Gourmet Salad with Sweet Vinaigrette

Oh, friends.  I have stumbled upon a gem here.  This salad was found on melskitchencafe.com- an amazing site where every recipe is out of this world.  I haven't tried anything that I haven't loved from her site.  This salad was exceptional.  I originally made it for Christmas Eve dinner as a side dish.  My brother, who has a love for good food like Animal from the Muppets has a love for drums, tasted this salad and said, "This is the best salad I have ever eaten."  That man knows good food!  I will have to agree with him though.  It's got the apples, candied pecans, shaved Parmesan, homemade croutons, and bacon!  What is not to love?  Then, you add the vinaigrette on top of all that.  Mind is blown.  That stuff is so good.  Brace yourself for some deliciousness.

Gourmet Salad with Sweet Vinaigrette
source: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/05/gourmet-green-salad.html

serves 8-10

10-12 c mixed greens
2 apples, diced and tossed in a little lemon juice to prevent browning
1/4 c thinly sliced or shaved Parmesan cheese
1 large carrot, thinly slices or julienned
1/4 c red onion, thinly sliced
5-7 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 c croutons (preferably homemade- see below)
1/4 c candied pecans (see below)

Vinaigrette:
2/3 c red wine vinegar
1 1/2 c sugar
1/4 c red onion, diced
2 T dijon mustard
2 t salt
ground pepper, to taste
2 c canola oil

Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl.  Toss to combine.

For the dressing, combine the first six ingredients in the blender.  Blend well.  While the blender is still on, slowly add the canola oil.

Serve alongside the salad.  You can drizzle some over and toss it, but I like to keep it on the side in case someone doesn't like as much dressing.

For the candied pecans, heat a small skillet over medium heat.  While it is heating up, add the 1/4 c pecans and 2 T of water and 2 T sugar.  Stir to dissolve.  Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer.  Cook for 5-7 minutes.  Keep a close on eye on them!  Once the sugar water is evaporated, remove the pecans to cool on a single layer on a plate.

For the homemade croutons, cut hamburger buns, rolls, or bread into cubed using a pizza cutter.  You want them to be 1-inch cubes.  Pre-heat the oven to 425.  Place the bread cubes on a cookie sheet.  Drizzle with about 2-3 T of olive oil.  Sprinkle on some salt and pepper and some Italian seasoning, if you're feeling a little adventurous.  Toss the cubes with your hands to coat the bread cubes.  Spread them back into a single layer.  Bake them in the oven for 8 minutes.  They won't be completely crunchy, but they will be delicious.

Grilled Vegetable and Mozzarella Salad

As I was making dinner tonight, I was hoping to find some sort of grilled vegetable side dish.  I stumbled upon this recipe, and by same crazy miracle, I had everything on hand.  Very rarely do I have tomato, yellow pepper, and zucchini on hand.  This is not a recipe that I would have touched during my All-I-eat-is-chicken-fingers youth stage.  Heck- I wouldn't have gone near this even a few years ago.  Luckily, my taste buds have finally matured now that I'm 30.  Now if only my sense of humor would mature a bit.  :)

 I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of flavors and textures in this salad.  It's definitely not a traditional salad by any means, but I think it's a great addition to a grilled meal.  I wouldn't try to make your little ones eat this.  They may look at you, scoff, and claim that they would sooner listen to a documentary about the Harrison presidency- while eating dates and prunes.  Talk about torture!  Grown-ups with refined tastes would be all over this tasty side dish.

Grilled Vegetable and Mozzarella Salad

source: Grill It! A Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (A good one, if you're wondering)

serves: 4

2 medium tomatoes, halved

1 zucchini, halved lengthwise

1/2 yellow pepper, seeded and quartered (a red or orange pepper would be fine to use)

romaine lettuce

2 oz mozzarella, cubed

Italian dressing (optional)

vinaigrette:

1 T cider vinegar

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 T olive oil

1/2 T brown sugar

1/4 t salt

1/4 t black pepper

Combine all of the vinaigrette ingredients.  Pour into a Ziplock bag.

