Frisée Salad with Cherries & Goat Cheese

This is a light salad full of flavor thanks to delicious cherries!  The original recipe calls for blue cheese, which you are more than welcome to use.  But I’m not a big blue cheese fan (unless it’s with buffalo wings!) so I used goat cheese as a substitute.  Also, because I didn’t have any raspberry vinegar in the house, I used pomegranate champagne vinegar.

Because of how light his salad is, I would make this as a side for dinner.  (In fact, I made this to compliment the Seared Tilapia with Cherry Salsa.  Horray, cherries!)  But if you do want to make this a meal, have it for lunch and compliment it with a whole grain roll or soup.

Servings: 2
Active Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons, divided
2 thin slices prosciutto
¾ cups sweet cherries, pitted and halved, divided
2 teaspoons raspberry vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped shallot
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
1/8 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of salt
3 cups torn frisée or curly endive
2 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese

Spinach Quinoa Salad with Roasted Grapes, Pears & Almonds

This salad is wonderful as a full meal because it is filling and packed with protein and fiber to keep you satisfied. But feel free to also eat it as a side at dinner and cut the calories.  Considering how fulfilling this salad is, it’s actually very easy to make!  Try it and let me know what you think.

Servings: 2
Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup red seedless grapes
1 large Bartlett pear, chopped
½ tablespoon honey
1 cup water
Pinch of sea salt
½ cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
4 cups fresh spinach
¼ cup chopped almonds

Lemon-Honey Dressing
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
¾ teaspoons honey
¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Provençal Green Beans with Lemon-Pepper Oil and Herbed Sea Salt

The first time I saw this recipe I said, “Lavender? Sounds amazing!”  I had never made anything with lavender before, but I was pleasantly surprised and happy.  Not only that, but I went out and bought lavender to plant in my herb garden after this dish!

If you’re afraid of the overly-floral taste this dish may have, feel free to substitute the lavender with rosemary.  Or, just don’t put as much lavender in it and go a little heavier on the sea salt instead.  In addition, don’t feel the need to drizzle all the oil on the green beans–too much will take away from both the green beans and the herbed sea salt.  So instead, use the rest for dipping bread in or put it in the fridge for later!

Servings:  2
Active Time:  10 minutes
Total Time:  20 minutes

Ingredients

Quick-Infused Lemon-Pepper Oil (yields 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ tablespoon packed grated lemon zest
4 coarse grinds black pepper

Provençal Herb Salt (yields ¾ teaspoon)
1/8 teaspoon chopped fresh lavender buds or rosemary leaves
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Provençal Green Beans with Lemon-Pepper Oil and Herbed Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
½ pound green beans, stem ends trimmed
1 tablespoon quick-infused lemon-pepper oil
¼ to ½ teaspoon Provençal herb salt

Cherry-Almond Farro Salad

This recipe, like many recipes I make, was published by Eating Well and it’s delicious!  It’s a great alternative to your typical leafy salads and it’s high in protein and fiber.

I originally made this for lunch, but feel free to also make this as a side for dinner when you’re grilling.

Servings: 2
Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1/3 cup faro, rinsed
2/3 cups water
¼ teaspoon salt, divided
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup sweet cherries, pitted and halved
¼ cup diced ricotta salata or feta cheese
1 ½ tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
1 tablespoon finely diced red onion
2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint

Caramelized Green Beans and Sweet Onions

If you have the patience to sauté this side dish, it is well worth the wait!  This has been a favorite every time I’ve made it, so definitely make it a point to try this!

Also, don’t be frustrated if the veggies don’t start to brown according to the time in the recipe.  First time I made this side, it took a lot longer than expected because of the stove top and pan I used.  Feel free to increase the heat of the stove if you’re not using a gas stove.  Enjoy!

Servings: 2
Active Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

4 to 5 oz sweet onion
1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 oz green beans, trimmed and halved
8 to 10 medium fresh sage leaves
½ teaspoon Kosher salt, and more if needed
1 tablespoons fresh orange juice

Sautéed Shiitakes, Spinach, and Scallions

I’ve never cooked anything that involved shiitake mushrooms before (and I was actually a bit surprised at how expensive they are), but this was a delicious treat!  My husband doesn’t usually like mushrooms and was afraid of the side when he tried just the mushroom by itself, but the combination of the spinach, scallions, soy sauce and sesame oil proved him wrong.

Servings:  2
Active Time:  15 minutes
Total Time:  15 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3.5 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps thinly sliced
1/3 cup thickly sliced scallions
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
4 cups lightly packed stemmed fresh spinach leaves, washed and lightly dried
1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

Corn Sauté with Cumin, Coriander and Lemon

I had to move this up on my publishing queue because my husband absolutely LOVED this side and I wanted to share it with you ASAP!

I bought this book called Fast, Fresh & Green by Susie Middleton and haven’t really made too many things from there.  But since I love veggies and I’m tired of microwaving those steam-in-a-bag veggies, I decided to start making my own medleys!  Feel free to experiment with this by using other spices or lime instead of lemon.

Also, here’s the recipe for the Broiled Lobster Tail that’s also in the picture below.

Servings:  2
Active Time:  15 minutes
Total Time:  20 minutes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup yellow onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt, divided; add more if needed
1 cup fresh corn kernels
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 lemon
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro