almonds

Asian Ramen Noodle Salad Recipe

Crunchy ramen noodles and cabbage make this easy Asian ramen noodle salad with an addictive dressing an instant picnic and pot luck favorite.

This salad is pretty enough to take a picture of. And pretty enough to share that pic. That’s why today I’ve partnered with Adobe to share a new app they’ve developed for your smart phone that makes it incredibly easy to resize and add text to your smart phone photos, even for the tech challenged.

Because isn’t good food meant to be shared? I’d say so.

That’s why I love sharing recipes that have stood the test of time. The recipes that when you’re stumped as to what to make, you just go to the proven standards that you’ve made over and over and over again..

That is this Asian Ramen Noodle Salad. It’s probably on the all-time top 10 list of the most-favorite, often-requested, go-to-because-it’s-incredibly-easy pot luck and picnic salads. Ever.

Funnily, it’s not a salad I normally make for an average Wednesday night dinner. And I have no idea why not. It’s always just seemed to have that retro, convivial sharing quality. It’s a salad meant to be eaten with a crowded table of friends and family gathered round a bunch of burgers and beers at the BBQ.

But then, what isn’t?

Probably one reason this Asian ramen salad has stood the test of entertaining time is that it is incredibly easy to make and lasts for a beyond average length of time on the card table draped with a tablecloth disguised as an elegant banquet buffet.

Or is that just at my house?

Or maybe it’s so popular because it bears the ying and yang of sweet and savory. It’s the teriyaki chicken of Asian salads. It’s non-threatening, there’s nothing too weird in it, and it’s a salad that nearly every picky eater will try. Even the onions!

For today’s recipe post I wanted to create an image with the ingredients on the photo to share on Instagram and Facebook—and for you to download if you’d like. I made it with Adobe Post and I’m sharing how I did it at the end of this post.

But first, the recipe…

continue to the recipe… about Asian Ramen Noodle Salad Recipe

Easy Green Beans with Browned Butter Almondine

These green beans almondine are made in one skillet, steaming the beans right in with the butter and almonds then finishing them off with some lemon juice.

Easy Green Bean Recipe

This year I’m adding more simple side dishes to the blog’s recipe list because while main dishes are often the star of the dinner time show, it’s the sides that I find always sneak in and steal the spotlight. And this FoodieCrush green beans almondine recipe is proof that statement is true because it’s easy enough to make for everyday, but pretty enough to serve for special occasions too.

I remember my mom making a version of this super easy green bean recipe since before I could even decide if I liked it or not. At our house, there wasn’t really an option. You ate what was served and that was that. But I always loved these green beans.

They’re crisp. Buttery. A little bit lemony, and always with the crunch of almonds. And they are totally unlike the Brussels sprouts my mom tried to poison me with, where with each forkful I’d chew just enough to be convincing, then fake cough the mouthful into my napkin so I could feed them to our dog Posey. But Posey was smart. She didn’t like Brussels sprouts either. But she would have loved these green beans, if I’d been generous enough to share with her.

And yes, it is true. You can feed dogs green beans to help them lose weight. It was our secret weight loss ingredient for our 120 lb. malamute, Akasha, who shed the pounds but still felt full thanks to the fiber in green beans. Or at least she wasn’t howling and writhing with hunger pangs because she was a dog…and since she couldn’t talk and couldn’t sneak her own food, I’m deciding she was just fine with her mix of dog food and green beans.

I’ve often wondered if the green bean diet would help humans lose weight too? I mean, why not? Green beans are high in dietary fiber, low-calorie and virtually zero fat. Not to mention the loads of vitamins they pass along to our able bodies.

But I digress…

Back to the almondy beans…

While this simple recipe for fresh green beans topped with almonds has always been at the top of my side dish list, my husband prefers the canned version and has passed that preference along to our daughter, too. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, especially when it’s totally convenient to pull a can out of the pantry to get a quick veg into a meal.

But in my starry eyes, there’s really nothing better than the al denté snap of these babies. And whether you call it green beans almondine or amandine, those brown buttered almonds are the perfect topper for an easy side dish any time of year.continue to the recipe… about Easy Green Beans with Browned Butter Almondine

Roasted Asparagus with Browned Butter and Almonds

Roasted asparagus gets a leg up on the basic side dish with a drizzle of nutty browned butter and the crunch of buttery marcona almonds.

