Chopped salads = easiest weeknight dinners!

My body has been craving salads, which is unusual for late December. I think that it is telling me to get some nutrients after my holiday indulgences, and I agree. I haven't been doing very well with the ketogenic lifestyle lately, and it is time to get back on track.

Whenever I crave salad, I want something interesting and somewhat gourmet, but I don't always have a lot of time to wash and prep my veggies. I am also somewhat picky about salad greens, because I can not tolerate the chunky white parts of lettuce, so I take a lot of time to go through and remove all of them whenever I make a salad. I discovered these new(ish) Dole chopped salad kits, and they are good! They are easy to eat, since everything is chopped into little pieces, and there isn't much of the chunky white parts to pick out.

We stopped at the grocery store on the way home from work tonight, and I got a Sunflower Crunch chopped salad kit, which has cabbage, kale, carrots, sunflower seeds, bacon bits and a sweet onion citrus dressing. It was $3.49. I also got a rotisserie chicken for $6. Rotisserie chicken is the best thing ever for low carbers. I don't have time to roast chickens! Nor do I really care to touch raw chickens. $6 is such a low price to pay for the convenience of getting one ready to eat. And they are always so juicy and delicious. We took our ingredients home, chopped up the chicken, dumped the salad and chicken into a bowl, tossed with dressing, and devoured. You can't get much easier and healthier than that! And, compared to our usual habit of going out to eat all the time, it was very economical at just under $10 for two people. I've made it my New Year's resolution to eat way more of this meal in different variations- I am thinking around three times a week. Besides Sunflower Crunch, these chopped salads also come in the following flavors: Sesame Asian, Bacon & Bleu, BBQ Ranch, Chipotle Cheddar, and Summer Garden Blend. (Dole should be paying me for this free advertising, but they're not!) That will ensure I am getting all kinds of good vitamins and protein, and it will be so fast and easy. That is a resolution that I think I can stick to!

Recipe: Boursin Mushrooms

Boursin mushrooms are so easy and so delicious. If you have never heard of Boursin cheese, it is a soft, spreadable cheese that is flavored with garlic and herbs. Kent first had these at Trostel's Dish, a small plate tapas restaurant in Des Moines. They were very easy to recreate, considering they only have two ingredients.

It's like a cupcake of cheese.

Boursin Mushrooms

1 package of button mushrooms or Baby Bellas
1 package of Boursin cheese

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Remove stems from mushrooms. Use a fork to poke a couple of sets of holes in each mushroom, so any juices can drain out while cooking. Use a spoon to scoop some Boursin cheese into the inside of the mushroom cap. We like to use the spoon to smooth and shape the cheese down into it so it is flush with the mushroom, but feel free to be more rustic about it. Fill each mushroom, place on a baking sheet with a rack to let the juices drain and prevent sogginess. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops are golden.

These are awesome with scrambled eggs for breakfast! I think they would also go very nicely with a steak for a dinner side.

The finished product.

With scrambled eggs and bacon for brunch. Money saving tip: Did you know that bacon "ends and pieces" are way less expensive than normal bacon? Just because they are shorter and get kind of curly when cooked. Just as tasty, though! Normal bacon is $6-$7 a pound, and we got 3 pounds of ends and pieces for $8 at Walmart.