Tomato & Cucumber Salad

We are in a homegrown tomato overload situation, here...not complaining.  I love our tomatoes.  This year a Brandywine Heirloom tomato plant has been the star producer.  It's loaded and shows no signs of ceasing, even in our triple digit heat.  Our parsley is still hanging on, too.

With our bounty we created this salad to accompany our dinner, the other night.

Here's what you will need to put this fresh and healthy salad together.

Ingredients
Tomatoes, as many as you see fit to serve your family (I used between 8-10 smallish tomatoes), seeded and chopped
1 medium cucumber, chopped in large chunks
a handful of fresh parsley, rinsed, patted dry, and chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
6 pats of soft goat cheese
salt and black pepper to taste
2 to 3 lugs olive oil, I use extra virgin

Directions
Combine all ingredients up to oil.  Drizzle olive oil over the salad and toss to coat.  You may add green onion and/or Kalamata olives; if you have them, each would be a nice addition.

Sharing on    at Rattlebridge Farm.  Be sure to check out all the other great recipes shared their.

Also sharing @  and @ Southern Sundays at A Slice of Southern Blog.

Have a great weekend!

Three Bean Salad

When the heat is up, like it is in South Texas, I like to keep the kitchen cool.  Last night we grilled beef fillets and served them alongside salads.  I already got the Three-Bean Salad in the fridge, mixing it ahead of time so that the flavors had time to develop.  Okay, I added an additional variety of beans so lets call it a Four-Bean Salad to be clear.  This is a forgiving recipe and many substitutes and additions may be made.

Here's what you will need...

Ingredients

1 can Red Beans, drained and rinsed

1 can Cut Green Beans, drained and rinsed

1 can Wax Beans, drained and rinsed

(I added a can on Chickpeas which is not necessary, you could also try Cannellini or limas if you want)

3 to 4 stalks of celery with tops, chopped

1 small green bell pepper, chopped

1 small jar chopped pimentos

1/4 cup apple cider or red wine vinegar

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

*optional: chopped red or green onion, chopped dill or parsley.

Drain and rinse canned beans and add to a mixing bowl.  Wash and chop the onion and bell pepper; add to the beans.  Dump pimentos and mix into bean salad.

In a separate small mixing bowl whisk vinegar, sugar, oil, and salt & pepper.  You may want to taste the dressing before pouring it onto the salad so that you can adjust the salt, etc.  Pour over bean salad and toss to coat evenly.

Cover and place in the fridge for four or more hours before serving so that salad has the chance to fully absorb flavors.  If you don't have the time to marinate the salad before serving, it won't be the end of the world.  I completely understand digging in before the recommended eating time. ; )

The Pioneer Woman's Asian Noodle Salad

Look at those colors!

Here's a healthy salad by The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond.  My first time to make an Asian Noodle Salad, and boy is it tasty!  If you make it, you may want to scale back on the ingredients because it makes a huge amount.

I'd cut everything by half and am guessing it'd still be enough to please a crowd.  I used salted almonds since I forgot the cashew nuts, but that's the only alteration I made.  The almonds still gave that crunch factor I was wanting so I'm glad I added them.

This salad eats like a meal and is a great option for a meatless night.  I'll be perusing Mrs. Drummond's page for more great flavors and will share thoughts.

Happy Saturday,

KW

P.S.  Here's a fun pic of Bebe and Dabby doing some handy work ; )

Kickin' Baked Rigatoni & Fennel Slaw Review

Recently, I found two recipes that I thought would pair nicely, and I've got to say, Rigatoni + Fennel Slaw = L.O.V.E.

I found this recipe for Kickin' Baked Rigatoni at Rhoda's Southern Hospitality blog, and caught the slaw recipe on an episode of Everyday Italian.  I've never used fennel before so was eager to try this out.  It did not disappoint.

Fennel Slaw

Pistachio Pesto:

• 2 cups (lightly packed) flat-leaf parsley
• 3/4 cup shelled and toasted pistachios (I used pine nuts since that was what I had on hand)
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (I didn't have fresh thyme so I went w/out and it was still amazing)
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fennel Slaw:

• 4 to 5 (about 3 1/2 pounds) fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
• 4 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced

Directions

For the Pistachio Pesto: Combine the parsley, pistachios, thyme, and garlic cloves in the bowl of a food processor; blend until finely chopped. With the machine running, gradually add the olive oil, processing until well blended. Season the pesto with salt and pepper, to taste.

