. If you’re someone who wants more savory? This probably isn’t for you.

HOWEVER. It tastes insanely fantastic if you want a refreshing, fruit-based salad for summer.

The balsamic chicken grills up perfectly and tastes like heaven. It adds the best savory bite and I usually don’t even care about chicken. You could easily add shrimp or salmon too. A million options here for you bored millennials like me.

I could eat bowl after bowl after bowl of this salad and you can bet that I will for the rest of the season.

We went strawberry picking this past weekend and the abundance of fresh, wildly sweet strawberries makes me so happy. And believe it or now, more so than cobbler, this salad is my favorite way to consume the red gems.

I don’t even know me!

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Grilled Chicken Strawberry Poppyseed Salad

Yield: serves 4

Total Time: 45 mintues

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 8 cups torn butter lettuce
• 1 1/2 cups strawberries, sliced
• 1 cup sliced pineapple
• 3/4 cup blueberries
• 3/4 cup mandarin oranges
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted chasews

citrus poppyseed dressing

• 3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil or grapeseed oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Directions:

Place the chicken in a baking dish or a resealable bag. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour it over the chicken and toss to coat. Marinate for at least 30 minutes or even overnight.

Heat your grill to medium-high heat. Grill the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes per sides. Let it rest for a few minutes before slicing it thinly.

In a large bowl, toss the butter lettuce with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add in the strawberries, pineapple, blueberries and oranges. Toss well. Add the chicken and cashews on top and drizzle on the dressing to serve.

citrus poppyseed dressing

Combine the vinegar, orange juice, lime juice, honey, shallot, garlic, mustard powder, salt and pepper in a food processor and blend until combined. With the processor on, stream in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified and comes together. Stir in the poppy seeds with a spoon and serve. This stays great in the fridge for a few days!

All images and text ©How Sweet Eats.

Please please please please please go make this for lunch. K thanks bye!

The post Grilled Chicken Strawberry Poppyseed Salad. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

[Hi! I’m partnering with Sutter Home today to bring you a spicy recipe to serve with their Riesling! Thanks so much to Sutter Home for sponsoring this post!]

HELLO. Who doesn’t want to eat the rainbow?

When we’re told to eat the rainbow, this is exactly what I envision. Rainbow salad like whoa. All of these gorgeous colors, so much crunch. It’s how a salad SHOULD look. A combination of bright and refreshing fruit and veggies with crunchy, spicy lime dressing and loads of fresh herbs.

How could anyone say no to this beauty?

Here’s the deal. This salad is a take on one of the best salads here in Pittsburgh, the Caribbean rainbow salad from Kaya. If you haven’t had that salad yet? RUN. Run and get it today. It is SO delicious and fresh and satisfying. And that’s coming from someone who isn’t a salad lover. As one of the most talked about salads in the city, I knew that I had to try to recreate it at home.

And something super exciting? Today, I’m partnering with Sutter Home to bring you a spicy recipe that pairs amazingly well with their Riesling. I am a huuuuge Riesling lover. It’s one of the only exceptions that I make when it comes to sweet wine.

Sutter Home’s Riesling is light and almost tropical-like. It’s delicious when served ice cold; incredibly refreshing is the first thing that comes to mind. I can taste some slight peach and watermelon so obviously it’s what I want to drink right now in the heat. It’s like it was made for me. And those fruits shine through and pair with the papaya and mango and bountiful veggies in this bowl and it’s like the best flavor explosion you’ve ever tried. So much produce and such a stunner! I just knew that it would be ideal with this salad.

While I love the sweetness, what I REALLY freak over is how well this Riesling pairs with something spicy. The spicy lime dressing on this rainbow salad is unreal. It is tangy and lime-y with a bite from the diced jalapeño. It’s not overwhelming, but it’s juuuust spicy enough to meet the Riesling in the middle for what I consider an fantastic pairing. The fresh jalapeño slices also add something wonderful – and you could use pickled ones too. Even candied ones if you want more of the spicy + sweet.

Back to our rainbow bowl…

This vibrant salad includes papaya and mango, which I am ALL over. I adore fruit in salads – that’s no secret. It makes the veggie-hater in me enjoy a green plate just a leeeettle bit more.  We also have fresh bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and shredded carrots.

I quickly caramelized some plantains in a skillet (it’s the only real cooking we do here, unless you make the crispy shallots!) and we also have chickpeas on the side. These make the salad super filling and satisfying – a necessity for us in this house.

A sliced avocado on top for creaminess. Can’t have a salad in 2018 without avo! Pickled onions too and not only because they are pink. Well, maybe. But their brine-y flavors adds a whole other element.

There are tons of fresh herbs and that might be my favorite part. Combined they add more wonderful fresh flavor.

A giant sprinkle of sesame seeds for even more unexpected taste. Roasted and salted pepitas too! I know… this is a dream pile of greens right? All the things in one bowl.

For the topping? Here, I crisped up some shallots which add a fantastic texture and pair perfectly with the spice. But if it’s a sweltering day and you can’t bear to do that? Add on some crunchy, dried plantains for the crisp bite. It’s just as delish.

If it seems like everything in your fridge is inside this bowl, it’s because it is. This recipe can serve two as a meal, four as a side – or if it’s at a big party with lots of other dishes? You can stretch it even more. It’s gigantic rainbow-ness entices everyone, trust me.

Oh oh! And the entire thing is drizzle with the spicy lime dressing. And served with a chilled glass of the Sutter Home Riesling. Can’t get enough of, ice cold.

Seriously, I think we have found our meal for summer.

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Spicy Rainbow Salad

Yield: serves 2 to 4

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 plantain
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 cups butter lettuce greens or baby spinach
• 1 cup sliced papaya
• ½ cup grape tomatoes, sliced
• ½ cup chickpeas
• ¼ cup chopped red pepper
• ¼ cup chopped green pepper
• ¼ cup chopped cucumber
• ¼ cup shredded carrot
• ¼ cup chopped mango
• ¼ cup pickled onion
• 2 tablespoons roasted + salted pepitas
• 1 avocado, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons sliced jalapeno pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
• lime wedges, for serving
• crispy onions or plantain chips for topping
• 1 bottle Sutter Home Riesling, to pair

spicy lime dressing

• 2 limes, juiced
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 teaspoon honey
• pinch of salt and pepper
• ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

The only thing to cook here is the plantain! Peel the plantain and chop it into chunks. Heat the skillet over medium heat and add the butter. Add the plantain and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until it becomes golden brown. Remove it from the heat.

Place the lettuce in the center of your plate. Build the rainbow salad around the lettuce, adding the papaya, tomatoes, chickpeas, plantains, peppers, cucumber, carrot and mango. Top with the pickled onions and the pepitas. Add the avocado in the middle, then sprinkle on the jalapeño slices and the basil, cilantro and mint. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds. Add a wedge of lime for spritzing.

