Tag Archives: red onion

Chilled Zoodle Salad with Herby Buttermilk Ranch

26 Monday Sep 2016

Posted by in Healthy, Main Dish, Meatless Monday, Salad, Vegetarian

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When I wasn’t making loaf after loaf of my new go-to zucchini bread, we were eating this salad. On a hot summer day, the last thing I wanted to do was make zucchini lasagna or stir frys…and this zoodle salad is so adaptable it solved all of our problems. Here we have the basic version with a homemade, herby buttermilk ranch, but we ate this salad many times with store bought dressing (don’t tell anyone) and it was still amazing. Add different toppings, throw on some grilled chicken, just about anything works!

I found the secret to this salad was chilling the zoodles for at least an hour. It made them extra crunchy and took out some of the moisture so you didn’t have a soggy zoodle salad. Move over, lettuce…zoodles make summer salads more fun.

Recipe
Chilled Zoodle Salad with Herby Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
By Baked Northwest
Serves 2

Ingredients

For the Salad:

  • 1 medium zucchini, spiralized into “zoodles”
  • 1/2 cup sliced black olives
  • 1/2 cup shredded carrots
  • 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/2 cup red onion, sliced
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • salt and pepper

For the Herby Buttermilk Ranch Dressing:

  • 1/2 cup of buttermilk, shaken
  • 3/4 cup mayo
  • 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 3 green onions, chopped
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
  • juice from 1/2 lemon (about 2 tbsp)
  • 2 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 clove of garlic, roughly chopped
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 2 tsbp siracha (if you want to add some spice)!

Directions

Make your zoodles:
Using a spiralizer (I have the Paderno Spiralizer), make your zucchini noodles: I use the small spaghetti-sized blade for this salad, but the thicker noodle blade works great too! Lightly blot dry your zoodles with paper towels and place them in an airtight container, and refrigerate for at least an hour. I find refrigerating the zoodles takes some of the moisture out and ends up giving your salad a nice crisp crunch. You do not want a soggy salad! You can make your zoodles the night before and store in the fridge until you are ready to use them.

Make the herby buttermilk ranch:
Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer the dressing to a container, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour to let the flavors develop.

Assemble your zoodle bowl:
   Place the red onion in a small bowl and add the tablespoon of white wine vinegar. Add a little bit of salt and pepper and let stand while you assemble the rest of the salad.
Divide the zoodles in half and place on 2 bowls or plates. Add half of your toppings to each bowl; the carrots, olives, tomatoes, feta, and onions. Serve with the herby buttermilk ranch and enjoy!

 

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Broccoli Crunch Salad

05 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by in Easy, Entertaining, Salad, Side Dish

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Broccoli Crunch Salad

One of the things in life that I really excel at, seriously, I don’t even have to try – is making healthy things not so healthy anymore. But I am also dangerously good at convincing people (mostly myself) that the un-healthified meal in question is basically like eating plain lettuce.

Broccoli Salad

The real moral of the story here is that for this ridiculous dialog to be happening, there has to be a sliver of healthy goodness in there. I don’t scream out, “HEY, IT’S VEGGIE!” when I’m shoving my face at Burgerville eating my favorite Spicy Anasazi Bean Burger. I usually know when to shut up and just enjoy it. But at least I don’t get the double bacon cheeseburger….

Broccoli Salad

So anyways, this broccoli salad, yeah. It’s pretty good. No, we aren’t eating plain broccoli here, we are throwing on some creamy dressing and bacon. But broccoli is going to steal the show no matter how much we try to trash this up.

Broccoli Crunch Salad

This is a riff on those broccoli salads you have at Bridal Showers, Summer BBQ’s, and the stuff you pick up for lunch from the deli counter. Since first making this, it’s been requested by Jordan for his work lunches several times. However, if you are bringing it to work, you may want to leave out the garlic in the dressing and those red onions out of the salad…Broccoli + garlic + onions can be pretty potent, if you know what I mean. Your call though, it’s really tasty either way!

Recipe
Broccoli Crunch Salad
Serves 6 to 8
by Baked Northwest

Ingredients

for the dressing:
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 heaping tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

for the salad:
2 heads broccoli, cut into bite sized florets (you can also trim and cube the stems for use in this salad)
8 ounces (about half of a regular sized package) bacon, cooked and chopped into bit size pieces
1/2 cup slivered almonds (can substitute peanuts or cashews)
1/3 cup Zante currants (can sub dried cranberries)
1/4 cup diced red onions (optional)
1 green onion, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Place all dressing ingredients into a small mixing bowl and whisk together. Base amounts on how thin you like your dressing. If you like a thicker dressing, add 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar. Like it thinner? Add about 2 tablespoons. If you want a sweeter dressing, add more honey, if you need a little zing, add some lemon juice! We eyeball ours and it comes out a little different each time, but it’s always delicious.

