Simple Glazed Fruit Salad

This is a very simple fruit salad, by no means is it gourmet, but I like it because it adds a pretty, sweet glaze to the fruit. I love making this in the summer when the strawberries are in season!

Simple Glazed Fruit Salad

1 pint strawberries, rinsed and cut in half
2 banans, sliced
1 large orange, cut in cubes
2 cups green grapes
1 small box vanilla instant pudding
milk

Toss all fruit together in a large bowl. Sprinkle about 2/3 of the package of instant pudding over the fruit, pour about 1/2 a cup of milk over fruit. Toss gently until the milk and pudding combine to make a nice glaze. Add more milk if necessary. You can use all kinds of fruits and puddings, I tried coconut pudding once and it was yummy too.

Individual Turkey Taco Layered Salads

This is a yummy recipe I found on the Betty Crocker website. I love it because I can make four individual salads, two my husband and I can have for the dinner, and the other ones I can send with him for lunches. The french dressing, salsa, and cilantro make a great dressing. You can also substitute Fritos for the tortilla chips.


Individual Turkey Taco Layered Salads

Dressing:
1/2 c. Pace medium salsa
1/2 c. french dressing
2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

Salads:
6 cups chopped Romaine lettuce
3 medium green onions, chopped
2 c. diced turkey (I asked the deli counter for 6 extra thick slices of turkey and then I chopped it)
1 can sweet corn, drained
1 large tomato, chopped
2 c. chopped or shredded cheese
2 c. broken tortilla chips.

In small bowl mix dressing ingredients.

For each salad use a 4 or 5 cup container. In each container layer ingredients in this order: 1 1/2 c. lettuce, 1 Tbs. onions, 1/2 c. turkey, 1/4 c. corn, 1/4 c. tomatoes, 1/4 c. dressing and 1/2 c. cheese. Place a small piece of wax paper over the salad and sprinkle on 1/2 c. of the broken tortilla chips. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours or can be tossed and served immediately.

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

I LOVE Caesar salad, in fact, it's the only salad I ever eat. I found this recipe on the Kraft foods website and I just loved the presentation so much I wanted to try it. It was delicious! The best Caesar salad I've ever made. I love marinating the chicken in the Caesar dressing, it gave it so much flavor, and cutting into bite size pieces really shortens the grilling time. I would highly recommend using Ciabatta bread with this recipe.

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
Caesar dressing (I love the Girard's Light Caesar)
1 head Romaine lettuce
Ciabatta or french bread
Grated Parmesan (not the powdered stuff)
Bamboo skewers (about 8)

Place your chicken pieces in a gallon sized ziploc bag. Add enough dressing to coat chicken, place in refrigerator and let marinate for 30 minutes. Place skewers in water to soak to prevent burning. Let soak for 30 minutes while meat is marinating.
Preheat grill to medium/low heat.
Thread about 6-8 pieces of chicken onto each skewer.
Slice bread into 1" thick slices, brush with melted butter or olive oil.
Oil grill.
Place chicken on grill and cook until done, turning once. On my grill it took about 5 minutes on each side, but if your grill tends to be hot it may only take 3-4 minutes, watch carefully to prevent burning. When chicken is almost done, add bread slices and toast on each side. Remove bread and chicken from grill and set aside.
Wash and cut lettuce, place in large bowl and coat lightly with Caesar dressing. Place bread slices around perimeter and lay chicken sticks on top of lettuce. Sprinkle liberally with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Greek Isles Pasta Salad

I needed to make a pasta salad for a church get together and I wanted something different. I found this recipe and thought it looked so good, my husband was so proud of me for putting spinach in it!

Greek Isles Pasta Salad


3 c. farfalle (bow-tie) pasta uncooked
2 c. baby spinach leaves
1 c. crumbled feta cheese (I don't like feta so I used cubed Monterey Jack)
1 small container cherry tomatoes, halved
1 c. drained and rinsed chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1/2 c. Kraft Greek Vinaigrette (or more to taste)

Cook pasta according to directions, al dente. Drain and rinse with cool water, place in large bowl. Add spinach leaves, cheese, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas and dressing. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Chicken Salad

Thank you Pioneer Woman for this recipe! I've tried lots of chicken salad recipes and this one is my favorite. There are so many flavor combinations in here that make it good. I added the dill called for in the recipe, but I think next time I'll try a little fresh basil and parsley (I love that combo) instead.

Chicken Salad

2 c. cooked and chopped chicken (I bought a small roasted chicken and took it off of that, it tasted great and saved time!)
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 1/2 c. grapes, cut in half
1 Tbs. fresh dill, minced or herb of your choice
1/2 c. mayo
1/2 c. sour cream (plain yogurt can be used too)
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. lemon juice
Kosher salt
black pepper

Chop all of the fruit and veggies and place in bowl with chicken.
In another bowl stir together mayo, sour cream, lemon juice, brown sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. When the dressing tastes right (must taste for appropriate saltiness!) pour it over the chicken mixture and stir gently until well combined. Allow the salad to chill for several hours and serve over lettuce, in a croissant, pita pocket, on bread slices, etc..... :)

Sweet Coleslaw

This is a very basic and simple coleslaw. I am really trying to branch out and make vegetable dishes :) Most everyone liked it, I would encourage you to add a little sugar at a time until you attain your perfect level of sweetness because the whole amount called for in this recipe may be too sweet for some. I took out about a cup of the prepared coleslaw mix and added in about a cup of chopped red cabbage to add some color.

1 16oz. bag coleslaw mix
2 Tbs. diced onion
2/3 c. Miracle Whip or Mayo
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/2 c. white sugar (start with 1/4 c. and add a little more at a time to suit your taste)
1 Tbs. white vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp poppy seeds

Combine the coleslaw mix and the onion in a bowl. Whisk together remaining ingredients, pour over coleslaw and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate two hours before serving.

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

This is a great combination of a classic Caesar and a pasta salad. It tastes so fresh with the basil, green onions, and parsley, I love it! I used light dressing and whole wheat pasta to make it even healthier. I always get lots of compliments whenever I make this.

3 c. cooked al dente Penne Pasta
2 grilled boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced
2 c. shredded Romaine lettuce
1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
1/4 c. chopped green onions
1 Tbs. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
Caesar (or Ranch works fine too) dressing to taste (my favorite is Girard's light Caesar dressing)
Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over when ready to serve

Combine all ingredients and chill for 1 hour. Enjoy!