Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Apple-Pecan Salad

I love the combination of crunchy pecans, juicy apples, and salty cheese in this salad. I also love the versatility. Swap out the apple for fresh strawberries or cranberries and the pecans for walnuts or even sunflower seeds for a completely different taste. Any sweet vinegar can be swapped for the raspberry vinegar, also.

Apple-Pecan Salad
1 cup pecan halves
4 cups of your favorite washed, dried, and chopped lettuce greens
Raspberry vinaigrette, to taste (recipe follows)
4 oz. blue cheese, Gorgonzola, or feta cheese, crumbled
2 ripe apples (0r pears), peeled, cored, and cut into bite sized pieces

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and bake 10 minutes, shaking the pan 2-3 times during the cooking process. Remove from sheet and let cool.

Toss salad with vinaigrette. Top with pecans, blue cheese, and apples.

For a main course salad add fully-cooked, chopped chicken.

Raspberry Vinaigrette

1 T mayonnaise
2 T Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Put mayo, mustard, and garlic in a blender and blend until smooth. Add vinegar and blend a few seconds more. As the blender runs, add the olive oil in a thin stream. Season with salt and pepper.

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Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Sweet and Smoky Nut Mix

This simple recipe (if you can call it that) is one of my easiest and tastiest combinations. How can anything with butter toffee peanuts, smoky almonds, and cashews go wrong? I have used this simple nut mix as a party mix and trail mix with great success. This is also great to keep in large quantities for after-school snacks or as a quick staple to have on hand for company.

Ingredients:
Butter Toffee Peanuts
Smokehouse Flavored Almonds
Cashews

Method:
Mix equal amounts of peanuts, almonds, and cashews and store in an air-tight container. So simple and so tasty!

Prep Time: 30 seconds!

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Introduction to the Fast Foodie

food-ie
n. slang
a person keenly interested in food, esp. in eating or cooking


First of all, this blog is not about my love of paper-wrapped, grease drenched fast food. Ugh!

This blog is about my love of food. I thoroughly enjoy every aspect of food from enjoying every delightful mouthful of a meal prepared by a professional chef to preparing a new innovative recipe in the familiarity my own kitchen.

Unfortunately, like most, I don't have the time for all of this. I don't have the time to take on a second job to afford numerous restaurant bill each month nor do I have the time to prepare meals daily completely from scratch.

What I do have time for is preparing plenty of simple meals using whole ingredients with occasional cheaters (pre-packaged foods). I will be sharing my favorite recipes, favorite cheaters, and favorite cookbooks and websites that help keep my life simple and delicious.

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