Grilled Chicken and Berry Salad

We made this last week, super yummy. The dressing makes over 2 cups, and we had to toss a lot of it because it only lasts 5-7 days (or as long as the berries would last). So maybe halve it or share.

Grilled Chicken & Berry Salad
Recipe by Our Best Bites, Inspired by the Pigtailed Red-Head of Hamburger Fame

1/2 head Romaine lettuce, washed and chopped into bite-sized pieces
6-8 oz. baby spinach
12-16 oz. chicken, marinated, grilled, and sliced*
8 oz. strawberries, sliced
8 oz. blueberries
4 oz. crumbled Feta or shredded fresh Parmesan cheese
1 c. sliced almonds, toasted
Berry Poppy Seed Dressing to taste

For serving a large crowd, toss all the salad ingredients in a large serving bowl and add dressing to taste. For individual servings, arrange ingredients on plates and serve the dressing on the side. Makes about 8 side dish servings and 4 main dish servings.

Berry Poppy Seed Vinaigrette
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/2 c. white wine vinegar
1/2 c. honey (or sugar)
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 tsp. kosher or other coarse salt
About 10 cracks of freshly ground black pepper
1 c. raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries
2/3 c. canola oil
1 1/2 tsp. poppy seeds

Combine the vinegar, honey, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and berries in the jar of a blender. Blend until smooth and then, with the blender running, add the oil in a steady stream. Turn off the blender and whisk in the poppy seeds. If possible, refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Hazelnut Encrusted Salmon

Hazelnut-Encrusted Salmon (adapted from the Whole Food Bible)
Makes 4 Servings
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley (flat leaf)
1 T. grated lemon zest (if you have access to a Meyer, use it!)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
4 skinless salmon fillets, 6 ounces each
2 T. olive oil
4 cups mixed organic baby greens or one large head of organic, red lettuce
Lemon wedges
Grind the hazelnuts in a food processor-do not over grind and turn into a
paste (if you don’t own one, use a hammer and a small, freezer Ziploc bag–works great!). Mix the hazelnuts, parsley, lemon zest, salt, and pepper on a plate.
Dry the salmon; dredge the fillets on both sides in the nut mixture.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the salmon and cook
for about 5 minutes on each side, making sure that the salmon is cooked
through (if you don’t like the smell of fish in your home, cook your salmon in a cast iron skillet right on your gas or charcoal grill).
Toss the greens/lettuce with the house dressing below and then place a handful of greens on each plate. Transfer the hot salmon fillets on top. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve immediately. Fish is best when it’s nice n’ hot!
Our “House” Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (Maille is best but Grey Poupon works well too)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
pinch sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Mix and shake well before tossing lightly on greens (sippy cups or small mason jars work well for this step). Add a little bit at a time to avoid overdressing.
Enjoy!

I found this one on cafe zupas via stephmodo.com

Southwest chicken salad

This was a great way to use leftover rotisserie chicken. We served this in pitas with guacamole (see recipe below) and lettuce. Spencer and I thought it was yummy, but maybe a little sweet, so I plan to halve the honey next time.

2 cups cubed rotisserie chicken
1 can corn, drained
1/2 c. chopped red peppers (optional: roast them)
1/2 c. chopped red onion
1/2 c. minced fresh cilantro
Dressing:
3 T. fresh lime juice
3 T. olive oil
4 t. honey
2 t. ground cumin
1 t. salt
1 t. chili powder
1/2 tsp. coarsely ground pepper

Combine the first five ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk the dressing ingredients in a small bowl, pour over the chicken mixture and toss to coat. Refrigerate until serving. Serve over salad greens. Optional: Line pita halves with lettuce leaves, fill with chicken salad. OR Place chicken salad off center on tortilla, top with avocado, roll up (wrap).

Deli-style pasta salad

This is the salad I made for Spencer's birthday; also I will be bringing it to the TO ward activity 5/30.
Pasta salad
12 oz pkg corkscrew pasta, cook and rinse
6 oz sliced, cubed provolone
6 oz sliced, cubed Genoa salami
1 sm zucchini, thinly sliced
1 sm red onion, thinly sliced rings
1/2 c. chopped green peper
1 3 oz can sliced olives
1/4 c. shredded parmesan
1/4 c. snipped parsley
Combine above in a large bowl.
Dressing
1/2 c. olive oil
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
1 1/2 t. dry mustard
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried basil
1 clove minced garlic.
Combine above; whisk well. Pour over salad, toss lightly. Cover and chill 4 hours or overnight.

Orange and Almond Salad

This is one of our favorite salads!

1 head romaine lettuce or leafy green lettuce
4 navel oranges
¼ cut sliver almonds (toasted if you like, I usually just add them raw)
1 T chopped fresh or dried tarragon
2 T honey
2 T vinegar
4 T olive oil
Juice from ½ of a orange
A bash a Salt

Arrange chopped lettuce on a platter. 3 ½ oranges trim a slice of skin from the top and bottom of the orange down to the flesh. Stand the orange up right and cut off the remaining peel, working from top to bottom around the orange. Cut orange in half lengthwise and slice into half-moon shapes. Add oranges and almonds to lettuce.

