Salad

Rainbow Chicken Salad with Almond Honey Mustard Dressing – Updated

February 23, 2017 by laurenpacek 2 Comments

This salad is equal parts sweet and savory, and entirely delicious.

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Rainbow Chicken Salad with Almond Honey Mustard Dressing | A Nerd Cooks

I know that some people automatically think of salads as being “sad desk lunches.” While this certainly can be true, this particular salad definitely does not conform to that stereotype.

This salad has a little bit of everything: fresh greens, sweet red grapes and blueberries, filling chicken, and a savory dressing. The sweet freshness of the salad and savory dressing play really well together. Plus, while it doesn’t have all of the colors of the rainbow, it’s also very colorful and pretty.

Rainbow Chicken Salad with Almond Honey Mustard Dressing | A Nerd Cooks

Along these lines, I’ve shared a few savory-sweet salads with you in the past. See the Strawberry Pecan Salad with Beets, Watermelon Avocado Salad, or Strawberry Balsamic Salad for other delicious examples.

Sad desk lunch be gone!

Rainbow Chicken Salad with Almond Honey Mustard Dressing | A Nerd Cooks

This salad is based on a recipe from Pinch of Yum. I blogged about it almost 3 years ago exactly (original post found here), but tinkered with the proportions for the dressing a little bit.

You’ll need:

For the salad (makes 1 salad) –

2 oz. cooked chicken, shredded or cut into bite-sized pieces (rotisserie chicken is a time-saver)
1 cup red grapes, halved
1/2 cup blueberries
1/4 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup almonds, slivered or sliced
lettuces/greens of your choice (I used a combination of spring mix greens and baby arugula)

For the dressing (makes enough for 4-5 salads) –

4 tbs almond butter (sub peanut butter if desired)
1 tbs olive oil
juice of 1 orange
3 tbs water
2 tbs stoneground mustard
1 tbs honey
1/4 tsp salt
1 garlic clove

Assemble the salad in whatever vessel you choose. I prefer a bowl. Set it aside while you make the dressing.

Combine all dressing ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Blitz until smooth. Taste and add more salt as needed.

Pour the dressing over the salad and enjoy.

Strawberry Pecan Salad with Beets and Poppy Seed Dressing

May 26, 2016 by laurenpacek 2 Comments

This salad is fresh, delicious, and chock full of spring produce. It is topped with a tangy-sweet homemade poppy seed dressing. Strawberry Pecan Salad with Beets and Poppy Seed Dressing | A Nerd Cooks Salad need not be boring. Banish that notion from your mind. This salad–along with this Mediterranean Chopped Salad, Greek Power Bowl, and Strawberry Balsamic Salad–is proof. #saddesklunch be gone!

For this little number, I loaded up some arugula and baby greens with lots of berries and roasted beets. Then I added some crunchy toasted pecans and some salty feta cheese. Top all of that with a tangy-sweet homemade poppy seed dressing, and you’re in business.

Strawberry Pecan Salad with Beets and Poppy Seed Dressing | A Nerd Cooks

You’ll need:

For the dressing (makes enough for 4-5 salads)-

1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbs honey
3 tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tbs plain Greek yogurt
1 tbs poppy seeds
salt and pepper, to taste

For the salad (makes 1 large salad)-

3 cups greens of choice (I used a spring mix and baby arugula)
fresh basil, sliced into thin strips
5-6 strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup roasted beets
1/4 cup pecans, toasted
1/4 cup feta cheese

In a small bowl, whisk all of the ingredients for the poppy seed dressing together. Taste and add more salt or pepper as desired. The dressing will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for ~5 days. Set aside for a moment.

Add all of the salad ingredients to a bowl. Drizzle with 1-2 tbs dressing.

Mediterranean Chopped Salad – Updated!

May 10, 2016 by laurenpacek 3 Comments

Mediterranean Chopped Salad | A Nerd Cooks Haaaayyyy! I’m clawing my way back from grant submission-induced online inactivity.

The first recipe I wanted to show you this week is this Mediterranean Chopped Salad, which I’ve been making for a few years now.

Don’t worry, we’ll be back to donuts and cookies soon enough.

Mediterranean Chopped Salad | A Nerd Cooks Need more salad action? Check out this Greek Power Bowl, Strawberry Balsamic Salad, and Watermelon and Avocado Salad, to name just a few.

They, along with this chopped salad, are all light enough for the warmer weather, but still substantial enough to keep you going until dinner time. Mediterranean Chopped Salad | A Nerd Cooks

My original blog post for this salad can be found here.

You’ll need (makes ~4 salads):

For the salad –

1 medium English cucumber
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 14 oz. can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
4-5 cups lettuces of choice (I like baby arugula and a spring mix)

For the vinaigrette –

3 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tbs olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper

Cut the English cucumber in half, lengthwise. Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds. This will keep your salad from getting watery and soggy as it sits in the fridge. Cut each cucumber half into thirds, and chop into bite-sized pieces.

Add the cucumber to a large bowl along with the halved tomatoes, chick peas, chopped olives, crumbled feta, and greens. Toss everything together.

