It’s no secret. I LOVE salads! I make a salad at least twice, sometimes even five times a week.

Typical dinners for us consist of a meat and a bunch of vegetables so having a variety of salad recipes come in handy, but to be honest, most of my salads are just made up as I go.

Just like rotating the toys in the play room when the kids were younger to keep their interest, I do the same with salads.

My intention is to use what’s in season and what we have on hand.

You can imagine the variety of salad ingredients we have during the summer (my mouth is just watering thinking of those fresh tomatoes and basil)!

I don’t limit my salads to just lettuce, kale and other healthy greens - sometimes I don’t have any, especially in the heat of summer so we have a fruit salad or even just a huge plate of veggies instead.

I love simple, delicious foods that fuel our body.

Salads are perfect for an easy, healthy dinner… I love the idea of just roasting a few chicken breasts, smoking a whole chicken, grilling some pork chops or pulling a variety of leftover meats from the fridge, slapping a salad together and calling it dinner… It’s that easy!

You may be surprised to hear this but yes, my kiddo’s eat salad.

I will say that’s the nice thing about a salad - with a variety of ingredients, there is something that pleases everyone!

Sarah, our ten year old was our most difficult to eat salad. She’d eat it but definitely pick through it most of the time. However, her taste buds have apparently changed because for the last month she has been packing a salad in her lunch and even making her own salad dressing. See, there is hope!!

Eliza is our best salad eater. Really she eats just about any vegetable. Funny thing about her is, we typically have to tell her she can’t have any more vegetables until she eats her meat. She is what we call, our little vegetarian.

George is still young so every meal has it’s challenges but when it comes to salad, he is happy as a clam as long as it has tomatoes in it.

Obviously in the winter we don’t have tomatoes readily on hand and the vast variety of vegetables are not in season so what is our go-to salad?

Before I even tell you what it is… let me first tell you that all three kids LOVE this salad.

Many times if Richard isn’t home yet from work and we start eating without him, I have to remind the kids to save him some. Needless to say, I make a massive bowl of this salad.

Ok, you ready? Drum Roll please…..

Here it is… homemade Caesar Salad.

Wait. I need to clarify… This is actually the Worlds Best Caesar Salad!

This is my fathers recipe (like many of my recipes are).

This is a winter go-to salad that makes a simple grilled chicken breast taste like you are eating at a five star restaurant.

There is no bottled dressing here, only ingredients that benefit your body and fill your belly.

Anchovies:

These small, salt-water fish are full of omega-3 fatty acid, protein, vitamins (C, B12, B6, A, E, &K), iron, magnesium, zinc, folate, and selenium
Did you know zinc helps reduce the duration of a cold (perfect winter salad recipe, I’m telling you!)
Selenium helps with hormone production of your thyroid while the omega-3’s help reduce bad cholesterol, is an anti-inflammatory and improves brain and heart health.

Garlic:

In it’s raw form it has many health benefits.
It has phytonutrients which help reduce oxidative stress in turn strengthening your immunity. And it also reduces fatigue and boosts energy.
Did you know that garlic contains a compound called diallyl trisulfide (DATS) that is an effective therapeutic agent in preventing tumor progression. It may also aid in reducing the occurrence of tumors associated with breast cancer. (2013 report published in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology)

It’s amazing the medicine God put in our food to help heal us, isn’t it?!

I hope you will give this salad a try - No one I have ever served it to has been disappointed.

The Worlds Best Caesar Salad:

Ingredients:

2 heads of Romaine Lettuce (washed, dried and cut into bite size pieces)
3/4 cup Croutons (optional - you can use a gluten free or Paleo crouton as well)
1/2 cup of shredded cheese (don’t skimp on the cheese)

Dressing Ingredients:

4 Anchovy fillets or 1 large Tbs. Anchovy paste (I use the paste - you can find it in any grocery typically where the tuna fish is sold)
1/4 lemon, juiced
1 large garlic clove
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Dash of Tabasco sauce
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 coddled egg* or 2 Tbs. plain Greek yogurt

Steps:

Mash the garlic into the anchovies to form a paste. Mix in the lemon juice. Stir in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce. Taste and adjust according to your taste. Whisk in the egg (or yogurt). Place the dressing mixture in the bottom of your salad bowl. Add the Romaine and half of the croutons on top of the dressing. Pour the olive oil around the sides of the bowl. Add half the cheese and mix all thoroughly. Top with remaining croutons and cheese. Add pepper to taste.

Serve as a side with your FreshORR Family Farm chicken breasts.

Enjoy

*NOTE: How to coddle an egg. In a small pot of bowling water, place the egg (still in it’s shell) for exactly 1 minute (use a timer) and remove to an ice bath until you are ready to add it to your dressing.

This is gonna be your new favorite go-to winter salad... trust me!