A little Raw with Every Meal -- Salad for Dinner

I like to make a hearty salad for dinner a few times a month. It's a good way to increase the quantity of fresh fruits and vegetables I'm eating. A lot of the salads I make are not strictly vegan or even vegetarian, but there's usually still a lot of raw ingredients on the plate to fill me and my husband up (don't ask about the kids).


Sometimes in weeks when I feel I really need to cut back on meat, I'll make Chef's Salad for dinner. If I make up the salad on individual plates, I can easily include chicken and ham on my husband's salad, and make mine totally vegetarian. This is also a good recipe if you invite people over for dinner (or lunch) and someone in the group is a vegetarian.


To make my life that much easier, I usually pick up a pre-roasted chicken at the market. I remove some of the white breast meat for my husband's salad, and the kids' eat the rest of the chicken for their dinner.


Vegetarian (or not) Chef Salad


3 heads hearts of romaine lettuce, chopped
1 bunch watercress, thick stems removed
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 avocados, peeled and diced
4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
8 ounces, pitted Kalamata Olives
8 ounces crumbled goat's milk cheese
2 cooked chicken breasts, skinned and chopped (optional)
1/2 pound cooked ham, chopped (optional)
Chef's Salad dressing (below)



Mix the Romain and watercress together then divide among 4 plates. Arrange the tomatoes, avocados, olives and cheese in lines across each of the plates. If using the chicken and ham, make lines of the meats as well. Drizzle with the dressing and serve.



Chef's Salad Dressing
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt
freshly ground black pepper


Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl and serve.

Other good salad for dinner recipes include this one for Warm Duck Salad by the Barefoot Contessa: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/warm-duck-salad-recipe/index.html, and then there's the one I've previously posted for Crispy Skinned Salmon with Roasted Tomatoes, Mixed Greens and Lime Vinaigrette: http://losingweightafter45isabitch.blogspot.com/2009/05/eat-little-raw-with-every-meal.html.