St. Patrick's Day Detox Green Smoothie

It is Saturday!  Woot woot!  We had a busy weekend with Luke's end of the season basketball tournament.  It was fun, but it was a lot of driving!

In other news, Saint Patrick's Day is in a week.  Look at any food blog and you will see lovely recipes featuring the color green.

Look at my blog and you see ... cookies. 

And they aren't green.

My family is very challenged when it comes to this holiday.  Most Saint Patrick's Day recipes use mint, since green food is a lot more appealing when it is minty, or cream cheese, because cream cheese is great for food coloring!  Like, you can make it whatever color you want!  Brownies, er, not so much.  And cookies, either you use a two whole containers or you end up with the most disgusting colored cookie ever.  You think this is hypothetical.

And seriously, how am  Isupposed to celebrate?  I drink, but the smoothie type.  *lightbulb*

This green smoothie has no food coloring!  Or mint!  And it is still green!  My life as a food blogger is safe thanks to this recipe. ;)

 

I really like spinach.  I have always enjoyed it in salads, in lasagnas, on sandwiches, you name it, if it had spinach, I would probably eat it.  But I had never tried it in a smoothie and that had been on my bucket list for a while.  (Yes, I have a food bucket list ... it also has copycat Twinkies and Snickers on it, so don't think for a moment I sip on these all day, every day.  Haha! - no.)

I was absolutely shocked by how good this was.  You do not taste the spinach.

(let me repeat that)  You do not taste the spinach.

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

Yes, really, the spinach just makes this smoothie really green, which I was not counting on.  I mean, I expected it to be green, but not like ... this.  So if your family is anything like mine, kidnap, blindfold them, and threaten them with penalty of no Snickers for eternity, and then serve them a glass of this.  Trust me, it works this way.  This smoothie tastes like strawberries and bananas.  Sweet, creamy, and delicious.  End of story.

It looks like a tornado went through a mad scientist's lab, but hey, it tastes incredible! 

There are a couple tricks to keeping this smoothie creamy, like a milkshake (because I do not like smoothies I can drink with a straw.  I am a spoon girl all the way)  First off, you have to have frozen ingredients.  Of the three main ingredients (strawberries, bananas, and almond milk) two of those need to be frozen.  I've tried with all three, but then I needed a lot of almond milk to blend it all together.  So I would suggest sticking with just two.  For frozen almond milk, I just freeze a 1/3 cup of almond milk in an ice cube tray and then throw it in my Ninja whenever I'm ready.  For bananas, just slice them up and freeze overnight.  And strawberries - I just buy them in a huge bag.  All three of those are in my freezer at all times.  I've done this with blueberries and it is also amazing. 

Detox Green Smoothie
Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life
Yield: 2 servings

1 cup spinach, not packed
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 large banana
1/3 cup frozen almond milk cubes
1/4 cup almond milk (EDIT: Orange juice also tastes amazing!)
1 tablespoon sweetener, optional

Blend in a good food processor.  And, yep, you are done!

Avocado Chocolate Mousse Blackberry Fudge Tart (dairy free, gluten free)

Roses are red,

Raspberries are too,

But I'm choosing blackberries,

It's time for some blue!

(Cheesy poem #2 - this is why I bake, not write!)

 

Raspberries rule the roost come February. Everything is pink or red - or a dark chocolate. In keeping with the formal theme, I kept this tart lusciously smooth and dark, but instead of using the traditional raspberries, the chocolate pairs with juicy dark blackberries.  I layered some between the crust and the chocolate fudge mousse layer, but also placed some on top.  Blackberries are a little tart, a little sweet, but still seedy and juicy like raspberries.

 

This tart is very untraditional in several other ways.

 

One:  There is no dairy or gluten.  There a lot of hard things in this world and I've come to know that getting a recipe to follow both of those guidelines is no piece of cake.  But this tart is both and it doesn't sacrifice any richness.  Period. 

 

 

Two: That tall, dark, and handsome filling?  (Okay, skip the tall and handsome)  It gets all its creaminess from the power food, the avocado.  Do you love avocados?  *If you don't, I'm covering my ears and singing la-la-laaaaa.*  Where were we?  Avocados ... these are some versatile little fruits (they are also known as alligator pears, for their skin, you know?  You learn something new every day - thank you Google for enlightening me.)  Blended with cocoa powder, sugar, and a little vanilla and coffee, avocados become the richest, thickest, fudgiest mousse I've ever eaten.  And I've eaten a lot of it recently, telling myself I'm somehow prolonging my life or something like that.  I hope I get something out of it, because I've (literally) eaten three whole avocados in less than a week.  Just in this recipe.

