Golden Corn & Quinoa Mexican Kale Caesar Salad
It's Thursday! And tomorrow's Friiiiiiday! (Scream like Oprah with me guys!)
These last two weeks I have been really keeping up with my new years intentions and being super productive! I shot over eight recipes this week for various platforms. Some recipes for the blog, some for The Inspired Home, etc. I have also successfully been washing my face every night and taking care of my skin. Which I know doesn't seem that productive... but my new Russian esthetician reprimanded me pretty hard last week and basically told me I need to get my shit together if I wanted my face to look nice (I'm shooting videos in February!). Apparently my double apricot scrub a day was a big no no! How do I say sorry in Russian?!
I have also been taking Rascal on a walk every day (2 miles to be exact!) and heading to the gym like 3 times a week (still working on this and eating well). Some of my favorite healthier recipes to make this time of year is this cozy veggie broth bowl and of course sheet pan fajitas!
The weekends are totally harder to keep my healthy on. This weekend I think I'm going to work on turning my guest room (new shoot room if you follow instagram stories!) into more of an office shooting area and go on a hike. Then on Sunday... I'm going to the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena!! I always laugh when I go and see all the fashion bloggers in their fancy outfits taking pictures with... 'junk' like they're at a rooftop party. Don't judge me okay, it's sort of funny. Don't get me wrong, I'm a blogger but I am showing up in my best athleisure to sift and search for treasures. If I find anything good i'll take a picture and show ya on this Sunday's Slate.
To help you keep your healthy on this weekend (you can do it!) I've got a zesty and sassy caesar salad for you. Yes, I did just call this Caesar salad sassy. Because it totally is! It's filled with lime juice, salty tortilla chips and hearty quinoa! This salad is inspired by a little taco place that Jared and I go to in Anaheim for happy hour all. the. time.! When I was working full time, if I every snuck out early this is the place we would go and catch happy hour at. This salad totally reminds me of 'freedom'. I usually swapped out my slacks for a sundress and we would go have $5 margs, street tacos and a very similar salad to today's recipe!
This Mexican caesar salad is filled with so much flavor! Normal Caesar salads can really bore me but this one is just FILLED with flavor! Hearty quinoa, tortilla chips, corn cotija cheese, pumpkin seeds, need I go on?! It's packed with toppings and flavors! I also did a more Mexican take on classic caesar salad dressing. Normally a creamy Caesar salad is blended up with grated parmesan cheese but I swapped it out for cotija and replaced lemon juice with lime juice. I love this salad as a side for enchilada night but its great as a meal with a filet of salmon! I hope this salad helps keep your dinner recipes flavorful and fresh for the new year!
Have a great weekend and see you for the Sunday Slate!
xoxo
Golden Corn & Quinoa Mexican Caesar Salad
1 Head of Italian Kale, chopped
1 Head of romaine lettuce, chopped
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 Cup of cooked quinoa
1 Cup of white or yellow corn, canned is fine
1 Cup of crumbled cotija cheese
1 Cup of crumbled tortilla or tostada chips
1 Avocado, sliced
1/3 Cup of pepitas or pumpkin seeds
1/4 Cup chopped cilantro
3-4 Small salmon filets
Blacken Seasoning (optional, or just season with salt & pepper): 2 Teaspoons of smoked paprika, 1 1/2 Teaspoon of onion powder, 1 1/2 Teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 Teaspoon of dried oregano, 1 Teaspoon of brown sugar, 1/2 Teaspoon of cayenne pepper, 1/2 Teaspoon of freshly cracked pepper, 1 Teaspoon of kosher salt
3 Tablespoons of olive or canola oil
Zesty Lime Ceaser Dressing
1/2 Cup of plain greek yogurt
1/2 Cup of cotija crumbled cheese
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1-2 Anchovies
1 Teaspoon of Worcestershire
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 Teaspoon of dijon mustard
Juice of half a lime
Salt & pepper to taste
In a blender of food processor add all dressing ingredients and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I prefer a generous pinch of each. Place in an airtight container into the fridge while preparing the salad.
Season salmon filets with blacked seasoning or 2 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of ground black pepper. Heat a large saute pan on high heat until a water droplet 'dances' on oil. Place salmon filets skin side down and cook for 2-3 minutes. Flip filets and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Place fish on a paper towel lined plate until serving.
In a large bowl combine kale and romaine lettuce and massage with olive oil and lime juice. Add in cooked quinoa, yellow corn, cotija cheese, avocado slices, tortilla crumbles, pumpkin seeds, and chopped cilantro. Toss well and serve with salmon filets and zesty lime caesar dressing.
