Apple Walnut Chicken Salad

Even though I'm constantly sharing pictures and recipes for delicious, not-so-healthy-looking food while simultaneously eating and drinking my way through the Cleveland restaurant scene, the truth is my diet revolves around green smoothies and salad most of the time.  So boring, but, unfortunately, so true!  I'd be lying to you if I said I don't get sick of it, so I'm always testing new combinations of ingredients to spice up my everyday, non-blog post meals.  I came up with a gourmet salad recipe last week with ingredients that I always have on hand: chicken, spinach, granny smith apples, walnuts, and Craisins.  I even splurged and bought a little Gorgonzola cheese to crumble on top for some extra flavor.  Serve it with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette, and you have a super healthy meal that tastes like it's restaurant quality!  

Howie's Steak and Gorgonzola Bruschetta

Today marks the 50th post and 1 year anniversary of No Place Like (O)Home!  I can't believe that all this time has passed!  When I think about the fact that I finished my capstone studio, graduated with my Master of Architecture, started my first adult job, traveled to Chicago (twice!), New York, Boston, Portland, Seattle, Williamsburg, Oxford, and Buffalo AND cooked all these recipes and many more that I didn't write about...well, it definitely seems like it's been a jam-packed year.  Rather than dedicating this celebratory post to a special recipe, I'm going to dedicate it to a special person: my awesome boyfriend, Howie.  Not only was he the person that pushed me to turn my cookbook into a blog, but he's been my biggest fan the entire journey.  I can always count on him to try anything and everything that I concoct, ask me a million questions while I cook to test my professional expertise, and even create impromptu chopped challenges in his kitchen when he's missing ingredients we need.  Last week, he surprised me and cooked an incredible meal all on his own after I had a lousy day, and it's seriously one of the best recipes on this blog!  He made steak and gorgonzola bruschetta on toasted ciabatta bread!  Howie, looks like you're officially upgraded from chopping garlic!