Salads

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belldandy1
belldandy1 Posts: 264 Member
in Recipes
I love salads, but I have grown tired of the ones i usually make. Does anyone have some good salad recipes?

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  • sweetbn
    sweetbn Posts: 318
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    I will be interested to see the responses.

    It really depends what mood I am in... if I am feeling salty I will through in a few banana pepper rings and green peppers and maybe a few peanuts... If I feel like a sweet salad I will use strawberries and pecans and mandarin oranges... or maybe even a combination of everything if that is what I am feeling. Plus switching dressings helps. I am currently into Kraft Three Cheese Reduced Fat ranch... 70 calories per serving but DEFINITELY worth every one of them. :)
  • sweetscorpio17
    sweetscorpio17 Posts: 47 Member
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    I buy the "Eating Right Poppy Seed Dressing." It makes everything amazing. I typically slice up mango, spinach and a little blue cheese and put the dressing on top. :)
  • Barneystinson
    Barneystinson Posts: 1,357 Member
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    Most of my recipes are spur of the moment, but I’ll give some suggestions for building quick, tasty salads. Keep a handful of ready-to-go ingredients around the kitchen. Most of the time I try to make “mock-ups” of my favorite restaurant salads. Nicoise, chef, sesame/Asian chicken inspired, Cobb, Greek, Southwest, taco…all good choices. If I have more time I’ll post some recipes.

    Meat suggestions:
    Canned white albacore tuna
    Grilled or sautéed ahi tuna (sauté it lightly, so the center is still pink), slice thin – best eaten right after cooking
    Flank steak, grilled or broiled and sliced thin – best eaten right after cooking
    Grilled chicken (cook in advance, slice and keep in fridge)
    Shrimp – I like the cooked, frozen variety. Just thaw them as you need them.
    Salmon – smoked, canned, freshly cooked and sliced.
    Taco-style ground beef or turkey
    Pepperoni, salami, cured meats etc.
    Deli meats (good for chef salad)
    Crab, other seafoods

    Cheese suggestions:
    Feta crumbles
    Bleu crumbles
    Shredded mozzarella / cheddar / pepper jack / etc.
    Parmesan / romano

    Garnishes:
    Bacon (cook in advance, crumble, and keep in the fridge)
    Hardboiled eggs
    Pine nuts (lightly brown in saucepan, cool, and store)
    Nuts - Sliced almonds, pecans, walnuts
    Seeds – sesame, sunflower, pepitas
    Capers
    Olives
    Sundried tomatoes
    Shredded carrots
    Radishes
    Cukes
    Tomatoes
    Sprouts / mung beans
    Red peppers – fresh or roasted
    Salsas, relishes
    Pepperoncini peppers
    Nappa cabbage
    Fruit – apples, strawberries, mandarin oranges

    Dressing suggestions:
    EVOO
    Dijon (or other) mustards
    Salt / fresh pepper
    Vinegars
    Spices – blends are good, garlic is a must
    Salsas, hot sauces
    Cream-based dressings – you can make these at home, typically with mayo, sour cream, buttermilk, spices, etc.

    For a “thick” tasting Italian vinaigrette, use EVOO, balsamic vinegar, a hint of sugar or sweetener, 1 clove of garlic, 2 tsp Italian spices – toss it in a bullet blender and emulsify it – makes it thick-like. It’s really good.
  • dansdeb
    dansdeb Posts: 164
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    Instead of regular dressings I will sometimes use salsa, with ground beef - like a taco salad without the taco. I have crumbled up a few taco or dorito chips and put on top. also for a low fat dressing I'll put one cup of lowfat cottage cheese and 1/2 package of ranch dressing powder. mix in the blender - makes a good veggie dip and if you want to use it for salad dressing just add a little water until the consistency is what you like

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