Brined Rosemary Pork Chops w/ Red Wine Vinegar Cream Sauce

Have you or your loved ones suffered from cooking subpar pork chops? Have you tried multiple recipes and still feel like you come up short? If you’re struggling with dry, mediocre pork chops, please, Call 1-800-coldcallsandmeatballs for a free consultation on how to make the best effin chops ever!

I don’t often make pork chops because generally they’re just…..meh. If I’m making pork it’s usually a slow cooked pork butt, smoked ribs, sausage or a roast. Or bacon… lots of bacon. That’s all about to change now :)

My freezer is currently loaded with I don’t even know how much pork. One day I came home from work and opened the freezer to what looked like an entire pig stuffed inside. My boyfriend’s dad had generously given us a ton of meat from the pig he had bought with a buddy and I think we’re set on pork for the next year – from bacon & sausage to pork butt and chops, I plan to honor Wilbur’s happy, humanely raised life by cooking the tastiest meals.

My colleague shared with me his technique of brining the pork chops in salt/sugar water. This tenderizes the meat and makes it soooo flavorful. Then I made a sauce with garlic & shallots, broth, wine, cream and (secret ingredient) red wine vinegar, and my god these were the best pork chops I think I have ever had. My boyfriend agreed. They were amazing.

The pork chops are lightly dredged in flour (or cornstarch if gluten free) and fresh rosemary and pan fried to crispy, savory perfection. The sauce is creamy but has nice acidity from the wine and red wine vinegar and is bursting with flavor but still doesn’t overpower the pork. Served with mashed sweet potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts, it’s a well balanced, delicious meal. Brining the pork does give you a little wiggle room in terms of cooking time as it helps tenderize it, but still be careful not to overcook them. Just a few minutes on each side is all you need! These are moist, tender and so delicious.

I’m always partial to recipes with a pan sauce that uses a bit of wine because it gives me an excuse to open a bottle and have a perfect pairing for dinner. If you’ve been disappointed about your pork chops in the past, this is a great recipe to change your mind! It's even quick enough for a weeknight meal.






Brined Rosemary Pork Chops w/ Red Wine Vinegar Cream Sauce

Ingredients:
4 large pork chops
2 cups water
1 1/2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
2-3 tbsp flour or cornstarch if GF
1 tbsp butter
1 shallots, sliced thin
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp + 1 tsp red wine vinegar

Directions:

• Mix together water, salt, sugar, pepper and garlic. Brine the pork chops overnight or in the morning for dinner, at least 8 hours. 
• Remove chops from brine and pat dry, brushing off the brine. Season the chops with rosemary and lightly dust/dredge with flour/cornstarch. Heat two tbsp of olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat and brown the chops 2-4 minutes on each side, depending on thickness. Remove from skillet and set on plate, lightly covered in foil. 
• Reduce heat to medium, add the tbsp of butter to melt then add the shallots. Cook until the shallots have gotten soft and are starting to brown. Scrape any bits from the pork off the pan. 
• Add the broth, wine, cream and vinegar. Boil for about 10 minutes or until sauce has reduced by about half and thickened. 
• Serve sauce over pork chops.

Crispy Tofu Bowl w/ Coconut Rice & Curry Peanut Dressing

Nourishing "bowls" are extremely trendy right now, and for good reason. I often make meals like this for myself but I don’t blog about them because I never measure anything or follow an actual recipe. I take what’s in my fridge and toss it in a bowl with rice or quinoa and whip up a quick dressing – Thai peanut, avocado cream sauce, balsamic vinaigrette, etc, etc – and load on the veggies… usually whatever needs to be consumed before it starts to go bad. I decided to try and further master my craft and create some actual recipes to share and use for when I’m really craving an amazing dish and have time to prepare, or for when I’m serving company and I want to please my people J

This is the most satisfying one I’ve made and I’m so happy I actually paid attention to the amount of ingredients I used…. kinda. How do you blog about a salad? (Yes, I have before but it makes me feel weird, like who actually measures how much veggies they use - how many cups of lettuce? A quarter cup of carrots, idk? Just handful that shit on there, it will be fine)

Anyways. This bowl consists of crispy pan fried tofu, (heavily) addicting coconut rice, sweet mango, fresh veggies and the. most. magnificent. peanut. curry. sauce. I’m not ashamed I ate a couple spoonfuls of the dressing like it was chocolate frosting. My gahhhhd this bowl was so good. Fresh, nutty, spicy, savory, sweet and beautifully colorful.… not to mention you feel GREAT after eating it. It’s like a tropical vacation in your mouth that is nourishing and healthy. Yes, please! 

