Let’s talk about grilled cheese. No, not the sandwich that’s grilled with cheese in the middle, I’m talking about actual cheese that is grilled. Did you know that there are cheeses in this world that you can literally throw right on the grill and it won’t melt all over the place? If you didn’t already know it’s name, I introduce you to halloumi. A hard, slightly salty hard cheese that forms beautiful grill marks and is my new favorite addition to practically any dish, hence today’s salad. But I’ve also used it on top of burgers and pasta!

Two years ago: 30+ No-Bake Desserts

Three years ago: Peanut Butter Apple Cinnamon Granola Bars

Four years ago: Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Burgers

Five years ago: Dark Chocolate Blueberry Muffins

GRILLED HALLOUMI SALAD

Serves 4

Ingredients:

DRESSING

1 ripe avocado

1/2 jalapeño, roughly chopped (seeds removed if you prefer it less hot)

1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 clove garlic

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/4-1/2 cup milk

SALAD

8 oz. halloumi, sliced

10 oz. mixed spring salad greens

1/2 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Directions:

1. Add all of the ingredients for the dressing to the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add milk to thin out to your desired consistency.
2. Heat greased grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill halloumi until grill marks form on both sides, about 1-2 minutes.
3. Divide greens among 4 plates, and top with halloumi, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, and a drizzle of dressing.

Source: Dressing adapted from Simple Delicious.

Need burgers that will satisfy meatatarians, vegetarians, and gluten-free appetites? Then you need this easy recipe for smoky chipotle quinoa burgers.

I may not be a vegetarian, nor am I gluten-intolerant, but that doesn’t stop me from making meals that meet one or both of those requirements from time to time. If something sounds good, I’m gonna eat it. While flipping through the mere 281 recipes found in the Bob’s Red Mill Everyday Gluten-Free Cookbook, it is an understatement to say that I found a few that fell into that category. While there were plenty of meatatarian recipes to choose from, I landed on these quinoa burgers made with red kidney beans, ground sunflower seeds, and smoked Gouda or cheddar.

I’ve made a decent amount of veggie burgers, but I often have a hard time finding ones that can be crispy on the outside and not mush out of the bun upon the first bite. I loved how crispy these burgers got on the outsides, likely attributed to the sunflower seeds, and that they held up their structure upon demolition while still remaining tender. And the smoky flavors from the cheese and chipotle chile powder were perfectly matched with some bbq sauce on top. And the best part? They were incredibly easy to make thanks to my food processor. These would be a great option for grilling this Memorial weekend if you are needing to please vegetarians, meatatarians, and gluten-intolerant folks alike.

One year ago: Dad’s Creamy Potato Salad

Two years ago: Bacon, Egg and Avocado Taco

Three years ago: Penne with Eggplant and Pine Nut Crunch

SMOKY CHIPOTLE QUINOA BURGERS

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2 cup lightly salted roasted sunflower seeds

2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded smoked Gouda or smoked cheddar cheese

1 cup canned red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1-1/2 tsp chipotle chile powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tsp olive oil

4 gluten-free (or regular for non-GF) hamburger buns, split and toasted

4 large tomato slices

Baby spinach

BBQ sauce (optional)

Directions:

1. Place the sunflower seed in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add quinoa, cheese, beans, chipotle chile powder, salt, and egg. Pulse until combined but still chunky. Divide into 4 equal portions and form into four 3/4-inch thick patties.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add patties and cook for 4 minutes. Flip and cook for another 4 minutes or until crispy and golden on the outside and hot on the inside.
3. Place patties on the bottom halves of the toasted buns. Top with tomato, spinach, bbq sauce (if using), and top halves of the buns. Serve immediately.

Source: Bob’s Red Mill Everyday Gluten-Free Cookbook

Disclosure: I was provided with a complementary copy of this cookbook by Robert Rose Inc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Chicken salad doesn’t have to be boring! Throw in some grapes, apples, pecans, and dry Ranch seasoning for all the flavor.

For some reason chicken salad is never something I really want to take on a dance with my taste buds on a regular basis. Not that I don’t like the taste, it’s just not visually appealing. Guess it makes me think of tuna salad, and if you haven’t noticed from the minimal amount of seafood on my blog I don’t really enjoy it.

But when my friend Brandi made a version of chicken salad with chopped up apples, grapes and nuts, it was both visually and texturally satisfying. I love the little bits of crunch that the apples and nuts and reminds me of Southern Chicken Salad or Waldorf chicken salad.

Serve wrapped in a flour tortilla, over lettuce of scoop it up with chips! I think this could also be delicious made with chickpeas if you are looking for a vegetarian option.

Post updated 8/28/19, picture above is the original.

CHICKEN SALAD WITH GRAPES, APPLE, AND PECANS

Serves 8

Ingredients:

2 cups plain Greek yogurt

1 pkg powdered ranch dressing

1 tsp celery salt

1 rotisserie chicken, meat removed from bones and shredded, approximately 4 cups (could also use drained chickpeas)

1-1/2 cups purple grapes, quartered

1 apple, diced (I used Gala)

1 cup pecans, chopped

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt, powdered ranch dressing, and celery salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, toss together the chicken, grapes, apples, pecans and sunflower seeds. Stir in the yogurt mixture until evenly distributed.
3. Serve however you enjoy eating chicken salad. I prefer wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla with fresh baby spinach leaves and a side of chips.