2. Place broccoli florets and all other salad ingredients into a large mixing bowl and top with dressing. Fold together until fully combined.

3. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.

4. Toss salad before serving. This salad is great to make ahead and save for work lunches, but it’s always a hit at parties too!

Smoked Salmon Spread

25 Thursday Sep 2014

Posted by in Appetizers, Bloggerific, Breads, Breakfast, Easy, Entertaining, Seafood

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Smoked Salmon SpreadA family friend gave us some AWESOME smoked salmon, and I’m pretty sure when most people think of smoked salmon, their brain immediately goes to…bagels…cream cheese…and Heaven.

The only thing about smoked salmon is you can never have enough. Have you ever been to party where there is just extra smoked salmon laying around? No. It’s always the first thing to go because it’s so. damn. good. When I saw Shutterbean’s post on this smoked salmon spread, I pretty much wanted to cry because I too have been late to the smoked salmon plate before. And then it was just…obvious…Smoked Salmon spread is so easy to make, and it solves the problem of all the salmon disappearing before the bagels and crackers do! And it’s super adaptable and easy, you can easily adjust to your taste!

Recipe
Smoked Salmon Spread
adapted from Shutterbean
makes about 1 1/2 cups, serves 6-8

Ingredients

  • 1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, at room temperature
  • about 4 oz smoked salmon, roughly chopped and divided
  • 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 1-2 tsp of capers (a little bit of juice from the jar is fine, I opted to do this instead of adding milk or greek yogurt to thin it out slightly).
  • dash of hot pepper sauce (such as tabasco or sriracha)
  • 1 tbsp. fresh or dried dill (you may want to scale it back to 1 tsp, we really like dill over here)
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste

PRO TIP: Instead of cream cheese, try Neufchâtel cheese! It’s always right by the cream cheese at the store and often contains less fat and calories than regular cream cheese. And whoa – tastes almost the same.

Optional add-ins:

  • fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish, or you can mix a little in!
  • 1 tbsp milk or greek yogurt – if your cream cheese is too thick you may want to thin it out with another dairy product.
  • a few tbsp. red onion, mix it in or serve it on the side for the onion-o-phobes
  • want some kick? Add a dash of horseradish
  • Lemon slices always make a pretty garnish…

Directions

Combine the cream cheese, at least 2 oz of the salmon, lemon juice, capers, hot sauce, pepper, and dill to a small food processor and process until smooth. Want more salmon in there? Then add the rest. It’s a nice touch to keep a little bit of salmon set aside to garnish the dip, but you don’t need much.

Serve with crackers for a nice pre-dinner appetizer, or serve at brunch (who are we kidding, eat this whenever you want), with bagels, tomatoes, red onion and fresh slices of lemon.

Make Ahead: Dip can be made up to 2 days in advance and stored in an air-tight container in the fridge.

Smoked Salmon BLT’s

03 Monday Feb 2014

Posted by in Easy, Main Dish, Sandwiches

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Smoked Salmon BLT's

Having in-laws that live in Alaska is awesome for many reasons, one of them being is they send you smoked salmon around the holidays! One can only eat so many smoked salmon bagel sandwiches for breakfast, and I wanted to get creative with our salmon, and these epic smoked salmon BLT’s were born.

Smoked Salmon BLT's

 

Smoked Salmon BLT's

A Wingin’ It Recipe
Smoked Salmon BLTs
Makes 2 Sandwiches

Ingredients

  • 8 slices thick cut bacon
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup whipped cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 – 2 tablespoons capers
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill leaves
  • 4 slices multigrain bread
  • 6 – 8 ounces smoked salmon
  • 1 cup arugula, divided
  • 2 medium tomatoes, sliced
  • about 1/2 – 1/4 of a red onion, either sliced thin or diced small
  • 1 ripe avocado

Directions
In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until crispy, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove from the skillet and drain on paper towels.

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, cream cheese lemon zest, lemon juice, fresh dill, and capers. Stir together to form a spread. A note of the amounts – you can use as much cream cheese and mayo as you like, doesn’t have to be 1/4 cup of each. Spread the mixture over 1 side of each slice of bread. Arrange the smoked salmon on 4 slices of the bread. Break the bacon in half and put on top of the smoked salmon. Top the bacon with tomatoes and arugula. Add sliced avocado and onion slices (if using). Cover with remaining slices of bread, spread side down.