There’s nothing better in cooking than to take an easy, basic recipe and give it just a little twist to move it up a notch.

Basic oven-roasted asparagus is one of my meal-making staples. It’s fast. It’s easy. It’s delicious.

But sometimes I’m craving just a bit more flavor. So when I’m feeling flush and lush, browned butter made even more nutty is my asparagus drizzle got-to.

continue to the recipe… about Roasted Asparagus with Browned Butter and Almonds

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

This easy lemon poppy seed muffin recipe gets a healthy boost with almonds and yogurt to make a moist muffin everyone will declare the very best.

Healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

You know how there are some ingredients that you just can’t say no to when it comes to a particular food? Like, for me, the only cake that’s worth its weight in birthday candles is German Chocolate Cake. Or if I’m choosing an artisanal cheese it’s going to be a stinky, gooey, triple cream.

So when my Ali Smudge wanders through the bakery section of the grocery store, I don’t even have to wonder what request she’s about to pose. Because it’s always the same. And it’s always for a lemon poppy seed muffin.

This lemon muffin recipe originally comes from Cooks Illustrated and is one of the best, delivering a solid base for add-ins to make all of your muffin dreams come true.

These muffins bake up light and with a tasty crumb, far from the greasy, heavy versions you’ll find in the grocery store.

see more: 37 Easy Healthy Breakfast Recipes to Jumpstart Your Day

continue to the recipe… about Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Chinese Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing

This Chinese Chicken Salad takes the healthier high road than the heavier versions I always see at those popular food chains that everyone loves. But this one with crunchy romaine, wontons, and an almond crunch, topped with protein-packed chicken breast, pasta noodles, and a flavor-flav sesame dressing.

Lighter fare that totally satisfies is what I’m craving now. And as summer’s flowy skirts and loose-fitting shift dresses morph into fall’s jeans and thigh hugging pants, it seems lighter food is part of my weekly anthem.

Goodbye my fave potato salad and chocolate drizzled ice cream cones dripping down my chin. Hello meal planning, gym going, and my fave weight loss plan.

And that’s where my all-time favorite—and healthier—Chinese Chicken Salad comes in.

I’ve updated this recipe post because I refer to it all the time and it needed some updated love.

I CRAVE this salad, and it’s one I love to make for ladies lunches or for a simple, and lighter meal for a crowd. Because who doesn’t love a good Chinese Chicken Salad anyway?

continue to the recipe… about Chinese Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing

No-Bake Cookie Bars with Chocolate, Cherries and Chia Seeds

I’m shortening this recipe title to be known as Triple CH No-Bake Cookie Bars, making it easy to remember the main ingredient list thanks to it’s title: chocolate, cherries and chia that create a healthy cookie bar for breakfast, snacking, or even dessert.

If a photo could sway a viewer into diving into a style of eating they don’t necessarily need to follow, Alanna Taylor-Tobin of the food blog The Bojon Gourmet will likely be the one to create it. That’s exactly how I first became a fan of Alanna’s and the blog she started during a stint of what she calls “funemployment”, including the word bojon in her blog name—a term that’s backward for “no job”.

Through her sumptuously styled photography and original gluten-free recipes, Alanna’s talents as a classically trained pastry chef inspire thousands to live a gluten-free lifestyle and still cure their sweet tooth.continue to the recipe… about No-Bake Cookie Bars with Chocolate, Cherries and Chia Seeds

Strawberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Chicken

A simple balsamic dressing does double duty as a marinade for the chicken in this light and healthy, fresh spinach, avocado and strawberry salad.

The best recipes are made from muscle memory.

These are the recipes you’ve made time and time again, with so much repetition you really don’t even think about what you’re doing when you make it, you just do.

These recipes aren’t really even recipes at all. They’re just the wonderful result of what happens when you take the basics and then add a twist here and a switcheroo there, all depending on what’s fresh and seasonal and hanging out in the fridge.

This spinach salad is exactly one of those recipes and finds itself as my lucky lunch at least once a week. And if I love it that much I’m betting you will too.

Isn’t that the perfect reason to share?

continue to the recipe… about Strawberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Chicken

Thai Coconut Noodle Salad

Almond Breeze Almondmilk Coconutmilk is my secret to a lower calorie instead of canned coconut milk for dressing this flavorful, Thai-inspired noodle salad.

This year I’m partnering with Almond Breeze to create and share recipes using almond milk. This noodle salad recipe takes full advantage of this flavored almond milk’s ability to infuse the distinctive Thai taste of coconut milk, but is a lighter alternative that cuts the calories and keeps the taste.

I’m sure I’ve shared here on the blog that during my sister’s senior year of high school she spent the year as a foreign exchange student in Thailand. Growing up in Utah, the geography, culture and certainly the food was worlds away from what she was used to. And she loved every single minute of her year-long immersion there.

When it was time for her to come home, my parents and I traveled to her adopted land to explore her new world. We quickly became fans, too. The beaches. The kindness of the Thai people. The vibrant heart of the culture. And for a food lover like me, the sumptuous and exotic dishes simply sealed the deal.

Ever since, when I’m craving dishes with a balance of spicy and sweet, Thai flavors are at my cooking epicenter. When you search my recipe archives it’s proof in the pudding, the Thai pudding so to speak. Hey, now! There’s a recipe idea I haven’t tried out yet…

continue to the recipe… about Thai Coconut Noodle Salad

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

These dense and chewy macaroons are dipped in dark chocolate for the ultimate decadent treat, and they also feature a fun crunchy surprise in the center!

Chocolate. It’s one of my favorite ingredients in the kitchen. This post is part of series of partnered posts with Hershey. As always, thank you for reading and for supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you.

She dunks everything she eats.

She takes after her great grandmother, and her grandfather—whom she never met.

Toast in eggs. California rolls in her ramen broth. And last week? Her cheeseburger in milk. Things might be getting out of hand. But, I must say, I appreciate my daughter’s adventurous palate.

It was no surprise then, that when I was telling her about my cravings for coconut macaroons, her head went straight to dipping my favorite cookie into chocolate.

It was a no brainer in my head, too.continue to the recipe… about Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

Raspberry and Chocolate With Almonds Grilled Cheese

Havarti cheese, creamy mascarpone, tart raspberries, milk chocolate with almonds and orange zest get melty and gooey pressed in between hunks of angel food cake in this surprising and delicious take on grilled cheese.

Grilled Cheese—it’s standard fare at our house. Savory? Sure! But, sweet? Absolutely!

Sometimes we all get in a rut with that cheddar-on-white-bread-with-tomato-soup thing. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just that there’s so much more cheesy goodness out there to be melted, gooed and strung into our mouths.

Especially when the cheese is paired with classic almond studded chocolate bars and a bite of sweet, fresh fruit for a savory take on a grilled dessert sandwich.continue to the recipe… about Raspberry and Chocolate With Almonds Grilled Cheese

Light and Easy Cheese Ball Recipe

This 5-ingredient cheese ball is lightened up with a combination of Neufchâtel light cream cheese and Greek yogurt cream cheese for nearly guilt free snacking, and it’s guaranteed to be a major crowd-pleaser at any shindig!

The day has come and gone and perhaps your resolve to paint 2015 with a rosier, healthier, more prosperous and organized glow has too.

This past weekend—January 17 to be exact—marked the day most people fall off the resolution band wagon. It even has an official nomiker, Ditch Your New Year’s Resolution Day.

Really? Only 17 days in and we’re already doomed?

Hardly.

I’m keeping my (re)Solutions going strong—or at least still breathing—by keeping up with my Little Victories tour. Small changes that make it easier for bigger evolutions to come.continue to the recipe… about Light and Easy Cheese Ball Recipe

Chocolate Dipped Almond Cookies and Santa’s Milk Drive

These simple and decadent almond cookies are sandwiched between a layer of rich dark or milk chocolate filling and are then dipped in dark or white chocolate and sprinkled with chopped nuts or crushed peppermint candy for a delicious crunch.

This whole thing started with my wish to teach my 10 year old daughter a little bit about the true spirit of Christmas. To reinforce to her and her friends that it’s better to give than to receive. And I have to say, my wish was granted in spades.

My daughter is an only child. And let’s face it, she is totally and utterly spoiled. And I am 100% okay with that.

