Here are the ingredients I used to make the warmed spinach and apple salad.
All I did to improvise on that salad was substitute a fresh pear for the apple and use dried apricots instead of dried cranberries, as shown below.
Nothing changes regarding needed equipment. Here’s all you need: microwave oven, microwave safe bowl, colander or strainer, sharp paring knife and cutting board.
One of the keys to this recipe, just like the warmed spinach and apple salad, is warming the spinach and pear in the microwave oven only until the spinach leaves just start to wilt as shown below, which took only 1 minute in my 1200 Watt microwave oven. As I say in the recipe itself, cooking time will vary depending on your own microwave oven’s Watt power.
Click any picture on this page for a complete, easy to follow picture book recipe.
Yep, it’s still winter, and for some of you, it’s still darn cold. A couple weeks ago, after showing how to make very quick and easy, extraordinarily versatile 5-ingredient salad dressings, I said I’d put together some warm spinach salads. This is the first of those recipes: quick and easy microwave warmed spinach and apple salad.
Here are the ingredients I used: fresh spinach, apple, feta cheese, salad dressing, walnuts and dried cranberries. Of course, you can substitute feta cheese, walnuts and dried cranberries however you like to suit your taste and dietary needs,.
Here’s all you need for equipment: microwave oven, microwave safe bowl, colander or strainer, sharp paring knife and cutting board.
One of the keys to this recipe is warming the spinach and apple in the microwave oven only until the spinach leaves just start to wilt as shown below, which took only 1 minute in my 1200 Watt microwave oven. As I say in the recipe itself, cooking time will vary depending on your own microwave oven’s Watt power.
Click any picture on this page for a complete, easy to follow picture book recipe.
Next up: how to take this quick, easy and fully flavorful warm spinach and apple salad from simple to exciting. All fun!
Last post showed how to make a fully flavorful, exceptionally easy to make, highly versatile Instant 5-Ingredient Salad Dressing. I made that dressing most recently to start a “Gotta’ Eat Smartly” series of food demos with AARP at Eastway Recreation Center in Charlotte earlier this month. That series is designed to give senior citizens the hands-on kitchen skills and knowledge they need to empower themselves to make life-promoting/quality of life improving meals.
If you’re a regular to this site – or know me personally, you know flavor rules – always! Here’s an example. Sure, we could’ve used that Instant 5-Ingredient Salad dressing on a traditional lettuce and tomato salad, but where’s the flavor fun in that? So instead, I showed the group of a dozen very engaged women how to make a Pear and Avocado Salad – and then how to improvise on that very easy base recipe. First, here’s what you need to make the base recipe – and you’ll see that we replaced a store-bought salad dressing in the top picture with our Instant 5-Ingredient Salad Dressing.
I mentioned “improvising” above, and by improvising I mean adding or substituting ingredients based on either/both your taste and/or ingredients you have on hand – and remember, recipes are just guides. So, for example, I asked the women if they thought it would be ok to substitute or even supplement the pears with apples. Sure! And then I suggested adding adding flavors as they liked based on personal taste.
That last sentence fired up a lively discussion. “Can I add chicken or any other meat?” Yes! “What about fresh herbs?” Sure!
“What about adding potato salad?” Absolutely! And that potato salad question led to a talk about mayonnaise in potato salad and which mayonnaise brand I like. My comment: I don’t like using processed foods, like store-bought mayonnaise, with long paragraphs of ingredients, some of which are NOT found in nature. So, I improvise and substitute mayonnaise with Greek yogurt, mustard and spices.
“If you do that, then what about making homemade mayonnaise?” one of the women asked. “A friend of mine makes it all the time and says it’s easy.” Great idea! I’ve never made it before, but I’ll learn and we’ll make it together next time we’re together.
Next time is coming up fast: Thursday, February 8th – and I’ve already started practicing.
I first picked a top-rated homemade mayonnaise recipe from Inspired Taste. I then improvised a bit, as they suggested, and will need to do more of that. You know the flavor deal. I’m not rolling out my version until that flavor kicks it full-on.
In the meantime, back to the Pear and Avocado Salad featured here. Please click this link and pass it on for the easy to follow picture book recipe shown below. And remember: that recipe is just a guide. Play with it. Improvise. And, most of all, have fun!
Two recent posts showed how to make an Instant 5-Ingredient Salad Dressing and a Fresh 5-Ingredient Salad Dressing. The only difference between the two: the instant dressing uses garlic powder to avoid any cutting or chopping; the fresh dressing just substitutes garlic powder with fresh garlic – and shows how to chop that garlic as easily as possible with picture book directions.
But, then here are just a few examples of how I used either dressing with dishes I’ve put together on the fly like: Pan Fried Chicken, Tomatoes and Parmesan Cheese (top left), Beans and Cheese with Fresh Tomato Onion Salad (top right), and Open Face Grilled Cheese and Tomato Pepper Salad (bottom middle).
Bottom line: your imagination is your only limit to how you use either dressing – or any dressing. For another example, here’s something I just had: Spinach and Ricotta Cheese Pancake topped with tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and fresh salad dressing. Yes, all easy and fun to put together – more about that pancake pretty soon – and all always with a keen eye on full-on flavor!