If you had told me a few years ago that I would regularly make a salad with dressing from scratch without a recipe and that I would like it, I would have laughed out loud. I liked my greens, but I struggled with homemade salads (as you could see from my year-long Smitten Kitchen adventure in 2014) and always thought salads were mostly bland, boring, and/or weird. But this easy-peasy salad – Spicy Kale Salad with Poached Egg – has won me over and is a staple in my diet. I crave it!

My boyfriend is the one that introduced me to this salad and in fact, it’s the first dish (in a more plain variation) he ever made me. I scoffed at it and later told my friends, “he made me a KALE SALAD, and it was kind of boring.” Ha! You might remember he brought this salad to my Cake Potluck Birthday Party and it was gone by the end of the party. So, this is originally his recipe.

In addition to being fairly quick to make, this salad is my favorite because of the kick of spice with the crushed red pepper. And how can you not love anything with a perfectly poached egg! The egg makes the kale soft without needing massaging, and the lemon juice and olive oil dressing base is so easy.

And this is how I’ve become a salad person. Slowly but surely. I’ve learned simple salads can be delicious while also being fast, easy and cheap!

Spicy Kale Salad with Poached Egg
Serves 2

Ingredients

For the dressing:

• 1 lemon, juiced (about 3 tablespoons)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium clove of garlic, chopped finely
• 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper or to your spice preference
• Pinch of salt

For the salad:

• 4 cups kale or 1 bunch de-stemmed and massaged (This is the packaged, organic kale we get at HEB. About 4-5 handfuls in each salad.)
• 2 poached eggs
• 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese or to your preference
• Croutons (optional)

Instructions

For the dressing:

1. Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well.

For the salad:

1. In a large bowl, mix the kale and poached eggs.
2. Pour the dressing over and mix well.
3. Add the parmesan cheese and croutons and mix.

Note:

• Do you know the secret to make poached eggs? Julia Childs’s trick helps the egg stay together when you crack it. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Use a pin to poke a hole at the top of the egg. Boil the uncracked egg for 10 seconds. Decrease the heat and cool the water to a simmer. Swirl the water and crack the egg into the water. Let it cook for two minutes.

Do you have a favorite salad recipe? Share it below!

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The post Spicy Kale Salad with Poached Egg appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

I love peaches and I’ve been reveling in peach season. I usually eat them raw and sliced, so I wanted to get creative and share some new, fuller ways I’m enjoying the stone fruit. Today, I’m sharing a peach salad.

As you might remember from my year-long Smitten Kitchen project, salads are not my favorite food category. They’re “simple” to make – toss some ingredients and drizzle with dressing – but requires the right ingredients to make it truly a wow dish. It helps to start with a wow ingredient – peaches! Add in spinach, feta cheese, tomato slices, honey roasted pecans and drizzle the whole thing with balsamic vinegar. Now here’s a salad I don’t mind eating again and again!

Peach Salad with Spinach, Tomatoes, Feta, Honey Roasted Pecans and Balsamic Vinegar
Makes one small side salad

2 handfuls of spinach
1/2 large ripe peach, sliced
1 small roma tomato, sliced
3 tablespoons Feta cheese
Handful of Honey Roasted Pecans
Balsamic Vinegar

1. Make your Honey Roasted Pecans: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line your baking dish with wax paper and spread the pecans on it. Drizzle your pecans with honey, covering the pecans. Bake for 4 minutes. You can also coat the pecans in honey before putting them on the baking tray.
2. Combine all ingredients except balsamic vinegar in a bowl or stack on a plate.
3. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar.
4. Enjoy!

What ingredients would you put into a peach salad?

The post Peach Salad with Spinach, Tomatoes, Feta, and Pecans appeared first on Fearless Captivations.