To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the proportions to your liking. I’m a big fan of super vinegary and sour, pucker-inducing flavors, but you do you.

Don’t add the vinaigrette to the salad until you’re ready to eat.

Want to make this salad even more filling? Throw some avocado or baked falafel on top. You can’t go wrong.

Mediterranean Chopped Salad | A Nerd Cooks

Farro Caprese Salad

April 11, 2016 by laurenpacek 3 Comments

This farro caprese salad is fresh and summery: perfect for upcoming warmer weather. Farro Caprese Salad | A Nerd Cooks

Farro is, hands down, my new favorite grain. It’s an ancient grain that’s roughly nutritionally equivalent to quinoa. However, I find its chewy texture to be much more interesting. It’s kind of nutty, and is great in salads. I can’t lie, I even ate it as a hot breakfast cereal one morning with some brown sugar and cinnamon. Pretty tasty. Farro Caprese Salad | A Nerd Cooks Though you could definitely make this salad any time of the year, Caprese anything screams “summer” to me. This salad is doubly summery, to me, with the addition of baby arugula.

I’ve made this to take to work all week for my lunch, but this would also be perfect for cookouts and BBQs, or as a side dish for dinner. Farro Caprese Salad | A Nerd Cooks

This salad is inspired by one that I saw on Pastiche.

You’ll need:

14 oz. bag Italian pearled farro
4 cups water
2 tsp olive oil
salt, to taste
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cubed
fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
2 handfuls fresh baby arugula
1.5 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Place the farro and water in a medium-sized sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain the remaining water from the pot, add the olive oil and salt, and toss to combine. Allow the farro to cool to room temperature.

Add the cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and arugula to the cooled farro. Toss everything together.

Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Pour over the farro and toss to coat everything evenly.

This can be eaten cold, at room temperature, or warm (think melty strings of mozzarella).

Farro Caprese Salad | A Nerd Cooks

Greek Power Bowl

October 23, 2015 by laurenpacek 6 Comments

This salad has just about all of the bases covered: creamy, crunchy, savory, tangy, filling but not too heavy. It will fill you up and keep you powered until dinner time!

One of the things that I really like about this salad (I mean, besides all of the amazing toppings) is that I use shredded Brussels sprouts as a part of the salad base! Just trim the stem off of your sprouts, remove the tough outer leaves, and pass them through your food processor, using the shredding disk. Toss them in with whatever other salad greens you’d like to use. Trust me, you want to try it.

All in all, it’s a pretty healthy salad. The hummus might add some calories, but the tzatziki is guilt-free as long as you use 0% Greek yogurt.

You’ll need (makes 1 large salad):

2-3 cups greens (I used baby kales, arugula, and shredded Brussels sprouts)
1/2 cup cucumber, chopped
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup kalamata olives, chopped
1/8 cup feta cheese
3 falafel (the Internet tells me that this is also the plural form of the word)
2-3 tbs hummus
2-3 tbs tzatziki sauce

Add the greens, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, feta, and falafel to a bowl. Top with hummus and tzatziki. Enjoy!

Watermelon and Avocado Salad

July 6, 2015 by laurenpacek 2 Comments

After getting my first taste of balsamic vinegar on watermelon in the Watermelon Nectarine Caprese Salad that I made a little while back, I was hooked. There’s such a delicious contrast of flavors going on – sweet vs. tart.

I knew that I couldn’t stop there.

We got our first good watermelon recently, and I couldn’t help but cube it up and toss it into a salad, add some avocado, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

If you haven’t tried this flavor combination before, wait no longer, and let this be a gentle introduction!

You’ll need (makes 2 side salads or one large main dish salad):

2-3 cups greens (I used arugula)
2 cups watermelon, cubed
1 avocado, sliced or cubed
1-2 oz. feta cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
balsamic vinegar and olive oil

This is super simple. Ready?

Toss all ingredients, except for vinegar and oil, together in a bowl or on a plate. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Or, if you’re like me and are really into sour/tart flavors, just go with balsamic vinegar only.

This salad is so light and refreshing, yet pretty substantial thanks to the addition of avocado.

Watermelon Nectarine Caprese Salad

June 29, 2015 by laurenpacek 7 Comments

Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of the summer months. The heat, the humidity, the presence of lots of insects… Shudder.

I am, however, a huge fan of summer produce.

Caprese salads (and all things Caprese, really) are my jam. You’ve seen me blog about chunky Caprese salad, and then Caprese salad pasta, Caprese salad skewers, and most recently, strawberry Caprese salad.

Like so many of my posts, this one was inspired by Joy the Baker. She blogged about Watermelon Peach Caprese Salad recently, and I couldn’t wait to put my spin on it.

You’ll need:

watermelon, sliced
heirloom tomatoes, sliced
nectarines, sliced
fresh mozzarella, sliced
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
fresh basil

Arrange the watermelon, tomatoes, nectarines, and mozzarella on a platter or in a dish. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and top with fresh basil.

Strawberry Balsamic Salad

June 11, 2015 by laurenpacek 5 Comments

Hands down, this is my favorite salad. As soon as it gets to be even remotely close to berry season, I’m making this for my lunches at work.

