Another Cabbage Salad - My New Favorite Salad

I love this salad because!!! It is beautiful, extremely healthy, and my kids will even eat it if I put noodles in it. (the power of pasta is amazing). Anyway, you can add whatever you want to the salad, and make it different every time. It is really good with grilled chicken. Hope you venture out and try it.


Basic Salad-
1 Cabbage shredded (or 1 bag of coleslaw mix)
1 Bag of Broccoli Slaw mix (I have only found this at Walmart)
1/4 to 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
Dump this in a bowl.

Dressing:
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive oil
3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
3 Tablespoons Lime Juice (I have also used OJ and it is good too)
3 Tablespoons of sugar (white, brown, or combo of both)
1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
2 Tablespoons grated ginger root (I buy a hunk of it and keep it in the freezer, get it out about 5 min before I need it and then grate it on a fine grater)
1/2 bunch of cilantro
2 Tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (I have used regular and it is okay too)
1 hot pepper (optional)
1 Tablespoon Sesame oil (optional)
Combine all ingredients for dressing in blender or food processor. Pour over salad.
Add salt and pepper to taste. I usually have to add a little salt.

Add ins for Salad:
Red and yellow peppers
Snow or sugar snap peas
Shredded carrots
Green onions
Cucumbers
Red cabbage (I always used to pick that out of salads until I had it in a salad like this)
Cooked linguine noodles
Dry Ramen noodles
Shredded or grilled chicken
Shredded pork (I put left over roast in it last time, very good)
Cashews
Add to salad and stir to coat with dressing. Enjoy!!

Asian Salad with Sesame Noodles

This is my new favorite salad. The picture does not do it justice. It is a combo of two recipes from "The Pioneer Woman Cooks". She is my inspiration for dinner lately. She has got some amazing recipes, and I love trying new things. I sometimes have to improvise because I don't always have everything the recipes call for. But, they turn out great anyway. Explore her website, you will need some kind of water proof protector for you keyboard to keep drool from getting on it. Her pictures will make you salivate!!

One night I made the Sesame Noodles pictured here. Click here to get her recipe. I added left over pork roast, a red onion, and a red pepper. I didn't have the rice wine vinegar, so I used apple cider vinegar instead.

Then I made her salad, Ginger Steak Salad, without the steak. A hint, I make this a lot. I just keep a big hunk of ginger in my freezer and then grate what I need, and keep the rest of later.

I added the noodles to the salad and Viola, it was really, really good. I added cucumbers, tomatoes, and yellow and red peppers. Add some left over grilled chicken and you are good to go. Did I say it was really good?

Fresh Tomato and Basil Salad

Whenever we go to a good Italian restaurant, my husband and I always order "Caprese". It is a delicious mix of fresh tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese with a yummy dressing. I tried to copy it, but I don't know how close it is to the real thing. However, Mike and I downed this salad and only one of the kids got a piece, and he really liked it. The others had watermelon and we didn't encourage them to eat the tomatoes because we wanted them. Totally selfish, I know, but it was really good. Fresh tomatoes and basil are 2 of my favorite products of summer.

Ingredients:

2 to 3 large, ripe tomatoes

1/2 pound mozzarella cheese (I prefer the kind that comes in a ball, packed in water, but you can use a block of cheese too)

10 basil leaves (or more if you like) torn

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 to 2 teaspoons sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Slice tomatoes and cheese. Layer tomatoes, cheese, and stick part of a basil leaf between them. Whisk oil, vinegar, garlic, and sugar together (I mix it in my magic bullet). Add salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle dressing over tomatoes and cheese. Top with any left over basil. This is so good over garlic bread. Enjoy!!

Chef's Salad

Another crazy day, not a lot of time to plan a meal. I had some salad left over from last night, and a head of lettuce. So, I used that to double the salad and made the dressing that my kids have come to love from Jayna's Junior League Salad. I had some lunch meat that if it didn't get used in the next few days was going in the trash. So, mix it all together and you have "Chef's Salad" and it was so easy and everyone (even my 2 year old who wants nothing more to drink milk all day) ate it. I love this dressing!!!

Ingredients:
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Croutons
Cheese, shredded or slices
Lunch meat

Dressing:
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 cloves of garlic (or 1 1/2 teaspoons of the garlic in a jar)
3/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Mix salad dressing (I use my magic bullet or blender). Mix salad together. Just before serving add dressing and mix well.

Jayna's Junior League Salad - Salad with Substance!!!

