Kitchen Basics, a series: Salad Starter

Ever felt that you really want to cook and healthy and quick meal for your family, but just don’t feel you can do it? We encounter all sorts of barriers at dinnertime:
1. telemarketers
2. “nothing to cook”
3. being not really “in the mood” for anything in particular
4. evening appointments getting in the way
5. a screaming teething toddler demanding your attention….

you get the drift.

We all have good intentions, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen. And for those nights, thank the Lord for McDonald’s.

For this reason, I’ve decided to create a serious of blog entries called: Kitchen Basics

They may range anywhere from cool tools, cooking tips, and money saving advice, to meal planning and how to get vegetables on the dinner table. I’m not really sure that’s going to happen with this, we’ll figure it out along the way.

So for our first Kitchen Basics edition, we’re starting simple- with a salad.

I used to dread buying bags of salad because
1. they are expensive and
2. they don’t last very long

So I started making my own salads. Sounds easy right? It is. (and its a lot cheaper too)

Once a month or so I purchase a bag of carrots (the big ones) and a head of red cabbage. These are super cheap and they last a while. Then every week at the store I pick up a head of lettuce or two.

A whole un-cut head of lettuce will stay fresh in the crisper for almost 2 weeks. 2 WEEKS! And it costs a ton less than the bags

NEWS FLASH: Did you know that each bag of salad greens contains chemicals to slow the browning process? Makes you think again about the whole bagged salad expense, huh? That’s why the lettuce deteriorates once its opened. More money, more chemicals, worse salad. Why bother?

So when it comes time to make a salad, I just cut up or grate what I need, put it in a ziplock, and it stays fresh for about 3 days. After 3 days, I have fresh lettuce/carrots/red cabbage ready to make more!

Then come dinner time, you have either a side salad OR add some bacon, leftover steak, chicken, or fish, extra veggies laying around (tomatoes, asparagus, red bell peppers, cucumbers, celery, broccoli, peas) cheese, croutons, toasted nuts, dried fruit, and your favorite dressing. Dinner is served. Who isn’t hungry now?

Last night I did this with grilled asparagus and bell peppers. Check em out:

Then we added crisp bacon, feta cheese, sliced tomatoes and a basalmic vinegrette. It was heaven. (Along with the heavenly chicken enchiladas, of course)

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. “I don’t eat that much salad” Then ask yourself this question: How many times did I go get take-out or drive-thru when I could have made yourself a big huge delicious salad?

Next time you make dinner, make an extra chicken breast or sirloin. Save it to make dinner out of a salad. Your wallet will thank me, along with your tush.

If you want to read more about the chemicals in your salad bag, go here, here, here, here, or here.

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