Massaged Kale Salad with Butternut Squash and Dried Cranberries

Most of my friends know how much I love massaged kale salads.  We have it at least once a week, often twice.  So last week my friend Melanie forwarded me this massaged kale salad recipe that includes roasted butternut squash and dried cranberries.  Looked delish!  I read through it once, but then promptly forgot everything except butternut squash and dried cranberries.  So when I went to make it for dinner tonight, I had the butternut squash and dried cranberries, but of course I didn't have any poppy seeds.  Or shallots.  Or lemons, even!  So I had to improvise and combined the two recipes together, and used a lime.  It was really good!  Thanks for the recipe, Melanie!

Massaged Kale Salad with Butternut Squash and Dried Cranberries
Inspired by this recipe.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 small-ish butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• 1 large bunch of kale
• juice of 1 large lime
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons dried cranberries 
• several turns of the black pepper grinder

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Peel the butternut and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.  Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and some TSSS to taste.  Spread the squash out onto a baking sheet and roast until tender, about 30 minutes.
• In the meantime, wash and spin-dry the kale, remove the thick middle stem, and chop or tear the leaves into bite-size pieces.
• Place kale, remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, lemon juice and salt into a large bowl.  Massage the kale with your hands for a few minutes until it becomes soft.
• Add the cranberries, roasted butternut squash, and black pepper and toss.

Random Veggie Soup

Cleaning out the fridge.  The soup was a hit, even with the 19-month-old.

Random Veggie Soup


Ingredients:

• 3 carrots, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 head cabbage, chopped
• 1/2 head cauliflower, chopped
• 2 (15 oz.) cans of diced tomatoes
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt, to taste
• 6 cups water
• 1/2 lb. brown rice noodles
• freshly cracked black pepper and grated parmesan for garnish

Directions:

• Place the first 8 ingredients (up to the water) into a large soup pot.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook until veggies are tender, about 45 minutes.
• Add the brown rice noodles.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer again and cook until the noodles are tender, about 10 - 12 minutes (check the instructions on your rice noodle package).  Add more water if necessary.
• Ladle into bowls and top with pepper and grated parmesan right before serving.

Ranch Shrimp Tacos

I made some homemade 100% whole wheat tortillas for the first time today.  They were soooo good.  And soooo easy.  Just a little time consuming.  But soooo worth it.  Both kids each ate TWO.  EACH.  Straight off the pan.  This is the recipe I used for the tortillas.  If you have neither the time nor the urge to make your own tortillas, by all means buy them.  Whatever floats your boat.  :-)

Jumbo shrimp (wild caught!) are on sale at Sprouts this week.  So I decided to make shrimp tacos.  But I'd spent so much time making the tortillas that I had to do something quick with the shrimp.  So I grabbed the bottle of ranch dressing in the fridge.  Weird?  Maybe.  But they were GOOD!

Ranch Shrimp Tacos

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 (4 oz.) packages of beech mushrooms
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled & deveined
• Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
• Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• a pinch of cumin
• a couple tablespoons of ranch dressing (or more)
• 6 small whole wheat tortillas, warmed

Directions:

• Sauté the mushrooms in coconut oil over medium-high heat until soft.  Add the shrimp, TSSS and TSGG to taste, and a pinch of cumin.  Continue to sauté until the shrimp is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
• Remove pan from heat and let sit to cool for a few minutes.  Then add the ranch dressing and spoon into the warm tortillas.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

I was craving buffalo wings this weekend.  There's something so delicious about crispy, juicy, spicy wings dipped into cool ranch dressing.  DROOL!

I thought I'd throw something together that was a little healthier.  I bought a bottle of Frank's Original Hot Sauce, heated it up with a little Smart Balance, tossed in some cooked shredded chicken breast, and threw it over a green salad.  YUM!

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• 2-ish tablespoons Smart Balance
• 1/2-ish cup Frank's Original Hot Sauce
• 3-ish cups cooked shredded chicken breast

Directions:

• Melt the Smart Balance in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat.  Once it's melted, add the hot sauce and bring to a simmer.
• Add in the chicken, toss well, and heat through.

I spooned it over a green salad and drizzled with reduced-fat ranch dressing.  I'll be using the leftovers tomorrow for buffalo chicken sandwiches with whole wheat rolls.  I'm a happy camper.