Hubby decided to work from home and forgo the traffic jams that were sure to be on the highways following the 18 inches of snow we got in 24 hours. (Good call, the commute was 3x’s as long as usual this morning)
So, when he took a break for lunch, I had prepared a lovely (and tasty) hearty salad.
I cook a lot from my pantry, and all these items were either in my fridge or in the very well stocked pantry I keep.
Make a simple vinaigrette: blueberry vinegar (mine is home canned) , smidge of honey mustard, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Toss fresh baby greens in the vinaigrette and top with:
Hard boiled eggs
Quartered pickled baby beets (home canned)
Leftover chicken breast
Slices of blueberry/vanilla artisan goat cheese (any goat cheese would do, but I had this on hand and it paired perfectly with the dressing)

Our family does not care for nuts, but for those who do like them a candied walnut would be nice. I think if I had to do again, I’d add shallots to the dressing.

The key is to keep a decently stocked pantry. The culinary world is open to you if you have more than canned tuna and peanut butter on hand. I think a well stocked pantry discussion is a great future post.