For the Fennel Slaw: Place the fennel in a large serving bowl. Add the pesto and toss to coat well. Tear the prosciutto into 1-inch pieces and add to the bowl. Gently toss to combine. Serve.

*recipe courtesy Giada de Laurentis via Food Network.

Going Greek Burger and Salad

Going Greek Burger
1 to 1-1/2 lbs ground lamb
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. crushed oregano
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 pkg. hamburger buns, your favorite variety
a handful of washed baby spinach leaves
1 sliced Campari tomato
a handful of pitted Kalamata olives
Tzatziki sauce

To begin, mix ground meat with seasonings, water, and red wine vinegar; form into patties.  We grilled our burgers on the pit, but feel free to cook them in a skillet if that's what you've got.  Cook them until no longer pink, but do not over cook them or they will dry out.  We heated our buns on the grill, too, but this is not necessary.  Top burgers with tomato slices, spinach leaves, tzatziki sauce, and olives, too, if you like.

Tzatziki Sauce
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 of one large cucumber, seeded and grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Dill
cracked black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.  Top burgers with a dollop of sauce or cut heated pita bread into wedges and serve as a dip.

Greek Salad
Tomatoes, rinsed and cut into quarters. (we used 6 Campari tomatoes, but have used Roma tomatoes in the past)
2-3 green onions, chopped
1 cucumber, seeded and diced
1/2 to 1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a salad bowl and serve.

Orange Fluff Salad

Big Sissy brought home a recipe from her Great Grandma this past weekend.  She was anxious to try it and so we went to the store to buy ingredients to make it last night.  It's so yummy, creamy with bright orange flavor.

Ingredients
1 (12 oz.) container whipped topping (we bought an 8 oz. container)
1 (24 oz.) container small curd cottage cheese, (we bought a 16 oz. container)
1 (6 oz.) pkg.  or 2 (3 oz. pkgs.) orange flavored Jell-O gelatin
2 (11 oz.) cans mandarin oranges, drained (we only bought one)
1 small can crushed pineapple, well drained
1 cup  finely chopped nut meats or shredded coconut, optional

Put whipped topping in a large mixing bowl and add orange flavored gelatin; stir well.  Add cottage cheese and drained fruits, mixing all well.  You may serve right away or refrigerate to let flavors develop.

*As you may well have noticed in our little captions, we used different measurements, this was not intentional.  Maybe the recipe was written in a time when some products came with a little more to 'em (I can hardly believe that they'd sell an 8 oz. and 12 oz. Cool-whip being that they're so close in measure).  Other ingredients do come in larger quantity; this was just our shopping faux pas.

Caprese Salad

What you will need:

Tomatoes, home growns taste best
Fresh Basil leafs
Whole Milk Mozzarella
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Kosher Salt and cracked Black Pepper to taste

Get creative in how you serve it.  Stack up alternating slices of cheese and tomato, dice them up, or fan them out on a plate; doesn't matter because the taste will be great.  For the picture you see, I was serving just me (this was my lunch, perfect on a hot summer day).  I sliced up one tomato, a few slices of cheese and a small handful of Basil leaves.  I sprinkled with oil & vinegar, and salt & pepper, and viola!  Caprese Salad!

Sharing @ 

English Pea Salad (my Grandma's recipe)

English Pea Salad

1 #2 can green peas, drained (a small bag of frozen baby peas may be used instead of canned peas).
3 had boiled eggs
¾ cup cheddar cheese or American cheese, small dice
½ cup celery, chopped
½ cup mayonnaise
1 cup sweet pickle relish
1 tbsp. diced pimiento
Salt and black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients until well incorporated and refrigerate to chill before serving. Should you use frozen peas, cook as directed on package, chill in an ice bath, and drain before combining with other ingredients.

Insalata

View from a fah

Things are really warming up in South Texas and so salads have been on my mind.  The other night I made a sort of antipasto salad...not difficult to make.

