Authors in Bloom Blog Hop - Cabbage Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette

I'm thrilled to join in the Authors in Bloom Blog Hop, which is being coordinated by Tiffany of A Cozy Reader's Corner Reviews. Tiffany is one of the Fool's Gold Varsity Cheerleaders, and I'm so happy that she invited me to participate in this fun blog hop.


Here's how it's going to work. The blog hop will run from April 9-April 18. Each participating author will share a recipe or a gardening tip and will give away a prize. I'm giving away a copy of ALREADY HOME, my 2011 women's fiction book. (My latest women's fiction novel is BAREFOOT SEASON, in stores now!) For a chance to win a signed copy of ALREADY HOME, join the Members Only section at www.susanmallery.com, then leave your email address in a comment here. Don't forget to leave your email address - that's how we'll be able to verify that you're a Member. This contest is open internationally.

April 19 update...

And the winner is....

jpart2121@aol.com - check your email for a message from my assistant! Congratulations!

You can also collect a brief phrase at each blog, the put them together for a chance to win the grand prize, a Kindle Fire or a NOOK - winner's choice! Here's my secret phrase...

Line 47: Odd to compare girls to flowers.

Recipe: Cabbage Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette

• ½ head of cabbage, sliced thin or shredded
• 4 green onions, sliced thin
• 1 stalk of celery, sliced thin
• ¼ C walnut pieces
• ½ C blackberry vinaigrette (Recipe at BlackberryIsland.com/recipes.html)
• Variation: 1 C cooked turkey or chicken, chopped

Toss all ingredients. Makes 4-6 side salads or 2 main dish salads.

Avocado-Orange Salad with Toasted Pecans

You can find a printable version of this recipe and many others at susanmallery.com/recipes.php. While you’re there, please sign up for my free Members Only area to receive when I release a new book.

As most of you know, I’m on a diet. I’m trying to lose 20 pounds by March 31, and I’ve been sharing each painful, funny step with you along the way, triumphs and failures. Sometimes, diet food feels like punishment. But… sometimes I happen across that perfect combination of healthy ingredients, flavors that complement each other perfectly, and my meal actually feels like a reward at the end of a long day of work.

This Avocado-Orange Salad with Toasted Pecans is definitely a reward. Especially because it’s so easy to make. The most difficult part is peeling the orange. I confess… I was feeling lazy, so I bought a tangelo, which is much easier to peel. (Yes, at times I am just that lazy.)

The recipe makes four salads. I made these for lunch for my husband and me, so I had to cut the recipe in half. I never used to be able to save half an avocado until the second day. Even when I put it in a Ziploc bag and tried to get all the air out, the flesh would turn brown and icky. But a while back, I invested in this avocado saver, and it really works well. As soon as I cut the avocado in half, I nest the pit in the avocado saver and then strap it in. I put the whole thing in the fridge. On Day 2, the avocado is still in pretty good shape.

Recipe: Avocado-Orange Salad with Toasted Pecans

Baby spinach or mixed salad greens
1 orange, peeled, separated into wedges, and cut into chunks
1 avocado
½ C cooked turkey breast, diced
2 green onions, sliced
½ C pecan halves
1 T seasoned rice vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 T olive oil

Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Once it’s warm, toss the pecans in the pan and heat, stirring constantly, just until you start to smell the nutty goodness.

Divide spinach or salad greens onto four plates. Put an equal portion of orange, avocado, turkey, onions, and pecans onto each plate. Drizzle with vinegar and oil.

Slow Cooker Mexican Lasagna

Remember, you can get a printable version of this and my other recipes at www.susanmallery.com/recipes.php!

Slow cooker recipes are terrific on cold winter days. As the food cooks, the scent drifts through the house, and you feel like you’re being productive even long after the work is done. When evening rolls around, it feels like magic to go into the kitchen to a fully cooked meal. Putting a meal in the slow cooker is like giving a gift to the “you” of later that day.

