Big Messy Salad to the Rescue

As you know from our Boston Chef food blog, we love to cook! I have never turned my nose up to any food, and yet I find myself doing just that these days. I feel sort of like a pregnant superhero with a heightened sense of smell that is hooked directly to my gag reflex. Why couldn’t I have, instead, been given the superpower of flight? I’ve always wanted to jump up and just start soaring - whether it be to avoid danger, breeze through Boston traffic or simply to dunk a basketball. (ed. note: hmmmmmm...???) But no, no, no, one of my favorite hobbies and loves has been tainted. Not to mention all the items that I am forbidden to consume – cold deli meat and hot dogs, unpasteurized cheeses, sushi, shellfish, eggs over easy, and just about anything that is not well done.

Praise the heavens that it is grilling season and that M can do most of the cooking outside on the grill which is his forte. This way, the house does not become a stink zone for my pregnant honker. However when M set an entire bone-in breast on my plate the other day, all I could think was “that’s a giant piece of meat,” and boy did it look unappetizing. Pasta is a godsend, and we do still try to eat whole wheat pasta so I can get lots of nutrients from it. But I must say that a guilty pleasure these days is ravioli in a can. Whether it’s that childhood sentiment or simply because it doesn’t stink, I find it quite edible. Tacos were a big hit the other night as long as M browned the ground beef with me in another time zone. Once cooked, though, it was very tasty and made the twins very happy.

Another godsend is an oldie, but goodie, the Big Messy Salad. The Big Messy Salad is just that, a large salad consisting of anything and everything we can get our hands on. For this salad, M butterflied some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and let them marinate for a couple of hours in regular-old Wishbone House Italian Dressing. Those went on a grill and were cooked up in no time, then cut into bite-sized chunks for easy consumption.

To go under the chicken: romaine lettuce, cukes, red pepper, beets, chick peas, red onion, and olives. In the past we've also included: seseame seeds, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm (yum!), corn, celery... really whatever you got cold and ready to go works!

Chicken chunks on top of salad and a nice dressing of the same Wishbone Italian (from the bottle, not from the marinade duh!) and we're ready to eat - two full bowls, no problem!