• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Marin Mama Cooks

Tasty foods for families

  • home
  • Recipes
    • Recipes Index
    • beverages
    • breakfast
    • lunch
    • after school snacks
    • dinner
      • burgers & patties
      • chicken
      • meats
      • meatless meals
      • Mexican
      • Pastas
      • pizza
      • seafood
    • side dishes
      • breads and grains
      • popovers
      • potatoes
      • salsas
      • sauces
      • veggie burgers and patties
      • Veggies
    • Desserts
      • brownies and bars
      • cakes and cupcakes
      • chocolate
      • Cookies
      • pies and tarts
    • meatless meals
    • salads
    • dressings
    • Soups
    • smoothies & juices
    • family favorites
    • most popular recipes
    • weeknight dinners
    • kale
    • Quinoa
    • weekly dinner menu
  • how to
  • random
  • videos
  • about me
  • work with me

arugula salad with simple lemon vinaigrette

October 24, 2015 by Marin Mama 8 Comments

arugula salad with simple lemon vinaigretteHey, let’s admit it, we all need to get more veggies and greens into our diet and the easiest way I know how is to make up a salad. This the perfect weeknight, busy night, or any night salad. The vinaigrette consists of 4 simple pantry ingredients; lemon, extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, and takes under 2 minutes to whip up. Trust me, this vinaigrette beats the pants off of any store-bought variety! Also, making your own vinaigrette is way less expensive than the store-bought variety, is fresher and the best part is that you know exactly what goes into it.

I’ve discovered a few things since starting the natural chef program. One thing is that I’m a bit more relaxed and confident in the kitchen, and that’s one thing I really wanted to get from this program, so YAY!

The other thing that I’m figuring out is simple, quick and easy is what works for me. I like effortless, uncomplicated flavors and menus. I don’t have time during the week to mess around with elaborate ingredients or recipes. I want an easy, healthy, family approved and taste bud worthy dinner that can be pulled together in under an hour. I know that’s sounds like a lot, but I’ve gotten pretty good over the years of planning out dinner menus for the kids and I that both satisfy my time frame and our taste buds.

So the other night I was craving some pan-roasted chicken, so I made up one of our favorite fall chicken dishes, rosemary skillet chicken.  I love this chicken dish because the marinade can be made up in the morning, or a few hours before dinner.  All you have to do come dinner time is brown the chicken in a cast-iron skillet and then pop it in the oven to finish cooking. The whole process takes about 25-30 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken. Lately, we’ve been using chicken thighs, and they’re super quick to roast up. rosemary skillet chickenI always pair this chicken with the kid’s favorite popovers, rosemary sea salt popovers.  The combination of fresh rosemary and coarse sea salt is outstanding! As you know, popovers are a staple in our house and take 35 minutes to make from start to finish, making them an easy peasy weeknight side!popovers with rosemary and sea saltI wanted a simple green salad to go with this dinner, so I pulled out some arugula and created this vinaigrette. This salad was the perfect pairing to this rich fall meal, and the kids and I gobbled it up.

This salad got rave reviews from the kids (double thumbs up), and we all decided it was a blog worthy recipe, especially since it was so simple to make.

This salad is going into my weekly menu rotation as it’s fresh, simple, super tasty and kid approved.  I hope you all enjoy this easy weeknight salad.
arugula salad with simple lemon vinaigrette

5 from 1 reviews
arugula salad with simple lemon vinaigrette
 
Save Print
Prep time
5 mins
Total time
5 mins
 
vinaigrette recipe yields enough to lightly dress a salad for four
Author: Marin mama cooks
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper - we love pepper in our salad, so I used a bit more than ¼ teaspoon
  • ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) extra-virgin olive oil
  • optional - pinch of red pepper flakes
  • arugula or mixed greens - the amount you use will depend on the crowd you're serving
  • chunk of Parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl or small glass jar with a lid, (I used a recycled glass jelly jar) whisk together 2 tablespoons lemon juice, ½ teaspoon sea salt and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper (you can add the pinch of red pepper flakes if using).
  2. Slowly add in ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, whisking until emulsified, or put the lid on a jar and shake the ingredients until emulsified.
  3. Once the dressing is mixed, give it a taste and adjust the seasonings.
  4. Tasting tip: For the most accurate idea of what the dressing will taste like on your salad, dip a leaf into the dressing, shake off the excess, and give it a try.
  5. Put a bunch of arugula into a large salad bowl, lightly drizzle vinaigrette over the arugula and toss gently to combine.
  6. Using a vegetable peeler, shave thin slices of Parmesan over the top of the salad.
  7. Keep leftover dressing in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for 2 - 3 days.
  8. Make sure to bring the dressing to room temperature, as the olive oil will firm up in the refrigerator. Also, make sure to shake or whisk the dressing well before using again.
Notes
This dressing tastes great on any green. I either use arugula or mixed greens.
3.5.3208

