Crunchy Romaine Salad (with Grilled Chicken)

My mom got me hooked on this salad. She said she got hooked on it from a church fellowship. The original recipe is entitled "Mary Lou's Romaine Salad" so I guess we all have Mary Lou to thank for this! :)


Ingredients:
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
1 head broccoli, divided into small pieces
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
1 pkg Ramen noodles, crushed
1/4 C pecans, chopped
Grilled chicken optional (see notes below for marinade)

3 T butter
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C olive oil
1/4 C red wine vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce

Directions:

In a large salad bowl, mix chopped romaine lettuce, broccoli and green onions.  For crunchies, slightly brown Ramen noodles & pecans in butter, yum!
I used a large glass measuring cup for the salad dressing: whisk together the sugar, olive oil, vinegar & soy sauce. 

I marinated and grilled chicken to toss on top of the salad. I put 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a large ziplock bag & drizzled them with olive oil. I seasoned them with garlic powder, garlic salt, pepper, a little lemon juice, dijon mustard & soy sauce. Let them marinate for at least 30 minutes. Grill the chicken and cut into chunks. Toss onto the salad and then pour the salad dressing recipe above over it all.  It's divine! Thanks Mary Lou! :)

Salad with fruit & feta

I had this salad with a friend the other day...I mean this picture is of the actual salad I got!! I had to take a picture it was so beautiful! I have re-created it at home several times since then, so I needed to post and save the ingredients list. My whole family loves it.

Ingredients: (All ingredients should be fresh!)

Fresh Spinach (add other salad kinds if you like but have to have spinach in there somewhere! ;)
Purple grapes
Pineapple (chunked)
Avocado
Kiwi (sliced)
Pecans
Blackberries
Strawberries (sliced)
Feta Cheese (or some other crumbly kind, I think originally mine was made with goat cheese, but at home I used Feta)

Instructions:
Wash & prep all your fresh fruit, then toss together in a bowl on top of your salad and mix it all up.
I used a Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing...so healthy, fresh & yummy! Perfect for summer or anytime! Could also add chicken, but great without any meat too.

Grilled Chicken & Strawberry Salad Wrap

Kevin and I love these.  A pioneer woman recipe...

• 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1/2 cup Bottled Balsamic Vinaigrette
• 1 whole Package (12 Ounces) Mixed Salad Greens
• 12 whole Medium Strawberries, Hulled And Quartered
• 4 whole Green Onions Sliced (white And Light Green Parts)
• 1/4 cup Pecans, Chopped
• 4 ounces, weight Goat Cheese Crumbled
• 6 whole Large Whole Wheat Tortillas

Preparation Instructions

Place the chicken breasts in a large plastic storage bag. Seal the bag, leaving a small opening, then use a rolling pin to pound the breasts until they're a uniform thickness. Pour in half the balsamic vinaigrette, then seal the bag and marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.

After the chicken has marinated, grill it until it's done in the middle, about 5 minutes per side. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. Dice up the chicken when it's cool enough to handle.

Add the salad greens to a large bowl. Add half of the remaining dressing and toss it to coat the greens. Add more if it needs it. Add the strawberries, chicken, green onions, and pecans. Toss it gently a few times until it's all combined. Top with crumbled goat cheese and toss a couple of times.

Place an equal amount of salad down the middle of each tortilla. Roll up, then slice in half.

Serve wraps with chips and extra strawberries.

Jalapeno Steak Salad

I got the idea for this dish from a place I recently discovered in SoLake called "My Fit Foods." I had their chicken wrap for lunch the other day (it was great) and I picked up one of their menus to look over. Everything on their menu sounds good and gave me lots of new cooking ideas! Anyway, they had a steak salad entree listed and I decided to try and recreate it. We had it tonight and thought it was superb--so I wanted to post how I made it.

Ingredients:

Prime tenderloin (or any kind of steak that will easily cut into strips)

salad mixture-whatever kind you prefer

4-5 jalapenos

red onion

avocado

roasted corn

roma tomato

Newman's Own Light Lime salad dressing

cilantro

Directions:

• Marinate & grill a steak, then cut it into strips, cover & set aside. You can throw the corn on the grill with the steak, inside the husk & cook it at the same time.
• De-seed the jalapenos and cut them into very thin strips (I always wear gloves when doing this & am very cautious with disposing of seeds). Dice up half of a red onion & saute it along with the jalapeno strips in a little bit of olive oil on medium-high heat until they are softened.
• Put salad mixture in the bowl (I used romaine, spinach & a little iceberg)
• Toss all ingredients (the steak, sliced tomatoes, avocados & sauted jalapeno/onions...you can slice the corn off the cob & toss it in too--we were lazy & just ate the corn on the cob) in with the salad and top with the dressing*.

*the menu said they used a cilantro lime dressing--I could not find this exact dressing in the store, but I did find Paul Newman's Light Lime Dressing, so I poured that in a bowl & added diced cilantro to it--it was soo yummy.