The one thing left to do is your topping. You can either use some crispy frizzled shallots/onions (store-bought or make your own here!) or some crunchy plantain chips!

Drizzle with the dressing and serve with a chilled glass of Riesling on the side.

spicy lime dressing

Whisk together the lime juice, cilantro, garlic, pepper, honey, salt and pepper. Continue to whisk while streaming in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified. This stays great in the fridge for up to a week!

All images and text ©How Sweet Eats.

And that… is a SALAD.

The post Spicy Rainbow Salad. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

If there was a taco that I would always pick…

Hands down, it would be a fish taco. Always! Especially in the summer. Especially when I’m at the beach! Which I am. And that makes Monday so so so much better.

So these were born after I spent a day (excitedly) planning on fish tacos for dinner and made the slaw and the mango pico and chopped the toppings and then realized that I was OUT OF TORTILLAS.

The shame. Ugh!

However. Since I’m sure you dyyyyying to know.

I still made the fish tacos minus tortillas for dinner.

And the thing is? We didn’t even miss the tortillas that much. This bowl is SO incredible. It would be fabulous with rice or quinoa or a grain of some sort. But it also reminds me of the crispy carnitas bowls in The Pretty Dish – those are rice-less and freaking fantastic. I don’t even ever miss the rice!

Yep yep. This is like that.

I mean, don’t you just want to dive into this bowl of goodness?

Here’s how it’s going down:

The base is a napa cabbage slaw. Which I LOVE. It doesn’t need anything in my opinion, even to go on tacos. Napa cabbage is one of those things that I can eat total raw and LOVE. Crazy, right?

Anyway, I love that it’s a more delicate leaf because it works perfectly as our salad green. Super crunchy and fresh, but not grossly chewy is that makes sense.

Lots of chopped cherry tomatoes.

A quick mango pico! It has more tomatoes, mango, onion and cilantro.

A little diced red onion. Queso fresco (lots, duh). Cilantro. Avocado. Jalapeno! LIME.

Sounds like a dream, right?

It gets even better with the fish on top. I broiled it because it’s easy. You can grill it or even bread it and fry it or do whatever you’d like. It’s so flakey and fabulous on top.

And then. THEN!

On top of all that we’re drizzling a chipotle lime crema. I’m not a huge dressing lover so this with a spritz of lime is PERFECT for me. Plus, the mango pico is also a little juicy and really adds great flavor.

Toss that bowl up and boom. We’ve arrived! Dinner is golden.

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Spicy Fish Taco Bowls with Mango Pico

Yield: serves 2

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1  pound wild caught cod
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 to 6 cups shredded napa cabbage
• 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced
• 1 avocado, thinly sliced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro
• 1/3  cup queso fresco cheese
• 2 tablespoons diced red onion
• 1 lime, cut into wedges for spritzing

mango pico

• 1 mango, diced
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered or diced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
• 3 tablespoons sweet onion, diced
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 lime, juiced
• salt and pepper to taste

chipotle crema

• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt or sour cream
• 3 tablespoons half and half
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo
• 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from a can of chipotles
• 1 lime, juiced

Directions:

Preheat the broiler in your oven to high and set the oven rack about 6 inches below it.

Place the cod on a baking sheet and brush it with the grapeseed oil. In a bowl, stir together the paprika, salt, pepper, garlic and cayenne. Sprinkle it evenly over the top of the cod and press gently so it adheres.

Broil the cod for 6 to 8 minutes, or until just opaque and flakey with a fork!

To assemble the bowls, add shredded napa cabbage in the bottom of a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Top with the mango pico, tomatoes, cilantro, jalepeño slices, red onion, avocado and queso fresco cheese. You can obviously use as much as you’d like – my quantities above for toppings are really just a preference!

Drizzle the entire thing with chipotle crema and spritz with lime. Serve!

mango pico

Combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl and stir. Let sit for 30 minutes or so for the flavor to develop.

chipotle crema

Whisk all ingredients together until combined. Let sit at room temperature while you prepare the bowls! Store in the fridge to save any extras.

All images and text ©How Sweet Eats.

Really could eat this every day though.

The post Spicy Fish Taco Bowls with Mango Pico. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

These are a few of my favorite things.

All in a thai avocado salad! Or shall I say, a thai-inspired avocado salad.

Yes yes, that’s much better.

This avocado salad is LOADED. But simple. But full of flavor! And easy.

Is this making sense?

Avocado.

Peanut Butter.

Mango.

Sesame seeds!

Roasted peanuts.

Lots of other good things like red peppers and cilantro and jalapeño and lime. Tastes like freaking HEAVEN. I get ridiculously excited that we can make something like this at home in our kitchens. It’s really fantastic and it tastes fancy.

Spoiler alert: it’s soooo not fancy.

This salad can be lunch. It can be dinner. You can add chickpeas or chicken or salmon or shrimp. It can be a side salad to any other meal. There is so much room for activities! (Name that movie.)

But really, there is so much room to do something here. So many meal options.

The peanut butter dressing is more like a vinaigrette than a thick and creamy dressing. I mean, it is still creamy from the peanut butter but it’s a lighter dressing than the one from this chicken salad. It’s drinkable. Seriously. You won’t be able to stay away!

You know I’m all about the CRUNCH so this little salad here is perfect for my texture-loving brain. There’s a little heat. A little sweat.

And it’s satisfying too! It reminds me of a (much less intense) version of the spicy rainbow salad. Just with ALLLL the avocado.

Can’t beat that!

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Thai Avocado Salad

Yield: serves 2

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 avocados, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, spiralized
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 mango, cut into matchsticks
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 tablespoons chopped peanuts
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

peanut butter vinaigrette 

• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar 
• 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 tablespoons honey 
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 
• 1/4 cup grapeseed oil 
• pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

On a plate (or 2 plates!), combine and/or layer the avocados, carrots, green onions, mango, red bell pepper and jalapeño. Drizzle on the peanut butter vinaigrette. Top with the cilantro, peanuts and sesame seeds.

peanut butter vinaigrette 

Whisk together the vinegar, peanut butter, lime juice, honey, garlic and sesame oil until combined. Whisk in the grapeseed oil until smooth. Whisk in the salt and pepper.

All images and text ©How Sweet Eats.

Just set me in that little avocado nook.

The post 20 Minute Thai Avocado Salad. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

I am dubbing this THE SALAD OF THE SUMMER.

This perfect tomato panzanella is by far the most made salad in my kitchen right now, beating out the cheeseburger salad, the poppyseed chicken salad and even the house salad.

Essentially, this has become the NEW house salad. It is so delicious.

When it comes to summer dinner, I am thrilled with tomatoes, basil, corn and maybe some burrata. A drizzle of balsamic glaze. All together or served in meals separately. Add some toast into that mess and I’ve never been happier.

Tastes like hot summer nights and smells like summer too.

And while I’m certain that I may have called the chicken poppyseed salad “the salad of the summer” (okay, it’s not untrue), I should have been more specific and said it was the salad of the beginning of the summer.