I reheated the tofu in a skillet three nights this week to have this bowl over and over again for dinner and every time I was so excited to eat it. Heating it in a skillet allows for it to crisp back up, rather than microwaving it where it may get soggy. It’s easy to assemble for weekday dinners – just microwave the leftover rice, heat up the tofu and toss on the veggies and dressing. (I'm literally eating it as I type....)

Also – if you’re uneasy about tofu, don’t be. When it’s cooked right it is soooo good. Crispy, tender little nuggets that absorb flavor beautifully, and it’s super affordable and loaded with calcium, omega-3s, protein, iron and magnesium. An organic, 14oz package (drained weight) is good to feed 4 people in this dish and it costs around two bucks. I love chicken, but I honestly prefer tofu in this bowl.

It’s a very flexible recipe and you can use whatever veggies you have on hand. The curry-peanut dressing would be great in a stir fry, as a dip for chicken skewers or veggies/fries or as a dressing for a slaw.

Crispy Tofu Bowl w/ Coconut Rice & Curry-Peanut Sauce

Ingredients:
14 oz can coconut milk
1 ¼ cup water
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cup basmati rice
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
1/3 cup peanut butter
¼ cup Thai sweet chili sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce
Juice of one lime (2-3 tbsp)
½ cup warm water
14 oz block organic, extra firm tofu
½ tsp curry powder
2 tbsp cornstarch
Diced mango
Shredded carrots
Diced bell pepper
Baby spinach
Cilantro, chopped
Crushed peanuts

Directions:

• In medium saucepan, bring coconut milk, water, sugar, salt and rice to a bowl. Stir, reduce heat, cover and simmer for approx. 20 minutes or until rice is cooked. The bottom may get a little golden brown crisp which is greeeeaaaat.
• Cut the tofu into bite sized pieces and place on a paper towel lined plate. Use another paper towel to press the top and get out as much moisture as possible. Let those sit while you make the dressing.
• To prepare the dressing, heat a tbsp of oil over medium high heat and cook the shallots, garlic and ginger until soft and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add in the curry paste and cook until it begins to darken in color, about 2-3 minutes. Place in a medium bowl and whisk in peanut butter, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce and lime juice. Slowly mix in water until you get desired consistency. Optional to add hot sauce.
• Wipe the skillet clean and place back on heat, add 1-2 tbsp of oil. Toss tofu pieces with curry powder, cornstarch and a pinch of salt. Fry in pan until crisp and golden, 2-3 minutes on each side.
• Assemble bowl with coconut rice, mango, carrots, bell pepper, spinach, tofu, cilantro and crushed peanuts (optional). Serve with curry peanut sauce.

Honey-Sage Roasted Root Vegetable Salad

A common meal in my house growing up was roast pork with root vegetables. My mom would fill a massive roasting dish with a pork tenderloin and scatter the bottom of the pan with sweet & regular potatoes, carrots, parsnips and onions tossed with garlic salt and herbs. I'd eat the leftover roasted veggies all week long - they're lightly caramelized, sweet and delicious for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It's a definite favorite of mine!

As the season changes from Winter to Spring, the meals I make start to shift from hearty dishes to lighter fare - generally less meat and more veggies, and lots of salads. This salad incorporates the comforting and warm flavors associated with winter but lightens it up on salad greens with a vibrant vinaigrette.... and I added some sweet roasted golden beets because I love beets in salads. (You could use red ones but they'd turn everything pink which just looks kinda funky, but either way does the trick!)

The root veggies are roasted and brushed with honey and sage and served warm on the salad - sweet, savory and super satisfying. The dressing is bright with white wine vinegar and zesty dijon which is great over the slightly bitter arugula - and then the goat cheese gets all melty and soft from the veggies and it's perfect. It's hearty enough as a vegetarian dish (probably because I serve a massive pile of the roasted veggies) but it would easily pair with a protein. I've used apple chicken sausages in the past which were great. Regular chicken breast, steak or pork would work well, too, if you have serious carnivores in the house.

