Broccoli-Cheddar Soup on the Food Network- Soup and Salad Night

Broccoli-Cheddar Soup on the Food Network

I posted the link above for the soup, there is only two things that I did different and here they are...
1. I used 4 c. veggie broth (in their recipe they use 2 c. chicken stock and 2 c. of half and half)
2. I sauteed some bacon in the soup pot before I started making the soup. I scooped out the cooked bacon and about 2 T. of the bacon oil for my salad dressing. I left the rest of the bacon oil to saute the vegetables for the soup.

-Bacon Avocado Salad- Makes 2 servings

1 head of butter lettuce, torn into pieces and rinsed and spun in a salad spinner
1 avocado, diced
4 strips of sauteed crispy bacon, chopped
2 T. reserved bacon oil
2 T. red wine vinegar
2 T. veganaise or regular mayo
salt and pepper

1. Start with the dressing, whisk red wine vinegar into the reserved bacon oil, next add the veganaise and whisk again. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Place the torn clean lettuce into a large mixing bowl, pour over half of the dressing and toss lightly.
3. Plate your greens and top with diced avocado and chopped crispy bacon, drizzle the rest of the dressing over the two salads.

Perfect Roast Chicken Salad- Perfect Lunch w/ my Sweetie

Just thought I would share a photo of the our Perfect Roast Chicken Salad's, we actually got to sit out on our deck at the end of the week and share our lunch together. Perfect!

Lentil Salad- It's What's For Lunch

I needed something fast to make for lunches this week. This Lentil Salad fit the bill, it's fresh, fast and taste like summer. Feel free to use any vegetables that you like, you can also swap out the herbs if you prefer to use different ones. Enjoy!

-Lentil Salad-

For the lentils:
2 c. lentils soaked in water overnight

1. Drain and rinse the lentils, place in a large pot and add 3 c. of water for every cup of lentils. (6c. total).
2. Bring to a boil, add a pinch of salt (and a piece of Kombu-optional), skim the foam of the top of the lentils. Place a lid on the pot turn down the heat to medium or medium low and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. After 30 minutes take lid of pot and pull out a few of the lentils and smash between your fingers, if they mash easily they are ready. If not cook a little longer.
4. Drain the lentils into a colander in the sink, and gently rinse the lentils under cold water. Set aside while you chop the rest of the ingredients.

Mix ins-

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced- use raw
1/2 c. - 3/4 c. diced celery
1 large cucumber, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
fresh parsley, as much as you like
fresh basil, same as above
fresh mint
salt and pepper

1. Scoop the lentils from the colander to a big bowl, add all the mix-ins and toss lightly. Mix well. Taste for salt and pepper- add more if needed.
2. Divide into containers for lunches.

Dressing- I put this in it's own container on the side for each serving

2 tsp. olive oil
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. favorite dressing of choice (I used leftover House Dressing from Tony Caputo's)

'Fakin Bacon', Egg and Avocado Salad - It's what's for lunch this week

So lucky for me my garden is sprouting up greens. We have kale, spinach, micro greens and Swiss chard (the chard isn't quite ready). I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful bounty, so I took a look in the fridge to see what I could throw together for our lunch this week, and this is what I came up with. Enjoy!

-Fakin Bacon, Egg and Avocado Salad- (this is just a blueprint, you do what works for you) I made 6 salads

1 package fakin bacon tempeh, cooked
12 hard boiled eggs, two for each salad
about 6 cups of greens, I used kale and micro greens
2-3 avocados
sun dried tomatoes, you could use fresh
salt and pepper

1. I divided all of this between 6 lunch containers.

-Dressing-
* see post for Broccoli Romaine Salad (posted June 21, 2010) I used the dressing from that recipe

1. Divide dressing into 6 separate containers to go along with the salad.

** To see a picture of this salad please visit my fan page on Facebook under the same name Cosmopolitan Hippie Chef, click the LIKE IT button and receive updates when I post something new.

Thanks for the support- B