Feels Like Home

 I haven't logged into write in a while. It's actually been 2+ years and while signing in and seeing my landing page, it felt like coming home so let's get to it! I made a bomb recipe and its the first thing that I definitely want to share. Actually I'm sharing and using this to save for my own record because it was THAT DAMN good!!! It's full of flavor and they blend together perfectly. Plus I've been on my healthy kick and it fits the healthy bill coming in at under 600 calories!

Kale salad with curried chickpeas and roasted walnuts. I also added dried cranberries to this salad for  extra sweetness and salmon for my protein. Prep work is required for the curried chickpeas. I used fresh chickpeas and let them sit overnight instead of using canned chickpeas but canned is fine and just as healthy. To roast them, I laid them out on a baking sheet making sure they were dry. Then brush olive oil over them and sprinkle with curry powder (I used mild Jamaican curry powder), coriander and salt. Coriander is not necessary but I added it to ensure that my chickpeas were seasoned well. Then bake them in the oven for 20-30 minutes until golden brown. 

Simultaneously I also baked my salmon. I season my salmon the same way each time I cook it and it's always GREAT (YESSSS I'm bragging because it delicious). Season the salmon filet with onion powder, garlic powder, a small amount of Old Bay seasoning, fresh dill, fresh lemon juice and melted butter. 

For the salad I mix kale, shredded carrots and spinach. Slightly sautee them in olive oil and garlic making sure not over wilt them. While cooking squeeze in a small amount of fresh lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes or so to get your veggies soft then set aside and add your Craisins (dried cranberries)

Roasted cinnamon walnuts aren't required but it definitely adds to the dish making it on the gourmet side! It's also simple and takes 2 minutes. In a saucepan heat a small pat of butter, add cinnamon while the butter is melting and add a small squirt of honey then add your crushed walnuts. Make sure you start off with small amounts of the honey butter because you don't want to drown your walnuts because they'll stick together. You only want to coat them. This should also be your last step when adding to your salad. 

At this point the chickpeas and salmon should be ready to come out of the oven. You don't want to overcook your salmon as it dries it out. You want moist salmon. Add your salmon and chickpeas to the top of your kale/spinach salad and enjoy!