Kale Avocado Chick Pea Salad
A Kale Avocado Chick Pea Salad makes the perfect pairing for a fall dinner of lasagna. This Kale Avocado Chick Pea Salad is simple, delicious and rounds out any family dinner.
Fall isn't just the season of holidays. It is the season of gathering together with family and close friends. Fewer and fewer of us have a big family dinner these days. I remember when I was a child growing up in rural Iowa, we visited my grandmother every Sunday after church. My brothers and I rode horses, climbed trees, played in the meadow, scoured the windmill tower and then after we had explored everything, we were called indoors for a delicious dinner. This was my Sunday and I loved every part of that day each week.
We don't live near my family today and my kids are so involved in various activities and service commitments that we rarely get to sit down to a family dinner during the week. But happily on our Sundays, I make this a priority. A delicious lasagna is perfect for an evening dinner.
Lasagna anyone?
Stouffer's Lasagna with Meat & Sauce is really perfect for any night of the week, but especially perfect for a hustle and bustle the Silly Season of Holidays brings. It cooks in under two hours and is ideal for my family of five to end our busy weekend. Stouffer's Lasagna with Meat & Sauce is freshly made pasta layered between a delicious meat sauce and topped with real mozzarella cheese. Delicious and fuss free, you can have one every week!
Stouffer’s Lasagna with Meat & Sauce is available in a family size and it is the perfect amount for my family of five. I simply pop it into the oven and all I need to prepare is a simple side or two to balance all our plates during the holidays!
My simple side dishes to balance out our plates were super simple to whip up. I have a family who loves tomatoes. Like, we love them, so I always have a variety in my house (TIP: don't keep your tomatoes in the fridge!!) I also have kale in my fridge because we happen to be kale fiends, except my son, who despises it! I made a Kale Salad with Chick Peas and a delicious Tahini Dressing and a Three Tomato Dessert.
So I was covering all the bases with balancing our plates, 16 grams of protein in each serving of the lasagna, fruits with the tomatoes and kale for our veggies. I even had a bonus factor with the chick peas that ramped up our protein and fiber intake.
This Kale Avocado Chick Pea Salad is perfect to pack for lunch, take to a holiday party and definitely great for balancing your plate. The great thing about this salad is you can add more veggies or fruit if you like! The combination of the Tahini & Italian Dressings are the key!
Kale Avocado Chick Pea Salad
Ingredients
2-4 cups of Kale, torn into bite size
Avocado, sliced & quartered
1 container of Chick Peas, drained & washed
¼ - ½ head purple cabbage, shredded
Real Salt
juice from 1 lemon
Tahini Dressing
Italian Dressing
Instructions
Add the torn kale to a large salad bowl and drizzle with lemon juice and real salt. Add the cabbage and rinsed chick peas. Toss well. Add the Tahini dressing and continue to toss until everything is well coated. Drizzle a bit of Italian dressing and toss again. Add the chopped avocado and gently toss.
This Three Tomato Dessert is something I have been making for decades. I grew up picking fresh tomatoes from vines and popping them in my mouth since I could walk, so I am a bit of a tomato fiend! And I have certainly passed on this delicious obsession to my kids! I love the combination of fresh vine tomatoes with grape tomatoes and then plopping some sun dried tomatoes on top - so delicious! You can omit the cheese, add different cheese, add garlic or herbs - really - the pantry is your only limitation.
Three Tomato Dessert
Ingredients
Mozzarella Cheese
3 types of perfectly ripe fresh tomatoes – sliced
Sun Dried Tomatoes w/ the oil
Real Salt
Olive Oil
Garlic
Baguette Bread Loaf
Instructions
Slice Baguette Bread Loaf and bake in an oven to crisp up slices.
Slice and arrange the Mozzarella Cheese and the tomatoes on a plate.
Slice your variety of tomatoes into a bowl, toss in some sun dried tomatoes with the oil, drizzle a bit of olive oil over the top and salt generously.
Drop a tablespoon of the sliced tomato mixture over each sliced Mozzarella Cheese and the tomatoes on the plate. Be sure to drizzle some of the oil over the top as well.
Serve with the toasted Baguette Bread slices.