Source: Adapted from my friend Brandi

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Since it was an occasion of sorts, naturally I felt the need to whip up something. While eyeing the red, white and blue chocolate covered sunflower seeds that I had yet to put away for next July 4, I realized that they were perfect for the game! But I didn’t have a whole lot of time to bake them in anything, so I threw them into these granola bites I had bookmarked awhile ago.

I really enjoyed these, probably because they are mostly peanut butter and didn’t require turning on the oven for once. I couldn’t taste much of the fruit or sunflower seeds, they added more texture than anything. I do think it would be fun to experiment with other nut butters (Nutella anyone!?), and various add-ins. You might be seeing a couple more of these pop up eventually, they might be my new snack!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup rolled oats

2 Tbsp unsalted, roasted sunflower seeds

2 Tbsp chocolate covered sunflower seeds (I had a patriotic color blend)

1/4 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped

1/4 cup dried blueberries, roughly chopped

2 Tbsp ground flaxseed

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup chunky peanut butter

1 Tbsp honey

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients making sure to evenly distribute all the ingredients.
2. Roll some of the dough between your hands, if it sticks together it is ready to go. If it feels too dry then add a bit more peanut butter or honey. If it is too wet add extra oats or flaxseed.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a 1-inch ball and then place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.
4. Chill in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Source: Adapted slightly from Sweet Peas Kitchen

These cookies were great. And I love that I can convince myself that they are healthy due to the sunflower seeds. That means I can eat twice as many as usual right? So ten in one sitting? Sounds good to me!

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

2-1/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp ground sea salt

1-1/2 cups chocolate covered sunflower seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with silpats or parchment paper.
2. Cream together butter and sugars, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and scrape down bowl after each addition. Add vanilla and beat for 30 seconds.
3. In a separate bowl, combine and sift together flour, baking soda and sea salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix on low until fully incorporated. Stir in chocolate covered sunflower seeds.
4. Form into 1-inch balls and place on a ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes. Let cool for 2 minutes on pan and then move to wire rack.

Source: Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

I eat granola bars almost every day as a snack. My favorite type is Nature Valley Trail Mix, and I buy it in Sam’s Club-sized boxfuls. It is so perfectly chewy! I thought about trying to recreate those, but when I spotted dried papaya in my pantry I immediately switched gears (I adore dried papaya). My eyes then grazed over a bag of dried blueberries and I knew I was on to something. And as if I had planned ahead, I grabbed my bottle of Winter Park Orange Blossom honey thinking the light citrus flavor that lingered would be the perfect compliment.

Quick tangent. Winter Park Honey is a small family owned honey company (by my Aunt and Uncle in fact) providing raw, unheated, unfiltered and unstrained honey, with unique flavors dependent upon the local flowers located throughout Florida and Colorado. Their honey products have also received several awards, which comes as no surprise to me. Check out their website for more information, and to find out how to get some of your own! Here is my stock:

Back to these granola bars. Although the end pieces came out quite well, I did have a bit of trouble cutting the granola bars and having them fall apart. Before cutting the entire pan, I decided to chill them in the refrigerator hoping that would make everything stick better – like drying glue – and it seemed to work pretty well. However, next time I may add more corn syrup – maybe that will be stickier. But I did not reflect that in this recipe since I have not tried it yet. Who knows, maybe your kitchen won’t be as humid and you won’t have crumbly problems!

But as for the flavors? Oh they are just a happy little family! And I am not usually a fan of coconut but it adds just that little extra to make it all come together. This granola bar may be chewier and softer than my store-bought favorites. I guess that shouldn’t come as a surprise, since these are obviously fresher. Also, adapt this recipe freely. You can take or leave the coconut, swap out the fruit and nuts, and opt for other seasonings besides cinnamon such vanilla. What are your favorite granola bar ingredients?

Ingredients:

2 cups oats

1 cup rice puffs

1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup flaxseed meal

1-1/2 cup nuts (1 cup whole almonds + 1/2 cup sunflower seeds)

1-1/2 cup dried fruit (3/4 cup papaya + 3/4 cup blueberries)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

4 Tbsp butter, melted

2 Tbsp light corn syrup

1 Tbsp water

3/4 cup Winter Park Orange Blossom honey (or substitute regular honey + 1/2 tsp orange zest)

1/4 cup brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9″x9″x2″ pan with parchment paper, allowing it to go up the sides and stick out of the pan a few inches (will be used later to lift from pan). Coat with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl mix together oats, rice puffs, coconut, flaxseed meal, nuts, fruit, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl combine butter, light corn syrup, water, honey, and brown sugar.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until incorporated. Dump into prepared pan and press down firmly in order to mold into the pan.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the edges are browned and the top has a little bit of color.
5. Allow to cool on cooling rack. Lift the granola from the pan by grasping both protruding ends of parchment paper, cooling completely. Set in refrigerator for 30 minutes before cutting to ensure the granola bars will not crumble.
6. Cut into bars with a serrated knife (I cut mine into 1″x4.5″ bars). Store in individual snack-sized ziplock baggies.

Source: The Spiffy Cookie original