Salad with Homemade Croutons & Avocado Dressing

Salads make for an excellent 30minute meal. Salad greens already washed and packed in a bag make meals even more convenient. Open the bag, add some toppings (tomatoes, onions, olives etc.) and toss with dressing - dinner can be served in no time. But if you want to make it a little fancier with homemade croutons and dressing, then it might take up to 30 minutes, which is perfect for a weeknight meal. This is my 2nd day post for 7-day Blogging Marathon.

I made this Savory Christmas bread from KAF blog. But the bread seemed a little dry (may be because I used reduced fat milk and cheese-not sure) , we enjoyed some of it fresh the day I made it, but for the next day I decided to turn the leftover bread into croutons to toss with salad.

Recipe adapted from KAF catalog.

Ingredients:

Partially stale Bread - 4 cups, crusts cut off and cubed

Olive Oil - 1tbsp

Salt - to taste

Herbe de Provence - ¼tsp

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Combine oil, salt and herbe de provence, and toss with the bread.
• Spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet (lined with foil-for easy clean up).
• Bake for 20 to 24 minutes, turning every 8 minutes until browned and crisp.

While the croutons are baking, make the dressing. I love avocados for their creamy textures and neutral flavor. I think they pick up any flavor you want them to pick up. I love to make chocolate pudding with avocado, unsweetened cocoa powder and some agave nectar-I think it tastes divine. There's not much of a recipe for this dressing, since it's nothing but smooth guacamole thinned out with water to dressing consistency. Here's how I made it.

Ingredients:

Avocado - 1 ripe, pitted and flesh scooped

Jalapeno pepper - 1

Garlic - 2 cloves

Scallions - 3, chopped

Lemon juice - 2-3 tbsp

Mint leaves - 3tbsp, chopped

Coriander leaves - 3tbsp, chopped

Salt & Pepper - to taste

Method:

• Blend all the ingredients until smooth without adding any water. Just before tossing with the salad, add just enough water to thin out the dressing.
• Without adding water, the dip will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.

Putting the Salad together:

By this time, you should have your salad greens out of the bag and in a large bowl mixed with some chopped tomatoes, green onions, cucumbers or any other veggies that you favor. Add some protein with some cooked chickpeas or any other beans, chopped boiled egg, chopped cooked veggie burger (we love Morning Star vegetable burger in salads). I added some cooked store-bought veggie meatballs.

Then add the dressing, mix well and finally add the croutons and some cheese (feta or queso fresco are my personal favorites, but cubed pepper jack or mozarella are yummy too). Now it's time to enjoy your salad creation!!!!!

Don't forget to check out what my fellow marathoners are cooking up today!!

30 Minutes Meals:
Priya Mahadavan
Pavani

Seven Days of Salad:
lla
Divya Vikram

For Ongoing 7 Events:
Priya Suresh
Harini
Suma Gandlur

Kids Friendly:
Vatsala
Jay
Kamalika

Seven Days of Rice:
Veena Krishnakumar
Priya Vaasu
Padma Rekha