Easy Carrot Raisin Salad

 We got a craving recently for a childhood favorite: Carrot Raisin Salad.

Don’t you love it when you can take a trip down memory lane simply by dining on a meal? Well, we were unloading our groceries the other day and noticed that we placed the bag of carrots right next to a bag of raisins. Hmmmm .. we both started to say, remember enjoying carrot raisin salad as a kid?

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We decided to make some right away.

We also decided to keep it super easy and make homemade coleslaw dressing to use as the dressing for the salad as we both LOVE that easy and versatile dressing.

What we did: 

  • Grated up 1 lb of whole carrots
  • Tossed in about 1/2 cup raisins (maybe more…)
  • Tossed it with Easy Coleslaw Dressing

That was it! Super simple, right?

We enjoyed the salad right away on a bed of spinach. It was yummy. A nice mixture of an old friend and new tastes (in the form of the coleslaw dressing).

Luckily we had made enough carrot raisin salad to have it again the next day and this time we sprinkled the top with some sunflower seeds- which gave the salad a wonderful crunch and salty bit every now and then.

Do you love Carrot Raisin Salad? Try it and let us know what you think

Smoked Salmon Spread Made Easy

Smoked Salmon Spread made easy

One of my favorite weekend treats is to enjoy toasted bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon. One way to keep it super simple, is to make some smoked salmon spread and have it ready for the morning munch.

Making Smoked Salmon Spread is actually a lot easier than you might think and it tastes MUCH better then the pre-made stuff. Give it a try this week!

Getting ready to mix it up!

Getting ready to mix it up!

What you need: 

  • Cream cheese (We like to use the Trader Joe’s whipped Cream Cheese)
  • Smoked Salmon- the small size package that is about 6oz (Use 1/2 the package, wrap well and freeze the other half for next time)
  • Chives 1-2 Tablespoons fresh (or to taste)
  • Fresh ground pepper
  • Optional: capers / lemon juice/ lemon zest

1. Take the salmon slices and carefully cut the pieces into long strips, and then cut the strips into 2 or 3 pieces. You are trying to chop up the salmon into small chunks.

2. Add the salmon, chives and fresh ground pepper into a medium bowl. Add the whipped cream cheese, and stir lightly until it is all combined. Stir in any optional ingredients at this point.

3. Spread the smoked salmon spread on toasted bagels and serve with sliced tomatoes and spinach or arugula leaves. Thinly sliced sweet onions would also be nice to add.

 

Finished Smoked Salmon Spread

Finished Smoked Salmon Spread

Breakfast with tomatoes and arugula

Breakfast with tomatoes and arugula– That was super easy, right?

Enjoy this super easy treat this weekend!

What did you think? Are you going to try making Smoked Salmon Spread ? Share your thoughts below or on Fb~ Thanks!

 

 

 

Kale Salad: Kale Yeah!

Are you trying to eat more Kale but the texture, color and taste are really throwing you off? Have you tried a range of recipes but still have not found the “right” one for you?  Well, we think that we may have found the “perfect” Kale recipe, one you will actually eat, enjoy and plan to make again.

We are enjoying it soo much, that we have given it a fun name: Kale Yeah!

The salad is basically Kale leafs tossed in yummy guacamole and WOW is it good! The recipe below is one we are making on a weekly basis, and we hope that you enjoy it too.  Feel free to use this as a general guideline and modify the salad as you wish. Sometimes we do not include the onions, (or add too many…eeks!) or we will add in some cooked vegetables to the Kale salad for the lunch box. We also LOVE to add toasted almonds or pumpkin seeds for some added crunch to the salad… the possibilities are endless, right??

You know the drill:  experiment, relax and enjoy!

 Kale Yeah! Salad

What you need:

  • ½ bag of Trader Joe’s Kale (depending on how many you need to feed)
  • 1 large avocado
  • 1-2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • Tbls of kosher salt
  • A splash of Apple Cider Vinegar (1 tablespoon)
  • Two cups of cherry tomatoes, halved
  • ¼ to ½ a red onion small diced (depending on your taste and the size of the onion)
  • 1/2 cup of shredded carrots (buy ready made from Trader Joe’s)
  • Optional: Nuts or toasted pumpkin seeds for crunch

What you do:

Cut the stems out of the kale. You only want to use the soft leafy parts of the kale. Cut any super large leafs in smaller pieces. We sorta “rough chop” the Kale, just so it is more bite-sized.

