Cucumber, Tomato & Onion Salad

Thank you Paula Deen for helping me consume the large quantities of cucumbers and tomatoes from my garden! You can eat this salad immediately, or make it ahead of time.

Ingredients:
2 cucumbers, peeled & thinly sliced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 onion, (any sweet white variety)
2 T. fresh parsley, chopped
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1 T. evoo
Salt & pepper

Grilled Veggie & Corn Salad

Here's another yummy salad from Oh She Glows. It's my favorite vegan food blog. She's pretty much my vegan hero! It's yummy the first day, and just as good as leftovers.


Salad:
3 bell peppers
2 medium zucchini, halved
2 red onions, peeled & sliced in thick rings
6 ears corn, husked
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

Dressing:
3 T. evoo
1/2 c. fresh lime juice
2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. maple syrup
1 t. dijon mustard
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Heat your BBQ grill. While the grill is heating, prep your veggies.
2. Cook bell peppers (until blackened), zucchini, onions & corn.
3. Remove veggies from the grill as they finish cooking (it won't happen all at once). Peel the skin from the peppers. Chop everything up and toss with the black beans & dressing.

Chickpea & Tomato Salad

We made this delicious salad for lunch today from Green Lite Bites. Reminds me of a lighter version of a caprese salad, since it doesn't have all the cheese.

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 c. chopped fresh basil (about 25 leaves)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. red wine vinegar
1 T. apple cider vinegar
2 t. olive oil
1/2 T. honey
Pinch of salt

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine chickpeas, tomato & basil.
2. In a smaller bowl, make the dressing by combining the garlic, vinegars, oil, honey & salt.
3. Toss salad with dressing and let sit for at least 5 minutes.

Superfood Kale Salad

I used to hate kale. I mean really despise it, especially raw. Maybe it's the fact that growing up, my mom would make her dreaded "green juice" which was comprised mostly of kale. I prefer to eat my leafy greens, not drink them, thank you. As of late, I've discovered that I actually like kale. It reminds me of broccoli but in a leafy, rabbit food sort of way. I used the Light Tahini Dressing from Oh She Glows, and changed up the ingredient list a little. If you are a fellow kale hater, try this out and see what you think...

Salad:
1 small head kale
1 cucumber
1 c. cherry tomatoes
1/4 red onion
2 carrots
1 red bell pepper
1 avocado
1 c. fresh peas
1/4 c. raisins
1/4 c. goji berries
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1/4 c. sunflower seeds
1 c. cooked spelt berries
1/4 c. fresh parsley

Dressing:
1/4 c. tahini
3 cloves garlic
1/2 c. fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. nutritional yeast
4 T. evoo
1 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. black pepper
3 T. water

Directions:
1. Wash, peel, chop all your veggies.
2. Combine all the salad ingredients (except avocado) in a large bowl.
3. In a food processor, blend all ingredients for dressing until smooth.
4. Toss salad in dressing until well coated. Add avocado and gently toss again.

**Makes 6 servings. 458 calories/serving**

Just for fun, let's see some nutritional highlights for one serving of this salad, shall we? I've only posted the values over 100%, it has lots of other good stuff too.

Vitamin A                                324.8%
Vitamin B-6                             185.8%
Vitamin C                                200.4%
Niacin                                      108.6%
Thiamin                                   236.9%
Potassium                                876 mg

Crisp Summer Salad

Words cannot express my love for this salad. Wow, just wow. I only added a couple more veggies than the original recipe called for and slightly tweeked the dressing. The hubby and I both devoured it for lunch today. In fact, it was so tasty, it's on the menu again for tomorrow! I'm seriously craving it again right now!

Salad:
2 roma tomatoes
1/2 english cucumber
2 carrots
1 bell pepper
1/4 small red onion
1 large avocado
1 c. cooked chickpeas

Dressing:
2 t. whole grain mustard
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1 T. maple syrup
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 t. parsley
1/4 t. oregano
1/4 t. basil
Salt & Pepper

Sushi Salad

I came up with this salad the other night when I was making my family sushi. I didn't have any raw fish, because let's be honest, it's hard to find sushi-grade fish in Utah. It's a light, filling, rice-free alternative for dinner. I didn't really measure, just took a handful of this and that from the fillings I already had prepared for the sushi rolls. Just one note, everything is julienned, just as it would be if you were planning on rolling it up sushi style.

Ingredients:
Cucumber
Daikon Radish
Carrot
Green Onion
Imitation Crab
Avocado
Fried Egg
Nori (you can slice it or crumble it)
Sesame Seeds

Dressing:
Memmi sauce (it's like a mild & slightly sweet soy sauce)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t. sesame oil
Pinch of black pepper
Wasabi, to taste

Fresh Tomato & Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

2 T. balsamic vinegar

2 T. red wine vinegar

1/2 t. kosher salt

3 cloves garlic, minced

10 fresh basil leaves

5 fresh oregano leaves

3 small cucumbers, thinly sliced

2 large tomatoes, diced

1/2 c. red onion, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Mince garlic and let stand in vinegars for 10 minutes.

2. Wash herbs and chop. Add to olive oil and let stand while garlic marinates.

3. Meanwhile, prepare salad ingredients.

4. Combine oil with vinegar and whisk together. Dress salad and serve at room temperature.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

I love the blog, Our Best Bites. They have such delicious recipes! The lemon poppy seed vinaigrette is to die for! This salad will make the perfect side for your Easter meal!

