Category Archives: Salad

December 5, 2012 · 8:38 am

Tacos (in a Salad)

tacosalad6

I love tacos.  Like really love them.  Like I’d maybe consider marrying them.

And while I’m not quite ready to say I love tacos more than pizza at this exact moment, I’m sure there are times when such a proclamation might be made.

tacosalad3

I love the crispy shells.  The soft shells.  The spiced ground beef.  Tacos with cilantro lime marinated chicken.  Shrimp tacos with fruit salsa.  The taco truck tacos.  The overpriced restaurant tacos.  The Taco Bell tacos.  Tacos in foil.  Tacos on plates.  Tacos with sides of beans and rice.  Tacos with sides of lime wedges and cabbage.  Tacos with salsa.  Tacos with sour cream.  Tacos with avocado.  Tacos in my mouth.

tacosalad4

I am an equal-opportunity taco eater and lover.

But you see the thing is… tacos… well much like pizza… I can’t exactly justify eating them on the regular.  Because according to my hips, they’re not the healthiest thing in the world.  And according to Shakira, “Hips Don’t Lie.”  Jerks.

Although just a few months ago I was visiting my lovely friend Paloma, who is also an avid lover of tacos, and her wonderful Momma introduced me to a whole new world of tacos.

tacosalad5

Taco Salads!

And before you tsk, tsk, tsk… I should forewarn you there is no taco shell involved and the dressing isn’t creamy.

These are basically a deconstructed taco and can be as healthy or unhealthy for that matter, as you want them to be.  And since I’m getting all fixed to get married and stuff, this recipe errs on the side of healthy.

tacosalad

Sweets and I throw this easy dinner together probably once a week.  It’s become one of our favorite go-to quick and easy dinners.  It’s also the perfect thing to make when we have friends over for din-din.  I can think of at least three pals who’ve enjoyed this particular meal at Casa de Krajewski-Sharpe.

A few of those dinner guests have actually reported checking S&K for the recipe… and I’ve failed them!  And failed you!  But not for long!  I’m redeeming myself right NOW!

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May 24, 2012 · 3:00 pm

Strawberry, Goat Cheese and Almond Salad

Strawberry season is upon us!!!!!

Are you excited? You should be.

Sweet, delicious, perfectly plump strawberries! I’ll any them in any shape and/or form and in whatever dish they find themselves in, sweet or savory, I do not discriminate.

Most of the most delicious things in life have some sort of strawberry influence.

Strawberry milkshakes, strawberry cobbler, strawberry cake, strawberry shortcake!, strawberry jam, strawberry rhubarb pie, strawberry chapstick, strawberry tequila, strawberry margaritas… and… like a billion others.

My Dad’s favorite is strawberry sandwiches; I’m still not quite sure how you make those, but he WILL NOT stop talking about them.

You know what else is ridiculously delicious?

Strawberry salads…

Mix some fresh strawberries in with greens, slivers almonds and goat cheese and you’ve got yourself quite the treat for dinner or lunch or brunch or whatever meal it is you’re eating.

Sweets and I made this salad a week ago for dinner and topped it with some grilled bird and it was SPECTACULAR!

I’ve had a variation of the salad at a billion restaurants but I think my own take on it was much better, probably because I got to add as many strawberries as I wanted! Success!

Strawberry Salad with Goat Cheese and Slivered Almonds

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May 22, 2012 · 9:16 am

Zucchini & Lox Carpaccio

zucchini lox carpaccio

It was really hot today, like really REALLY hot, like swamp coolers can’t hang kind of hot.

But mostly it was like there is NO WAY in – starts with an H rhymes with smell – I am going to turn on my oven to make dinner kind of hot.

And so Sweets and I made a summer friendly din-din thanks to a little “pinspiration” from my friend Isa.

The original Pin was just for a simple Zucchini Carpaccio but I thought adding some Lox would give it the substance it needed to go from being a side-salad to a full on dinner.

Albeit a light dinner, which was just perfect for this hot summer night.

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December 15, 2011 · 2:33 pm

Didn’t try these in 2011? Make them in 2012.

As the New Year rolls around I figured this would be as good a time as any to go ahead and jump on that “Top 10 list” bandwagon.

I’m a pretty big fan of lists as a whole.

Grocery and to-do lists do their best to keep this scatter brain temporarily focused.

Lists like this make me choke up and smile (#6, #42), gasp in shock (#10 & #18) and then again in horror (#16), cry (#20) and then smile (#25 & #34).

Lists like this, while mildly disturbing (see #18), make me giggle a whole lot.

And then there are lists like this that leave me wondering who these shoplifters are? Filet Mignon, Axe Body Spray, Let’s Rock Elmo?

Lists like this overwhelm me… and eventually my Kindle.

And for those who disagree with any end of year lists there’s this.

So many lists – so little time.

Now for a list that makes your stomach rumble (in a good way) and you drool (in a delicious way).

Sweetie & The Kitchen’s Top 10 Recipes of 2011 LIST!

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Filed under alcohol, Appetizer, Baking, BBQ, Beef, Burgers, Chicken, Chile, Cold Dishes, Drinks, Fish, Healthy, Hearty, Italian, Lamb, New Mexican, Salad, Sauce, Side Dishes, Soup, Sunny Mexico, Sweets, Veggies

July 25, 2011 · 7:28 am

I’m working 9-6 – gotta do some cookin’

oats, pasta salad and salad salad

Now let's get this week started!

Work, work, work.

and some more…

work.

The new job kind of work.

That’s where we’ve been.

Sweets is out on the road slangin’ fine wine to the greater metro area.

And I’m geeking out over news and all things web at the local CBS affiliate.

New jobs and new responsibilities means Sweets and I are fiddling with this brand spankin’ new schedule to figure out a fresh routine.