Once all of your vegetables and cut according to the ingredient list, place them in the Ziplock bag with the dressing.  Seal the bag and shake to coat.  Let the vegetables marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Also, if you'd like, you can let the mozzarella cubes marinate in Italian dressing while the vegetables are resting and grilling.  This is something I added to the recipe, but I thought it added a nice little zing to the cheese.

After 30 minutes, preheat the grill to medium.  Pour off the vinaigrette and reserve it.

Grill the yellow pepper and onion for 7-10 minutes, flipping halfway through.  Cook the zucchini for 5-7 minutes or until crisp tender, flipping halfway through.  Cook the tomatoes for five minutes or until the skin starts to char.

Once the vegetables are done, cut them all into bite size pieces.  Place some torn romaine lettuce on a platter and toss it with the reserved vinaigrette dressing.  Place the diced vegetables on top.

 Sprinkle the cheese cubes on top of everything and serve the salad. 

There you have it!  If you think the idea of having grilled vegetables atop lettuce is bizarre, feel free to omit the lettuce and just make it a grilled vegetable side dish.  Either way, the result will be tasty.

And please, don't force your kids to eat this or watch presidential documentaries.

Libby's Strawberry Salad

I must give credit where credit is due on this one.  There is a sweet old lady that I went to church with for years and years named Libby.  She passed this recipe onto my mom, and the first time I tasted it, I could have eaten that whole stinkin' salad myself.  Generally, all the strawberry salads Ive ever made or tried use a vinegar-based dressing that is too overpowering for my husband to tolerate.  Well, this lovely salad has a creamy, mayonnaise-based sweet dressing that is amazing.  I made this salad for some friends that came over a couple days ago, and the wife polished off the salad and said, "Man, I usually don't like salad dressing, but this stuff is magic!"  Indeed it is.  It just might be my new favorite.  I don't have any other pictures, but this recipe is simple enough to just give you an idea of the glory you're about to consume.

Libby's Strawberry Salad
Source: Libby Coombs, a sweet old lady I know from church

1 head of Romaine lettuce, torn into pieces
1/2 red onion, diced (I didn't have red onion on hand when I made it)
1 1/2 c sliced strawberries (use more if you'd like)
1/2 c slivered honey roasted almonds

dressing:
3/4 c mayonnaise
1/3 c sugar
2 T milk
1 T cider vinegar

Combine all the salad ingredients in a bowl. 

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl.  I let mine sit in the fridge for about 15 minutes in the hopes that the sugar would dissolve to avoid the graininess, and it wasn't grainy at all.  Score!

Pour about 1/4 c dressing on the salad at a time and toss to combine.  Add more dressing until you've reached a dressingy-ness that you like. 

Serve immediately.

I'm telling you... this is my new favorite.  :)  Poppy seeds would be a nice touch to the dressing as well, if you're into that sort of thing.  mmm..

Strawberry Spinach Salad #2

When I eat something like this, I feel like a should be at a country club or some fancy-pants place.  This would have been way out of my league a few years ago since I've just recently started to try "different" foods.  Oh, my... this is a wonderful salad though.  I do have another recipe for a Strawberry Spinach Salad on here, but this recipe is a bit better, I think.  I does help that there is feta cheese on this one- a definite added bonus.  If there are people out there raising an eyebrow at the look of this... just try it!  I loved the dressing.  It was spectacular spectaular.  yes... so spectacular that it got a double one.

 Strawberry Spinach salad:
source: Cooking Light Annual Cookbook 2002

2 c whole strawberries
1/3 c white wine vinegar
2 T orange juice
2 t olive oil
1/2 t dried thyme
1 t sugar
1 t dijon mustard
1/4 t salt
1/8 t freshly ground pepper

6 c torn spinach
3/4 c diced fennel bulb (I didn't use this, so I don't even know what fennel looks like- this is probably why I've never been in a country club)
2 c quartered strawberries
1/4 c feta cheese
slivered almonds

Combine the first nine ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until smooth.  Your dressing is done!  I did use slightly less vinegar in mine so it wasn't so overpowering.

