Crunchy Cucumber Salad

 CRUNCHY CUCUMBER SALAD

Red Onion chopped

Cucumber halved and peeled and cut In cubes

½ red peppers chopped

Cherry Tomatoes cut

 Dressing

1T white Vinegar

¼ cup Hellmann Mayonnaise

2T sugar

1t season salt

1 ½ t dill minced

 Mix, chill & serve

Southern Cornbread Salad

Jiffy Corn"y" Cornbread

2 boxes Jiffy corn muffin mix

1 cup sour cream

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup melted butter or margarine

1 teaspoon salt.

16 oz. can creamed corn (or if you can find FROZEN creamed corn, it's even better)

1 cup grated sharp Cheddar, optional

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional

Jan's Chicken Salad

Salad
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked & diced
1/2 cup Green Grapes, sliced in half
1/2 cup Red Grapes, sliced in half
Stalk Celery, sliced thin
1/2 cup Chopped Apple, optional...
1 Sweet Onion, minced
1 1/2 teasoon Fresh Tarragon
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Dressing
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 cup Hellmann's Mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice (or Vinegar) to taste
1/2 and 1/2 to thin dressing to desired consistency
1-2 Tablespoons Fresh Dill, chopped
Mix together and toss with Salad.

To toast Almonds

Place ½-3/4c Slivered Almonds into a skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Stir occassionally while allowing them to brown slightly. Watch carefully...do not let them burn.

Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Toss again before serving, adjust seasonings, if needed - at this point, if the dressing is too thick, add a bit of 1/2 and 1/2 to thin. Serve, – topped with Almonds on bread, toast or a croissant...or even on a bed of lettuce.  (Serves 4-6)

Options

To make a complete meal out of the Chicken Salad, add 16 oz cooked Small Pasta Shells.

Smoky Quinoa and Bacon Salad

1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups water
Pinch of kosher or sea salt
8 pieces of bacon
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard
1 teaspoon brown sugar...

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle
1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
1/4 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
OPTIONS: Rosemary, Chives, Green Onions, Parsley, Garlic, Chicken breast cooked and chopped

Instructions

Combine the quinoa, water and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring the water to a boil, and after the water begins to boil, reduce the heat to low and cover the pan.  Gently simmer, covered, for 15 minutes (there may still be some water not yet absorbed). Remove from heat.  Keeping the pan covered, let it stand for 5 minutes, or until the remaining water is absorbed. Remove the lid and gently fluff the quinoa. Set aside to cool.

Crisp the bacon, drain and cut into 1-inch pieces. Set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, brown sugar, smoked paprika, chipotle, salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss together the cooked quinoa, bacon pieces, red onion and parsley. Toss with the dressing and serve at room temperature or chilled.

Southern Potato Salad

5 lb. bag of white potatoes (boiled then peeled and cooled)
1 med. Onion diced
1/2 Green Pepper diced
1 small jar of Pimiento
1/2 cup sweet relish
4 hard -boiled eggs diced
3 Stalks of Celery diced
1 1/2 cup of mayo ( Estelle’s recommends Hellman’s)...

3 T. Yellow Mustard
1 T. Lemon Pepper Seasoning
2 t. Tabasco Hot Sauce
1 t. of Salt
1 t. Black Pepper
1 t. minced Garlic

Instructions

Boil potatos with skin on, when soft drain and chill potato.  Peel potatoes.  Dice Potatoes add rest of ingredients mix together and chill.  You might need to add more mayo depending on how moist you like it.

Strawberry Chicken Salad

4 or 5 large handfuls of mixed greens
5 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
3/4 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 large avocado, chopped...
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 T brown sugar
1/3 cup slivered almonds, sugared (see tips below)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon strawberry jam (a little less if you don't like sweet dressing)
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

See the tip below to make the sugared almonds

Place the greens in a large bowl. Add all of the other ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients. Drizzle in the vinaigrette a little at a time, as desired, and toss (you may not wish to use it all).  Divide among plates and serve immediately.

Tip

To make the sugared almonds: In a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon brown sugar over medium heat until it begins to melt. Add the almonds to the pan and toss rapidly until the sugar coats all of the almonds and the almonds are lightly toasted. Sprinkle with a tiny bit of cayenne pepper, if you'd like to add some spice to them. Pour them out onto a glass dish and separate almonds with a fork. Cool until hardened and break into pieces.