By the way, I’m attempting something new and would love to hear your honest feedback. I’m trying to get more posts out to you all, so I may cut back on step-by-step photos because, to be honest, they take a lot of time to photograph and edit, they slow down my site and I’m finding that they may not be needed.  How do you all feel about that?  Do the step-by-step photos help you, or do you really just want to see a photo of the end product and the recipe?  

I will keep showing them, if the majority of you find them helpful, and of course, I will still take photos on the trickier steps or where I think they would be helpful in the cooking process.

Thanks in advance and have a happy Saturday!  I’m off to Eli’s second soccer game of the day! GO TEAM LIGHTING!

xoxo, Jacquelyn

 

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

if you liked this recipe...

  • roasted beet and arugula salad with toasted almondsroasted beet and arugula salad with toasted almonds
  • mixed greens with healthy hemp seed dressingmixed greens with healthy hemp seed dressing
  • shaved zucchini and arugula salad with pine nut lemon dressingshaved zucchini and arugula salad with pine nut lemon dressing
  • vegan kale salad with sweet lemon maple dressingvegan kale salad with sweet lemon maple dressing
  • Facebook0
  • Google+0
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest0
  • Email
0

Filed Under: dressings, salads, vegetarian Tagged With: dressings, salads

Previous Post: « homemade vanilla almond milk
Next Post: turmeric infused honey »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Marin Mama says

    November 10, 2015 at 2:28 pm

    Thanks ladies for all of your helpful comments! I really appreciate it 🙂 xoxo, Jacquelyn

    Reply
  2. Ann Opinion says

    October 28, 2015 at 12:31 am

    Enjoy the recipes you post. I personally enjoy simplification of recipes and life in general- – simplify away + enjoy! Best!

    Reply
  3. 2 Sisters Recipes by anna and liz says

    October 27, 2015 at 12:28 pm

    Love this salad! Thanks for the tasting tip!

    Reply
  4. Kristin Grose says

    October 26, 2015 at 4:19 am

    The most important pix should get the job done. Enjoying vicariously your new adventure. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  5. Raney Brown says

    October 25, 2015 at 12:10 pm

    Hi Marin Mama!! I enjoy your recipes so you can hold off or cut back on the photos and instead enjoy your kids and your new adventure at school!

    Reply
  6. Nancy says

    October 25, 2015 at 4:10 am

    I agree–I don’t think a lot of photos are necessary. If there are certain steps that would be easier to understand with a picture, that’s one thing, but in general I don’t think there needs to be a whole bunch in every post (especially since you are good about describing things well). To be honest, I often get irritated with food bloggers who post picture after picture after picture…I think you need some (it helps with Pinterest etc, right?) but not a mass of them. So yes, I vote for saving yourself the time and trouble. It’s your voice and the recipes themselves that I look forward to.

    Reply
  7. Gloria Monacelli says

    October 25, 2015 at 12:46 am

    Thank you so much for all your great recipes…and as for photos…not necessary unless you think they are for a certain step! Of course, photos of the kids are always welcome!!

    Reply
  8. Linda says

    October 25, 2015 at 12:21 am

    Thank you for the exact measurements for this dressing..I always seem to get something out of whack. Re the pictures…save yourself time! But if it is possible include a photo of an integral step if seeing it would help– for example the colour or size or cut of something. Hope you find a wee bit of time to relax this weekend!

    Reply

say something to Marin mama... Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Jacquelyn-Grandycircle

Hi! Welcome to Marin mama cooks! I’m a natural chef, as well as a mom who loves to cook up tasty and healthy whole foods for her family.
About Me...

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Don’t miss a new recipe!

Search Marin Mama cooks…

most popular posts

beet, carrot, apple and ginger juice - no juicer required
roasted whole beets without foil
how to roast red peppers
easy overnight steel cut oats
chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting
easy skillet chicken parmesan

how to make my lacinato kale salad

how to make perfect popovers

Footer

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT