Not-enough-to-make-a-meal salad

I looked in the fridge tonight and realized I had several bits and pieces of leftovers. There was only one piece of that delicious cajun sauteed fish from last night, so Natalie got that. I opened up a can of corn to complement her fish. I decided I would eat a salad, only when I took the bag out, the salad had gone soggy. Yuck! I picked out the good pieces, but there just wasn't even enough to make a rabbit happy. That's when I started pulling out all the bits and pieces to see what I could throw together. We had a half of a fried chicken strip, two raw button mushrooms, and some sesame ginger salad dressing. The little wheels of creativity slowly began to turn, and inspiration hit.

How could I put these random tidbits together and create something I actually wanted to eat? I put a little coconut oil in a pan and sliced the mushrooms nice and thin. I sauteed them, then added 2 Tbs of sesame ginger dressing and the chopped up chicken strip. After simmering for a bit, it still looked a little pitiful, so I threw in a large spoonful of whole kernel corn, and Voila! Perfection! After cooling for a minute or so, I served it up over the bed of salad greens and enjoyed! It was just enough to be satisfied, but not enough to be stuffed.

This may not sound like your idea of a tasty meal, and that's fine. Mainly, I just want you think outside the salad bar and come up with your own concoction. When you look inside the fridge and see nothing to eat, re-evaluate. It's quite possible you have the makings of something wonderful. Even better, you may enjoy it!

Not just your "stupid meatloaf!"

No, this isn't a salad, lol.  Woman can't live on salads alone, right?  I love deer meat.  I don't hunt, so I don't get it often.  My bff Tina handed me a pack of ground deer meat when I left her house the other day.  I knew exactly what I wanted to make with it!  Stuffed bell peppers!  Or, as Natalie refers to it, Just stupid meatloaf in a pepper!  Nope.  She's not a fan.  The only reason she likes for me to make it is because I let her chop up the veggies, hehehe.  Anyway, fan or not, it was tasty!  And super healthy!  If you don't have venison, ground beef or turkey will work just fine.  :)  If you don't like what I put in mine, mix it up and make it your own!  Now.  Let's get cooking!

(Not a great photo, but there's only so much you can do with a cell phone.)

Ingredients (for 4 small portions).

1 4 sectioned bell pepper

1 c raw, ground deer meat

1 T chopped onion

1 T chopped mushroom

1 T chopped black olive

1/4 c chopped spinach

season salt

ketchup

brown mustard

2 T whole cooking oats

1 egg

In a saucepan, I sauteed about a Tbs each of onion, finely chopped mushroom stems (I had leftover from making stuffed mushrooms the night before), finely chopped black olives (Natalie is GREAT at doing the finely chopped thing.), about a 1/4 cup chopped spinach, and a sprinkling of seasoned salt.  While that sauteed, I mixed 1 cup of raw, ground venison with 1 farm fresh egg, a squirt of ketchup, a squirt of brown mustard, and 2 Tbs of whole cooking oats.  When the veggie mixture was cooked, I let it cool.  If you put it in hot, the egg will begin to cook.  Not very good unless you like chunks of egg in your meatloaf.  I bought a pepper that had 4 segments, and cut it into the four segments.  If you cut it carefully, it makes 4 perfect little bowls to hold that yummy, meaty goodness!  Lightly stir the veggie mixture into the meat mixture.  Then gently scoop it into the pepper bowls.  Try not to mash it in there too hard or the meatloaf mixture is the consistency of a brick.  You want it to stay light and crumbly.  Arrange the peppers in a baking dish (I used a glass pie pan).  Put enough water in the pan to cover the bottom.  Bake on 350* F until the meat is cooked all the way through.  I think mine cooked about 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

30 day salad challenge continues!

I'm a little behind starting this challenge on the blog.  That's why you see two salads in the same day.  This salad was crazy good!  I admit, I was scared about this one.  It was actually born from the dressing.  Natalie was eating grapefruit, and it just smelled so good.  I thought, wow!  That would make a great salad dressing!  But, what in the world will go with it?  Well, citrus goes with fish.  Why not?  I mean, if I didn't like it, I could just give the tuna to the cats and try again.  Right?  So, there you have it!  YUM, YUM, YUM!!!!  (And very filling!)

Salad:
Baby spinach
1 can of drained tuna
Pink grapefruit sections
Sunflower seeds

Dressing:
Grapefruit juice, and about 3 bites of fruit
Apple cider vinegar
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
A pinch of sugar

I don't measure, really.  I just pour a little of this and a touch of that.  I try to make just enough dressing to equal about a Tbs or so.  That way there is no waste.  This one ended up being a little more because of the grapefruit juice, but it really added to this salad.  I was afraid the tuna would make it heavy.  It wasn't at all.  It was very light, but super satisfying.  I'm looking forward to making this one again!

Salad? REALLY? But I'm not a FAN of salads....sigh....

Hey y'all!  I haven't posted recipes in ages.  I haven't done alot of stuff in ages.  My body has been on strike, so my "cooking" has consisted of warming up something out of a box or can.  Obviously, all that cheap eating and being stuck in bed has caused my already ample physique to expand.  Ugh!  Yep.  I've gained weight, and feel horrible!  So, I've challenged myself to replace one meal a day with a salad.  No, I'm not starving myself.  I'm trying to cook real food (even though boxed meals are so much CHEAPER and EASIER!!!!)  I'm trying to make breakfast my biggest meal of the day, and all cooked from scratch.  I am still eating out once in a while, still indulging in a doughnut now and then, and still drinking sweet tea.  I'm just trying to be a little healthier.

Now, back to these salads.  I'm not a fan.  Truly.  Salads have never been my go to meal.  It's not something I crave, love, or really care to eat.  For years, my version of a salad was lettuce, ranch dressing, and croutons or crackers.  I've had salads I like.  Some I love, even.  However, not something I want to eat every day.  Nonetheless, I need to eat cleaner.  I need to feel better!  Less processed foods, less junk, less starch, more wholesome goodness.  My sister gave me a salad zinger for Christmas.  The sample dressings looked so yummy...but who needs dressing without salad?  So, here goes!  30 whole days of salad!  I'm challenging myself to make it a little different every day.  I get bored easily and hate eating the same thing.  You will see lots of the same ingredients, just put together in different ways.

Here's my challenge to you!  Experiment!  Mix up something completely unexpected and see how it turns out.  They may not all be winners, but you can figure out what you like.  Have fun with your food.  If you, too, want to eat a little cleaner, feel a little better, and get a little adventurous with your eating, make your own 30 day salad challenge!  Here we go!  Let's get cooking!

Salad:
Chopped baby spinach
Small avocado
Mango
Sunflower seeds
A sprinkling of pink Himalayan salt

About a tablespoon of dressing:
lemon juice
rice vinegar
olive oil

I can't say that I've had these flavors together before, and really didn't know how it would work out.  It was wonderful!  It is very fresh and refreshing.  The sweetness of the mango offsets the tang of the salad dressing.  I used the dressing very sparingly because I didn't want it to overpower the avocado.  The lemon juice helps keep the avocado from turning so quickly.  Definitely a winner!!!!