Looking for a salad that the men in your family will love? This is the one. My sister in law, Jayna, gave me this recipe awhile ago. We have had this salad probably 4 or 5 times in the past month. Everyone love it because it has substance to it and tastes AWESOME!!! I changed the recipe she gave me a little bit. Here it is:

1 head romaine lettuce, torn and rinsed
1 bag of baby spinach
1/2 pound of bacon (cooked and crumbled) (I usually cook the whole pound and then save the other part to make the salad again, or use it to make the bacon and pasta dish I have)
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese (I use Italian cheese blend if I can't find shredded parm)
2/3 cup toasted slivered almonds
1 cup croutons (optional)
2 cups tomatoes, diced (grape tomatoes work very well)
I also added chicken to this one. I marinated it in the dressing for the salad. Soooo good.

Dressing:
3/4 cup Olive oil
1/4 cup Lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
3 cloves minced garlic (I used the chopped kind in the jar)
1 Tablespoon sugar

Combine ingredients for dressing in blender, let sit for 3 hours (the flavors mix well if it sits for that long). For this salad I added some fresh parsley that a friend had given me and it was good in the dressing. I used about half the dressing and marinated about 1 lb. of chicken tenders. Cooked the chicken. Combine salad greens and then add cheeses, bacon, almonds, tomatoes, chicken, croutons, toss with dressing just before serving. This is great to serve with grilled meat. I think when we get a real grill I will top it with grilled steak, doesn't that sound good?

This is one of THE best salads I have ever had

I was craving salad, again. So, I looked at "The Pioneer Woman Cooks" (if you click on her site you will need a drool rag. She has some really awesome pictures with her recipes) website for some inspiration. She has some really amazing recipes. I had made a similar cabbage salad before, but her recipe blows mine out of the water. I used a regular cabbage instead of napa and red, and I used some romaine lettuce too. I also did not have bean sprouts. I followed her recipe for the dressing, it was amazing. I learned from my friend, Nicole, that to keep ginger for longer you can put it in the freezer. I had some in the freezer and grated it. I did not add the jalapeno peppers for fear of mad heartburn. Everything else I just dumped in the blender (cilantro you can just tear it up and put the stem in with the leaves, makes it was easier). It was worth the time it took to chop the ingredients. If you want a faster version, you could use coleslaw mix instead of chopping the cabbage. I will also add chicken next time (marinating and cooking it in the dressing would be soooo good). Click here to view her recipe. I am making it this weekend for the Memorial Day picnic.
ENJOY!!!

Avacodo, tomato, and black bean salad

I have been craving salad lately, so here is another creation.

Ingredients:
1 avocado, diced
4 tomatoes, sliced
1 can of seasoned black beans
Salad (I used 1/2 a head of romaine and 1/2 a bag of spinach)

Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup vinegar
1 to 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice
2 Tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt (I think I will add more next time)
1 teaspoon of lime juice (optional)
sprinkle of pepper

Cut up avocado and tomatoes, mix with beans. Combine all dressing ingredients and shake, whisk, or mix in a blender. Dump dressing on veggies and beans, stir and let it sit for a few minutes. Add veggies and beans to salad, mix well. Enjoy. This is good sprinkled with chips and cheese too. I think next time I make the dressing I will add some paprika or a pinch of cayenne pepper, for a little kick.

Greek Veggie, Feta, and Bean Salad

I have been craving Greek Salad lately and wanted to try something new. This is one of those "let's see what I have in my fridge" recipes. If I had them I would have added olives, maybe some chopped up carrots, and even some chopped up chicken, turkey, or ham would be good too. You can use any combo of veggies for this salad. It turned out well and I will enjoy it all week long.

Ingredients:
2 Tomatoes, sliced
1 Cucumber, sliced
1 Yellow or Red pepper, diced
1/2 Red onion, sliced (soak in vinegar for about 10 minutes, it takes some of the bite away. this is a tip from my good friend, Nicole. She has a great blog at http://nicoleiskeepingitsimple.blogspot.com Lots of really good recipes.)
Feta cheese (However much you want. I used about 4 oz.)
Fresh Spinach, chopped (I used 1/2 a 6 oz. bag, but could use more)
Fresh Parsley, chopped (I didn't have any of this, but it would be really good in this salad)
1 28 oz. can of Garbanzo Beans (you could also use kidney beans, northern beans, a variety if you prefer)

Greek Salad Dressing:
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar (I was out so I used Balsamic Vinegar and it tasted really good)
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 to 1 tsp. minced garlic
A squirt of mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste
Blend ingredients (I put mine in "the magic bullet", but you could probably just shake them up really well in a jar)

Mix all ingredients together. Add dressing. Mix well and enjoy. You could use this over lettuce too, or in pasta salad.

Fruit Salad with Lime

The inspiration behind this salad came from my friend, Emmily's, "Momma". She is an amazing cook and always makes stuff that makes you say, "This is the best something I have ever had." When you ask her how she made it she says, "Oh, it was so easy, you just toss this with that." She makes some great stuff. Last summer I had a fruit salad kind of like this at Em's house. I can't remember exactly how Momma told me to make it, so I improvised. It turned out well.