Salad:
Spinach
Strawberries
Red Onion
Cucumber
Toasted Almonds

Vinaigrette:
1/3 c. lemon juice
1 t. lemon zest
1/4 c. rice vinegar
1/4 c. canola oil
1/4 c. sugar
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 t. poppy seeds
1 t. grated onion
1 clove garlic, finely minced

Greek Salad

Ingredients:
2 heads Romaine Lettuce, chopped
1/2 English Cucumber, sliced
1 large Tomato, sliced
1/2 Red Onion, thinly sliced
1 Bell Pepper, sliced
Olives (whatever kind you prefer)
Feta, crumbled (as much as you like)

Dressing:
6 T. Lemon Juice
2 clove Garlic, minced
2 t. Salt
2 t. Oregano
1 t. Parsley
1/2 C. Olive Oil

Aunt Zelda's Dressing

Ingredients:
1/2 c. sugar
4 T. white vinegar
1 t. salt
1 t. dry mustard
1 t. celery salt
1 t. paprika
1 T. onion, minced
2/3 c. canola oil

Directions:
1. Blend all of the ingredients, except the oil, until sugar dissolves.
2. Slowly drizzle in oil.

Texas Two-Step Slaw

We're headed to one of the first barbecues of the season (sorry all of you still stuck in cold) and pulled out my favorite salad crowd-pleaser and thought I'd share. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Makes: 8 (1 cup) servings

Prep Time: 15 min

SALAD
4 cups shredded green cabbage
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 jalapeño chiles, seeded, finely chopped*
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 (11-oz.) can Green Giant® Mexicorn® Whole Kernel Corn, Red and Green Peppers, drained (I often just use a can of corn and a jar of pimentos)
4 oz. (1 cup) shredded Cheddar cheese
Fresh cilantro sprigs

DRESSING
3/4 cup prepared ranch salad dressing
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon cumin

Preparation Directions

1. In large bowl, combine all salad ingredients except cilantro sprigs; mix well.
2. In small bowl, combine all dressing ingredients; blend well. Pour over salad; toss to coat. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving time. Garnish with cilantro.

Truth: I really add about double the amount of cabbage, green and red -- and sometimes more. I still use the same amount of dressing and I think there is plenty!

Thai Chicken Salad

This is a recipe that I sort of just made up. I had something like this somewhere, and I loved it, so I came home and experimented until I ended up with this super tasty salad.

Salad Ingredients:
1/2 head cabbage, shredded
1 head romaine, shredded
2 carrots, grated
1 bell pepper, julienne
1 c. snow peas, julienne
5 scallions, chopped
1 c. fresh bean sprouts
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
1 c. cubed cooked chicken

Dressing Ingredients:
2 T. rice vinegar
2 T. fresh lime juice
1 t. fresh ginger
1 t. chile garlic sauce
2 T. peanut sauce (I use House of Tsang brand)
1 T. creamy peanut butter
1 T. tahini
2 T. brown sugar
Salt & Pepper to taste
Canola oil (thin out to right consistency)

I know that it's a lot of ingredients, and you may not have them all in your pantry, so go ahead and substitute! Use any hot sauce for the chile garlic sauce, and a little extra peanut butter & lime for the peanut sauce. I hope you'll try it, because you'll love it!

Iceberg Lettuce with Carrot Ginger Soy Dressing with Cilantro and Red Thai Chiles

This is the type of salad that you'd have at a Japanese hibachi grill. It would be a good accompaniment to any Asian entree.

2 medium carrots, peeled, ends trimmed and sliced
2-inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 shallots, peeled and sliced
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 large head Iceberg lettuce, quartered and cored
Freshly chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish
1 large red Thai chile, seeded, deveined and thinly sliced, for garnish

Combine the carrots, ginger, shallots, soy sauce, vinegar, water, sugar, and vegetable oil in a blender and puree until dressing becomes a slightly thick sauce. Season with the salt.

Break the Iceberg wedges a bit to open them up and pour the dressing over top. Finish with cilantro and chile.

Fattoush

This is a fabulous Lebanese pita salad.

Ingredients:
1 pita, toasted
1 head romaine, chopped
4 tomatoes, cubed
1 cucumber, cubed
8 scallions, sliced
4 T. fresh parsley
1 T. fresh mint
2 T. fresh cilantro
Feta (optional)

Dressing:
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/3 c. fresh lemon juice

Sweet and Spicy Chinese Cabbage Salad

Sweet and Spicy Chinese Cabbage Salad Recipe
Ingredients
4 cups chopped or shredded fresh cabbage
1 cup finely chopped carrot
1/2 cup diced red pepper
1/2 cup diced spring onions (white and light green parts only)
1/3 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. freshly-squeezed lime juice
2 Tbsp. granulated white sugar
1-3 tsp. sweet red Thai chili sauce (more or less, depending on how spicy you like your food)
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
Directions
Place the cabbage, carrots, red peppers and spring onions in a large salad bowl. Toss until vegetables are well-mixed.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.
Pour over the cabbage salad, and toss again to coat the salad evenly with the dressing.
Refrigerate this salad until you are ready to serve it.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Per serving (based on 6): 151 calories, 12 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 414 mg sodium, 11 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 1 g protein, 80% vitamin A, 68% vitamin C, 3% calcium, 3% iron

We were looking for an Asian salad to go with gyoza. If you aren't familar with gyoza, it is an asian dumpling. (Misty will have to post Dave's family recipe, it is FABULOUS!!) This salad has a great kick to it and Greg and I both loved it.