Grilled Romaine Salad with Bacon and Feta

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This is the first day of the rest of your life, because today begins your love affair with romaine. I know -- you thought romaine was the boring cousin of spinach and arugula. I'm sorry to break it to you, but you couldn't be more incorrect. 

I actually chose this salad over a burger for lunch last week. There the burger sat waiting to be warmed up, doused in mustard (Not ketchup. NEVER KETCHUP!) and devoured by yours truly. But, instead of eating that fabulous burger, I opted to go through the steps to make this salad - because it really is that good.

Before you have me committed to an asylum for choosing salad over a burger, hear me out. Due to its grilled preparation, the romaine takes on a completely different flavor, characterized by smokiness and scorch marks. Add some bacon and feta cheese and you have a salad that is finally worthy of running the show.

And it's pretty darn healthy, too. Not that you care...

Grilled Romaine Salad with Bacon and Feta

Prep time: 2 minutes

Cook time: 4 minutes

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

• 1 head of romaine lettuce - I have been using the smaller ones from CostCo because they are the perfect serving for one head per person. If you use a larger head, you could easily split this between two people!
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 piece of uncured bacon
• 2 tbsp feta cheese (or your cheese of choice)
• Ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Cook the bacon any way you want, then set aside. I save a few pieces after making a weekend brunch and crumble them up in a bag.
2. Rinse the romaine head, then pat dry.
3. Cut the romaine in half, lengthwise (see images below).
4. Rub both sides of each romaine chunk with olive oil.
5. Cook on medium-high heat on a grill (or on a grill pan - since it's winter already and going outside is awful!). 
6. After 2 minutes (or when scorch lines show up on the bottom), use tongs to flip each piece. 
7. 2 minutes later, remove from heat. Sprinkle with pepper and add feta and crumbled bacon.
8. ENJOY IT. YOU'RE WELCOME.

A Rambling Brain Post, and a VERY TASTY FLATBREAD PIZZA

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Sometimes, on the worst days, all it takes is a little flatbread pizza.

Wake up at 4am to help my husband finish packing and then drive him to the airport. Think I've thrown a travel pack of Pepto into his belongings, but I have no memory of where I've put it, so I double the effort and throw a second one in.

Make it home from the airport before the sun's up. Contemplate letting my dog take a piss because I know she's going to need to before I wake back up after the nap I'm about to take. Decide not to because I can barely keep my eyes open.

Nap. Nap. Wake up and text my husband. Nap.

Wake up at 8:45, walk the dog, pick up her warm gooey poop, hold my breath as I walk it to a trash can in the park.

Return home, ignore breakfast, ignore the kitchen.

Look at the laundry list of chores that need to be done on top of regular, actual work. Feel a little guilty about how desperately I want to mope on the couch.

Finally decide to make my breakfast at 10am. Mother freaking pizza.

Get giddy as the aromas of oregano and melted mozzarella fill my house. 

Feel like a genius.

Deal with the kitchen. 

Scrub bathroom floors.

Send important work emails.

Vacuum. Vacuum. Vacuum.

Run errands, come home and wash laundry and dry it and make the beds.

Finally sit down at a computer.

And write.

Easy-As-Pizza-Pie Flatbread White Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 Flatout Bread Wrap (I used 100 calorie whole wheat)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup freshly shredded mozzarella
• 2 tbsp feta cheese
• 1 tbsp white onion, chopped
• 1 handful spinach
• 1/2 tbsp italian seasoning (any kind of mixed seasoning will do, or you can simply use oregano in its place)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place flatout bread wrap on a baking sheet. Spread olive oil around with a spoon to smooth it out and distribute evenly.
3. Add shredded mozzarella (freshly shredded truly is the best!), feta, and white onion. Distribute spinach evenly.
4. Sprinkle italian seasoning like it's freaking fairy dust all over that thing.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges have begun to get brown and crispy.
6. Cut. Serve. Devour.

Pork, Caulirice, and Feta Stuffed Red Peppers

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I consider myself a celebratory person. The proof is in the pudding:

• It's Derby Day and we don't live anywhere near the Derby, nor are we watching it? We're making Mint Juleps!
  
• It's your birthday and you're over 30 and thus not a child anymore? Screw it, I'm putting up streamers.
  
• We're eating lunch on a Monday? We're getting Mimosas!

