the Organized Life, “I don’t want to cook dinner!” 5 minute Warm Apple & Bleu Cheese Salad
OK, my friends think I cook ALL the time, my children KNOW BETTER, and yes, there are plenty of nights that I intend on cooking but just simply don’t feel like it! Hungry Husband is so sweet, he’ll take anything, or he’ll throw something on the grill, but on his work days he comes home beat and I strive to give him something delicious…in fact he told me recently that he really looks forward to what I might come up with… Being a sucker for flattery, I try not to disappoint! So I looked in the freezer to see what was there…
Ah hah! Ham! I had cooked a huge ham and froze the leftovers in packages of 2-3 servings. This will be perfect! It wasn’t like I didn’t have any food to cook, I had some fresh asparagus, apples, red romaine leaves and buttermilk on hand.
Here’s the menu I came up with:
Sauteed Ham slices
Buttery Biscuits
Asparagus roasted with Lemon slices
Warm Apple and Bleu Cheese Salad
Once I got started, I realized this was going to be delicious and not hard at all, I threw it together in about 20 minutes. Eat your heart out, Rachel Ray!
I got the biscuits going first, they take about 12 minutes to bake. Just buttermilk, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and butter. No pictures here, I was in a hurry, and TIRED. Plus I didn’t think about it!
I put the washed and trimmed asparagus on a foil lined baking sheet, drizzled it with Olive oil and sprinkled it with S & P and topped it with lemon slices…hard to resist….
The salad was something I had been meaning to try, and thought it was a great choice for an autumn meal.
Ham and apples is always a great pairing.
I had just bought this lovely red and green lettuce
and this Fuji Apple Salad Dressing from Panera Bread Co., that I found at Target
You just chop some apple, top it with crumbled bleu cheese, and stick it in the oven just until melted
See how the bleu cheese melts and sort of makes its own sauce? Swoon…
Just spoon the whole warm and wonderful concoction over some fresh greens that have been drizzled with just a TOUCH of dressing.
And to make things extra happy top it with some sliced toasted buttery almonds.
The ham slices were sauteing happily in a skillet, yes, I sorta burned that piece [it was still delicious]
and what do you know, dinner was READY!
That wasn’t so hard after all! And it was amazing!
The biscuit recipe is from Steph over at Plain Chicken, another Alabama girl with super delicious recipes
BUTTER UPS
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup buttermilk or milk
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 450°F.
- Microwave the butter in an 8-inch square baking dish until melted.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
- Stir in 2/3 cup buttermilk; continue to add more buttermilk until a loose dough forms.
- (I used about 2-3 Tbsp more than the 2/3 cup)
- Dump the batter into the pan and use your fingers to gently press the dough out into an even layer.
- Using a knife, cut the biscuits into 9-12 squares.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden.
WARM APPLE & BLEU CHEESE SALAD
Ingredients
- 1/2 apple per person
- 2 oz real bleu cheese per person NOT CRUMBLES [pre crumbled bleu cheese has no flavor compared to freshly crumbled]
- fresh salad greens
- Salad dressing optional
Instructions
- Chop apple, do not peel.
- Place apple on a sheet of foil sprayed with non stick spray and crumble bleu cheese over all.
- Place in the oven for 2-5 minutes until melty. Temperature doesn’t really matter here, just stick it in with what ever you’re cooking.
- Drizzle salad greens with just a touch of dressing. Spoon the melty mixture over salad greens Top with Buttery Almond slices and serve immediately.
Buttery Almonds
Ingredients
- 2 cups sliced almonds
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- brown sugar
- kosher salt
Instructions
- Saute almond slices in a large skillet in butter and Olive oil over medium heat
- Sprinkle the nuts liberally with brown sugar and Kosher salt.
- The brown sugar will melt and caramelize on the nuts. Stir often and watch carefully so the nuts don’t burn. Don't walk away, this literally only takes 3-4 minutes
- When they have begun to brown turn out onto wax paper or foil to cool. Store in a jar in your pantry or freezer. Makes 2 cups.
Notes
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Wow… sounds delicious. I better say delicious as I got a watering mouth while browsing the photos.
I must really try this one. An easy one.
BTW,
My first time to visit you. Glad I found your blog.
Greetings from a chilly Stockholm,
/CC
Your salad looks amazing! I love trying dressings from Target and am always pleased. I will try this one. I had to laugh because my friends think I always make this huge meal too. No, I say, this is company cooking, we do a lot simpler things for everyday.