Roasted Beet & Goat Cheese Salad

So beets are kinda my jam... I juice them regularly and order them out all the time but I have always been a little intimidated to roast them myself... Clearly this is Gigi talking as Gimmi roasts them all the time because she is quite the more experienced chef than I!

Anywho, I felt like living life on the edge the other day and wrapped these bad boys up in foil and put them in the oven for an hour and guess what? I had roasted beets! It was actually super simple and I found myself feeling kinda silly for not doing it sooner.

I grabbed what I had in the kitchen and whipped up this healthy and super yummy salad. It was much more than I could eat so I brought the left overs to work and my co-workers were just as happy as I was with the results.

I hope you too live life on the edge and roast up some beets to make this or anything really. They are so so yummy!

Salad Ingredients:

3 medium to large beets
Bundle of fresh greens
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup goat cheese crumbled

Dressing Ingredients:
1/4 cup EVOO
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

Cut beets from beet greens and wash them. Wrap them in foil and place in the oven on 400 degrees for an hour to an hour and half. Open the foil and let cool. Remove skins with a paper towel. Dice and place on top of greens. Garish with cheese and nuts. Add dressing as desired. ENJOY!

Xoxo,
G

Spicy Cobb Wedge Salad

I'm a sucker for a wedge salad... so when Gimmi told me her idea for a Spicy Cobb Wedge all I could say was, "can we make it today!!!" ...and then we did! 

OMG guys, this thing rocked my world. It is perfect for the hot summer days. It is light, fresh, crispy, crunchy, spicy, and hearty. Really guys... it's all those things! 

Spicy Cobb Wedge

-Yields’ 2 servings-

Ingredients:

·      2 chicken breast

·      6 strips bacon  (we recommend using a center cut because it has all the flavor with less fat)

·      ½ avocado

·      Red onion

·      Tomato

·      Jalapeño

·      Iceberg lettuce

·      Shredded cheddar

·      Blackening season

·      Wasabi ranch dressing (see recipe below)

Step 1: Crisp bacon in a hot skillet, when finished pour off bacon grease but do not wash pan, you will use the pan to sear your chicken and the left over bacon flavor will add the chicken flavor

      * Ether pour grease into a glass jar and save for later or wait until cooled and solid and scoop out into garbage can.

Step 2: Season chicken with blackening season, ether store bought or sees our recipe below.

Step 3: Dice red onion, tomato, avocado, and slice jalapeno

      *We removed the insides of the tomato in order to create better texture

Step 4: Season liberally your chicken with the blackening seasoning and place it into your hot skillet with 2 tbsp. Of EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

Step 5: Sear breasts until dark brown on both sides (if pan becomes dry add a little more EVOO) once brown turn heat down to a medium until meat is cooked through. Approximately 5 min each side. 

      * Kitchen will get smoky when blackening chicken and you may cough a little, as we sure did!

Step 6: Remove core and cut the head of iceberg into quarters

Step 7: Rest chicken for 2 -3 min and chop into cubes

Step 8: It is now time to create a your beautiful salad. Place wedge on plate, drizzle with wasabi ranch, garnish with your cheddar cheese, chicken, onion, tomato, avocado, bacon, jalapeno and enjoy!

Blackening Seasoning

 Ingredients:

·      Salt

·      Black Pepper

·      Onion Powder

·      Garlic Powder

·      Smoked Paprika

·      Cayenne

Wasabi Ranch Dressing

Ingredients:

·      One package of Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing

·      21/2 tsp Wasabi Powder

·      1 cup Milk

·      1 cup Dukes Mayo

        *we love Dukes because it is delicious and has no sugar