For some reason, stuffed peppers feel celebratory to me. Maybe it's just the effort required to prepare them - you know that someone put time and thought into your meal. There is something special about a meal that takes just a smidge longer, something that can't be prepared in 5 minutes and thrown in the oven. Something that takes deliberate cuts, intentional ricing, and lots of love.

So maybe the proof isn't in the pudding. Maybe it's in the stuffed peppers.

It was a total stroke of luck that these babies were ready to be popped in the oven on Cinco de Mayo.

A week ago, I prepped these - cooked the sausage, riced the cauliflower, stirred in the feta, and prepped and stuffed the peppers. But then dinner plans came up, so despite being thrilled about my new creation, I popped it in its dish and placed it in the freezer.

Which ended up being the best way it could have happened. 

Because Cinco came around and I had totally forgotten. I was texting my husband saying we had to at least have some margs, and then I realized: I have stuffed peppers. That counts, right?

I have long been a proponent of being prepared. Prepping meals on a Sunday before a busy week. Having some bacon in the freezer (read: ALWAYS <--that should have been on my life lessons...).

And these as a freezer meal did not disappoint. So God knows they would be fabulous fresh.

Sausage, Caulirice, and Feta Stuffed Red Peppers

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds of ground sausage (You can use any kind here. If you can handle it, opt for something with a bit of kick! I used a combo of ground italian pork sausage and ground breakfast pork sausage.)
• 4 red peppers
• 1/2 cauliflower head (you can also purchase cauliflower florets, you will need about 2-3 cups of those)
• 1/2 cup feta
• Shredded cheese (for topping)
• Cilantro (for topping)
• 1/2 avocado (for topping)
• Tomatillo salsa (for topping - I used Herdez)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Brown sausage in a pan. You will want to cook it all the way through.
3. While sausage is cooking, cut the tops off of red peppers and remove the seeds. Place them upright in a pan that is small enough to contain them without them tipping over.
4. Use a cheese grater to "rice" the cauliflower. Simply run it over the grater like cheese, and it will produce small rice-like flakes.
5. When the sausage is almost finished cooking (about 15 minutes), add cauliflower and feta to the pan and toss/stir until well combined.
6. Remove from heat. Use a spatula or large spoon to transfer into the red peppers, distributing evenly. Top with shredded cheese.
7. Bake for 25 minutes.
8. Top with cilantro, avocado, and salsa.

Savory Parmesan Pancakes with Chorizo and Feta Cheese (Plus an exercise in gratitude!)

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If you ask my fiance what his favorite food is, here's what he'll say: Pizza.

Which is funny for someone who is engaged to a woman that pretty much never makes true pizza. Sure, I'll use similar ingredients, but it is always somehow slightly different. Smaller. Healthier. In a different form. Which reminds me: Anyone ever had a pizza shake? Ew?

Lately, I've been experimenting with pancakes recipes. After we had some delicious savory pancakes at Belly Q, I was interested in creating something similar. Basically, they took a savory, cheesy pancake and topped it with meats and cheeses. It's like if pizza and tostadas had a baby. Here's how they described it at the restaurant:

 

Via BellyQ

I know... it sounds delicious, right? We had the Goat Milk Feta Cheese & Rice Noodle Pancake, and I think we may have also tried the Double Smoked Bacon & Kimchi Pancake. It was a delicious meal and really got my creative wheels turning.

Finally, while working out, those creative wheels finally found their traction, and I had the perfect idea. We had some delicious chorizo left over from a meat and cheese plate we made for our Speakeasy Party earlier this month. And we also had, as we always do (because it is a staple of our kitchen), some delicious feta cheese.

And thus, these parmesan pancakes were born! They were such troopers and cried like total babies. I topped them with some broken up chorizo sausage (chorizo is so soft to begin with that it was pretty easy to break into small pieces with a fork), feta cheese, some mixed shredded cheese, and cholula. The result was something perfectly savory, filling, and low carb. Justin scarfed it up within minutes.

We ate ours with a knife and fork, the way you'd eat a traditional pancake, but feel free to just roll it up and eat it like a taco or something!

