AwesomeBites

Category: Salads

There are the classic recipes for salads that you can make, but the best way to make a salad is to use what you have. The versatility of a salad is what makes it so good! Most people get bored with making the same lettuce, tomatoe salad and I think they stop making the salad entirely because of boredom. Stop! Stop! Stop!
You need to add at least 7 ingredients to a salad, or your salads will start to be the same night after night. The 7 ingredient rule pushes you to look further into your refrigerator or pantry for additional items and this extra push keeps the salad fun to eat every night.
Ingredient possibilities are endless: Think beyond lettuces and herbs, pasta, beans, canned vegetables, pickled and marinated goodies, nuts, seeds, cheese, crackers and croutons… You get the idea.

  • Coleslaw with Red Cabbage and Peanuts

    Coleslaw with Red Cabbage and Peanuts

    I didn’t eat much coleslaw as a kid, just didn’t.  But upon getting married, my mother-in-law Jacque loved coleslaw. 

    Her coleslaw was the creamy style without the red cabbage, but right before serving, she would add peanuts, toss and serve. 

    Jacque's Coleslaw with Peanuts

    Good!  That was a little over 20 years ago, and now I am a full addict.  I will not recover in my lifetime.  I do love coleslaw so much I can eat it straight up on a piece of bread for lunch.  I know, I know, be gentle…you are talking to an addict.  My favorite slaw is without the mayo and more on the vinegar side, but if you are going to have a baked potato the creamy stuff is great.  Tacos, Sandwiches all benefit from coleslaw. Hold the lettuce and go for the ‘slaw!

    1 large head green cabbage, shredded

    1/8 head of red cabbage (optional)

     2 carrots shredded

    1/4 cup green onions, chopped

    1/2 cup white wine vinegar

    3 T sugar

    1 1/2 cup unsalted raw peanuts (optional – but Jacque loved her coleslaw this way!)

    1 tsp salt

    1 T Dijon mustard

    2/3 cup olive oil

    Combine cabbage and carrots in a large glass bowl. Toss.

    In a small bowl, mix the remaining ingredients. Whisk together. Pour dressing over cabbage and toss to mix. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2-3 hours.

    If you like creamy dressing, use the same amounts of vinegar, sugar and salt. Substitute cream for oil. Eliminate the mustard.

    Awesome Slaw!
    BBQ Beef and Coleslaw Sandwich

      

    Variations: 
    Jalapeno Lime Coleslaw

    1/2 cup Lime Juice
    1 basket of tiny cherry tomatoes, washed and quartered
    1 jalapeno chile, seeded and diced
    3/4 cup cilantro, chopped

    Instead of Vinegar in above recipe use 1/2 cup lime juice. 

    In a skillet or oven (350F) roast the peanuts for 5 to 10 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice along the way, until golden and toasted.

    Just before serving fold in the peanuts (add them too early and they lose some of their crunch). Taste and adjust the flavor with more salt if needed.

    Lime and Peanut Coleslaw
  • Chicken Salad Sandwiches with Apples

    Chicken Salad Sandwiches with Apples

    All my kids love chicken salad sandwiches.  They did when they were small one and even in their twenties.  The perfect quick meal. 

    2 big cans chicken white meat in water

    1 onion finely diced

    2 apples finely diced

    2 stalks of celery finely diced

    1 tsp corriander

    1 tsp black pepper

    2 T of lemon juice

    1/2 cup Best Foods Mayonnaise

    Chopped it all up!

    Finely dice everything, sprinkle lemon juice over the apples to prevent from turning brown.  Break the chunks of meat into small pieces.  Mix all together. Season. 

    Serve on croissants for a treat with sliced cranberry sauce. 

    So good!

    Hmmm good.
  • Ruby Red Grapefruit and Avocado Salad

    Ruby Red Grapefruit and Avocado Salad

    1 small minced onion or scallion

    2 Avocado sliced

    2 Ruby Red Grapefruits section ed with all pith removed. Section the grapefruit over a dish and save juice. 

    1 tsp of grapefruit zest

    Combine zest, juice and minced onions. Let set for 10 minutes.

    Arrange grapefruit sections and sliced avocado on 4 plates. 

    Splash olive oil and grapefruit juice mixture with onions over the sections.

