salad-recipes Archives |

Cherry Tomato and Cucumber Summer Salad | Recipe

August 12, 2012 By Laura 2 Comments

When it is summertime, I want meals that are as simple and quick to make as possible. If we don’t have a tight schedule that day, then we’ve spent the day involved in some project or other. Especially on weekends, when Michael is home too. Usually it’s been it’s blazing hot out all day too, being summertime and all. And let’s face it, the heat and humidity really has a way of draining anyone’s energy and ambition that much more.

That’s exactly how I happened to come up with this simplest of salads. Dinner was not even planned, never mind started! Michael threw some steaks on the grill, and I just grabbed the vegetables we brought in from the garden that day, off of the counter, and threw together a cold side dish. I was not going for anything grand. And anyway, my kids pop cherry tomatoes in their mouth off of the vine, and they love cucumber spears, with or without a dash of pepper.

The big surprise was that it was far more delicious than I had even begun to anticipate, and it was the talk of dinnertime too.

Long term, it’s a fabulous dish for the whole family to love this much for another reason:
We need to have a variety of options, to use the abundance of certain vegetables we get out of our garden almost daily, in the summertime.

Here’s one day’s picking, carried in my skirt.

It’s likely that the next day will harvest about same amount, ready for picking, again.
Especially given that Olivia has her own garden this year, too, and is also growing cherry tomatoes.

She’s growing the cucumbers alone, but she shares with her siblings at lunch sometimes, or for a snack, and she’s happy to offer one for our dinner anytime, as well.

Those 2 vegetables, were the simple main staples for this recipe:

Quartered Cherry Tomatoes.
Cucumber, quartered the long way, and then chopped.

TIP: I always stripe my cucumbers with the peeler. It makes them a littler fancier looking, and even more enjoyable.

Throw in a dash of kosher salt, and drizzle all over with Balsamic Vinegar Salad Dressing. We also add black pepper, because we love it, and put it on just about everything. The dressing, as opposed to straight up balsamic vinegar, has all kinds of little bits of seasoning goodness already in it. Give it a quick toss. I like to let it marinate just like that for a few minutes.

When it’s time for dinner, I throw some shredded mozzarella cheese on top.

It’s done. Does it sound plain, to you? Well I’ll tell you what . . . . . .

It’s simple all right, but it’s sure not plain tasting! The tang of the Balsamic Vinegar Dressing, really brings out the sweetness of the cherry tomatoes. The combination of the two compliments each other so well. The fresh cucumber, and the soft and subtle flavor of the cheese adds a new texture, and another surprise taste.

We have also used this salad, rolled up in a tortilla, with grilled chopped chicken. Also simple, quick, and delicious.

This is what summer tastes like.

It’s that simple.

What is your simplest summer dish?

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7 Layer Salad, with Sides – Summer Light & Just Right | Recipe

July 18, 2011 By Laura 3 Comments

If you live in a climate where summers can be hot & humid, than you probably have days like me when you can’t even think of cooking dinner, in a hot kitchen. You’re looking for a meal that is cool, light, and delicious. We probably all have our regular stand-bys, but I just discovered a new favorite, and I’m here to share it with you!

One of the best parts of having link-up party on Tuesdays, has not only been the simple home decor or craft ideas, but the recipes shared! This ‘7 Layer Salad’ was a link-up, and I thought it was so enticing, we made it right away, and then featured it! > Because our whole family loved it! As I said in the feature, even the kids were ‘scoffin’ & commentin’ through the whole meal, and were thrilled to have leftovers the next night. (Honestly, they cheered.)

7-seven-layer-salad-recipe I think the name alone, 7 Layer Salad, is FUN, and sound enticing. And the great thing is, if you don’t care for one of the ingredients/layers, you can substitute it with something you prefer, and still call it 7 Layer Salad! But we made it just like the recipe called for, and it was a hit in our mouths, and our bellies.

Here’s the recipe, layer-by-cool & easy-layer:

7-seven-layer-salad-recipe-1 7 Layer Salad

*In order that ingredients are put into the bowl, building bottom to top:

6 cups fresh, washed Spinach
2 cups Grape Tomatoes, halved (Cherry Tomatoes would work too.)
1 cup Red Onion, chopped
1-1/4 cup frozen Peas, thawed & drained
1 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
6 slices Bacon, cooked & chopped*
3 Hard-Boiled Eggs, quartered or sliced

* Use microwavable bacon! Remember, we not cooking tonight! ; )

Then, I added a few perfect sides, still keeping the meal cool & light:

Some fresh and cold rolled-up Turkey meat & Apple slices.

Serve with a tall glass of cold lemonade, and you have yourself a perfect and light summer meal! Lunch or dinner!

(OK, that particular glass in the photo, happened to be my Mike’s Hard Lemonade. But, you know, can do Country Time if you’d like!)

As a salad dressing, consider Balsamic Vinegar, or a Raspberry Vinaigrette. My kids love both, but yours may prefer their regular favorite.

As if this meal wasn’t perfect enough to me, I added my favorite topping. Most every salad is ‘betta, with Feta’.

Scrum-de-licious!

Of course, you have the option of swapping out any ingredient layer you don’t care for, and swapping in one you do!
What changes might you make to your layer salad?

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Waldorf Salad | Recipe

December 6, 2009 By Laura 2 Comments

You may or may not have heard of Waldorf Salad. My mother made it all of the time growing up, and I always thought it was a rather odd concoction. But I loved it! So did my brothers and sister, as much as I recall. And now, my kids love it too. Big hit. So simple. No measuring really needed. No cooking!
*Update: One of my kiddo’s food allergies expanded from just peanuts, to tree nuts too. So we can’t make this at home anymore.
But you can! And you really should.

Participating ingredients: apples, walnuts, raisins, mayonnaise.

How much you use of any of it, is a preference, and all in consideration of how much you are making, and so how many apples you use. We used 4 apples and fed 7+ (Some had seconds.)

So chop up some walnuts. (We were lucky to finally find walnuts not possibly contaminated by peanuts processed in the same manufacturing facility.)

We have this handy chopper. Can’t say it chops very consistently sized pieces though. It’s literally hit or miss every time. It turns as it chops, but still. We usually don’t care though, whether some pieces are bigger than others.

Peel the apples, core and slice them. Surely you all have the handy device above, to get the 2 latter tasks done in 1 shot.

Cut up the apples into bite sized pieces.

Put apples into a big bowl, add chopped walnuts, and add a handful or so of raisins too.

Adding some chopped celery is another great option.

Add a plop of mayonnaise, one plop at a time, and mix, until it is the desired amount you want.

It’s a sweet, delicious side-dish, chilled or not.

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