Italian Style Chop Salad

Jul 22, 2020 | Dishes

This Italian style chop salad is one that my mom has been making for years- one that she learned from a friend of hers, and now I am here to pass it on to you!  This salad is perfect for parties, BBQs, showers, or to make up and eat on all week.

At baseline, a salad is pretty difficult to mess up. You really can throw whatever into it and it will most likely turn out just great! There really is a magic about salads for that reason. For another great easy pasta salad check out my Greek pasta salad too!

For all my St. Louis friends- I used the cheese and dressing from Imo’s. If you have absolutely no idea  what that is, just use a cheese and Italian dressing of choice.

Print Recipe

Italian Style Chop Salad

A hearty and flavor filled chop salad inspired by Italian flavors and created with simple ingredients

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: chop salad, easy sides, Italian salad, pasta salad, salad, side dishes

Ingredients

• 2 heads romaine lettuce chopped
• 1 package bacon cooked
• 8 oz provel rope cheese feta or parmesan also work; crumbled
• cherry tomatoes sliced in half
• 2 bell peppers red, yellow, or orange; chopped
• pepperocini peppers
• 8 oz ditalini noodles
• Imo's salad dressing classic Italian dressing will work as well

Instructions

• Cook the ditalini noodles and bacon according to packaging.
• Crumble the bacon once it is cooled completely.
• In a large bowl, toss chopped romaine, cheese, tomatoes, bell peppers, pepperocinis, noodles, and bacon
• Add the salad dressing when you are ready to serve the salad to prevent it from becoming soggy. Use just enough to lightly coat, not soak, the salad. I used about half of the bottle
• Serve chilled

Notes

All ingredients are measured to your preference. Add as much of each topping as desired.

Keep this Italian style chop salad covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It doesn’t save for long so eat it up quickly for best taste! If this salad seems too large to eat through, consider making a half salad! Simply add half of each of the ingredients.

Spicy Shrimp Tacos

Jul 6, 2020 | Dishes

I am not consistent at cooking in the summertime, and I never really have been. I live off of sandwiches and fresh fruit and sunshine, and I’m perfectly content with it. However, I think these spicy shrimp tacos have been dubbed a new staple meal for this summer. 

Cook these bad boys up in one skillet and get them on the table in about 15 minutes to make your friends and family drool. And serve them with a spicy marg to really have some ~layers~ of flavor!

Ingredients:

• 18 shrimp
• 6 in tortillas of choice (about 3/ person)
• Salsa (I prefer a pineapple or mango salsa for this recipe)
• Sour cream
• Avocado 
• Corn (we love Trader Joe’s Mexican Style Roasted Corn)
• Lime
• Fresh cilantro
• Cotija cheese
• Salt and pepper
• Chili lime seasoning (From TJ’s, but plain chili seasoning works too)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Garlic powder 

For the Margs:

• Tequila of choice
• Jalapeno Limeade from Trader Joe’s
• Lime 
• Tajin seasoning 

Now you make it:

1. In a skillet, add the olive oil and the shrimp and season with salt and pepper, generous amounts of garlic, and chili lime (start light, you can always add more – depends on your desired heat level of the shrimp). Cook on medium high for about 3 minutes and flip the shrimp, cooking for about 3 minutes or until cooked through on the other side
2. On a plate, microwave the tortillas. If corn tortillas, wrap the stack in a wet paper towel and microwave for 1 minute. 
3. Heat the corn according to directions. 
4. Load the spicy shrimp tacos with all your favorite toppings!!
5. If making a spicy marg, run a lime around the rim of the glass and dip it in Tajin. Add 1 shot of tequila and 3 shots of Jalapeno limeade. Add ice.

Enjoy!

If you liked these, try some other easy summer fish tacos here!

Veggie Packed Chicken Pad Thai

May 13, 2020 | Dishes

Soul food but without the bloaty feeling that kicks ya a few hours later- what a dream. However, if you create the bold flavors but pack your meal with veggies you really can have your cake and eat it too. Here’s your answer- this veggie packed chicken pad thai. With a rich peanut buttery sauce and all kinds of protein and natural ingredients you’ll never know that it actually isn’t even bad for ya. 

I made this with peanut butter and all kinds of veggies- but the perk of a stir fry is that you can customize it all! Allergies/food preferences are easily managed just by simply subbing out for a different nut butter, leaving out the chicken, using your favorite kind of noodle, or switching out the veggies! You do you boo boo.

Ingredients:

For the Pad Thai

• 1 lb chicken breast (optional)
• ½ box edamame noodles (from Aldi) or noodles of choice
• 1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets
• 2 handfuls of sugar snap peas 
• 6-8 baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 2 bell peppers (I used red and yellow), chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
• Minced garlic
• Olive oil

For the Sauce

• ½ C peanut butter
• ⅓ C coconut aminos or soy sauce
• 1 tbsp ginger 
• 1 ½ tbsp sriracha 
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 1 ½ tsp sesame seed oil
• Chopped peanuts for topping if desired

This makes about 4 servings 

Now you make it:

1. If adding chicken, I baked mine at 350 for 20 minutes. I cubed it and coated it in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, a tsp of ginger, and about 4 tbsp of soy sauce before throwing it in the oven
2. Cook noodles according to directions
3. In a large pot, simmer olive oil and garlic on medium heat. Add in all of the chopped vegetables, and sprinkle with a little more olive oil, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 10 -15 minutes or until the veggies are a “crisp tender”
4. While the veggies are cooking, in a separate bowl mix peanut butter, coconut aminos, ginger, sriracha, lime juice, and sesame oil. Stir until the peanut butter is well combined
5. Add strained noodles and chicken to the large pot with the veggies, combining them well. Pour the peanut sauce over everything until it is evenly coated. Top this veggie packed chicken pad thai with chopped peanuts if desired

Enjoy!

