Salad - ingredient/veggies combination ideas + dressings

I don't use bottled/premade salad dressings. I combine oil (usually olive oil, but sometimes sesame oil, depending on the flavor profile I'm going with) and an acidic component (balsamic vinegar, white balsamic, red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice, etc.) and whatever spices or herbs appeal in the moment. I do this fresh each time I make a salad. Sometimes I mixed them in a cup before putting them on the salad, especially if I'm making a salad for multiple people or if I don't plan to toss the ingredients, but most of the time I just add the dressing ingredients right on my salad and mix them in the bowl.

Grains and greens salads are a nice way to add some variety. Combine your salad greens with cooled (anywhere from warm but not hot to pulled from the refrigerator for 10 minutes or so) grains, such as bulgur, rice, quinoa, farro, couscous or other pastas, add whatever veggies you like (I tend to go for tomatoes, bell peppers, and avocados, add your dressing, and enjoy.

One combination that I've been making for decades is a bed of romaine topped with cooled couscous, chickpeas, and cremini (baby portabella) mushrooms (although you could use any kind of mushrooms you like), with a dressing of lemon juice and olive oil, with plenty of black pepper. It actually makes a fairly hearty vegan-friendly "dinner salad" (main dish), although I think some grilled chicken or even sliced steak would be tasty if you want to add it.

Salads are a great way to use dinner leftovers like meat and poultry, and to me it tastes better than deli meat. It's also a great way to repurpose leftover dinner veggies, like boiled or grilled new potatoes, green beans, or brussels sprouts. Toss the leftovers with some canned tuna (or leftover grilled tuna steak, if such a thing exists), ripe olives, maybe a little onion or shallot, greens and/or grains of your choice, oil and vinegar, and you've got a nicoise-stlyle salad.