Baby Zucchini and Potato Salad with Arugula and Feta

Hey everyone!  I’ve really been out of the blog world lately and now I’m back!  Today I have an amazing side dish for you all!  A few weeks ago we were down in Charleston, SC {best city ever, BTW} for the Wine and Food Festival and on the way home we stopped for some buzzed grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s!  I love love LOVE Trader Joe’s and cannot get enough of them!  The prices are fantastic and their produce is amazing -- I just about died when I saw a little bag of baby zucchini! AHHH!  So I created this warm salad topped with feta cheese and balsamic syrup.  Of course you can substitute regular-sized zucchini {chopped up of course}.

Baby Zucchini and Potato Salad with Arugula and Feta (serves 6 to 8 as a side dish)

1 bag baby zucchini (about 15 zucchini), stems removed

1 small bag baby potatoes

1/2 bag baby arugula

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 pint grape tomatoes

1/2 c. feta cheese

salt and pepper to tasted

balsamic syrup, for drizzling

1. Preheat oven to 425.  In an oven-safe dish, place potatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.  Add zucchini to the roasting pan and stir.  Return pan to oven and roast 10 to 15 minutes more, until zucchini is cooked through.  Remove from oven and transfer to serving dish. 
2. Add arugula to the potato/zucchini mixture and toss.  This will allow the arugula to wilt into the hot veggies.  Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
3. Toss the salad with the grape tomatoes and balsamic syrup.  Top with feta cheese and serve.

Potato Pancakes with Avocado Mash and Eggs

Happy Friday, everyone!  Today I have a fabulous breakfast for you all!  Simple, fresh ingredients full of complex flavors.  Crispy potato pancake smeared with smashed avocado and topped off with a creamy runny egg - if that doesn’t say Saturday morning breakfast then I don’t know what does!  I didn’t have the luxury of eating this meal with a bloody mary or mimosa but that would certainly round out this breakfast treat perfectly!  

Have a great weekend everyone!

Potato Pancakes with Avocado Mash and Eggs (serves 4)

Place 1 1/4 lbs shredded baking potatoes in kitchen towel and squeeze to remove moisture.  Transfer to bowl and add 1 grated onion, 1 tbsp EVOO, salt and pepper.  Heat 2 tbsp EVOO over medium heat.  Divide potato mixture into 4 mounds in skillet and pat into pancakes.  Cover with a sheet of foil and cook, adding 1 more tbsp EVOO, until browned, about 15 minutes.  Transfer to platter.  Cook 4 eggs to your liking.  Mash up 2 avocados and season with salt, pepper and lime juice.  Top each pancake with avocado, egg and hot sauce.

Creamy Cauliflower, Leek and Potato Soup

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!!!!!!!!!  Fall has officially arrived in South Carolina....aka....the temperatures are in the 70s! {With the exception of this past weekend, in which a chili cook-off was held in Murrells Inlet in upper 80 degree weather....ummm....chili + sweating through your shirt does not equal a good time.  In any event, hubby and I have completely abandoned our summertime rituals of cooking on the grill and dining al fresco.  {Quick question--am I the only one who thinks it’s absolutely unbearable to eat outside during the Southern summers?!  The bugs, the stickiness...UGH!  My husband dies a little inside when I set the table indoors in the summer but I just can’t take it!}

So today, a healthy and clean eating soup to settle you into the cooler weather.  I loved how this soup came out thick and extremely hearty while containing mostly veggies -- only a sprinkling of turkey bacon for a little salty crunch.  I have to say, I was full after my bowl for lunch yesterday, and stayed full late into the day. If you don’t have an immersion blender to puree your soup, let it cool a little bit and throw it in a blender in batches until smooth.

Creamy Cauliflower, Leek and Potato Soup 

Clean Eating Magazine, October 2012

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 c. thinly sliced leeks, white and light green parts only

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 large Yukon Gold potato, peeled and diced

3 1/4 c. chopped cauliflower florets

2 c. low sodium chicken broth

fresh ground black pepper

olive oil cooking spray

2 (one ounce) slices turkey bacon

1/2 c. shredded low fat cheddar cheese, divided

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil on medium-low.  Add leeks and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Add potato, cauliflower, chicken broth, 1c. water and pepper and increase heat to boil.  When boiling, decrease heat to low, cover and simmer until potatoes and cauliflower are very tender, 20 minutes.  Remove from heat.
2. Cook bacon in a skillet with cooking spray until crisp.  Chop and set aside.
3. Puree soup with immersion blender until smooth.  Stir in 1/4 c. cheese until melted.  Season with pepper.  Ladle soup into bowls and top with cheese, bacon and scallions.

Nutrition Facts: 1c. soup, 1 tbsp cheese, 1 tbsp bacon, 2 tsp scallions: 204 calories, 5g fat, 29g carbs, 4g fiber, 13g protein