I've made chocolate avocado pudding, but for this recipe, I omitted the milk and upped the cocoa powder, creating a thicker and firmer texture.  It is almost like cheesecake.  But I can't call it that, because the title clearly states this is a fudgy mousse ... and I created that title, so yeah, consistency is good!

 

 

And the crust is easy peasy.  Simply oats, coconut, almonds, some coconut oil, and honey.  I didn't bake mine, just stuck it in the fridge, but I bet if you stuck it in the oven (probably 350) for no more than 8-10 minutes, the crust would hold together better and have a deeper, nuttier flavor.  As it is, this is my favorite gluten free crust because of all the textures.  It does NOT taste like a pie crust, but it does taste like a delicious tart crust!  The nutty, crunchy, chewy crust pairs so well with the creamy, sweet, and rich chocolate filling.  And the blackberries, don't forget the blackberries!

 

Avocado Chocolate Mousse Blackberry Fudge Tart (dairy free, gluten free)

Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life.  Adapted from Fresh Fit n' Healthy

Yield: 2 servings

Crust:
1/2 cup almonds
1/3 cup oats
2 tablespoon unsweetened coconut shreds (sweetened will work as well)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/3 cup honey

Filling:
1-1/2 avocados
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules

1/4 cup blackberries

For crust:
Pulse almonds, oats, and coconut in a food processor. 
Pour in melted coconut oil. Add honey.
Pulse until mixture forms a ball.
Press into two small tart pans.
Place in freezer for 10-15 minutes.  Or bake at 350 for 8 minutes. 

For filling:
Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. 

Tart:
Divide blackberries between two crusts, sprinkling over the crust.
Spread filling over the blackberries.
Serve or chill until serving.

 

Raspberry Truffle Bites {healthy, GF}

 

I love talking with people. 

 

I'm extroverted and I like talking anyways, but getting to talk with people is so much fun. There are so many different types if conversations. There are the for fun chats, the one on one discussions, the group conversations, the long distance phone calls - they're all unique, but all special.  I love the different aspects of different friendships and I'm so blessed to have friends who are willing to share their different interests with me. For example, I like to get together and bake/experiment/make a mess with one friend. Then I like discussing and analyzing books and stuff with another friend.  One it's volleyball, another fashion, another pinterest - I'm truly blessed by the friends I have.  God created us for fellowship!  Getting to talk things out, getting up hash things over, getting to speculate ; conversations are gifts and memories. 

 

I'm working on what I love. Because it bugs me to no end when people say they love something or someone and either 1) it gets old and loses its meaningfulness or 2) you know they person really doesn't love him/her/it and then you don't know if you can believe them every time they say it. 

Words are powerful and I want mine to be meaningful and not fluff. Whether I'm in a group of one on one, I want to not regret my words (trust me, I've stuck my foot in my mouth more times than you can count) but have an image of sincerity. I want my love for things to be special.  Reserved for friendships and conversations. Not the best chocolate pudding ever. 

So here we go. 

 

I really really really like this chocolate cheesecake pudding. Last night at a friends house, my friends mom offered me avocado and we both laughed ... she knows me well!

The chocolate filling in these is divine.  It tastes like rich chocolate pudding and after being refrigerated, takes on the texture of cheesecake.  Not kidding, it is amazing.  The oat base is slightly nutty, has a lot of texture, and pairs with the ultra smooth filling so well.  And the raspberries aren't really necessary, its just for aesthetics;)
 

 

Raspberry Truffle Bites
Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life
Yield: 12-16 bites

Base: 

1 cup oats (gluten free certified)

1/2 cup almonds 

1/4 tablespoons honey 

2 teaspoons vanilla 

Truffle: 

1 avocado, ripe 

1/4 cup cocoa powder 

1/4 cup honey 

1 tablespoon milk 

Optional: raspberries for garnish

For the base: In a food processor, blend all the ingredients together until it forms a ball.  Form into 12-16 bases.  Freeze for 10 minutes.

For truffle filling: In a food processor, blend all ingredients until smooth.  REfrigerate for 10 minutes.

To assemble: Spread a 1/2 - 1 tablespoon truffle filling onto each base and top with a raspberry.  You can eat then, but best results are after you refrigerate the bites for at least four hours before serving.

