Caesar
Salads are one of our easy go to meals. We aren't big on bottled
dressings around here. In fact, I don't think I've bought a bottle of
salad dressing in years! Why would you want to when you can whip up a
homemade version that tastes better, is less expensive, and just as
easy? This salad is so good. A garlicy
dressing with a savory bite to it, the salty parmesan and don't get me
started on these crunchy on the outside chewy on the inside
herbalicious croutons. So so good.
Dressing:
1 tsp salt
1 garlic clove (minced in a garlic press)
3 tsp anchovy paste
2 egg yolks (no whites!)
1 tbs dijon mustard
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tbs water
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/2 tsp pepper
Mix
all of your dressing ingredients in a mini prep food processor as you
add them so that the olive oil can emulsify. If you don't have a mini
prep, you can use a whisk, just beat it super hard until it all mixes
together.)
Salad:
2 heads romaine lettuce, washed, spun in salad spinner, and cut up into bite sized pieces
Homemade croutons (see recipe below)
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1-2 breasts cooked chicken, cut up into bite sized pieces and cooled
Croutons:
Cut 1/2 of an Italian loaf bread into large squares.
Spray the bread with your olive oil mister. (Or just drizzle if you don't have a mister).
Sprinkle liberally with Italian seasoning.
Season with salt and pepper.
Bake in oven at 425 for 10 minutes.
These
are flavorful, crunchy on the outside yet a little tender on the
inside. They are much healthier and yummier than any type of crouton you
can get in the store. Look at these beauties!
Once
you have your dressing and croutons made, you can simply assemble your
salad and serve it immediately This will make about 4 meal sized
salads. This is the type of caesar salad you would expect to be served
at a lovely restaurant, only now you can enjoy it at home in just
minutes.
Bon Appetite!
Its time for our favorite pizza dough to make another appearance on this good old blog of mine. This time in a flavorful bacon and brussel sprout pizza. This pizza has a lovely crunchy and creaminess from the cheese. Enjoy!
Our Favorite Pizza Dough
Ingredients: (makes dough for 2 pizzas)
1 envelope yeast
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
Add your yeast, sugar, salt, water, and olive oil in your mixing bowl and stir. Using your dough hook, add your flour slowly and beat on medium until a ball of dough forms. Cover your dough ball with olive oil and leave in bowl covered with plastic wrap in a warm spot until it has doubled in size. Divide it into pieces and knead it lightly and let it sit for about 10 minutes before forming into pizza circles.
Pizza Toppings:
8 brussel sprouts
16 ounce package of bacon
1 garlic clove
3 ounces goat cheese
1/3 cup feta cheese
Olive oil for brushing
Black pepper
Balsamic glaze
Cook your bacon in a pan over medium heat until crispy. Remove from pan and drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the excess oil. Trim your brussel sprouts into small shavings. Add them to the remaining bacon grease in the pan and cook until wilted. Add 1 minced garlic clove and cook for 1 additional minute. Cut your bacon into small pieces. Brush your pizza crust with olive oil. Cover with brussel sprouts, bacon, goat cheese, and feta cheese. Crack some black pepper over your pizza. Drizzle your pizza with your balsamic glaze. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes and crust is golden.
