Tasty Tuesday

Hello! Is it hot in your neck of the woods? If so, I am sure a simple summer salad is just what you need for dinner! Enjoy today's recipe - it is very delicious!


Grilled Peach, Prosciutto & Parmigiano-Reggiano Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:

* 4 Tbsp pine nuts
* 4 peaches, each pitted & sliced into 4 wedges
* 2 Tbsp olive oil
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
* 1/2 lb Parmigiano-Reggiano wedge, cut in 12 wedges
* 12 slices prosciutto, sliced very thin
* Fresh black pepper
* 2 Tbsp olive oil
* Balsamic vinegar for garnish
* 32 Arugula leaves

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2.) Preheat grill to medium-high.
3.) Toast pine-nuts 3-4 min on baking sheet in oven. Let cool; turn off oven.
4.) Toss peach slices with olive oil; season with salt and sugar.
5.) Grill on medium-high, until peaches are char-marked.
6.) Chill peaches.
7.) Arrange salad on four chilled plates.
(3 cheese wedges, 3 prosciutto slices, 1 Tbsp. pine nuts, 4 peach wedges & 8 arugula leaves on each plate)
8.) Season with fresh black pepper.
9.) Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil and drop balsamic on plate for decoration.


Have a great day and remember: Go Ahead & Indulge!



(FYI: Christmas in July is still going on in my shop!)

Mangia Monday!

Monday Morning
Faces, sculptured in sunken gloom, throng the streets in despairing and anxious haste. Being once again, habitually, shocked by the terror and cruelty of reality, as the clock starts its journey along the rails of another week of the same.
-John O'Connell

Hello! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! As usual mine just FLEW by!! I am always amazed at all the activity that you can cram into two days - no wonder why I am always tired on Monday! Do you feel the same? Mondays are my day of rest, no major cleaning, simple meal, just doing the basics! In honor of my Mondays I have a easy-peasy recipe to share! Enjoy!


Shrimp Salad

Ingredients:

* 2 Packs cherry tomatoes, halved (red and yellow)
* 4 Tbsp lemon vinaigrette (recipe below)
* 3 Tbsp shallots, peeled and finely diced
* 16 oz cooked shrimp, thawed and tail tips removed
* 2 avocados, peeled, pitted & diced
* Salt and pepper to taste
* 1 head green leaf lettuce
* 1 loaf Italian bread, grilled

Directions:

1.) Place tomatoes in bowl.
2.) Add lemon vinaigrette, shallots, & shrimp; toss gently.
3.) Allow mixture to sit at room temp 10 min for flavors to mix.
4.) Add avocado & season to taste with salt and pepper.
5.) Stir gently to combine.
6.) Portion lettuce on 4 serving plates.
7.) Top lettuce with shrimp salad.
8.) Serve with grilled Italian bread.


Lemon Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup olive oil
* 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1 tablespoon minced shallot
* 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
* 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
* 1/2 teaspoon sugar
* salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.) Whisk all ingredients in bowl to blend.
2.) Season with salt and pepper.
(This can be made 1 day ahead, store in refrigerator)

Have a great day and remember: Go Ahead & Indulge!

Tasty Tuesday!

“Friends are the Bacon Bits in the Salad Bowl of Life.”
-Unknown

HELLO! I do not know about you, but we are big salad eaters in my home! The recipe I am sharing with you today is a favorite. Sometimes I add some shrimp to it and you have an entire meal! Enjoy!

“To make a good salad is to be a brilliant diplomatist -- the problem is entirely the same in both cases. To know exactly how much oil one must put with one's vinegar.”
-Oscar Wilde


Warm Spinach & Portobella Mushroom Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:

* 1 pkg (6 oz) portobella mushrooms, diced
* Salt and pepper to taste
* 1 Tbsp parsley
* 1 tsp thyme
* 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil Oil
* 1 pkg (6 oz) fresh baby spinach (clean & dry)
* 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
* Italian Bread

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2.) Season mushrooms to taste with salt and pepper.
3.) Toss mushrooms with 2 Tbsp. olive oil, parsley & thyme.
4.) Arrange in single layer on baking sheet.
5.) Roast 10-12 min, until tender. Set aside.
6.) Place spinach in large bowl.
7.) Add mushrooms; season to taste with salt and pepper.
8.) Toss with oil and balsamic vinegar.
9.) Serve warm with Italian bread.

Silly Joke of the Day:
Where do fortune tellers dance?
...At the crystal ball.

Have a great day and remember: Go Ahead & Indulge!

Mangia Monday!

“To make a good salad is to be a brilliant diplomatist -- the problem is entirely the same in both cases. To know exactly how much oil one must put with one's vinegar.”
-Oscar Wilde

Hello! I hope you had a great weekend! Mine was busy, yet fun and it still is not over! For those of you who over-indulged this weekend I have a simple, yet satisfying salad recipe for you. It is a quick, one dish meal - serve with bread and you are good to go!

“Friends are the Bacon Bits in the Salad Bowl of Life.”
-Unknown


Curry Yogurt & Almond Chicken Salad
Serves 8

Ingredients:

* 4 cups celery, diced
* 1/2 cup red onion, peeled and minced
* 4 cups red seedless grapes, halved
* 1 Rotisserie chicken, dice meat
* 12 oz curry yogurt dressing (recipe below)
* 2 heads green or red leaf lettuce

Directions:

1.) Put celery, onion, grapes, chicken in a bowl.
2.) Add dressing and coat well.
3.) Arrange lettuce on plates.
4.) Top lettuce with chicken mixture.
5.) Serve immediately.

"Salad - Freshens without enfeebling and fortifies without irritating."
-Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Curry-Yogurt Dressing

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar
* 1 teaspoon curry powder
* 1/4 cup lowfat plain yogurt
* 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
* 1 tablespoon low-fat milk
* 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.) Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.
2.) Whisk until well mixed.
3.) Thin the dressing with milk, if desired.
4.) Chill well before using.

Silly Joke of the Day:

What do you get if you cross a chicken with a cement mixer?
.....A brick layer!

Have a great day and remember: Go Ahead & Indulge!

Mangia Monday!

“Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.”
-Kahlil Gibran


Hello and welcome! After a weekend of celebrating and overeating I think a nice light recipe is in order. This is a healthy, yet very tasty treat I think you will enjoy!

I wish you a wonderful week filled with happiness!

“One is wise to cultivate the tree that bears fruit in our soul”
-Henry David Thoreau



Caribbean Fruit Salad

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

* 6 oz Fresh raspberries
* 16 oz Fresh strawberries, stemmed, quartered
* 1 Mango, peeled, seeded and cubed
* 1/2 Medium honeydew, formed into melon balls
* 2 tsp fresh mint leaves, minced
* 2 Tbsp lime juice
* 3 Tbsp honey
* 2 Tbsp sweetened flaked coconut


Directions:

1.) Combine fruit in large bowl.
2.) Whisk together mint leaves, lime juice and honey in small bowl.
3.) Mix dressing gently into fruit.
4.) Refrigerate for at least 15 min before serving to allow flavors to blend.
5.) Ladle into individual serving bowls.
6.) Garnish with coconut prior to serving.


“Truth is a fruit which should not be plucked until it is ripe.”
-Voltaire


Joke of the Day:


How do you make a peach into a vegetable?
Step on it and make it squash.


Have a great day and remember: Go Ahead & Indulge!