Adapted from The Best Chocolate Pudding

 

These Almond Joy Energy Bites served as inspiration, too!

 



 

 

Tomatillo Guacamole

  

  As I went running last night, I decided to listen to "The Silver Chair," one of the Chronicles of Narnia series.  Jill and Eustace are blown to Narnia with the goal of finding the lost prince, Rillian.  Aslan gave Jill the job of memorizing the signs so they could find him. Faithfully, she recited them morning and evening. But once things got difficult and the weather was cold and the beds hard and the food scarce, Jill began to focus on her problems and no longer cared about the signs. When danger reared its head, Jill cared only about her comfort and having neglected the signs, didn't recognize the danger.  This cost her dearly. 

This made me think; am I like Jill?  Do I care more about my comfort than the Bible and the Prince of Princes?  How often do I neglect the Bible verses guiding my paths for social time or sleep or school?  Do I walk past God's signs like Jill did because my focus is completely self centered?!  I had listened/read this story before but it struck a new chord this time. 

As Jill lamented her mistake, their companion Puddleglum reminded her, Aslan's plans always work.  They do. It reminded me God has a plan for me; as a friend put it, He's the master Author and He has written my story. Jill and Eustace were able to recognize the next signs, though there were consequences for missing the first ones.  Though I may miss things and screw up, God is always ready to pick me up and put me back in the next chapter. What an amazing God we serve!  

And as I have no witty transition from Narnia to guacamole, I'll just go ahead and switch. Transitions are overrated :)

Summer may be technically over, but I don't think gardens get that memo.  You've heard enough about mine, you are probably sick of it.  

So, I'm going to tell you about someone else's!

One of my dad's friends apparently had tomatillos in his garden.  He gave some to dad and dad, knowing my relationship with avocados, found a tomatillo guacamole recipe for me to try.

Warning - it is incredible.  It has been slathered on more things than I care to mention.

And since summer is over, that means football season is upon us!  Time for football parties and such and this would make an incredible appetizer. 

To be honest, I didn't even know what a tomatillo was.  (P.S. My spell checkerdidn't  and doesn't either)  I guess it is some kind of pepper?  Whatever it is, it is really good mixed up with avocados, tomatoes, and onions.  Like, really good.

Tomatillo Guacamole
Recipe Source: Adapted from Food Network
Yield: about 1 to 1-1/2 cups

4 tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1/2 cup chopped white onion
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped (mine was red)
2 avocados, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Boil tomatillos for five minutes, remove and let cool slightly.  Seed and chop coarsely.  In a food processor, pulse onion, jalapenos, tomatillos, salt, garlic powder, lemon juice, and pepper until combined.  Add avocados and pulse until desired consistency.  Store in refrigerator.

Note:  Putting the seed of the avocado in the guacamole really works!  Your guacamole won't turn brown! 

 

Avocado Egg Salad Wraps

 

 

 

I've always enjoyed a good egg salad sandwich ever since I was little. Some mayo and mustard and I was set. Today, I mixed it up and added avocado and pickle relish. I also subbed plain greek yogurt for the mayonnaise. There is a slightly different taste, but I didn't notice because I eat greek yogurt a lot. However, if you want to use mayo, go ahead!  Two places I always use mayo are BLTs and potato salad.  So if you always use mayo in egg salad, go ahead.  But try this first, just once, to see how amazing it is:) 

 

 

The saying "easy to make, impossible to break" often seems to apply to habits. Why does a habit seem to plague us for years?  One I still haven't mastered is nail biting. It used to be horrible. We tried painting my bails with this horrible tasting nail polish on my nails (at the recommendation of our orthodontist, oddly enough)  Then, when I got braces, (obviously by our orthodontist ... do you see a theme here?:) I couldn't chew my nails anymore. I do it occasionally now (I know, I know:) but not even close to what it was before.

Some habits are destructive, like chewing my nails. They could hurt my fingers and my teeth. Those kind of habits need to go.  Other habits, like hanging your towel backwards might not be worth going to the death over. Part of maturity is deciding what habits need to go, what aren't worth it, and which ones are worth keeping. Yes, keeping!  If you asked me what habits I have, I would automatically think bad ones. But in reality, much of my daily life is a habit. Making a list of my day ahead before I go to bed. Habit. Eating granola for breakfast. Habit.  Laughing with my mom.  Habit.

