Chicken Apple Arugula Goat Cheese Salad

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Chicken salad with arugula, goat cheese, and apple slices.

INGREDIENTS

• Olive oil
• 1 large shallot, peeled and sliced
• 1 1/2 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
• Salt
• 1 tart green apple, thinly sliced
• Baby arugula leaves - enough for a salad for four
• 1/4 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup goat cheese - broken up into little pieces
• Lemon juice
• Salt and pepper

METHOD

1 Heat stick-free frying pan to medium heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and lightly sauté the shallot slices until translucent. Remove from pan. Add another tablespoon of olive oil and cook the chicken breast pieces, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through - 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle some salt on the chicken while you are cooking it. Remove from pan and chill.

2 When chicken has cooled, toss together in a serving bowl the shallots, chicken, sliced green apple, arugula, walnuts and goat cheese. Dress with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Serves four.

Simply Recipes http://www.simplyrecipes.com

Apple Pie Smoothie

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Tastes like apple pie! Smoothie with applesauce, almond milk, cashews, dates, and vanilla.

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Yield: Serves 2.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce or stewed apples
• 1/2 cup raw, unsalted cashews, soaked in water for 1 hour
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 chopped, pitted dates, soaked in water for 1/2 hour OR 2 Tbsp maple syrup*
• 1 cup ice cubes

*Use dates if using a high speed blender such as a Vitamix, otherwise use maple syrup.

METHOD

Place all ingredients in a blender and purée until smooth, 30 to 60 seconds.  www.simplyrecipes.com

Roasted Califlower Steaks with Toasted Walnut + Parsley Pesto

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER STEAKS WITH TOASTED WALNUT + PARSLEY PESTO

Cauliflower "steaks" seared, roasted and smothered in fresh, parsley and toasted walnut pesto.

Yield: 5-6 minutes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes combined

Total Time: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE CAULIFLOWER STEAKS:

1 large Cauliflower head, sliced into 1 inch "steaks"

Olive Oil
FOR THE PESTO:

1 cup Walnuts, toasted

4 cloves Fresh Garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

1 bunch Fresh Parsley, roughly chopped

5 Green Onions, light green and dark green parts only, roughly chopped

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/4 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

In a dry skillet, add the walnuts and toast until fragrant over medium heat. About 8 minutes or so. Remove the toasted walnuts to a small bowl and set off to the side.

To the same skillet at a tablespoon of olive oil and sear the cauliflower in batches of two until golden on both sides. About 4 to 5 minutes a side.

Lay the seared cauliflower onto a rimmed sheet pan. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and roast in a preheated 450 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

Roughly chop up the four cloves of peeled garlic and add them to a food processor. Throw in the toasted walnuts, parsley, green onions, grated Parmesan, crushed red pepper flakes and black pepper. Secure the lid and turn on the food processor.

Slowly pour in the olive oil, stopping and scraping down the sides and repeating until smooth.

Taste and season with salt.

Remove the roasted cauliflower steaks form the oven and serve with spoonfuls of the parsley pesto, any tiny remaining roasted cauliflower bits and a light drizzle of olive oil.

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This delicious recipe brought to you by Simply Scratch 
http://www.simplyscratch.com/2014/03/roasted-cauliflower-steaks-with-toasted-walnut-parsley-pesto.htm

Spring Pasta Salad

Spring Pasta Salad

Total Cooking Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 6-8 Servings

Level: Easy

Ingredients:
Dressing:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 clove garlic, grated
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Pasta:
12 ounces cavatappi pasta, cooked to package instructions and shocked under cold water
4 ounces asparagus, blanched and thinly sliced on the bias
1 box frozen peas, defrosted
One 12-ounce jar roasted yellow peppers, chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 shallot, minced
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Directions:
For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, garlic, lemon zest and juice, and season with salt and pepper.
For the pasta: Toss the pasta with the asparagus, peas, roasted peppers, tomatoes, shallots and dill. Pour the dressing over the salad, tossing to coat. Let the salad hang out for a bit to soak up all of the flavor.
When ready to serve, bowl it up and shave Parmesan cheese over the top to seal the deal.

www.cookinglight.com