Southwest Grilled Pork Tenderloin Salad

July 13, 2016 Amanda Plott

I've been challenged again this year! They say that the best cooks know how to utilize any ingredients placed in front of them. I'd like to think that my handy skills with creating 'pantry' meals from my kitchen aids me in this.

Today I put my chops to the test in this Chopped At Home Challenge with Sargento®! My goal was to create a recipe within the theme of 'grilling' using all of the secret “basket” ingredients; pork tenderloin, cherry/grape tomatoes, broccoli, and Sargento Chef Blends 4 State Cheddar. Of course, looking at the last three ingredients my mind instantly went to a chef or cobb salad. But, what to do with the pork? Being from Texas, my first thought was grilled pork with a spicy seasoned kick. The spice is what kicked this off into a twist on a southwest salad...

Italian 'Sub' Salad

June 15, 2016 Amanda Plott

One of my favorite 'sub' sandwiches is an Italian or a 'Grinder'. It's usually loaded with Italian meats such as salami and pepperoni, provolone cheese, and plenty of vegetables including tomatoes, olives, pepper rings and lettuce. Yum! It's a powerhouse of bold flavors with lots of zest and zing! Flavor, flavor, flavor.

So, today I decided to turn that favorite sandwich of mine into a salad. Why? Mostly because we're getting into the high end of the heat index here in Texas now and I don't even feel like toasting bread for fear of adding heat to the house. Yes, I'm absolutely serious about that...

Spring Asparagus Salad & Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

May 10, 2016 Amanda Plott

Spring vegetables are still in full swing for another couple of months, so naturally I'm taking full advantage of that. One of my favorite spring vegetables has to be asparagus. I love it's simple flavor and complete versatility to be the part of just about any meal. So, this week for lunch I decided to dive back into salads and thought that adding some cool asparagus to the mix would be perfect.

This salad is a great lunch, and would also make for a great side dish or used as part of a dinner time meal as well. Along the way I happened to come across some watercress this week, which is another fun spring green and also one that I've never had the pleasure of working with...

Skinny Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

March 8, 2016 Amanda Plott

I'm not sure about anywhere else, since Texas is the only place that I've lived in my adult life, but here... we go through an awful lot of cilantro. It's all that amazing Tex-Mex we have here, so you won't find me complaining. Cilantro and I definitely have a love-hate relationship though.

I've come to the realization that I don't tend to like it much in it's raw form. That is... it needs to be added to something; guacamole, fajita meat, etc. I do, however, love cilantro when it's done right by being used as an ingredient to brighten up a dish. And what better way to do that than with a nice fresh spring produce salad?...

Grapefruit & Avocado Salad with White Wine Vinaigrette

February 25, 2016 Amanda Plott

So, last week I had posted a picture of this fabulous little lunch/snack that I had for myself, and seeing as it managed to grab quite a bit of attention I thought I would do something else similar this week. Though I still might share the original soon too!

Grapefruit is very much so in season here in Texas right now, and as such, I wanted to make full use of it since it's one of my most favorite circus fruits. I find that it's a perfect addition to any breakfast or lunch because of it's brightness. It just adds a little bit of a pep to my step and cheers me on through my day...

Mexican Cottage Cheese Stuffed Avocado Salad

December 21, 2015 Amanda Plott

This week I wanted something quick and easy for my lunches since I knew that with the holidays coming up I was going to need as much time open as I could manage to get! Light and filling salads have been my go-to lunch time meal lately. But, of course I can't have just any salad. And anything with avocado is a bonus in my book.

The idea for this stuffed avocado salad came from my Skinny Mexican Style Avocado Caprese salad that I did a good while back. That too is one of my favorites! However, I wanted something a little different this time around and cottage cheese was calling my name...