So what do you think. Habits: good or bad?  

(It's okay I'd you answer yes, I'm nodding my head over here, too:)

Avocado Egg Salad Wraps 

Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life

Yield: 2 servings 

4 hard boiled eggs, peeled 

1/2 avocado 

3 tablespoons plain greek yogurt 

1 tablespoon mustard 

2 teaspoons pickle relish 

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon parsley (optional) 

Cut boiled eggs in half. Remove yolks and set in a bowl. Set whites aside. 

Mash yolks, greek yogurt, mustard, relish, salt, pepper, and parsley (if desired.)  Set aside. 

Chip egg whites and stir into yolk mixture. Scoop into lettuce leaves and serve. You can store in the refrigerator if you are making this in advance. I let mine sit for a couple hours before eating. 

Salad Saturdays: Avocado BLT Bagel Salad

This Wednesday, two pretty cool things happened.

One, we had BLTs. Majorly addicted to BLTs.

Two, I drove for the very first time. We'll get to the BLTs in a sec. First, the driving.  I got my learner's permit in May, but we hasn't done anything with it.  That has changed.  Dad took me one night up and down our driveway (it's pretty long) and then on Wednesday, mom took me on the big road.

Cue scary music *dun dun dun duuuuun*

I was grateful for the confidence both my parents had in me, but I was convinced I was going to wreck the car. It's big and fast and I am not. The sensation of driving for the first time was pretty terrifying. I could ruin our car or someone else's car or worst of all, hurt someone.  But on Wednesday, mom took me down a back gravel road and then into town. I decided right away I didn't like other cars. Nuh uh buddy, your truck could clobber me and my little van, so really, feel free to drive in the opposite direction.  I told my mom my least favorite part of driving was other cars.  She told me that might be hard to accommodate.  Shoot.

In reality, after the first couple minutes, my comfort and confidence grew and it no longer was me completely stressing out. (I'm an extrovert, so in addition to processing out loud, I stress out loud.  A lot of, "I'm doing this wrong, I'm doing this wrong!")  John Caleb and the girls were in the back and were SO supportive.  It was nice, because it wouldn't have helped if they were screaming I was going to kill them all (my thoughts were already there:)  It was a novelty to them and something new and fun.  They even requested that I drive again!  I will definitely remember this summer for driving.

BLTs are summer to me. Something about mayonnaise covered lettuce and bacon is just so darn good.

Crispy bacon, fresh lettuce, juicy tomato slathered in mayo on crunchy toasted bread?

Mega BLT cravings!

But since you all are (hopefully!) well acquainted with this simply incredibly sandwich, I won't post about a regular BLT (though they are good.)  

I put the BLT in a salad. And added my favorite, avocado. That's actually how I eat all my BLTs, with avocado or guacamole. And then, when brainstorming ideas for croutons, the bag of frozen bagels in our freezer popped into mind. Make an easy mayo dressing, drizzle it on your salad and enjoy summer in a bowl. 

Guys, this are good. Really, really good. We can pretend calling it a salad makes it diet food. Because you really need two or seven bowls of it.  

Avocado BLT Bagel Salad

Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life

Yield: 3-4 servings 

 

Bagel croutons:

1 whole plain bagel, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mayonnaise dressing:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons balsalmic vinegar*
Milk, add by teaspoons until desired consistency is achieved
 

Salad:

3 cups lettuce, finely chopped 

1 large tomato, seeded and chopped

6-8 slices cooked bacon, chopped
1 avocado, sliced 

For the croutons, toss bagel cubes in oil, salt, and pepper.  Cook in a medium sized skillet on medium heat until browned evenly and crispy.  Let cool on a paper towel for an hour.

For dressing: Whisk all the ingredients together.  Set aside.

For salad: Layer lettuce, tomato, bacon, and avocado in a bowl/bowls.  When ready to serve, divide bagel croutons between bowl/bowls and drizzle with dressing.

*If you don't like balsalmic, you can use red wine vinegar.

Avocado: I like to add it to everything!

Avocado Strawberry Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette
 

Mexican Chicken Salad with Corn, Cucumber, and Avocado Salsa

 

Dark Chocolate Avocado Yogurt Brownies

 

 

P.S. Could you click the "New Recipe Page" tab and let me know in the comments if anything comes up or not?  Thanks!

Dark Chocolate Avocado Yogurt Brownies

I'm such a sucker for fudgy brownies. Like, I was this close to adding fudgy to the title when I realized, almost all my brownie recipes have that in their titles! So, you know when I post a brownie recipe, it is automatically fudgy.

