.summer salad.

will you forgive me for not giving you a play by play of this recipe? 

i did not consider blogging it until i saw how pretty it was after making it.  you're going to be glad i did. this mix is summer sensational! 

here's what i put together:

mixed greens (and purple) salad

roasted pepitas (can substitute sunflower seeds)

raspberries

blueberries 

goat cheese 

grilled chicken (can substitute vegetarian chicken)

balsamic glaze

vinaigrette dressing 

use the quantities and flavors that you like best. 

this salad has such an interesting mix of flavors and textures. the taste is absolutely fresh and flavorful. 

enjoy!

.cute caprese.

you've probably tasted these flavors together before. whether as a salad, on a margherita pizza, or as a bruschetta topping, tomatoes, basil and mozzarella are as classic together as peanut butter and jelly. if you need a go-to summer appetizer, this is it!

slice a handful or a bowlful of cherry tomatoes in half. one of the beauties of this recipe is that you can make as little or as many of these bite-sized caprese stacks as you'd like to share.  

one of my all time favorite flavors and scents is fresh basil. because you will be using tiny tomatoes, you will need smaller pieces of basil. tear your bigger leafs in half.

fresh mozzarella! make sure you say that with excitement because it sure tastes exciting. i got a big hunk-a the stuff and used my melon baller to scoop little balls. you can obviously just tear or cut what you need if you don't have this teeniest tiniest scoop in your kitchen drawer.

pick a pretty plate and lay your cherry tomatoes flat side down. if you did it the other way, they'd be rolling all over the place. 

blanket each tomato with basil.

place a piece of FRESH MOZZARELLA! on top and don't let go.

poke a toothpick through all three components and now let go. ta da! you have yourself the beginning of what will be a beautiful display of fresh yumminess. these will be a hit at any summer soiree. 

p.s. i drizzled balsamic glaze on mine. so terribly delicious. 

.southwest salad.

potluck!

the word alone either makes you cringe or gets your juices flowing. babycake's daycare celebrated teacher appreciation week with a different treat every day. one of the days was a potluck provided by the parents.  this was the perfect opportunity to try out this colorful salad i found on pinterest.
as long as you get all the necessary ingredients, it is easy to put together and the dynamic flavor palette is so worth it. here's how!

chop chop chop a head of rinsed romaine lettuce.

shuck an ear of sweet corn and then run your knife down its sides to get all the kernels off. throw in a bowl with your lettuce. wait- i didn't cook the corn first? nope. use the fresh corn. 

now, add a hefty handful of roasted and salted pepitas. this is the first time i've ever put pepitas in a recipe and yummy! if you can't find these little crunchies in your grocery store, use sunflower seeds instead. 

take a beautiful red bell pepper and dice it up. toss it on in your growing salad bowl. 

rinse a 15 oz can of black beans. these beans will add the protein to the salad to make it a complete meal. 

cut in half about one cup of cherry tomatoes. yep- add those in too. are we done yet? no! 

get your eye guy to dice up a huge block of pepper jack cheese and then only use a fraction of it. or, use all of it you want. cheese, glorious cheese!

you now have this colorful, gorgeous salad. if you're more ambitious than i am, make your own salad dressing. i went with this store bought variety and it was absolutely delicious! 

toss. 

add some crunchy tortilla strips and dive in. this picture doesn't do the taste factor justice. i sent the full salad away to babycake's school for the potluck. and then the next night, i made the whole thing all over again for our dinner at home. 

i added grilled chopped chicken to my eye guy's bowl. we both love it and will be having it again.

southwest salad

inspired by this recipe

put all of this in a bowl and enjoy. 

one head chopped romaine lettuce

one ear sweet corn kernels

one chopped red bell pepper

one 15 oz can of drained black beans

about a cup of halved cherry tomatoes

one cup (or more) of shredded pepper jack cheese

a big handful of pepitas

tortilla salad strips for topping

avocado ranch dressing or your favorite southwestern dressing