And this here, this insane panzanella salad that is classic but totally delicious and something I could eat every single day, is the salad for the rest of the summer.

When tomatoes are bursting with color and flavor and exist as vegetable candy.

I first discovered this recipe early last year from serious eats. It’s everything a true panzanella should be – perfectly toasted bread that is soaked with the dressing and served with the ripest and sweetest juicy tomatoes. DIVINE.

The way it comes together is too good. You salt the tomatoes and let them hang out in a colander over a bowl for a few minutes. All those tomato drippings? The juice? It’s going to become your dressing base. Isn’t that serious brilliance?

I only take a few liberties in the recipe and add some extras, because it’s not like I can help trashing up a good thing.

Oh, oh and! While I’m giving you a recipe for this, I have made it countless times without any recipe. Just last week on vacation with farmers market goodness. It’s truly foolproof.

My ideal version of this panzanella includes grilled sweet corn (it’s oh-so fantastic right now!) and sliced avocado. This salad is filling and satisfying on its own, but if you’d like to take it to another level, chicken or chickpeas would be perfect. Tuna too!

The shallot in the dressing adds an extra pop, and this is coming from someone who doesn’t necessarily want raw onion in her salads. Fresh basil and oregano, chives and garlic round out this plate and I seriously don’t know if there is anything else I love more.

It’s ridiculous in the best (summery) way possible.

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The Best Summer Panzanella Salad

Yield: serves 2 to 4

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf sourdough bread, cut into cubes
• 1/3 cup olive oil + 2 tablespoons
• 3 cups cherry and/or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1 avocado, thinly sliced
• 2 ears corn, kernels cut from the cob (I like this grilled or fresh! your preference!)
• fresh oregano and basil leaves for serving

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the cubes on a baking sheet. Toss them with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are just toasted. Set the cubes aside to cool.

While the bread is toasting, place the halved tomatoes in a colander and set it over a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and toss well. Let the tomato juices collect in the bowl for 15 to 20 minutes, tossing the tomatoes occasionally.

Take the tomato juices and whisk in the garlic, shallots, dijon, vinegar and pepper. Stream in the 1/2 cup olive oil while whisking until the dressing emulsifies. This dressing is amazing!

Place the bread cubes, tomatoes and chopped basil in a bowl. Pour about half of the dressing over top and make sure all the bread cubes are coated. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if desired. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes.

Place the bread and tomato mixture on a large plate and add the corn and avocado. Add on more dressing and toss gently. Add a ton of fresh oregano and basil on top and serve!

recipe & method from serious eats

All images and text ©How Sweet Eats.

And p.s. it’s beautiful!

The post The Best Summer Panzanella Salad. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

I present to you: the crispy rice salad.

The crispy rice salad! If this is how salad is going to be from now on, I am on board. In fact, I’m driving the train.

I’ve never been so excited about a meatless Monday before! Crispy rice salad is blowing.my.mind.

It seems like every September, usually in early September, we have one of THOSE days. One of those days where it’s gloomy and maybe rainy but also slightly chilly. It happened for us this weekend – in fact, it was even in the low 50s on Saturday evening and it just makes you CRAVE fall. It means nothing, because even for the next month or so our temperatures could reach the 80s and 90s. But it was one of those perfect weekends where you could tell fall wasn’t that far off in the distance. And it helped because I burned a Leaves candle nonstop.

Of course.

This salad comes at the perfect time because it’s a little bit like comfort food. It might be my new comfort food. Excellent for the season transition and wonderful for the weeknight when you’re thinking what the heck can I make.

Where do I even start!?

How about the texture. The texture is spot on. If you’re a texture freak like me, then you will go crazy. You crisp up the rice in a skillet and not only is it ridiculously flavorful, it’s crunchy and crisp and chewy.

I threw in lots of kale, because it adds texture too. But also: green veg.

And I went for a little bit of Thai-inspired flavor with some lime and peanuts. You can use leftover rice or you can make rice exactly for this purpose. It’s a win for everyone!

The crazy thing is that this salad? It’s hearty. There isn’t any chicken or shrimp, no beans or beef. But it’s satisfying and filling. Of course you can totally add those things if you’d like. The salad I adapted this from uses an herbed chicken which sounds wonderful. Totally depends on what you’re going for!

I love that it’s kind of sticky and crunchy. It’s a fantastic lunch, leftovers are great – or it can even be some kind of side dish at dinner.

And it’s a flavor bomb. I mean, just look at it? All that flavor. Right there.

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Crispy Rice Salad with Kale

Yield: serves 2 to 4

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
• 1 bunch lacinato kale, removed from stems and chopped
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 shallot, diced
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 3 tablespoons chopped peanuts
• a bunch of torn cilantro
• lime wedges, for spritzing

Directions:

The original recipe calls for rinsing your rice super well and I have done that when making the rice just to make this dish. However, I’ve also used leftover rice, and it’s great too!

Place the kale to a large bowl and massage it with the olive oil. Set it aside.

Place the uncooked rice in a fine mesh strainer and rinse well multiple times. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the rice. Cook the rice for 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the rice – it will be slightly undercooked and thats okay! Place the rice in a bowl.

Heat a large skillet (that has a lid!) over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the coconut oil. Add the peppers and shallots and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Transfer the peppers and shallots to the bowl with the rice. Stir together.

Place the skillet back over medium-high heat. Take the lid from the skillet and wrap it tightly in a large kitchen towel – you want it to be tight so the towel does not catch on fire! This helps any condensation that falls from the lid and it will make the rice super crispy. Add the remaining coconut oil to the skillet. Once hot, add all of the rice mixture and use a wooden spoon to press it into one layer, like a rice cake. Cover with the towel-wrapped lid and cook until the rice is golden and crispy, about 5 to 6 minutes. You can scrap it with a spatula to see. Once that side is browned, you can flip a few parts of the rice cake and crisp the other side. Remove the skillet from the heat, keep it covered with the lid and let it sit for 15 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil.

Take the bowl of kale and scrap out the crispy rice. Gently toss it with the kale. Serve the rice on a plate and drizzle with the soy sauce mixture. Top with green onions, peanuts and cilantro! Spritz with lime and serve.

This will serve 2 generously.

adapted from bon appetit

All images and text ©How Sweet Eats.

The crunchy bits are life.

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Salad in a jar, why must you be a thing?

I am freakishly obsessed with this salad. Freakishly! Which is crazy since it’s just a salad. I don’t know what it is about things in a JAR that make us lose our minds, but this? I’m losing my mind. Losing it over the salad in a jar. It’s just so easy and flavorful and perfect for when you’re on the go.

This salad right here? It’s going to make your week SO much easier.

I’ve shared all sorts of Greek-inspired things here on the blog. I have my most favorite greek salad ever and that’s where I started with this.

