Rustic Spinach Salad

8 C baby spinach leaves
2 small apples, thinly sliced, cut in half
2 C shredded or chopped cooked chicken breasts
1 C mozzarella cheese
1/4 C peanuts
1/2 C italian dressing

Toss!

Chicken Cashew Stir Fry

3/4 C chicken broth
2 T soy sauce
1 T sugar
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

1 lb chicken breast, cut into strips

2 T vegetable oil
1 inch piece ginger, grated  (about 1 1/2 tsp)
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 scallions, sliced - white and green parts separated
1 small red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
6 oz snow peas, trimmed
salt
1/2 C chopped, roasted cashews

Lettuce

Whisk together broth, soy sauce, sugar and cornstarch.  Place chicken in separate bowl.  Pour 1/2 of marinade over chicken, cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes (set aside remaining 1/2 of marinade).

Warm a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1 T oil and add chicken to skillet (discard marinade).

Stir fry until cooked through (3-4 minutes).  Add half of the ginger, half of garlic and half of the white parts of scallions.  Cook 1 minute, then transfer to a plate.

Add remaining oil to skillet.  Stir fry peppers, peas and remaining ginger/garlic/white parts of scallions for two minutes.

Return chicken to skillet, add remaining marinade and salt.  Saute 1-2 minutes.

Serve over chopped lettus and top with cashews and scallion greens.

Thai Cucumber Salad

2 T lime juice
2 T sugar
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
Salt
1 cucumber, unpeeled and thinly sliced crosswise
1 T fresh chives, snipped
1 T sliced basil leaves
1 T minced cilantro leaves
1 T chopped peanuts

Whisk together lime juice, sugar, red pepper and 1/4 tsp salt. Combine remaining ingredients and stir! Sprinkle with nuts.

Seafood Ceasar Salad

1 bag (7 1/2 ounces) Caesar salad kit
1 package (8 ounces) frozen flake-style imitation crabmeat, thawed
4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)
1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and cubed

Divide lettuce on 4 plates.

Mix crabmeat, onions, avocado and salad dressing from salad kit. Spoon over lettuce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and croutons from salad kit.

Salmon and Asparagus Salad

Maple-Dijon Dressing
1/3 cup maple-flavored syrup
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

Salad
1 salmon fillet, 1/2 inch thick (1 lb)
1 lb asparagus spears
4 cups baby salad greens
1 cup shredded carrots (about 1 1/2 medium)
2 hard-cooked eggs, cut into 8 wedges
Freshly ground black pepper, if desired

Heat gas or charcoal grill.

In small bowl, mix all Maple-Dijon Dressing ingredients with wire whisk.

Cut salmon crosswise into 4 pieces. Brush salmon with 1 tablespoon of the dressing. In large bowl, toss asparagus and 1 tablespoon of the dressing. Place asparagus in grill basket (grill “wok”).

When grill is heated, place asparagus and salmon, skin side down, on gas grill over medium heat or on charcoal grill over medium coals; cover grill. Cook asparagus 7 to 10 minutes and salmon 10 to 15 minutes, shaking grill basket or turning asparagus occasionally, until asparagus is crisp-tender and salmon flakes easily with fork.

Slide pancake turner between salmon and skin to remove each piece from skin. On 4 plates, divide salad greens, carrots and eggs. Top with salmon and asparagus. Sprinkle with pepper. Serve with remaining dressing.

Grilled Italian Chicken Salad

1/3 C raspberry vinegar
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/4 C water
1 envelope (0.7 ounce) Italian dressing mix
1 T olive or vegetable oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/4 pounds)
6 C bite-size pieces mixed salad greens
2 plum (Roma) tomatoes, chopped (2/3 cup)

In medium bowl, mix vinegars and water. Stir in dressing mix. Stir in oil. Divide dressing mixture in half.

Place chicken in shallow glass or plastic dish or heavy-duty resealable plastic food-storage bag. Pour half of the dressing mixture over chicken; turn chicken to coat. Cover dish or seal bag and refrigerate 15 minutes. Cover and refrigerate remaining dressing mixture.