Savory Parmesan Pancakes with Chorizo and Feta Cheese

Ingredients for Pancakes:

• 1/2 Cup Oatmeal
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Egg Whites
• 2/3 Cup Cottage Cheese
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Ingredients for Topping (to taste):

• Chorizo
• Feta Cheese
• Mixed Cheese
• Italian Seasoning
• Cholula

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Place chorizo in a greased pan and heat on medium, breaking apart and moving around every few minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine pancake ingredients in a blender and blend until well mixed. In a greased pan, pour batter to the size you'd like your pancake to be. Heat over medium-high heat until your pancakes look a little bubbly and you're able to lift them up with a spatula and see that the bottom is beginning to brown. Flip and heat on the other side for just enough time until both sides are beginning to brown. Then, remove from heat and place on a plate.
4. Once chorizo is done, take a cookie pan and line with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Place cooked pancakes on the pan (you may need to use more than one or do them in shifts if you're making a big batch), and top with chorizo, mixed shredded cheese, and feta cheese. Then, place in the oven for approximately 10 minutes, or until cheese is sufficiently melted.
5. Remove from the oven, add cholula (or the sauce of your choice!) and serve!

Delicious! 

• Have any of you ever made savory pancakes?

P.S. From now on, I'm going to try a little exercise in gratitude at the end of every post. Feel free to join in and add your own via comments!
Dear Nasty-Watery-Slushy-Melted-Snow all over Chicago,
Sometimes, when I am boarding the CTA bus, I imagine I am stepping over hot lava instead of 3 inches of dirty snow water. Thanks for making me feel like a kid again.
Love, Carly

Cranberry Feta Cilantro Salad

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It's creamy but tangy. It's crunchy but soft. It's everything you've ever wanted... minus the whole being rich thing, I guess.

New favorite salad alert! This is utterly delicious. Trader Joe's finally came up with a creamy salad dressing that is actually good for you! Thank you, Trader Joe's. Thank you for listening.

I've been eating this salad pretty much non stop. Sometimes I add 1/2 a chicken breast from my 15 meals in 60 minutes challenge!

Looking for other salads? Check out my recipe page here!

Cranberry Feta Cilantro Salad

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 head Romaine Lettuce
• 1 tablespoon Cranberries
• 1 tablespoon Feta Cheese
• 1 tablespoon Sliced Almonds
• Reduced Fat Cilantro Salad Dressing (Trader Joe's)
• (Optional) 1/2 Chicken Breast, sliced

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rinse and chop lettuce
2. Add cranberries, feta, and almonds
3. Top with Reduced Fat Cilantro Salad Dressing
4. (Optional) Add 1/2 chicken breast, sliced

Tofu Bi Bim Bop

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Bi Bim Bop tastes like the heartiest salad you've ever had. A single fried egg adds buttery moisture while adding health benefits, too. Tofu is a light substitute for meat and is coated in Italian seasoning to pack a lot of flavor punch. Stir it all together and life couldn't be better. Well, maybe with more Sriracha...

I have wonderful memories of true Bi Bim Bop. When I lived with a gaggle of girls in Memphis, there were inevitably a few Saturdays when we woke up at noon and required spicy food and a "Friends" marathon. Bi Bim Bop was always the go-to. Oh, and a Route 44 Diet Cherry Limeade from Sonic. Don't forget that. 

Since then, I frequently find myself wanting Bi Bim Bop. Have a cold? Want Bi Bim Bop. Don't have a cold? Still want it.

But the problem was that I had no idea what was technically in Bi Bim Bop. So I made my own. And it is definitely not the same. It's better :) Instead of rice or noodles, you've got everything good for you... chunks of smooth, seasoned Tofu. Lots of Spinach to mix in. Chives (mmm!). Feta Cheese. Sriracha. And an egg.

Below are the technical directions, but don't be fooled: If you cook all these ingredients and throw them together in a bowl, you will have succeeded. With this dish, you'll end up stirring it all together, anyway!

Tofu Bi Bim Bop w/ Italian Seasoning

Servings: 2 per recipe (or bump it up to 4 by using 4 eggs)

Ingredients:

• 1 package Tofu, extra firm, cubed
• 2 tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
• 2 cups Spinach, ripped
• 1 cup Spinach, not ripped
• 1 tablespoon Chives, sliced
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons Feta
• Sriracha, to taste

Directions:

