Spinach with Garlic Vinaigrette

This is a very simple side salad that would be great paired with a wide variety of meals.  It’s too bad spinach has such a bad rap, it is delish!

Spinach with Garlic Vinaigrette (from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2  tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil
• 1  tablespoon  white wine vinegar
• 1/2  teaspoon  Dijon mustard
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 6  cups  baby spinach leaves (about 6 ounces)
• 1/4  cup  vertically sliced red onion

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add 6 cups spinach and red onion; toss to coat.

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A Christmas Salad

We hosted Christmas dinner this year and were looking for a fresh and festive salad to serve as our first course.  Inspired by a salad I had at The Mixx last weekend I found this recipe through a quick Google search.  I made a few adjustments based on what I had on hand and it turned out great.  Everyone loved it!  It is especially perfect for the holiday season with the cranberry dressing.

Pear, Pecan, and Blue Cheese Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette  (adapted from Cooking Light)

Vinaigrette:

• 1/2  cup  canned cranberry sauce (I only had the jellied kind and it worked just fine)
• 1/4  cup  fresh orange juice (about 1 orange)
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 2  tablespoons  balsamic vinegar
• 1  teaspoon  sugar
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt

Salad:

• 2  cups  sliced peeled pear (about 2 pears)
• 1  cup  (1/8-inch-thick) slices red onion, separated into rings
• 1/3  cup  (2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese
• 2  tablespoons  coarsely chopped pecans, toasted

Preparation:

To prepare the vinaigrette, place the first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir well with a whisk.

To prepare the salad, divide the lettuce leaves evenly among 6 salad plates. Divide pear and onion evenly among leaves. Top each serving with about 1 tablespoon cheese and 1 teaspoon pecans. Drizzle each serving with about 2 1/2 tablespoons vinaigrette.

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Arugula Salad

This was a great simple salad!  You could definitely add more to it, but it was great just the way it was!

Arugula Salad (from Cooking Light)

• 1  tablespoon  extra-virgin olive oil
• 1  tablespoon  sherry vinegar
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4  teaspoon  Dijon mustard
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 4  cups  baby arugula
• 1/3  cup  vertically sliced red onion

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add arugula and onion; toss well.

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Salad with Spicy Pineapple Dressing

Tyler whipped this up for dinner tonight, I was a little unsure about the addition of pineapple, but it fit really well.  Loved the cilantro dressing!  We added goat cheese, which fit nicely.

Grilled Chicken and Spinach Salad with Spicy Pineapple Dressing (from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

• 1  pound  skinless, boneless chicken breast
• 1  teaspoon  chili powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• Cooking spray
• 1 1/4  cups  (1-inch) cubed fresh pineapple (about 8 ounces), divided
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh cilantro
• 2  tablespoons  fresh orange juice
• 4  teaspoons  apple cider vinegar
• 1/2  teaspoon  minced habanero pepper
• 1  large garlic clove
• 1/4  cup  extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4  cup  julienne-cut peeled jicama
• 2/3  cup  thinly sliced red bell pepper
• 1/2  cup  thinly sliced red onion
• 1  (5-ounce) package fresh baby spinach (about 8 cups)

1. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Place chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap, and pound to an even thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle both sides of chicken evenly with chili powder and salt. Lightly coat chicken with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook for 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; set aside.

2. Combine half of pineapple, cilantro, orange juice, vinegar, habanero, and garlic in a blender; process until smooth. With blender on, gradually add olive oil until blended.

3. Combine remaining pineapple, jicama, and the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle with 3/4 cup dressing, and toss gently to coat. Divide salad evenly among 4 plates. Cut chicken across the grain into thin slices; divide chicken evenly over salads. Drizzle salads evenly with remaining 1/4 cup dressing.

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Spiced Chicken with Couscous Salad

This was a great summer recipe, perfect with basil and grape tomatoes from our garden!  We had to leave out the snap peas because the only ones the store had looked gross and were $6/pound.  If you like cucumber it would be a great addition to this salad.

Spiced Chicken with Couscous Salad (from Real Simple, June 2010)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 ounces each)

1 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons ground cumin

kosher salt and black pepper

3⁄4 cup couscous

3/4 pound cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered

1/4 pound snap peas, thinly sliced crosswise (about 1 cup)

1/2 cup torn fresh basil

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the chicken with the paprika, cumin, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until golden brown and cooked through, 6 to 7 minutes per side; transfer to plates.

Meanwhile, place the couscous in a large bowl. Add 1 cup hot tap water, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes; fluff with a fork. Add the tomatoes, snap peas, basil, lemon zest, lemon juice, the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and toss to combine.  Slice the chicken and serve with the couscous.

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Lemon Cilantro Potato Salad

I bookmarked this recipe last week as a good side dish for our Easter dinner.  It was just the 2 of us for Easter this year so we grilled steaks and asparagus and enjoyed this potato salad with it.  Very easy to make and so delicious!  Very light and flavorful.

