Heirloom Tomato, Red Onion, & Maytag Blue Cheese Salad

Tomato, red onion, and Maytag Blue cheese salad is simple,but is packed with lots of great flavor. I love to serve this delicious salad along with a great grilled steak. Steve and I made this salad for Bobby Flay, on Food Network's Bobby's Dinner Battle, along with a grilled flank steak. However, it was edited and not shown on TV.  You have to make sure you are working with a ripe and seasonal tomato since they are the "star" of the salad. You can serve this salad layered (shown above) or tossed.  As both the onion and blue cheese can overpower some palate, feel free to change the amount use depending on your taste preference.

ingredients

1 heirloom tomato, cut horizontally 

1 red onion, cut horizontally 

2 tablespoons Maytag Blue Cheese, crumbled

2 teaspoons balsamic vinaigrette

Sea or Kosher Salt

Fresh cracked black pepper

preparation 

Cut the tomato and red onion with the same diameter or thickness.  Place one slice of tomato on one end of your serving dish. Layer a whole slice of red onion on top, slightly offset. Repeat for the remaining slices of tomato and onion. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Drizzle with the balsamic vinaigrette. Crumble the bleu cheese on top. Serve immediately.

For a "tossed" version:

Cut the tomatoes in bite size chunks and thinly slice the red onions. Toss the tomatoes and onions in a bowl along with the balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper. Top with the crumbled blue cheese. Enjoy! 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Red Onions with Balsamic Vinegar

Thanksgiving is around the corner and I wanted to share some skinny in-season side dishes. I swoon over brussels sprouts and they supply you with vitamin C.  This side dish can be prepared a day prior by trimming and quartering the brussels sprouts and slicing the onions up. It's guilt free because it's a low-cal & low-fat side dish! 

serves 8

ingredients

1 1/1 lb brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
1 1/2 lb red onions, thickly sliced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive olive 
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper 

preparation

preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick foil. 
Spread the brussels sprouts in single layer on prepared baking dish and toss with olive oil. Roast the brussels sprouts, stirring occasionally, for about 12 minutes. 
Add the onions, tossing to combine and roast for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar, tossing to combine and roast for about 2-3 minutes longer. 
Transfer to serving bowl and season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper. 

Enjoy!