Chiffonade of Mixed Lettuces

Printable Recipe

Cutting lettuce into delicate strips for this chiffonade salad creates an elegant design worthy of the footed trifle dish, if you happen to have one. Any straight sided bowl will do, of course - it's the colorful mix of lettuce and veg that makes it pretty. Two different dressings make it unexpectedly good.

So, let's start by putting together the interior dressing, drizzled on about half way through the layering. Use 1/3 c good flavored olive oil and 1-1/2  TBS fresh lemon juice with 1/2 tsp Honey Mustard. No substitutes.

This is a dressing of few ingredients which must each taste delicious individually. Bottled lemon juice or hot dog mustard or cheap oil will RUIN it.

I know, I'm strict about ingredients. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and shake it, baby.

 A Lettuce Note:
Any mix of colorful lettuces will do, some red, some light green, some dark. I happened upon this 4 pack at my grocery that was ideal. For a crunchier and brighter addition, I also bought romaine.

A Chiffonade Note:
Remove any damaged outer leaves and simply cut the entire head crossways into thin ribbons. Keep the various colors separate. I washed and dried everything one bunch at a time after cutting.

Even though these had already been spun in the salad spinner, I wrapped them in an absorbent towel to dry further. Residual water will only thin out the dressing.


Layer all the heads of the softer lettuce first, red and then green. Clip a handful of fresh dill evenly over the top with kitchen shears.











For extra flavor and color, thin slice a red onion, red pepper, green bell pepper, and several radishes.
Line the edges of the bowl with first one layer of vegetables slices and then another until all are used, scattering a mixture in the center of the bowl.  Drizzle the dressing over all evenly.




Top this layer with all the strips of romaine and add several generous spoonfuls of Miracle Whip Light.

Smooth it out with the back of the spoon.

The trick is in not lifting the spoon, just pressing it down and turning the bowl with the other hand.

Now clean up the edges of that bowl and serve proudly. Delicious and beautiful too.

THE SHOPPING LIST
4 colorful lettuces
1 romaine lettuce
Honey Mustard
Olive Oil
1 Lemon
Miracle Whip Lite
1 Small Red Onion
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Green Bell Pepper
3-4 Radishes
1 bunch of Dill

TSFL note - one cup of this salad counts as one vegetable serving and one to two healthy fat servings.
Summer has given way to Fall Fest at the Food Network website where you'll find my foodie blogs along with other great food lovin' bloggers, offering up our best ideas all the way through the holidays! Each week we'll be blogging together with the FN Dish to produce fabulous ways to enjoy your produce!  This week, it's Mixed Lettuce, next week come on back for perfect ways with Pumpkins. Check out these other delicious ideas:
Jeanette's Healthy Living: Quinoa and Black Lentil Salad With Mixed Salad Greens
Cooking With Books: "Chopped" Salads
Haute Apple Pie: Roasted Butternut Squash Salad With Warm Bacon Dressing
Dishin & Dishes: Beet Salad With Garlic Vinaigrette
Thursday Night Dinner: Mixed Lettuce, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pita Pizza
And Love It Too: Rainbow Salad
Made By Michelle: Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwiches
Feed Me Phoebe: Hearts of Romaine With Beets, Pistachios and Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette
HGTV Gardens: Garden-to-Table: Mixed Lettuce
Virtually Homemade: Mixed Fall Greens With Dijon Chive Vinaigrette
Devour: Lettuce (Hold the Salad)
Daily*Dishin: Almond Chutney Chicken Lettuce Wraps
FN Dish: Top 12 Lettuce Wraps

Spinach Leaf Roll Ups

Printed Recipe

Here's a quick little colorful bite perfect for a last-minute appetizer platter or just to have as a snack that will leave you satisfied and feeling virtuous for making healthy choices. And these couldn't be simpler to make, especially if you start with a bag of prewashed spinach.

Find the darkest sweet red pepper in the produce bin and cut into 1/4" strips about the width of your spinach leaves. I looked for baby spinach leaves because they're flatter than the full size crinkly spinach and easier for this recipe. Simply choose the largest flattest leaves from the bag and pinch off the stems. Line them up, assembly line style, and spread with a thin layer of Laughing Cow Creamy Swiss Lite. This is easiest if the cheese is at room temp. You'll need about one triangle of Laughing Cow for every half dozen or so leaves.
Position a matchstick of the red pepper at the base of each leaf and roll up tightly. The cheese is just sticky enough to hold them together for serving (and definitely long enough to pop them straight into your mouth). Voila! I just made you eat spinach and love it.
THE SHOPPING LIST
1 cup spinach leaves
3 Wedges Laughing Cow Creamy Swiss Lite
1/2 Red Bell Pepper

**Count this as one vegetable serving and 3 condiment servings if you are following the Take Shape for Life program and eat all on the above list.**

Summer has given way to Fall Fest at the Food Network website where you'll find my foodie blogs along with other great food lovin' bloggers, offering up our best ideas all the way through the holidays! Each week we'll be blogging together with the FN Dish to produce fabulous ways to enjoy your produce!  This week, it's Spinach, next week come on back for tasty ways with Turnips. Check out these other delicious ideas: 

Jeanette's Healthy Living: Skinny Hot Spinach Dip
Feed Me Phoebe: October Evening Lentil Soup With Spinach
And Love It Too: Grain-Free Spinach Pie
Cooking With Elise: Baby Spinach Salad With Cranberries, Spiced Pecans and a Maple Vinaigrette
Virtually Homemade: Three Onion Dip With Spinach
HGTV Gardens: Garden-to-Table: Spinach
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Whole-Wheat Pasta With Spicy Spinach and Peanut Butter Pesto
Thursday Night Dinner: Spinach Ice Cream
Cooking Channel: Fresh Spinach in Indian Recipes
Daily*Dishin: Spinach-Sausage Saute With Pan-Fried Gnocchi
Bacon and Souffle: Baby Spinach Pizza With Sopressata and Sriracha
FN Dish: Stuff It With Spinach