Roasted Broccoli, Mushroom, and Barley Salad

Nothing like finding a delightful new side dish to complement your meals. This one comes courtesy of Real Simple-of course with a few tweaks to suit the pantry. 

The original recipe calls for an anchovy flavored dressing, but that's not really our jam. Instead, we substituted the anchovy paste with sriracha paste. Bonus points: this is very easy to make and you can substitute the vegetables with whatever you have handy.

Prep time: 10 minutes 
Cook time: 25 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 1 
  cup quick cook 
  barley
• 1 
  large bunch broccoli, cut into florets
• 1-2 shallots, cut into rings
• 1 
  pound 
  cremini or oyster mushrooms, halved if large
• 4 
  tablespoons 
  olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sriracha paste
• 2
   garlic cloves
• 3 
  tablespoons 
  fresh lemon juice
• Feta

What you'll do:

Wash and chop the vegetables. Preheat the oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with foil. 

In a large bowl, mix the broccoli, shallots and mushrooms with the olive oil, salt and pepper. When they are coated, spread in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until browned.

While the vegetables are roasting, cook the barley according to directions. 

Mix the remaining tablespoon of oil, crushed garlic, lemon juice and sriracha. Set aside.

When the vegetables are done, mix with the cooked barley and toss with the dressing and sprinkle with feta. Serve hot or cold! 

Fattoush!

We all know we have to eat salads, but sometimes it's really hard to get excited about a bunch of leaves. Fattoush, a Lebanese bread salad, is a good way to have your daily dose of veggies, while keeping you interested enough to finish it! We love the version from Mark Bittman's app "How to Cook Everything"  and added our own touches to suit our tastes.

This salad is only as good as its ingredients, so try to find the best product for the best results. If you plan on having leftovers, do not dress the whole salad or toast all the pita, only what you plan on eating that night.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes (to toast your pita)

Ingredients:
Salad:

• 6 inch whole wheat pitas, cut into strips or wedges
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 vine ripened tomatoes (medium ripe). chopped and seeded
• 1 medium cucumber, diced and seeded
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped and seeded
• Choice of greens (romaine works well, or a spring mix)
• pinch of salt

Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper

Combine the parsley, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, salt and greens in a large bowl. Set aside.

To make the dressing, whisk the olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper until it forms a creamy mixture. Store it in your favorite dressing dispenser. If you plan to refrigerate it, be sure to mix it and bring it to room temperature before using.

Add your toasted pita to the greens mixture, pour the dressing and toss! 

Easy Warm Tofu Salad

With the holidays upon us, perhaps like us, you need a palate cleanser. This tofu salad has Asian flavors, mainly from the soy sauce and sesame seeds. Alone, it makes a light lunch, or a light dinner side salad. The flavors are mild, so if you're looking for something a bit bolder, toss the salad with our Thai Vinaigrette dressing. 

To keep the tofu from becoming too crumbly and losing its shape in the salad, be sure to pat it as dry as you can and properly brown it before mixing.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10-12 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 3 tablespoons peanut oil
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 14-ounce package firm tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 bag mixed salad greens of your choice
• 2 medium carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced (we went with the pre-sliced carrots...because why not)
• 1 large cucumber, chopped

In a small bowl, combine peanut oil, rice vinegar, honey and sesame seeds. Set aside. (If using other dressing, skip this). 

Heat up one additional tablespoon of peanut oil and 2 tablespoons of dressing in a large pan. Pan fry the tofu over medium-high heat, turning every 3-4 minutes, until browned. Remove from heat and combine with salad greens, carrots and cucumbers. Toss with remaining dressing

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Back to our homemade shenanigans. Honey mustard vinaigrette was something we were craving. This recipe is savory and not as tangy as others we've tasted. It is a good complement to more spiced salad toppings or seasoned meat or poultry. We used Dijon, but also recommend a whole grain mustard for a more robust mustard flavor. 

Prep time: 2 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1.5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon or whole grain mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• dash of Kosher salt
• dash of black pepper

Using your favorite whisk or salad dressing contraption, whisk together ingredient. Serve cold or at room temperature. 

Black Bean Taco Salad & Lime Vinaigrette

A new favorite from Cooking Light! We take out the chicken to make this a vegetarian dish. The black beans gives the salad a protein punch, yet with a spicy and tangy side, courtesy of the vinaigrette. 


By taking out the chicken, this becomes a very thrifty meal. Canned black beans are less than $2.00 and the fresh produce doesn't add up to much. If you have the spices for the vinaigrette, this is also one of the easiest meals to prepare. For leftovers, just be sure to store the bean mixtures separately if you would like to heat them up.


With these ingredients, this meal can last two people about 4 dinners.


Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes


Ingredients:

• Vinaigrette:
• 1/4 cup chopped seeded, ripe Roma tomatoes (about 4)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 teaspoon grated lime rind
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 
  
• Salad:
• • You favorite salad greens (spinach works well, a nice spring mix, or even hearts of romaine) 
  • 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 cup finely diced onion
  • 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained 
  • (optional: tortilla strips salad toppers,  1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese )
  • 
    
  • To make the vinaigrette, throw everything in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Store in a convenient bottle and chill for at least an hour before serving.
  • For the salad, saute the beans, onion and green pepper in a pan until the onions are slightly translucent. Cool and top with vinaigrette and cheese and tortilla strips if using. 
  • 
    
• 
  

Thai Vinaigrette

In a quest for healthy eating, we cracked open The Joy of Cooking to search for some homemade salad dressing recipes. We settled on the Thai vinaigrette because of its balance of spicy and tangy. We modified the original recipe a bit to add some sriracha and bottled, instead of fresh, lime juice. This is a dual purpose recipe, as it can also serve as a marinade for fish or chicken.


A note on the gadget we used. The combination mixer, pourer, and storer is from The Pampered Chef: Measure, Mix & Pour. The side of the bottle offers easy to follow dressing recipes. It was very handy, but a whisk and your favorite container would do just fine.


Prep time: Under 5 minutes (chill for at least an hour before using)

Ingredients: 

1. 1/2 cup of lime juice (fresh or bottled)
2. 1 tablespoon soy sauce 
3. 1.5 tablespoons sugar
4. 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
5. Salt to taste
6. 1/2 tablespoons sriracha
7. 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Whisk together the first 6 ingredients. In a slow and steady stream, add the vegetable oil. For best results, chill over night, and mix well before using. 

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

I was a little tired of store bought dressing and I had some leftover vinegar from the Chinese Cole Slaw
so I thought it was time to try making my own dressing. I found this recipe in the Joy Of Cooking.

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
Makes 1/2 cup

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon coarse grain mustard
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 tablespoons olive oil

Whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, honey, mustard, salt and pepper. Add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly.