Easy Weeknight Dinner- Tofu Salad

My husband is not normally a big fan of tofu, but we're both trying to shed the winter/baby weight and a while back he made this tofu salad that I absolutely love...we figured it'd be a perfect weeknight meal to get some veggies for dinner and also have a meatless dinner. We try to do that at least once a week year-round- but we also participate in Lent which, for us, means no meat on Fridays.

Here's what you are gonna need
1 pkg extra firm tofu, diced into 1 inch cubes 
(press it- this will help it get as much of the marinade as possible- place 2 pieces of paper towel on a plate- then tofu then paper towel then another plate with something a bit weighty on top- like a frying pan or big container of chicken stock in this case...)
1 bag of snow peas (Trader Joe's)
shredded carrot (a few handfuls)
1/2 a green cabbage (or if you have it do 1/4 green, 1/4 purple- or you can even buy a bag of slaw mix- already cut cabbage to really save some time!!)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 (or a little more) fresh ginger, grated
4 green onions chopped/sliced
1/4 c soy sauce
1/ 4 c. sweet chili sauce
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
toasted sesame seeds

In a medium bowl combine the garlic, ginger, green onion, soy sauce, chili sauce, and sesame oil- whisk until well combined.
Put the tofu in a Tupperware container or Ziploc bag- pour the marinade over it and refrigerate for at least an hour or more. (I like this because I can do that part during Logan's afternoon nap then the rest takes minutes!)

Place a few handfuls of cabbage in individual salad bowls, or on dinner plates- add marinated tofu, carrots and snow peas- sprinkle with sesame seeds- drizzle with leftover marinade aka dressing!

Cold Wild Rice Salad w/ Grapes

Ok, where has this been all my life!? It was H...O...T, HOT!! so I wanted to make us some cold yummy side dishes to accompany the bison meatballs that I made to tote to the Hollywood Bowl. I pretty much used items I had on-hand and made this "salad"...

Serves 6

1 box of long grain wild rice, prepared- but with low sodium chicken broth instead of water, olive oil (not butter), you can toss the "packet o' seasonings" it comes with, you won't need that- set cooked rice aside to cool.

Dressing~ (you'll have leftovers, so plan on a salad later in the week when you make this :o)
About 3 Large spoon fulls of Hosin Sauce
A small (like tip of a butter knife) spoon full of Chinese Hot Mustard
Rice Vinegar, Sesame Oil and Low Sodium Soy Sauce (just kept adding bits of each until the taste & texture were right)
A dash of sesame seeds
Whisk with fork until all ingredients are well combined

Green grapes- washed & cut in half (I just kept adding till I knew I'd get a grape half in almost every bite!)

A few handfuls of slivered almonds

Toss the cool rice, grapes and almonds together in a large bowl and slowly drizzle about 1/2 (maybe a bit more if needed) of the dressing over the rice and continue lightly tossing (and tasting) until all ingredients are incorporated.

Summer Broccoli Salad

Cool, easy-peasy summer salad. I made this for the Hollywood Bowl excursion we recently took and LOVE this at picnics. It's no Mama-Corrado Pasta Salad (coming soon to rock your world..) but this is an AWESOME salad for big fun stuff where people come to eat (you know, everything that happens in the summer...bon fires, concerts, picnics, etc.) I certainly did not invent this, it is an old school staple that I love. After buying some at Whole Foods recently I made it from my memory of how that tasted.

This is a somewhat "wingin-it" type of recipe, so taste and adjust and taste and adjust and you will be just fine...

Serves 6-10 people
4-6 cups broccoli crowns chopped into bite sized pieces
6-8 pieces of bacon, cooked- cooled- crumbled
1 c mayonnaise
3-4 T white vinegar
2-4 T sugar
a few handfuls of sunflower seeds
1/2-2/3 cups chopped sweet white onion
a few handfuls of crazins (or raisins, or golden raisins- I mucho prefer crazins)
Sprinkle of ground sea salt and some fresh black pepper to taste

In small bowl whisk together the mayo, sugar and vinegar~ set aside. In a BIG bowl toss the broccoli, bacon, crazins, onions & sunflower seeds. Pour the mayo/vinegar/sugar over the broccoli and add salt & pepper to taste. Toss it up and refrigerate at least a few hours, or overnight is even better!