So here we are, a few ‘no-posts’ weeks later.  Offering an official Sweetie & The Kitchen apology and a post devoted to saving some time during YOUR busy work week.

So after some Friday night blogspiration courtesy of Can You Stay for Dinner? I decided to spend part of my Sunday chopping, cooking, tossing and Tupperware-ing some of our favorites to last us Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

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June 28, 2011 · 7:38 am

It’s 1 Billion Degrees Outside: Let’s Make Salad for Dinner

Maybe 1 billion degrees is a teeny tiny bit of a stretch… but it’s close.

If you want to get all technical and stuff, I guess we could guestimate that it’s about… say… 1 million degrees.

That sounds about right.

And when it’s that hot outside the LAST thing you want to do is turn the oven on… especially if that oven is tucked into your petite kitchen… unless your into sweating (ferociously) while you cook.  And ya know, that’s really not my thing.

So tonight instead of slaving (and sweating) over my stove I decided to keep dinner cool and make a salad.

A salad I kind of (totally) stole from Sweets’ TV lady friend, Giada De Laurentiis.

Smoked Salmon and Arugula Carpaccio
* Ms. De Laurentiis used Frisee, which is not my favorite leafy green, so I substituted Arugula

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May 24, 2011 · 9:14 pm

What happens when Sweets decides what’s for dinner…

Dinner is served...

So what happens when Sweets decides what we’re makin’ for dinner?  Magic.  That’s what happens.  Culinary, you’d think you’re at a fancy restaurant, magic.

You see I’m all into comfort food with a healthy twist or two… but for the most part my inventions are pretty simple and usually incorporate beans… if not in the actual dish… then it MUST pair well with beans as a side dish.

But when Sweets decides on dinner… the description generally sounds like something you might read on a menu in some fancy restaurant.  And not just some cheapy lamented menu… we’re talking about those places whose menu actually has a cover and a binding and sometimes it’s even leather.

Recently I was telling a friend what we had for dinner the night before and I actually got winded naming the dish… and mind you… I was telling her through g-chat.  I wasn’t even talking, I was typing.  And I got winded.

Want to know what it was?  Of course you do, that’s why you’re reading this blog.

Grilled New York Steak with a homemade Chimichurri sauce served with a Heirloom Tomato, Avocado and Arugula Salad with a Balsamic Reduction.

I know, that’s a lot of syllables for just one dinner… so let me rephrase it… we had Heaven for dinner.

And as fancy shmancy as this all sounds I have a little secret.

Come here, I’ll tell you, but shhhh.

Don’t tell anyone (cause I kind of enjoy looking so fancy) but…

It was super easy.

Say WHA?

That’s right.

You too can eat like you’re at a fancy restaurant with a leather bound menu in the comforts of you’re very own home.  And probably spend a bajillion times less money doing it too.

So let’s not waste anymore time and get to cooking.. and grilling.

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April 11, 2011 · 7:00 am

Some of the Best Things in Life are EASY!

Cobb Salad

I am gonna eat you

There are probably a bajillion different ways to make a Cobb Salad.  This is Sweets and my way.

It’s simple, tasty, healthy, filling, perfect for dinner, perfect for lunch, keeps great for leftovers oh and did I mention easy?

For lunch Sweets and I ate at a place best reserved for late nights involving too much alcohol – but we decided to give it a try sober during daylight.  It wasn’t the worst idea we ever had but driving home with what felt like a brick in both our tummies we decided to have salad for dinner.

Cobb Salads are really a to each their own kind of recipe – but assuming you want to know what Sweets and I consider our own – keep on reading.

Cobb Salad: Sweetie & The Kitchen Style

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March 3, 2011 · 7:13 pm

Buffalo Chicken Pizza & Celery Succotash Salad

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Photo Courtesy: Food Network

A month or so ago I got sick and was holed up at home for a couple of days with about as much energy as my cat during naptime.

In between naps I went back and forth between reruns of Law and Order and Gangland until it was lunch time and because I didn’t have enough energy to get off the couch I decided watching a cooking show would have to suffice.

Rachel Ray 30 Minute Meals was on the menu.

And her little play on Buffalo wings and celery made its way onto my dinner menu the very next week.

I’ve never been much of a Buffalo wing fan, but it wasn’t so much because I didn’t like the flavor but more so because I didn’t like the mess.

Maybe it’s because I worked in bars through college but when I think of hot wings I can’t help picture an overweight man with hot sauce all over his hands and face with a plate of tiny bones piled before him and dozens of dirty napkins strewn about the table.

Not the most appetizing image although maybe for some a little sexy? No?

But that image became a distant memory the moment Rachel Ray used the words Pizza to describe her dish.

I was intrigued and eventually sold.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza and Celery Succotash Salad!

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March 1, 2011 · 5:10 am

Salmon BLT’s & Simple Red Potato Salad

Salmon BLT & Red Potatoe Salad

Open face for girls and regular for boys

While Sweets only has eyes for one special lady, yours truly, from time to time his eyes might veer on over to the television.

Especially if the Food Networks Giada De Laurentiis is on the screen which works for me, especially if she’s cooking up something delicious that will lend itself to suggestion the following Sunday when I’m asking for ideas for dinners that week.

Earlier this week Sweets was talking about Giada’s Smoked Salmon BLT’s with a twinkle in his eye and a hop to his step so it was no surprise that a few days later when I asked what we should make for dinner that week he nearly tripped over his words reciting his onscreen Sweetheart’s sandwich.

True to form we changed things up a bit based on our own little preferences, all of which I highly recommend!

Salmon, Turkey Bacon, Avocado, Spinach and Tomato Sandwiches with Chipolte Aioli

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