This salad had such a great combination of flavors and was really healthy; I'll definitely make it again!

Preschool Spinach Salad

I got this recipe from a girl at our preschool. Really easy and a little different that the normal spinach salad with strawberries (the apples in it are yummy!)

I made it using spinach, granny smith apples (sliced thin), feta cheese, and walnuts. Toss with the dressing recipe below!

2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T white wine vinegar
1/3 c sugar
1 T oil
1 t poppy seeds (optional)

Caesar Tortellini Salad & a quick dessert idea

Got this salad idea from bettycrocker.com and the dessert idea was included; both were keepers!

Ingredients:

1 pkg (9 oz) refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini (found these in the deli section @ Walmart and got the whole wheat kind)

1 bag complete Caesar salad mix

1 medium tomato, chopped

1/4 C bacon bits

1/4 C fresh ground pepper

1. Cook & drain tortellini according to pkg directions; rinse with cold water, drain.

2. Toss tortellini, salad mix ingredients, tomato, bacon bits & pepper. Serve immediately.

Quick & Easy dessert idea:

Heat canned cherry pie filling (or apple, etc.) and top with granola & whipped cream!

Speed Salads

After my last two posts, I also felt compelled to tell you about a quick video I watched on a blog site written by an aerobic instructor friend of mine. I know everybody knows how to make a salad, but the demo that she gives on how she speeds up the process and is able to make herself a great salad every day for lunch is interesting. I will say that since watching it I have eaten more salads for lunch and I also created my version of Subway's "Veggie Delight"...I think I'll share that in another post.

Hopefully the link below will take you right to my friend's video, but if not her blog site is: timetogetfit.blogspot.com and you could search "Speed Salads".

Speed Salads

Sweet Grilled Chicken Waldorf Salad

I found this chicken marinade recipe on recipezaar and I thought it went well with this easy waldorf type salad. The flavor combination was really good; I wanted to post so I could recreate it. It's a keeper!

Chicken Marinade (this makes a sweet flavorful chicken)

1/4 C apple cider vinegar

3 TBS ground mustard

3 cloves minced garlic

1 lime, juiced

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 C brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt (I use sea salt)

6 TBS olive oil

ground black pepper

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1. In a large bowl whisk together ingredients beginning w/ cider vinegar through salt.

2. Then whisk in olive oil & pepper.

3. Place chicken in the mixture--cover & marinate in fridge for a few hours

4. Remove chicken from marinade & grill it up--while it cools, make your salad & then chop up chicken to add to salad.

Waldorf Salad

bag of salad, whatever kind you prefer

2-3 apples cored & cut into bite size chunks

chopped pecans

craisins or mixed dried fruit

crumbled Feta cheese

Raspberry Vinaigrette (Kraft makes one that is Light and really good!)

For the salad, just toss all of the ingredients together in the bowl adjusting amounts to your preference. I like lots of pecans & dried fruit in mine. This is a great summer salad; it's really sweet but the feta cheese helps balance that and also the lemons & limes you use in the chicken marinade.

Enjoy!

Taco Pasta Salad

I saw this in a magazine over Christmas break and made it today...easy and the possible additions to it are infinite!

2-3 cups bowtie pasta, cooked and cooled.
1 (15.5 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn (I used the white & yellow mixed)
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup prepared salsa (I used a little more than this)
2 teaspoons taco seasoning mix (I used a little more like 3)

In large bowl combine pasta, black beans, corn, cheese, sour cream, salsa, and taco seasoning. Mix well, chill and serve with tortilla chips.

* Kevin likes all salads to have meat in them, so I grilled some chicken and added that to mine. But I think cooked ground beef would be good too.

* I had some grape tomatoes that I cut up in it as well...a good addition! Chopped green pepper would also be good (but I didn't have any).

* I also think it would be good served on a bed of romaine lettuce (Cheddars restaurant does a pasta & green salad that is one of my favorite things) and then tossed together.

Enjoy!

La Madeleine's Spinach Salad w/ Salmon

My friend Stratton got me hooked on La Madeleine's spinach salad w/salmon. I was hungry for this the other night and wanted to make it myself so I searched for a recipe on line.
I didn't find an exact recipe, but I found the ingredients they use and it made it taste the same. It is a really good flavor combination--we definitely liked it enough to put it on our "keeper's" list.

spinach (I also mixed in other green leaf lettuce)
fresh mushrooms (sliced)
roasted pecans
bacon
red bell pepper (thinly sliced and/or chopped)
strawberries (thinly sliced)
balsamic vinaigrette (I used Newman's lite--very good!)
salmon

In a large bowl I tossed the spinach/lettuce mix, mushrooms, pecans, (I forgot to add bacon, but I will next time!) bell pepper, & strawberries

I seasoned my salmon w/butter & Mrs Dash's garlic&herb seasoning and then baked it in the oven @ 400 degrees for 10 minutes or so, until it looked done.

I topped my salad with the salmon & the vinaigrette dressing;
it was yumm-o & healthy!

