Strawberry Spinach Salad

Found recipe here - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/strawberry-spinach-salad-i/

Even if you don't like spinach, everyone loves the strawberry spinach salad crumbled with feta and this is a tasty one!

• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

• 1/4 teaspoonWorcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced onion
• 10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
• 1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered
  *feta cheese
  *candied walnuts (chop some walnuts, rinse them under hot water, sprinkle with powdered sugar, salt, and cayenne and cook lightly

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.
2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

I've been in love with all of my new Pampered Chef tools and it has made cooking so fun! Strawberries went from awesome to Amazing! ;0) The core and more scoops the top off perfect and the egg slicer slices them into perfect thin even slices! I left out the sesame seeds, added candied walnuts and of course feta! My husband asked me to make more! which took me seconds to throw another batch together!

BBQ Chicken Salad

Slight variation from a taco salad.

Lettuce

1 can black beans

1 can corn

red onion

cheese

chicken nuggets coated with BBQ sauce

ranch dressing

additional bbq sauce as you like

I topped mine with crushed corn chips and pineapple. Yummy and Easy!!

Taco Salad

Simple, fast, cheap meatless meal!

lettuce

black beans

corn

taco seasoning

cheese

salsa

corn chips

french dressing OR ranch dressing

Mix together, enjoy! :)

Tortellini Caesar Salad

I first had this several years ago and it's my go-to to impress whenever a salad is needed. :) I was hosting a play date lunch and used the leftovers for dinner with some yummy bread!

1 package of (9 ounces) frozen cheese tortellini
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese,
divided
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups torn romaine
1 cup seasoned croutons
halve cherry tomatoes, optional

cook tortellini according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a samll bowl, combine the mayo, milk, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, lemonjuice and garlic; mix well. Drain tortellini and rinse in cold water; place in a large bowl. Add the romaine parmesan. Just before serving, drizzle with dressing and toss to coat. Top with croutons and tomatoes if desired.

And I love my garlic so usually put 5-6 garlic cloves instead, YUM!

Oriental Chicken Salad

Found recipe here - http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/Applebees-Oriental-Chicken-Salad-Recipe.html

I've used this recipe before, and the corn flake covered chicken is really delicious! But to cut back on time, I just used store-bought chicken strips, placed on a bed of lettuce and topped with the yummy dressing, green onions and almonds. It made this amazing salad, amazingly simple.

DRESSING

3 Tbsp honey

1 1/2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar (3 parts white vinegar 1 part water)

1/4 cup mayo

1 tsp dijon mustard

1/8 tsp sesame oil

Blend and refrigerate.

Salad
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup corn flake crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast half
2-4 cups vegetable oil (for frying)
3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup red cabbage
1 cup Napa cabbage
1/2 carrot, julienned or shredded
1 green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
1/3 cup chow mein noodles

1. Preheat oil in deep fryer or deep pan over medium heat.
You want the temperature of the oil to be around 350 degrees.
2. Blend together all ingredients for dressing in a small
bowl with an electric mixer. Put dressing in refrigerator
to chill while you prepare the salad.
3. In a small, shallow bowl beat egg, add milk, and mix well.
4. In another bowl, combine flour with corn flake crumbs, salt
and pepper.
5. Cut chicken breast into 4 or 5 long strips. Dip each strip
of chicken first into egg mixture then into the flour mixture,
coating each piece completely.
6. Fry each chicken finger for 5 minutes or until coating has
darkened to brown.
7. Prepare salad by tossing the chopped romaine with the chopped
red cabbage, Napa cabbage, and carrots.
8. Sprinkle sliced green onion on top of the lettuce.
9. Sprinkle almonds over the salad, then the chow mein noodles.
10. Cut the chicken into small bite-size chunks. Place the
chicken onto the salad forming a pile in the middle. Serve
with salad dressing on the side.

Southwestern Salad

Black beans, corn, and red onion have SO many uses it's unbelievable. There was nothing special to this salad, I served it with baked potatoes so it's another easy, meatless, cheap dinner. However, I will post the dressing I mixed up to serve atop.

Lettuce

Black beans

corn

red onion

monterey jack cheese

cherry tomatoes

Lime Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro (I didn't have so simply left out and it still tasted good atop salad)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1-2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar OR red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp oregano

Black Eyed Pea Salad

I've made this a couple times and it is a great healthy, light, super easy salad. I served it alongside some grilled tuna melts.

I found the recipe here - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/neelys/black-eyed-pea-salad-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

• 1/2 large tomato, diced
• 1/4 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 small red bell pepper, finely chopped (didn't have)
• 1/2 jalapeno, finely chopped (never use)
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onions
• 1 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1/8 cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar
• 1/8 cup canola oil
• 14 teaspoon sugar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (15-ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained

Directions

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the rice wine vinegar, canola oil, sugar, and salt and pepper.

Toss all together and let marinate for at up to 8 hours in the refrigerator before serving. (Again, I've made this and eaten it right away, still great!)

Cranberry Spinach Salad

Found recipe here -

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/jamies-cranberry-spinach-salad/detail.aspx

I wanted a simple, light summer salad for dinner and this worked great. I served with baked potatoes.

• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered
• 1/2 pound spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (I actually didn't have any and it still worked great)
• 1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon minced onion (I used dried onion flakes)
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/8 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook and stir almonds in butter until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and let cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach with the toasted almonds and cranberries.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, white wine vinegar, cider vinegar, and vegetable oil. Toss with spinach just before serving.