Roasted Root Vegetable Salad

 This past weekend we went to a friend's house and I helped her make this salad to serve for dinner. She invited a few guests over and we had fun chopping and roasting veggies together in the kitchen.  The weather has finally turned a little bit cooler and this salad was the perfect introduction to fall.  It features all those delicious veggies that beg to be used this time of year- butternut squash, parsnips, turnips and carrots.  The veggies are roasted in the oven with some shallots and then mixed with a delicious vinaigrette.
  
This salad was a definite favorite at dinner.  It is a nice side dish and is so delicious!
Here is the recipe for Roasted Root Vegetable Salad 

Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club- Mixed Greens with Blueberry Vinaigrette with homemade Blueberry Vinegar

Jerry picked our theme- 100 Miles of Flavor-for this month's Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club.
We were each to choose a recipe that showcased a local ingredient, something that could be found within 100 miles of where we live.
Here is how the menu turned out- the local ingredients are in parentheses.

Jerry - Beef Tenderloin with Mushroom-Red Wine Sauce- (local beef and wine)

Sandi - Peas and Orzo with Pesto - (peas, basil and Southern pecans )

Mary Ann - Mixed Greens with Blueberry Vinaigrette (Blueberry Vinegar) (local blueberries and honey)

Jamie - Grilled Ginger-Lime Shrimp (Gulf of Mexico Seafood)

Roz - Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms and Marscapone Cheese-(local rice)

Val - Fallen Chocolate Cake with Cherry Red Wine Sauce - (local cherries and wine)

For my local ingredients I decided to use blueberries and honey. I found this great recipe for blueberry vinegar that is used in a fabulous vinaigrette and it was the perfect fit.

I decided to use blueberries that I picked from my husband's grandmother bush last summer, that I had frozen to make the blueberry vinegar. (She lives about 7 minutes from us, so that is pretty local). I read the reviews on the recipe and someone else had mentioned that they used frozen blueberries to make the vinegar and it worked out fine.

Making the blueberry vinegar was really easy. I just combined a couple of ingredients on the stovetop and let the mixture sit, and then strained the vinegar. I let the vinegar sit overnight and then made the salad and vinaigrette the next day.

The salad is very simple. Baby arugula-I also threw in some spinach, red onion, blueberries and then a quick vinaigrette, which contains the blueberry vinegar, a little honey, dijon mustard, and olive oil. So simple and so delicious.
I had leftover blueberry vinegar and we have been drizzling it on all sorts of things. The other night we had salmon, quinoa, broccoli and cauliflower and I thought we could drizzle the vinegar over the salmon. My daughter liked it so much that she drizzled blueberry vinegar over everything on her plate. The rest of the family followed suit.

This was a great salad and it was really fun to learn how easy it is to make flavored vinegar.
Check out the rest of this great local menu above.


Here is the recipe for Blueberry Vinegar

Here is the recipe for Mixed Greens with Blueberry Vinaigrette
* I added baby spinach to the salad
*I omitted the frisee because I couldn't find it anywhere

Kids Choice- Chicken Nuggets and Rainbow Salad Boats

The other day my oldest child asked, " When can we choose what we have for dinner?"
I replied, "how about right now?"

I pulled some kid cookbooks off the shelf and told my 7-yr old son and my 4-yr old daughter that they could each plan a night's dinner. They could choose a main dish and a side.

My daughter wasted no time at all. She chose these 2 recipes from the first cookbook that she picked up, C is for Cooking:Recipes from the Street.

My son, on the other hand, had to look at every single kid cookbook, before he decided on chicken burgers, green beans and olives.

My kids enjoyed these homemade chicken nuggets and it was really fun letting them help in the kitchen. The C is for Cooking Cookbook has certain steps that it deems appropriate for kids, so they can help put the meals together.

Two of my kids love any kind of salad dressing. They like dipping their veggies and lettuce or enjoy salad dressing when it is poured over the salad on their plates and this apple-y vinaigrette was no exception.
My son doesn't do salad dressing, but will still eat the veggies.

Everyone was excited about this dinner and I have to admit that the chicken tasted better than I thought it was going to. The honey mustard gave it just the right amount of flavor.

The kids are already begging for another chance to pick dinner.


Grover's Little & Adorable Chicken Nuggets from C is for Cooking: Recipes from the Street by Susan McQuillan
Ingredients:
24 saltine crackers (I used Nabisco's Premium Multigrain Saltines)
1 pound thin-sliced chicken breasts (I used chicken tenders)
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbls mayonnaise (I used fat-free)
1 egg white
2 tsp honey mustard

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a large rimmed baking sheet.

