Hearts of Palm

I heart hearts of palm.  Here's a salad for the record books.  My last ingredient challenge was this almost non-heard of ingredient and wow, what a salad topper it is.  It's found in the canned food section and reminds me of water chestnuts, but saltier with a more sinewy texture.  I chopped it finely and sprinkled it generously over our salad.  This scrumptious side dish sat next to grilled stuffed chicken breast and fresh bread.  This dinner sounds complicated, but the only complicated part really is being organized enough the have the ingredients.  Here's the recipe(s):

Salad:  A bed of lettuce topped with cucumber, split cherry tomaotes and avocado and drizzled with a creamy garlic dressing.

Creamy Garlic Dressing:

1 teaspoon salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons white vinegar
3 tablespoons oil

Directions:  Combine salt and garlic in small bowl, pressing with the back of a spoon to form a paste. Whisk in remaining ingredients. Cover and chill 1 hour.

This made enough for this evenings salad, with enough left over to store in an air tight container for the rest of the week. 

Pan Fried Shrimp
TIP:  I buy frozen shrimp when it comes on 2 for 1.  It's often not peeled or deveined but a small price to pay for really cheap shrimp.  It's ready in my freezer to fanici-fy a salad on a moments notice.   

Sprinkle shrimp with coriander, cumin and oregano.  Pan fry 3-4 minutes on each side on med in 2tbsp of heated olive oil.  

I prepared the chicken, shrimp, salad dressing in the afternoon while she slept.  Just before dinner all I had left to do was  toss the chicken packets on the grill and throw the salad together.  I think I'd made the bread the day before.  It was extra delicious because Tim was so impressed with the fanciness of it all, when in fact it was really simple.