Place 2 T of the dressing, the spinach, and fennel (if using) in a bowl.  Toss to distribute the dressing.  Divide onto four plates, top with 1/2 c strawberries, 1 T feta cheese, and a little more dressing.  I added some slivered almonds, although the recipe didn't call for them. 

This is a light recipe!  indulge.

I'm off to play Angry Birds.  'night!

Watermelon-Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

A couple of years ago, I received a Taste of Home magazine and included was a small booklet with about 8 recipes.  Among those recipes, I found this one.  Around this same time, I discovered the wonder of a Strawberry-Spinach salad, so I thought I'd give this one a try.  Boy, am I glad I did!  We've moved a couple times since then and that sacred little booklet was lost.  I was heart-broken.  Luckily, we've got the interweb on our hands, and we're able to find any recipe we want with a few clicks of a mouse.  I rediscovered this recipe on the Taste of Home website, and I think I did a happy jig around the kitchen.  Huzzah!  I love it.  It's a great one for luncheons, potlucks, showers (please don't eat this in the shower- that's not what I mean), or any other event where you want people to actually enjoy a salad. 

Poppy Seed Vinaigrette:
1/2 c white wine vinegar (I used cider vinegar. I don't think plain white vinegar would work here)
1/2 c sugar
1/2 t dry mustard
1/4 t onion powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/4 c chopped onion
1 t poppy seeds

salad:
6 oz fresh baby spinach, torn
2 cups seeded, cubed watermelon
1 c halved green grapes
1 c fresh raspberries
1/4 c slivered almonds

In a blender, combine the first five ingredients.  Cover and blend until the sugar is dissolved.  Continue to blend on low while slowly adding the oil.  Add the onion and poppy seeds.  Blend another 10-15 seconds.  Place in a container until you're ready to use it.

For the salad, combine the ingredients and toss with some of the dressing.  When I made this, I only used watermelon and added strawberries instead of the other two fruits.  I've done it with watermelon, blueberries, and strawberries as well.  Either way, you're going to love it.  The dressing is sweet but zippy, and the juiciness of the watermelon adds something out of sight to the salad.  This just might be my favorite salad.

Better than Olive Garden Salad

When we would go up to Utah to visit my husband's grandparents, all the family would discuss where to to go for dinner.  I'd always want to go to Fuddruckers or this really good Mexican restaurant.  Where did we always end up going?  Olive Garden.  Now, I used to love the place.  I love their salad and the breadsticks dipped in Alfredo. Mmmm... I'm not too keen on the rest of their dishes though.  The past few times I've eaten there, I've gotten some nasty gritty chicken and fatty parts on meat.  eww!  Back to the salad though... Yum!  I love it.  Well, when I was a substitute teacher back in the day, I bought a cookbook that was compiled by teachers, staff, and students in the school.  This was one of the recipes, and for me, it made the 10.00 totally worth it.  It's so easy, and it's the closest recipe I've found for the salad dressing.  Eat it up! 

Better than Olive Garden Salad
source: Estes McDoniel Cookbook

1 head romaine lettuce, torn
1/2 of a red onion, thinly sliced
1 carrot, shredded
1/4 of a purple cabbage, shredded
1 c black olives
croutons
1 tomato, chopped
pepperoncinis
parmesan Cheese

dressing:
1/4 c Newman's Own Family Italian Dressing
1/4 c pepperonicini juice (from the jar with the pepperoncinis)

Combine the dressing ingredients and stir to combine.  Make sure you shake the Italian dressing before pouring it.

Add the salad ingredients in a large bowl.  Drizzle about 1/2 of the dressing on the salad and toss it.  Add more dressing if you'd like.  Some people drench their salad.  Others like it light on dressing.

Sprinkle on the Parmesan Cheese.