Heat coals or gas grill for direct heat. Remove chicken from marinade; reserve marinade. Cover and grill chicken over medium heat 15 to 20 minutes, turning and brushing with marinade occasionally, until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170°F). Discard any remaining marinade.

Cut chicken into slices. Serve chicken on salad greens with remaining dressing mixture. Top with tomatoes.

Guacamole Potato Salad

3 pounds red potatoes
2 tablespoons plus 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 ripe avocado, peeled
2 teaspoons grated lime zest
Juice of 2 limes (about 1/2 cup)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 celery stalks, sliced

In a large pot, cover the potatoes with cold water. Add the 2 tablespoons of salt and bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes or until you can pierce them easily with a paring knife. Drain them in a colander and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, puree the avocado, lime zest and juice, garlic, cilantro, mayonnaise, and remaining salt in a food processor until smooth. If the dressing seems too thick, add a tablespoon or so of hot water.

Cut the potatoes into bite-size chunks (leave the skins on) and place them in a large bowl with the celery. Scrape in the dressing with a rubber spatula and gently stir it all together. Serve immediately, or cover and chill. Serves 8 to 10.

Red Rice Salad

2 small beets
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces red rice
2 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 (14.5 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 small red onion, finely chopped
7 red radishes, thinly sliced
2 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
salt and pepper to taste

Dressing:
2 tablespoons horseradish
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Place beets in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain water, and allow beets to cool. Peel and dice.

Meanwhile, pour olive oil, red rice, water, and 1 teaspoon salt into a saucepan; place over medium heat. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer gently until the rice is tender and all the water has been absorbed. Remove saucepan from heat, and let rice cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, mix together beets, kidney beans, bell pepper, onion, radishes, and chives. Season with salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together horseradish, mustard, and sugar until well combined. Whisk in red wine vinegar and oil until smooth.

With a fork, fluff rice. Stir into vegetables, and mix with dressing. Cover, refrigerate about 1 hour. Spoon into a large, shallow serving bowl, and garnish with fresh chives.

Scarlet Salad

12 oz tiny new potatoes, sliced
12 oz asparagus
6 C salad
1 1/2 C cooked chicken
14 oz baby corn, drained
8 oz beets, drained
1 C fresh pea pods
1/3 C chopped red onion
vinaigrette dressing

Boil potatoes (10 minutes). Add asparagus (2 minutes). Add all other ingredients on plates, top with dressing and serve.

BBQ Potato Corn Salad

1/3 C ranch dressing
1/3 C bbq sauce
2 T dijon mustard
3 lb small red potatoes, cooked and quartered
1 can kernel corn, drained
1/2 C sliced celery
1/2 C chopped red peppers
1/2 C chopped red onions
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled


Mix dressing, bbq sauce and mustard in large bowl. Add all remaining ingredients except for the bacon. Mix lightly.

Sprinkle top of salad with bacon. Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.

Pizza Pasta Salad

3 C penne pasta, cooked and drained
4 medium tomatoes, chopped
12 slices pepperoni
1 C mozzarella cheese crumbles
1/2 C chopped fresh basil
1/2 C grated parmesan cheese
1/2 C roasted red pepper italian dressing


Toss all ingredients in large bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Spinach and Orzo Salad

Salad:

Fresh corn on the cob
Orzo pasta, cooked as directed (with lots of salt)
Spinach, fresh, chiffonade
Sun Dried tomatoes (packed in oil), drained and julienne
Pine Nuts, toasted
Feta Cheese, block (crumble yourself for fresher cheese)

Dressing: “Pride of Crowns” (5 Crowns recipe and is great on any type of salad…and easy and keeps well in fridge) **CAN BE DOUBLED/TRIPLE/QUADRUPLED, etc, as needed)

1 tsp Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
1 tsp Lawry’s Seasoned Pepper
1 tsp Lawry’s Pinch of Herbs (can only find at Gelson’s)
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 cup oil (either veggie or olive or mixture of both)
1/3 cup red wine vinegar

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and wrap ear of corn in foil and roast in oven until tender, about 30 minutes. Remove and allow to sit in foil for 5-10 minutes to steam and cool, cut kernels from cob.