Glorious Salad~ inspried by Kelle

We always had a garden in our back yard while I was growing up. I am really looking forward to a living situation where we have more than just a teeny little patio so we can do some gardening of our own! Someday... Anyhow, salad was a very common accompaniment to anything we were eating (or grilling, more specifically) during the summer time. My parents would make what we liked to cal "Glorious Salad"...I believe I've talked about this before, because there is just salad and there's Glorious Salad, and there is a big difference!!

A few months back one of our favorite couples invited a group of us over for a Thursday night dinner...They were servin up the best tri-tip you've ever had with homemade herb butter and a salad that was seriously off the chain. I brought the BLACKBERRY KEY LIME TART (coming soon...) and we were all so full we had just enough energy for one round of Apples to Apples after our indulgence fest.

Since a few of the invited guests couldn't make it that night, we decided to do it again the following month on a Thursday at our place. Nate and I made poison cru, flank steak and insisted that Kelle bring her amazing salad (which she made with fresh strawberries that time!!) This month it is the third consecutive month our little group has met up for dinner, this time at Brian's house, and Kelle & Manos are in GREECE!! So what of the salad??! We could not do our dinner with out it!! I hesitantly volunteered, not sure if my version of Kelle's awesome salad could live up to our expectations, but I have to say, she would've been proud!

Kelle Salad
Serves 10

1 large container organic mixed greens (this comes in a plastic box at my market)
3 large, ripe avacados
2 giant handfulls slivered blanched almonds
6oz herbed goat cheese
2 tomatoes
2 handfulls of dried cranberries

Dressing
2 lemons
Olive oil
Salt

I mixed up the dressing first (you want a jar or bottle with a secure lid). Add the juice of 2 lemons and a few pinches of Kosher salt, then add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of oilve oil and SHIMMY SHAKE THAT BAD BOY until it is totally combined...give it a taste and if it is knock-you-on-your-tush lemon still, you could add a bit more olive oil to mellow it out..just mess with it a bit, until you are lovin' it. Set aside.

Rinse the greens and pat dry with paper towel, then toss them into a BIGASS bowl. Line the tray of your toaster oven (or normal oven, use a cookie sheet) with foil and spread the almonds out on it. I put them in the toaster oven at 350 for about 7 minutes...maybe a bit longer~ you want them golden brown, deep golden color is key to the brilliant flavor!
While the almonds are toasting, dice up the avocado, tomato and goat cheese (lil' bite size pieces of each of those items) and sprinkle over the salad...give it a few tosses to start incorporating the ingredients. Add the crazins, then the almonds and toss the salad well to fully incorporate EVERYTHING glorious. The almonds will melt the cheese a bit- which is AWESOME. Give the dressing another strong furious shake and pour over salad, toss it again, then I like to add fresh cracked black pepper individually to each serving! GLORIOUS INDEED.

Homemade Lasagna

It definitely can't be something you eat every day, but when we do eat lasagna, it's best when it's made from scratch through and through.

Pasta
We used this recipe from the
Silver Spoon Italian cook book and doubled it~
Nate usually makes it solo with out a recipe- he just knows when it's right!
p.268
Fresh Pasta Dough (Basic Recipe)
1 3/4 c. all purpose flour (plus extra for dusting)
2 eggs lightly beaten
salt
Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a mound on the counter. Make a well in the center and add the eggs. Using your fingers gradually incorporate the flour then knead about 10 minutes (you can also use a stand mixer with dough hook attachment.
Add a bit of flour if the dough is too soft or a bit of water if the dough is too firm. Shape the dough into a ball and let rest about 15 minutes.
We then broke it into smaller pieces and used the attachment to our stand mixer to roll out the sheets.

Sauce & Meatballs*
Meatballs & Sauce from ALL RECIPES
*This is a good basic foundation for a tomato-based pasta sauce, that you can add spices, etc. to and make it yours...
We use Nate's family recipe- and you gotta marry one of us to get it! (well, not me or Nate of course, but you catch my drift.)

Cheeeeesseee!!
1 large container of ricotta cheese, 1 big block of top-notch mozzarella (cut into 1 or 1/2 inch cubes), and about 2 cups shredded Romano/Parmesan mixed up, and about 1-2 T chopped parsley (fresh or dried) use more if you are using fresh... and 1 egg-
Mix it all together with your hands in a BIG bowl!



