Once upon a time there was... Mediterranean Salad with Green Beans and Feta

So since we are trying to eat healthier we went looking for new, interesting salads.  We came across this one from Martha Stewart that seemed simple and interesting.  It's a good way to sneak in some beans for an extra nutritional benefit, too.

ingredients
1 head of romaine, chopped
8 oz green beans
2 naval oranges
1 1/2 c feta cheese
1 small red onion, sliced
15 oz can of white beans
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
salt and pepper

instructions


1. prepare green beans. in a saucepan, boil water, and simmer green beans 4-6 minutes until slightly tender. rinse with cold water.

2.  prepare orange.  peel and slice fruit.

3. prepare lettuce and other veggis.

4. prepare dressing.  whisk together oil and vinegar.  add salt and pepper to taste.

5. create salad.  toss together all ingredients. serve!

Here are our thoughts on this:  The dressing needs something, but we're not sure what.  (It's just a little boring.)  We still don't like white beans even when we hide them in a salad. Green beans in a salad is do-able.  Feta makes everything better.

So, we're not ready to reject this salad, but we think it needs a little work.  We would love to hear your ideas, Castle Farm Cookbook blog readers!

Here's the nutritional info:

pig, out!

Once upon a time there was... Greek Salad

As you may know, Cal and I are world traveling farm animals. We have been to Greece - twice. So you could say we know a thing or two about Greek food. For example, here is us at a cafe in Athens enjoying wine and baklava.

What we have decided about Greece is that they have the best food in the entire world. So, we dabble in Greek cooking, and you will see us post many more Greek recipes in the future. Recently, we discovered a food blog we love, Elly Says Opa! Today, we are making a big Greek salad using Elly's Greek Dressing recipe and her chicken gyro recipe. We wish we still had some of our authentic Greek olive oil to use for this, but our house extra virgin will have to do. We do however have some greek salad seasoning that we brought back with us and will use then in place of just oregano.

ingredients

for the dressing

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 c red wine vinegar

2 heaping Tbsp greek yogurt

1 tsp greek seasoning mix (or oregano)

1/4 c extra virgin olive oil

salt, pepper

for the chicken

4 cloves garlic, smashed

juice of 1 lemon

2 tsp red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 heaping Tbsp greek yogurt

1 Tbsp greek seasoning mix (or oregano)

salt and pepper

1 lb chicken

for the rest of the salad

lettuce

cucumber

feta cheese

pepper

whatever you want to put in it: olives, tomato, etc

instructions

1. marinate chicken. whisk together all the chicken ingredients in a small bowl. Add chicken. cover and refrigerate at least an hour.

2. make the dressing. whisk together all of the ingredients except the olive oil. Add the oil in a steady stream, while whisking to combine and emulsify. add salt and pepper to taste. refrigerate an hour.

3. preheat broiler. sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. broil until cooked through, about 5 min per side.

4. toss salad ingredients and dressing.

5. when chicken is cooked, slice and top the salad.

We really liked this salad. It was light and filling and yummy. Conveniently, we still had some leftover homemade pitas to complete the meal. Once again thanks to Elly Says Opa! for the excellent and authentic greek recipes!

Pig, out.