Bleu cheese Wedge salad

In the little town of Idaho Falls, there is a restaurant called "Johnny Carinos." I ate there some years ago and had their wedge salad. I've been craving it ever since. They had one here in Las Vegas, but thanks to the awesome economy that we have right now, it closed. Sniff. Sniff. I like to make my own salad dressings, so when I made a creamy one the other day, I added some bleu cheese and made the salad into a wedge based off of Johnny Carino's salad. I thought it was superb.
Bleu Cheese Wedge salad:

candied pecans
1/4 c brown sugar
1 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
2 c pecans

Dressing:
source: Taste of Home "The Cookbook"
2 c mayonnaise
1/4 c water
1/4 c milk
1/4 c buttermilk
2 T Parmesan cheese
1 T coarsely ground pepper
2 t finely chopped green onion
1 t lemon juice
3/4 t garlic powder
bleu cheese crumbles

Iceberg lettuce
1 green apple, chopped into bite size pieces
bacon, cooked and crumbled
bleu cheese crumbles
pepper grinder

First off, you're going to make candied pecans. These are good just to have around for snacking. Shoot- they should be a staple in everyone's home. Too bad pecans cost you your first born child.

Combine 1/4 c brown sugar, 1 T olive oil, and 1 T balsamic vinegar in a large skillet. Stir it over medium heat for three minutes.
Mix in two cups of pecans. Cook for 5-6 minutes. Place the pecans on wax paper to cool.
Combine all the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Whisk to combine. This dressing is best if it can sit in the fridge for an hour or more before using it. As for the amount of bleu cheese, add as much as you'd like. I think I added 1/4 cup. You can leave it out, if you'd like.

To assemble the salad, cut a wedge out of iceberg lettuce. Pour some dressing on top so it drizzles down the sides.
Add the bacon crumbles and chopped apple.
Sprinkle on a few bleu cheese crumbles, some pecans, and sprinkle it all with freshly ground pepper.

I'm salivating. Right now... while I'm writing about this salad. It turned out just as I had hoped. I can't wait to eat it again. And, for the best part, I don't have to go to Idaho Falls to get it. :)

Spinach Salad with Honey Dressing

I like to add a little variety with my salads from time to time. I'm always looking for a new recipe to try. I found this in a Taste of Home cookbook- of course. It was really good! It used Cider Vinegar, so the vinegar taste wasn't as strong. My husband isn't much of a salad fan- especially salads with vinegarette. Honestly, he commented, "The salad was pretty good. I could have done without the vinegar in there, but since you threw some bacon in there, the salad has redeemed itself." I really liked it. I only have one picture since salad is easy to throw together.
Spinach Salad with Honey Dressing:
source: Taste of Home Celebrations
servings: 6

1 medium apple
lemon juice
3 c torn fresh spinach
3 c lettuce
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced (I didn't add this)
1/2 can mandarin oranges
3 T honey roasted almonds
3 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

dressing: 1/4 c vegetable oil
2 T sugar
1 T cider vinegar
1 T plus 3/4 t honey
1/4 t each celery salt, onion powder, paprika, ground mustard, and lemon juice

After you slice the apples, toss them with lemon juice. This will keep them from turning brown. Clever little trick, eh? Toss all the salad ingredients in a serving bowl.

For the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Stir to combine. Pour it on, toss it, and serve.

One note- I only used about 1/2 or less of the dressing. It made quite a bit of it. Dump it on a little at a time so you're salad isn't forced to take an unwanted swim in a pool of honey dressing.

Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa Salad

Say what you want about the West, but we've got Cafe Rio out here. The other 44 states don't know what they're missing! I went on their website to see all their locations, and I saw a quote on the top that said, "I sold my soul for a pork salad." It made me laugh because it is that good. This is a copycat recipe for that pork salad. I have been to lot of restaurants, but never before have I seen a table of big buff dudes all eating a salad except at Cafe Rio. This pork barbacoa salad is out of this world. My sister-in-law gave me this recipe about a year ago, and she got it from her husband's cousin who got it from a friend who found it on a blog. I apologize if it is word for word from someone's blog because I don't know who to give credit to. All I can say is that I want to give them a big, big hug. This is extremely close to the actual salad at Cafe Rio. It is a ton of work, but my goodness... it is way worth all of the trouble. If you're having a dinner party, each person could make one part. It would be so easy! I didn't get to take too many pictures because we had an extra 8 people in the house for dinner, so I was entertaining. I always forget pictures when I have guests! I got a few but not many. Next time I make it, I'll snap a few more pictures. Let me know if you make it and how you like it.