You can now share this on Pinterest, go give it a look!

If you enjoyed this recipe, check out some other delicious dinner ideas here! 

Easy Mango Salsa Fish Tacos

Apr 2, 2020 | Dishes

Fish to use up in the freezer? Not sure what to do with it? Whip up some easy mango salsa fish tacos for something different to serve up! 

Basically all of the ingredients I used are interchangeable, which makes it even easier to recreate at home. And this works for any kind of white fish- so major fridge cleanout recipe!

Ingredients:

• 2 cod filets 
• ⅓ C flour (I used almond)
• Salt and pepper
• Pinch of cayanne pepper 
• 2 tsp garlic powder 
• 1 tsp Paprika 
• 1 egg
• Mango salsa (but use any kind you have)
• ¼ C mayo/sour cream/greek yogurt
• 2 tsp siracha 
• Slaw of any kind or chopped lettuce
• Avocado 
• Lime juice
• Cilantro
• Roasted corn (from Trader Joe’s) 
• Tortillas of choosing (we used white corn)

Enough to make 2 servings (3 6”tacos each), but multiply as needed!

Now you make it:

1. Preheat the oven to 400
2. In one bowl whisk the egg. In another, mix the flour, paprika, cayenne, garlic, and salt & pepper to taste  
3. Dip the fish filets in the egg wash and then into the bread mixture, coating evenly
4. Bake for 10 minutes or until cooked through (you can also fry on a skillet)
5. Mix sriracha with sour cream,greek yogurt, or mayo for a sriracha mayo to drizzle on top
6. Divide fish filets evenly into tortillas and top with allll the goodies for easy mango salsa fish tacos

Enjoy!

For other taco recipes, check these enchiladas out!

Chewy Garlic & Herb Pizza Dough

Apr 1, 2020 | Dishes

Turns out when you’re an adult you can eat pizza as much as you want. And how could pizza be any better than by making your own chewy garlic & herb pizza dough to form the perfect chewy and flavorful crust of your dreams?

I think that of all foods you should be able to make and enjoy making at home, pizza has to be top on the list. Making your own pizza dough is SO EASY- seriously, anyone can do it. And getting to choose all the toppings you like the best, you get to create your own masterpiece. And then leftovers for breakfast the next day? Yes please.

I have a KitchenAid stand mixer (honestly my top recommended kitchen appliance) that I use my dough hook attachment for this dough. However, if you don’t have a stand mixer, a bowl, a wooden spoon, and some elbow grease will get the job done for you.

Any instant yeast will work for this recipe. The yeast and the water need to sit for only 5-10 minutes before you can mix in your flour, spices, and olive oil, and then you mix it all together to form the dough. After 30 minutes to let the dough rise, you’re good to prebake the crust.

By baking the crust alone, you are then able to create a stable slice of pizza that can handle the weight of toppings all piled high. Pre-bake for 10 minutes, top with sauce, cheese, loads of meat, and/or veggies, and bake for just another 15 minutes. You can also brush the visible dough with melted butter to help create that golden glowing crust.

I prefer to bake my pizzas in a cast iron skillet, but you can use any pizza pan or baking sheet you’ve got available. I recommend flouring, spraying, or using parchment paper on any of these surfaces to make sure your hard worked chewy garlic & herb pizza dough doesn’t stick to the bottom of it.

Print Recipe

Chewy Garlic & Herb Pizza Dough

Homemade pizza dough bursting with garlic and herb to create the perfect fluffy and chewy pizza crust of your dreams

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Total Time55 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: garlic and herb, garlic and herb pizza dough, pizza crust, pizza dough

Servings: 3 people

Equipment

• stand mixer with dough hook or large mixing bowl and wooden spoon
• 12 in cast iron skillet or pizza pan

Ingredients

• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 3/4 c warm water
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 c flour plus extra to work with
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp basil
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp melted butter to brush edge of crust- optional

Instructions

• In a small bowl, combine warm water and instant yeast. Let this sit and bubble for 5-10 minutes
• In the stand mixer bowl, or in a separate large bowl, mix flour, salt, basil, oregano, and thyme. Stir olive oil into the yeast and water mixture. Slowly add the liquid to the flour mixture, and work until the dough has formed a ball. If the dough is still very wet and sticky, sprinkle in a little flour until it is able to be formed
• Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel for 30 minutes, and preheat the oven to 350. If using a cast-iron skillet*, preheat the skillet in the oven
• Once the dough has had time to rise, it should be light and fluffy. Using more flour as needed, work the dough into the cast-iron skillet or onto a pizza pan of choice. Be careful if you are working with a skillet right out of the oven!
• Bake the dough alone for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and top with sauce and toppings of choice. Brush the crust with melted butter if desired, and bake for another 15 minutes

Notes

*I prefer to bake my pizzas in a cast-iron skillet, as it helps the dough to form a crisp crust. If your cast iron is not so “non-stick”, you can use some olive oil and a paper towel to help seal it and prevent the dough from sticking. Just be careful if it’s hot out of the oven!

You can easily double this recipe for twice the dough!

If you don’t want cold pizza for breakfast, try my ultimate breakfast pizza!