Category Archives: Salads

Peanut Sauce

27 Monday Jan 2020

Posted by in Comfort Food, Quick and Easy, Salads, Sauces, Talking Food

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This peanut sauce is so delicious on Asian style salads, chicken or eaten out of the jar with a spoon. I don’t always have everything called for, but no matter what combination of ingredients I use it is always so good. I usually use fresh garlic and ginger in recipes, but by adding garlic powder and ginger powder this keeps in my refrigerator much longer.

  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/4 to 1/2 tsp ginger powder
  • 1/4 to 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce (or regular)
  • 2 tsp sriracha or Thai sweet chili sauce
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp packed light-brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp honey
  • 1 Tbsp sesame oil
  • 4 – 6 Tbsp hot water (just enough for the consistency desired)

Blend everything in a blender or with a stick blender until smooth. I store it in jar in the refrigerator until needed. Can be served cold or slightly warm.

Cherry Pie Jello

11 Tuesday Jun 2019

Posted by in Jello, Nostalgia, Salads, Side Dishes, Summer

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Ingredients-

  • 1 large 6 oz box cherry Jello
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 1- 21 oz can cherry pie filling
  • 1- 20 oz can crushed pineapple (not drained)
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 small 3.4 oz box instant vanilla pudding

Method-

  • Boil the water. While water is heating up, pour the large box of Jello into a 9×13 pan.
  • Pour the 2 cups of boiling water over the jello in the dish. Using a whisk, slowly mix the jello and water together until all of the Jello is dissolved. Make sure to scrape up all of the Jello off the bottom of the dish.
  • Pour the contents of the can of pineapple and the can of cherry pie filling into the pan with the Jello and water. Mix with large spoon.
  • Place pan into refrigerator. Let set up for about 2 hours. It’s usually set after 1- 1 1/2 hours.
  • Whip the cream in a large bowl until stiff, set aside.In another bowl, whisk together 1 cup of milk and the box of pudding. Fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream. Spread the whipped cream mixture over the set-up Jello mixture in the pan. Serve immediately, or return to fridge until ready to serve.

Southwest Pasta Salad

21 Wednesday Sep 2016

Posted by in Lunch, Main Dishes, Pasta, Salads

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Today I was looking for a yummy pasta salad to go with Lindsey’s Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches. It is so yummy!

Ingredients-

  • 2 cups mini pasta (measured when dry, I used shells but it would be great with mini bow tie pasta)
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 1 cup black beans
  • 3/4 cup assorted sweet bell peppers*
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/4 cup red onion, (optional)
  • 1/4 cup packed cilantro (~1/3 a bunch), finely chopped
Dressing
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 5 tablespoons squeezed fresh lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon white sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Method-

  1. Cook the pasta according to package direction. Add in the frozen corn about 1-2 minutes before the pasta is done.
  2. Drain the pasta and rinse it with cold water.
  3. Darin and rinse the black beans. Chop the peppers, I used 1/2 of a green pepper and 1/2 of a red pepper because that is what I had. Halve the cherry tomatoes. I seeded and chopped up two tomatoes because we were out of cherry tomatoes.
  4. Finely chop up the red onion and cilantro.
  5. Stir together the pasta, corn, black beans, sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes, onion, and cilantro.
  6. In a resealable jar, combine all of the dressing ingredients. Shake until combined. Pour the dressing over the pasta and vegetables. Stir to combine. (You may not want to use all the dressing – so add it slowly. I used about half and saved the rest because i know it will need to be freshened up tomorrow. Anyway, it would be good on a green salad, too).
  7. To make ahead: mix all the ingredients and the dressing separate. Store in airtight containers in the fridge and then combine when ready to eat.

Greek Panzanella

05 Monday Oct 2015

Posted by in Salads

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From Aunt Laura Carruth– Whenever I show up somewhere with this salad everyone wants the recipe.

Olive oil
1 small French bread cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt
1 English cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and cubed
1 red bell pepper, large diced
1 yellow bell pepper, large diced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved  (i just threw in a handful or two)
1/2 red onion, sliced in half rounds(i used like 1/4 of an onion)
1/2 pound feta cheese, cut in 1/2-inch cubes (i didn’t use that much,
i just got the already crumbled in a little container)
1/2 cup calamata olives, pitted

For the vinaigrette:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup good red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
Directions
Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread cubes
and sprinkle with salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing
frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Add more olive
oil as needed.
Place the cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, tomatoes and red onion
in a large bowl.
For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard,
vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper in a small bowl. While still
whisking, add the olive oil and make an emulsion. (i just put mine in
the blender)  Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta,
olives and bread cubes and mix together lightly. Set aside for 30
minutes for the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.

Tri-color Orzo Salad

05 Monday Oct 2015

Posted by in Pasta, Salads

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This salad recipe is from “Aunt” Laura.

1 pound orzo pasta
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil, plus another 1/4 cup
2 cups fresh arugula, about 3 ounces (I usually use more than that, maybe 3 or 4 cups, and I use baby spinach or even a spring mix, whatever I have or is easy to find)
3/4 cup crumbled ricotta salata cheese (I use feta cheese)
1/2 cup dried cherries (I just use craisins and I always put in more than a half cup more like a whole cup)
12 fresh basil leaves, cut up small
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (I used walnuts, but I’ve used pine nuts
before too, and I usually just dump them in until I think there is
enough, so probably more than 1/4 c.)
4Tbs Fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Bring a large pot of salted (must be generously salted) water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8-10 minutes. Drain water. Add 2 tbs of olive oil and mix. Then spread out on a large cookie sheet to cool.

