salad Archives - Page 3 of 4

Individual veggie trays for travel – Bento box style!

bento, carrots, celery, salad, tomatoes, vegetables, veggies | December 5, 2011 | By Jessi

Making bento boxes really sparked a whole new trend in the house for a while.

Our entire view on food shifted to keeping in mind what would work well to put in the lunches the next day. Even the dog got compartmentalized food a few times. And here, my mom skipped trying to travel with a full awkward veggie tray by doing several individually packed veggie bags.

The same could be done with plastic bowls as the larger holder, of course, and would be good for long car rides with the kids, picnics, etc. Actually, those Glad salad bowls that come with a little pop-out salad dressing bowl would work perfect for them, too, but I didn’t see those until quite a while after Mom did these. Why buy specialized bowls when you can work with what you already have anyway? These are much cuter.

Broccoli raisin salad – Recipe or no recipe?

broccoli, dinner, nuts, onions, raisins, recipes, salad, sauce, vegetables, veggies | July 9, 2011 | By Jessi

6 comments

I was recently denied from a food blog site because I didn’t post enough recipes. So fine, here, have a recipe, pfft. :P

Broccoli Raisin Salad

Dressing:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sugar

Mix together first and let set while you make the rest

Salad:

A head of broccoli (maybe it’ll be 2 cups, maybe it’ll be 4 cups)

The half an onion that’s sitting in your fridge (or maybe that small red one you didn’t have plans for yet)

The rest of the raisins in the box (about 1/2 cup, if you really want a number)

1/2 cup of almonds…or walnuts…or both….or maybe 3/4 cup if you like nuts…or maybe chop a whole cup ‘cause you’ll likely eat half of them while you’re making this

Mix together. Add dressing. Mix some more. Make more dressing if you think you need it or like it creamier….or don’t. Maybe add some salt. Maybe don’t. Maybe sneak the kids some broccoli while you’re at it ‘cause they’ll think it’s a treat at this point…not a veggie. Put in the fridge until ready to be served. The mayo/sugar dressing gets better with time and nothing in the salad can really get “soggy” with it, so don’t be afraid to let it set for several hours or even overnight. Or eat it now. Whatever.

And that’s why I don’t do many recipes. I don’t *remember* the recipes. I didn’t *follow* the recipe I found online in the first place.

As much as I hated my mother always telling me “until it looks right” (and still do! how do I know what it’s supposed to look like if I’ve never made it before??), that’s how I end up cooking a lot of times. I work with what I have in the fridge or pantry….I adjust to taste a lot….I leave out ingredients (this likely called for bacon or something….and vinegar in the dressing) or add other ingredients.

In the end, if it tastes good, we eat it, and nobody cares if it was supposed to be walnuts instead of almonds or if the recipe called for red onions instead. It just works. But it really doesn’t translate well to publishing a recipe online. :P

Blooming onion garlic bread

bread, dinner, pasta, recipes, salad, spaghetti, supper, vegetables, veggies | June 22, 2011 | By Jessi

4 comments

Isn’t it lovely how simply cutting a dish differently can completely change it? And somehow, a dish always tastes better when it looks better.

20 oz flour
12 oz water
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp yeast

Knead for 10 minutes. Let rise for about an hour. Bake at 450F for 10 minutes and then 375F for 15-20 minutes.

For the blooming onion variety, just shape into 4 small loaves and when cooled slightly, slice almost through to the bottom in inch segments. Add butter and garlic to each piece. Yum!