Our Favorite Pasta Salad

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law a few years ago and it is one of our favorites in the spring & summer months! So easy, great for leftovers, can be made vegetarian, and used as a main dish (with the chicken) or as a side dish.

1 lb. box of bowtie pasta, cooked according to directions
4 oz package crumbled feta cheese
1 medium/large green bell pepper, chopped finely
1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
olive oil (start with approx a 1/4 cup and then add more to your taste)
balsamic vinegar (start with approx a 1/8-1/4 cup and then add more to your taste)
chopped grilled chicken (optional)

Toss everything together in a large bowl and refrigerate in a tupperware container. Sometimes, I toss with extra olive oil and balsamic vinegar the next day to moisten the salad up before eating the leftovers.

Enjoy!

Chicken & Ramen Noodle Salad

Dressing:

½ cup salad oil

¼ - ½ cup sugar

¼ cup vinegar (half white vinegar & half rice vinegar)

1 tsp soy sauce 

Blend ingredients in food processor until emulsified and refrigerate.

Salad:

1 pkg cole slaw mix (white cabbage, red cabbage, & carrots)

1 pkg broccoli slaw

2 pkgs ramen noodles

5-7 diced green onions

¼ cup chopped cilantro

¼ cup butter (½ stick)

½ cup Tours Mix (mixed salad nuts)

Small pkg cashews

Chop onions & cilantro and mix w/ cabbage in serving bowl, refrigerate. Brown noodles and nuts in butter, sprinkle about ½ of one of the seasoning packets over the noodles and stir in. Set aside to cool.

Toss salad dressing with slaw mix and noodle mix.

NOTE:  Marinate 3 chicken breasts in an asian-type marinade, cooked and let cool.  Chop chicken into cubes and stir into salad.  This is good for a main dish.

Pecan Bacon Salad

1 pkg. Ramen noodles (uncooked and crushed)

1/2 stick margarine 

1 small bag whole pecans

Saute and set aside

Dressing:

1/2 cup Vegetable oil

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 1/2 tsp soy sauce

Tear Romaine and iceberg lettuce in bowl, add bacon ( I use the precooked Oscar Meyer bacon) and add sauteed items from above.  Pour dressing over and toss.

Cheese, Glorious Cheese!

Remember that commercial? My girls call this Cheesy fish. You can have your cheese and eat healthy.
I think I'm in love. *SIGH*



Parmesan Crusted Tilapia & Hot Pan Spinach Salad
aka Cheesy Fish

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (I cheat and use Kraft's Parmesan Romano already shredded)
2 teaspoons paprika
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
4 Tilapia filets
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Peppa (Puh-Puh-Puh-Push it)


Oven to 400. In a shallow dish, combine the cheese with the paprika and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the fish with olive oil and dredge in cheese mixture. (I press on the cheese so that it sticks better) Place on a FOIL LINED baking sheet and bake until the fish is opaque in the thickest part. (10 to 12 minutes) Serve with lemon wedges.

While the fish is cooking fix this:
( I know. bossy. bossy. )

1 large bunch of Spinach, about 12 cups of leaves
1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 TB extra virgin olive oil
1-2 cloves worth of minced garlic
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 TB pine nuts, roasted

Wash spinach thoroughly. Heat oil in large saute pan over medium high heat. Add garlic and lemon juice and saute for one minute. Turn the heat to high, add the spinach, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Wilt the spinach, tossing the leaves with tongs to coat with hot oil and garlic. Toss in pine nuts. Serve immediately.

Tip: I like to toss in one of those Uncle Ben's 90 second rice pouch of brown rice. (Not into the salad. Into the microwave. ) It's also nice to put the salad on top of some angel hair pasta.

The whole thing takes about 15 minutes.
I love cheese.
Karise

Broccoli, Bacon & Raisin Salad

This salad is so easy to make and everyone always loves it. It makes for a great substitute to your typical cole slaw or potatoe salad side item.

1 lb. broccoli florets (about 7 cups)
6 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled
½ cup raisins
¼ cup finely chopped red onion (or less)
¼ cup sunflower kernals
1 cup Kraft Coleslaw Dressing

Toss broccoli, bacon, raisins, onion and sunflower kernels in large bowl.
Add dressing; mix lightly. Cover.
Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until ready to serve. Mix lightly just before serving.

Summer Salad

Mixed salad greens or spinach (~1 bag)
1 pint Strawberries, topped & halved
1 Mango, peeled & cubed
3 Kiwi, peeled and sliced
handful dried cranberries
1 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup sugar

Dressing:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup sugar

In a medium skillet saute almonds with sugar over medium heat. Stir constantly until sugar caramelizes and is completely melted. Spread out on foil-lined cookie sheet to cool. Mix all dressing ingredients and set aside. Prepare fruit. Just before serving, wisk dressing vigorously once more, place lettuce in salad bowl, and toss with 2/3 of the dressing. Top with fruit and nuts and drizzle remaining dressing over top. Serve immediately.