In small bowl combined, honey, vinegar, orange juice, salt, tarragon with a whisk. Stream olive oil while continuing to whisk well. Pour the dressing evenly over the entire salad and serve.

Asian Noodle Salad

SALAD INGREDIENTS:

1 packages linguine noodles, cooked, rinsed, and cooled

1/2 to 1 head sliced Napa cabbage
1/2 to 1 head sliced purple cabbage
1/2 to 1 bag baby spinach
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thin
1 orange bell pepper, sliced thin (if available)
1 small bag bean sprouts (also called “mung bean sprouts”)
3 sliced scallions
3 peeled, sliced cucumbers (I didn’t have a cucumber for the photos above, but they’re yummy in the salad)
LOTS of chopped cilantro—up to one bunch
1 can whole cashews, lightly toasted in skillet (again, I didn’t have them for the photos, but have used them before and they’re…sublime.)

DRESSING:

Juice of 1 lime
8 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 hot peppers or jalapenos, chopped
More chopped cilantro—LOTS

Mix together salad ingredients. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Mix with tongs or hands and serve on platter.
*Dressing keeps up to three days before serving, WITHOUT cilantro.

THAI PEANUT SAUCE:

1 Tbsp minced garlic*
2Tbsp minced cilantro*
1 Tbsp minced mint*
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 to 1 Tbsp red pepper flakes (start conservatively)
~1/3 cup peanut butter (chunky is great, but smooth is fine too)
1-2 Tbsp oriental fish sauce (start conservatively)
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp honey, plus extra as needed
up to 1/2 pint cream

• Combine all ingredients except honey and cream.
• Add honey and cream (start with 1/4 pint) to taste, to cut the saltiness, and reach desired texture.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups of sauce

Can be made a day or two ahead of time.

*For quick mincing, put garlic, cilantro and mint in a food processor (basil also works well as a substitute or as an addition)

NOTE:I found the salad recipe on thepioneerwomancooks.com and really, really liked it. I added grilled chicken and served it with a Thai Peanut Sauce and made it a main dish salad. It makes a huge batch, so I would consider making it for a gathering, or else splitting some of the ingredients with someone.

Cranberry Almond Salad

Romaine lettuce
Spinach leaves
Iceberg lettuce (not as much as the other two)
½-1 lb. bacon cooked and crumbled
grilled chicken breasts, cut up
8 oz. slivered or slicedalmonds, sugared and browned in 4 T. brown sugar
½ to ¾ c. craisins
½ -3/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ c. shredded fresh parmesan cheese

dressing:
¼-1/2 red onion
½ c. sugar
1 t. dry mustard
½ t. salt
¼ c. red wine vinegar
½ c. oil

For salad: mix all ingredients together in large bowl. Just before serving add the parmesan cheese and the dressing. Toss and serve.

For dressing: mix onion and vinegar in blender. Add dry mustard, sugar, salt, and slowly add oil. Blend until completely mixed and mixture gets frothy. Refrigerate until ready to serve (fun note: dressing is pink).

*Notes: bacon and chicken are optional. Other things you could add are sliced fresh strawberries

Curried Chicken Salad

salad:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2 tablesp. kosher salt
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 firm but ripe mango, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup red, seedless grapes, halved

dressing:
1/2 cup mayo
1/3 cup plain yogurt
3 tsp. curry powder (you can increase or decrease this)
1 Tablesp. fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teasp. ground ginger
1/2 teasp. salt
1/4 teasp. freshly ground pepper

Coat chicken with kosher salt, then poach in a 3-4 quart saucepan of barely simmering well salted water, uncovered for 6 minutes. Remove from heat an dlet chicken stand in cooking liquid covered, until just cooked though, 10-12 minutes. Cut chicken into 1/2 inch pieces and add to dressing. Add onion, mango, grapes, cashers and stir gently to combine.

I have also used pinapple instead of mangos. We've eaten this inside of pita pockets.

Black Bean and Couscous Salad

This makes a pretty large batch.

1 c uncooked couscous
1 ¼ c chicken broth
3 T olive oil
2 T fresh lime juice
1 t red wine vinegar
½ t cumin
8 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
¼ c chopped cilantro
1 c corn kernels
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring broth to a boil; stir in couscous. Cover pot and remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and cumin. Add green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn and beans. Toss to coat. Fluff couscous well, breaking up any chunks. Add to bowl and stir well. Season and refrigerate. Best if left overnight.

Fruity Curry Chicken Salad

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cooked and diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 Golden Delicious apple - peeled, cored and diced
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 1/3 cup seedless green grapes, halved
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 3/4 cup light mayonnaise

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl combine the chicken, celery, onion, apple, raisins, grapes, pecans, pepper, curry powder and mayonnaise. Mix all together. Serve!