Another awesome thing about this dish is that you can roast a boat load of veggies on Sunday for an easy assembly of the salad during the week - just microwave the veggies! It's super healthy, filling and a good way to start eating a bit healthier (without feeling like you're missing out on satisfaction and flavor) and shed off some of that winter hibernation. Bring on Spring!


This recipe serves about four people as a main dish. If you add protein to the mix it could stretch to five or six.





Honey-Sage Roasted Root Vegetable Salad

Ingredients:
3 beets (gold is preferred, red works fine)
2 sweet potatoes
1 lb parsnips
1 lb carrots
2 large onions
2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped fine
1/4 cup good quality olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tsp honey
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Salt & pepper
4 cups loosely packed arugula
4 cups loosely packed spinach
2 tbsp goat cheese per plate, crumbled

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Wash and peel the beets, wrap in foil and roast in oven for an hour before adding in the remaining vegetables. You can put them directly on the rack.
• Wash and peel the parsnips and carrots. I like to just scrub the sweet potatoes and leave the skin on. Chop these veggies into bite sized pieces and quarter the onions, leaving the layers intact. 
• Toss vegetables with two tbsp oil and season with garlic salt and pepper. Spread evenly on baking sheet (or two sheets if necessary) and roast for 30 minutes, while continuing to roast the beets. Warm the honey slightly and brush the veggies on the baking sheet and top with sage. Place back in oven and roast until golden brown and tender, 10-20 minutes more. 
• Meanwhile whisk together or shake in a mason jar the olive oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. 
• Assemble salads with arugula and spinach, warm roasted veggies, goat cheese and top with dressing.

Braised Beef Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's pie is something I ate a lot of as a kid. Growing up in a family of six and often having many friends at the house, my mom was always looking for nutritional meals to feed a small army (and not break the bank). Plus, there were picky eaters in the house, including myself back in the day, and catering to different preferences is tough! Shepherd's pie is something we all loved - except my vegan sister, that is.

I love it the way I had it growing up, but after many years of making the same recipe it was time for a change. I needed some spunk in my shepherd's pie and I have developed the perfect recipe to do just that! Toss the ground beef and go for browned stew meat braised in red wine, worcestershire and balsamic vinegar (perfect flavor combo for savory red meat) until it's pull apart tender... you're cutting it with a fork. There's a hefty dose of garlic and fresh thyme, but also that classic and convenient frozen veggie medley that you can't go without - aka it's perfect. Top it with creamy, freshly mashed potatoes and a few pats of butter and bake it until harmonious flavors are singing love songs inside the oven. I'm pretty sure that's what happens.

Did I mention it's all done in one pan? Cast iron, baby!

It's rustic and comforting and reminds me of home. I can picture my dad eating a massive plate of it covered in ketchup. Yes, in the Sedler house we always had our shepherd's pie with ketchup and bread and butter pickles. Don't knock it til you try it; It's the right thing to do! But I guess you don't have to because the red wine gravy the meat is soaking in in this recipe has plenty of saucy-ness and flavor to go around - but let's be real my dad would still put ketchup on it. And I love him for that.... and sometimes I do it, too. Judge me!

I've perfected this recipe after making it many times and I'll never go back to the ground beef version. It's straight up tha bomb. Unreal. So good. My boyfriend said he thinks it's the best shepherd's pie ever on earth... he's totally correct.

If you want to get really freaky with it substitute lamb. I love lamb like nobody's business but I also enjoy having money in my bank account and it seems like lately those are mutually exclusive - Hannaford feel free to call me when it goes on sale. Maybe that's what I'll spend my tax return on.... mmmm lamb. ("shepherd's pie" is actually with lamb and "cottage pie" is with beef but that's for the traditional people in Scotland & England, not us Americans who mix everything up)

This recipe is filling & hearty and overall just amazing comfort food to warm your insides..... perfect for single digit days in March and another nor'easter around the corner. You can even eat it for lunch every single day of the week and not get sick of it. You can trust me, I've done it.

This dish will forever remind me of my crazy family and I'm so thankful for that. Feel free to serve with bread and butter pickles.... and even ketchup.... you won't offend me.









Braised Beef Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:
2 1/4-2 1/2 lbs stew meat or a chuck roast cut into 2" cubes
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 onion, diced
6 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 cups red wine
2 cups beef broth
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 springs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
3 cups mixed frozen veggies (corn, carrots, peas, green beans)
2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup milk
3 tbsp butter, divided

Directions:

• Heat two tbsp oil in 10" cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. 
• Mix together cornstarch, salt and pepper in bowl and toss in meat to coat. Shake off excess cornstarch and brown meat in skillet for a couple minutes on each side. Add in the onion and garlic after a few minutes of browning and stir.
• Add wine, broth, worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar and thyme to skillet and stir gently. Bring mixture to a low boil and reduce heat to low, cover and lightly simmer for about two hours or until the meat is fork tender. Use the back of a wooden spoon to slightly break down some of the meat for a more "pulled" texture or you can leave the chunks as they are. Mix in the 3 cups of frozen veggies to the meat mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If the mixture seems too liquidy to you, let it simmer a bit with the cover off.
• Meanwhile, bring the potatoes to a boil in salted water until fork tender and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mash and mix with the milk, butter and season with salt and pepper. 
• Spread the potatoes evenly over the meat mixture and bake in preheated 425 oven for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes have crisped on the top. 
• Serve with bread and butter pickle chips... and ketchup if you're into that kinda thing :) 

Slow Cooker Short-Rib Tomato Sauce

I grew up eating a lot of spaghetti and meatballs. My mom would throw the meatballs and sauce in a crockpot and I'd come home from lacrosse practice after school, starving half to death, and eat a plate fit for a 200 lb man like a ravenous machine. Needless to say I love a hearty plate of meaty pasta!

This recipe has similar, nostalgic flavors but is slightly more sophisticated with braised short ribs and red wine, served with freshly grated parmesan cheese, of course! Browning and slow cooking the short ribs makes for extremely flavorful and tender meat that is shredded throughout the sauce for a seriously hearty dish. Plus nothing is better to me than the smell of beef slow cooking in wine throughout your home.... the anticipation of eating this will nearly kill you, I swear.

My boyfriend, our two good friends and I ate this meal together on a Saturday night and all absolutely loved it. It is worth the hours it takes to slow cook it and it's a super easy meal for company because all you have to do is boil pasta and roast or sautee some greens and you're good to go!

Look how tender and gorgeous that meat looks.... ugh and it is so delicious! Slow cooking bone-in meats definitely gives a serious flavor boost; Short ribs are tha bombbbb!

This sauce was just fantastic. The recipe below makes plenty to serve four-five people for dinner and you'll have enough leftover to make an insaaaaanely good pizza. My boyfriend and I used this sauce as the base and topped with smoked mozzarella, pepper, red onion and even more meat (local VT sausage to be exact). This sauce is so thick and chunky you could probably even make a sandwich out of the leftovers - sloppy joes on magical steroids. Man, is it good!


It's perfect for a chilly weekend meal that you can look forward to eating all day long! Plus you are obligated to open a bottle of wine for the recipe and therefore you must drink the whole bottle with the pasta... because you obviously can't let the wine go bad..



Slow Cooker Short-Rib Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
3-3 1/2 lbs bone in short ribs
Salt and pepper
4 tbsp butter
1/2 cup red wine
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 cups tomato sauce
3/4 cup sun dried tomatoes (remove from jar, oil drained)
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp Italian seasoning (herb blend of basil, parsley, oregano, thyme)
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
1/2 tsp salt
Parmesan cheese & pasta to serve

Directions:

• Pat short ribs dry and season with salt and pepper. In large skillet, brown the ribs on all sides over medium-high heat for about a minute each side. Remove from skillet and place in crock pot. 
• Add all remaining ingredients to crockpot and cook for 5 hours on low or 7 hours on high. 
• When meat is fall apart tender, remove from crockpot. Take out bones (the meat will fall right off) and shred meat with a fork. Add the meat back to the crockpot and stir to combine. Use a fork to crush any chunks of carrots and sundried tomatoes to make a smoother sauce.
• Season the sauce to taste if necessary and keep warm until ready to serve over pasta with parmesan cheese.

**If the sauce seems too thick to you, you can add more tomato sauce or a bit of water. If it seems too thin, let it cook for a bit with the top of the crockpot off to thicken slightly, for 10-20 minutes or so.











