Salad Ideas

[classwife]

Salads are always great.
I love going to someone's home for dinner and they serve a salad made in a different way !

My favorite salad :

Romaine
halved grape tomatoes
raisins
dried cranberries
cucumber
red onion
small croutons (or chow mein noodles)
fresh grated parmesan cheese

Toss with Balsamic vinegar.


Share a salad !

 

[Mary Kay]

Caprese Salad

This light and flavorful Mediterranean-style is an ideal summer dish. It calls for ciligiene, (small fresh mozzarella balls the size of cherry tomatoes), but if unavailable, you can substitute slices or cubes from a larger ball of fresh mozzarella. This salad is intended to be simple, so no need to make the olive oil sauce separately. Just toss all ingredients together in one bowl.
(From the site: Real California Milk)

OK, so you know I have to switch it up! My daughter and I used my tiny Proctor Silex elec food chopper ( Mike bought it for me for not biting or hitting while the Dr. took my stiches out, lol) to make a pesto from the basil leaves, olive oil garlic and a bit of lemon juice. There was no reason for it except we were having fun with my new toy! But she did say she liked it better. We also used my tomatos..yellow and red. Spinach leaves are optional in my opinion. You can find the mozz as Mozzarella pearls at the store.

Details


Ingredients

• 1 pound cherry tomatoes
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 package (about 5-Ounces) baby spinach leaves, cleaned and dried
• 2 tablespoons 1 lemon, zested and juiced (about 2 Tablespoons of juice)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound Real California fresh mozzarella (ciligiene, or balls the size of cherry tomatoes)

Directions

Leaving the smallest cherry tomatoes whole, halve the remaining ones and toss in a bowl with the mozzarella, lemon zest and juice, garlic, basil leaves and olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and refrigerate for up to one hour. Arrange spinach leaves on platter or divide among plates. Mound tomatoes and cheese on the bed of spinach.

 

[Fudgey]

That looks really yummy!!

My boss made a great macaroni salad last week. I don't have the exact ingredients though.

Macaroni
diced ham
sliced olives
diced tomatoes
diced red onion
mayo
Italian dressing

 

[Mary Kay]

That's a plan Fudgey! I am crazy about olives..i wish they grew in Florida.

Old fashioned Ambrosia Salad (this was the closest to my Grandmother's)
Ingredients:
Servings 4 to 6
from Food.com


1 (15 ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained
1 (16 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained
1 (10 ounce) package miniature marshmallows (I used to use the colored ones at Easter because they looked like colored easter eggs)
1 (8 ounce) package shredded coconut
1 pint sour cream

(Our family adds unseeded grapes)
Directions:

Prep Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 20 mins

1 I chill all ingredients before mixing.
2 Combine the fruit in a pretty glass bowl, then add the coconut and the sour cream.
3 Finally the marshmallows.

 

[Fudgey]

My grandma always added the golden raisins to hers.

 

[Mary Kay]

That picture looks like she added some maraschino cherries too!

 

[classwife]

Gotta have the cherries in the ambrosia !!!!

 

[classwife]

More Salads !!!

 

[classwife]

Ingredients
2 cups water
Salt
1 cup short-grain brown rice
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled, diced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons extra-virgin oil
1 celery rib, diced
1 red bell pepper, cored, diced
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 1/2 cups canned chickpeas
Chopped dill, for garnish
Chopped parsley, for garnish
1 bunch arugula salad, tough stems removed
Directions
In a 2-quart saucepan bring salted water to a boil and add rice and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until cooked, about 25 minutes. Drain rice in a colander and rinse under cold running water until cool. Drain rice well.

In a saucepan of boiling salted water, blanch beans and carrots for 1 or 2 minutes, drain in a sieve and shock in ice bath. Drain vegetables well.

In a large bowl whisk together lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper. Add oil in a stream and whisk until emulsified. Add rice, blanched vegetables, celery, bell pepper, scallions, and chickpeas, toss well and adjust seasoning. Add dill and parsley. Serve on bed of arugula.


I have not made this, but it sure sounds great !

And I have some rice in the fridge now....may throw something similar together for tonight !

