Salad: Everything but the Kitchen Sink...

Did I go overboard with these salads? Nahhhhhh!!!

The salad base, which is almost completely covered, was: Romaine lettuce, kale, a mix of baby greens, cucumbers, zucchini, turnips, carrots & cauliflower.

Top layer: Cheddar cheese, boiled eggs, smoked turkey, tomatoes, avocados, Black Forest ham, mozzarella (rolled with prosciutto & basil), Muenster cheese, provolone, bacon & red onions.

Sprinkled some chia seeds on top as well. Do you think adding the chia was too much? NAH! :)

Then we had: t-bone steaks, loaded baked potatoes, sauteed green beans and New York cheesecake for dessert. Just kidding! We had the salad and that's it. Sure didn't need anything else!

What can I say? I didn't have time to eat all day so this covered 3 meals for me. :)

"Everything But the Kitchen Sink" Chef Salad

Salad Base

Yes indeedy! There were two. Each completely consumed.

A shrimp po-boy is a thing of beauty...

I don't dine out very often. Recently I had the opportunity to eat at "Antone's," and that opportunity was one I grabbed with both hands and with great enthusiasm.

It was hard to make a decision because Antone's has expanded its menu over the years.

The shrimp po-boy won the coin-flip this day. At first glance it appears that there isn't enough shrimp in the sandwich. Let me assure you, there was. It had the perfect amount.

It was DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEElicious!!! If the shrimp had been a little spicier, I would have been happy but the coating was still good. The vegetables were super-fresh and the French fries were nice and hot. They were generous with those puppies, too.

On this same day, I heard the sad news about Antone's closing its original location in Houston. I haven't confirmed this news yet, so don't quote me on that. However, I encourage you to stop in for lunch anytime you can, particularly at this location, which is at 610 and T.C. Jester in Houston.

Shrimp Po-boy

Let's Talk Salad for a Minute...

Salad...we should have at least one a day. Two would even be better. Even eating a simple salad made with lettuce & tomatoes is better than not eating salad at all.

Eating a simple salad can get to be monotonous, so let's jazz it up with plenty of colors, flavors, textures and extra vitamins.

Iceberg seems to be the most popular lettuce to use in salads but it is also the least nutritious. Check this link for some good information about lettuce: "Top Five Lettuce Types by Order of Nutritional Value."

Below is a salad made with a colorful assortment of vegetables. Did I go overboard? Yes. As I was building it, I said to myself: "I think we're going to need a bigger bowl!"

Here's what we ended up with in this salad: The base was Romaine lettuce and Kale.

Then the rest of the veggie gang marched in to join the fun: Turnips, stem of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, red onion, red bell pepper, cucumber, tomato and avocado.

I wanted to share this salad with you because I feel that sometimes people feel limited when deciding to make a salad...you know, like you HAVE to have only certain veggies or you'll be breaking a rule and the Salad Police will be beating your door down and calling for your arrest.

Not so! Never be afraid to throw different veggies in a salad--ones that aren't in "conventional" salads.

It certainly breaks the monotony and you get a lot of fun flavors and textures. If you're not a big fan of cutting vegetables up for salad, invest in a "Salad Shooter," or equivalent. Those things can greatly reduce preparation time. They're small and easy to clean, unlike a food processor.

Here's to healthy eating! BOOYAH!!!!

I started out trying to be neat about it but the vegetables got a little out of hand. There's actually quite a bit of the base under there. It just got buried.

Salad Gone Wild

This was the base: Kale & Romaine

More Fun with Sriracha: The Sriracha Chicken Sandwich

These Sriracha chicken tenders would make an excellent po' boy sandwich. I didn't have any baguettes on hand so I made a regular sandwich with them the day after I enjoyed the successful Spicy Sriracha Chicken Tenders recipe.

This sandwich is served graced with tomatoes, lettuce, black olives and spicy ranch. If I'd had some sliced avocado, it would have been the perfect finishing touch.

I think it would be worth it to butterfly the breast, then follow the recipe as usual. Use the butterflied breasts to make a sandwich using regular bread, ciabatta bread or toasted hamburger buns. Yum!!

Beats any chicken sandwich from any fast food joint any day of the week! 

Sriracha Chicken Sandwich

Spicy Sriracha Chicken Tenders

Chicken tenders marinated in Sriracha, then tossed in a spicy coating. Unlike the Colonel, I will share my recipe. There's no junk in it to hide from the public. Like, you know, msg and other bad crap you shouldn't be putting in your body.

Served with celery, avocado slices and spicy ranch dressing.

Most of the time spent for this dish is the preparation time. The cooking time is minimal.

Stay tuned for this recipe, I'll post it as soon as I can.

Spicy Sriracha Chicken Tenders

Spicy Sriracha Chicken Tenders