Here 'tis:

Ingredients
Lettuce, any variety will do, but I like Romaine for it's crunch (use as much as you need for feeding a few or a crew)
1 red bell pepper cut into strips
2 Roma tomatoes, diced or sliced whichever suites you
1-2 green onions (I use only the green ends, snipped in and saved the whites for other things)
A few spoonfuls of small capers
1/4 cup banana pepper rings
a handful of green olives stuffed with pimentos
a handful of black olives (I used Kalamata)
a handful of whole milk Mozzarella, cubed
small handful of Feta, cut into small cubes
5-6 slices Genoa Salami, cut into bite size pieces
5-6 slices ham cut into bite size pieces, any variety (I had brown sugar ham on hand and liked the contrast of the sweetness, you can get any ham cut thick or thin for this)
2-3 carrots, peeled and cut on a bias
2 celery stalks diced, greens and all into the salad bowl
a few good lugs of your favorite Italian dressing, really just dress to taste
salt and black pepper to taste (I season the salad after every few additions to the bowl to make sure that everything is seasoned, but don't over do it.  You can always add more salt, but you can't take it out if you've added too much!)

up close and personal view

Well, everything into the bowl and give a good toss.  My whole family loves this salad and it eats like a meal because there's just so much in it.  It's nice for when you don't want to crank up the heat in the kitchen on a hot day.  I like to make this on a Friday and then have to pick on throughout the weekend, BUT when I do this I leave the lettuce out because it will go soggy in the fridge.  Everything else does just fine overnight so I just add lettuce to my bowl last minute.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Cheers,

The Kitchen Witch

Blackend Shrimp Salad

Late October and South Texas is still experiencing temperatures in the 90's.  Add high winds to the heat, and the crud that mom petit baby so sweetly passed on to me, and you've got a mom that doesn't want to cook...much.  Taking a cue from Marguerite at Cajun Delights, I've decided to cook up some shrimp to toss in a salad.  Dad can handle arranging a salad while I rest, right?!?  Sure he can.  He's super dad and he can do ANYTHING.

I think I'll use Paul Prudhomme's Magic Blackening seasoning on the shrimp which are tossed in olive oil and lemon juice.  All I've got on hand for a salad is lettuce, tomato, celery, blue cheese crumbles, and avocado.  I think that will all do nicely in a salad, right?  Okay, maybe a hard boiled egg or two.  There.  Dinner is done.  Hope you're having a great week!

Whatnot Wednesday

I didn't get to go junking this past weekend since we spent most of the holiday at the lake or on the couch but, my uncle did bring back some of the goodies I'd left at my mom's (since they wouldn't fit in the car) from my last visit there.

Fiesta ware Salt and Pepper shakers, a gift from Grandma...they were her mom's (my Mimi's)

Milk Glass Hobnail Lamp

I'm thinking of selling some of this stuff on Etsy but, I'm new to that whole concept so a little apprehensive.  Anyway, here are more goods...

Irmi Wee Willie Winkie Lamp

Vintage giftwrap: baby & bridal shower prints.

I found some really amazing deals and I can't wait to share more bargains in the future.  In the mean time, I'll share a recipe for a pasta salad I had this weekend sooo yummy that I'll have to make some tonight!

Spaghetti Salad:
1 pkg. spaghetti (12 oz.) broken into thirds
1/2 c. salad oil (or a little less)
3 tbsp. Accent I'm scratching this since it has MSG, I'll use a cajun seasoning instead such as Tony Chachere's ( I JUST DID THIS AND I RECOMMEND NOT USING 3 TBSP...MORE LIKE 1-1/2)
3 tbsp. lemon juice (juice from approx. 2 lemons)
1 Bell pepper (chopped)
2 Green onions (chopped)
1 small can Ripe black olives, chopped
1 jar Pimientos, diced (if desired)
1 tbsp. mayonnaise or salad dressing

Boil spaghetti, drain and rinse with cold water. Add salad oil, Accent and lemon juice. Let sit in refrigerator overnight. Add chopped bell peppers, olives, onions and pimentos. Add mayonnaise and salt and pepper to taste. Leftovers may be kept in refrigerator for several days. Gets better.