Southwest Chicken Salad with Avocado Dressing

I loved this!

Salad
4 cups salad mix
1 cup chicken, cooked and diced
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sweet corn
1/2 cup black beans

Dressing:
1 avocado, ripe
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
6 oz. plain greek yogurt
1/4 tsp. tabasco (opt.)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp. crushed garlic
3 tsp. chopped cilantro
3/4 tsp. kosher salt

Arrange salad. In a food processor add all dressing ingredients. Serve and enjoy. Yield 4.
Recipe courtesy of shurgarysweets.com

Pomegrante Salad

 

 

Pomegranate Salad

 

Spring mix lettuce

Shredded or grilled chicken

Spinach

Low-fat feta Cheese ( I used mozzarella instead)

Carmelized Nuts

Pomegranate seeds

Sliced pears

 

 

Poppy Seed Dressing

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup cider vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped onion

1 cup olive oil

1 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds

a few drops of lemon juice

Mix sugar, mustard, salt, cider vinegar, and onions. Beat oil in gradually until smooth. Stir in poppy seeds. Chill before serving.

 

*recipe and photo courtesy of The Happy Gal

Chicken Poppyseed Salad

Mix together in a bowl:

Spinach leaves
Romaine leaves
Grilled chicken (grill with lemon pepper seasoning)
Red onion (sliced thin)
Crispy Bacon, crumbled
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Toasted almonds (you can sugar the almonds if you want.  Put sliced almonds in a pan with sugar and a little butter.  Cook on medium heat until the sugar and butter coat the almonds and the almonds are slightly browned.)

Dressing:
1 1/3 c sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp dry mustard
2/3 c red wine vinegar
3 tbsp chopped onion
2 c canola oil
2 tbsp poppy seeds

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a blender, then slowly add the oil, blending till thick. Stir in poppy seeds.

Caramel Apple Salad

 

Ingredients

• 4 Large Apples
• 2 Cups Whipping Topping
• Toffee Bits
• Caramel Bits

Instructions

1. Remove the heart of your favorite apples and cut them into cubes.
2. In a medium bowl stir the apples, whipping topping, toffee and caramel bits together.
3. Keep in the fridge until serving.
4. Before you serve, sprinkle the top with some more toffee bits and a bit of melted caramel.
5. Enjoy!

*recipe and photo courtesy of the36avenue.com

Loaded Baked Potato Salad:

4 large russet potatoes
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar
1/4 cup chopped green onions
8 strips thick cut bacon, cooked crisp and chopped
Salt and fresh cracked black pepper

In a medium bowl whisk together the mayonnaise and sour cream until well mixed.  Add 3/4 of the chopped chives along with some salt and pepper.  Whisk to mix. Fold in the cheese and bacon.  Cover and chill for thirty minutes.

 Peel and cube the potatoes into 1/2″ pieces.  Cook the potatoes in salted water until fork tender.  Drain and cool slightly.  Fold the cooked potatoes into the chilled dressing.  Garnish with the remaining chives.  I recommend serving this warm or at room temperature because it’s not as good cold. 

Serves 6-8

The original recipe called for chives but I used green onions and liked it a lot. I also used bacon pieces instead of cooking fresh bacon. I just crisped the bacon bits in the microwave for a few seconds before adding them to the dish. 

Picture & Recipe courtesy of Veronicas Cornucopia

Grilled Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
3 cups grilled chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
6 oz (about 1/2 box) penne pasta, cooked and cooled*
4 cups Romaine lettuce, cut into small pieces
1 cucumber, diced
1/4 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced
2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (we used pre-shredded cheese that you buy in a bag)
1 bottle of your favorite Caesar salad dressing (I used Cardini's)

Directions:
Mix together all ingredients EXCEPT for the dressing. Pour desired amount of dressing on top (we used about half a bottle) and serve immediately (the salad starts to go soggy if you pour the dressing on ahead of time).

Makes 4 large servings.