And, wow, are these fudgy. These outdid any fudgy recipe I have and I am being dead serious. You have to be a devoted fudgy brownie person to appreciate these.

I'm also a sucker for avocado and chocolate. My mom does not get if, I mean, in her book, if she's going to buy avocados, it is not for baking. So I had to sneak around when making these. Justification?  These avocados were only 25 cents apiece. That's right, a quarter an avocado. That's how I justified using two of them. And they were well spent in my opinion!  

Now, I'm pretty horrible at keeping secrets when I am excited.  I was SUPER excited about these brownies. When these cooled, I immediately called my quality control team (Elizabeth and Abigail) and made them taste test.  After they gave them the double thumbs up, I asked if they could keep a secret. 

"Oh yes, Sis!  Pleeeeease tell me!"

I asked if they tasted anything different and they said no, so then I asked if they could guess what was in it.  Abigail immediately guessed it was a veggie and Elizabeth immediately guessed red peppers.

Huh?  Red peppers?  What kind of cook does she think I am to put red peppers in my brownies?

Whatever, I can't explain it. 

Once I told them there was avocado in it, I made them promise not to tell anyone until they had tried them.  The girls promised, but I should've guessed something would slip out of Elizabeth's mouth. It always does!  (Kind of like her big sister!)  Right after Luke took one bite of the brownie, she was in his face, saying "can you taste it, can you taste it?"  And then turning to me, squealing, "can we tell them now?!"

Needless to say, the gig was up.  Everyone wanted to know what exactly i had been holding back. Luke liked them, but after finding out there was avocado, he decided it wasn't as good as he originally thought.  Stephen was convinced they tasted horrible, but I don't generally listen to his opinions about chocolate.  Just like you shouldn't listen to my opinions about beef jerky.  Fair enough?  Everyone else thought they were wonderful until I let the cat out of the bag.  Note: If you have an unadventurous family - keep your mouth shut.  Stuff it with these brownies, I don't care, just don't say anything!  :-)

Personally, they are my favorite basic brownie recipe to date.  They are incredibly thick and fudgy and just as rich and elegant as any traditional brownie.  Sometimes, I just want a plain chocolate brownie without marshmallows or Nutella or cheesecake and these are perfect.

And I can't complain if they are butter and oil free either!  Avocados are full of healthy fats that make these brownies rich, but satisfying.  I really like the thickness and texture that comes from the avocados.  Basically, the avocados are the star of the show . . . that no one ever sees.  Huh, that makes . . . no sense at all.  But seriously, you would never know there are avocados in these! 

Not only is there the health boost from avocados, there is greek yogurt (high in protein) and dark chocolate (high in antioxidants.) These may not necessarily be lower in calories, but these brownies have many health benefits to them without sacrificing any chocolate flavor or soft texture. That's pretty impressive.

Now, the recipe below is slightly different than the way I made these. My family didn't think they were sweet enough (even though I did) and so I changed the yogurt from plain to vanilla. 

Also, when I melted my chocolate chips, I left some chunks unmelted for some difference in texture and I highly recommend that.  Chunks of dark chocolate make any brownie better. 

So what are you waiting for?  A batch of these will make not just your stomach happy, but will benefit your whole body!

Dark Chocolate Avocado Yogurt Brownies
Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life.  Adapted from Heather's French Press
Yield: 16 servings

2 medium avocados, mashed

8 oz. dark chocolate chips, melted

1/2 cup vanilla flavored greek yogurt 

2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (or 2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder)

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup AP flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease 9x9 pan.  Set aside.

Mash or puree avocados until smooth.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, melt dark chocolate chips on high for 45 seconds and stir until smooth.  Heat for 10 seconds longer, if necessary.  Cool for 1-2 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk eggs, yogurt, vanilla, and sugar until smooth and frothy.  Stir into melted chocolate.  Add flours, cocoa powder, and salt and stir until combined.  Add avocado, whisk until smooth.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes.  Let cool before serving.

I like avocados and chocolate ;)

The Best Chocolate Pudding (Avocado Mousse)

Crazy Chocolate Mint Cookies 

Guess what makes them crazy? :)

Fudgy Sugar Cookie Dough Brownies

No avocados, just lots of fudginess!  (easy, only 6 ingredients)

And click here for The Best Brownies Round Up!