1. Lightly grease a pan (I do this by adding a small amount of olive or canola oil, then using a paper towel to move it around and soak up any excess puddles).
2. Cut up Tofu into small cubes and place in a pan over medium heat.
3. Pour white wine vinegar over the cubes and then distribute about half of the Italian Seasoning
4. Flip and season Tofu. After 2 minutes, flip the tofu. Sprinkle Italian Seasoning on top. Then, repeat a third time 2 minutes later. This doesn't have to be exact, but is a nice way to coat at least 3 sides of your tofu in the italian seasoning. If you'd prefer to skip this step, feel free to just cook for 4 minutes before proceeding to the next step, and add the rest of the italian seasoning then.
5. Add ripped up spinach and chopped chives on top of and in between the tofu pieces. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Then, break two eggs over the mixture. Try to keep the yolk intact and let it cook alongside the spinach and tofu. 
6. After 2 minutes, add feta cheese, sprinkling over other ingredients in the pan. Cover and cook for another minutes.
7. Remove from heat. 
8. To serve, first place 1/2 cup of Spinach (the Spinach you didn' rip) in a bowl. Spoon out the parts of the tofu, spinach, feta and chive mixture that is not touching the egg first, then top by spooning the egg (and whatever else has become connected to it during cooking) on top. Try not to break the egg!
9. Add Sriracha, to taste
10. When ready to eat, use a knife and fork to break the egg yolk and stir everything together. Then eat!

Pear & Pistachio Feta Salad

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The perfect 100 calorie salad. Finally.

This salad is epic because it does double duty: it is simultaneously light and delicious, while packing a satisfying nutritional punch. The pears and tomatoes give the salad a semi-sweet juiciness that is perfectly refreshing for a summertime evening, while walnuts and pistachios work together to give the salad more than enough nourishment to carry you through!

I'm making a pact with myself. For the next month, my dinners will all be salads. Do you know what that means? It means we're about to get a lil salad crazy up in hurr. Or perhaps that I am a horrible pact maker. We'll see...

This is where the fun starts.

Pear & Pistachio Feta Salad

Servings: 4
Calories: 100

Ingredients (Salad):

• 6 cups mixed greens
• 1 Pear
• 12 Cherry Tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon Walnuts, diced
• 1 tablespoon Shelled Pistachios
• 2 tablespoons Reduced Fat / Fat Free Feta

Ingredients (Salad Dressing):

• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 tsp Lemon Juice
• 2 tsp Honey
• 2 cloves minced garlic

Directions:

1. Prep ingredients: Cut the Pear into small slices, dice Walnuts (if you didn't purchase them pre-diced), and shell Pistachios.
2. Combine with mixed greens and Cherry Tomatoes
3. Mix dressing and stir or shake well, then pour over salad.
4. Serve!

Balsamic-Glazed Prunes and Blackberries with Basil and Feta

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I have some odd childhood memories of both prunes and blackberries.

You see, when I was little, my lovely mother tried to get me to eat prunes. I remember thinking they tasted like old lady food. We also used to have a blackberry tree in our back yard when I was very little. I remember watching my dog run around my back yard and picking blackberries with my dad.

Old lady food and berries picked with dad. Sounds wholesome, right?

This dish was created out of the need for a small-yet-delicious afternoon snack. Justin and I had just returned from a Birthday weekend visit with his family in Holland, Michigan (where I tried to surprise him with a birthday dinner… and failed miserably… more on that another day!). Without the energy to cook a whole meal… and without wanting to stuff our faces before heading to the gym (yeah, we actually made it to the gym after the drive back!), we were looking for something small and light. I stuck my head in the fridge, saw the prunes I had recently bought on a whim, and got to work. Fruit and balsamic vinegar have an eternal love affair, so I decided to capitalize on that. Soon came the blackberries and basil.

It is the perfect blend of sweet and tart. The balsamic vinegar reduces to a thicker sauce, which adds a semi tart outer layer to the fruit, particularly the prunes, which become even sweeter and softer. The berry flavor is really brought out by the vinegar and the basil… oh, the basil. Why is basil so amazing? It is perfect in salads, with cheese and tomato, and with fruit?! Geez. Talk about super-spice.

Oh, dear… and let’s not forget the Feta. It adds something slightly savory to the dish without taking it out of dessert-land.

Oh, and did I mention that PRUNES ARE FILLED WITH FIBER?!

Balsamic-Glazed Prunes and Blackberries with Basil and Feta

Cook Time: 7 Minutes
Servings: 2
Calories Per Serving: 193

Ingredients (for 2 servings):

• 3/4 cup Dried Prunes
• 1/2 cup Blackberries
• 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 teaspoons chopped Basil Leaves (or dried basil)
• 1/2 tablespoon Reduced Fat Feta Cheese (or Fat Free)

Directions:

1. Combine prunes, blackberries, and balsamic vinegar in a pan over medium heat.
2. Continue to stir to prevent burning and heat for 5 minutes or until balsamic begins to reduce (thicken).
3. Add basil and feta, then heat for additional 2 minutes.
4. Serve!