Chunky Monkey & Stroganoff

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The Hubster and I had a very rare 'spare' night; meaning we had a weekend night all to ourselves.  So we got a dollar-rent-a-movie, and I, without wanting to go grocery shopping (that would take up our free night!), I made an easy dinner with whatever I had in the house.  So with a box of organic pasta, some sour cream and a package of ground turkey I made some stroganoff in the crockpot while we went all-out leisurely.  Since there was absolutely no lettuce in the house (HIGHLY unusual) I made a salad with what veggies I did have.  Turned out to be a chunky salad(ish) with my own monkey dressing (I called it that because I use a little coconut water to make it, which makes me think of a monkey in a tree......plus it rhymes with chunky!)  Needless to say, everything (including the rare-spare evening) was delicious!  Life.  is good.

CHUNKY MONKEY SALAD

2 carrots, peeled and chopped into bite-sized chunks

2 celery stalks, cut into bite-sized chunks

10 grape tomatoes, sliced in half

 8 radish, quartered or halved

1/2 onion, chopped coarsely

Load all ingredients into a bowl and cover with monkey dressing!  That's IT!

NOTES: I used some yellow heirloom grape tomatoes that were aching to be-used-or-go-bad.  They were a perfect complement to the crunchier veggies.

CHUNKY MONKEY DRESSING

1 cup mayo

1/4 cup coconut milk (more if you want it thinner)

1 sprig thyme

sea salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

Put all ingredients in a jar or a container with a lid.  Shake, shake shake!  Pour over your salad!

NOTES: FANTASTIC for summer!

CROCKPOT STROGANOFF

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1 pkg ground turkey

extra virgin olive oil

1 can (or organic box) cream of mushroom soup

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups sour cream

2 tbs Italian seasoning

sea salt 

pepper

Sprinkle enough evoo to cover bottom of crockpot.  Put all ingredients in crockpot and stir.  Put on high heat, about four hours.  If you are home, stir from time-to-time, if not, be sure to break it all up and stir prior to serving.  Serve over pasta.  Garnish with parsley, if desired.

NOTES:  I don't use the cream of mushroom soup in a can because I really do think it affects the flavor.  I use organic boxed cream of mushroom soup, which you can find in the natural section of your regular grocery store.  You can replace the ground turkey with beef, if you want, but omit evoo if you do.  I used a box of organic rotini, but since I'm low-carb and the kids are no longer living at home, I only used a little for Adrian.  So be on the lookout for the leftovers to resurface!

Love Stack!

This image is © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used.

I love food.   And there are some foods that bring back sweet memories for me.  A beautiful antipasto is one of them.  (Yes, I just described an antipasto as 'beautiful')  The array of Italian meats and cheeses, the colorful tomatoes, carrots, and zucchini, the tangy marinated artichoke hearts and pop of garbanzo beans that add texture to the tray?  Oh, yes, My Friends.  SWEET MEMORIES.  Well, I wanted to try something a little different; something easy with less fuss, and something that would taste like that beautiful memory, while creating a new one.  THIS??  This is GENIUS.  It has all the antipasto flavors, resembles a lasagna, and tastes like a slice of heaven.

ANTIPASTO SALAD STACK

1/4 pound sliced salami

2 carrots, ribboned

1/2 head Romaine lettuce, shredded into ribbon-like pieces

1/4 pound smoked provolone cheese

1/2 container grape tomatoes, quartered

1 large zucchini, ribboned

1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained, juice/oil reserved for dressing

home-made balsamic (or your favorite store brand)

1/4 pound sandwich-sized pepperoni

1 jar garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained

1/2 red onion, sliced thinly

1/4 pound sliced mozzarella cheese

FOR DRESSING:

