BLTA (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Avocado Salad)

The BLT is arguably one of the best sandwiches ever. Let's face it: bacon is arguably one of the best things ever. So, I decided to make them for dinner last night. Then I started thinking... how could I make a healthy version of the classic sandwich? Now, I certainly can't take the fat out of the bacon, but I used low sodium bacon. Then I thought about creating a salad version of the tastiest of sandwiches. The majority of the meal is fresh and tasty boston lettuce and arugula and instead of two huge pieces of bread, I made croutons!

BLTA Salad

1 small head boston lettuce
A few handfuls of arugula
1 tomato
1 avocado
4 pieces low sodium bacon
3 slices bread (I used homemade sourdough, but any good stale bread will work)
1-2 Tbsp. EVOO
Salt & pepper
spices to taste
dressing of choice (I made a homemade honey mustard vinaigrette)

Put the bacon in a cold pan and turn up to medium-high heat. Once they are crispy and browned, remove them from the pan and place on a paper towel to cool and crisp-up. Wash, tear, and dry the lettuce. Dice the bread slices, tomato and avocado. Take the bread and toss it with EVOO, salt, pepper, and spices (I used dried italian herbs). Saute them in a pan or pop them in the oven (on 400) for about 10 minutes - until crispy. Now, assemble the salad! Toss everything together and add the dressing!

There it be! :) Enjoy this sandwich-turned-salad guilt-free!

~ Mari

Two Dinners, One Chicken Recipe

I love killing two birds with one stone. Not literally, of course. I don't kill any birds with any stones (if you did want to kill a bird, though, would one really use a stone?). But, in the culinary realm, making one dish that can then become two dinners is pretty sweet.

I've mentioned the wonderfulness of Ellie Krieger before on this blog. She is a nutritionist-turned-cook that had her own show on Food Network. I own both of her cookbooks and use them probably twice a week. While browsing through her "The Food You Crave" cookbook, I came a cross a recipe for Crispy Chiken Fingers that looked easy, healthy, and delicious. Surprise! It was all of those things. 

And here is what I came up with:

Crispy chicken fingers with homemade honey mustard dressing and steamed broccoli

Yum!

The chicken came out delicious! Moist on the inside and super crunchy on the outside - just how chicken fingers should be. Plus, the only ingredients were chicken breast, buttermilk, cornflakes and spices. So very simple.

Since I made the chicken fingers out of two huge chicken breasts, I had about half left over for the next night. I thought I could just heat them up in the toaster oven and have some salad to go with it. Then I had a revelation! Why not put the crispy chicken fingers ON the salad? Hot dog! (granted, it wasn't an original idea, but it was an exciting one) So, I made my version of my favorite salad that they serve at O'Charley's, T.G.I. Fridays, and a few other restaurants: Chicken Tender Salad with Mandarin Oranges, Candied Pecans, Dried Cranberries, and Gorgonzola Cheese. Of course I made a few adjustments...

First, I started with the lettuce: Boston Red Leaf & Radicchio. Next, I candied my own walnuts (they're a little better for you than pecans) and added them to the big bowl of lettuce. Then I crumbled some Gorgonzola cheese on top (on sale at Kroger - score!) and added some tangerine segments (instead of the canned ones). Then I made the salad dressing - a simple balsamic vinaigrette (balsamic vinegar, honey, mustard, and EVOO).

Lastly, I added the crispy chicken to my big bowl of yumminess and devoured it!

Mmmmm... it was so tasty!

As a side note, my wonderful husband isn't a fan of Gorgonzola or oranges... or balsamic vinaigrettes, so I made him his own ryan-friendly version:

For his, I just left off the ingredients he didn't like and made a honey mustard vinaigrette from the leftover dipping sauce from the night before! Fancy!

I hope everyone is having a great start to February!

~ Mari