Ever since the heat waves started in Los Angeles this week, I’ve been craving much lighter foods such as salads so I wanted to share with you my two favorite salads that I make regularly. The first is a classic Caesar salad which is extremely easy to make and can become a well rounded meal of its own if you add chicken and avocado. And the other one is my Arugula Goat Cheese Salad. Now, onto the recipes!
This recipe is good enough for 2 people and very easy to make. You can keep it classic (super simple!) but have the option to add chicken and avocado to make it a full meal instead of a side or appetizer.
Ingredients:
- Two Stalks of Romaine Lettuce or Romaine Hearts
- Garlic Croutons
- Shredded Parmesan Cheese
- Ken’s Caesar Salad Dressing
- Pepper to taste
- Optional: Chicken breast and/or Avocado
Directions:
- Cut off the ends of the lettuce and rinse it. Then shake the water off as much as possible.
- Grate/shred a bunch of parmesan cheese.
- Shake the excess water off the lettuce once again. If it’s really wet, the dressing slides off so I like to even pat it dry with a paper towel.
- Chop the lettuce in half to one inch sections.
- Mix the dressing and croutons and toss the salad. How much to put is up to you. Some people like it saucy, others prefer it on the lighter side. Just remember you can always add more but you can’t remove, so err on the lighter side if you’re unsure how much to put.
- Put it in your serving bowl and add the parmesan cheese on top.
- Add some pepper and you’re done!
Optional things to make it more hearty or jazz it up:
- Add an avocado. Simply cut an avocado in half and slice them and spoon them out and lay it on top of the bowl that’s ready to go.
- Add some chicken breast: I buy marinated chicken breast and throw it in the oven before starting on the salad. When your salad is ready, slice up the chicken and and put it on top of the avocado.
That’s all there is to it! Easy peasy and delicious!
This one is a super fancy salad and if you like goat cheese at all, you’re going to love this.
Ingredients:
- 1 bag of arugula (typically 7 ounces)
- 1 beet, cooked and peeled (I get mine from Trader Joes that’s already cooked)
- Big handful of crushed/chopped walnuts
- 1 large carrot, shredded
- 4oz Goat Cheese
- Honey
- Balsamic vinegar
- Olive oil
- 1 Lemon
- Optional: Cherry tomatoes, sliced in half, pan fried slightly
Directions:
- Boil the beet in water for 30minutes to cook it. I buy the already cooked/peeled beets from Trader Joes to save me this step as it’s the most time consuming part. Slice them up into little pieces.
- Roughly chop or crush the walnuts.
- Shred/grate the carrot.
- Crumble up the goat cheese and lightly drizzle honey all over it.
- Mix the arugula, walnuts, carrot, honey-goat cheese and beets in a bowl.
- Squeeze the lemon juice, add a splash of balsamic vinegar and olive oil and stir it up once more and it’s ready to serve!
Optional step to jazz things up:
- Before you start any of the other steps, get some cherry tomatoes, slice them in half and sauté it in a pan. Add them to the bowl when you’re adding all the other ingredients.
Let me know how you guys like these recipes! And if you make these already and have some tips to make em even more jazzy, leave a comment and let’s add to the deliciousness!
