Lemony Strawberry Mixed Greens Salad

I'm a sucker for buying the big bags of lemons at the grocery store. It's silly because I almost never use up all of them unless I'm making lemonade, which means I'll almost have to throw away a few. It's sad when I have to. I know I can do other things with it and one of those things is to make a lemony vinaigrette. It's the easiest way for me to use up anything citrus: to make a vinaigrette. Lol.

This vinaigrette can be used on any salad with strawberries and/or sweet greens. If not using on a salad with sweet ingredients, I'd add more honey.

Lemony Strawberry Mixed Greens Salad
(serves 6)

Ingredients:

• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 Tbsp honey
• A pinch each of salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup garlic infused virgin olive oil
• 150g mixed greens
• 6-8 strawberries, sliced
• 1/2 cup toasted almonds, walnuts or pecans (optional)

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper. Drizzle in 2/3 of the olive oil while whisking vigorously. Taste and add more olive oil if the vinaigrette is too acidic.
2. In a large salad bowl or mixing bowl, combine mixed greens, strawberries and pistachios. Drizzle dressing over greens and gently toss. 
3. Serve with a creamy/rich entree.

Asian Steak Salad

Okay, so the picture is not all that pretty and the steak isn't nicely arranged. Who cares? It was a yummy salad and I love the dressing. I can use that dressing for almost any salads I make...including the ones where I just use the spring greens and add roast beef and cheese. Yum.

The picture you see is of a whole steak with only half of the salad . We were craving meat, so yeah. Otherwise it'd look better and we wouldn't have been so overstuffed. :x


Asian Steak Salad
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsps lime juice
• 3 Tbsps soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsps sugar
• 1 Tbsp ginger, minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp Sesame seeds
• 2 1 inch thick striploin steaks, excess fat trimmed
• 1 300g package of mixed spring greens

Directions:

1. Combine canola oil, vinegar, lime juice, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper in a mason jar to make dressing. Close the lid and shake hard. Set aside.
2. Place steaks in a large Ziploc bag and pour 1/3 or 1/2 of the dressing in the bag. Squeeze out all the air and let marinade for 10 minutes.
3. Heat up a hot grill pan until smoking hot. Take steaks out of bag and grill on grill pan until medium rare, about 2 minutes per side. Grill more if you like it more cooked and grill less if you like it rare. Transfer to a rack or the cutting board to rest for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, toss spring greens in a large mixing bowl with the dressing and sesame seeds. Add more dressing if necessary. Transfer salad on a big serving platter or on individual plates. Set aside.
5. Slice steaks into strips and lay on top of the salad.
6. Serve on its own or with a wedge of garlic toast, or a baked potato.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

This has got to be the world's easiest vinaigrette. I remember a time when balsamic was all the rage. I don't know why it ended. That stuff is awesome. I always use it on some spring greens for a quick salad. Apparently it's pretty good as a dipping sauce for garlic toast. Who knew?


Balsamic Vinaigrette
(makes ~3/4 cup)

Ingredients:

• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 Tbsps honey
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Add everything into a mason jar. Shake well until the honey has dissolved. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.
2. Serve over mixed greens or pout into a small plate as dip for bread.

Sometimes I'll use garlic infused extra virgin olive oil if I'm too lazy to mince up some garlic. It's less potent but still really good. Measurements are approximate since some balsamic vinegars are sweeter than others. I had a bottle that was so super sweet I only used about half the amount of honey. :)

Caesar Salad Dressing & Homemade Garlicky Croutons

Apparently this dressing brings all the boys to the yard. Haha. I just had to try it. It's a family recipe. My sister's soon to be mom in law's recipe. I'm glad she's one of those people who share all her recipes. Cuz this was yummy. Even Hubby likes it and the only Caesars he likes are the alcoholic kind. Definitely not the salad type. Which I adore.

The dressing is even better after it's been sitting in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. So it's perfect to make ahead. :)


Caesar Salad Dressing
(Makes 1/2 cup)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 + 1 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 1/4 + 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Combine mayonnaise and olive oil in a mason jar. Cap and shake well until smooth.
2. Add remaining ingredients. Cap and shake until well blended. Add more salt and pepper if needed.

Homemade Garlicky Croutons
(Makes 2 cups)

Ingredients:

• 4 slices of whole wheat bread, cubed
• 2 Tbsp garlic salt
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Combine everything in a large bowl and toss until cubed bread is thoroughly coated.
3. Spread in one layer on a parchment lined baking tray. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly toasted. If using a toaster oven, just put tray in and start toasting on level 4 on the bottom rack.

I like to have everything bite sized, so I always cut my romaine lettuce into bite size pieces or as close to it as possible without it looking like small little dices. Add as much or as little dressing and croutons as you'd like. I don't particularly care whether there's Parmesan cheese or not in my salad so I don't bother. Bacon is always nice but I like my salad simple. Maybe I'll add an egg or grilled chicken or salmon or something for protein but that'll have to be next time. :)