Rabbit Food, Leaves, or just Salad

We eat lots and lots of salads around here. Daily pretty much. Sonny Boy prefers straight Romaine as he says anything else resembles the stuff that you feed rabbits. Princess prefers Romaine as she doesn't like the purple stuff (still not sure if she means cabbage, radichio or red leaf lettuce?)

So generally, it's nothing fancy. Just romaine lettuce, slices of sweet peppers, carrots, mushrooms, a handful of almonds, walnuts, or pecans. Pretty much a little of this and a little of that. If I've got spinach, or spring mix, thats added to for a little variety. Diced tomatoes are nice. Try adding some corn or black beans for a real nice change!

And then the dressing. I started to make dressing from scratch, gleaning recipes from here and there and just about everywhere on blogsphere. And now I'm hooked. I have a very difficult time stomaching bottled stuff. Hubby still uses the store bought stuff, but not me. Uh uh.

So here is how I do it to make my life much easier and to make it work for me ...

On Sunday, sometimes 5am on Monday, I wash my romaine lettuce (bought at Costco, for a lot less money and a much better product, of course), and spin it dry. Then I tear in to large pieces and toss in my huge snapware container. I place a piece of papertowel on top, snap on the lid, turn it upside down and toss in the fridge.

If I've got them, I slice up some sweet peppers and any other type of things I might have on hand. I do NOT mix my salads beforehand. I keep everything separate. Diced tomatoes in a small container. Sliced peppers in a small containers. Fresh herbs (ohhh...nothing better than some chopped cilantro ... yummm) in a small container. So you get the picture, right?

Everything is put in the guest or garage fridge, only because they are opened less and I don't know, but I think they stay cooler and preserve the produce longer (yes, it's probably NOT true, but I still do it).

Then, when I'm packing our lunches, I take the romaine lettuce and throw in a bowl (tupperware), and then tear into smaller, more bite size (this will reduce the icky brown edges lettuce can get!), top with the toppings (peppers, tomatoes, etc.) and fresh herbs and nuts. Snap a lid on that. Pour dressing into a small container (hubby just has a whole bottle at work so this is for ME), add a fork, and we are good for lunch.

If you are feeling adventurous, add some black beans and corn. Sometimes I add chopped lunchmeat (turkey or ham) with cheese but most often not. Same with cooked chicken or steak (ummmm, I LOVE leftover steak in my salad!) Hard boiled eggs are a pretty good addition too (I prefer mine to be diced but some like sliced)

Here are a few of my all time favorite dressings (remember, homemade dressing is typically thinner than bottled stuff) ...

Honey Mustard
Olive-y Garden-ish Italian
Cilantro-Lime (dressing follows after salad recipe, and I made it this weekend and it's a keeper for ME!)
Vinagrette (having a hard time locating, but its oil and vinegar with a little mustard and then herbs and mixed well)
Evil Jungle

*My girlfriend brought me a gallon size ziploc of fresh romaine from her brothers garden last week. It's prompting me to go look in to growing lettuce AGAIN, only in a much smaller area so I don't get overwhelmed*

Linking up with We Are That Family (I always laugh at the name!) Works For Me Wednesday ... hop on over and check out everyone else's tips!