By the way, this picture does not do it justice. Besides, I had to use the little that was left over to snap a picture since I devoured mine before I remembered to take a picture.

Pork Barbacoa Salad:

Sweet Pork

2 pounds pork

marinade:
1 1/2 cans Coke (NOT diet)
1/4 c brown sugar

I went to the store at about 10:30 at night to buy the pork. It was an insane week, and I was getting over a cold. I probably sat and stared at the pork roasts for a good ten minutes. I had a roast in my hand, but I knew it was too small to feed all of our company. I picked up a pork shoulder and decided against it because it tends to be too fatty. I'm kind of a fat Nazi with meat- I can't handle fat. I started eyeballing the pork loin. it was a value pack, so I got about 5 pounds for about ten dollars. I decided to go with that. It turned out beautifully. I also doubled the whole recipe to feed all the extra folks.

Anywho- Trim any excess fat off the pork (gross, I know, but it's better than cooked fat.) Put it in a large Ziplock bag and add the Coke and brown sugar. Put it in the fridge overnight. This step is important. Something magical happens in that little Ziplock bag. I think the carbonation from the Coke and the sugary goodness create a pact to transform the pork into something gloriously delicious.

Simmer sauce:
1/2 can coke
1 c water
1/2 c brown sugar
1 t garlic salt

In the morning, drain the marinade and put the pork into a crockpot. Add a half can of Coke, 1 c of water, 1/2 c brown sugar, and 1 t garlic salt. Cook it on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Take it out and shred it. I could not believe how the pork loin fell apart.
This happened with one poke of a fork. It was so easy to shred.
This was after about 10-12 pokes with the fork. It just crumbled. Beautiful!

Put the pork back in the crock pot.

Sauce ingredients:
1/4 c. water
1/2 can sliced green chilies
3/4 can RED enchilada sauce
1 c. brown sugar


Put all the sauce ingredients into a blender and mix until well blended.


Pour over the pork.


Cook on low for another hour or two. Taste about an hour into this to see if you want to add more brown sugar or enchilada sauce. The pork at Cafe Rio is very sweet, so I tend to add extra brown sugar. That's it for the pork!

Again, I apologize for not having picture for the rest. The rest of this recipe is really what makes it so delicious.

Cilantro lime rice:
1 c rice
1 c water
2 t sugar
juice of 1 lime
3 T cilantro

Cook the rice in the water, sugar, and lime juice. Once it's finished,add the cilantro just before serving.

Black Bean Stuff:
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t cumin
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 c tomato juice
1 1/2 t salt
2 T fresh chopped cilantro

In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cumin. Cook until fragrant. Add the black beans, tomato juice (no, you can't substitute tomato sauce or tomato soup!), and salt. Cook until some of the liquid has evaporated. I cooked mine for about 10 minutes. Right before serving, add the cilantro.

Here comes the best part... Hold onto your hats!

Cilantro Ranch
1 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK)
1 c mayonnaise
1 c buttermilk
2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno, seeded *If you like heat, keep the seeds in.
This is my lame attempt at trying to remember to take pictures when I'm trying to make 8 different things at once. :)

Toss it all into a blender and mix. I did use powdered buttermilk, but I didn't use the full 1 c of water it suggested to make 1 c of buttermilk. I used about 1/2 c water. I thought the dressing turned out better that way. It was thicker. Mmmmm.... Refrigerate the dressing for at least an hour before serving. It will thicken as it sits in there.

Now- the assembly-

1. tortilla with cheese
Place a tortilla in a large skillet and sprinkle some cheese on top. Keep the heat pretty low to not burn the tortilla. You can even throw it in the microwave if you'd like. I made my homemade tortillas for this.