I was in the mood for pasta, but I wanted to put my own twist on it, so I decided to try to create a recipe for Slow Cooker Mexican Lasagna. My husband was skeptical. He lives by a very specific set of rules and, as he put it, “Lasagna is Italian!”

Yes, okay… but I still made it, and it was so good that he was speaking Spanish by the end of the meal.

Recipe: Slow Cooker Mexican Lasagna

2 T olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 package of taco seasoning mix
2 15-oz cans of tomato sauce
1 15-oz can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
16 oz low fat cottage cheese
8 oz bag of shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided
1 C fresh spinach, chopped
9-10 whole grain lasagna noodles

Brown the turkey in oil, then add the onions through beans. Stir well and set aside. Combine the cottage cheese with half of the Mexican cheese and all of the spinach.

Layer in the slow cooker like this:

One-fourth of the meat mixture
One-third of the noodles, broken up to cover the meat
One-third of the cheese
One-fourth of the meat mixture
One-third of the noodles, broken up to cover the meat
One-third of the cheese
One-fourth of the meat mixture
One-third of the noodles, broken up to cover the meat
One-third of the cheese
The rest of the meat mixture.

Cook on low for about 5-6 hours, until the noodles are soft. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top, cover, and allow to melt.

If desired, serve with sour cream, chopped green onions, and chopped cilantro.

Turkey & Black Bean Tacos with Pineapple Mango Salsa

Last week on the Taste of Home blog, they posted a link to their recipe for Pineapple Mango Salsa. Even before I made it, my tongue started to tingle. That’s always a good sign (in cooking and in romance!) Pineapple Mango Salsa... The flavor of the tropics without the humidity!

I decided to make it with turkey and black bean tacos. And with regular salsa because my husband said the Pineapple Mango Salsa sounded fruity.

Uh… yes. It’s made out of fruit.

Turkey and Black Bean Tacos

1 T olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 can black beans, undrained
1 can of diced green chilis
1 envelope of taco seasoning
½ C water

Brown the turkey in oil over medium heat. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes or so. Serve on flour tortillas with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and cheese. I also like to add ranch dressing to give it a different kick.

Pineapple Mango Salsa

You can click the link above to get the recipe. In the meantime, I did want to share a tip on how to chop mangos. First you have to cut the mango in half. I don’t have any tips on that part. It’s a bugger! If you have a tip, please share it with me in the comments.

But once the mango is cut in half, leave it in the peel and slice vertical and horizontal cuts into the flesh. Then invert the peel and cut your delicious little mango chunks off the peel.

The colors in this salsa are incredible! A bowl full of summer.

When making the tomato salsa, I decided to break out my new toy, a Ninja. I had bought the Ninja to replace my blender because I read reviews online that it was the best at crushing ice. (For those all important margaritas.) The blender came with this little food chopper.

The blender/food processor design has been rethought, so the motor is in this little handheld part that you place on top of the food container. The Ninja people say that pulsing works best, so I pulsed away. As you can see from the pictures below, it pulverized the food except for one big chunk.

To add texture, I chopped one tomato by hand and added it to the mix. Much better! Of course, in the end, my husband said he liked both the Pineapple Mango Salsa and the Tomato Salsa equally.

Pulverized by pulsing

Pulverized, plus one chopped tomato

Tomato Salsa

2 large tomatoes
1 jalapeno, with seeds if you like it spicy, without seeds if you like it mild
2-3 green onions with tops
1t ground cumin
¼ C fresh cilantro
Salt to taste

Chop everything as fine as you like it or put it all in a food processor if you like slushy salsa. There are endless variations. You can use canned tomatoes instead of fresh or a mixture of both. You can chop the tomatoes and then warm them in the microwave for 30 seconds to bring out their sweetness. Or even sprinkle them with a little bit of sugar. Use as much or as little of each ingredient as you like.

The next day, we used the leftover Turkey and Black Bean Taco meat to make nachos. Delicioso!