Assembly
Once the sauce is finished pull the meatballs out onto a plate with a slotted spoon (we threw some spicy Italian sausage, 1pkg) into the sauce too- so, same for those- on the plate with the meatballs. (let them cool while you roll out the pasta.
Using the pasta roller attachment to a stand mixer, roll out flat sheets of pasta (make each sheet the aprox length and about 1/2 the width of the pan you are baking it in).
Place next to one another on a sheet of floured wax paper, so they overlap a bit- fork together the overlap to make it one sheet.






Cut the meatballs and sausage into slices about 1/4-1/2 inch thick.
In a large bowl mix the ricotta, mozzarella, 1/3 of the Parmesan/Romano, a few pinches of parsley, the egg, and some salt & pepper (we always do this mixin with our hands, but it can be done with a wooden spoon I suppose)
Spray a deep baking dish (we actually have an All Clad pan that is called a lasagna pan- this was the first time I used it correctly, I guess!)with non-stick spray. Add a big spoonful of sauce and spread out thinly over the bottom.
Place the first "sheet" of pasta in the pan.
Spread some sauce out on that layer, then place slices of sausage across the sauce to make a layer, spread some of the cheese mix on top of sausage, then lay another sheet of pasta over that.






Spread a thin layer of sauce and then spread a generous layer of cheese and put the 3rd sheet of pasta on top of that.



Now, another layer of sauce, then place the slices of meatball in a layer and coat with a thin layer of cheese.



Lay the 4th sheet of pasta over that and top with a thick layer of sauce & sprinkle with remaining shredded Romano/Parmesan.



Bake at 375 covered with foil for 35-40 minutes, uncover and bake 20 more minutes.
Let it sit about 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving.



Serving suggestion; I served a small caprese tower with this dish.
Roma tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, olive oil and sliced mozzarella cheese ( make the slices about a centimeter to a centimeter and a half thick and to shape them all pretty, use a 2-inch diameter biscuit cutter if you got it!)Use a little plate and start with a piece of cheese, then a basil leaf, then tomato, basil leaf, cheese, tomato. Drizzle with olive oil, top with a bit of fresh cracked black pepper.

Then we had a lil'spinach leaf salad
Baby spinach leaves, fresh raspberries, slivered almonds & shaved hard aged Parmesan cheese.
Dressing;
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Honey
Salt
Pepper
Dijon Mustard
2 smuhed raspberries
Whisked together

Some how in the midst of serving ourselves and our 4 guests (and being out of my blogging habit), much like the photoless dip in the weenie post- No pics of these two, but wanted to share anyhow!

Bacon & Eggs Salad

After the tartar, I wanted to make sure we had some good veggies (other than the mashed potatoes) with our big meaty dinner, so I made a spinach salad with bacon & eggs.
Since I was already hitting the Japanese market for the tuna & sake, I grabbed a package of quail eggs for the salad because they are so cute and delicious!!

I had no clue what kind of dressing I was going to make and literally while I was mixing the tartar, Andrea of Pairings with Andrea on the Food Network (also on Fine Living I believe), whipped up a dressing that I had all the ingredients for!!




Bacon & Eggs Salad with Andrea's Sesame Honey Dressing
Salad by ME, Beth G.
Dressing inspired by Andrea Robinson original recipe HERE

1 bag of cut baby spinach, washed and patted or spun dry
4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
10-12 quail eggs, hard boiled & cut in half

3 T Mayo
3 T Balsamic vinegar
3 tsp honey
2 T sesame oil
pinch of pepper

Combine dressing ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until well combined.
In each serving bowl, place a hand full of spinach top with 4 egg halves, a pinch/ sprinkle of bacon & drizzle with dressing.

To make OVEN BACON: My favorite!!
Line a baking sheet (with edges) with foil, place bacon on foil & bake at 325 for 12-15 minutes or until desired done-ness is reached, move bacon to paper towel covered plate to cool- let grease cool and harden, then wrap up foil and throw away!!

To Hard-boil the Quail eggs:
In a small sauce pan, place the eggs in about 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. boil about 3 minutes then turn off burner, cover and let sit 5-7 minutes. Let cool a bit before peeling and halving.

