Beet this!

I have a little catching up to do, so pardon the flood of blog posts all at once.

I had a moment of clarity after Christmas. I realized that my family and I weren't eating as well as we used to and definitely not as well as we should be. We weren't insanely unhealthy... okay, maybe we weren't doing AS well as I'd like to think we were. And it is all my fault. Really. Mine. I was trying to stick to a limited budget and took the easy way out. SO, slowly but surely, I'm reworking our budget to include the most nutritious and best foods possible. Don't worry... I'm not giving EVERYTHING up completely. Momma's gotta have her sweets :)

 When it comes to cooking, I don't always completely follow the recipe exactly as it is written. If you'd like to try it the exact way it was supposed to be made, I'll try my hardest to post the link at the very end of my posts so you can make it yours too!! 

I apologize for the horribly lit photos that I will be posting too. I get that we eat with our eyes BUT if I'm posting it, you need to try it. It's "Caiti tested, Caiti APPROVED!" :)

 The first meal on the menu for 2013 came from my FAVORITE Mrs. Giada De Laurentiis.

Beet and Marinated Feta Cheese Salad

  

Dressing:

•  1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar {This can be found on the shelf with all the other vinegars. The brand that stuck out to me was Alessi.}
• 1 tablespoon frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
• A few cracks of my fresh pepper grinder, plus extra for seasoning
• A decent sized pinch of kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Salad:

• 4 ounce package of unseasoned, crumbled feta cheese
• 1 bundle of 3 large red beets, tops trimmed
• 1 pound FRESH green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 
• 1 bag of mixed baby greens
• 1 Granny Smith apple, cored, cut into thin slices

Directions:

For the dressing: 
 Combine the oil, vinegar, apple juice, parsley, pepper, salt and garlic in a small bowl and whisk to blend. Season with additional salt and pepper.

For the salad:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Place the feta cheese in a medium bowl. Drizzle with just enough dressing to moisten. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Wrap each beet in foil. Place the beets directly onto the oven rack and roast until tender, about 50 minutes. Eight minutes before the beets are tender, place the green beans in a pie dish. Add the oil and a pinch each salt and pepper and toss to coat. Roast the green beans alongside the beets until crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Remove the foil from the beets and set aside until cool enough to handle. Cut each beet into 6 to 8 wedges.

Dump the bag of lettuce into a large bowl. Add the green beans and apple slices and top with the beet wedges. Sprinkle the goat cheese on top. Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and toss until coated.

 OMG! This was amazing!! We LOVED it. 

I pan grilled some chicken breasts that I seasoned with a little kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, a little garlic powder and a little onion powder and tossed it in the mix too.

Our favorite part was the marinated feta. It tasted better than any seasoned packaged feta cheese that we have ever had. I will be using this dressing in many other salads in our future!! LOVES IT! 

I haven't been to hot on leftovers for lunch the next day lately, but this salad had me wishing that I had made twice as much because what was leftover wasn't enough!!

{original recipe can be found here}