 

[Mary Kay]

I start with the box mix..so easy! But add extra cooked bulgar wheat (the boxed mix is kind of strong tasting for me). tomatos, cukes, parsley and fresh mint. The boxed mix is just my starter to get all the spices in.
This salad will last me a couple of days and is really good for all the minerals, vitamins and fiber!
A couple of years ago I lost weight eating this for or just before dinner several times a week. My Dr. wanted to know if I was overdoing the vitamins a bit...lol
It is great in pita bread or with melba toast as a snack or dip.

 

[Mary Kay]

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked cooled crab meat, flaked
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1/4 cup chopped green or red bell pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• mixed salad greens or arugula
• 6 avocado wedges, optional
• Cocktail sauce to taste

Preparation:

Mix crab meat with diced celery, chopped bell pepper, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and mayonnaise. Serve over mixed greens or arugula with a slice of avocado, if desired.

I serve mine on mixed greens and skip the cocktail sauce. It's refreshing!

 

[Fudgey]

What is your favorite potato salad recipe?

Mine is easy....

potato's
onion
boiled eggs
pickle relish -sweet or dill
mayo
mustard -just a little

 

[Mary Kay]

I could live off potato salad!

 

[Fudgey]

My daughter's boyfriend will only eat my potato salad I make it all the time, even in the winter!

 

[classwife]

If there is egg in my potato salad it either has to be big enough to pick out or pulverized.....the egg white gets me for some reason.....

 

[StormFinch]

Great idea Classy!

I do a salad very close to your Caprese MK, but it's spinach leaves, cherry or grape tomatoes, bacon bits and shredded mozzarella with a poppy seed dressing. It's a great way to get the added iron and other nutrients from the spinach.

Not exactly a salad but my newest favorite is;

2 1/2 cups of cooked rice
1 each red, yellow, orange and green bell pepper, diced
1 purple onion, diced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
16 oz of shrimp (fresh is impossible to find here, so I use frozen)
1 can each cream of mushroom and cream of shrimp soup
1 can of mild rotel
Cajun seasoning to taste (I use Tony Chachere's)
Grated parmesan cheese

Saute onion and peppers til tender add mushrooms and saute 1 minute, then add shrimp and continue to saute until it's pink. Mix in soups, rotel, and cooked rice and layer in large casserole dish. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over top, place in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until parmesan is lightly browned.

Warning: this tends to be a little bit on the spicy side with just the rotel, and gets more so with the addition of the seasoning. If you want to forgo the seasoning, add salt and pepper to taste. The 20 minute oven time doesn't warm up the house too bad which helps this time of year, or you could probably pop it in the microwave. I like to pair this with the above salad as they complement each other nicely.

 

[Godzilla]

Just wanted to thank you all for the great recipes. What a perfect time of year to enjoy them.

Classwife gave me permission to post in your thread.

This is a recipe that my wife found. its a chicken salad that is served cold, as a wrap. It is delicious!

I usually use a spinach flavored wrap tortilla.

2 breats of chicken seasoned with mrs. dash, bbq'd pan fried, or even microwaved, cut up in small cubes
1/4 cup golden raisons
4 tbs to 1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
2-3 green onions
2 stalks celery cut up into small dices
4 Tbs mayonaise - or amount to your liking.

Mix together all ingredients. Line the tortilla with fresh leaves of spinich. roll up into a burrito and chill.

Enjoy!


Steve

 

[debb]

my fav mac salad....

elbow mac
diced red/yellow peppers
diced tomatoes
diced vidallia onions
cut up crab meat
salad shrimp
mayo
salt & pepper

i don't measure I just throw everything together as much as you want...delicious...

 

[classwife]

Godzilla gave us the respect of PMing me with this and I was so touched I asked him to post it himself. A gentleman for sure !

 

[Fudgey]

If there is egg in my potato salad it either has to be big enough to pick out or pulverized.....the egg white gets me for some reason.....

I had to make 3 different versions of it when my kids were younger. One with out eggs, one without onions, and one with out mustard I don't have to do that anymore....since they are older they like those things now


Great recipes!!!!