Recipe was adapted from Half Baked Harvest

Homemade Cheese Danishes

I'm an aunt!!! Not by blood but by undeniable love for two of the most wonderful people and their amazing little boy. Baby Dyson was born February 17 and he couldn't be more adorable..... and sweet and tiny and soft and precious and ugh so perfect! Sooo what does this have to do with cheese danishes? I'm not exactly sure, but I decided to make them and bring them as a treat to my favorite new parents basically to distract them as a ploy to steal Dyson. Unfortunately it didn't work but that doesn't mean I'm giving up just yet. Gaaaaaa just look at him!

So...Homemade cheese danishes - they are chewy and tender and flaky and delicate and making them from scratch rather than using lame store bought puff pasty is the best decision I've ever made. This is a New York Times recipe (best recipes ever) I first made for my boyfriend's birthday in August and was waiting for the perfect excuse to make them again.... newborn baby is it!

They are pretty much the best dessert ever....their comforting, ambrosial smell while baking (easily one of the greatest smells ever, trust me), the feel of the pillowy-soft yet flaky, buttery dough and the silky smooth creamy filling topped with strawberries bursting with sweetness or embedded with warm cinnamon and brown sugar... whatever tickles your fancy. One bite is seriously just pure bliss.... it's sweet & cheesy Danish food porn.

Please Google search that.

It's fairly safe to say that most people don't often have homemade danishes. If you do, you're damn lucky and I applaud whoever makes them for you on the regular because they do require a bit of preparation. They're not complicated, they just take some time to let the dough rise and roll it/fold it multiple times.... not something you can decide to make a few hours before the party. This just means there is so much more love put into them so they're that much more special. These steps are necessary because it is what gives you that flaky yet tender dough.

I have made them with a plain cream cheese filling topped with strawberries and with a cinnamon-brown sugar filling as well. Both are fantastic, it just depends on what you're in the mood for (and if strawberries are worth buying out of season). 

Whether it's a birthday dessert, new born baby celebration or just to treat yourself for Sunday brunch, these are sure to be a crowd pleaser. I suppose I'll have to make them again when Dyson can actually chew.....and definitely multiple times before then, too! 

It's by far one of my favorite dessert recipes on earth and totally worth the prep time! I've included recipes below for strawberry and cinnamon-sugar danishes.

Homemade Cheese Danishes (two ways!)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp active dry yeast

3/4 tsp salt

1 3/4 sticks cold, unsalted butter

2 eggs

1/4 cup whole milk

For cheese filing w/ strawberry:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups strawberries

1 tbsp sugar

2 tsp cornstarch

1 tbsp water

1 cup powdered sugar

1-2 tbsp whole milk

For cinnamon-sugar cheese filling:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tbsp powdered sugar

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 egg yolk

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

1 cup powdered sugar

3 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp melted butter

Directions for dough:

• Combine flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a food processor. Roughly chop the butter (make sure it's cold) and add it to the flour and pulse it quickly a few times until the butter is pea sized chunks. 
• In another bowl whisk together 1 of the eggs, 1/4 cup milk and two tbsp of water. Slowly fold this mixture into the butter mixture until it is just combined and evenly moistened. It will be a pretty shaggy dough. Use your hands to place the dough on saran wrap and wrap it tightly. Refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.
• Lightly flour the counter and roll the dough out to approx 8-15 inch. With the dough in portrait orientation, fold the dough into thirds like a letter, the bottom third folded up then the top third folded down on top of it. Rotate the dough, roll it out and repeat it again. Dust with flour to prevent sticking to the counter if necessary. Tightly wrap it in saran wrap and place back in the fridge to rise for another hour. 
• Repeat the same rolling out and folding process as above and wrap tightly and refrigerate at least two hours. 
• To make the danishes, roll the dough out into a 12-13 inch square. Cut into nine squares. Brush the corners of the squares with the other beaten egg and fold corners into the center. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet (or 2 if they are too crowded because they'll spread and rise). Now they are prepared to be filled!

Strawberry Cheese Danishes:

• Beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg yolk, vanilla and salt until smooth and set aside. 
• In small saucepan combine sliced strawberries, 1 tbsp sugar, water and cornstarch over medium heat, slightly mashing the strawberries and cook a few minutes until thickened. Set aside.
• Take the cream cheese filling you made, put it in a plastic bag and cut one of the tips to pipe a few tbsp into the center of each danish. Loosely cover the danishes in plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for an hour. 
• Preheat oven to 425 and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375, rotate the pan and let cook for 5 minutes or so longer until they are nice and golden brown. 
• Mix together the remaining ingredients for the icing - 1 cup powdered sugar and 1-2 tbsp of milk. Add the second tbsp slowly to make sure the icing isn't too watery. Let the danishes completely cool before drizzling icing over them.