Since I’m still on this thing where I’m trying to find really great lunches, I had to go for the jar option. Something to prep ahead. I rarely like lunches when they are prepped ahead (I mean, I eat them, but I’m just rather… MEH about whatever I made) but these are a GAME CHANGER.

Total game changer. I swear.

And it’s not just because it’s a salad in a jar. It’s the whole flavor thing. Trust.

Here’s the thing. I use a bit of chickpeas AND whole wheat orzo. Not a ton of either – just a little of both for that whole texture thing. Like a few tablespoons of the orzo and then a ¼ cup or so of the beans. I find that this is crucial to the texture and it makes it INSANELY satisfying. Like ridiculously satisfying.

And the best part is that YOU can be the one to decide how much you want. Do you want to use a large jar and have a little more orzo and beans for something super filling? Or do you want a smaller jar for a smaller serving size? Do you want to eat this straight out of the jar, all mixed up – or do you want to pour it over greens for a powerhouse salad that is incredible?

Your call!

The other thing! I left one of these jars in my fridge for four days. Yep, four days.

I poured it out into a bowl and ate it in my car like a nutjob (so I wouldn’t make other bad choices… aka, Starbucks drive thru) and it was still DELISH. The only thing that got semi-funky was the cucumber and I mean, it was barely soft. And that was only probably because it was stuffed between the roasted peppers and the olives!

The kicker.

The kicker is that you must put your dressing on the bottom, and you have to put something “in” it that won’t soak it all up. I went with the feta and then the chickpeas next.

This basically means that once you go to eat your salad, you have marinated feta and chickpeas.

I mean…

This just keeps getting better and better!!

Now of course, you don’t HAVE to put the dang salad in a jar. Make all the components and put them in one large salad to serve at dinner or at a party or at your own lunchtime thing. I like the idea of doing the jar prep because there ARE a lot of ingredients and components that go into this. And I wouldn’t recommended leaving any of them out because they are all super delish. They all add to the fantastic flavor.

Jars. When it comes to jars, I’m definitely partial to Weck jars. I love this medium-ish size and this larger size. Both have the clasps and I like this SO much more than the ball jars with lids that screw on.

Throw everything in there, store it in the fridge and you have the BEST LUNCH EVER.

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Greek Orzo Salad in a Jar

Yield: makes 4 jars

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

dressing

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

salad in a jar

• 1 cup cooked whole wheat orzo (you can use leftovers, make it the night before, etc!)
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 cup chickpeas
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers
• 1/2 cup diced cucumbers
• 1/2 cup sliced kalamata olives
• 1 cup sliced grape tomatoes
• 1/2 cup pickled onions
• fresh herbs for garnish

Directions:

Note: this salad will fit in four of these .5 liter weck jars!

dressing

In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, garlic, dill, oregano, salt and pepper. Continue to whisk while streaming in the olive oil. This dressing stays great in the fridge in a sealed container for a week or so, so feel free to make a double batch if desired!

salad in a jar

If you haven’t cooked the orzo yet, make it according to the directions on the package.

Have your jars ready to go and have everything chopped and pepper before assembly. Makes it much easier!

To build the salad, add 3 or 4 tablespoons of the dressing into the bottom of the jar. To each jar, add in about 2 tablespoons feta cheese, 1/4 cup chickpeas, 2 tablespoons roasted peppers, cucumbers and olives, a handful of fresh sliced tomatoes, some pickled red onions and fresh herbs. Top that with 2 to 3 tablespoons of cooked orzo (or more if you’d like!). Cover the jar and stick it in the fridge.

When you’re ready to eat, you can pour the salad over lettuce, or throw it in a bowl itself and go to town. Have salt and pepper on hand if you need it – I find this to have enough flavor az is!

All images and text ©How Sweet Eats.

The happiest sight.

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It’s Monday and this is a fall kale salad. Cliché?

Sort of, yes. But I swear I will make it worth your while. I never steer you wrong when it comes to a kale salad!

Because here’s the thing.

It’s basically my mission to create a fall kale salad worth freaking over every year. Last year it was the honeycrisp harvest salad. This year it’s another kale salad because they are so much HEARTIER than regular old salads.

And they feel so fall-like to me!

I love the texture. The crunch. The fact that they don’t wilt in 26 seconds.

This is a necessity – the variety and the salad worth freaking over, that is – because I have such a hard time with salads at home. SUCH a hard time.

When I make one, I’m rarely excited about it. I feel like it never tastes as good as a salad that I have in a restaurant or one that someone else makes me.

Of course, there are a few exceptions to that, like my house salad that we adore, or the honeycrisp salad mentioned above, or the poppyseed chicken salad… okay, I could go on. There are a bunch of salads I like at home but it’s difficult to get pumped over having one for lunch.

You know?

Side note: I’m having a (reborn) love affair with the fuji apple chicken salad from Panera. It’s the salad I used to get so many years ago and I definitely burned out on it, but now I’m into it again! Definitely game on recreating that here at home. For sure.

So THIS fall kale salad. Why it’s different and why I’m obsessed:

We have apples. And figs!

Toasted pecans for crunch.

Crispy pancetta for more salty crunch and exceptional savory flavor.

My favorite quick pickled onions because they are so delish on EVERYTHING.

And goat cheese. Of course. Can’t forget the cheeeeese.

The dressing. Ohhhh this dressing.

I’ve rambled on before about how I never liked any salad dressings as a kid and that was a huge factor in not wanting to eat salads. As soon as I started making my own, my mind was blown on the flavor. It is really rare that I will use a store bought dressing. I usually don’t care for creamy ones and vinaigrettes are so super easy, so I love making ’em here.

And I present… maple cider vinaigrette! Apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and a pinch of nutmeg. A hint of fall and it tastes AMAZING.

So I’m naming this my September salad. To go with my September sangria!

That balances everything out. I’m sure of it.

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Apple Pancetta Fall Kale Salad

Yield: serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup quick pickled onions 
• 2 ounces pancetta
• 1 bunch lacinato kale, leaves removed from stems (you want 4 to 6 cups)
• 2 small or 1 large honeycrisp apples, chopped
• 1 cup fresh figs, chopped
• 1/3 cup pecans, chopped
• 2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

maple cider vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced or pressed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

If you haven’t made pickled onions before or you don’t have any on hand, go ahead and make them according to this recipe!

Next, heat a skillet over medium heat and add the pancetta. Cook, stirring often, until the pancetta is crisp and the fat is rendered. Remove the pancetta with a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel to drain excess grease.

While the pancetta is cooking, shred the kale with a large knife. I like to run my knife through the leaves until they are in smaller pieces, but don’t worry about them being super smell or uniformly sized. Place the kale in a bowl and add 1 teaspoon olive oil. Massage the oil into the kale with your hands for 3 to 4 minutes. Set the bowl aside to sit for moment. Chop up your apples, figs and pecans at this time too!

