I’m not usually a “salad for dinner” kind of girl. But when summer hits full boil here in Phoenix, salad recipes are all I can think about. Salads are quick, easy and there are no rules to follow; you just throw in what ever sounds good at the time. This Strawberry and Goat Cheese Salad with Candied Walnuts is not only what sounds good this time, but it’s all I have this time.
Apparently, I didn’t do that great of a job shopping before I went into the hospital for knee surgery. I found a strange collection of ingredients in the fridge when I got home: left over pizza, dried out chicken nuggets and really smelly chinese food. All signs that my family survived any way they could… by eating take-out. The big bag of salad greens I purchased is still sitting there, looking a little sad. I must have been under the influence of pre-surgery medication when I bought it. I had these images of my husband sitting around, munching on salad and marveling at its crisp, summery, freshness while I was in the hospital eating reconstituted beef bullion and rubberized pork chops.
However, there is a big patch of really fresh strawberries in the fridge that wasn’t there before. He probably picked them up at the grocery store on one of his “emergency runs” for ice cream (the evidence is in the trash can). So, I mixed the strawberries and bag of greens with creamy goat cheese from the fridge (every Southwest cook has goat cheese in the fridge) and candied walnuts from the pantry for a fresh summery salad that made me feel so happy to be home.
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I saw some great looking sweet potatoes shaped like bananas in the produce section yesterday and thought they were so cute… I bought them. The sweet potatoes really were too cute to puree and didn’t look like they wanted to be baked. They cried out “Tostones! ” instead.
Tostones are a tasty little latin snack food that are traditionally made with fried plantains and topped with anything from chorizo to fruit salsas. Because the tostones are starchy and slightly sweet, they get crispy on the outside but stay very soft and fluffy on the inside. Hmmm… starchy? slightly sweet? It sounds like sweet potatoes will fit right in and make terrific tostones.
You can serve sweet potato tostones as an hors d’ hoeuvre, first course or side dish. They can even be served alone. But, since I love the flavors of cranberries, pecans and feta cheese with my sweet potatoes, I put them together in a salad with baby arugula to top my tostones with. The tart cranberries and acidic vinaigrette are a great match with the crispy, fried sweet potatoes.
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Southwest Chicken Lettuce Wrap
I’m always on the look out for low-fat and low-carb recipes that my family will love. This recipe for Southwest Lettuce Wraps is just the ticket! I simply took the filling for the Southwest Spring Rolls that I plan to serve at my Super Bowl party and and wrapped it in lettuce cups. That way, I don’t have to make one recipe for my family and one recipe for me. Nothing takes the motivation out of dieting faster that having to cook two meals!
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Party sized Ceviche
Large Ceviche with Tortilla Chips
‘Tis the season for parties! Lots of parties! Ceviche makes a great appetizer or first course for any type of gathering. Just change the way you present this light, seafood dish and ceviche is at home at fancy holiday parties, black tie New Year’s Eve dinners, the Super Bowl and yes, ceviche is even perfect for the dreaded corporate office party (shiver).
My favorite ceviche is a combination of the freshest shrimp, bay scallops and calamari you can get your hands on. Toss it with diced southwest ingredients in a citrus marinade and spoon it into martini glasses for a little glitz. If your party needs to serve more guests, stretch your budget as far as you need to by adding more vegetables and serve with corn chips.
Ceviche is anything you need it to be.
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Tortillas with Black Bean Puree
Black beans are so handy to have on hand in every Southwest pantry. We highly recommend that you stock up and use them regularly!
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