Mini Wedge Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing

I first discovered a wedge salad at a fine-dining restaurant where my boyfriend and I celebrated our two-year anniversary. I recalled the first thought that crossed my mind was that it was a lazy way out of making a "real" salad however reality sunk in as soon as I took a bite. The crunchiness of the iceberg lettuce and condiments with creamy dressing sealed the deal for me. I now could say that I appreciate the imagination and creativity of turning a salad into something unrecognizable and simply delectable to make. 

 

Serves 2

 Ingredients: 

• 1 head of iceberg lettuce
• 1 roma tomato
• 2-3 slices bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled 
• ranch dressing (recipe below) 

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup of non-fat plain Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup buttermilk (or 1/4 cup of milk and 2 tbsp. of vinegar)
• 1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
• 1 clove garlic (pressed) 
• 1 tbsp. of honey
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper

Instructions:

Slice the head of lettuce in half. Remove the core by cutting diagonally around it and cut each half into three wedges.  Drizzle with ranch dressing and sprinkle with bacon bits, diced tomatoes, and more dressing if desired.

To make the dressing: In a small bowl, mix all ingredients until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

 

You must try this quick and easy cinnamon roll recipe! Granted these mini cinnamon rolls might be the big, fat, and gooey cinnabon rolls that I loved as a kid, but these pop-in-your-mouth bites only takes less than 20 minutes to make and are a perfect snack to have any day of the week.

The first photo shows the ingredients of the cinnamon rolls and the photo on the bottom is for the icing.
You only need one tube of crescent roll dough, 2 tablespoon of butter, and however much cinnamon and brown sugar to sprinkle over your dough.

Rip off the wrapping of the crescent roll tube where instructed to do so. Once you lay out the two layers of dough, you can either pinch the seams together or roll the dough in a ball like I did. I then used a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a shape that is about 1/4 thick.

I applied 1 tablespoon of melted butter onto one side of the dough using a brush. Then I used a knife to cut through the dough into a more rectangular shape so that each roll can be evenly sliced.

Sprinkle as much brown sugar and cinnamon as you wish, but don't overdo it or else it might be too sweet especially with the icing. Carefully roll the dough into one log, and cut into even slices.

I rubbed 1 tablespoon of butter in each space of the mini muffin tin. The rolls were baked in my microwave-oven at 275 degrees, but you can refer to your crescent roll dough package directions and frequently check on the rolls as it is baking. As soon as it's done, you can see the sparkly glaze of the brown sugar like this before and after picture above.

For the icing, stir together 1 tablespoon of milk and 3/4 cup of powdered sugar or however much is needed for desired thickness. Drizzle over warm cinnamon rolls, pair it with your favorite hot beverage and get ready to experience the sweet bites packed with bold and incredible flavors!

Meatball and Garlic Bread

I really love these savory meatballs. Toothpicks were only inserted to help with the mess. The garlic bread was very useful for placing the meatball and complemented very well with the marinara sauce. You might ask why I didn't opt with spaghetti... well, it's definitely something I'd like to do but I still need to figure out how to hold it together.

Serves 3: Ground beef, ground pork, garlic clove, salt & pepper, breadcrumbs, and egg

The garlic bread was store bought but goes great with the rest of the ingredients. Normally there are two long loaves of garlic bread in a packaged box that is already pre-cut for you. I only used one loaf and each slice was big enough to cut in half. I made a total of 20 meatballs and paired 16 garlic breads to each one. I could've made at least 32 which would have been nice to take to a party!

To lessen the mess, I poured warm marinara in a sauce bowl for dipping. This method is the preferred option since you can dip however much marinara you'd like without the mess. One problem I had with the garlic bread was that I left it in the toaster-oven a little too long and it turned out a little hard, but I still enjoyed the crunchiness!

Cilantro Caprese Salad

This is my very own version of a Caprese Salad. Typically, Caprese salads are made with basil, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil, but I didn't have those ingredients laying around the house. You can finely chop the cilantro or cut the stems and use the leafy green part for garnishing and enhanced flavoring.
Serves 3: Tomatoes, Mozzarella Cheese, Cilantro, Salt & Pepper

The sliced tomatoes should be the bottom layer and the mozzarella cheese would be placed on top of that. You can add any amount of the other ingredients depending on your preference. If you want a balance of all the flavors, just sprinkle a little of salt and pepper and drizzle the balsamic vinegar and olive oil. This was such an easy and refreshing appetizer or side dish for summertime. Buon Appetito!