The days are getting warmer here in North Carolina, and that means that one of my favorite seasons is upon us: salad season. Nothing says “summer food” more than a salad. Fruit salad at the beach, pasta salad at a BBQ, and colorful green salads for dinner. Although we just hit Spring, some of our days have already reached 80 degrees. The warmer weather doesn’t lend well to heavy foods, like potatoes or crockpot meals. After a long day at work (and after getting sweaty while walking to my car at the end of the day), I love to come home and eat a big green salad for dinner.
Not only is this salad recipe healthy (which honestly, most of the time, salads are not), but it is incredibly easy and quick to make, too. I use herb “pastes” in place of fresh herbs, simply because I’m lazy. I have made this recipe with chopped fresh herbs, and it tastes just the same.
The nutrition facts below are based off of the entire recipe, however I generally do not use all of the dressing in one sitting.
While I love blue cheese with this recipe, a lot of my friends and family do not. I’ve found that it also goes well with Feta instead. As for protein – I love it paired with steak!
Recipe:
- 1 c frozen corn
- 6 c Mixed greens
- 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 c red onion, diced
- 4 oz blue cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 c olive oil
- 1/4 c balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp basil paste
- 2 Tbsp parsley paste
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- Place about 2 Tbsp of oil in a skillet. Once heated, add frozen corn. Sauté until corn is blackened
- Place the mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, red onion, blue cheese, and sautéed corn in a bowl.
- Mix the remaining ingredients together (oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, parsley, garlic, and Dijon). Pour desired amount of dressing over salad.
- Serve fresh. Makes 6 servings
Nutrition Facts per serving: 220 calories / 7 g protein / 10 g carbs / 228 mg sodium
Creatively Catie 