We’re, ahem, “more mature” parents who’ve lived a lifetime of pre-kid fun, travel and experiences. So when she surprised us and showed up in utero with an unanticipated pee test (which is a whole ‘nother story for another day,) it was no surprise to us or those around us that she’d have 100% of our attention, our love, and the keys to our wallet.

But in turn, my husband and I agreed that this girl was in no way going to grow up a prima donna. A spoiled brat. A young adult who doesn’t appreciate the love and luxuries she’s been lucky enough to receive. And in my opinion, that’s our job as parents. To be sure to instill the work ethic and gratitude that damn well better be drilled into our children’s core.

And because of that, the idea of Santa’s Milk Drive was born.

continue to the recipe… about Chocolate Dipped Almond Cookies and Santa’s Milk Drive

Winter Green Salad with Orange Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

This fresh and healthy winter salad recipe with spinach, romaine, mushrooms, apple, and almonds features the best citrusy honey mustard dressing.

‘Tis the season to embrace balance.

It’s the time to do the dance and fancy footwork when toeing the line between giving into each and every one of your holiday mouth cravings (hello to Mom’s homemade fudge) and listening to your head—and often times your bloated belly—and take a side step to the lighter side of everything bright, fresh and joyful that winter’s produce forks over.

Literally.

It bears repeating that salads should never, ever be bastioned to only spring and summer eats. Let the cucumbers and tomatoes wait for their day in the sun because winter is the time to really play with our produce.

This salad is one of my everyday favorites. In fact, it was one of my normal weekday lunches that after I put it together made me thing, “Geez, that’s a great salad. I should make that for the blog sometime.”

Duh.

Why I think that the way I eat on a simple, everyday level isn’t blog worthy astounds me sometimes. Because good food doesn’t have to be fancy, or ironic or always Pinterest perfect. Nope, not at your house or here at mine, either.

continue to the recipe… about Winter Green Salad with Orange Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Apple Blondies with Cinnamon Almond Streusel

Things around here have floated back into a familiar groove.

Smudge is back in school so sleeping in is saved for the weekends and random mommy daughter excursions during the day have come to a halt. The one thing that stays constant is my little girl’s request for an after school snack as soon as her backpack hits the floor. I wish she’d learn to pick that up. But then, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

We have our routine when she walks in the door. I tell her to wash her hands. She heads straight for the kitchen in search of sustenance.

This sweet after school treat is a mash-up of two food bloggers’ recipes I’ve had the luck to taste for myself straight from their sugar laced ovens.

The result? I think you can tell for yourself by Smudge’s reaction below.

continue to the recipe… about Apple Blondies with Cinnamon Almond Streusel

Strawberry and Avocado with Tuna Salad Recipe

It’s back!

After a summer peppered with vacations to the beach / cabin / red rocks, popsicles and cereal flavored milkshakes, far more thunderstorms than I ever remember a summer possibly possessing and not nearly enough time spent weeding my garden (thank you for doing so, my #1 rock star dad!), just like that, we’re shocked back to reality and the routine of school days once that dang alarm goes off.

I, for one, am embracing it.

We’ve hit Target for new pencils, anitbacterial wipes and college ruled composition books. She chose her new outfit for the first day (denim on denim, how chic!) and I somehow got her to let me curl her hair, sort of. We took the requisite first day photo with her two babies and marveled at how in the heck she could have grown this much in just one year!

Then it was off to school where watched with the rest of the hovering parents as she immediately forgot us, as if we merely existed to be her estranged support system in her stratosphere of gal pals and those boys she totally doesn’t like ;).

continue to the recipe… about Strawberry and Avocado with Tuna Salad Recipe

Spicy Chocolate Bark with Chipotle and Almonds

Sweet treats don’t have to be time consuming. They just have to be good. In my book there’s nothing quite as simple, and definitely not as good, as a decadent, rich chocolate. Hit it with a little Chipotle spice and a salty crunch and man oh man, I go weak in the knees. Sounds like every Valentine’s dream, right?

I’ve had a thing for chocolate bark ever since I featured Gerry of the food blog Foodness Gracious in my Holiday Issue of FoodieCrush magazine. Not only does the guy do savory, he also knows his way around the sweet side of the kitchen.

