Cooking - for a new lifestyle (Our Test Kitchen)

This is the salad I was raving about earlier this week on Facebook.  I think I will be making it quite a lot this summer.  It is easy, delicious and very refreshing.  I bet lots of different veggies could be substituted in. For 2 servings: 1 leek 1-1/2 tbsp Classic Vinaigrette 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed salt and pepper to taste 4 button (white) mushrooms, sliced 1 tomato, sliced 1 carrot, shredded Prepare the leeks:  cut off the dark green tops and discard, slice the white and pale-green parts into large chunks, then boil or steam them for about 10 minutes, until soft.  Drain the leeks and let cool a few minutes. With a serrated knife, cut each chunk of the leeks into rounds about 1 cm thick and transfer them to a bowl.  Pour in the Classic Vinaigrette (I doubled the lemon/olive oil dressing and used that instead), then season with salt and pepper.  Blend gently and set aside. In a small bowl, ad...

For 2 servings 7 cups baby spinach (120 g) 6 button (white) mushrooms, thinly sliced 1 tbsp. lemon, freshly squeezed 1/2 orange, pressed and zested 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil salt and ground pepper to taste Prepare the spinach and put it in a large bowl.  Set aside Prepare the mushrooms by thinly slicing them and transferring them to a small bowl.  Season with salt and pepper and pour in half of the lemon juice.  Set aside. Grate half of the orange to obtain the zest, then juice it.  Put the zest and juice into a small bowl.  Pour in the remaining lemon juice, mustard and oil.  Add salt and pepper to taste, then beat well using a fork, until the vinaigrette is emulsified.  Pour the vinaigrette over the spinach. Peel the remaining orange, cut into small pieces and add to the spinach.  Add the mushrooms and toss well.  Serve. From soscuisine.com

We've been making this quick and easy salad for over 10 years now. 1 pound of ground beef Taco seasoning (optional) 1 pepper (can be green, red, orange, yellow or maybe a little bit of each)-chopped 1/2 onion-chopped 2 pieces of celery-chopped 1/2-1 Tbsp of butter 1 head of lettuce-shredded 450g of cheddar cheese-shredded 1/2 large bottle of Russian salad dressing (or 1 full small bottle) 1 Bag of crushed up tortilla chips Sour cream to top. 1. Cook up the ground beef and drain the grease. If you'd like a little bit of flavor, add in one of those small packets of Taco seasoning. 2. After chopping the pepper, onion and celery, saute them together in the butter before adding them in with the ground beef. Set aside. 3. Shred the lettuce and the cheese. 4. In a large bowl, add ground beef and vegetable mix, shredded cheese and lettuce. Mix. 5. While mixing, add in handfuls at a time of the tortilla chips to crush with the spoon. Also start adding the Russian dressing. 6. When finis...