Source: RecipeGirl.com

Panzanella Salad

French Bread (or Italian) cubed 1”
1/4c olive oil
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 green pepper, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped...

Scallion, chopped
1 Can Cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup green olives, sliced
Medium cucumber, peeled, cubed 1”
Fresh Mozzarella, cubed 1”
Shallot, minced
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
Salt & Pepper
2T thinly sliced fresh Basil

Instructions

Toss bread cubes with 1/4c olive oil on baking sheet. Spread out and bake at 375 til golden – 12 to 15 minutes, shaking pan halfway thru to prevent bread from sticking. Remove from oven and cool completely. Bread cubes can be stored in a ZipLoc bag for 1-2 days.)   Mix tomatoes, peppers, scallions, beans, cucumber, garlic, olives and shallot in large bowl. Whisk 1/2c olive oil and vinegar together in small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle dressing over vegetables, toss well and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.  10 minutes before serving add bread & mozzarella cubes to the vegetables and toss well. Sprinkle with Basil. Serve.

Crispy Chopped Salad

8 slices Bacon, cooked to crisp and crumbled
½ cup Olive Oil
4 Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breast halves

Paprika
2 Lemons
1 Shallot, finely chopped
2 small Carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced..
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
1 medium sweet yellow pepper, chopped
½ small red onion, chopped
Romaine Lettuce, chopped
5oz blue cheese, crumbled

Instructions

In large nonstick skillet heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper, and paprika; add to skillet. Cook 8 to 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink (170 degrees F), turning once. Cool slightly; slice.

For Lemon Dressing, finely shred peel from one lemon; squeeze lemons to make 1/3 cup juice. In small bowl whisk together remaining olive oil, lemon juice, shredded peel, and shallot. Season with salt and pepper; set aside. In large bowl combine carrots, zucchini, sweet peppers, onion, and chicken. Toss with dressing. Add blue cheese.  Line salad bowls with romaine and spoon in chicken mixture. Top with bacon. 6 servings

Creamy Cucumber Salad

1 medium red onion, roughly diced
2 medium cucumbers, sliced 1/2 in thick & halved (peeled?)
1/2 green pepper, thinly sliced & cut in 1 in strips
2 large cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
1/2 cup mayonnaise...

1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
4 tablespoons granulated sugar (or 2T honey)
1 teaspoon seasoning salt (or Garlic, Thyme, or any other seasoning)
1 teaspoon dried dill

Instructions

Peel & slice cucumbers in 1/2 in thick slices. Then half ea slice & transfer all slices to a lrg mixing bowl (See note). Roughly dice red onion & add to the bowl. Quarter tomatoes, remove seeds, rough dice the tomato “meat” & add to the bowl. Thinly slice 1/2 green pepper, cut slices in 1 in strips & add to the bowl. Toss prepared “veggies” to achieve a good distributional mix. Add last 6 ingredients to bowl, mix well & refrigerate at least 2 hrs (stirring at least once to redistribute ingredients).

Notes: The cucumber cut is especially important. If thinly sliced, most cucumbers wilt & do not retain their crunch.

— When all ingredients have been combined, the mixture will appear dry & lack a creamy texture or appearance. DO NOT PANIC – After sitting for a while, the dressing will thin out, as the flavors blend.

Corned Beef & Cabbage Salad

(Serves 4-6)

3 cups packaged shredded cabbage with carrot (coleslaw mix)
3 cups baby spinach
1/4 of a small red onion, cut into very thin slivers
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish...

1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds (optional)
2 1/2 cups chopped or shredded cooked corned beef
2 ounces sliced Swiss cheese, torn
Croutons
In a large bowl toss together cabbage, spinach, and onion. For dressing, in a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk, mayonnaise, horseradish, and caraway seeds. Drizzle dressing over greens in bowl; toss to combine. Top with corned beef, cheese, and croutons.

***I make Corned Beef with Cabbage and Potatoes in my Crock-Pot for St Patty's Day and then with the left-over Corned Beef, I make this salad.  It is so good.