Arrange the sandwiches on a platter and serve.

Strawberry, Pecan and Prosciutto Quinoa Salad

01 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by in Bloggerific, Easy, Entertaining, Main Dish, Salad, Side Dish

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Strawberry Pecan Quinoa Salad

Dare I say this is one of the BEST Quinoa recipes I have ever discovered?!? It’s such a fun combination of flavors and ingredients that totally compliment each other. I can’t wait to make this for a summer party!

Strawberry Pecan Quinoa Salad

I was so excited to dive into this, that I didn’t end up with any well styled photos. I was just too hungry and it all just tasted too good.

Note: this recipe tastes best the day it is made. Strawberries just aren’t quite the same after they have sat in the fridge overnight. It’s still great the next day, but if you are making it for an event or party serve it the same day.

Recipe
Strawberry, Pecan & Prosciutto Quinoa Salad
adapted from Southern Living
Makes 4 servings (more as a side dish for a party)

Ingredients 
For the Dressing:
  • 1/3 cup diced red onion
  • 3 Tbsp grapeseed oil
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
  • 2 tsp lemon zest
  • A pinch of salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the Salad:
  • 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
  • 2 cups water
  • 4 oz. prosciutto
  • 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup pecans, toasted
  • 1 cup arugula
  • 1 cup quartered strawberries
  • 1 cup crumbled fat free feta cheese
Bring 2 cups water and 1 cup quinoa to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until quinoa is easily fluffed with a fork. Let cool.
Stir/Whisk together 1/3 cups diced red onion, 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, 3 tbsp grapeseed oil, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 2 tsp lemon zest, 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
Saute 1 (4oz) package (or 3 oz, or 6 oz…whatever works!) of prosciutto in 1 tbsp hot olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until slightly crisp; drain well, and crumble prosciutto to bite-sized pieces.
Toss together onion/dressing mixture, prosciutto, quinoa, toasted pecans halves, strawberries, feta cheese, and arugula. Serve immediately, or the day it is made.

New York Breakfast Casserole

18 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by in Breads, Breakfast, Easy, Eggs, Entertaining, Main Dish

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Pre-baking, during baking, and after baking! Yum.

Pre-baking, during baking, and after baking! Yum.

A couple of weeks ago, we had some friends in town and decided to hold a wine tasting to try to decide on what wines to have at our Wedding. I had a feeling we were going to be a little foggy the next morning, so I wanted something make-ahead and easy for breakfast the next day. Continue reading →

Greek Quinoa Salad

13 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by in Easy, Healthy, Salad, Side Dish, Weeknight Meals

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I first found out about Quinoa a few years ago when a friend was always making it because she had to start eating Gluten free. All I could remember thinking was, “Man, this stuff is so good, I can’t believe there isn’t any Gluten.”

There are so many different ways to use quinoa, literally, endless. Get on Pinterest right now, search for “quinoa” and get ready for your head to explode. Some of the possibilities seem insanely unique and delicious. You can compare it to rice or couscous, but many out there would obviously agree there is something special about quinoa. Maybe the craze is a fad, but one thing’s for sure – I’m gonna try as many quinoa recipes as I can.

I am partial to a super basic greek quinoa salad since it is one of the first ways I ever ate it. Adjust the recipe to your preferences –  this one is all about wingin’ it and going by taste.

Recipe

Greek Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quinoa, cooked
  • 1 large cucumber
  • 2 tomatoes, diced, or 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
  • half of 1 red onion, diced
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups halved kalamata olives
  • 1 4 oz block of feta cheese, cubed
  • splash olive oil
  • splash red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp. dried or fresh oregano
  • 1 tbsp. dried or fresh parsley
  • dash of salt and pepper
  1. Cook 1 cup of quinoa according to package instructions. Usually the rule is 2 parts water, 1 part quinoa. So, usually you cook 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups of water. Bring it to a boil, then simmer, covered, for about 12-15 minutes until you can fluff quinoa with a fork. Add a spalsh of olive oil and salt and pepper, set aside and let cool.
  2. Add the chopped veggies to a large bowl. Dress with a splash of olive oil and red wine vinegar. Add more salt, pepper, oregano, and parsley to taste.
  3. Add the feta and kalamata olives. toss the mixture, then add the quinoa and toss again.
Makes a large salad that can serve about 6 as a main. Also good as a side and as leftovers.