To make this gluten-free I used some Gluten-Free pasta that I found at Wal-Mart.

Picture and recipe courtesy of http://sixsistersstuff.com

BBQ Chicken Chop Salad

 

Ingredients:

 

3 cups cooked, shredded chicken

2 cups BBQ sauce, storebought or homemade

½ head iceberg lettuce, cored and chopped

2 romaine hearts, chopped

3 to 4 Roma tomatoes, chopped

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained

 1/2 lb monterey jack cheese, grated

 

Marinate chicken in BBQ sauce, then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Chop into pieces and refrigerate until ready to use.  When ready to serve, combine chicken in a large bowl with salad ingredients and toss. Serve with ranch dressing, additional BBQ sauce and crispy corn tortilla strips.

Orange Strawberry Salad

1 package spring mix greens

1 pint strawberries, sliced
1 large orange, cut into small pieces
3 green onions, sliced
1 cup Sliced Almonds
4 TBS butter
4 TBS sugar

To make candied almonds:
Mix almonds, butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until the the butter and sugar turn to a toffee color, stir constantly.

 

 

Orange Dressing

½ tsp grated orange peel, or orange zest
1/3 cup fresh orange juice ( 1 to 2 oranges )
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon “Good Seasons Dry Italian” dressing mix. It is about ½ a package

Put all ingredients in a container and shake- serve.

recipe and photo courtesy of See Jane in the Kitchen

Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

1 (29 ounce) can peach slices, undrained
1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks, undrained
1 (3 1/8 ounce) box dry vanilla instant pudding
1 lb straberries , stemmed and sliced
1 banana sliced
1/2 pint blueberries
1 bunch grapes ( I used red ones)
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)


Directions:

In a larbe bowl combine peaches, pineapple and vanilla pudding mix. This includes the juices from the cans. Mix well until pudding is dissolved. Stir in strawberries, banana, blueberries, grapes, and sugar if desired. Chill

*** After reading all the reviews on this recipe I made a few changes. I did NOT add the sugar. Many reviews said it was already plenty sweet. Also I only used about 1/3 to 1/2 box  of the pudding. Many reviews also said it was too much if you use it all. Finally, this salad has alot of juice and many people felt it wasn't all needed. What I did was drain the juice off the fruit and then add the pudding mix to taste. I then added that sauce over the fruit until it was the consistancy I wanted. Due to all the juice it does get a little mushy as it sits so you will not want to make it too much in advance. I added the banana just before serving.

recipe and photo courtesy of food.com

Jell-O Strawberry Parfait

1 package (3oz) Jello-o brand gelatin, any flavor
1 cup sliced fresh fruit
1 cup thawed Cool Whip whipped topping

DIRECTIONS
Prepare gelatin according to package directions. Chill until slightly thickened. Set aside 1/3 cup. Add fruit to remaining gelatin; spoon into 4 to 5 glasses. Chill glasses at an angle until jello is set.

Meanwhile, fold whipped topping into measured (1/3 cup) gelatin. Spoon topping mixture into glasses of set jello. Chill. Garnish

Crowd-Pleasing Taco Salad

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 medium head iceberg lettuce, torn
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup taco sauce
• 1 package (10-1/2 ounces) corn chips

Directions

• In a large saucepan, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the ketchup, oregano, chili powder, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, olives and beef mixture. Combine mayonnaise and taco sauce; pour over salad and toss to coat. Sprinkle with corn chips. Serve immediately. Yield: 14-16 servings

Recipe from tasteofhome.com

Crunchy Pea Salad

1 pkg frozen peas thawed
1 cup celery
1 cup cauliflower
1/4 cup green onions
1 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup crumbled bacon
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup prepared ranch dressing
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove

Rinse peas in hot water. Drain and combine all vegetables, sunflower seeds, and bacon. Mix sour cream, dressing, mustard and garlic clove. Pour over salad and let chill.