But that wasn’t the first time I fell hard for his confections. The first time I met Gerry was at The Big Traveling Potluck when he handed me one of his luscious specialty caramels. Let’s just say we started off on a very good foot which left me licking my fingers clean.

continue to the recipe… about Spicy Chocolate Bark with Chipotle and Almonds

Strawberry and Quinoa Parfait Plus a Giveaway

This post is sponsored by California Strawberries, whose sweetness will surely inspire you to start the new year right with this Strawberry and Quinoa Parfait and the opportunity to win a Vitamix blender.

If you’re like me, moving into the new year means coming down from my holiday foodie high of sweets, treats and not-especially-healthy-eats and confronting myself with reality.

That boils down to clearing out the stash of Christmas cookies and the last sips of eggnog and making room for more healthful fruit and veggies for this girl. STAT!

With this as my first recipe post of 2014, it seems only fitting to have it start with the most important meal of the day: breakfast. And since I’m six days in and feeling all gung-ho with my annual analysis of what I feed this body of mine, I’m leaving the eggs, french toast and waffles for later.

Today we’re starting off simple. And fresh. And easy. With strawberries.

continue to the recipe… about Strawberry and Quinoa Parfait Plus a Giveaway

Cranberry Baklava Phyllo Cups

A new year calls for new tips in simplicity, especially in the kitchen.

Sometimes I’m a short-cut kinda gal, which makes for some interesting cooking challenges.

Because who wants to feel overwhelmed and overwrought at the mere thought of inviting friends over to enjoy some cheer in the new year? I say, bring the friends! But cut the complexity out of the cooking and let’s make an easy take on a classic fave.

Let’s pave the way for more merry making and party partaking.

continue to the recipe… about Cranberry Baklava Phyllo Cups

Apple and Cherry Strudel Plus Friday Faves

My secret to an easy dessert? I start in my grocery store freezer for an Apple and Cherry Strudel that’s every bit as easy to pull together as a traditional homemade pie.

Hey, look at that. It’s November 1 and the entertaining season has officially begun!

But that doesn’t mean it has to be haaaarrrd. Easy entertaining should be just that, EASY, and our guests don’t need to be filled in on all of our little secrets. Us home cooks need to have a few tricks up our sleeves, right?

It seems like everyone does pie for holiday entertaining, but once in a while I want to buck the system and go left instead of right which means delivering a dessert strudel worthy of my German D.N.A.

Did I say dessert? Heck, in my book, this recipe works for breakfast too, and that’s the real sign of a great treat.

continue to the recipe… about Apple and Cherry Strudel Plus Friday Faves

Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal with Sweet Potato

I’m not going to lie. The process of coming up with recipes to put on the blog is sometimes, just, well, weird. And sometimes the outcome can be a little, well, weird too. Like Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal with Sweet Potato. But in a good way and with 10 more food blogger’s oatmeal recipes at the end of this post.

When I’m brainstorming recipe ideas I usually go for a few tried and true methods. Around this time of year they include:

Go with an event: The World Series, Halloween and Thanksgiving or any event that features sweets
Choose a seasonal ingredient: Apples, pumpkin, comfort food or sugar on anything that might bear a hint of dessert
Select a trendy ingredient: Kale, bacon, quinoa or sugar on anything again and again and again
Or just stuff something sweet with something else and call it a cookie, or a cake, or something that is ooey and gooey and makes everyone deem it “drool-worthy”

continue to the recipe… about Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal with Sweet Potato

Roasted Kale and Fennel Salad with Avocado Caesar Dressing Plus 20 More Kale Recipes to Love

I succombed to peer pressure. I jumped on the bandwagon. I’m intoxicated with the sweet promise of a new fangled and healthy twist on one of my favorite meals.

My lunch crunch salad.

I have a version of a salad nearly every day for lunch and it’s often a dish I’m requested to bring to pot luck dinners. It usually includes some sort of protein (rotisserie chicken, tuna, leftover salmon or chickpeas), fresh veggies (roasted tomatoes or beets, avocados, maybe peas) and just a sprinkling of firm cheese (feta or blue are my faves.)

But it wasn’t until recently that I veered from my trusty spring mix or crunchy hearts of romaine to jump into the land of kale as my main salad base. I’ve added it to several of my favorite dishes like my Kale and Cabbage Coleslaw and White Bean and Pumpkin Pork Chili but for some reason it didn’t make it into my usual lunch crunch rotation.

