Easy Cheesy Caprese Salad

In the mood for a hearty salad that's quick and easy? This is one of my faves and is great for lunches.

Salad Ingredients: 

Romaine lettuce 

Roma tomatoes

Black olives 

Green onions 

Marinated mozzarella balls (Costco!) 

Sea salt and Pepper 

Dressing Ingredients: 

Drizzle a little but of balsamic glaze (you can find it super cheap at Safeway with the balsamic vinaigrettes) 

1 tbsp of olive oil (more depending on how big your salad is) 

This whole salad takes about 5 minutes to prepare and is so refreshing to eat. 

Easy Crockpot Turkey Breast

 

Every weekend, I try and make something in the crockpot. This time, I bought a little baby turkey breast in the frozen food section and ended up with the most moist and delicious turkey I've ever had. It was so much easier than roasting an actual turkey and the entire meal was so enjoyable (and healthy!) Big time bonus - this entire meal, which could have fed 4-6 people, cost $15 to make. 

Turkey Recipe:

Thaw the turkey breast 

Place turkey breast in crockpot 

Pour 1 1/2 cup of turkey broth into crockpot 

Rub avocado oil on the turkey and sprinkle spices (I used rosemary, sea salt and a lot of pepper) 

Cover and cook on low for 4 1/2 hours (a little less or more depending on the size) 

Potato Recipe: 

Boil a big pot of water 

Take Yukon Gold Potatoes and drop the entire potato in the boiling water 

Boil for about 10 minutes or until the potato is soft 

Turn on the oven to 400 degrees 

Take the boiled potatoes, put them on a baking sheet and smash them down with a potato masher 

Sprinkle the potatoes with sea salt, pepper and add some minced garlic on top

Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes get a little crispy on top 

(I didn't happen to have any fresh veggies around, but I think some asparagus with this meal would really complete it.) 

Grilled Zucchini with Balsamic

Finding healthy sides to accompany all this protein can be challenging and can get just as boring as eating chicken all the time so the other night, as I was grilling up some fresh zucchini, I got a little wild and crazy and threw is some balsamic vinaigrette....and it was INCREDIBLE. It gave the veggie a totally different taste and was such a simple mix up to do.  

Recipe: 

Slice up some zucchini

Put a tbsp of avocado oil in a frying pan

Cook the zucchini over medium-high heat 

Add in some minced garlic 

I sprinkle some sea salt and pepper

After it's cooked for a couple minutes, I add in the balsamic 

Cook time in total is approx 10 minutes - I like it to get a little browned but still like it softer 

LOTD - Holiday Party

This year, my company holiday party was at an incredible venue in Virginia and called for a fabulous look. I searched high and low before I found this hot little number at The Limited on Black Friday at 50% off!!!

Because the dress was so simple, I knew I needed a big, statement necklace which I found at Forever 21 for only $18.80 (woo hoo) 

I ended up pulling my hair back to keep it simple and went with a gold and smokey eye look (thanks to my Naked Eye Pallet) and loved how everything came together. The night was beautiful, my husband looked fantastic as my "arm candy" (his term, not mine) and we had a great time. 

                                  

Grilled Chicken Antipasto Salad

After a very long day of work, I came home and had to make dinner. I was craving something a little different but I knew I wanted a salad. After 20 short minutes of effort, I ended up enjoying one of the best salads I've ever made at home. It's so easy and so tasty!

For salads, I don't really put how much of something I used, if you really like artichoke hearts, put a ton, if you don't like sundried tomatoes that much, just add a little less. I am constantly adding and subtracting things from recipes to make it tailored to what I want to eat. 

Salad Ingredients:  

• Romaine lettuce 
• Marinated artichoke hearts (I got spicy ones because I like to live on the edge like that) 
• Julienne cut, sundried tomatoes 
• Hard salami 
• Basil 
• Parsley 
• Black olives (or you could use Kalamata olives if that's your thing) 
• Grilled chicken (I cooked it on the stove with some avocado oil and seasoning)
• Shelled pumpkin seeds 

Dressing Ingredients: 

• 2/3 cup olive oil 
• 1/4 cup of lemon juice 
• 1/4 cup of water 
• 1 tsp of minced garlic 
• 1 tsp of garlic powder 
• 1 tsp of honey 
• 1 tbsp of dijon mustard 
• big sprinkle of Italian seasoning 
• little sprinkle of sea salt 
• little sprinkle of black pepper 

So this recipe is Paleo friendly but if you are not doing Paleo, I think adding some fat free feta cheese would just take this salad to a whole other level. I think next time, I might also try adding in some bacon...yummmooo!