Ingredients:

Assortment of fruit
Pineapple
Cantaloupe
Watermelon (didn't have any for mine)
Mango
Strawberries
Honey Dew (not there)
Blueberries (also missing)
3 limes, zested, and then squeeze the juice from them
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Zest limes and squeeze juice out of them into measuring cup (see note at the end). Measure as much sugar and water as you have lime juice (mine was about 1/4 cup). Mix them together in a small saucepan, bringing mixture to a boil. Let boil gently (stir a few times to make sure sugar is dissolving) for about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Cut up other fruit and mix together in a bowl, top with lime zest. When lime mixture is cooled pour it over fruit salad and mix. It tastes really good with the watermelon and other fruit that I didn't add to this salad this time. Enjoy.
Just a note, I tried to just throw the limes in the blender with the sugar and water and then boil the mixture. It tasted like soap and I threw it out before I added it to the fruit. Instead I didn't zest any limes and just used equal parts of bottled lime juice, sugar, and water. I added a little sugar after cooking the mixture to make it a little sweeter. The kids liked it better without the zest, they tried to pick it off before. It was really good with hondeydew and strawberries.

Salsa Chicken Over Salad

This was so easy and very fast. I like to make things that I only have to stir a couple of times so that I can get all of the rest of the work done that is around here, or at least some of it. I made a red pepper salsa by roasting the peppers and onions, then pureeing with the tomatoes and the cilantro. Then heated up about 2 to 3 cups of cooked chicken that I had frozen, added 1 to 2 cups of the salsa (just depends on how "saucy" you want it) and just cooked it on the stove on low until it was heated through. My kids ate it with chips and my 9 year old told me about 5 times how awesome it was.

Ingredients:

3 colored peppers (I used the multi colored pack from Wal-mart)

1 sweet onion

1 bunch cilantro

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes

Lime juice (about 2 tablespoons)

Lemon juice (about 1 tablespoon)

Sugar to taste (I usually add about 1 teaspoon)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons of minced garlic

1 or 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded (optional)

About 2 to 3 cups of cooked chicken (mine was shredded, you could chop it too, depending on how you are going to serve it)

Rice (If you want this meal to go further)

Beans (If you want this meal to go further)

Salad

Chips, optional

Tortillas or tostadas if you want to eat them that way

Preheat oven to 410 degrees (or whatever is closest) Cut up peppers (not jalapeno) and onion (so that they will fit in your blender or food processor), put in a 9 by 13 pan, drizzle with Olive oil. Roast for 40 minutes, stirring once. Wash and tear cilantro into pieces that will fit in your blender or food processor. Once veggies have cooled for a few minutes transfer them to a bowl. Add tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, salt and pepper, sugar, lime and lemon juice. Working in batches puree mixture, I also added about 1 cup of cooked red beans, just thickens it up and adds some fiber too. In a pan or pot, warm chicken and 1 to 2 cups of salsa. I heated mine for about 45 min, just because I kind of forgot about it. It was really good over salad with some beans and tortilla chips. You will have salsa left to enjoy later too.

Greek Salad

I am on a salad kick lately and it has been great. I looked up three different Greek salad recipes and decided to make up my own. It turned out really well. The only thing I would do differently is add about 1 teaspoon of brown mustard, just to give it a little more flavor (and I forgot to put olives on mine, oh well). If I had some grilled chicken that would have perfected it.


Ingredients:
Spinach, romaine lettuce, whatever greens you have
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Red or Yellow Peppers
Red onion (optional, and I would soak it in some red wine vinegar to take away some of the bite of it)
Sliced mushrooms (optional)
Feta Cheese (as much as you want)
Black olives or Kalamta olives

Dressing:
1/4 Cup Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 Cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic (I just use it from a jar)
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon brown mustard
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of ground oregano (I didn't have the dried leaves, otherwise I would have used that. The amount just depends on how much you like it.)
pepper to taste

Mix greens and whatever veggies you are using. Mix dressing in blender or other container. Dump dressing over salad and mix to coat greens and veggies. I have also marinated the veggies in the dressing and then used them in single portions over the salad if I am using it for a few meals.