I like to heap the chopped Kale onto a pan to keep it from getting all over the counter(and floor etc..)

Set the kale aside. Wash the cherry tomatoes and cut them in half set them aside. Dice the onion set it aside. If you buy the shredded carrots from Trader Joes we recommend cutting the strands in half or thirds to make them easier to eat.

Dice the Red Onions as fine (small) as you can. You may want to sharpen your knife just before you start.

Now that all of your parts are ready,  it is time to have some fun.

 

1. Make the Avocado Dressing:

In a large bowl add the salt and the splash of Apple Cider Vinegar and Olive Oil. Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, and add the avocado to the bowl. With both very clean hands dive right in and start mixing the salt, vinegar, olive oil and avocado together, mashing the avocado as you go.

The start of the Avocado Salad Dressing, Kale Yeah!

Once ingredients are mixed together add in the kale. The kale can be wily so start by pressing the kale down and into the avocado mixture. Kneed, rub, and massage the kale into the avocado until the avocado is lump-less and each kale leaf is nicely coated with the avocado dressing.

Now, add in the rest of your salad ingredients. First add  the carrots and the onions; massage, coat, and mix in the carrots and onions into the salad. When you are satisfied that they are nicely coated with the  avocado mixture, add in the tomatoes. Still using your hands lightly toss and mix the tomatoes into the salad. You only need to coat the tomatoes with the avocado mixture and blend them into the salad so be mindful not to smash or mash the tomatoes.

We recommend serving the salad with roasted almonds or pumpkin seeds for a protein, crunch, and color. But don’t worry even without the nuts this salad is delish.

The finished Kale Yeah! Salad

There are many reasons why we love this Kale Yeah! salad, but one that you might appreciate as well, is the fact that you can make this salad one day, and (if you make enough) you can eat it for lunch for 2 or 3 days!

Let us know what you think about our Kale Yeah! Salad. You can leave a comment below or on Facebook!

P.S. For those of you who have emailed asking about my knives, Let me just say that I LOVE this knife! I have used in exclusively since 2005 or 2006 and can’t say enough good things about it. It has a “grippy” handle to keep you steady when you cut, it is only 7 inches long (so not too big), and yet there is a deep blade to allow you to cut, chop and use the knife like those huge chef’s knives.  Click the link to read more about this knife 🙂

How To Make Kale Chips

Are you interested in learning how to make kale chips?   Have your friends been telling you that you have to try these yummy things and you are like …eeks! no way! I will admit that I was a bit skeptical when I started to hear about Kale chips too.

I mean I enjoy eating cooked Kale, but a Kale chip? really?? Hmmmmm….

Well, we finally took the plunge and made some Kale chips over the weekend and WOW! they were really good. (and easy to make too). Here is what we did:
How to make Kale chips

Ingredients:

  • Bag of Trader Joe’s Kale (near all the bags of lettuce)
  • Olive Oil
  • Sea Salt

How to Make Kale Chips:
1. Turn oven to 400 degrees
2. Line a baking sheet with foil and spread out the Kale in a thin layer (we only used about 1/3 of the bag). Check the leafs for the tough stems, and tear them out, so you are left with only the “tender” kale leafs.
3. Lightly drizzle olive oil over the leafs and toss around so they are lightly coated. Next time I am thinking of using some Trader Joe’s Olive Oil pan spray to get a more even and yet still light coating of oil on the Kale.

Kale Chips before the oven
4. Bake for 20-40 minutes. I would check the Kale at 20 minutes and then every 10 minutes after that. The Kale should be dry and crisp (It will shrink up and get dark when it is ready).
5. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with Sea Salt.
Let them cool slightly and then enjoy!

Finished Kale ChipsEat & Repeat!

We enjoyed them and finished off the pan rather quickly… so we made more!

So now you know how to Make Kale Chips! They are fast and easy and are as addicting as Potato chips in my opinion…

Let us know what you think! Leave a comment below or on Facebook! ~THANKS!