Southwest Taco Salad with Creamy Guacamole Dressing

Southwest Taco Salad with Creamy Guacamole Dressing

Ahhh, where oh where did the summer go? School starts this week in my neck of the woods and temperatures have gone from sizzling hot to almost frosty. But that shouldn’t stop anyone from enjoying this zesty and crunchy salad filled with summer bounty topped with a smooth avocado dressing.

We’ve just returned this weekend from nine glorious days camping and fishing at the beautiful Oregon coast. What a wonderful way to end the summer!

Southwest Taco Salad with Creamy Guacamole Dressing
Adapted from Southwest Salad with Creamy Avocado Salsa Dressing at Carlsbad Cravings

Creamy Guacamole Dressing

1 small avocado, peeled and roughly diced
1 small jalapeño, seeded, deveined, and roughly chopped
1/4 cup cilantro
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 salsa, homemade or store-bought (I used my Hatch chile salsa)
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice from 1 lime
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon cumin

Southwest Taco Salad

Grilled chicken breast, sliced (or deli rotisserie)
Corn kernels from 1 ear of sweet white corn
Chopped/shredded lettuce of choice
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 large red onion, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup roasted pepitas
1/2 cup grated pepper jack cheese
Creamy Guacamole Dressing
Tortilla chips, for serving

Creamy Guacamole Dressing

Add all of the Creamy Guacamole Dressing ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. You will have to scrape down the sides a few times. Add additional milk, if needed, to thin to desired consistency. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Next, grill the chicken breast, if it isn’t already cooked.

Grilled Chicken

Remove the kernels from the ear of corn, using a Bundt-pan to catch the kernels, if you have one. (That’s a pretty cool tip I picked up from Pinterest.)

Cutting the Corn off the Cob

Add all the salad ingredients except dressing and chips to a large bowl. Toss to combine.

Southwest Taco Salad Ingredients

Add tossed salad to individual bowls, then top with guacamole dressing and serve with tortilla chips.

Download and Print this  Yummy Recipe!

 

 

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Summertime Shrimp Rolls

Summertime Shrimp Roll

You know how those fancy-schmancy lobster rolls get all the attention? Well thanks to fellow foodie blogger Tom over at The Bonafide Farm Food Journal we can all now enjoy what he calls “the lobster roll’s better more lovable brother.” Hop on over to his blog and read about what he thinks! It’s a good read.

I adapted his recipe to make only two sandwiches since my daughter was away that night for dinner. I also lightened it up a bit and used half mayo, half lowfat Greek yogurt. This hoagie just came out INCREDIBLE! It’s not only pretty to look at, it is pretty danged delicious. And it’s super-easy to make, too. Try it, you’ll like it!

Summertime Shrimp Rolls (Makes 2 Sandwiches)
Adapted from The Bonafide Farm Food Journal/Tom Hirschfeld

1/2 pound large, raw deveined shrimp
1/4 cup English cucumber, diced
4 sugar snap peas, cut crosswise into thin rounds (about 2 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 heaping tablespoon mayonnaise
1 heaping tablespoon 2% fat Greek yogurt
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
Sea salt, to taste
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
2 hoagie rolls of choice (I used sesame seed)
Red or green leaf lettuce

Shrimp Roll Ingredients

Bring a 2-quart pot of water with 1 tablespoon of salt up to a roiling boil. Add the shrimp and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain the shrimp in a colander and run cold water over them. Remove the shells and tails then chop the shrimp into 1/2-inch pieces and add to a mixing bowl.

Chopped Shrimp and Veggies

Add the rest of the ingredients except the rolls and lettuce to the shrimp. Mix until well-combined.

Split the buns from the top, line with leaves of lettuce and top with the shrimp salad. Serve with sliced dill pickles and potato chips.

Summertime Shrimp Roll

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

 

Broccoli, Spinach, and Mushroom Pasta in a Yogurt Cheese Sauce

Broccoli, Spinach, and Mushroom Pasta in a Yogurt Cheese Sauce

Meatless Mondays! OK so it’s Wednesday or later by the time you read this, but I’ve decided to get in on the Meatless Monday dinner idea and made this on Monday. This is not only meatless, but it’s a one-pot meal. Sort of, if you don’t count the strainer.

I had a small head of broccoli and a bag of fresh spinach in the fridge, along with some mushrooms, ALL of which needed cooked ASAP because I forgot to bring them on my four-day camping trip last weekend. Well, not so much forgot but knew we were eating out a lot (I thought) so ignored them by default. We actually ended up cooking dinner two out of the three nights due to unforeseen circumstances. This is also a “by the seat of your pants” meal, meaning I really didn’t know what I was going to add to except for the veggies and pasta it until I started cooking it.

