Lettuce rejoice this winter

During the summer, salads can be super exciting. Those fresh greens you lovingly choose at the local farmer's market. The light dressing you sparingly spray to enhance the crisp crunch of each type of lettuce. The peppers you chop to add a little bite. The coolness in our mouth and the droplets of water that still cling to the leaves, cooling you from a steamy, humid summer's day. I love it.

But then comes winter - and what is a delectable pleasure in dogs days of summer becomes a bland, punishment during the dark, cold days of winter. I crave warm foods when it's cold and cold foods when it's warm. So salads become a necessary evil for me in winter. Sure, I still love the crunch and the variety of flavors, but I want food that warms me and salad just doesn't do that.

Until today.

I don't know why I never thought of it before: Warm salad. It's so simple it's stupid (or at least I am). I'm not talking about the usual warm (carb-filled) salads like potato or pasta salad. I'm talking about taking a base of greens and topping them with warm salad fixins! It's total brilliance that came to me via an AMAZING recipe in Women's Health. 

Seriously, this has blown my mind and may have just started a new obsession for me! 

The salad (recipe also posted below) involved cooking shrimp, onions and mushrooms in the bacon dressing. All I could think was, "Why have I never thought to heat up vinaigrette before?" When I put the plate in front of Kevin - covered in fresh spinach and wafting with the smell of cooked bacon I said something about wanting to take a picture. "I totally support that idea" said the man whose big joy in life comes from laughing at me each time I photograph a plate. He ooohed and ahhhed through the whole meal and nodded vigorously as I talked about the apparently brilliance of warm salads.

Oh - and the brilliance of bacon dressing shouldn't go un-noted either.

Check out this life-changing, protein-filled salad recipe (and yes, it takes BACON!!!):

Shrimp And Spinach Salad with Bacon Dressing

8 oz shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
6 oz baby spinach
1 cup sliced mushrooms
6 strips bacon, cut into small pieces
1 red onion, sliced
2 Tbsp pine nuts
3 Tbsp red-wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
Olive oil (optional)

How to make it:
1/ Set a large skillet over medium heat. Cook bacon pieces until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel.

2/ Add onion and mushrooms to the hot skillet and cook until onion begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Season shrimp with salt and pepper to taste and add them to the skillet, along with pine nuts. When shrimp are pink and firm (2 to 4 minutes), stir in vinegar and mustard, and season again with salt and pepper to taste. If the skillet looks dry, add a splash of olive oil.

3/ Divide spinach and eggs among 4 plates and top with the hot shrimp mixture, some of the dressing from the skillet, and bacon.

Makes 4 servings
Per serving: 316 calories, 20 g fat, 12 g carbs, 572 mg sodium, 5 g fiber, 21 g protein

Can't stand the heat? Don't cook in that kitchen!

I meant to write this post on June 21 - to mark the first day of summer - but I was too excited about Bella the Blender (not named bc of Twilight!) and got distracted.

Anyway, unless you are down under, summer has probably hit you smack dab in the sweat glands and the idea of cooking makes you ill and causes early signs of heat stroke.

In honor of that lovely picture, here is a collection of salad recipes courtesy of my email subscriptions!

Sweet and Tangy Four Bean Salad from Better Homes and Garden (though this involves some boiling a few hours before serving) Two servings and you are rocking with the protein of a meaty meal!

Greek Pasta Salad also thanks to BHG (also involves boiling)

Grilled Greek Potato Salad from Taste of Home (I love the idea of grilling it because the grill will leave my house cool!)

Chinese Slaw from the one and only Hungry Girl


Chunky Chicken Salad also thanks to Hungry Girl

Shrimp, Mango, and Avocado Salad again from Hungry Girl (UM, wow - yes, please!!!)

(Actually, Hungry Girl's new book has an entire chapter on no-cook meals!)

Women's Health has provided SIX interesting salad recipes here! (Shrimp and Feta Tabbouleh? Yes!)

Fruit Salads:
Melon and Grape Salad courtesy of Taste at Home - it's simple and sweet. Gotta love it!

Apple Slaw from Hungry Girl

Don't think that all salads are health-friendly!
Check out these no-no's courtesy of Eat This, Not That


HAPPY NO-COOKING!!!

Forgot my lunch! Again!

I hate it when I forget my lunch!

It always seems to happen on days when I don't have enough time to stop and get something.

I forced the time today - picked up lunch on my way to class. And managed to walk into class just as the professor started talking.

I decided to go to McDonalds because I know that 4 chicken nuggets is only 190 calories and I can get apple slices. But, I really didn't want to eat fried chicken - even if it is lower cal than a burger. Besides protein from the chicken, what nutritional value is in that?

I used a fast food calorie app on my phone to look at other things on their menu and decided upon a southwest fiesta salad with grilled chicken. Skipping the dressing, apparently it's only 320 calories!



While it was tasty, let me caution you all: Driving and eating a salad is a Bad Idea. Now, I didn't have a wreck, but I was close several times. And let's not to mention the dropped corn kernels and lettuce leaves all around my console! I ordered a couple of apple dippers to add fruit to the meal - saving one for my snack after class.

Summer: Jobs and Salads

Tomorrow starts the first day of the rest of my life!

I know, I know - pretty melodramatic. But for reals (that phrase always makes me think of Apol btw), I start my first legal internship tomorrow! I'm clerking for the Missouri Public Defenders Office. My alarm is set for 6 a.m. and I will be in the gym by 8 ... then, when I'm done on the tread mill, I will have to suit up (literally!) in time for class. When class ends, I will fly back to Kansas City for work.

6:00: Wake up, make breakfast
7:00: Leave for gym
8:00: At gym, on treadmill
9:15: Shower for work/class
9:40: In class
11:00: Lunch time
11:20: Second class
12:45: Head to Kansas City
1:35: Afternoon snack
2:00: At work
5:00: Off work
6:00: Eat dinner
6:30: Homework!
9:30: Bedtime

Just typing it out makes me tired! But to be honest, I just went over my training regimen and it's only going to be that bad on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And that's *if* I work 5 days a week - which I'm not certain will be the case. I'll know more tomorrow.

What is certain, however, is that this summer is going to be crazy! Time for cooking will be minimal. And time for researching recipes and such will be even harder to find! It's a bummer too because summer is finally finding Kansas - and with this heat comes an intense desire for cold foods! I don't have a pile of yummy salad recipes and stuff and I could really use a few.

Tonight I defrosted boiled shrimp and ate a plate full of watermelon. I just couldn't bring myself to turn on the oven - it's so hot in my house! If anyone wants to take it upon themselves to find yummy summer dishes that are cool and crisp, I would be very grateful! Clearly, no one needs a new lettuce-based salad, but other summer food is very welcome! So far I have a great tuna salad recipe (the secret is garlic powder), a wonderful stoplight salad made with peppers, and a fantastic black bean and corn salad.

In that spirit, here is the recipe for the Watermelon "salad" I had with my shrimp tonight.

Cut watermelon in 3/4 inch pieces - removing rind in process. Spray with Balsamic Breeze spray dressing. Enjoy. :-) That's all. Simple and lovely. This is the recipe that inspired me, but I was missing a couple of ingredients and didn't feel like sorting out the nutritional stats. The version I made was only 60 calories per cup of watermelon. YUM!