Until I roasted the kale leaves for the salad.

continue to the recipe… about Roasted Kale and Fennel Salad with Avocado Caesar Dressing Plus 20 More Kale Recipes to Love

Baked Orange French Toast with Almond Crumble

I have a friend who abhors anything citrus. The smell alone puts her into a tailspin and the gag reflexes start. Peeling an orange in the same office with her was always a sensitive affair, but being the ever polite and gracious co-worker she would simply step out and never complain when any one of us would forget about her unfortunate dislike.

I feel sad for her. Citrus is so good! Thank goodness we’ve both moved onto new jobs where inconsiderate co-workers are a thing of the past.

Smudge is obsessed with clementines, and she will argue with me, “Moooom, they’re called “Cuties” not clemmmmentinnnnes.” She doesn’t quite get the branding thing yet. And that’s perfectly fine with me. As long as she’s getting her vitamin C and eating oranges.

So when I was noodling around thinking of recipes where I could add some orange flavor, one of my favorite dishes made its way to the front and center. French toast made easy: baked in the oven.continue to the recipe… about Baked Orange French Toast with Almond Crumble

Sweet and Spicy Popcorn Recipe

Before making the change to a low-sodium diet, Jess Goldman Foung, the author of the popular blog Sodium Girl, was like a lot of Americans who ate fried chicken and macaroni and cheese, not nearly enough servings of vegetables and rarely strayed from her comfort zone of basic food groups.

With a degree from Stanford and a budding career as a Development Manager, Jess was becoming an expert at fundraising and grant writing, and loved it. Her body, however, did not.

“The autoimmune disease, Lupus, was aggresively attacking my brain and my kidneys and after three months of chemo, dialysis, and amazing medical care, I survived. My kidneys didn’t, ” she says.

After researching and educating herself, Jess realized she needed to take her health into her own hands, and she started with nutrition. “I swore I would do what I could with my own two hands to help stay strong and live a full life and that meant going on a strict low-sodium diet. But I also happened to be an extremely stubborn person, who refused to eat dull food or miss out on anything life had to offer. So that meant rewriting the low-sodium rules.”

“After a tough-love session with my mother, who asked, ‘Do you want to live five years or fifty years?” I realized I needed to quit my job and find a career that let me take care of myself,” Jess acknowledges. “It wasn’t until a fateful day when I watched two movies back-to-back —Julie and Julia and then Food, Inc.—that I realized what I should do: 1) blog and 2) write about the power of food.”

And that she does with the release of her new book Sodium Girl’s Limitless Low-Sodium Cookbook.continue to the recipe… about Sweet and Spicy Popcorn Recipe

Baked Salmon with Spicy Plum Preserves and a GIVEAWAY

You’ve been there, we all have in one form or another. You’ve invited friends over for a weeknight bite and a sip, but the bossman says, “You know that campaign you were working on for Friday? Guess what? Times change and you will too. It’s due tomorrow.” Sucks to be you is what you’re thinking and then you realize, oh wait, he’s got his coat and his cute little lunchbox his wife packed for him and HE’S the one walking out the door.

But wait! I have friends coming over and I still need to stop by the grocery store for the main dishalish. I still need to grab some vino at the wine store and vacuum the top layer of dog hair off the floor.

What’s a hostess to do?

continue to the recipe… about Baked Salmon with Spicy Plum Preserves and a GIVEAWAY

Pickled Strawberry with Roasted Beet Salad and a Recipe Contest

I mean seriously. This salad is sweet. Seriously sweet.

But, really, how sweet is this girl?

How much can we possibly love our little babes, especially in those unscripted moments of pure, sweet bliss, savoring the moment and creating our earliest memories of where food comes from.continue to the recipe… about Pickled Strawberry with Roasted Beet Salad and a Recipe Contest

Kale and Cabbage Coleslaw with Marcona Almonds

I’m into layering. Not just in my clothing options—yes, I’m a big fan of piling on the tank, then the shirt, then the sweater, jacket or blazer—but also when it comes to cooking.

