HeaVy on the Veg!

My Blair county friends should know where I got the inspiration for this salad. My favorite old school Italian restaurant is Lena’s in Altoona, PA. You can order their house salad sloppy and they put a huge meatball and lots of sauce on top.

This is a game day meal for us. I serve my family meatball subs and I eat this. I’m not afraid of carbs sometimes I just chose to drink them. I use Aldi’s meatballs. Not the frozen ones. I’ve had people tell me this was their favorite meatball sandwich ever but unfortunately I can’t take the credit. My youngest son took a bite of his sub today and said…shut the front door-these meatballs are amazing.

I make this salad https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/iceberg-salad-with-italian-dressing then top with crockpot meatballs and sauce.

I switched up the cheese based off of what I had in my frig.

I’ve tried a ton of green smoothies and this is by far the best. It’s what Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington drink everyday and they swear it makes their skin more youthful and glowing..sold! I got a Ninja blender for Christmas and made one for breakfast today.

4 ice cubes

1/2 a pear – cut into chunks and leave skin on

1/2 an apple- same

1/2 a frozen banana

Big handful of spinach

Big handful of chopped romaine

1/2 a lemon with skin removed

About 3/4 cup of coconut water

Blend until smooth

2 packages of boneless chicken thighs

Season with S&P and grill or sauté in a large pan in batches

Sauce

3/4 cup of balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup of ketchup

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 garlic clove, minced or shredded

1/2 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard

S&P

Mix all and cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Toss to coat chicken.

You could use any fish from salmon to snapper. I absolutely love blackened fish. I wish this was fresh but for frozen, this was not bad. You could also add black beans to the hash.

Ingredients- serves 2

2 tablespoons of evoo

1/2 tablespoon of butter

2 fish fillets

Blackening Season- store bought or this one https://www.eatingonadime.com/homemade-blackened-seasoning-recipe/

1 small sweet potato- peeled and diced

1/2 a red pepper- diced

1/4 of a red onion- diced

1/2 cup corn

2 cups baby spinach

S&P

1/2 a lemon

Drizzle of honey

Coat both sides of fish with blackening season.

Drizzle a tablespoon of evoo around a pan. Add diced sweet potatoes and cook 5 minutes. Add diced peppers and onions. Cook 3 minutes. Add corn and cook 1 more minute then add spinach and wilt with lid on the pan for 1 minute. Remove lid and season with salt and pepper.

Remove hash the add more oil and butter to skillet. Once hot add fish. Sauté 3-4 minutes on each side. Place 1/2 of hash on a plate top with grouper. Drizzle with lemon and honey.

This is probably my most made appetizer. My husband absolutely loves them. I make a few if it’s just for us. If taking to a party I’ll do a dozen. They go quick because they are so easy to just pop into the mouth.

The hardest part is peeling them. I hear if you put vinegar in with the water it helps but I’ve never tried.

I’m going to do this recipe for the amount I usually make which fits my egg plate.

5 large eggs

2-3 tablespoons of good Mayo, start with two and add a little more as needed. I try to get away with as little Mayo as possible.

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon of white wine vinegar

A pinch of salt

Sprinkle with paprika

Place eggs in the bottom of a pot and fill with water that covers them plus an extra inch. Bring to boil then remove from heat and place lid on pot. Let sit for 10 minutes then drain and let cool.

Once eggs are cooled- peel and cut in half (lengthwise). Remove yolk and place in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients except paprika. Mix well with a fork so there are no lumps. Put mixture back in eggs then sprinkle with paprika.

Let sit in refrigerator for a few hours.