When you’re ready to assemble the salad, sprinkle the kale with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add in the pancetta, the apples, figs, pecans and pickled onions. Add the crumbled goat cheese on top. Season with another pinch of salt and pepper. Drizzle with the dressing and serve!

maple cider vinaigrette

In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, syrup, garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg and pepper flakes. Continue to whisk while streaming in the olive oil. This dressing stays great in the fridge in a sealed container for a week or so, so feel free to make a double batch if desired!

All images and text ©How Sweet Eats.

May as well just give me a pitcher of the dressing to drink too.

The post September Kale Salad. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

I’m determine to take the cinnamon sugar toast of 1989 to the next level.

And I have some EXCELLENT news!! If you have some ricotta left over from those jam jars last week?

THIS HAS TO BE YOUR LUNCH.

Or your breakfast. Or heck, just make it dinner. Who cares!

Grilled cinnamon sugar toast is where it’s at. If you didn’t grow up eating cinnamon sugar toast, I feel for you. This was such a staple for us, even if we only had it once or twice a year. It was such a fun treat and I even have a coconut oil version in The Pretty Dish!

It’s one of those little indulgences, you know? It’s crunchy and sweet and perfect for a morning treat. And now we are taking it to the next level by GRILLING it.

Why didn’t I ever think of this before? I mean, it’s a shame really.

This recipe is as basic as can be. Spread your toast with cinnamon sugar butter. Yes, we’re doing it a little differently here since we have to grill the toast, but it’s so good. Whip up that butter, slather is on a slice and throw it on the grill.

The grill imparts this bit of smokiness that you didn’t know you needed until you tasted it.

And yes, of COURSE it’s perfect alone.

But do you really want to fire up the grill JUST for a snack of toast?

No no no. You don’t!

That’s where the perfect figs and ricotta come in. Grab some ripe figs while you can still get them. Whip your ricotta cheese until it’s creamy and smooth. If you’re really feeling it, you can even add a drop of vanilla extract or something.

Maybe even almond. Oooooh yes I love me some almond.

Serve your toast with a big scoop of the creamy dreamy mixture and sprinkle it with a hint of cinnamon. Throw on your figs and just ENJOY. It is weirdly and ridiculously easy, albeit slightly high maintenance.

Worth it though. It’s so freaking good! I promise.

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Grilled Cinnamon Sugar Toast with Figs and Ricotta

Yield: makes 4 slices

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 4 slices bread (whatever your favorite variety is)
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup of fresh figs, halved
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• sliced almonds for crunch!

Directions:

Preheat your grill to the highest setting.

To make the butter, stir together the butter, sugar, cinnamon and salt until combined and smooth. Spread each side of the bread slices with the butter.

Place the bread on the grates and grill until toasted, about 1 to 2 minutes per side.

Place the ricotta cheese in a food processor and blend until creamy and smooth. If you want to add any seasonings or extracts, now is the time! I just like it plain.

To serve, add a scoop of the ricotta with the toast and top with fresh figs and a sprinkle of cinnamon. YUM. You can also add a drizzle of honey if you wish and some sliced almonds for crunch!

 

All images and text ©How Sweet Eats.

Def want to snuggle into that ricotta cloud right there.

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I didn’t even know I could love a salad like I do a soft pretzel panzanella!

Yes. Hot pretzels in our salad. This might just be the best day ever!

Remember a few weeks ago when I shared my favorite autumn beers and a hot pretzel bar?

WELL.

This is what you do when you have lots of soft pretzels left over! Use them as bread chunks to make a panzanella salad.

With a mustard vinaigrette of course!

And apples. Some brussels. Then bacon. And caramelized onions.

Basically a bunch of my favorite fall things, throw together in a “salad.”

Ridiculous flavor bomb, right here.

What I like to do with all the components is cook them in one skillet. Do the bacon first, then caramelize the onions, then finish with the brussels. While that is all happening you can make your dressing and chop your apples. It’s a little high-maintence because onions take a while to caramelize, but you can always throw a touch of honey or maple syrup in there to speed things up.

The great part about this salad, however, is that it can be composed of leftovers! You could have leftover brussels or bacon and use them as the base with your pretzels, The onions cook quickly with the added sugar and while the entire depth of flavor may not be there, this could still be on your table in 20ish minutes if you’re using leftovers.

I LOVE that.

So yes, October is looking AMAZING so far. If we can eat a soft pretzel salad, everyone wins.

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Hot Pretzel Panzanella with Mustard Vinaigrette

Yield: serves 2 to 4

Total Time: 1 hour

This soft pretzel panzanella with mustard vinaigrette is the best flavor combination for a fall salad there is! Crispy bacon, brussels sprouts, caramelized onion and chopped apple comes together to make for a satisfying delicious autumn salad.

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 cups leftover soft pretzels
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 sweet onion
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cups brussels sprouts, stems removed and chopped
• 1 cup chopped honeycrisp apple
• salt and pepper for seasoning

mustard vinaigrette

• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

It’s up to you if you want to toast your soft pretzels! With some soft pretzels, it can make them super hard. You want the pretzels to be almost crouton like, but you don’t want them to break your teeth. And the idea with a panzanella is that you let the bread cubes soak up the dressing.

If you wish to toast your pretzel cubes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil. Drizzle a tablespoon or so of olive oil on and toast, tossing once or twice, for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool completely before making the salad.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until it is crispy and all the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel to drain excess grease.

Remove all but 1 tablespoon bacon grease from the skillet and add the onion. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir to toss. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until the onion begins to caramelize. This can take 30 to 40 minutes, but if you’re in a rush, you can speed up the process by adding 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar, honey or maple syrup. I like my onions to be super dark and caramely and delicious! Stir in the garlic about 5 minutes before finishing the onions. Once the onions are finished, transfer them to a bowl.

Add 1 more tablespoon of the bacon grease back to the skillet and add the brussels sprouts. Add another pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until they become golden and slightly charred in spots, about 6 to 8 minutes. Everything should be ready to go at this point!

To assemble the salad, place the pretzel croutons in a large bowl. Drizzle about three quarters of the dressing on the cubes, tossing well. Let them sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients – your brussels sprouts, apples, caramelized onions and bacon and toss well. Drizzle on the remaining dressing if you wish. Taste and season additionally if needed!

Serve immediately and go to  heaven.

mustard vinaigrette

In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, honey, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper. Continue to whisk while streaming in the olive oil. This dressing stays great in the fridge in a sealed container for about a week.

All images and text ©How Sweet Eats.

Big pumpkin beer on the side please!

The post Hot Pretzel Panzanella with Mustard Vinaigrette. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

I’ve got our November salad in the books!

This is going to be so much more than your thanksgiving salad. I mean, yes, it totally can be your thanksgiving salad, but it can also be your weeknight salad for the next three months.

Don’t you love when I go and do that? Make something and claim you’ll want to eat it for twelve weeks straight? Swear it’s the best ever?

Well. It is really fantastic!

Okay so let’s talk about where we are going with this.

