Quick Lemon Vinaigrette

This is my go-to salad dressing, it's so fresh and tangy :)  I also use it as a marinade for chicken or fish.

You will need:

1 lemon, zest and juice
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1/4 cup vinegar (I usually use red or white wine vinegar)
1/2 cup oil (I use canola or olive oil)
pinch of coarse salt, like kosher salt
cracked pepper to taste

I like to add the ingredients to a bowl with a lid for easy storage.  To zest the lemon and grate the garlic I use a microplane kitchen tool, if you do not have one a cheese grater works, too.

Add all ingredients to the bowl and whisk, or cover with the lid and shake.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

This usually lasts about a week in my fridge.  Enjoy!

Thai Crunch Salad

I've been seeing a lot of salads using broccoli slaw lately and they all look so good.  I've been trying to find one using a little less oil or mayo.  I wasn't able to find one that I really wanted to try so I made my own using all the ingredients I love in a crunchy salad.  The recipe below for the salad is for one serving, so you can easily multiply it.  The recipe for the dressing is two servings.

For the salad you will need:

6 oz broccoli slaw
1 apple (I used Gala)
10 almonds, chopped
1 oz cilantro leaves, chopped
1 green onion sprig, chopped

For the dressing you will need:

1 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
4 tbsp red wine vinegar (or rice vinegar if you have it)
1 tsp sriracha sauce
1/2 tsp sesame seed oil for flavor
juice from half a lime

So first, you'll need to get chopping.  I made little match sticks out of the apple, skin on.  Then add the apples, cilantro, green onion and almonds to the broccoli slaw.  That's pretty much it for the salad portion.

Then, in a seperate bowl add the peanut butter.  Zap it in the microwave for about 30 seconds to a minute to soften it if you need to.  Add the soy sauce, vinegar, sriracha, sesame seed oil and lime juice to the bowl and combine well with a wisk or fork until smooth.  And that's it for the dressing part of it.

Now, just pour half of the dressing (remember, this recipe makes two servings) over the salad and mix.  Top with a lime wedge to make it pretty.

It is so delicious. The almonds give it a nice crunch and apples give it a nice sweetness.  And get this... This whole salad, which is a mountain on my plate, is approximately 302 calories!  Yes, please :) Enjoy!

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