Zucchini and Goat Cheese Salad

I made this salad a few days ago for the first time, and was a little skeptical because I've never been a huge fan of zucchini, but I have to say this salad was so good! The only recommendation I would make is when slicing the zucchini use a mandolin and leave the zucchini a little more sturdy. I sliced it more ribbon like and it became too thin after cooking it, so don't mind the picture! This is good enough to eat by itself or as a side! I didn't have pine nuts on hand so I substituted it for walnuts, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand!

Ingredients

- 4 mediums zucchini

- 2 TBSP olive oil

- 2 oz. Goat Cheese

- 2 TBSP balsamic vinegar

- 3-4 TBSP chopped walnuts

- Crushed red pepper

- Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

- With a mandolin, slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin strips (a little thicker than 1/16"). Places zucchini slices in a colander and sprinkle with salt, and let sit for about 10 minutes.

- Pat zucchini dry. Heat 2 TBSP olive oil in a large sauce pan and add zucchini. Cook for about 6-8 minutes on medium heat or until slices become a light golden brown. Add crushed red pepper, black pepper and walnuts. Taste for salt and add accordingly.

- Transfer cooked zucchini to a large plate and crumble goat cheese on top, garnish with more walnuts if desired.

- Using the same saucepan, over medium heat add balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil and then reduce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Drizzle balsamic reduction over zucchini. Enjoy!

5 ways to use leftover bread!

This weeks post is not a traditional recipe y'all, I've had this question come up a few times, 'What can I do with leftover bread?!' Well this happens in our house a lot! We have Italian during the week and we get those huge loaves of fresh bread from the grocery store, eat about half of it and the other half is left in the bread box for days! So here are some of the things I have tried with leftover bread, and all have come out really good!

Ingredients
- Leftover bread (half a loaf-5-6 slices 3/4 inch thick)

1. Breadcrumbs
- Cut bread into cubes and place in an oven or toaster oven and toast for about 5-7 minutes, until bread is a golden brown color and hard. Let cool completely
- Pulse toasted cubes in a food processor until fine crumbs form.
Tip: If you want to season the bread crumbs add a big pinch of salt and pepper, along with your favorite dried herbs!

2. Croutons
- Cut bread into cubes and place in a medium sized bowl. Drizzle 1/4 cup olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper along with some dried herbs. Mix well, until all the cubes are coated.
- Spread cubes on a baking sheet (make sure they are not overlapping) and bake at 400 degrees for 6-9 minutes or until light golden brown.

3. Grilled Crostini/bruschetta
- Slice bread and brush olive oil on both sides. On a medium-hot grill cook about 1 minute each side until grill marks appear.
- Top with ricotta, basil and cherry tomatoes for a delicious yet simple appetizer!

4. Greek Panzanella salad
- Cut bread into cubes, and mix into this Greek salad and vinaigrette. Let stand for 30 minutes until bread cubes have soaked up the vinaigrette.

5. Pizza baguette
- Slice bread horizontally, so you have two open faced pieces. Toast bread until a light golden color (about 2-3 minutes).
- Spread pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella along with your favorite toppings and place in the oven at 350 for about 6-9 minutes, until cheese is nice and bubbly and bread is golden and crispy.

Cucumber and Feta rolls

Greetings from London! I'm here for my cousins wedding, and it's been a blast so far! My cousin Alpa  held a tea party a few days ago, and there was so much delicious food! Different pastries, scones, sandwiches and finger foods! My absolute favorite were the cucumber and feta rolls. You start with thin slices of cucumber and inside is a yummy filling of feta, cream cheese and red pepper. They are super simple and really quick and easy to make! Try these at your next party and they will be sure to impress!

Ingredients
- 1 large cucumber cut lengthways
- 1/4 cup feta cheese
- 1/3 cup cream cheese
- 1/4 cup small diced red pepper
- 1/2 TSp red crushed pepper
- 1 TSP chopped fresh oregano
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions
- Using a cheese slicer or mandolin ( I used a cheese slicer) slice long cuts of cucumber (the layers will be about 3mm-4mm thick), and lay on a few paper napkins to drain excess water.
- In a bowl mix cheeses and all other ingredients together. Once everything is mixed, taste for salt and pepper. (Depending on what kind of feta cheese you use the saltiness will vary)
- Take one layer of cucumber and starting at one end place about a tablespoon of feta mixture and roll tightly.
- After rolling insert a toothpick in the center of the cucumber to hold in place.
- Repeat until all cucumber layers are rolled up.

Serving size
- 1 large cucumber can give you anywhere from 14-18 cucumber rolls. (This also depends on the size of cucumber)

Quick Tip!
- Make these ahead of time and keep in the fridge, just take it out when it's ready to serve!

Greek Salad & Vinaigrette

I am ALWAYS on the hunt for new flavorful foods! This greek salad is my new addiction! I made this a few weeks ago, and now I can’t stop! It's cool, crisp and bold, all, which are perfect for summer! It’s super versatile too, you can have it as a light lunch or snack, or build it up and have it as a meal. I usually make the dressing in bulk and keep it in the fridge for whenever I want some next. This is a really great dish to make if you're going to a pot-luck, hosting a dinner or even when you get home and just don’t feel like cooking! Have it with some soup or pita chips and enjoy! Bon apetit, or Kali Orexi as the Greeks would say!

Salad Ingredients
  -  2-3 cups chopped mixed greens (I like baby spinach and romaine lettuce)
  - 1/3 cup cucumbers- sliced and quartered
  - 4 kalamata olives pitted and sliced (regular olives are fine too)
  - 6-8 cherry tomatoes halved
  - 2 TBSP crumbled feta
  - 1/3 cup cooked whole wheat pasta
  - 3 mini sweet peppers diced into 1 inch cubes

Vinaigrette Ingredients 

   - 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil 

   - 1/4 cup of red wine or balsamic vinegar

   - 1/4 TSP of salt

   - 1/4TSP pepper 

   -  2 TSP honey 

   - 1 TSP fresh oregano 

   - 1/4 TSP red pepper flakes

Directions

- Combine all of the salad ingredients in a medium sized bowl and toss.

- In a small bowl combine vinegar, salt, honey, pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano and mix.

- slowly whisk in the olive oil until the vinaigrette is fully combined.

- Drizzle 2-3 TBSP of the vinaigrette on the salad and mix until well coated.

- Top with some fresh cracked black pepper.
- Store extra vinaigrette in the fridge.

     Seving Size 

     - This salad makes one large dinner salad or two side salads. 
     
Substitutions                                                                  Additions
 -  Sugar for honey                                                          - Add 1/3 cup chick peas for extra protein
 - Medium sized tomato for cherry tomatoes              - Crumble some pita chips for crunch
 - 1/3 cup diced red bell pepper for mini peppers