Spinach Salad with Fruit and Poppy Seed Dressing

I love to just take whatever I have in my fridge or cupboards and make something really good, without making a trip to the store. So, that is what I did today for lunch. I found a recipe for this at Foodnetwork.com under "Spinach Salad with Strawberries", but changed it a bit to fit what I had and wanted to do (for this one I used mangoes and craisins). It was really good and I will enjoy it for a few more days. I like to add chicken to this to give it some protein, but did not have any in my fridge already cooked.
Salad:
6 cups of salad (I used mostly spinach and mixed it with some tossed salad that I had too)
2 cups of fruit (strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, oranges, craisins, cut up apples, whatever you have)

Dressing:
1/2 to 1 cup of salad oil (I used 1/2 cup and then added 1/2 cup of water. The dressing is not too thick this way.)
1/3 cup cider vinegar (if you don't have that use red wine vinegar or regular too)
1/4 cup sugar (I used 2 Tablespoons and it was enough)
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
2 Tablespoons of orange juice concentrate

Glazed nuts (Optional, but VERY good)
1 cup nuts (almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts)
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix dressing ingredients in a blender or shake well in a bottle. For nuts: Add nuts, sugar, and vanilla to a sauce pan. Cook over medium heat and stir often until sugar melts and coats nuts. Cool and break apart. Add fruit and nuts to salad (if you are serving salad all at once, if not I would keep them separate). Add dressing and enjoy.

Chunky Chicken Salad

Remember all of that chicken I had to cook? Well, this is one of a couple of chicken recipes coming your way. This is another one of those "add a little of this and a little of that" recipes that I love.
You can make it with as many add-ins or as few as you like.

Ingredients:
4 cups cooked shredded chicken
1/2 cup may0
1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
(If you want more dressing than add more. I think I use less than this, but am not sure, I don't measure it anymore)
1 to 2 teaspoons tarrogon
1 to 2 teaspoons sugar (if craving sweetness)
Salt and pepper to taste (Mine definately needed salt.)

Mix ins:
Grapes
Dried cranberries
Dried cherries
Walnuts
Apples (I prefer Gala)
Chopped up lettuce
Green onions
Chopped celery
Add whatever you want

Mix chicken and other mix ins in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl whisk together mayo and sour cream or yogurt. Add a little bit of milk if you don't want the dressing too thick. Dump dressing over chicken mixture. This is excellent on croissants, or alone. This is one of my favorite summer time dinners to make. My kids think the fruit in it is weird, but that just means more for me.

Cabbage Salad

I love this salad because it make A LOT and I can eat it for lunch and dinner alone every day and never get sick of it. It is very easy to make, very filling, and really good for you too. You can add Ramen noodles and nuts to give it a different crunch. I like to top mine with chicken. (I ended up cooking about 10 pounds of chicken in the crock pot over night because I bought a ton of chicken earlier in the week and thought I was going to be ambitious and can the chicken during the snow storm. Didn't happen. So, we will be having LOTS of chicken over the next few weeks.) If you wrap the unused halves of cabbage in press n' seal or put them in a zip lock they will keep for awhile. I made this salad on Monday, and then made it again with the other half of everything on Friday night, and it was still good. I looked up several versions of this recipe and then kind of made up my own. I found the purple cabbage (which I always used to pick out of salads, it is really pretty good and is very pretty) to add in at "The Pioneer Woman Cooks" in her "Asian Noodle Salad" I changed it to fit what I had and used a different dressing because I didn't have all of the ingredients for her dressing. Hope you enjoy it!!

Ingredients:

1/2 small green cabbage, chopped (short cut would be to use coleslaw mix)
1/2 small purple cabbage, chopped
1/2 to whole head of romaine, green leaf, or red leaf lettuce, chopped (Just however much you want). You could also use baby spinach if you want here too. It is good in this as well.
1/2 to whole bag of carrot shreds, or 1/2 pound of chopped carrots (I like to shave the carrots the "Rachel Ray" way by running a veggie peeler back and forth on a large carrot peeling it until there is nothing left and then chopping the shavings up. they are kind of like confetti and really good. But, chopped up carrot works well too, that is what I did for this one)
1/2 pound of sugar snap or snow peas

Optional mix ins:
Chopped cucumbers
Chopped red, yellow, orange peppers
Green onions
Sliced almonds
Ramen noodles (not cooked)
Regular noodles (cooked)
Caramelized nuts (very good on this too)
Fresh cilantro

Dressing:
5 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. sugar
5 Tbsp. vegetable oil (I use canola)
1 to 2 tsp. sesame oil
1 to 2 Tbsp. of thawed frozen OJ concentrate (optional, if using this I use less sugar)
1 tsp. soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh chopped cilantro to taste (I am having trouble finding fresh cilantro here, bummer)
Small splash of lime juice

Rinse and chop up ingredients that get chopped. Dump veggies and salad stuff in a bowl. Mix dressing in a blender or the magic bullet, or whisk in a bowl. If you are serving to a crowd then dump dressing on top of salad and mix until salad is well coated. If eating over a period of time do not dump dressing on salad. It won't last as long. Top with chicken and crunchy toppings if desired. Enjoy!!