Remember back in the summer when I recreated the Panera strawberry poppyseed salad?

Well. I’ve been on a fuij apple salad kick (it’s so freaking good!) and I’ve wanted to recreate it at home.

Then I got over that (well, I’m going to share it in January!) and decided that I just wanted to make a salad with apple chips. Apple chips are delish. And they are kind of like… apple croutons, if you will. How fun!

That’s how I decided this is my thanksgiving salad this year and it is incredible. There is so much texture, flavor and variety. And if you’re over squash, you can leave it out!

Here’s my thoughts on the squash. I love delicata squash (um, evidenced by the second recipe in one week that I’m sharing with it!) and using it here really turns this salad into a meal for me. Like a Wednesday night dinner in the fall and winter.

But!

On thanksgiving it’s not like we need (or want) our salad to be super satisfying. At least I don’t. I want to enjoy all of those traditional dishes that I only get once (or, err, if you have a blog – thrice) a year. So the salad on the table? I believe that it should remain light.

If you do this salad for friendsgiving or thanksgiving, I say skip the squash. It also saves you a step!

The rest of the goodness? It’s amazing.

We have a mixture of curly kale and spinach. I love the variety and texture!

Pomegranate arils because hello it is November.

Toasted pecans for crunch and flavor.

Creamy, crumbly blue cheese.

Apple chips for croutons!

Cranberry cinnamon vinaigrette that is straight up drinkable.

It’s such a lovely seasonal salad that draws in both sweet and savory flavors.

And it’s light enough that there is more than enough room for stuffing. And gravy! The best parts.

The Best Thanksgiving Salad

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Thanksgiving Kale Salad with Cranberry Cinnamon Vinaigrette

Yield: serves 4 to 6

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 delicata squash, thinly sliced and seeds removed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper for seasoning
• 2 heads (about 6 to 8 cups) curly green kale, stems removed and leaves torn
• 4 cups baby spinach leaves
• 2 cups apple chips
• 1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans, coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup pomegranate arils

cranberry cinnamon vinaigrette

• 3 tablespoons cranberry juice
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place the squash on a baking sheet and drizzle it with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until the slices are fork tender.

To make the salad, add the kale to a large bowl. Drizzle on about 1 tablespoon of the cranberry dressing and massage it into the kale for a few minutes. Let the kale sit for 5 minutes.

Add the spinach to the bowl with the kale and toss. Season with salt and pepper and toss again. Add in the squash, apple chips, gorgonzola, pecans and pomegranate. Toss well. Serve with the dressing!

cranberry cinnamon vinaigrette

Whisk together the vinegar, juice, honey, mustard, garlic, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. This keeps great in the fridge for a few days!

All images and text ©How Sweet Eats.

Plus it’s cute too!

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In other words, how to beat the post holiday blues with the winter crunch salad!

By now you’re surely aware of my requirements for a salad. Lots of texture. Super satisfying. Definitely crunch on top. Nothing too mushy. This winter crunch salad meets all of those! 

I feel like this week is the true start of the new year, you know? It always takes a few days to get into the swing of things, and as soon as that first full week of the new year starts, we’re in it. It’s the unofficial official start of the new year according to my brain.

This week, I’ll be breaking out my camera and some new recipes for the first time in over a month. I finished up photography and new recipe development in late November, so everything you’ve seen on the site, including this delish salad, was made back then. I’m so excited to get going again on creating some new delicious recipes. I have some crazy fantastic ideas that I am just dying to share.

It also means that it’s actually been over a month since I’ve made this winter crunch salad, which almost guarantees that it’s on our menu this week. I am SO excited. This salad is super delicious.

There is a ridiculous amount of crunch. I mean, a ridiculous amount. The brussels are crunchy; so is the kale. The pomegranate arils, apples and walnuts also contribute to the crunch. SO good.

My favorite part, however, is the smoky coconut crunch. Oh my gosh. Good luck trying to get this from skillet to bowl without eating it all. This might be my new favorite salad topper. I simply threw unsweetened flaked coconut into a skillet to toast – I do this all the time. But, I added a few drops (just a few!) of liquid smoke and holy cow, it added so much flavor. It turned the toasted coconut into a savory crunch and it’s something I’ll be reaching for all season.

If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, then you know my obsession with chopped salads. Something about everything being chopped into bite sized pieces – and being able to get a bite of EVERYTHING on one fork, along with the crunch factor that salads usually have – I live for it.

While this winter crunch salad isn’t exactly a chopped salad, it almost reminds me of a slaw or sorts. Lots of sliced flavor and crisp.

Perhaps the biggest shocker regarding my winter crunch salad – and the biggest shocker to me – is that we don’t have any cheese! WHAT.

What the what!

No cheese on one of my salads? Is this real life?

I actually intended on throwing some feta or goat cheese into this bowl, but once I got going with the salad, combining some of these wonderful ingredients and sneaking forkfuls while assembling, I realized that… it really didn’t need any cheese. In fact, I was afraid that goat or feta might take away from the crunch and the flavor!

So I left it out, which means we have a cheese-free salad, if you can believe that. I’m amazed at how much I love it.

The final drizzle is a citrus vinaigrette. I used seasonal satsumas for the dressing – oh my word, was it good! This is more of a honey dijon citrus dressing with so much flavor that I could drink it with a spoon.

This salad will serve two people generously, but it’s also a salad that holds up fairly well in the fridge.

I know! If you’re anything like me, the only thing worse than a boring salad is a leftover salad. It can be sad and wilted and pretty gross.

But I’ve found that if you don’t dress half of it and spritz a lemon wedge on the apples, then cover this well, it actually tastes great the next day. Kale salads usually hold up better than other lettuce salads, so you can enjoy this 24 hours later at about 80% of it’s deliciousness. Can’t beat it!

Definitely going to survive the winter blues with this.

Winter Crunch Salad

p.s. you’ve got to go make that coconut now. Run!

The post Winter Crunch Salad. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

I’m hoping this avocado citrus salad can bring us out of dreary January.

Because it’s the longest month ever! Right? In other words, we need something bright.

Last week we started with a super traditional, familiar, almost comforting side dish.

This week we’re going out of the box! An avocado citrus salad to bring us some sunshine.

Juicy, tart citrus. And then, creamy avocado. Tangy pickled red onion. Finished with a honey lime vinaigrette to bring everything together.

As a result, this salad is super refreshing. It’s light, bright, tart but sweet from the vinaigrette. And super easy to throw together in these winter months.

When it comes to salads, there are entrée salads and starter salads.

And then there are crazy salads that don’t have any lettuce and a rely on a base of juicy citrus!

Admittedly, this salad is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. But if you want to celebrate all that citrus season has to offer, it’s perfect. I love it so much with lighter chicken dishes, but it’s by far the best with shrimp and fish/salmon dishes.

If you want to serve it for someone who might be like “what the heck” come dinnertime, I suggest starting with only oranges and avocado. You could do cara cara or blood oranges, heck you could even do mandarin oranges drained from juice. It’s definitely a way to get someone interested when the grapefruit or meyer lemon may freak them out.