    Salt and Pepper

    Serve

  • Salmon Confit with Arugula Salad and Balsalmic

    Salmon Confit in Olive Oil with Arugula Salad and Balsalmic

    by Sandra Nickerson on Saturday, August 7, 2010 at 3:28am
    •4 cups light olive oil
    •Bouquet Garni or bay leaf, thyme or rosemary
    •Four 6-ounce boneless, skinless Copper River salmon filets
    •1 1/2 pounds micro arugula, washed and patted dry
    • Salt to taste
    •4 teaspoons aged balsamic vinegar – reduction

    1. Combine the olive oil with the Bouquet Garni in a shallow, heavy-bottomed pan large enough to hold the salmon in a single layer over very low heat until the oil reaches 150°F on an instant-read thermometer.

    2. Add the salmon and cook, at a constant temperature, for about 5 minutes or just until the salmon has begun to firm up. Using a slotted spatula, lift the salmon from the pan and place on a double layer of paper towels to drain.

    3. Place a small mound of micro arugula in the center of each of four plates. Lay a piece of salmon on top of the greens on each plate. Sprinkle sel de Guerande over the salmon. Drizzle a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar over the salad and salmon on each plate and serve.

  • Green Salad – Beets, Pears and Goat Cheese

    Green Salad – Beets, Pears and Goat Cheese

    Pile it high. It looks beautiful!

    I didn’t discover my love for beets until a year or so ago.  Memories of pickled beets on my salad at the little diner kept me away from beets for years. 

    The earthy sweetness of the beets and the pears are a delicious combination.

    When combined with a sharper goat’s cheese and a dark green such as baby spinach – good and good for you.

    Ingredients

    For Salad
    1/3 pound baby spinach
    2 medium-sized beets
    1 ripe, sweet pear (such as forelle)
    1/4 cup crumbled goat’s cheese
    2 tablespoons roasted and crushed hazlenuts
    snipped chives
    a few pitted kalamata olives (optional)

    Dressing:
    drizzle high-quality olive oil and sherry vinegar over the salad, to taste
    salt and pepper

    Preparation

    Roast Beets:
    Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
    Individually wrap the beets in aluminum foil and roast them for 45 minutes to an hour, until they are tender when pricked with a fork. allow the beets to cool, then peel them. The peel should slip off easily. Cut the beets in half and slice thinly or use a mandolin.

    Cut the pear in half and remove the seeds and core. Slice the pear halves thinly lengthwise or use a mandolin.

    Place spinach on a wide platter, scatter the sliced beets and pears on the top, then the crumbled goat’s cheese and finally the toasted hazlenuts and snipped chives. I usually add a few pitted Kalamata olives, but you don’t have to.

    Sprinkle the salad with sherry vinegar and olive oil, salt and pepper.

  • Chopped Cabbage Salad

    Chopped Cabbage

    Chopped green onions

    Cherry tomatoes cut in halves

    Salt and Pepper

    Vadalia Onion Dressing

  • Black Bean and Corn Salad

    Drain and rinse 1 can black beans

    Drain and rinse 1 can corns

    Add diced white sweet onion

    Add diced bell peppers

    Add 1 diced hot pepper – jalapeno or serano (optional)

    Toss with Champagne Vinegarette

    Chill  and serve

  • Butter Lettuce and Watermelon Salad

    Butter Lettuce

    Tiny watermelons cut in half.  Use melon as serviing bowl.  Scoop out watermelon. Slice some.

    Add Butter Lettuse, top with finely diced red onioin, add diced watermelon. 

    Serve with Balsalmic Vinegarette.

    Salt and Pepper to taste.

  • Basil Dressing

    This is Ina Garten’s recipe.  Excellent.

    1 cup good mayonnaise

  • 1 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (6 to 7 scallions)
  • 1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
  • 2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
  • 2 teaspoons anchovy paste
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup sour cream

    • Serve with tomatoes and bibb lettuce.

  • Chinese Chicken Salad without the Chicken!

    Salad Ingredients:

    1 large cabbage chopped
    1 pkg green onions chopped
    1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
    1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
    2 pkgs top ramin noodles (add just before serving)

    Mandarin orange slices

    Dressing

    1 cup oil
    1/4 cup rice vinegar
    1/4 cup sugar
    1 tsp salt
    1 tsp pepper

    Heat rice vinegar and sugar until dissolved. Remove from burner and add remaining dressing
    ingredients. Mix well. Toss in the salad.