TIPS:
-Every part of this salad can be made at least 1 day ahead, bagged separately and then assembled at the last minute.
-The dressing should be made a few days ahead to let the flavors blend well.
-Place a damp paper towel in the bag of the chiffonade spinach to keep it fresh and crisp.
-The corn makes a big difference if is done the way above. Don’t cheat and buy canned corn.
-Already crumbled feta is much dryer and older than block. Crumble yourself.
-Trader Joes has already toasted pine nuts in a huge bag-nice time saver.
-Trader Joes and Costco have already julienne sun dried tomatoes-nice time saver
-Chiffonading the spinach takes awhile!
-Set the salad dressing out the morning of the party to let it soften.

(no measurements are above but a point of reference-for a party of about 50 adults I used a large bag of pine nuts, 1 box of orzo, 1 large jar of tomatoes (from Costco), 5 or so bags of spinach, 8 ears of corn, a quadruple batch of dressing (maybe more b/c I had lots left over), 3-4 boxes of feta. It is all to taste so just keep adding and see what looks good!)

You’ll love how easy it is to put together so no work the day of the party.

ENJOY!

Summer Living Recipe: Thai Chicken Salad

2 cans coconut milk
2T curry paste (I only had powder so I used that instead and it was fine)
4 tsp orange zest
1 1/2 cups of orange juice

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 mangos cut into 1 inch chunks (I cut up 4 mangos)
1 pineapple cut into 1 inch chunks (I used canned)
Mix of salad greens

Mix together the coconut milk, curry paste, orange zest, and orange juice together in a small bowl with a lid.

Take the chicken breast and fillet it. That means cut the thickness in half. If you don’t do this when you grill your chicken it will be raw on the inside and burned on the outside. When you reduce the thickness it will cook evenly and still be tender.

Put the chicken into a large ziploc bag. Pour about a third of the coconut milk mixture into the bag. Allow the chicken to marinade for at least 30 minutes. Mine actually sat in the marinade for over 24 hours since we had a huge thunderstorm roll through and I didn’t feel like standing out in the storm waving my grill tongs like a lightening rod.

The rest of the marinade you will reserve for dressing the salad. Cut up the mango and pineapple. Or open the can if you are also using canned. Dump these into the bowl with the marinade. The recipe I had followed suggested grilling the mango and pineapple and I tried that the first time I made this recipe and decided that it wasn’t really worth the effort.

Here is a fun trick for cutting up mango. Slice the mango in half to the pit and pull it part. Cut the mango in a criss cross pattern down to the peel, without going through the skin.

Then flip it inside out.

This is a great way to give mango to the kids to eat. They can eat it right off of the peel like watermelon. And doesn’t it look cute enough to serve at the breakfast table?

Cover the bowl and put it in the refrigerator.

When you are ready cook your chicken on the grill.

After it is done cooking, slice the chicken into strips.

Cut up the salad greens. Toss with the reserved dressing. Add the grilled chicken.

Delicious. The perfect combination of grilled meat and sweet fruit, perfect for summer. I serve this with a nice bread. My kids like to eat the chicken and lettuce on bread like a sandwich.

And best of all? The kitchen has not been heated up by using the stove.

Mama Mia Pasta

So this is a MJ type recipe . . . we make it all of the time and it turns out slightly different cuz I dont use a recipe.

Pasta - your choice, we like angel hair for this

Italian dressing

olive oil

lots of fresh veggies - mushrooms, bell peppers, squash, asparagus, snap peas - whatever floats your boat.

Boil pasta.

Preheat oven to 400. Spray baking pan w/ pam. Lay in a single layer, your veggies. Top with salt/pepper and a coating of olive oil. Roast for 15 minutes or until veggies are browned/cooked.

Dump pasta on a plate - top with veggies - douse with italian dressing (and then pour on the parmesan cheese)