1 cup mayonnaise

juice/oil reserved from jar of artichoke hearts

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

parsley, chopped, for garnish

In a square baking pan, layer salami, carrot ribbons, and Romaine ribbons,  On top of that, layer the provolone cheese grape tomatoes, zucchini ribbons, and artichoke hearts.  With a light hand, barely drizzle the balsamic dressing over this layer.  It is now time to layer the pepperoni, garbanzo beans, and red onion (see notes).  For the final layer, place your mozzarella cheese on the top, and then gently-but-firmly press down on the entire salad stack.  Cover with foil or non-stick cling wrap and place in the fridge.  At this point, you will need something heavy to place on top - I used my gallon of milk, which fit perfectly into the square pan.  Let this sit for at LEAST an hour.  Meanwhile, mix your dressing ingredients and refrigerate as well.  When ready, slice CAREFULLY into squares - oh-so-carefully so as not to disturb the meat layers and have them slide around.  Take your spatula and plate one of those beauties.  Pour your dressing on top and garnish with the parsley.  A knife and a fork helped me put each bite into my mouth while keeping the layers in tact.  And oh!  The MEMORIES!

NOTES:  You can substitute any deli meat and cheese you like, as well as the veggies.  TOTALLY replaceable with whatever you like!  It's also low-carb for those of you that care about that part.  They key here is the stacking and pressing.  Also, my Aunt Frannie said if you are one of those people that don't like the bite in the red onion and want to take it out, soak it in cold water for ten minutes after slicing.  

Want to see how easy this was in real-time?  Click HERE to see!

Lettuce Grill...

This salad is hearty, fast, and easy - and is PERFECT for summertime!  The Hubster was craving this chicken Caesar salad, where even the lettuce is grilled!!  What's that you say, Crazy Lady??  I know, I know.  But TRUST ME.  This??  This is goooooood...

This image is © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used.

GRILLED CHICKEN CAESAR

2 heads Romaine

cooking spray

2 pkgs chicken tenders

red onion, sliced thin

Parmesan shavings

sea salt

pepper

garlic

DRESSING

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tbs Dijon mustard

1 tbs Worcestershire

2-3 cloves garlic

2 anchovy fillets or 1 tbs anchovy paste

1/3 cup milk

pepper, to taste

Sprinkle indoor or outdoor grill with cooking spray.  Season chicken tenders on both sides with a sprinkle of sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Cook about 2-3 minutes on both sides.  Remove from grill, set aside.  DO NOT CLEAN YOUR GRILL YET (see notes). Cut Romaine heads in half length-wise.  Spray grill with cooking spray again and lay each head on grill, cooking about 1 minute on each side.  Remove from grill and chop coarsely.  Place in bowl and chop your chicken tenders into chunks about 1/2 inch, and then place onion on top of chicken.  Place on top of lettuce.  Place all dressing ingredients into your blender or food processor and shoosh it up until smooth.  Pour over salad and mix up, making certain to sneak at least one piece of chicken as you do.  Garnish with Parmesan shavings, and if you're like us, you'll serve it with some table white and make "this tastes so delicious" noises as you eat.

NOTES: Grill the lettuce right over where you grilled your chicken for full-on flavor.  I try to use organic ingredients whenever possible for clean eating, but in this recipe, there are so many flavors going on, you won't notice if you can't find organic ingredients.  FO' REALZ.

Wanna see this in real-time?  Go to my YouTube Channel HERE!

Steak-Garlic Vinaigrette

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Two cloves of garlic, used from Under Five-Minute Steak, chopped finely

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp pepper

Place all ingredients in a small jar with a lid - I just used an old mason jar.  Shake until good and mixed up.  Pour over hearty lettuce, like Romaine, to go with your awesome steak.

This image is © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used. 

This turned out to be one of the most-flavorful (but also one of the fastest AND easiest!) dinners we have ever had, believe it or not!  Now, to finish it off, a friend of ours, Terry McCanless (we call him T-Bone, totally appropriate for this particular post!), created a masterpiece that The Hubster ate after this steak-creation.  

Boys and girls, don't try this ooey-gooey goodness at home!  Oh, who am I kidding?!?  DEFINITELY TRY THIS AT HOME!!  (Thanks, T-Bone!!)

This image is © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used. 

Wanna see how the Under Five-Minute Steak was made?  In REAL-TIME?  Click HERE!  Don't forget to like the video and subscribe to the channel!