2. romaine lettuce

3. Cilantro Rice

4. Black bean mixture

5. Sweet pork

6. Cilantro dressing

7. Other toppings can include homemade guacamole (see post in Mexican), tortilla strips, pico de gallo, cotija cheese

8. Ready, set, devour!
One of the husbands that came over said, "You know Callie, I was going to give you an A for this dinner, but I'm just disappointed that the tortilla chips weren't homemade. You just need to step it up and bring your A game!" Of course, he was kidding. Everyone loved it. This is a lot of work, but I'm telling you, if you have to feed a large group of people, this is the way to go. Assign different steps, and it's easy as pie! I am so, so, so happy that my sweet sister-in-law passed this recipe onto me. Shout out! Love ya, Brie! :) Now, you don't need to spend 8.95 per salad for all ten people in your party to eat Pork Barbacoa salads at Cafe Rio. Go all out and do it yourself. You won't be disappointed!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

If someone told me ten years ago that I would someday eat a Strawberry Spinach salad, I would have burst into hysterical laughter. There is no earthly way that I would have even touched the stuff. Luckily, something switched, and I tried it one day. Hot Diggity Dog. It's a taste sensation. I think it's wonderful because it's so flippin' easy to make, it's pretty healthy (aside from the sugar), and it is a tasty salad. When we lived with my in-laws a couple years ago, my father-in-law could polish off a whole bowl of this himself. I think he still makes it all the time. Anyway- enough of this jabbering. To the recipe.

Strawberry Spinach Salad:
adapted from Taste of Home: Potlucks, Picnics, and Barbecues
1 bag baby spinach leaves
12 strawberries, cut into slices or chunks
1/4 c honey roasted almonds
1 T Cider vinegar
1 T honey
1 1/2 t sugar

Throw (not literally... that could get messy) the spinach, strawberries, and almonds in a bowl. Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Pour the dressing on top and toss with tongs. Put the dressing on right before you eat, so the Spinach stays crisp.

That's it! See? Piece of cake.

Layered Salad with Creamy Herb Dressing

My mom makes a layered salad that I crave every now and again. I didn't have her exact recipe, so I kinda made up my own version. I used a salad dressing recipe that I found in a Taste of Home cookbook, and it turned out divine. I had my mom and brother over for dinner, and i seriously think my mom had three helpings of this salad. I had one serving, and I would have had more, but there was so much ridiculously delicious looking food on the table that I couldn't bring myself to stuffing my belly with salad. It is a nice alternative to a bag of salad and a bottle of Ranch dressing.

Layered Salad with Creamy Herb Dressing:

1 head torn romaine lettuce
10 oz frozen peas, thawed
1/2 c chopped celery
1/2 c cucumber, sliced and quartered
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

Dressing:
1 c mayonnaise
1/4 c + 1 T milk
2 1/2 T cider vinegar
2 t dried oregano
1 t dried basil
1/2 t sugar
1/2 t salt
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t pepper

Layer the torn lettuce in a 9x13 pan.

One thing- this salad feeds about 12 people. if you have a smaller group, half the ingredients and put it in a 9x9 pan or another smaller dish.

Sprinkle the peas and chopped celery onto the lettuce.
Add the chopped red onion and cucumbers.
Combine all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Pour the dressing over the salad. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit overnight.

Well- you don't have to do that. I was going to, but I realized that I didn't have enough mayonnaise to make the dressing. Off to the store I went with a list of other ingredients I was going to need for dinner the next day. Zombie-like, I walked around in the store and got everything from my list. I drove home. As I pulled into the garage, I realized that I forgot to buy mayonnaise. Dag gummit! I was too exhausted to go back, so I asked my mom to bring some the next day when she came. I mixed the dressing ingredients together a couple of hours before we ate and put it on the salad. It was still tasty as tasty can be.

After the dressing is poured on and spread from side to side, sprinkle it with cheddar cheese and the crumbled bacon. My mom uses chopped hard-boiled eggs and water chestnuts in hers as well, and those are good additions to make. It's your call.

Here is the top of the finished salad. It was great. I can't wait to eat left-overs tomorrow.

Another option, do a salad with romaine, chopped avocado, chopped apple, mandarin oranges, candied pecans and blue cheese crumbles. Yum! Dang... I just might be a culinary genius. The possibilities really are endless with this. Go crazy!