Happy Monday guys, I finally had a little time to do some recipe planning and cooking and I’ve got one of them to share today.

Last week after I got home from Cali was such a whirlwind. I mean, I really enjoyed being busy and then skiing over the weekend because the season is getting close to over and it might be one of the last times. The fact that we’re getting a ton of snow now has us all surprise/not surprised because we had those few weeks at the beginning of the month where all the snow was melting off and we were wondering about an early Spring. Apparently that’s too good to be true up here. I should have known, but a girl can hope right?

Okay, I have to ask you, are there any foods that you get made fun of for liking? My family makes fun of me for the brussels sprouts. Would someone please tell me that they also like them.

Hey, it’s totally in a teasing way and that’s what you do with close friends and family. It’s part of the deal. My younger sister has a bit of a mayo obsession and we all like to tease her when she makes sandwiches by asking if she’d like some bread with her mayonnaise. She typically comes back with a nonchalant and positive response. Super cools about it. So the other day when I was getting all the typical comments about my brussels sprouts I decided to get over it and just own it like she does. I’ll be over here eating my brussels with mayo girl, thank you very much.

Speaking of mayo, that’s something that didn’t make it into this potato salad. I think it’s great that it’s my sister’s thing, but personally I’m not a huge fan of it. I thought some of you might also enjoy a version of potato salad hold the mayo so for this salad we’re going extra basic, just olive oil. Maybe add a little balsamic vinegar on top if you like the flavor.

I realized this makes the perfect in between-seasons-salad. It’s awesome because sometimes during the winter and early Spring I’ll be craving a salad but I want something warm and cozy also. Or maybe during the Spring you want something on the fresh side, but you’re not in the mood for a completely raw salad. It’s a happy medium because you can serve it warm, room temp, or even cold, but for me the best way to have it is right in the middle by serving the roasted brussels and potatoes with everything else at room temp.

Another random question, does it make you really weird if salad for breakfast is a typical thing for you? ‘Cause there are many days when the first thing I want during the day is a salad rather than something on the sweet side or a heavy meal. I’m going to own this one too, give me my salad. Don’t get me wrong though, ya girl loves her chocolate and popular breakfast foods too. I’m thinking pancakes or waffles need to happen soon actually.

Alright, but for today’s recipe it’s really simple guys. All you have to do is prep the potatoes and brussels sprouts and get them roasting in the oven while you gather all the other ingredients for the salad to toss together. So my mom has this thing for buying fancy cheeses for “later” and then forgetting about them and we all have to laugh at it because it’s not uncommon for a block of it that’s turned into a science experiment to be found in the fridge. (Another example of why having a big family to laugh at you and with you is hilarious.) Anyway, she got some Boursin cheese probably a few months ago and I’ve been eying it in the fridge until I finally decided to add it to this salad before it went bad.

I’m glad I did because it adds the perfect finishing touch and made this salad a little more inviting to everyone. By the way though, if you’ don’t eat dairy just skip adding it and the rest is dairy free. Oh, and if you aren’t a fan of the sprouts either, that’s okay, we can still be friends. Just replace them with a veggie you do enjoy like broccoli or cauliflower.

Roasted New Potato & Arugula Salad

Ingredients

1 pound brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced in half
1 pound new potatoes, washed and halved
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
3 cup fresh arugula greens
1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped
4 - 6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved
1 (5 ounce) package Boursin Garlic and Fine Herbs cheese (You can replace this with goat cheese, blue cheese, or skip for dairy free)

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F (200C) and line a baking tray with foil. Toss the potatoes, brussels sprouts, garlic, and 1 tablespoon olive oil together in a large bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pout them out onto the pan and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes until browned and tender-crisp, stirring once or twice through cooking.
2. While the veggies are roasting, Toss together the arugula, eggs, pecans, and cheese (if using).
3. When the the potatoes and brussels are finished cooking, remove from oven and cool for at least 5 minutes, then gently toss them into the bowl with the rest of the salad and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. You can either serve immediately while still warm, or allow it to reach room temperature, or even chill if you'd like.

For more great food ideas, please do not forget to look at my other recent food posts

1. Blueberry White Chocolate Almond Oatmeal Cookies
2. Homemade 'Nilla Wafers with Banana Pudding
3. Carrot & Lentil Salad with Indian Curry Tahini Dressing w/ Vegan Option
4. Simple Chocolate Drizzled Blood Orange Cream Tart
5. Springtime Vibes Salad+Cilantro Almond Butter Dressing
6. Chocolate Dipped Frosting Filled Doughnuts
7. Sweet and Spicy Honey Bourbon Chicken
8. Strawberries+Cream Fudge Brownie Trifle
9. Tropical Bay Breakfast Jars (Vegan)
10. Veggies + Lemongrass Wild Rice Stuffed Peppers - FOOD PHOTO SHOOT

ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL! All of these food photos were taken with my Nikon D5300 and my favorite Lens, the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G. You can find out more in my INTRO POST.

And, by the way, to all the minnows out there, my intro post did a huge $0.21. The key to success on Steemit is to be consistent and persistent. Click on the link below for some great tutorials on how you can also succeed on the steem blockchain:

Master Toolkit: Steemit Resource Guide Illustrated by @sndbox

Also, a huge shoutout to @rigaronib for designing my logo!

Do you want to learn more about me? Click here to see a recent @wadepaterson interview with me - 20 questions with @gringalicious

In case you didn't catch my previous Travel Series Posts:

Gringalicious in San Diego Travel Series - Part 5 La Jolla Cove
Gringalicious in San Diego Travel Series - Part 4 Seaport Village
Gringalicious in San Diego Travel Series - Part 3 Horton Plaza
Gringalicious in San Diego Travel Series - Part 2 San Diego Zoo!
Gringalicious in San Diego Travel Series - Part 1