Tuscan White Bean Salad

On Valentine's Day, I had my parents, sister, and friend Lacy over for dinner. I made a roast in the crock pot and did my best to copycat the Houlihans Tuscan White Bean Salad recipe. It was a hit!

Tuscan White Bean Salad

• 2 cans Cannelloni Beans - rinsed and drained
• 4 medium Tomatoes
• 1/4 Cup fresh Basil, chopped
• 3 cloves of Garlic
• 3/4 Cup White Wine Vinegar
• 1/4 Cup Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Light Mayo
• 3 TBSP Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• Mixed Greens
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Goat Cheese!

1. Combine beans, tomatoes, basil and garlic.
2. Make dressing with vinegar, sugar, mayo, mustard, salt and pepper.
3. Place mixed greens in a bowl and drizzle with dressing. Cover with the tomato mixture. Drizzle Balsamic Vinegar over the top.
4. Crumble some Goat Cheese on top!

* This makes way more dressing than you probably need. So plan ahead to have salad the next couple nights with your homemade dressing!

This was my 4th new recipe since making my 101 in 1,001 list back in November. And, making dinner for my parents was #74! It was great to do something for them. Having a meal prepared by someone else is a treat, and it felt good treat all of them on a day when you are supposed to show love.

I have now marked 10 items off of my list... only 91 to go!

I also made cupcakes... but not from scratch... I will have to mark that one from my list soon. The Kitchen Aid mixer sits in my kitchen, calling to me. But, for some reason, I am totally intimidated to use it. Anyone else afraid of baking? I think I like "cooking" more because I feel like I can fix my mistakes... baking is science. And, I should know. John watches Alton Brown daily...

I hope you all had a nice Valentine's Day too!