Gazpacho and Spinach Salad

I have really missed this blog over the last two weeks!! I have been busy with finalizing classwork and work and I'm sorry, friends! I hope you made some tasty foods while I was on hiatus!

Since it's very much spring time (and because I ate a few too many mike and ike's this weekend) I wanted to make something healthy and still really delicious. Gazpacho is what came from that decision. I saw a recipe in the Master Chef cookbook-its a bunch of recipes from the show and from the people involved in the show. Great ideas! I borrowed the basics of their recipe and adjusted it for me...like usual!

Here ya go!

Gazpaco

1/2 tomato, seeded and roughly chopped
1/4 onion, roughly chopped
1/4 English Cucumber-*you can use a regular cucumber, but you might want to peel it first.
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1/4 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1/4 lemon, juiced
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
kosher salt and fresh pepper
2 tablespoons of Olive oil

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor...or if you only have the cheap-o chopper like me....use that! Blend everything EXCEPT THE OLIVE OIL until the veggies are pureed.
2. Add about a table spoon of the olive oil and puree again. Add the rest of the olive oil and puree again.
3. Place a sieve over the serving bowl and pour the puree through the sieve. Press it enough so that you get all of the liquid out of the mixture.
4. If you need to prep something else, just stick the soup in the fridge and stir it before you serve/eat it.

Just a note...I added the pulpy, pureed stuff that we squeezed all of the liquid from, back to my soup as garnish. I hope that's not weird...it was good!


Spinach Salad

1 cup fresh spinach leaves, washed and stemless--shake as much excess water off...if you have a salad spinner, use it!
2 strips of bacon, cooked and roughly chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese
8 green olives-halved
1/2 tomato, seeded and roughly chopped (I used the other half of the tomato from the gazpacho!)
olive oil
1/4 lemon wedge

1. Throw the spinach in your bowl. Top with olives, bacon pieces, feta and tomato.
2. Drizzle olive oil over the salad...You'll probably use a couple table spoons, but just eyeball it. You don't want to drown your spinach.
3. Squeeze the lemon wedge over everything and then toss all the ingredients together.

Don't let the sneaky little feta crumbles hide in the bottom of the bowl!! Mix them all together...they're my favorite part! Serve this with a piece of garlic cheese bread and you've got a tasty, easy and healthy dinner! Besides, after you eat this, you won't feel bad at all for those mike and ike's (or whatever your poison is!)