I have 2 small boys and a picky eater husband. I’m always trying to find creative and healthy ways to feed my family. I love salads, but I was looking ways to make them more interesting and exciting.
Luckily, Jennifer Chandler sent me a copy of her new book, Simply Salads. The salad cookbook contains “more than 100 delicious, creative recipes made from prepackaged greens and a few easy-to-find ingredients.”
At first glance, I was in love. Even the cover makes you crave a salad. Each salad recipe includes a mouth-watering picture of the salad as well as an additional dressing or marinade recipe to go with it.
The book is nicely organized. At the beginning Jennifer encourages readers to experiment and says, "The beauty of composing a salad is that there really are no rules." She includes a little Salad 101 with tips on selecting blends, washing, and storing. A suggested list of basic utensils, pantry, and refrigerated items helps you whip up a salad in no time.
These salads really are easy to make. Many of the items I already had in the house. This is a great book for health conscious families short on time. If you are looking for fast, healthy meals check out this book.
I have tried two of the salads so far. I made the Thai Beef Salad and the Spinach Salad. The Thai Beef salad truly tasted like something you would get at a Thai restaurant. The recipe calls for fish sauce, something my husband would normally never touch.. My husband ate this up. The flank steak was super juicy thanks to the included marinade recipe. The Spinach Salad, I made for myself for lunch one day. I was able to quickly whip it together while trying to feed my 2 small kids as well. This was also a very flavorful salad. I would definitely make both again.
I’m looking forward to trying more of the recipes in here. There is enough variety to please even picky eaters and meat-eaters. There are various salads with seafood, poultry, grains, rice, pasta, fruit, and more. You could mix and match the 100+ salads and dressings for even more salad possibilities.
Simply Salads is available on Amazon.
Here are some sample recipes you can find in the book…
Watermelon and Arugula Salad
Makes 6 appetizer or side salads
Juicy, refreshing watermelon tossed with spicy arugula greens is the prefect summer-time backyard barbecue treat.
For the vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
For the salad:
1 small watermelon, seeded, rind removed, and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 package (5 ounces) Baby Arugula salad blend
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
For the vinaigrette:
In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice and red wine vinegar. Slowly add the oil in a steady stream, whisking to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
For the salad:
In a large salad bowl toss the salad blend, watermelon, feta cheese, and pine nuts. Add the vinaigrette to taste and gently toss.
Tip: Add fresh mint leaves for an interesting zing to this refreshing salad.
Chinese Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing
Makes 4 dinner salads
Peanut butter lovers beware. The dressing in this colorful and tasty salad is addictive.
For the Peanut Dressing:
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh peeled ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup canola oil
A pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
For the salad:
1/2 cup Peanut Dressing
1/2 cup fresh snow peas
1 bag (5 ounces) Spring Mix salad blend
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 carrots, peeled and shredded on the large holes of a traditional grater
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts
2 limes, quartered, for garnish
For the Peanut Dressing:
In a small bowl whisk together the vinegar, peanut butter, ginger, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, canola oil, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
For the salad:
Bring salted water to a boil in a medium pot. Add snow peas and cook until vibrant green and crisp tender, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Drain the peas and immerse in an ice water bath to stop the cooking process. Drain again and place in a large salad bowl.
Add the salad blend, chicken, carrots, scallions, cilantro, and peanuts and toss. Add the dressing to taste and gently toss to coat.
Garnish with lime wedges. Serve immediately.
Tips: To save time, pick up a roasted rotisserie chicken at your local grocery for this recipe. The meat will be fresh, juicy, and flavorful.
If you use natural peanut butter, you may need to add a little sugar to sweeten the flavor.
Do you own this book? Which are some of your favorite salads?
And, since I loved this book so much Jennifer and I are going to offer a GIVEAWAY. One lucky winner will get a free Simply Salads Cookbook.
How to enter:
1. Leave a comment here (not on this post) with your email address
2. Follow Cha Ching Queen or have an email subscription.
Some ways you can follow:
- Feedburner - Email Subscription, or RSS
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- Google Reader - click add subscription, then www.chachingqueen.com
- Other?
You can get up to 2 entries a day. You get one entry for just leaving a comment and another for letting me know how you are following the blog. If you follow me, leave a second comment so that I can easily count your entry twice.
Contest ends Monday, August 24, 2009 at 11:59am CT.
The winner will be chosen at random on Tuesday, Aug. 25. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to email before another winner will be chosen.
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