Everything but the Kitchen Sink Pita Sandwich

This is an old favorite that is going to turn into a summer regular at our place. The picture looks kind of unappetizing (the beets turn things pink) but it is excellent! The kids needed a bit of encouragement to start, then Max ate his entire pita.

Veggie + More Pitas

Combine:

Cheese and meat of choice, chopped or shredded. (I used some deli turkey and leftover shredded chicken + Havarti in the pita pictured.)

The fun part: Veggies! This is a great way to use up fresh raw produce without feeling like you are eating loads of raw vegetables. For the pictured pita I grated 2 beets, 1 carrot, and 1 zucchini and then chopped up some lettuce and avocado into small pieces to make it more palatable for the kids. I might have added something else and forgotten, but you could throw in any other veggie, sprout, or seed and it would be delicious. Grating the fresh veggies really makes it easy to enjoy a lot; you actually don't realize what you are eating which is super helpful with kids.

Toss with dressing of choice. You don't need that much so taste as you add and mix (Ranch or Italian work perfectly, even combined.)

Stuff filling in pita bread (I like the smaller wheat ones) with extra lettuce for adults or cheese for kids. I put dressing on the side as dip for the kids to make it funner.

The Best Salad Dressing

The best salad dressing I have ever had is from The French Poodle Restaurant in Carmel, CA. There phone number is 831.624.8643, and they will ship it to you! The vinaigrette comes in a wine bottle, and costs $11 a bottle before shipping. Shipping brings the price closer to $13-$18, but it is worth every single penny. The dressing keeps well and makes a lot of salads. This also makes a fantastic gift when you need to give something unique and special, but don't want to spend too much.

My favorite salad with this dressing is julienned/matchstick carrots, pine nuts, and red leaf or baby romaine lettuce and spinach. We are so addicted to this dressing that I order 6 bottles at a time, because I also use it as a dip for carrots! 6 bottles lasts us a year and a half, but most people would probably be fine with 2 or 3.

The dressing separates, so I like to pour some into a smaller container and refill it as needed. This makes shaking much easier.

This is just too good not to share, I hope someone tries and enjoys it!

Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing

This is a delicious light salad dressing and I would recommend doing it with at least 75% water. You'll have to mix the dressing well and toss it while you eat but it is so worth it. I should also add that this is addicting and you will be able to eat a lot of it.

2 tsps salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 sugar
1/2 cup oil or 1/2 cup water or combination of the two

Combine and chill

How I prepare the salad to go with it:
torn lettuce
toasted sesame seeds
toasted almonds (chopped or slivered)
shredded chicken ( I bake it with salt and pepper)
thinly sliced scallions
maifun (chinese rice sticks) This is delicious and definitely adds to the salad but we usually skip it, it makes it fancy for company though.