Strangely enough, the holiday season means things are slowing down a little bit around here. Extra-curriculars are wrapping up, evening activities are winding down, and work is slowing up for the week. That means there was actually a fair amount of cooking going on around here. Well maybe not cooking…dinners prepared at home at least.
For starters, this Pomegranate Pear Walnut Salad has been on rotation for more than a few meals this week, along side a surprisingly delicious pear & grilled red onion vegan grilled cheese sandwich.
My favorite vegan lasagna {tofu & fake cheese free!} made it to the table this week a few times too. {What is it about Italian that makes it so.much.better after it’s been frozen and reheated?}
Even though it’s not quite winter weather yet, I’m pretending it is and gearing up for the coming cold evenings with this hearty kale soup.
And I’d be lying if I said decadent desserts and drinks weren’t on my mind this holiday season.
Last but not least, I finally started decorating for Christmas. Hey, at least I was finished all my shopping early this year.
Now that I’ve gotten over my hesitation of what kind of pear to buy, they’re ending up everywhere- like in today’s salad & sandwich combo.
For some reason I tend to like salads I didn’t prepare at home a lot better- they always taste so much better at restaurants or at salad bars. But really, there are only three secrets to having a good salad at home:
– Fresh greens
– A good dressing
– Not skipping the toppings
My answer to having a good salad at home:
Pomegranate Pear Salad
Fresh mixed baby greens, sliced pear, grilled red onion, toasted walnuts, black pepper, and pomegranate dressing. Marzetti sent me a coupon to try one of their new Simply Dressed salad dressings and I was instantly drawn to the pomegranate dressing.
It was a good choice- the dressing is slightly sweet, yet tangy, and packed with true pomegranate flavor. The thick texture was perfect for coating the salad greens without all dripping to the bottom of the plate. It’s just what my salad needed to live up to my high standards.
I’ve never been a salad-as-a-whole-meal girl, so as I was scrounging around looking for something to go with my salad, I couldn’t help but keep coming back to the pear. Pear and salad…pear and…cheese!
I already had the pear ready and the onion sliced. A pear grilled cheese sandwich sounded like the perfect complement. I used vegan cheese, but of course any cheese would work. Even a crumble or two of blue cheese would make this sandwich divine. Spread with a little Dijon mustard, Follow Your Heart Monterey Jack and a swipe of vegan cream cheese, a few slices of pear, and a sprinkling of grilled red onions, this grilled cheese pairs perfectly with the pomegranate pear salad.
Layer sliced pears on top of greens. Top with red onion, walnuts, and black pepper.
What’s your favorite salad topping?
I was one of the bloggers selected by T. Marzetti Company and Clever Girls Collective to host a Marzetti Simply Dressed review. They provided me with product to test myself and compensation for my time. However, my opinions are entirely my own.
I’d been hanging on to a card for complimentary Crispy Calamari since I went to the Carrabba’s Tastemaker event umm…last August. {The event incidentally was a ton of fun- we got to learn how they make some of their signature pasta’s like the Tag Pic Pac and Penne Franco.}
Anyways, we cashed in the coupon and along with some pasta, salad, and bread, we were all set for a delicious anniversary dinner. What’s better than great food in the comfort of your own home that you didn’t have to cook?? That’s what I was thinking.
It ended up taking two trips up to Carrabba’s to actually get our whole meal, but once we finally had all the food in our hands it was a delicious meal.
The calamari was good, but after a few bites it was too salty for me to handle. Everything else was fantastic though. We had one of their summer pasta specials, the Pasta Rambo {and no, I didn’t get it just because it has an awesome name…though it does.}
The Pasta Rambo was thick linguine with shrimp, sautéed mushrooms, and tomatoes in a lemon basil butter sauce. The shrimp in the pasta were cooked perfectly, and the light sauce was perfect for the dish.
I could probably eat a whole week’s worth of meals of just Carrabba’s Caesar salad and bread- their dipping oil spice blend is by far my favorite of any restaurant.
I can’t wait to dig into the leftovers for lunch, although there’s not much left.
After our less-than-stellar crab cake dinner, we made sure to find a restaurant that would make up for it. When we saw M&S Grill had tables outside and could sit us fairly quickly {a huge achievement the weekend of Preakness}, we knew we’d found our spot.
M & S Grill is the little sister to seafood powerhouse McCormick and Schmick’s, so it was sure to please.
And it did. I’d had my fill of seafood, so I dug into a fresh strawberry spinach salad that pretty much knocked my socks off.
Spinach topped with strawberries, red onions, and spicy hot pecans, served with a thick and spicy peanut dressing.
Along with a side of parmesan potatoes in case the salad wasn’t big enough.
We must’ve spent a few hours at dinner since it was dark by the time we left.
And with that, Fitbloggin was over just as quickly as it started.