I absolutely love that you can make this dish sweeter (blood orange, meyer lemon) or more tart (grapefruit, lime!). It’s customizable to your palate. And if you’re feeling it, you can throw the whole thing over some greens to bulk it up too!

Here are just a few of the dishes I love with the avocado citrus salad:

Beer Glazed Citrus Chicken

Yogurt Marinated Lemon Chicken

Skillet Sea Bass with Pistachio Butter

Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes

Cajun Salmon with Salted Lime Butter

Winter Citrus Butter Salmon

Adobo Shrimp

Hot Honey Roasted Salmon

Kalua Pork Sliders

Grilled Baby Back Ribs

Avocado Citrus Salad

So bright it makes me happy.

The post Side Dish Sundays: Avocado Citrus Salad. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

I have one heck of a flavor explosion for you today – my favorite Mediterranean kale salad!

Okay, this is embarrassing.

It’s ANOTHER recipe I’ve been making at home that is totally inspired by Panera. I know! It’s like I’m living ten years ago with all of these Panera salads.

(p.s. this strawberry poppyseed salad will be in full effect in spring!)

But this one is just soooo wonderful. I actually find myself craving it. There is crunch and flavor and texture and it doesn’t make me feel like I’m eating a sad lunch salad.

Plus, it makes me feel GOOD. Lots of great stuff in here for us.

It’s true!

Back in the fall, we started ordering the modern greek quinoa salad at Panera. I somehow realized (or someone told me?!) that you could add smoked pulled chicken to the salad and it was the best day ever. Made the salad about 150 times better.

As a side bar, any time I get a salad at Panera now, I order the smoked pulled chicken. Try it! You won’t regret it.

For this Mediterranean kale salad, I became a total cheater and used a rotisserie chicken. I love the ones from Whole Foods and they make dinner so easy in a pinch.

It’s not smoked, but we do have a smoker and I’m not opposed to smoking chicken for said salad. They are a quick meat to smoke anyway, so it may be in the cards soon. The kicker is that I love shredded chicken in a salad! If you’re short on time, rotisserie is the way to go.

Do it!

The Panera version of this salad has a tomato sofrito blend, but I couldn’t exactly figure that out. It seems like a sticky mixture of tomatoes and quinoa, albeit still delicious. And the sofrito just didn’t seem to… mesh… with the Mediterranean salad flavors I was going for.

So my solution was to make a batch of quinoa and throw it in.

Um yes so easy!

It’s simple, but it adds a lot to the salad in terms of texture and satiety.

And the quinoa does double duty. I suggest making a batch and using the leftovers for things like breakfast quinoa and burrito bowls. It’s ready to go!

The comes all the flavor. In addition to the chicken and quinoa, we have cherry tomatoes. Roasted red peppers. Kalamata olives. Sliced cucumber. Finally, tons of feta.

But! My favorite part of this salad is nothing spectacular. It’s those crunchy sliced almonds. They are something I’d never think to put on this salad combination myself.

And of course, I used the honey roasted ones which make it even better. So much crunch. Not to mention deliciousness.

Pretty sure this has everything I want in each bite.

Mediterranean Kale Salad

Majorly crave-worthy.

The post Mediterranean Kale Quinoa Salad with Chicken. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

Today is the day we fall in love with this chickpea bacon ranch salad.

I mean, who doesn’t love a chopped salad?!

When I was home one summer in college, my brother and I both worked at Quiznos. He was obsessed with the chicken bacon ranch sandwich.  I think it was the most popular sandwich or something?

I couldn’t be bothered with it. I’ve rambled on before about how I never liked any sort of ranch dressing growing up. I didn’t like it to dip veggies (obvi), couldn’t even fathom it on salad and the whole pizza-crust-dipped-in-ranch thing? My worst nightmare.

I know! I was totally missing out.

The craziest thing is that I never really ended up loving ranch at all – until I made it myself. I fell in love with a version at home that contains a mix of fresh and dried herbs. And that sort of opened the floodgates for me.

Making a homemade avocado ranch was the first step. I’ve been making one now for over six years and it’s a huge win when it comes to homemade dips and dressings. The color is super pretty too!

My next foray was greek yogurt ranch, which I appreciate just as much and is the version of ranch that you’ll find in this chickpea bacon ranch salad. I actually crave this ranch on salads.

And it’s rare that I’m enticed by a ranch-heavy dish right off the bat – even now. But I absolutely approve of some crispy fries dipped in ranch. Just sayin’.

Roasted chickpeas are a huge meal prep staple for me. They are so crispy and crunchy and satisfying. And while I never was into the whole chicken bacon ranch phenomenon, with an accidental work slip, I thought of chickPEA bacon ranch instead of chicken bacon ranch.

And this amazing salad was born!

But here’s the thing. We’re not roasting these chickpeas today.

Today, we’re going to add them to a skillet with the bacon grease.

YEP.

I’m sorry?

But really not at all.

Add these to the skillet and let them crisp up. As a result, they take on a whole ton of flavor.

Speaking of staples, I swear that this might become a staple in your kitchen.

I couldn’t help sharing it now, but it may be even more in the rotation come summer. It’s a salad that you can prep all the components for ahead of time: make your bacon, chickpeas, ranch and cut the remaining veggies a day or so before. Keep the components separate until mealtime, then toss together and eat!

It’s safe to say that I am obsessed with the flavor and the texture, which is the reason why I’m breaking all the rules and sharing salad on FRIDAY.

I mean. FRIDAY.

!!!!!

It’s the day for cake and cocktails and mac and cheese.

But I swear, once you get into the groove of this, you won’t want to get out.

Chickpea Bacon Ranch Chopped Salad

Let’s make chickpea bacon ranch a thing.

The post Chickpea Bacon Ranch Chopped Salad. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

My new excuse to eat color? Halloumi hummus bowls!

If I found it appropriate, I’d totally grill some halloumi every single day and eat it for lunch. The slightly crisped outside, the creamy but sort of chewy inside, the intense savory flavor – it’s just so good. Can we make grilled halloumi a regular side dish, please?

Be gone, cheese overwhelm!

I am in LOVE with this for lunch or dinner. It has been my favorite thing lately and feels like such a treat. It makes for an awesome side dish if you’re feeding a crowd – or heck, even just for your family dinner. But I definitely consider something like this to be a meal.

And really, any excuse to cover my entire dish in hummus is something I welcome. Halloumi hummus bowls everyday please.

First, couscous is probably one of my favorite grains. I was eating it way before I discovered quinoa and something about the tiny rounds? Love ‘em. I enjoy it more than rice too, but I find that I rarely make it.

Changing that, stat. (I found this tricolor version at my grocery store.)

Cucumbers and tomatoes are easy for me to find right now in the thick of winter. But once warmer weather arrives, I totally plan on adding a ton of different vegetables. I think this would be so good with summer squash!

