Grilled Market Salad & Zesty Dressing (Chick-Fil-A Copy Cat)

February 18, 2017 Amanda Plott

So, I was telling my mom about one of my all time favorite salads at a pretty well known fast-food chain the other day when she was looking for some quick lunch options. Anytime the family wants to 'be bad' and have chicken nuggets at this place, I always tend to opt for their Grilled Market Salad. It's a really large hearty salad that's extremely filling and easily could be turned into two meals rather than just one.

That discussion got me to thinking about the salad, how good it is, and how simple it is too. Surely there had to be a way to make it myself! The hardest part would be the zesty apple cider vinaigrette. Thankfully, I found a good starting place and made a few more tweaks to that to get exactly what I was looking for after reading the ingredients on the actual dressing packet...

Kale & Apple Quinoa Salad

January 16, 2017 Amanda Plott

So, this salad today is actually somewhat inspired by my dad who is having some health issues at the moment. We're not entirely sure what's going on, but he's been told to eat better for the time being until his next round of testing. One thing he was told to do was to 'stay away from white stuff', which clearly isn't something I stuck to here because I have to have cheese in my life. I literally think I might explode if I didn't have at least a bit of cheese every day.

What can I say? I've got to be honest here! I'm one that believes strongly in that you can enjoy everything as part of a healthy diet as long as it's in moderation. (Except of course if it's something you've been warned of by a professional.)

A few days back now, my dad and aunt were chatting at me on Facebook about how my dad is now eating more healthy and that he had tried quinoa. He wasn't a huge fan. So, I gave him some suggestions and got to thinking that some quinoa sounded really good actually. And here we are with this lovely Kale & Apple Quinoa Salad!...

Spring Asparagus Salad & Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

May 10, 2016 Amanda Plott

Spring vegetables are still in full swing for another couple of months, so naturally I'm taking full advantage of that. One of my favorite spring vegetables has to be asparagus. I love it's simple flavor and complete versatility to be the part of just about any meal. So, this week for lunch I decided to dive back into salads and thought that adding some cool asparagus to the mix would be perfect.

This salad is a great lunch, and would also make for a great side dish or used as part of a dinner time meal as well. Along the way I happened to come across some watercress this week, which is another fun spring green and also one that I've never had the pleasure of working with...

Skinny Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

March 8, 2016 Amanda Plott

I'm not sure about anywhere else, since Texas is the only place that I've lived in my adult life, but here... we go through an awful lot of cilantro. It's all that amazing Tex-Mex we have here, so you won't find me complaining. Cilantro and I definitely have a love-hate relationship though.

I've come to the realization that I don't tend to like it much in it's raw form. That is... it needs to be added to something; guacamole, fajita meat, etc. I do, however, love cilantro when it's done right by being used as an ingredient to brighten up a dish. And what better way to do that than with a nice fresh spring produce salad?...

Skinny Greek Vinaigrette

May 6, 2014 Amanda Plott

Ah, greek salads have to be one of my most favorite salads. In fact, I was so set on them that I burned myself out for a good year or two. Sad. I know. How can you burn yourself out on a favorite thing? Well, easily if you eat it every day for nearly half a year!

I'm not sure where it was that I had my first ever greek salad... but I know that it was an eye opening. I think it was even the first time that I'd ever had feta cheese. Another favorite thing that I keep close to my heart. Mm... feta...

Skinny Raspberry Vinaigrette

March 18, 2014 Amanda Plott

I have been in love with a specific salad for about a week and a half now. After going through a full bottle of Annie's Natural & Organic Raspberry Vinaigrette I pondered to myself how I could go about making something similar to it.

I've made a lot of salad dressings in the past... but vinaigrettes always seem to throw me for a loop. I always try and use the less oil approach by substituting half of the oil called for in a recipe for water. It doesn't tend to work out very well with homemade dressings since it sort of waters everything down. Including the flavor. Ick!...