Creamy Berry Goodness

Frozen mixed berries (I used two smaller bags from Walmart)
1 tub Cool Whip
1 large container of vanilla yogurt
1 small package of cheesecake pudding mix

Pour berries into a large bowl. Add the Cool Whip and yogurt and then sprinkle on the pudding mix. Stir together really well until it's all combined and looks pretty. Chill before serving.

 *Recipe and photo courtesy of Becoming Betty

Mozzarella, Tomato and Avocado Salad

Ingredients:

1 container cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 carton fresh mozzarella cheese pearls, drained

1 avocado, peeled and diced

1/3 cup basil, julienned (I used my frozen basil I had on hand, it was perfection)

2 tablespoons fresh parsley

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Baguette - optional

In large bowl combing tomatoes, mozzarella (I couldn't find pearls so I used a fresh block and cut it into small cubes), basil and parsley.

In separate bowl whisk together lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper. Pour over tomato mixture and cover and refrigerate for one hour. Just prior to serving add diced avocado.

Pomegrate Apple Salad

YOU WILL NEED:
4 to 5 Large Granny Smith Apples, or other TART CRISP apple variety
(leave skins on, and slice in small chunks)
2 to 3 large pomegranate berries
1 to 1 1/2 cups GOLDEN Raisins
1 cup Sliced Almonds
1 Cup of Whipped Heavy Cream Whipped stiff & flavored with Vanilla & granulated or Confectioners sugar.

DIRECTIONS:
Mix apples, berries, raisins & almonds together in large size bowl. Whip the cream until firm peaks form – add sugar & vanilla to taste. Mix whipped cream into fruit mixture. Serve immediately, or cover & keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Cracked Pepper Salad Dressing

2 C. Mayo
1/4 C. water
1/4 C. milk
1/4 C. buttermilk
2 T. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 T. coarsely ground black pepper
2 t. finely chopped green onion
1 t. lemon juice
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. garlic salt

In a small bowl, whisk all ingredients until blended. Cover and chill for at least one hour. May be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Makes 2 1/2 cups.

Frozen Berry Fluff

2 cans Raspberry pie filling
1 can sweetened condensed milk
12 oz Cool Whip
Can add 8 oz can crushed pineapple

Mix together and put in a 9x13 pan. Cover and freeze 8 hours of overnight. Let set out a few minutes before serving. Super easy and yummy!

Poppy Seed Chicken Quinoa

The ladies over at Our Best Bites have an amazing post on how to cook quinoa here. Since I can't say it any better then they can, please go there. :)

2 c. cooked quinoa
1/2 bottle of poppy seed dressing
2 c. cut-up cooked chicken
1 c. halved red grapes
3/4 c. thinly sliced celery
1/4 c. slivered almonds

Toss all ingredients together. Add more dressing as needed. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

*Photo from Whole Foods Website

Creamy Cucumber and Tomato Salad

This is a super simple salad that's great for using up some of those extra cucumbers and tomatoes from the garden.

3 medium cucumbers
1 tomato, diced or
a handful of cherry tomatoes halved
1/4 of red onion, diced
1/2 C. Sour cream
2-3 T. of Hidden Valley Ranch mix in the packet
dried dill- to taste

Peel cucumbers, cut in half lenthwise and cut each half lengthwise. Cut out the seeds and chop the cucumbers. Place in medium sized bowl the cucumbers, the chopped tomatoes, the diced onion. In a separate bowl mix sour cream and ranch dressing mix and pour over cucumbers. Add dill to your liking... Serve chilled.

Chicken Berry Almond Salad

I love the Chicken Berry Almond Salad at Wendy's right now and this is a copycat version of it.

1 Pkg Spring Lettuce Mix

12-16 oz. chicken, marinated,grilled and sliced--I like to use the rotisserie chicken from Sam's Club

8 oz. strawberries, sliced

8 oz. blueberries

4 oz. Parmesan Cheese

1 cup sliced, toasted almonds

Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing-- (I used Ken's)

Toss all the salad ingredients in a large serving bowl and add dressing to taste. Enjoy!