2. KIDS- Place the crackers in a large plastic bag and zip the bag. Now gently pound your fists to crush the crackers into thin crumbs. Pour the crumbs onto a large plate. Set the plate aside.

3. Cut the chicken breasts into 1 1/2 squares. Sprinkle evenly with salt.

4. KIDS- In a large bowl, stir together the mayo, egg white, and honey mustard until well-mixed. Add the chicken to the mayo mixture and gently toss to coat the chicken pieces.

5. KIDS- Gently press each piece of chicken into the cracker crumbs until the nugget is covered all over. Transfer the nuggets to the prepared sheet.

6. Bake the nuggets, until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Zoe's Rainbow Salad Boats from C is for Cooking
Ingredients:
Apple Vinaigrette
1/4 cup apple juice or cider
2 Tbls apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
6-8 Tbls olive oil

For our veggies we used:
baby carrots
cherry tomatoes
bell peppers
celery
cucumbers
olives
hard-boiled eggs

Other veggies suggested:
cooked potato
cooked beets
green peas
broccoli
orange sections
apple pieces
canned beans
avocado
grated cheese



1. In a small bowl, make the salad dressing: Whisk together the apple juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Whisk in the oil until blended.

2. Arrange separate bowls of salad ingredients on the table. Give everyone a salad plate and let each person make his or her own salad. Try to "use" as many colors as possible! Use whole lettuce leaves as salad "bowls" or "boats". Drizzle a little salad dressing over you salad.




One Year Ago-Granola Grabbers with Homemade Maple-Pecan Peach Granola

Salmon & Noodle Bowl

This is the last day of my 1-sentence posts, so come back tomorrow for something a little more verbose (maybe); I like to cook fish because my family adores it and this recipe was so fast I couldn't believe it- you just cook up some noodles, and add a few things, top it off with some salmon and everyone wins!

Salmon & Noodle Bowl from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine: Market Fresh Suppers

1 9-oz pkg. refrigerated fettucine
2 Tbls olive oil
1 lb skinless, boneless 1-inch-thick salmon, cut into 8 pieces
salt and pepper
6 cups packaged fresh baby spinach
3/4 cup bottled roasted red bell peppers
1/2 cup reduced- calorie balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing (I used Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette)

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, brush 1 Tbls olive oil on salmon. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat an extra-large skillet over medium heat; add salmon. Cook 8 to 12 minutes or until salmon flakes, turning once.
Remove salmon; cover and keep warm.
Add spinach, peppers, and remaining oil to skillet. Cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes, until spinach is wilted. Drain pasta; add to skillet.
3. Add dressing; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Divide spinach-pasta mixture among four bowls. Top with salmon.

One Year Ago-Root Beer Freeze and Perfect Party Cake

Asparagus with Chopped Egg and Vinaigrette

I am not sure why we dyed so many eggs for Easter. My kids just get so excited about the colors and the eggs seem to go to fast. Of course we used the hard-boiled eggs for the usual things that we love- Egg Salad Sandwiches and Deviled Eggs, but I didn't take pictures because I have posted about both of those before (last year). I was looking for a different recipe that would use a couple of the eggs.
I remembered this recipe from the April issue of Everyday with Rachel Ray and asparagus has been very affordable lately, so I decided this was the next thing I was going to try.
This recipe is really easy. I had everything on hand and it was ready in a matter of minutes. You just press the eggs through a sieve and place them on top of the asparagus which is drizzled with the vinaigrette. It turned out great and made for a nice side dish.

Asparagus with Chopped Egg and Vinaigrette

Susan Jaslove

From Every Day with Rachael Ray

April 2009

SERVES 8

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 5 min

3 bunches asparagus (about 3 pounds), tough ends snapped off
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 small shallot, finely chopped
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon, crushed
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 large eggs, hard-boiled

1. In a large, deep skillet, add enough salted water to reach a depth of 2 inches; bring to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of ice water and let stand until chilled. Drain and pat dry.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, shallot, mustard, tarragon and orange peel. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until combined; season with salt and pepper.

3. Cut the hard-boiled eggs in half, then press through a sieve into a small bowl. Toss the asparagus with some of the vinaigrette. To serve, drizzle with more dressing and top with the eggs.

Coming Tomorrow- Craving Ellie- Balsamic Chicken