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Cheese Danishes:

• Beat together cream cheese, brown sugar, powdered sugar, egg yolk, vanilla, cinnamon and salt until smooth and put in plastic bag and cut one of the tips to pipe a few tbsp into the center of each danish. Loosely cover the danishes in plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for about an hour.
• Preheat oven to 425 and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375, rotate the pan and let cook for 5 minutes or so longer until they are nice and golden brown. 
• Mix together the 1 cup powdered sugar, 3 tbsp maple syrup and 1 tbsp melted butter. Let the danishes completely cool before drizzling the icing over them.

The dough recipe is verbatim New York Times danish dough. The filing recipes have been adapted based on what I've done. 

Thai Salad w/ Spicy-Sweet Peanut Hummus Dressing

My family has a place on Lake Winnipesaukee in NH where we are fortunate to spend a lot of time during the summer. To me it is one of the most beautiful places on earth and holds so many childhood memories. It's a place to relax on the dock with a drink, swim to the island, cruise around in the boat or jet ski, kayak, paddle board, nearly die tubing, fish for bass, spend time with family and friends and of course eat a lot of delicious food.

There are some classic Sedler dishes you'll always find at my camp in the summer. These include spicy peanut noodles, Mexican bean salad, guacamole, egg salad, grilled onions and potatoes, teriyaki chicken and always a medley of deli meats, cheeses, hummus and a big house salad. Last summer I made this Thai salad and it easily moved to the top of the "favorite camp foods" list.... I've been making it ever since!

It has Thai flavors from sweet chili sauce and peanut butter with fresh cilantro, basil and a squeeze of lime. It's all tied together with roasted garlic hummus for an amazingly flavorful, creamy dressing that is filling and nutritious to boost your energy for camp activities.....even if it's just drinking beers floating in a tube. That can be exhausting!

This is a great camp recipe because it stays well in the fridge for a few days and you can serve it with avocado, grilled chicken, shrimp or pork for an easy lunch or dinner, or serve just the salad as a great side dish. Everyone who eats this salad absolutely loves it. The veggies hold a great crunch and with the creamy dressing it's insanely addicting and easy to eat an entire massive bowl.

Although I'm labeling this a camp recipe, this salad is perfect year round (hence why I'm blogging it now). I love making this and having it as a work lunch during the week, or a healthy dinner after the gym. It's nutty, sweet, spicy and creamy and the fresh herbs and slightly bitter greens make it a perfectly balanced salad.

Trader Joe's is the best place to go for this salad but of course any grocery store will have these ingredients. Trader Joe's has these organic ingredients prepackaged at affordable prices. I use their broccoli slaw (with shaved cabbage and Brussels sprouts), packaged kale and shredded carrots as the base and it saves a few bucks. Their hummus, peanut butter and sweet chili sauce are also cheaper but still great quality. They even have packaged grilled chicken that is delicious and super easy if you're looking for a 5 minute dinner after a long work day. Trader Joe's for the win!

Make this salad to get help get you on track to get in shape after winter hibernation (I'm still eating Christmas chocolate.....), boost your energy and load up on your vitamin C to help finish off the winter feeling healthy! This is one of my favorite salads I've made and I'm 100% sure you'll love it.

This recipe makes enough for 3-4 dinner sized salads or 6-7 side dish salads.






Thai Salad w/ Sweet Peanut-Hummus Dressing

Ingredients:
10 oz broccoli slaw (one with cabbage, brussels sprouts & kale is great!)
5 oz kale, thick ribs removed, chopped thin
1 cup shredded carrots
1/3 cup roasted garlic hummus
1/3 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 lime, juiced
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sriracha (or more to taste)
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste
Sunflower seeds to serve
Avocado to serve
Grilled chicken to serve (or pork or shrimp)

Directions:

• Mix together hummus, sweet chili, peanut butter, lime juice, vinegar and sriracha until smooth. 
• Mix together slaw, kale and carrots. Toss with dressing and herbs and mix thoroughly to uniformly coat the veggies.
• Season with salt and pepper and serve with sunflower seeds (or chopped peanuts), avocado slices and grilled chicken.

Looking forward to Summer in one of the most beautiful places on earth!