Chineese Chicken Salad

We made Chinese Chicken Salad Wednesday and I was really happy with how it turned out! The only bummer was I couldn't find won ton wrappers at the store to bake for the little crispy strips. Definitely something we'll do next time.
The measurements on the dressing were non-existent, we just kept tasting it until it was perfecto!



Salad
Chopped Cilantro
Chopped Red Cabbage
Chopped/torn Romaine Lettuce
Grilled Chicken Breast cut up into bite sized pieces (marinate in dressing for extra flavor)
Chopped green onion
Thinly Sliced Almonds
Won-ton wrappers cut into strips and baked- (couldn't find them at the store I happened to be at)
Roasted sesame seeds
Shredded Carrots
Rinse and prepare all ingredients and toss in a large bowl
Top with dressing

Dressing
About 3 Large spoon fulls of Hosin Sauce
A small (like tip of a butter knife) spoon full of Chinese Hot Mustard
Rice Vinegar, Sesame Oil and Low Sodium Soy Sauce (just kept adding bits of each until the taste & texture were right)
A dash of sesame seeds
Whisk with fork until all ingredients are well combined

Cool as a...

Lately I've been LOVING cucumber!! Such a great summer veggie~
I also received a mandolin as a gift and love using it.




It comes in handy for salads like this cucumber salad, and all kinds of other wonderful slicing and dicing!

Cucumber Salad
1 Large Cucumber thinly sliced
1 small white or red onion thinly sliced
3/4 c white or rice vinegar
1/2 c water
3/4 cup sugar
1 T dried dill
2 tsp red chili flakes

Combine cucumber and onion in large bowl, mix in other ingredients
Cover and refrigerate at least one hour (Even better the nest day) & serve!

Teacher Shower~

I love summer parties! This weekend we gathered at my mom's place to celebrate my sis landing her first teaching job! It's a year-round school so only one more week of summer for her. Since the schools have such tight budgets these days we threw her a little shower to help her start her career off right (and with plenty of fun supplies!) It was a day-time event with buffet-style appetizers.
I made Goat Cheese Stuffed Grape Tomatoes and Shrimp & Veggie Couscous (both easy to make here at my house and traveled well on the hour trip to my moms)

~Cherry Tomatoes Filled With Goat Cheese~
This is the Original Recipe from Williams Sonoma Recipes Online (my mod's below)

24 Cherry Tomatoes (a mix of red & yellow
1/4 Lb fresh goat cheese (chevre)
1/4 C. Fresh minced basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

Cut the top off each tomato & scoop out pulp to make a hollow yet sturdy shell, drain any juice that accumulates in the shells.
Combine all other ingredients in a bowl, mix well with a fork.
Fill each tomato with cheese mix, plate & serve
(original recipe makes 24 cherry tomatoes, serves 6)

I used grape tomatoes, and doubled this recipe.
Also I used 1 14oz package fresh chevre (plain) and one 8oz package fine herb coated chevre, then added a little less than 1/4 c. finley minced basil, pinches of Kosher salt & pepper to taste....
I used the tip of my potato peeler to hollow the tomatoes out & fill them.
I had about 1/4 c cheese mix leftover that we're spreading on crackers today!





Shrimp Couscous Salad
From All Recipes Online






2 C couscous
2 C water

3/4 C. olive oil
1/4 C apple cider vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp ground cumin
1 clove crushed garlic
salt & pepper to taste
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 lbs cooked shrimp, peeled & deveined
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

My mods~
I winged it with the dressing mix, added more mustard & more cumin and added 2 cloves of finely minced garlic until I liked how it tasted..I may add a bit of lemon zest next time.
I also did one only one tomato and added some chopped orange bell pepper.
The shrimp seemed a bit large since this was an appetizer-type salad to be served in smaller portions I choped them in half. I used 1/2 reg feta and 1/2 fat free.
I refrigerated overnight & I am using the extra dressing as a marinade for chicken.

Pour water into saucepan, bring to a boil. Stir in couscous, cover & remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes and immediately fluff with a fork (otherwise it will clump) set aside to cool.

In a small bowl wish together olive oil, cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, Salt & pepper~ set aside.

In a large bowl, toss together shrimp, cooled couscous, bell peppers, tomato, parsley & feta. Whisk vinaigrette blend, the drizzle about half over couscous & toss to coat. Add more dressing to coat with out drenching. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.