Thai Beef Salad…from a model

06 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by in Bloggerific, Easy, Healthy, Main Dish, Side Dish, Steak

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Ok, time for me to go on a huge tangent (I guess it’s not really a tangent since it’s my first sentence…) but this is how it all started:

I joined Twitter for “professional” reasons about a month ago. I still have no idea what I am doing on there, nor do I know if I even like it that much…but anyways, my friend Morgan told me I *HAD TO* start following Chrissy Teigen. I didn’t recognize her name, but I instantly knew she was super hot and liked food. Pretty good combo. A few days passed, I got on Twitter again, and was like, “Who IS she?” Then found the link to her website, and oh my god, it is basically my dream blog. Food…recipes…obsessed with Pioneer Woman…holy shit, is that John Legend?!? WHAT IS GOING ON!!!

So then I go to wikipedia, and find out that not only is she some awesome swimsuit model, BUT SHE IS FROM SNOHOMISH. Which means we were basically neighbors and therefore would probably be best friends if we met in real life. Then I finally make the connection that she was the model in almost all of the Alloy catalogs I used to get back in the day (aka two years ago…but nevermind that) and I am just super in love.

So I made a few of her recipes this weekend.

And they did not disappoint. The steak may have gotten a little overcooked (those damn limes…) and we may not have had all the fancy ingredients, but this still turned out so good! I always figured the first thai dish I tried to make would be an epic failure, but no! If you have never made a thai dish before, this is a great place to start! And low carb and totally healthy in my book. If I eat this everyday, I am hoping my body will morph into a double of Chrissy’s.

Recipe
Thai Beef Salad (Yum Nua)
from So Delushious

Ingredients

  • Good steak, cooked preferably on a grill to rare or medium rare (the lime will do some additional cooking). Allow to rest at room temp before slicing.
  • 4 Shallots or 1 small red onion, sliced into skinny wedges
  • 1 bunch Cilantro, coarsely chopped, no stems
  • Tomatoes, cherry (1/2 c sliced in half) or 1-2 vine ripened (cut into wedges)
  • 2 Limes
  • 1 tbs Palm sugar or brown sugar (I used brown)
  • 1-2 tbs Fish sauce
  • 1tbs Thai chili powder or regular chili powder if you go to lame grocery stores like me
  • Fresh Thai chili peppers or jalapenos, sliced thinly

Grill the steak as directed above and slice into thin strips after allowing to rest for 15-20 min.  Add to a large mixing bowl. Add palm or brown sugar to a small bowl and add some of the lime juice and mush into a thick liquid form. The non-vegetable ingredients go first into the steak bowl, lime, fish sauce, chili powder, sugar. Toss with your hands to incorporate all over the steak. Add the rest of the veggies, toss and taste. Tasting as you go is the most important part. Mine tasted amazing right off the bat, so no adjusting required.

NOTE: It is highly likely you will be seeing more posts relating to Chrissy Teigen, she is a girl crush (and blog crush) that I don’t see going away anytime soon. ❤

Ultimate Salmon Wontons

10 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in Appetizers, Easy, Entertaining, Side Dish

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This stroke of genius came from my mom after we made homemade crab rangoons. They were so good – we knew we could figure out something just as tasty with our extra wonton wrappers.

We had some leftover cooked salmon in the fridge, and these babies were born:

Salmon Wontons with cream cheese, capers, red onions, and dill.

Seriously? So good. An amazing play off the classic breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, lox, capers and red onion. We agonized over what the perfect dip would be for these, and then finally realized sweet chili sauce is the classic winner for almost ANY type of savory wonton.

YUM. Perfect on a Friday with a glass of wine 🙂

I wouldn’t recommend making these for breakfast. They are too perfect with wine and a movie. Although, if these are all things you want to do in the AM, go for it! I won’t tell.

The whole recipe is pretty easy – wingin’ it is definitely ok here.

salmon, softened cream cheese, capers, diced red onion, dill and a squeeze of lemon mixed together.

place a spoonful of mixture into middle of wonton wrapper. Fold diagonal ends together and press to seal on each side. Sorry for the blurry, horrible photo.

 

pop em' in the oven until crispy, let cool, and EAT.

Recipe

Ultimate Salmon Wontons

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp fresh dill
  • squeeze of lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup capers
  • 14 won ton wrappers
  • 1/4 cup diced red onion
  • 4-6 oz (wing it) of fresh cooked salmon
  • 3-5 oz (wing it) of softened cream cheese

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, salmon, onion, capers, dill, salt & pepper until smooth.

Place 2 teaspoonfuls in the center of each wonton wrapper.

Moisten edges with water; bring corners to center over filling and press edges together to seal.

Place on a baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray.
Lightly spray wontons with nonstick cooking spray.
Bake at 425 °F (210 °C) for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with sweet chili dipping sauce.

Makes about 14 wontons.