I am by no means vegetarian, or vegan or otherwise.  Saying this reminds me of a bumper sticker I once saw that read, "I love animals!  They're Delicious!"  I honestly cannot imagine going through life sans meat or fish, etc.  Having said this, we are going to begin making Mondays, our day free of meats.  But, not free of all animal products.  There is no rhyme or reason to this decision.  I only thought it would be good for us.  So, today is our first Meatless Monday. And not just one meal, but the whole day.
To begin, our breakfast consisted of cereal and milk for some and Traders Point Creamery Honey Yogurt and fresh blueberries for others.  The kids packed their lunches as usual and filled their boxes with peanut butter and/or honey/jelly on wheat, veggie chips, grapes, and pudding.  I will be having Tomato, Corn and Avocado Salad.  This is leftover from yesterday's lunch, but in my opinion is even better the next day.



photography from Marthastewart.com

Meatless Monday Part Deux  will feature our dinner meal.  I am even wondering what I will come up with, but thank goodness there are a plethora of delicious fresh vegetables from the garden.  Now, what to make?  Hmmmmmm?  Any suggestions are welcomed!

Tweet Pin It

Late last week I had lunch at Maggiano's.  Yes, I know, "a corporate establishment".  However, I do enjoy the food there quite a bit. I was able to enjoy this lovely creation and then come up with my own version.  This flat bread is great as an appetizer, lunch or light dinner.  I have already thought up other ways to be versatile with the toppings.

Crispy Flat Bread

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup olive oil plus more for brushing
Kosher salt for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat oven to 450°F with a heavy baking sheet on rack in middle.
Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in center, then add water and oil and gradually stir into flour with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead dough gently on a work surface 4 or 5 times to incorporate all of the ingredients
Divide dough into 2 pieces and roll out 1 piece (keep remaining pieces covered with plastic wrap) on a sheet of parchment paper into a 10-12 inch oblong rustic shape.  You can make it a very uniform rectangle if you wish.  The dough should be thin, less than 1/4" thick.
Lightly brush top with additional oil and sprinkle with sea salt. *Tip:  You could also sprinkle with herbs if you are so inclined.  Continue with other round of dough.  Slide formed flat breads (still on parchment) onto preheated baking sheet and bake until pale golden and browned in spots, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer flat bread to a rack to cool.
Flat bread can be made 2 days ahead and cooled completely, then kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

Flat Bread Topping

Ingredients

Lightly grilled shrimp, sliced in half
Peeled, deseeded and sliced cucumber
Arugula, rinsed and patted dry
heirloom cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
sliced pickled banana peppers
thinly sliced red onion
extra virgin olive oil
lemon

Directions

Drizzle 1 Tbs. olive oil in mixing bowl and squeeze 1 tsp. of lemon juice in bowl and lightly whisk (this is enough for 1 flat bread).  Place ingredients in bowl and lightly toss to coat.  The amount of ingredients and oil mixture will depend upon how many flat breads you are serving.  Slice flat bread, keeping the shape together and top with salad mixture.  Drizzle with creamy basil vinaigrette (recipe to follow).  Sprinkle with freshly ground salt and pepper.  Serve and enjoy!

Creamy Basil Vinaigrette

Ingredients

As my waistline continues to grow and little miss Burton takes up more room on the inside I am finding dinner to be more of a light meal or snack.  So, I have been working on healthy alternatives to grabbing a milkshake or small bowl of ice cream.  Chicken Caesar Salad is my latest creation and I know it's not really new, but it is my version and everyone loved it so much it's been requested to return and often for dinner.  I agree, it is yummy and took all of about 15 minutes to prepare.

Chicken Caesar Salad

Ingredients

For Salad:
1 rotisserie chicken sliced
2 bags romaine lettuce
1 day old baguette diced
2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbs Italian Seasoning
1/4 C Parmesan grated
1/2 lb. prosciutto cubed

For Dressing:
1 lemon zested and juiced
1/2 clove of garlic minced
1/4 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbs. Greek yogurt
1 anchovy fillet

Directions

Put all of the ingredients for dressing:  lemon zest, juice garlic, oil, mustard, yogurt and anchovy into the food processor and give it a good blitz.  If it's not creamy enough for your liking add a little more yogurt.  For a more traditional Caesar dressing replace the yogurt with an egg yolk.  Pregnant gals should avoid raw foods so yogurt works best in this case.  Place dressing in the bottom of a large salad bowl.
If your chicken isn't hot plop in it a frying pan and heat through.  Remove chicken from pan and add prosciutto cubes and cook until just crispy, remove from pan.  Toss the baguette cubes with olive oil and Italian seasoning.  Place cubes in frying pan and cook over med heat until crispy.  Empty bags of lettuce into a large salad bowl.  Top lettuce with chicken, prosciutto and homemade croutons.  Lastly, add Parmesan cheese and right before serving give it all a good toss to distribute the dressing.

Serves 6-8

Tweet Pin It