Southwest Salad

Southwest Salad  adapted from Life . . . As I See It
2 c. brown rice
1-15 oz. can black beans, reduced sodium, drained and rinsed
2 c. frozen corn, thawed
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 small white onion, chopped
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 tsp. chili powder

Directions:  Combine all ingredients and refrigerate. Enjoy!

Modifications:
-I used red wine vinegar.
-I used ready to serve brown and wile rice.
-I used canned corn instead of frozen.

Here's what you'll need:

Cut up the red pepper.

Cut up the onion (I used 1/4 of an onion).

Cut up a jalapeno.  (I used 1/4)

After cooking the rice in the microwave, add it to the bowl.

Drain and rinse the corn.

Drain and rinse the black beans.  Chop up some cilantro.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

Scott and I loved this dish.  It had a good kick with the onion, jalapeno, and cilantro and had sweetness from the corn.

The brown and serve rice worked out great and each little container was finished in just 60 seconds each.  I made this dish in about 3 minutes and then just popped it into the refrigerator to chill.

I want to make a breakfast burrito or omelet using the leftovers.  This dish would also be great to as a dip with pita bread.

I did have to add salt to cut through the vinegar but that may just be because I used red wine vinegar instead of white.

Hope you enjoy!

April

Spaghetti Salad

Spaghetti Salad adapted from Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner
1 pound thin spaghetti
10 slices bacon
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 large red onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 (2 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
2 tomatoes, diced
1 cucumber, diced
1/4 cup salad seasoning mix*
½ teaspoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions:  Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp. Drain and crumble.

In a large bowl combine cooked spaghetti, celery, onion, bell pepper, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers and salad seasoning.  In a small bowl, whisk lemon zest, lemon juice and minced garlic with olive oil.  Pour over spaghetti mixture and toss.  Add crumbled bacon and lightly toss.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Chill until serving.

8-10 servings

Home-made Salad Supreme Seasoning
3 teaspoons sesame seeds
2 teaspoons paprika
1½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon celery seeds
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 dashes cayenne pepper
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese or Romano (fresh is best)

Directions:  Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Makes ½ cup

I did not take an ingredients pic.

Mix all of the ingredients of the Homemade Salad Supreme Seasoning and set it to the side.

Chop up the celery.

Chop up the red onion.

Chop up the green pepper.

Put celery, onion, and pepper in a bowl.  Drain the can of black olives and add to the mix.

Chop up the onion.  Add to the other veggies.

Cut up the cucumber.  Add to the other veggies.

Throw the spaghetti on to cook.

Add the seasoning mix to the veggies.

Fry the bacon.

Zest the lemon and squeeze the lemon juice into a small bowl.

Mince the garlic cloves.

Whisk the olive oil and garlic in with the lemon.

Drain the spaghetti and add it to the veggies.

Add the garlic lemon oil.

Chop up the bacon and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:
Ok, I want you to go to the store, buy all of these ingredients, and make this dish.  It was SO GOOD.  I am absolutely going to make it for my next get together. 

All of the flavors came out in this dish from the lemon zest to the garlic to the tomato juice from the tomatoes.  The black olives and cucumbers gave it a Mediterranean taste and I kind of wished that I would have had feta cheese instead of the Parmesan even though the Parm was delicious, too.

If I could change one thing about this recipe, I would use penne pasta instead of spaghetti.  The spaghetti did kind of overwhelm the vegetables but nothing a spatula couldn't get around.  I also don't think that the bacon was needed.

Scott also had the great idea of adding some grilled chicken to the dish.  This would be a fantastic way to use leftover or extra chicken breasts. 

Bottom line, it was great!!

Hope you enjoy!
April

Greek Salad

I can't even begin to tell you how good this is.  I could seriously sit down and eat the entire bowl.  If you like feta cheese, you are going to love this.

Greek Salad adapted from A Step Into My Kitchen

1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/4-inch thick

1 red bell pepper, large-diced
1 yellow bell pepper, large-diced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, sliced in half-rounds
1/2 pound feta cheese, 1/2-inch diced (not crumbled)
1/2 cup calamata olives and green 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 kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil

Directions:  Place the cucumber, peppers, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl.

For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Still whisking, slowly add the olive oil to make an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta and olives and toss lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.
 
