Cleaning Out the Fridge

Christmas is over and my resolution before the next holiday that comes in just 5 short days is to clean out the fridge. We have been eating a lot of junk food the last few days: pecan pie, bacon, too many drinks to count, cookies, and so on. And all the veggies I dutifully bought last week are languishing on the shelf, turning brown.

Today, I wanted not only a nice, vegetable filled salad to take away the holiday food pains, but I also wanted to clean out the fridge! Can be easily adapted to fit any fridge ingredients. The key is to have a little bit of everything so that you don't overwhelm with any one flavor.

Jennevieve's Fridge Cleaning Chop Salad

salad:
several handfuls baby arugula
3 carrots, sliced by peeling
1/4 red onion, chopped fine
6 mushrooms, chopped medium dice
1 red bell pepper, chopped medium dice
6 radishes, chopped medium dice
small handful cilantro, chopped fine
1/2 fennel bulb, chopped medium slices
2 Tablespoons shaved Parmesan
3 slices cured ham, chopped medium dice
(If I had some, I would have added a 1/2 can of garbanzos too)

dressing:
1/4 cup canola oil (I cheated here and used the oil left over from some deli purchased roasted tomatoes for even more flavor)
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all salad bits in bowl.
Put dressing ingredients in small glass jar with lid and shake to combine. Toss with salad. Enough for 2 generous entrees or 4 starter salads.

Eat and feel incredibly healthy heading into the new year!