There’s nothing more refreshing than fresh fruits. Fruits never demands any extra touch ups, its perfect the way it is. Just imagine how the fruits would taste when it’s given a little fancy makeover before you serve it to your valuable guests or for precious self. A little fancy makeover would double the joy and entertainment for sure.

My new hobby is collecting recipes from almost anywhere. It could be the recipes from the back of cans, boxes, bottles and jars, or from any food magazines found in the grocery stores or from a total stranger or even from a restaurant chef (if he’s willing to reveal his recipes). I will never let go anything which could provide me with free recipes and food ideas. I may or may not try these dishes in my kitchen, but I feel happy while collecting these and that’s what matters, right?

This is one such recipe from my collection, it’s a free recipe that I got from a grocery store near to my house. This morning I woke up with zero intention to make a heavy breakfast. When I opened the refrigerator for milk, my eyes met with the huge bag of oranges that has been sitting idle for the past few days. Suddenly, I recalled the recipe I had collected from the store which called for oranges. I looked at the recipe and voila, I had everything to make a refreshing orange salad. This recipe also matched well with my criteria of easy breezy preparation. If I come across any kind of quick recipes, I sure will try that in my kitchen without any hesitation. I didn’t have to make a heavy breakfast to jump start my Sunday, with an easy fancy orange salad I was uplifted

Start your day with this refreshing Orange salad or just have this whenever your body and mind needs some refreshment…

Orange Salad

• Serves: 4
• Preparation time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• Oranges- 2 large
• Granulated Sugar- 1/4 cup
• Whole cloves- 2
• Cinnamon stick- 1
• Fresh mint, finely chopped- 1tbsp
• Toasted shelled pistachios- 1/4 cup
• Fresh Raspberries- 1/4 cup
• Orange peel grated- 1 tbsp

Preparation:

• Using a grater, grate the orange peel and keep aside.
• In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup water, sugar, cloves, cinnamon; bring to boiling and reduce heat, simmer until sugar dissolves.
• Stir in mint, remove from the heat and let cool.

• Remove the skin of the oranges and the white pith from it.
• Slice the oranges crosswise into rounds 1/4-inch thick.

• Place 3 to 4 orange slices on each of 4 plates, top with pistachios and raspberries.
• Drizzle with 2 teaspoons of the syrup and sprinkle with grated orange peel.
• Serve immediately.

Refresh your meal with this deliciously light and crisp salad…

Romaine hearts has been always close to my heart. I might consider eating a salad with the presence of these hearts loaded in them. And a bag of romaine hearts always come in handy for me, most of the time to decorate a dish and for platting purpose. None of them ever got wasted. I love the subtle flavor and the crispiness of the leaves.

While making a fancy salad, I first mixed mayonnaise, lemon juice scallions and a hint of pickled jalapeno. Topped the romaine lettuce with this and for a sweet touch added raspberries.

Romaine Sweet Hearts

• Romaine lettuce from the heart, fresh- 5 leaves

• Mayonnaise- 4 tbsp
• Fresh lemon juice- 1 tsp
• Scallions chopped- 2tsp
• Pickled deseeded Jalapeno, minced- 1/2 tsp
• Fresh or frozen raspberries- place 2-3/ leaves

Preparation:

• In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, lemon juice, scallions and jalapenos.
• Place the romaine lettuce leaves on a platter, top with mayo spread and add raspberries on top.

Spruce up your salad by topping with chunks of Orange Chicken…

Are you tired of eating the same salad over and over? Then you should consider adding this new twist I’ve given to my salad. Here is the most delicious way of eating salad, top your favorite veggies with Chicken cooked in a Spicy Tangy Orange Sauce. When I came across this recipe, I never thought that this easy orange chicken would enhance the taste of the salad instantly. Now I can’t help having this salad almost everyday, and I really don’t mind having this even for breakfast.

Honestly, I am not a huge fan of salad and I go for salad only during worst situation when I really can’t find any other good alternative. And the funny thing is that while eating out with my girl friends, when my health conscious friends orders salad, on the other side of the table I will be seen surfing through the real food on the menu:p

When I made this orange chicken, I only had lettuce and carrots to give this chicken a company. Hence, I topped the veggies with chunks of orange chicken. A forkful of this salad, and I immediately bowed the salad with appreciation. It was way too delicious and I didn’t get the feeling of having a salad. This salad was healthy, protein rich, filling and flavorful. What more do I want? Now even I have the answer if someone asks me about my favorite salad, it’s none other than Orange Chicken salad.

Orange Chicken Salad:

Ingredients:

For marinating chicken:

• Boneless Chicken breast, cubed or cut thin long- 1 1/2 pounds
• White Vinegar – 2 tbsp
• Corn starch- 1 tbsp
• Ground pepper- 1/4 tsp
• Salt-to taste

For Orange Sauce:

• Orange juice- 1/3 cup
• Soy Sauce, low sodium-2 tbsp
• Sesame oil- 1tsp
• Brown sugar- 1tsp
• Crushed Red chilly- 1/2 tsp

Other ingredients:

• Garlic minced-1 tsp
• Ginger minced-1 tsp
• Green onions, chopped- 1 tbsp for garnish
• Oil for stir frying- 2tbsp

Preparation:

• In a bowl, combine the chicken, vinegar, corn starch, ground pepper and salt.

• Marinate the chicken for 20 minutes.
• In the meantime, prepare the sauce by mixing all the above mentioned ingredients for making the sauce.

• Heat the wok or wide skillet, add the oil and add ginger and garlic minced, stir fry it until aromatic.
• Now, add the chicken and stir fry it until cooked well. Avoid over cooking or browning the chicken.

• Add the prepared sauce into the chicken and stir fry it for another 2 minutes.

• Garnish with Green onions.

• Remove from the heat and serve hot with salad or Rice of your choice.

Tips:

• I added the orange chicken to lettuce and baby carrots sliced.
• Try to use sesame oil as this enhances the flavor of the orange chicken greatly.
• Leftover chicken can be  refrigerated. Reheat the chicken in microwave and top with your favorite veggies.

Most of the meat appetizers are served along with a dipping sauce or some kind of sides. Most of the time, tomato ketchup acts as the dipping sauce. I love to have my meat cutlets and other meat appetizers with tomato ketchup. At times I make an easy salad as the side dish.

Quick Salad:

Ingredients:

• Red onion minced-1
• Tomato minced- 2
• Green chillies minced-1tsp
• Cilantro chopped-1 handful
• White vinegar or lemon juice – 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt-2 pinches

Preparation:

• Mix all the above mentioned ingredients in a small bowl.
• Serve this salad with any kind of meat appetizer.

Tips:

• You could also substitute lemon juice for vinegar.