Chopped Italian Deli Salad + Weekly Menu

Thursday night I came home from work, changed into my workout clothes and headed for the basement to workout. We finished off a rather large portion of a rather large storage room, creating our “at home gym”. To get to said home gym, you have to walk through an unfinished portion of the previous unfinished storage area which is home to our furnace and water heater.

Before I had even flipped on the lights, the dripping sound alerted me that something…was not good. Something was leaking.

After turning on the lights, it was very apparent that our water heater was heavily dripping from not one, but 2 different areas. Unable to reach Mr. Prevention, I chalked that problem up to task perfectly suited for anyone other than myself and went about my way. To say I know nothing about water heaters is quite the understatement.

After I finished my run (luckily, it was just over 3 miles), Mr. Prevention still wasn’t home. I called again and he picked up.

I explained the situation and Mr. Prevention came home and got on the phone with the home warranty folks. Meanwhile, I got dinner ready and into the oven. I retreated upstairs to shower while dinner cooked and was greeted by nothing but ice cold water, like Michigan-in-February COLD water. Apparently, the leak was enough to drain ALL of the hot water. So I did what any resourceful person would’ve done and I took a sponge bath by wetting and microwaving a few hand towels…thankful all the while that I didn’t sweat any more than I had during my workout.

“Clean” and ready for dinner, we paused the Illini game so we could give it our full attention for their efforts against the #1 Indiana Hoosiers.

We ate, cleaned up, and headed for the couch to start the game. It wasn’t even half time before the cable went out. And of course, the Illini were playing pretty decent. It was a game, anyways. Mr. Prevention fiddled around with resetting the satellite dish before giving in…we just weren’t going to be watching the game. Grrr….grrrr….GGGGRRRR!

We got resourceful, again, that evening….we turned on the radio. Through the internet…some station in Davenport, Iowa. We listened to the game, like they would’ve done many decades ago. With just a few minutes left, we hit a few huge 3 pointers. Then we tied…with less than a second to go. Our ball. We in-bounded…and scored. And won. The satellite still wasn’t on by the time we went to bed, but I was able to catch the highlights on ESPN the next morning at the gym…where I then showered. Finally.

We now have hot water. And cable. Should I knock on wood? But if you ever find yourself without gas or electric, this meal would be an option. This no-cook salad is truly a meal, chock full of flavor.

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Chopped Italian Deli Salad adapted from from Piatto Unico by Toni Lydeckerfrom by For the Love of Cooking

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp basil, chopped and divided
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped and divided
2 tsp chives, chopped and divided
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1/2 cup (2 oz) mini mozzarella balls
3 oz thick-cut salami, cut into cubes
1/2 cup canned garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup black olives, sliced
1/4 cup pepperocini peppers, cut into rings
1/4 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in quarters
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup artichoke hearts, chopped
1 large head romaine, chopped

Directions:

Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, 1 tablespoon basil, 1 tablespoon parsley, 1 teaspoon chives, garlic, sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Set aside to let flavors mingle.

In another bowl combine the remaining basil, parsley, and chives together with the mozzarella balls, salami, garbanzo beans, black olives, pepperocini peppers, grape tomatoes, bell pepper, artichoke hearts, and shredded romaine lettuce. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the top then toss to coat the salad evenly. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

Nutrition Information (per serving): 319 calories; 25.8 g. fat; 30 mg. cholesterol; 845 mg. sodium; 15.5 g. carbohydrate; 5.8 g. fiber; 9.3 g. protein

Result: Yumm! The portion is somewhere between a side salad and a small meal. There’s enough “goodies” in this salad, however, that I am completely satisfied with it as a meal. In fact, I loved this salad so much that we now serve something similar in the cafeteria at the hospital. It’s a huge hit. The sodium content is high, but otherwise, this is a nice change of pace from your every day salad. Enjoy!

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 Weekly Menu: February 10th – 14th

• Sunday: Crock Pot Corn Chowder
• Monday: Vegetarian Guinness Stew
• Tuesday: leftovers
• Wednesday: work late / leftovers
• Thursday: Fettucine with Tomato-Cream Sauce

We celebrated Valentine’s Day last night – twas nice 🙂

Be well,