New Dinner Recipes

Mediterranean Style Brown Rice Bake via Food For My Family

Greek Turkey Meatballs via Skinny Taste

Grilled Shrimp with Poblano and Avocado Salsa via Eat, Live, Run

Autumn Chopped Salad via Espresso and Cream

Lemon and Garlic Chicken Kabobs via One Perfect Bite

I stumbled across all of these recipes on Pinterest. I have only made a few of them so far, and they have been soo good! I can't wait to try out the rest of them! I love organizing new recipes that I want to try on Pinterest, and it is easy to pull them up on my phone or computer when it's time to grocery shop or cook.

You can follow my recipe board on pinterest HERE.

Chicken Caesar Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 heads romaine lettuce
• 3 chicken breasts, grilled
• 1/2 cup croutons
• 3/4 cup grape tomatoes
• 1/4 cup fresh parmesan, grated

Dressing:

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 lemons, juiced
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated

Combine all of the ingredients for the dressing together in a jar or a small bowl. Whisk together until well blended. Grill your chicken breasts; I usually just marinate mine in olive oil with salt and pepper. Rinse and dry your romaine lettuce. Chop into pieces and place in a large salad bowl. Top with the tomatoes, croutons, and grated parmesan. Remove the chicken from the grill and slice. Place on top of the salad and pour dressing over. Pour the dressing a little at a time; you may not need all of it. Toss and Serve. Or you can toss together the salad leaving the chicken and cheese off. Then make each plate up with the salad and top with the sliced chicken and grated cheese (like the picture above).

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Cobb Salad

We've been eating a lot of salad lately and I was wanting to make one that would be a little more filling, so we could eat it as a meal. I had never made a Cobb Salad before, but really liked how this one turned out. The homemade blue cheese dressing is by Emeril and I like that it is a lighter dressing then a typical creamy blue cheese dressing. This recipe can also be easily doubled to feed more people.

Ingredients:

• 1 head of bibb lettuce, washed, patted dry, and chopped.
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 eggs, hard boiled and sliced
• 5 strips of bacon, well cooked and crumbled
• 1 chicken breast, grilled and shredded (or sometimes I use a cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, about 3/4 cup shredded chicken)

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 a lemon, juiced
• 1/4 lb blue cheese
• salt and pepper

Mix the olive oil and lemon juice together, whisk in the blue cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use. Place the lettuce in a large bowl or on each plate. Top with the remaining ingredients. Mix the dressing well, pour over the salad and toss. 

Southwestern Grilled Chicken Salad with Tomato and Black Bean Salsa

This salad is really yummy! I found the recipe in the Fine Cooking, Cook Fresh Magazine. I added goat cheese on top of the salad. This makes a great summer dinner, and would be great served with corn on the cob.

 Ingredients:

• 1 boneless skinless chicken breast half (6 to 7 oz.), trimmed
• 1/2 Tbs. chili powder
• 1 tsp. light or dark brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• Kosher salt
• 6 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil; more for the grill
• 2 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. chopped fresh cilantro, plus leaves for garnish
• 2 tsp. honey
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Green Tabasco (optional)
• 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 oz. small cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered or halved (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 large scallion, thinly sliced
• 2 small heads Bibb lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces (about 9 cups)
• 1 medium firm-ripe avocado
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

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Prepare a medium-high gas or charcoal grill fire.

Trim and then butterfly the chicken breast by slicing it horizontally almost but not entirely in half so you can open it like a book.

Combine the chili powder, brown sugar, coriander, cumin, and 3/4 tsp. salt in a small bowl. Rub some of the spice mix over both sides of the butterflied chicken breast (you won’t need it all) and let sit while the grill heats.

Clean and oil the grill grate. Grill the breast until the edges of the top side are white, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook until just done, 1 to 2 minutes more. Let the chicken rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

In a small bowl or a glass jar with a tight lid, combine the olive oil, lime juice, 1 Tbs. of the cilantro, the honey, 1/2 tsp. salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a few shakes of green Tabasco (if using). Whisk or shake well to combine.

Combine the black beans, tomatoes, scallion, the remaining 2 tsp. cilantro, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Add 2 Tbs. of the dressing and toss gently.

Put the lettuce in a bowl, season with a little salt, and toss with just enough of the dressing to lightly coat. (Reserve a little to drizzle on the chicken.) Arrange the lettuce on a platter or four dinner plates. Slice the chicken breast very thinly. Pit and slice the avocado. Arrange the chicken, avocado, and salsa on the lettuce. Drizzle a little of the remaining dressing over the chicken and avocado. Garnish with the pine nuts and the cilantro leaves.

Recipe is on the cover of The Best of Fine Cooking Cook Fresh 2011 Magazine. You can also find it online here. 

Blackberry Salad with Toasted Walnuts and Raspberry Balsamic Vinegarette

This is a good summer salad. I got the recipe from my Mom, and she got it from Central Market in Fort Worth, TX. It's really easy and quick to put together.

Ingredients:

• Spring mix lettuce
• Fresh blackberries, rinsed
• Green onions, chopped
• Walnuts, chopped and toasted
• 1/4 cup Olive oil
• 3 tablespoons Raspberry balsamic vinegar
• Salt and Pepper

 Toast the walnuts over medium heat. In a bowl toss together the first four ingredients. In a smaller bowl whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. (Or you could use a store bought raspberry dressing) Pour the dressing over the salad just before serving and toss.

Stacked Pear Salad

I made this Stacked Pear Salad to go with our Christmas dinner. I had it last year at Christmas dinner party and loved it. They look so pretty and taste great too! You can make the salad with many different variations.
This year I made a spinach salad with toasted pine nuts, goat cheese, and a lemon vinaigrette. Last year my friends served it with a spinach salad with feta, chopped pecans, and a raspberry vinaigrette. You serve the salad stuffed inside a cored pear that has been cut into thirds. And you can drizzle honey on top or a little extra salad dressing. The honey looks really pretty on top, I forgot to do that to these in the picture. It also helps the pear sit flat on the plate if you cut a small slice off the bottom.