Salad Saturdays: Mexican Chicken Salad with Corn, Cucumber, and AvocadoSalsa

I decided I wanted a garden this year.

Like, in April or May.  So how long did my family have to help me in this endeavor?  Not very!

I would be lying if I said I did it all.  No, I had lots of help. My Grandma started and then brought all the plants, my dad built the box the morning we left on our vacation, a friend brought all the dirt and my family planted it all while I was at camp.

Do I have an awesome support team or what?

My job is to water and weed the garden, and so far, I have actually really enjoyed it!  Now you must know, I despised any form of gardening up until this year.  Dry dirt on my hands, sore knees and back, and bugs and weeds galore?  No thank you.

But this year, instead of just my mom's flowers (which she takes amazing care of, let me tell you) I have the garden and I am SO excited to be able to have fresh produce from it.  Although I really wanted spinach or lettuce, those didn't make it in, but I do have okra, tomatoes, three different types of squash, and lots and lots of cucumber plants.  I mean, I will be swimming in them. 

Speaking of swimming, my siblings have been doing swimming lessons this past week and since I graduated out of that when I was 11 or 12, I decided to swim laps during their lessons on the condition that Nathan did it with me.  I didn't want to do it by myself.  I know, I really am a wimp without a buddy.  Thankfully, Nathan is motivated for football season and so he has been doing it with me.

Sorry, bunny trail. I am really pumped about the gardeb. And if I weed and water in the morning, like 7ish, the weather is gorgeous.  Not too hot or bright and nobody else is outside.  I am really getting into this gardening thing.

So, back up a couple steps, remember all those cucumbers I'm going to have?  Well, this salsa is going to be one of the ways I am going to use them.  I'll get to use the tomatoes too.  Salsas are so much fun!  They're like soups and salads, can't really mess them up.  Measuring is kind of optional, you know?  (Compared to baking.)  The salsa has a very simple mixture of lime juice, olive oil, garlic and honey that takes all the chopped veggies and makes them addictive.  And then all you have to do is toss it with lettuce and sprinkle grilled chicken on top.  You don't have to turn on anything!  I was baking granola a couple days ago and accidentally left the oven on.  For an hour.  Yeah, the kitchen was very, very hot and fighting our air conditioner.  I now have a note that says "Turn off the oven" taped to the stove so I'll remember.  Even I make major mistakes like that.  So if you can remember to turn off the stove, you can make this salad.  You won't even have to use your prowess at stove turning off-ness!

Mexican Chicken Salad with Corn, Cucumber and Avocado Salsa

Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life

Yield: 6 servings

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon honey

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 avocado, chopped

2/3 cup corn (about 1 large ear)

1 cup cucumber, chopped (about 1 medium)

1-1/2 cup tomato, chopped (1-2 small)

2 tablespoons red onion, chopped

3 cups chopped chicken breast

4-1/2 cups chopped lettuce

Optional:  Shredded fiesta blend cheese, tortilla chips

Whisk lime juice, olive oil, honey, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add avocados, gently stir so avocados are covered. (This way they won't turn brown.)  Add corn, cucumbers, tomatoes and red onion. Toss to coat. Set aside.

Toss lettuce and chicken. Divide between six plates or bowls and top each with about 1/2 cup salsa. Sprinkle with cheese and tortilla chips, if desired. Serve immediately. 

Note:  You can make the salsa and let sit in the refrigerator for several hours. Or, you can serve it with just tortilla chips.

Salad Saturdays: Avocado Strawberry Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Sorry, this will be a short post.  I just got back from camp and will have a whole post dedicated to that soon, but first, lets talk salads!

Avocados and strawberries are some of my favorites and their colors make this salad really pop.  And then the raspberry vinaigrette is out of this world!  Colorful, a little sweet, and little vinegar, and super easy: amazing salad. 

 

 Hopefully the pictures spoke for themselves!  Short and sweet post and a short and sweet salad.

Avocado Strawberry Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Recipe Source: The Sweet {Tooth} Life

Yield: 4 servings

Salad:

3 cups shredded lettuce

1 avocado, sliced,

8 large strawberries, sliced

Raspberry Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup raspberry vinegar

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon salt

Salad: Toss all ingredients in a large bowl.

Raspberry Vinaigrette: Combine all the ingredients in a jar and shake well.  Pour over salad and serve.

If you missed the first of Salad Saturdays, check out my Fresh Lemon Kale Salad!