Lemon Cilantro Potato Salad (from Beantown Baker)

Ingredients:

2 lb (6 to 8 medium) Red Bliss potatoes, scrubbed
Kosher salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup lightly packed chopped fresh cilantro
2 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced, or 1 shallot, minced

Preparation:

Put the potatoes in a large pot of well-salted water. Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer. Cook, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes.

Drain and let cool slightly. While the potatoes are still warm, slice them about 1/4 inch thick (no need to peel).

Put half of the potatoes in a large serving bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, lemon zest, and juice, 1 tsp kosher salt, and several grinds of pepper.

Drizzle half of the dressing over the potatoes. Add the remaining potatoes to the bowl, drizzle on the rest of the dressing, and toss gently with a large spatula to combine well.

Add the cilantro and scallions and toss gently again. Taste and add more salt as needed. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Spectacular Salad with Salmon

I discovered this recipe last summer and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve made it!  To change it up a bit we added salmon, which we had a ton of left over from dinner earlier this week.  This was a great way to liven up leftovers!  I was unable to find arugula this week so that was the only other change I made to the original recipe.  This salad is perfect for summer nights when you don’t want to heat up the kitchen!  I think it would be a great addition to a summer picnic or a special Father’s Day celebration!

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Strawberry Salad

 

The latest copy of Cooking Light is chock full of amazing looking recipes, many utilizing one of my favorite foods: strawberries!  I saw this salad and while I typically try to avoid fruit in my salad (sweet things with salty things tend to bug me), I decided to try it and I am so in love with it!  This may be our go-to salad for the summer!  You can add all kinds of things to it to make it a very filling meal.  We’ve had it two nights in a row now, it’s that good!

Chicken and Strawberry Salad (adapted from cooking light)

• Ingredients:
• DRESSING:
• 1  tablespoon  sugar
• 2  tablespoons  red wine vinegar
• 1  tablespoon  water
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 2  tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil
• SALAD:
• 4  cups  torn romaine lettuce
• 4  cups  arugula
• 2  cups  quartered strawberries
• 1/3  cup  vertically sliced red onion
• 12  ounces  skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast, sliced
• 2  tablespoons  unsalted cashews, halved
• 1/2  cup  (2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese

Preparation

1. To prepare dressing, combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Gradually drizzle in oil, stirring constantly with a whisk.

2. To prepare salad, combine romaine and next 4 ingredients (through chicken) in a bowl; toss gently. Place about 2 cups chicken mixture on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cashews and 2 tablespoons cheese. D

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Sesame Chicken Pasta Salad

Tyler made this recipe last Saturday as a bit of a Valentine’s surprise.  I had to work that day and informed him that I did not want to have to do dishes at the end of the day, so while a nice elaborate romantic dinner would be great, I’d rather we just get pizza!  Instead he chose to make this pasta salad which was filling and required minimal cleanup.  He knows me well!  Tyler made this salad with canned chicken but you could use the “real” thing too of course.  It was delicious and I think it would be great for picnics and bbqs in the summer months.  You can add different veggies to it as well, we just used what we had on hand, which was sugar snap peas.

Sesame Chicken Pasta Salad (adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sesame seeds
16 oz pasta
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup light soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1 t sesame oil
3 T white sugar
1/2 t ground ginger
1/4 t ground pepper
3 cups shredded chicken meat
1/3 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1/3 cup chopped green onion

Directions:

1. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sesame seeds, and cook stirring frequently until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain pasta, and rinse under cold water until cool. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine vegetable oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, sesame seeds, ginger, and pepper. Shake well.
4. Pour sesame dressing over pasta, and toss to coat evenly. Gently mix in chicken, cilantro, and green onions.

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Kinda like pancakes, only faster!

This is another recipe I tore out of an old issue of Real Simple.  It was an easy recipe, although chopping up all the ingredients and shredding the chicken did take a bit of time (and help from the husband).  Worth it though, because this meal involves very little actual cooking and it is full of great flavors.  I was pleased the corn cakes cooked so fast, the batter looks like pancake batter but you don’t have to wait for bubbles to pop or anything tedious like that!  My only real complaint is the corncakes themselves could use a kick, maybe some green onion or something?  I’ll have to play around with it, but we agreed this is a great meal that we will make again.

Smoky Chicken Corn Cakes (from RealSimple)

1 3 1/2- to 4-pound rotisserie chicken
1 tablespoon chopped canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
4 Roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 large eggs
1 cup part-skim ricotta
10 ounces frozen corn, thawed
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)

Using a fork or your fingers, shred the chicken meat, discarding the skin and bones.

In a medium bowl, combine the meat, chipotle, lime juice, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, the onion, tomatoes, and cilantro; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, pepper, and the remaining salt. Stir in the eggs and ricotta until no lumps remain. Fold in the corn.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. For each corn cake, spoon about 1/4 cup of the batter onto the skillet and cook until golden brown and set on one side, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the cakes and cook 1 minute more. Divide the cakes among individual plates and top with the chicken mixture. Serve with sour cream, if desired.

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