In small bowl whisk remaining olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper together.

I usually make this salad in the morning, and add the orzo, half of the lemon dressing mix, the craisins, basil, mix it all. Then I chop up the nuts, feta and spinach and put them on the top but don’t stir them in. Before serving I stir in the rest of the ingredients and add the rest of the dressing. I do it like this because the craisins kind of soak up some of the dressing and get plump and the basil kind of flavors everything but I don’t want the spinach and walnuts getting soggy.

THEN, I usually add a couple of spoonfuls of my Balsamic BBQ sauce, but if you don’t add it the salad is still good.

*** We usually have this along with BBQ Chicken or Steak that I use a Balsamic BBQ sauce on, and most of the time I put some of the sauce from the meat on the salad. The salad I brought to your house had probably 3 Tbs of this sauce on it.  I think the salad tastes better with it, but it’s really good without it too.

Red, White and Blue Potato Salad

14 Monday Sep 2015

Posted by in Salads, Side Dishes

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This past weekend we were in Washington for Megan’s wedding. After the ceremony we had a fabulous dinner! Best wedding food ever! Megan and Tyler hired a guy who has a BBQ food truck. Only it’s not really a truck, it’s a really awesome trailer. It was real Texas barbecue and the sides were the best ever. We all really liked the Red, White and Blue potato salad. I spent a little time on the internet searching for a recipe and this one sounds like it might come close.

Ingredients-

  • 2 lbs very small red potatoes
  • 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
  • 1 package of bacon cooked to a crisp and roughly chopped
  • 5 ounces of blue cheese
  • ½ cup chopped green onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder

Method-

  1. Bring a large pot of water to boil over medium heat.
  2. Chop the red potatoes into 1 inch cubes, place into the boiling water, add in the sea salt. Boil for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
  3. Remove the pot from the heat and pour the potatoes into a strainer to drain out all the water.  Allow to potatoes to cool to room temperature. Once cooled add the bacon, cheese, green onion and celery.
  4. In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, salt, and onion powder. Stir to combine. Add to the potatoes and stir until completely coated.
  5. Serve immediately and enjoy!
  6. Can be stored in refrigerator in a sealed container, you may need to add more mayonnaise mixture to the salad as it will soak into the potatoes over time.

Southwest Cornbread Layered Salad

22 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by in Salads

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I LOVE this salad!
Ingredients-
1 (6-8 ounce) package cornbread mix, cooked according to package instructions and cooled (or my favorite recipe of cornbread)
2 cups mayonnaise
3 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-3 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro, optional
1/2 head torn iceberg lettuce or 2 heads Romaine lettuce chopped (or you can substitute a bag of torn lettuce)
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 (14-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
6 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 cups shredded cheese (Colby jack, Mexican blend, or cheddar)
Method-
Cut cornbread into one inch cubes; set aside.  Stir together the mayonnaise, chili powder, salt, and chopped cilantro.  In a 4-quart glass bowl or trifle dish ( I have made this in a 9X13 baking dish, too), place half of the lettuce, then sprinkle with half of the cornbread crumbs.  Spread half of the mayonnaise mixture on the cornbread layer.  Layer half each of the corn, black beans, tomatoes, onions, and cheese.  Repeat layers with remaining ingredients.  Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Caramelized Pecans

28 Saturday Feb 2015

Posted by in Salads

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I made these tonight for a spinach, strawberry, and yellow pepper salad. I can think of so many salads that they would be good in. They are super easy and only take 5 minutes.

Ingredients-

1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup pecans (whole or chopped)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized, non-stick frying pan. Stir constantly over medium heat with a heat proof spatula until the sugar and butter caramelize. This takes about 5 minutes of constant stirring. Be prepared to lower the temperature or remove from the heat if they get too hot.

French Laundry Staff Dressing

09 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by in Salads

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1 table spoon chopped garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped shallots
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 large egg yolk
2 cups canola oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Place the garlic, shallots, mustard and vinegar in a blender and blend until well combined. Add the egg yolk and blend again. With the blender running slowly drizzle in the oil until the dressing is thick and emulsified. Season to taste with the salt and pepper. It can be refrigerated for up to a week.

Barley, Capsicum and Bean Salad

12 Monday Sep 2011

Posted by in Salads

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I love the new recipes I come home with every time I visit the Colton’s in Australia. The whole family is into the reality show Master Chef and Maddie and Izzy love creating new recipes. While I was there in July, Maddie had me film her latest creation. Unfortunately, it was too long to upload here. Izzie made a lovely dish and really wanted me to eat it. Ally made it disappear before I got a chance to taste it. She spread peanut butter on a plate and topped it with sliced onions. Finally, she decorated it with strawberries. Yum! This salad recipe is one of my favorites from my last visit to OZ.

Ingredients-
1 1/2 cups pearl barley
200g green beans trimmed, cut into 2 cm lengths, blanched
1 red capsicum (red pepper), chopped
2 spring onions, chopped
1/2 cup mint leaves chopped
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 cup peanuts
1/4 cup lime juice
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/3 cup peanut oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions-
1-Cook the pearl barley in a large saucepan of boiling water according to the package directions. Drain and place in a large bowl.

2- Add green beans, capsicum, onion, mint, cilantro, and peanuts. Mix together with lime juice and zest, oil and sugar. Add to barley and toss to combine.