Layering flavors and textures in a dish—and even an entire menu—is the sign of an adventurous and accomplished home cook. The cook that takes the uneven path and changes our anticipated cravings with a little extra crunch or flavorful zing is the cook that delivers memorable meals. And by memorable I do not mean complicated or over worked. Just. Good. Food.

I’ve been partial to this mindset ever since I can remember when my favorite after-school snack was crunchy Triscuits topped with creamy liverwurst—hey, I’m German, what can I say? A tuna fish sandwich wasn’t complete without a layer of crunchy potato chips and puckerey kosher pickles. It was all about the texture combos for me, and it still is.

Cabbage is the perfect example of an ingredient that can use an extra oomph, a little push to the flavorful side.

continue to the recipe… about Kale and Cabbage Coleslaw with Marcona Almonds

Spring Greens Asparagus and Ricotta Pasta

Just like last spring, I nearly fell off the curb when I saw them poking their pointy little heads out of the yet to be toiled soil.

Given they had the fortitude to break through the thatch of leftover fall leaves with such superhero force was a sure sign these slender lovelies were destined for greatness. Greatness like in a great pasta.

Asparagus. In MY garden.

I discovered these perennial pretties the first spring we lived in our new home—a complete surprise. I learned later that asparagus are perennials which meant while I had been digging about my beds adding soil for my nine hundred and forty seven plus twenty two tomato plants, I had actually been unearthing their little crowns and tossing any chance of future heirs to join our pasta party.continue to the recipe… about Spring Greens Asparagus and Ricotta Pasta

Craving > 5 Updated Chicken Salad Recipes

Chicken Salad. It can so easily go so wrong and seem trite, the catch-all recipe for the catered office lunch or duty-calls bridal shower. But by adding an unexpected and flavorful ingredient, chicken salad can be oh-so-divine.

photo > foodiecrush

Here’s my take on Chicken Salad, crunchy with celery and toasted almonds then sweetened up with sliced grapes and earthed up with curry and tarragon. Served on big old slices of hearty wheat bread, this is one version that has full-fledged-flavored. I add a lot more celery to this recipe than listed below because I like the crunch, so follow the recipe as is or adapt to your own cravings.

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Curried Chicken Salad with Toasted Almonds and Grapes

Ingredients

4 bone-in chicken breasts with skin
1/3 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup red seedless grapes halved
1/3 cup almond slivers toasted
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 T orange juice
1 1/2 T curry powder
1 1/2 T fresh tarragon chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rub chicken with olive oil and generous amounts of salt and pepper. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until juice of chicken runs clear. When chicken has cooled, remove skin from breasts and shred chicken meat, discarding bones and skin. Mix in large bowl with onion, celery, grapes and almond slivers and set aside.
In a medium size bowl, combine mayonnaise, yogurt, orange juice, curry power, salt and pepper.
Add mayonnaise mixture to chicken mixture and gently combine. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Serve on a bed of spring or butter lettuce or hearty wheat bread with lettuce.

Nutrition Facts

Curried Chicken Salad with Toasted Almonds and Grapes

Amount Per Serving (6 g)

Calories 0

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

photo > Plum Pie

Plum Pie’s crunchy –thanks to the pecans and apple– and sweetly tart –thanks to the cranberries and tangy Greek yogurt— Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad is light and even healthy, and is a hit with the savory twist thanks to Brooke’s addition of rosemary.

photo > Skinny Gourmet

Studded with some of cooking’s most under-used herbs of caraway (one of my favorites when sauteed with cabbage) and anise seeds and a touch of cumin, Skinny Gourmet‘s Irish Chicken Salad Sandwich on Soda Bread is deliciously sandwiched between slices of her husband’s family recipe for Irish Soda Bread. Looks like she now has another family recipe to hand down.

photo > Heat Oven to 350

Adapted from a Southern recipe for pimento cheese sandwiches, Nicole geniusly added shredded chicken to create a cheesey-chicken-wonderland-on-toast with Heaven to 350 ‘s recipe for Pimento Cheese Chicken Salad Sandwiches.

photo > Closet Cooking

You knew we had to highlight at least one recipe that has some serious spice and is far and above the expected chicken salad. Meet Kevin’s Kimchi Chicken Salad Sandwich. Kimchi sauteed in bacon grease? Woo-hoo, a new favorite is born in the kitchen of Closet Cooking.

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