My hubby was pleased and my daughter kept eating my leftovers, darn it! Since this was meatless, I decided to use the hearty Rigatoni pasta to give it a bit more ooomph. I also added a large dollop of sour cream at the last minute, since the Greek yogurt didn’t make it as thick as I wanted it. Per usual, I added lemon and crushed red pepper flakes since it had spinach in it. I can’t say it enough, those two ingredients just make spinach sing! Instead of regular butter, I also used my Tarragon Lemon Chive Butter compound, but of course you can use any butter instead. I hope you have a chance to enjoy this for a delightful Meatless Monday Meal.

Broccoli, Spinach, and Mushroom Pasta in a Yogurt Cheese Sauce

2 cups fresh broccoli florets, chopped into bite-sized pieces
8 ounces dried Rigatoni (or other sturdy pasta)
1/2 tablespoon Tarragon Lemon Chive butter, or unsalted butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 to 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 to 5 cups cups fresh spinach, torn
1 cup reserved pasta water
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
A couple of pinches of crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
7-ounce container plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese, plus more for garnish

Broccoli, Spinach, Mushrooms, and Onions Ready for Sauce

Bring a big pot of water to boil.  If you have a steamer basket that fits inside the pot, put the broccoli in it and place it in or above the boiling water to cook the broccoli for about 5 minutes (steaming might take longer). If you don’t have anything like that, then just add the broccoli to the boiling water for same amount of time. Remove the broccoli from the water without pouring the water down the drain. Set broccoli aside. Now add the pasta to the water, and bring it back up to boil and cook according to package directions.

Once the pasta is done, reserve one cup of the pasta/broccoli water and set the pasta aside. (I just added it to the broccoli basket.) Return the pot to the burner, and add the butter and oil to the pot and reduce heat to medium. Add the mushrooms and onions, and cook for about 5 minutes until the onions start to soften and the mushrooms release their liquid. Now add the garlic, and cook for about a minute more. Next add about half the spinach and a half cup of the reserved pasta water. Add the rest of the spinach, and stir until all is wilted.

At this point, grind a bunch of black pepper over it to taste, the crushed red pepper flakes, lemon juice, yogurt, and sour cream.  Now add the broccoli and pasta back into the pot and stir around. Last, add the grated Parmesan cheese, and mix around to incorporate. Add more pasta water as needed to desired consistency. This sauce will be a bit clumpy on the veggies, but it’s all good. Heat for a minute or two more, then serve immediately with more Parmesan. I had some garlic bread I was going to serve with this, but I totally forgot to heat it up. Oh well!

Broccoli, Spinach, and Mushroom Pasta in a Yogurt Cheese Sauce

New Potato Salad with Lemon, Dill, and Chives (No Mayo)

New Potato Salad with Lemon, Dill, and Chives

I finally get to show off my new Ninja food processor I got for Mother’s Day! For whatever reason, we hadn’t cooked anything that needed something chopped small until now. Well not exactly true. We made a chef’s salad the other day and I had fun chopping up the carrots and such for it, but it was not a blog-worthy meal. Just a typical throw-in-anything-you-have-in-your-fridge salad on a busy weeknight. However, the other night I set out to make a “lighter” version of potato salad that didn’t use mayonnaise. From all my research it appeared Greek yogurt was the best substitute, along with some oil and citrus and herbs.  This would make a great potluck salad since it doesn’t have mayo or eggs in it!

Ninja with Chopped Celery and Radishes

New Potato Salad with Lemon, Dill, and Chives

1 1/2 pounds small red new potatoes, quartered
1 celery stalk
2 radishes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh minced chives
1 tablespoon fresh minced baby dill
Ground pepper, to taste

Boil quartered potatoes for about 10 minutes. Remove the potatoes from heat, drain, and rinse in cold water. Add to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to make the salad. Meanwhile, finely dice the celery and radishes. I really enjoyed using my the Ninja for the chopping. It only took about 4 pulses on the button to make me smile. It’s small and only handles two cups max of anything, but it does the job quickly and was a snap to clean up. I love it! (No I was not paid by Ninja for this endorsement.)

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, yogurt, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, minced chives, minced dill, and ground black pepper, to taste. Take a taste to see if it needs more of any one flavor.  Stir into the bowl of potatoes, then cover and refrigerate to let flavors meld until ready to serve.

Potato Salad Ready to Mix

I thought this was a fabulous light side dish to go with the babyback ribs my husband cooked for dinner. The only complaint I had from the family was that I made my potato chunks too big. Some of the new potatoes were not exactly small, so use your judgment on what size to chop them. I have learned my family likes smaller. Oh, and the hubs inquired why it had no bacon, either. 🙂

P.S. I will not have a weekend post, as we are off to our river property for five days over the Memorial Day Weekend. God Bless all our troops and the family members who have lost their loved ones for our country.

Potato Salad and Ribs