It’s sweet, tart, super healthy, and somehow manages to not get old even after eating it day in and day out.

This is an updated version of the Strawberry Spinach Salad that I blogged about 3 years ago.

I list ingredients without proportions/amounts, since you can use more or less of everything to suit your tastes.

You’ll need:

baby arugula
mixed greens
basil, sliced into ribbons
strawberries, sliced
grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
English cucumber, seeds removed and cut into quarters
feta cheese
slivered almonds/chopped walnuts
salt, to taste
balsamic vinegar
extra virgin olive oil (honestly, I use only vinegar, but use in whatever proportions you like)

Toss everything, minus the vinegar and olive oil, together in a bowl. Dress with vinegar and olive oil and go to town!

Every now and then I’ll also toss an avocado into the mix (highly recommended).

Mixed Citrus Salad with Avocado and Lemon Poppyseed Dressing

February 4, 2015 by laurenpacek 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links.

More citrus. Nay, ALL THE CITRUS!

I can’t help myself! It’s so delicious and beautiful at this time of year. It being healthy is just a bonus.

This recipe serves 2 as a side salad. Just multiply the ingredients if you’re going to be feeding more people.

Mixed Citrus Salad with Avocado and Lemon Poppyseed Dressing | A Nerd Cooks

You’ll need:

1 grapefruit, peeled and sliced
1 cara cara orange, peeled and sliced
1 blood orange, peeled and sliced
1/2 avocado, sliced
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbs olive oil
2 tsp honey or agave nectar (agave nectar makes this salad vegan!)
1 tsp poppy seeds, plus more for garnish
salt and pepper, to taste

Arrange the citrus and avocado on a plate.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, honey/agave nectar, poppy seeds, salt, and pepper. Pour it over the fruit and avocado.

Top with more poppy seeds for garnish, if desired. Dig in!

Photos updated: 1/2/2017

Mixed Citrus Salad with Avocado and Lemon Poppyseed Dressing | A Nerd Cooks

Kale Salad Bowl with Tahini Dressing

January 12, 2015 by laurenpacek 7 Comments

Let’s talk about new year’s resolutions.Yes to staying in more, indeed, Liz Lemon.

Let’s review the past year: Last year (in a post about a kale and butternut squash salad, funnily enough), I proclaimed that the following were my resolutions for 2014:

~~Learn to use piping bags~~ – Done! See these chocolate cupcakes for proof =)
Work with yeast – This one still scares me a little me…
~~Take more photos~~ – Done!
~~Take more good food photos~~ – Done! “Good” is, of course, a relative term.
~~Cook with curry~~ – Done! See this post about chicken tikka masala that actually ended up being one the most popular posts on my blog in 2014! I’ll be showing you an awesome chicken curry later this week, too.
~~Bundt cake~~ – Done! I didn’t blog about it, but I made pumpkin chocolate chip bundt cakes this past fall.
Take better care of myself – Nope. Still not quite there yet.

So… 5/7? Could be worse. What about this year? I’m keeping it simple.

Drink more water
Exercise regularly and consistently – Regularly = at least 4x/week; consistently = keep doing it all year long. Granted, we’re only 12 days into the year, but so far, so good.

There you have it. Anyone else willing to share their resolutions?

This salad bowl will help to keep you on track with your goals of eating better in the new year. Full disclosure, it is slightly involved to make, but the recipe makes 4 servings. So if you make it on Sunday, you have lunches for almost the entire week ready to go!

The recipe for this kale salad bowl comes from the blog I Will Not Eat Oysters, though I’ve tinkered slightly with some of the proportions. The recipe makes enough for 4 substantial servings.

You’ll need:

For the sweet potatoes –

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
olive oil
salt and pepper

For the tahini dressing –

2 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup tahini paste (check near the peanut butter if you have trouble finding it in your grocery store)
3 tbs lemon juice
2-3 tbs warm water

For the lemon dressing –

1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

For the kale bowls –

4 cups raw kale, washed, chopped, and stems removed
1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa, cooked in chicken or vegetable broth (it adds a ton of flavor!)
1-15 oz. can chick peas, drained
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
sesame seeds
salt and pepper

Begin by roasting your sweet potatoes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside. In a plastic bag, combine the cubed sweet potatoes, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Toss until all sweet potatoes are coated. Place the sweet potatoes on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Roast for 20-25 minutes, tossing them around halfway through.

To make the tahini dressing, add all of the ingredients to a blender or food processor. Blend/process until smooth.

To make the lemon dressing, simply whisk all of the ingredients together.

For the bowls themselves, you’ll start by massaging the kale. This will make the kale a bit softer, and break down the tough fibers. Place the clean, chopped kale in a large bowl. Pour the lemon dressing over, and add some salt and pepper. Follow the instructions in this video on how to massage kale. You’ll be massaging it for 3-4 minutes.

Once the kale has been massaged, top it with the roasted sweet potatoes, cooked quinoa, feta cheese, chick peas, sesame seeds, and any additional salt and pepper, to taste.

Enjoy!!

One of the great things about this salad is it is really hearty. You can make it at the start of the week and not worry about it being soggy or gross by the time Wednesday or Thursday rolls around.