Simple Rice Salad

I admit it. This sounds like a post that belongs on SNL's The Delicious Dish. I like rice. Rice is my favorite. But hear me out, people!

As you may know, it's July. As you may also know, it's not always enjoyable to eat piping hot food in the middle of summer. It's the perfect time for fresh salads, and this easy rice salad is great for summer meals.

Before I go on, I just want to note that I'm not really a big rice eater. In sushi or on the side of delicious Thai food, of course! But it's not really something that I consume much otherwise. However, I think I could get used to this salad being in the rotation!

On Carrots

I fell in love last weekend. Don't worry, Brad didn't mind.

I stumbled across the most beautiful, organic, rainbow carrots at Reading Terminal Market (Iovine Brothers). Had to have them.

To maintain the integrity of these beauties, I simply chopped them into thick strips, tossed them with a little olive oil, kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper, and roasted them at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

They made a fab side dish for braised short ribs!

Asian-Inspired Coleslaw

Sure the main dish is important, but the sides should be just as interesting! Recently I've made a couple side/salad recipes that were colorful and tasty additions to summer meals.

The first side was Asian-inspired coleslaw, a recipe that I got from my good friend Melissa (shout out, yo!). It's very fresh and has a little more flavor than your average coleslaw. The original recipe calls for ground ginger, but using fresh ginger makes it smell and taste amazing! And if your coleslaw (store-bought or self-chopped) has a lot of red cabbage in the mix, it's a pretty attractive dish as well!

Asian Coleslaw (about 6 servings)

Ingredients:
1 lb. pre-shredded coleslaw mix (Whole Foods makes a great one!)
1/2 cup reduced fat mayo
2-3 tbsp. lime juice (2 limes for me)
2 tbsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tbsp. fresh grated ginger (or 1/4 tsp. ground ginger)
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro (optional)

Directions:

• Blend all ingredients except coleslaw mix in a small bowl and thin with a splash of milk. 
• Pour over coleslaw mix and stir well. Refrigerate coleslaw for at least an hour before serving and garnish with a little chopped cilantro if that's up your alley!

Stay tuned for side #2...

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

I have to be honest. Homemade chicken pot pie is really the driving force that made me want to start blogging. You tell people that you're having delicious chicken pot pie for dinner, and they "ooh" and "aah" and say you're fab and very Martha-like.

But really, what's so incredible about going home, pulling a pot pie out of the freezer, and popping it in the oven for an hour? One hour, and you've got this waiting for you.

And this. Oh baby.

If you have a couple of hours one weekend to make these, you're in for about 10 scrumptious, individually-packaged servings of chicken pot pie. Just a few simple ingredients will get you there. I got the original recipe from my parents, but I'm not sure where it originated.