Chopped Greek Salad & My Favorite Greek Dressing

Okay so I definitely feel kinda lame for posting about a salad because...well... it's a salad. But since this salad finds its way to my dinner table at least once a week, I figured it was time to post about it. And really, this post isn't about the salad as much as it's about dressing. Aren't all salads really about the dressing anyway?

Once I started making my own salad dressings, I have never gone back to store bought. Have you read the ingredient list in that stuff? It's all sugar and words I can't pronounce. I'll take my sugar in the form of cookies, not salad.

This greek dressing is great because I can pretty much guarantee that you have all the ingredients to make the dressing right now. You can throw it together on a moments notice. The other thing that I love about this dressing is that it has a high ratio of vinegar to oil. Most vinaigrettes have wayyyyyyy too much oil in them. This dressing uses more vinegar than oil so it gives it a really good tang and makes a little bit go a long way.

I'm posting a "recipe" for the salad based on what I usually put in it. Obviously change things around as you see fit. The version I'm posting is a vegetarian version, but if I have leftover chicken I usually throw that in too. This makes quite a bit of salad. It usually makes enough for me and Ross for dinner one night and lunch the next day.

Chopped Greek Salad
Ingredients:

• 1 bag of romaine, washed, dried, and chopped
• 2 - 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 bell peppers, chopped (I use one orange and one yellow)
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup cucumber, chopped
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup garbanzo beans
• 1/3 cup kalamata olives, roughly chopped
• 1/2 feta, chopped

Directions

1. Throw everything in a large bowl and mix it together!

My Favorite Greek Dressing:
Source: AllRecipes.com
*Note: The quantities are a little weird. This is because the recipe is scaled back from a restaurant recipe that makes like 120 servings.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp onion poweder
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Whisk together all of the ingredients except the olive oil.
2. Slowly stream in the olive oil while whisking until well blended.
   

Greek Salad Dressing

Cranberry Almond Granola

I absolutely love granola, but I hardly ever buy it because every time I read the nutrition facts in the store I'm reminded that most granola is full of calories and sugar. I've tried a few granola recipes before and none of them were worth blogging about... until I tried this one.

This granola uses unsweetened applesauce in place of oil, which reduces the calories and makes it a lot healthier. I also used a combination of brown sugar, agave, and a little bit of maple sugar to sweeten it. It's not super sweet oatmeal, so if you're looking for something sweet just add a little more sugar. I adapted the recipe from David Lebovitz, and it uses 1 tablespoon of oil along with applesauce. I'm not sure why, but I went with it anyway. The recipe is really adaptable and it will be my base recipe for granola from now. Next time I think I'll throw in some sunflower seeds and maybe some dried apricots. The flavor combination are endless!

Recipe: Cranberry Almond Granola
Highly Adapted from: David Lebovitz
Ingredients:

• 3 cups old fashioned rolled outs
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 3/4 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
• 1/4 light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup agave (I used light), or honey, or maple syrup
• 2 tbls maple syrup
• 1 tbls vegetable oil
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries (or other dried fruit)
  

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300F (150C).
2. In a very large bowl, mix together the oats, almonds, coconut, toasted wheat germ, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
3. In a small saucepan, warm the applesauce with the agave, maple syrup, and oil.
4. Mix the applesauce mixture into the dry ingredients until thoroughly dispersed, then divide and spread the mixture evenly on two baking sheets.
5. Bake the granola for about 45 - 60minutes, stirring every ten minutes, until the granola is deep golden brown.
6. Remove from oven, mix in the dried fruit, then cool completely. Store the granola in a large, airtight container. It will keep for up to one month.

Chewy Chocoalte Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I hope there's no limit to the number of times a food blogger can post a chocolate chip cookie recipe and declare it amazing. Here's another one. This time it's a milk chocolate chip cookie with oatmeal in it. I know the picture makes them look flat and crispy, but these cookies came out so chewy and the oatmeal added some great stability and texture. Ross said he didn't even notice the oatmeal, that they just tasted like really good chocolate chip cookies.

The cookies are pretty straight forward and easy to make. The only advice I have to offer is to take the cookies out of the oven after 10 minutes even if they don't look done! I was REALLY skeptical about taking them out because they still looked doughy and raw, but I let them sit on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes to cook a little more, then transferred to the cooling rack. They were perfect and they stayed chewy for days! Also, I halved the recipe and it came out fine, so if you're looking for a small batch of cookies go head and halve it. I'll post the recipe for the entire batch though.

Side note: If you're wondering why I haven't blogged in a while it's because I took a little vacation to New York for my birthday. I had a great time, ate way too much, and bought some awesome stuff. And even though it was high on my priority list, I somehow did not make it to the Levain Bakery for one of their famous chocolate chip cookies. Oh well, that just gives me a reason to try the copycat recipe that's been floating around the internet. Here's a couple pictures from a baking supply store that I went to. Valrhona chocolate and sprinkle heaven! It's amazing I didn't walk out of there with an entire rainbow of sprinkles in every size and shape. I did get some awesome (gigantic) tips for frosting cupcakes, so you can expect some cupcake recipes soon! I'm thinking mint chocolate chip but if you have any other suggestions, send them my way!


Recipe: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from: Kar in the Kitchen
Makes: About 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup (2 stick) butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 generous teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups oatmeal
• 2 cups milk chocolate chips
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder together and set aside.
   
2. Beat butter and sugars until very fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well incorporated.
   
3. Add half dry ingredients, mix until incorporated, then repeat.
   
4. Stir in oatmeal and chocolate chips.
5. Drop cookies onto cookie sheet using two spoons or a scoop and bake 9-11 minutes, depending on how done you like them. I prefer to take the cookies out around the 9 or 10 minute mark (they will look underdone) and let them finish cooking on the cookie sheet out of the oven.