Roasted Beets and Beet Green Salad

The farmer's market opened last weekend and I was excited to see they had some fresh beets. I roasted the beets in the oven and wilted the greens for a tasty salad. Yum, yum, delish!

5 medium beets with greens
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 small clove garlic, minced & sauteed with tsp of olive oil
1 C water
1/3 C crumbled feta cheese
1/4 C toasted pine nuts

Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk oil, vinegar and garlic in small bowl to blend. Season dressing generously with salt and pepper.

Cut green tops off beets; reserve tops. Arrange beets in single layer in 13x9x2-inch baking dish; add 1 cup water. Cover with foil; bake until beets are tender when pierced with knife, about 50 minutes. Peel beets while warm. Cut beets in half and slice thinly. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in pine nuts and 1/4 cup dressing. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut stems off beet greens; discard stems. Wash greens. Transfer greens, with some water still clinging to leaves, to large pot. Stir over high heat until just wilted but still bright green, about 4 minutes. Drain greens; squeeze out excess moisture. Cool; chop coarsely.

Transfer greens to medium bowl. Toss with beets and enough dressing to coat; add feta. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Roasted Beet Salad

I love beets, but have always been hesitant to cook with them since they can be so messy. I have a white kitchen and the thought of my cabinets and countertops being stained by beet juice is a little off-putting. Yes, I did say cabinets - it's not uncommon to find sauces and such splattered or dripped down the cabinets. I like to blame that on my boyfriend, but the truth is, I do most of the cooking around here so statistics would point to me. I digress....Late last week, I bit the bullet and bought some beets. I got the orange variety, not so much because I thought they'd be less messy, but because that's the only kind my grocer had. I hemmed and hawed for a few days before deciding what, exactly, to do with the beets. Then I was reminded of a delicious salad I had over the Christmas holiday at Wild Fire, a Lettuce Entertain You restaurant, where I had a delicious salad of mixed greens, beets, and goat cheese. So I decided to make something similar to pack in my lunches this week and here it is! (Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a super cute lunch tote from Tricia and Thirty-One Gifts)

Roasted Beet Salad
1 bunch of beets, 1 lb or less
Mixed baby greens
Crumbled goat cheese
Blanched slivered almonds
1 Tbsp Sherry vinegar
3/4 tsp Balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 C light olive oil
Freshly ground salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425°. Cut greens off of beets (beet greens sauteed with garlic and a little olive oil are delish, so retain the greens if you'd like). Scrub the beets and place them in a baking dish with a small amount of water or white wine (about 1/4 inch). Cover with a lid or foil and roast in oven for about 35 minutes or until the beets are fork tender. Let the beets cool in the baking dish. Once the beets are cool enough to handle, cut off the ends and the skin should slip off. Slice the beets.

Whisk the vinegars, oil, mustard, garlic, and salt and pepper together in a small bowl or jar.

Toss salad greens, beets, goat cheese, and almonds together with small amount of dressing.

Perfect Potato Salad

The Fourth of July is upon us so I've decided to post some of my favorite Independence Day fare. If you're like me, you'll have at least one barbecue invitation for the holiday weekend and will likely need to take a dish to share. One of my family's favorite sides is this potato salad. It's super easy and very tasty. I don't care for the mustard/mayonnaise version of potato salad so this recipe is just to my liking. I can't take credit for it though, it was passed on to me from one of my grandmother's dearest friends, Jane Trask. They have both since passed on, but I think of them fondly each time I make it. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family and friends have over the years.

Mrs. Trask's Potato Salad
3 lbs red new potatoes, sliced with skin on
1 C diced celery
1 C diced green onion, white and green parts
1/2 C Italian salad dressing
1/2 C Creamy Cucumber salad dressing
1/2 C sour cream
1/2 C mayonnaise

Boil potato slices until just tender, but not falling apart. Drain and place in a large salad bowl. Pour Italian dressing over potatoes and allow them to cool. In the meantime, mix remaining ingredients together in a small to medium size mixing bowl. Once potatoes have cooled add mix and stir to coat. Place in refrigerator to cool completely.

May be made a day ahead. Serve cold.

From the Home Garden

My dear friend Culinary Barbie brought me some fresh organic green beans from her garden yesterday. I wanted to do something other than boil them so I started playing around with ideas. This salad is what I came up with. I think it turned out really well. It can be altered to meet your taste and/or the ingredients you have on-hand. I served it with sweet potato fries and barbeque pork chops.

Green Bean Salad
1 lb fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
1/4 red onion, sliced thin
1/2 of a large red tomato, diced
1/4 C toasted pine nuts

Dressing
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Coarse salt and pepper

Steam green beans over boiling water covered for 3 or 4 minutes. Remove beans and run cold water over them to cool, drain well. Place beans in a bowl and combine with onions, tomato and pine nuts. Whisk dressing ingredients in a small bowl; drizzle over salad to taste.

Tasty Salads from Eating Well

Mediterranean Tuna Antipasto Salad

1 15-19 oz can chickpeas, rinsed

2 5-6 oz cans water-packed chunk light tuna, drained & flaked

1 lg red bell pepper, finely diced

1/2 C finely chopped red onion

1/2 C fresh parsley, divided

4 tsp capers, rinsed (optional)

1 1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 C lemon juice, divided

4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 tsp salt

8 C mixed salad greens

Combine beans, tuna, bell pepper, onion, parsley, capers, rosemary, 1/4 C lemon juice and 2 Tbsp oil in a medium bowl. Season with pepper. Combine the remaining 1/4 C lemon juice, 2 Tbsp oil and salt in a large bowl. Add salad greens, toss to coat. Divide the greens among 4 plates; top each with the tuna salad.

Makes 4 servings; cost per serving under $3.50

Note: Chunk light tuna, which comes from the smaller shipjack or yellowfin, has less mercury than canned white albacore tuna.

Chopped Greek Salad with Chicken

1/3 C red-wine vinegar
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill or oregano, or 1 tsp dried

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

6 C chopped romaine lettuce

2 1/2 C chopped cooked chicken

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped

1/2 C finely chopped red onion

1/2 C sliced ripe black olives

1/2 C crumbled feta cheese

Whisk vinegar, oil, dill (or oregano), garlic powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives and feta; toss to coat.

Makes 4 servings, about 3 cups each; cost per serving under $3.50

Supper Salads

Taking the lead from my friend at pthappyhomemaker I decided to post some of my favorite salad recipes. Enjoy!

Simple Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Vinaigrette
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp dried basil leaves
1/4 C. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 C. olive oil

Put the garlic and basil into a blender or food processor; pulse until the garlic is finely chopped. Add the balsamic vinegar, sugar, salt and peppper and pulse again. Add olive oil and pulse again. Pour into a serving jar or other container.

Salad:
1 head of Romaine or Bibb Lettuce
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 yellow bell pepper

Wash and dry lettuce; tear into bite-sized pieces. Toss the greens with 1/2 cup of vinaigrette to coat. Place in a salad bowl. Wash pepper at slice into thin strips. Wash tomatoes and cut in halves. Top salad with peppers and tomatoes; toss & serve with Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Spinach & Fruit Salad
1 bag baby spinach
1/2 C. Craisins*
Crumbled goat cheese to taste
1/3 C. Bottled Strawberry Vinaigrette, or to taste
2 Tbsp sunflower seeds**

Wash spinach and place in large bowl. Add dressing; toss to coat. Top with Craisins, goat chees, and sunflower seeds.

*Substitute other dried fruits or an assortment of dried fruits
** Substitute pine nuts