Strawberry Spinach Salad with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing

Another delicious salad recipe. The dressing makes this salad amazing. It is similar to the dressing used on the festive salad below, but this one has a stronger lemony flavor that goes perfectly with the strawberries.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

1 10-oz. bag fresh baby spinach
1/2-1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 medium cucumber, seeded and sliced (you can peel it first if you want)
1 pint strawberries, sliced
1 c. sliced almonds, toasted


Dressing
2-3 large lemons (use as needed–you’ll need 1/3 c. juice and 1 tsp. zest)
1/4 c. rice wine vinegar
1/4 c. canola oil
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. poppy seeds
1 tsp. grated onion
1 clove finely pressed garlic
Using a Microplane or other fine grater, grate 1 tsp. lemon rind off the lemons.  Grate 1 tsp. onion.  Add remaining ingredients. Place in a small container with a lid and shake or use a small chopper to blend everything together.   If possible, refrigerate at least an hour before serving.  Shake well before serving.



*Optional: Grilled, sliced chicken breasts.
*Optional: Avocado (I added this to mine and it was delicious). 

Recipe from Our Best Bites.

Festive Tossed Salad

I got this yummy salad recipe from my mom. I took it to our friends' house for Easter Dinner and everyone really liked it. It's simple but also perfect for special occasions. Enjoy!

10 cups torn romaine
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (or mozzarella)
3 medium apples, cored and cubed (soak them in Sprite to keep them from turning brown)
1 medium pear, cored and cubed
1/4 to 1/2 cup cranberries
1/2 cup to 1 cup chopped cashews

Dressing

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cider or red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil (I use olive oil)*
2 to 3 Tablespoons poppy seeds**

In a blender or food processor, combine the sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, onion, and salt. Cover and process until blended. With blender running, gradually add oil. Add poppy seeds and blend. In a salad bowl, combine the romaine, cheese,e apple, pear, and cranberries. Drizzle with desired amount of dressing. Add cashews and toss to coat. Serve immediately. Yield: 8-10 servings.

*I only use 1/3 cup of oil and I think it is plenty.
**I think 3 Tbsp. of poppy seeds is too many.

Apple and Walnut Salad

My co-worker brought this salad to a potluck at work several weeks ago and I was hooked from first bite. I've made it a few times since and I can't seem to get enough of it. I love that it's not only yummy but also has only a few ingredients and can be put together in a few minutes.

Ingredients:

spinach
green apple
walnuts
bleu cheese crumbles

Directions: Cut up part of the apple and toss everything together (no concrete amounts - just toss in however much you think you need for how many you are feeding). This salad is really good with Annie's Organic Creamy Balsamic dressing (I found it in the natural food section of my grocery store).

*Optional: Strawberries are also really good in this salad.

Mediterranean Grain Salad

If you have had Tabbouleh, this is a very similar salad. I like the salad because not only is it delicious, it is also filling and healthy. Bulgar wheat is a great source of fiber and it is also high in iron and protein. [Note: You can often find Bulgar wheat alongside rice in many supermarkets, but if not, check out a health food store. This is where I found mine.]

Ingredients
1/3 C medium-grin bulgur
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 C grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 C fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 small shallot, minced (if you don't have one, some red or green onion will do)
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp olive oil
1 ounce fresh goat cheese, crumbled (I had to go to Trader Joe's for this but maybe your grocery store carries goat cheese)

[Note: Cucumbers and a little lemon juice is also delicious in this salad.]

Directions
1. In a heatproof bowl, mix bulgur with 1/4 tsp salt and 1 C boiling water. Cover and let stand until tender but slightly chewy, about 30 minutes.

2. Drain bulgur in a fine-mesh sieve, pressing to remove liquid; return to bowl. Add tomatoes, parsley, shallot, vinegar, and oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss. Top with cheese.

[Recipe compliments of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine]

Chickpea Salad

2 cans of chickpeas
a couple of handfuls of grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 cucumber, chopped into small pieces
several cubes of haloumi cheese
lots of parsley
olive oil
lots of lemon juice
a sprinkle of cumin

Put it all together and you have one yummy (and healthy) salad.

*Recipe compliments of Laura Chau.

Cafe Rio Pork Salad

Any Cafe Rio fans out there? I love it and crave their salads. I was pretty disappointed to find that there aren't any here in Washington. My friend Eryn was nice enough to give me this recipe, which is supposed to be the actual pork salad recipe. The dressing is delicious. Make it tonight. [The picture above is actually not of this exact recipe, but of a similar chicken taco salad. I was so excited about the salad, I forgot to take a picture. I will replace this one when I make it again.]

Meat:
About 1 1/2 lbs. Pork tenderloin (you can also use chicken if you prefer)
1 cup salsa
1-1 1/2 cups brown sugar
Cook in crock pot about 5 hours on low, cut fat off and shred.

Creamy Cilantro dressing:
Put the following in a blender and blend until smooth:
3 fresh tomatillos quartered
1 package Ranch buttermilk dressing mix (or regular Ranch mix if you can't find buttermilk)
1 cup mayo
1/2 cup buttermilk (or put 1 Tbsp of lemon juice in 1/2 cup of regular milk and let it sit for a minute before adding it to the other ingredients)
1 cup fresh cilantro
2 cloves fresh garlic
1/2 a jalapeno or Serrano pepper, no seeds

(If you have extra dressing, you can put it in a ziplock and freeze it for next time.)

Pico de Gallo recipe:
6-8 small tomatoes diced up
1 small onion diced up or half a medium onion
1 small jalapeno chopped as small as possible,
no seeds, start with half and add the second half after you've
tasted the salsa for hotness.
about 12 sprigs of cilantro chopped up finely
about a 1/2 tsp. salt
juice from 1/4 a lime or more
1 clove garlic minced (or about 1 tsp. if using minced garlic from a jar)
juice from half a lime. or about 2 -3 tsp.

Put everything together and taste to see if you need to add more of anything.

Guacamole:
Mash up the following:
2 ripe avocados
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp. Tabasco or 1-2 Tbsp. salsa

While you're making everything, cook up some rice.

To serve, pile on a plate in the following order:
Romaine lettuce
beans and rice
pork
a scoop of pico de gallo
a scoop of guacamole
crumbled tortilla chips
dressing

You can also serve these as burritos instead of a salad.

Simple Spinach Salad

Very simple, consisting of spinach, red onion, yellow pepper, Gorgonzola cheese, ground pepper, and then I added some peas as an afterthought after I took the picture (frozen peas which I put in the microwave for about 20 seconds so they weren't frozen but still cold). I also used Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette dressing on this salad. Yum.

My Favorite Summer Salad

For this salad I used:
*Organic greens (because they were on sale) and Spinach
*Strawberries
*Avocado (I like to squeeze some lemon juice on the cut up avocado so it doesn't turn brown).
*Red Onion
*Mushrooms
*Gorgonzola Cheese (crumbled) (I found this in both the deli area and cheese isle at my grocery store)
*Fresh ground pepper

I also sometimes add almond slivers and I think peas would be good in this one too. I just made this up so I don't have exact amounts - but just use however much you need for how many you are feeding. (I took this to a dinner for six people so I made a lot.) Then, and this is very important for the salad to have the full effect, I use Brianna's Blush Wine salad dressing, as pictured above.