Modifications:
-I didn't have a cucumber on hand so I just left it out.

Here is some of what you will need.  I messed up the first picture and didn't have all of the ingredients out for the vinaigrette.

Dice up the peppers

Dice up the onions

Cut up the tomatoes into about the same size as the peppers and onion

What you'll need for the vinaigrette:

Mince up a couple cloves of garlic.  Toss garlic and oregano into a bowl.

Add the dijon mustard

Add the red wine vinegar and whisk away

Slowly whisk in the olive oil and use sea salt to season, as needed

Pour over the veggies

Add olives and feta cheese

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

What else can I say?  It is absolutely fantastic.

Cucumber Mostaccioli Salad

Cucumber Mostaccioli Salad from my friend, JoAnna Sullivan
1 box of mostaccioli
1 1/2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp accent
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup vinegar
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
2-4 cucumbers, diced
1-2 pints grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1-2 large green bell peppers, diced

Directions:  Cook the pasta according to the directions.  Whisk together all of the ingredients (minus the vegetables).  Add the chopped vegetables together, stir in the pasta and chill.

Here's what I started with:

Here's how I did it:

#1 I cooked the pasta according to the directions on the box.  While that was cooking, I cut up and diced 3 cucumbers.

#2 I halved 2 pints (containers) of cherry tomatoes.

#3 I diced 2 green peppers.

#4 I added all of the herbs, sugar, oil and vinegar.

#5 I stirred in the pasta.

The Finished Product:

Review:

A couple of weeks ago my friend, JoAnna, came over for a playdate and she brought this pasta salad.  It was so delicious that I had to make it for the 4th of July and it was a big hit.

The vinegarette dressing is sweet and tangy and when combined with the crunchiness of the cucumbers and green peppers it is a great combination.

Believe me, you will love this!

Hope you enjoy.

April

*****(5 Stars)--This dish was fantastic!

Tuna and White Bean Salad

Tuna and White Bean Salad from Our Krazy Kitchen
2 (6-ounce) cans dark meat tuna, packed in olive oil (I just had tuna in water, so I drained it and added a couple tablespoons olive oil to the salad)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
6 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Directions:  In a large bowl, add the tuna with its olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Using a fork, break up the tuna into bite-size pieces, then gently toss in the beans and onions. Drizzle with the red wine vinegar and season with more salt and pepper, if needed, to taste. Transfer the salad to plates and serve.

I served this on top of a 50/50 mixed green salad.

Modifications: 
-I didn't have any cannellini beans so I just used white beans.
-I was out of red wine vinegar so I used a combination of apple cider vinegar and balsamic vinegar.

Here's what I started with:

The Finished Product:

Review:

This was a great, easy, healthy lunchtime meal.  You could eat this as a sandwich or as part of a salad.  You could also add a wide variety of vegetables to this meal.

I really liked the texture that the beans added and the vinegar gave it a nice tanginess.  Overall, I really enjoyed this meal.  I think next time, though, I would cut the recipe in half because the kids would have no part of it. 

Mom's Broccoli, Cauliflower and Carrot Salad

Mom's Broccoli, Cauliflower and Carrot Salad
1 head of broccoli
1 head of cauliflower
10-15 sliced carrots
1/2 diced red onion
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup mayo

Directions:  Wash vegetables.  Cut up broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and red onion.  Combine sugar, mayo and apple cider vinegar.  Pour the dressing over the vegetables, mix and refrigerate.

Here's what I started with: 

 Here's how I did it:

#1 I washed and cut off the stems of the broccoli.  I cut the broccoli into bite-sized pieces.

#2 I washed the cauliflower and cut it in to bite-sized pieces.

#3 I sliced up about 15 mini-carrots.

#4 I measured out 3/4 cup mayo, 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 apple cider vinegar and mixed it until all of the mayo absorbed.

#5 I diced 1/2 of a red onion and then poured the dressing over the veggies.

The Finished Product

Review:

Once again, Mom's recipes are the best.  This is an absolute staple for all family gatherings in the summertime.  It is light, sweet and refreshing.  I have seen similar salads in which raisins are added, as well.  This recipe will definitely not disappoint!  It is awesome!!

Hope you enjoy!

April

*****(5 Stars)--This dish was fantastic! It will definitely become a part of our regular rotation and we will definitely have it over and over again!