Apple and Walnut Salad

My co-worker brought this salad to a potluck at work several weeks ago and I was hooked from first bite. I've made it a few times since and I can't seem to get enough of it. I love that it's not only yummy but also has only a few ingredients and can be put together in a few minutes.

Ingredients:

spinach
green apple
walnuts
bleu cheese crumbles

Directions: Cut up part of the apple and toss everything together (no concrete amounts - just toss in however much you think you need for how many you are feeding). This salad is really good with Annie's Organic Creamy Balsamic dressing (I found it in the natural food section of my grocery store).

*Optional: Strawberries are also really good in this salad.

Yogurt Deliciousness

Lately I have been loving this treat. It only requires a few ingredients and it's super fast and easy to throw together. Here's what you need:

plain yogurt (Greek style)
strawberries
walnuts
honey

Add the strawberries and walnuts to the yogurt and drizzle a little honey on top and you've got yourself the perfect Summer treat.

Simple Corn Chowder

You won't believe how fast and easy this is to make.

Step 1:
 2 c. water
1 c. carrots
1 1/2 c. diced potatoes
a little bit of chopped celery
Cook vegetables with salt for 10 min.


Step 2:
1/4 c. butter
2 c. milk
1/4 c. flour
Boil until thick. Add vegetables and water to the sauce. Add 1 can of creamed corn. Serve topped with grated cheese.

*I also like to add some frozen corn and peas as well as some rosemary, thyme, and fresh pepper to season it. I also recommend doubling this recipe so there is plenty to go around (and some for leftovers the next day - yum).

Recipe compliments of Rebecca Cooper.

Irish Soda Bread

I didn't get too festive with St. Patrick's Day this year. I didn't wear green, dye my food green, or make an Irish meal. The one thing I did do to commemorate this holiday was make some yummy Irish Soda Bread. This is the first time I've ever made it and it turned out really good. I like that is has a bit of sweetness to it, but it's not too sweet. It was also fast and easy to make.

What you need:

* 4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3 eggs
* 1 pint sour cream
* 1 cup raisins (I left these out of mine because I'm not a fan of raisins)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease two 8x4 inch loaf pans.
2. Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, sour cream and raisins and mix until just combined. Distribute batter evenly between the two pans.
3. Bake loaves at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 1 hour.

Recipe courtesy of Arlene Costello/Agnes Walters via allrecipes.com

Chickpea Salad

2 cans of chickpeas
a couple of handfuls of grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 cucumber, chopped into small pieces
several cubes of haloumi cheese
lots of parsley
olive oil
lots of lemon juice
a sprinkle of cumin

Put it all together and you have one yummy (and healthy) salad.

*Recipe compliments of Laura Chau.

Citrus Asparagus

1 lb. asparagus, ends trimmed
1 lemon
2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 T. garlic, minced
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 T. freshly chopped parsley


Slice each of the asparagus stalks diagonally into 1/2-inch thick pieces, but leave the tips 2-3 inches long, and set aside. Cut the lemon in half. Cut one half of the lemon into wedges, place them in a small dish, and reserve for service. From the other half, remove the zest, reserve the lemon half for use in the cooking process, and set it and the zest aside. In a non-stick skillet, saute the asparagus in the olive oil for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, the reserved lemon zest, season the mixture with a little salt and pepper, and saute an additional 2-3 minutes or until the asparagus is tender. Add the chopped parsley, squeeze some juice from the zested lemon half, and toss well to combine. Taste and add additional salt and pepper, if needed. Serve the reserved lemon wedges along with the asparagus. Serves 2-4

*Recipe compliments of www.veganchef.com

Simple Spinach Salad

Very simple, consisting of spinach, red onion, yellow pepper, Gorgonzola cheese, ground pepper, and then I added some peas as an afterthought after I took the picture (frozen peas which I put in the microwave for about 20 seconds so they weren't frozen but still cold). I also used Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette dressing on this salad. Yum.

Nutella Rolls

This is super easy, only requires a few ingredients, and it's really fast to make. I got this recipe from Becky's blog and had to try it myself. Here is what you need:

As you can see, you need
-crescent rolls (I use reduced fat but go for the good stuff if you so desire)
-Nutella (a hazelnut spread found near peanut butter at the store)
-optional: banana
-optional: powdered sugar
Spread out a crescent roll triangle, drop a dallop of Nutella in the middle add a slice of banana if you want (I actually like them better without bananas), and then wrap them up. Do this with as many as you want to make and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top and put them in the oven at 375 for about 15 minutes, or until they are golden and look baked. Yum!

*Recipe compliments of Becky Higgins.