I love simply adding a scoop of hummus on top so you can use it as you wish. Toss the bowl a few times to disperse the hummus or scoop a bit up with every bite.

Yes yes yes.

Oh! Then if you want more of that brine-y mediterranean flavor, you could add Kalamata olives too.

Speaking of, I’ve been on a crazy olive kick. My mom always talks about how I’ve loved since I was a baby, so I’m set on making sure Emilia loves them too. Max is a no-go. He won’t touch them.

Emilia is into them though, which makes me so happy. They have been an afternoon snack for us and maaaaybe (just maybe) in a pinch I grabbed a snack cup of olives for breakfast.

The salty savory flavor is probably why I love halloumi so much. To me, it’s such a salty cheese. I lose my mind over the texture and find it to be super satisfying.

Of course Eddie wants some extra protein with this meal. He requests a version of this chicken almost every week so once it’s shredded, you can toss it right into this salad and it has so much flavor. You can even take this bowl + that chicken and toss all of it over greens! I love that there are so many options.

Crispy, roasted chickpeas are always an option too. Always.

I’m just living for easy, different dinners right now.

Halloumi Hummus Bowls

Creamy, salty, cheesy and totally crave-worthy.

The post Halloumi Hummus Bowls. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

Look no further for your new favorite meal, because this southwest salmon salad is the business.

I mean, if that isn’t a loaded salad, I don’t know what is!

I’m sharing this recipe today in the case that you have leftover mango from last week’s cashew shrimp dish!

I guess you could just eat the mango. Or use it all with the shrimp.

But just in case you want to throw it on this southwest salmon salad? I’m here for you.

I’ve said it a million times here on the blog: salmon salads are my favorite kind of salad. I love how the flaky and buttery salmon gets dispersed throughout the salad so it’s like you get a bite in every single forkful. It’s perfect!

The salmon salad that I make on the regular goes a little something like this: butter lettuce, feta, maybe some chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumbers, red peppers and an apple cider vinaigrette. It’s almost always the salad I make with leftover salmon. It’s habit!

Unless I have all of these perfect ingredients, then I go the taco-flavored route. Is there ANYTHING better than a salad with tortilla chips on top? I think not. They are a billion times better than croutons. And if you have avocado on there, you’re basically eating nachos.

This just got better.

The salmon? It’s simple. Chili lime roasted with lots of flavor. If you want to make it even more appealing, you could add on some of this salted lime butter right when it comes out of the oven. Holy cow. That is fantastic.

So sure, we have the salmon and the mango and the avocado and the tortilla chips.

But there is so much more!

Lettuce, obviously. I like it shredded most of the time. Beans – black or pinto would be my bean of choice. Tomatoes, bell peppers, corn, diced red onion, scallions, cilantro and cotija cheese.

Yes, it’s a high maintenance salad with alllll the ingredients. So delish!

Oh oh oh and a chili lime vinaigrette that’s down right drinkable.

Pretty sure I know what’s for dinner tonight.

Southwest Salmon Salad

Now that’s definitely eating the rainbow.

The post Southwest Salmon Salad. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

Eeeek. I am ridiculously excited to share this spring nicoise salad with you today!

Because, the color! Look at that color. It’s so gorgeous and stunning and could turn any veggie hater into a lover. For sure.

I’m the proof right here.

This is like Easter on your plate.

Okay, okay, so I realize that I just put an egg on Monday’s recipe, but we already agreed then that everything is better with an egg.

This salad is about so much more than an egg.

I know that the traditional nicoise tends to use hard-boiled eggs and tomatoes and maybe even potatoes. I love a nicoise with salmon (hello, best dinner or lunch!) but wanted to make something that was perfect for spring, ideal for spring holidays, amazing for hosting brunches and something you could prep slightly ahead of time. Aside from a soft-boiled egg, of course.

This is such a fab salad. You can add the salmon or chicken or tuna to the mix if you’d like, or serve it just like this. I love making it this way for a party, with just vegetables (eeep, I know!), because it’s super customizable then. People can take the pieces that they love, it complements other dishes so well and it could be used as a starter or a side.

So many options!

My favorite part, aside from the darn egg of course, are potatoes. They are so tender and add such an unexpected texture to an otherwise crunchy salad.

It’s no secret that I LIVE for texture. The blanched green beans and asparagus have a fantastic fresh crunch. The olives and the capers are so super flavorful and if you’re into brine-y foods like I am, this might be the best part.

Lots of fresh herbs (like dill) add another element of flavor. And then the mustard dressing? Well that’s nothing new for me but it’s fantastic here. On the green beans, asparagus, potatoes – it’s just SO good. Everything is so fresh and, I must say it again… CRUNCHY.

And plus, we get to eat pink things.

Spring Nicoise Salad

Totally makes me crave spring.

The post Spring Nicoise Salad. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

Let’s put some flavor in our tomato farro salad and call it a day.

Otherwise known as the best day ever!

Are you ready for the bowl that is going to be on REPEAT this year?

I’m talking major repeat. This can technically be your breakfast (add an egg!), lunch and dinner.

For most people I’d know (well, almost everyone?), this would be a side dish. A great side for a party or picnic, even a side to make for dinner or one to prep on Sundays for the week ahead. I almost made this a Side Dish Sunday post!

But I could totally eat this as a meal. As a grain bowl, if you will.

In fact, I did. And I do!

This has EVERYTHING I want in a salad, except maybe some big crispy crunch. But we could always add a sprinkle of bacon?

It’s chewy from the farro. It’s naturally sweet from the slow roasted tomatoes. A little tangy from the feta. Bright and refreshing from the lemon vinaigrette. And a little crunchy from the toasted pine nuts.

Ohhhh my gosh.

I adore every single bite in this bowl.

It’s no secret that I’m losing my mind over slow roasted tomatoes right now. They take some time to make, but it’s totally hands-off. And the result, especially for out-of-season tomatoes, is incredible. They make tomatoes in winter and spring… edible. This is important since I’ll be waiting on good ones until August!

I also go crazy over pine nuts and just about go through one container per week, because I toast them with all my roasted vegetables. They are my favorite nut for salads – by far.

So it’s only natural that ALL of these things would be in a salad that you can make and take to all your spring and summer activities, or that you can make at home and hoard for yourself.

Since we’re entering picnic season and need all the potluck or party salad ideas that we can find, I’m bringing you this.

It’s AWESOME to bring to a party, because it’s on the healthier side and I always love having an option like that. But it’s also a filling salad that you can have at your own cookout or picnic, and since it IS filling, you don’t need a ton of other dishes!

The salad holds up well for a few hours and obviously tastes amazing.

Those slow roasted tomatoes are like adding a savory caramel to your dish. Very, very into it.

I hope you get into it too!

Tomato Farro Salad

Just about ready to snuggle up in that bowl.

The post Slow Roasted Tomato Farro Salad. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.