Ranch Chicken Salad

This salad makes for a great meal that even the Grand kids will eat, doesn’t take too long to make, and tastes delicious. What more can you ask for? (Click on picture for a better view.)

Ranch Chicken Salad

By: Fire up the oven

Romaine Lettuce

Red Onion, cut in thin slices

Cucumber, diced

Tomato, diced

Fresh Corn on the cob, Removed from cob

Bacon, cooked & Crumbled

Freshly Grated Cheese (Your favorite)

Red or Green Pepper, diced

Breaded Chicken Patties, cut in strips (I bought some at Gordon’s Food Service)

Homemade Ranch Dressing (Or store-bought)

In a large bowl, cut up lettuce.  I usually put the remaining ingredients in small bowls, so everyone can put the topping they want on their salad.  Cut the chicken into strips.  Make salads according to your tastes.  This salad is so good.  Especially with a homemade Ranch dressing.  I add croutons to my salad too. Yum!!

Do you have a favorite salad you make, that  your family regularly requests?

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Steak Caesar Salad!

This is my daughter Sherie’s favorite dinner. You’ll find it on our table quite often!  We make Steak Caesar salad, but we also make the Chicken Caesar Salad too! Sometimes both!

Sherie’s Steak Caesar Salad

Rib Steak or Steak of your Choice (If you like a marinated steak, see recipe here)

Montreal Steak Seasoning (Or seasoning of your Choice)

Romaine Lettuce

Croutons

Parmesan Cheese

Cardini’s Caesar Salad Dressing

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine romaine lettuce, Croutons and Parmesan Cheese.  Set aside.  Grill Steak to your liking and slice into thin strips. Dress the salad with Cardini’s Salad Dressing and toss to coat.  Put salad on plate, and add steak strips (Or chicken strips).  Grate fresh Parmesan cheese over top of salad and add more dressing to top of salad if you’d like. Eat at once, and go back for seconds!

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Pea Salad

My Grand kids, Father absolutely loves this salad!  He would eat the bowl all his self without sharing with anyone else.  It really is a good tasting salad and is very easy to make.  I made this recipe for him the other day thinking that nobody would eat that much of it and he would be able to take home the remaining salad. The funny part of the whole thing is he doesn’t like cucumber or tomatoes. They share a supporting role to this dish.  Poor guy only got a couple of spoonfuls to take home.  My Grand kids will make this for him for Father’s day and he won’t have to share at all.

Pea Salad

4-5 Slices Bacon, diced and fried til crispy.

1 Can (15 oz.) Very young small Sweet Peas, drained

1 small Onion, diced

1 cucumber, diced

1 tomato, diced

1/2 Cup mayonnaise

1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt

1/4 tsp. Ground Black Pepper

1/2 tsp. Dill

In a small skillet, fry bacon pieces until crisp.  Remove bacon pieces from skillet and drain on paper towels. Set aside.  Combine peas and remaining ingredients in a medium size  bowl.  Add bacon. Taste to adjust seasonings.  Refrigerate for at least an hour.

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Green Bean Salad

I came across this delightful recipe in a hospital  magazine.  It looked like it might be a great recipe.  The original recipe calls for Chinese Style Long Green Beans, but I didn’t have that on hand so I used regular green beans.  It turned out great and I got rave reviews by all of those that tried it. I bet this would be great with waxed beans and were gonna try it next time with them, and a handful of grape  tomatoes in there too just for color. I will definitely make this again and again.

Green Bean Salad

Salad Ingredients:

16 oz. (1 lb.) Whole green beans, trimmed

4 Large Oranges

1 Small Red Onion

4 1/2  oz. Pkg. Sunflower seeds, shelled

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Pepper

Sherry Mustard Vinaigrette

1 tsp. Cornstarch

1/2 cup Low Sodium Chicken Stock

3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tbsp. Sherry Vinegar (I used Red Wine Vinegar)

2 Tbsp. Orange Juice

1 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard

1 Tbsp. Light Brown Sugar

2 tsp. Shallots, minced

1 Clove Garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt

1/4 tsp. Ground Black Pepper

Preparation:

Bring a quart of water to a boil; add 1/4 tsp. salt. Blanch beans for one or two minutes until they are barely tender.  Drain the beans and immediately plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking process.  Trim the peels of the oranges, making sure to remove all of the white pith.  Working over a bowl, section the oranges, allowing the juice to be caught in the bowl.  Save the juice for the dressing. Remove any seeds.

To make the vinaigrette, combine the cornstarch with one teaspoon water to form a slurry or thick mixture.  Bring stock to a boil and ad the slurry and stir until the stock has thickened and turns clear.  This should take about two minutes.  Cool to room temperature and whisk in the remaining vinaigrette ingredients until blended.  Combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl, toss with the vinaigrette and place in your favorite bowl or on a large platter.

Yields: 8 Servings

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Ranch Potato Salad

Ever since I’ve had my subscription to Cook’s Country, and decided to try this recipe, this has been one of my daughter’s favorite potato salads, and every time she’s over, if potato salad is on the menu, this is the one she wants.  This really is a great potato salad and gets rave reviews every time it’s served.

From: Cook’s Country

Bottled ranch dressing sounds like a quick way to dress up potato salad, but many versions are surprisingly dull and bland. Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

• Use red-skinned potatoes—they hold their shape better than other types. Peel the potatoes to allow them to absorb more dressing.
• For a flavorful dressing, we doubled the amount of cilantro used in most recipes and added fresh garlic and scallions for a welcome bite. Dijon mustard and vinegar provide acidity and bite, while chopped roasted red peppers are a sweet counterpoint. Just 1/8 teaspoon of dried dill lends the perfect amount of dill flavor.
• To better season the potatoes, toss the hot spuds first with just the Dijon mustard and vinegar. After the potatoes have cooled, mix in the rest of the flavorful dressing.

Ranch Potato Salad

Serves 6 to 8

We prefer white wine vinegar here, but white and cider vinegars are acceptable substitutes.

3	pounds red potatoes , peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
	Salt
3/4	cup mayonnaise
1/2	cup buttermilk
1/4	cup white wine vinegar
1/4	cup drained jarred roasted red peppers , chopped fine
3	tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
3	scallions , chopped fine
1	garlic clove , minced
1/8	teaspoon dried dill
2	teaspoons pepper
2	tablespoons Dijon mustard

1. Bring potatoes, 1 tablespoon salt, and enough water to cover by 1 inch to boil in large pot over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until potatoes are just tender, about 10 minutes. While potatoes simmer, whisk mayonnaise, buttermilk, 2 tablespoons vinegar, red peppers, cilantro, scallions, garlic, dill, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper in large bowl.

2. Drain potatoes, then spread in even layer on rimmed baking sheet. Whisk mustard and remaining vinegar in small bowl. Drizzle mustard mixture over hot potatoes and toss until evenly coated. Refrigerate until cooled, about 30 minutes.

3. Transfer cooled potatoes to bowl with mayonnaise mixture and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, about 30 minutes. Serve. (Salad can be refrigerated in airtight container for 2 days.)

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Nappa Chicken Salad

This dish is one of our favorite meals. You do need to plan a little ahead though, as the chicken needs to marinade. However, I promise this salad is worth it. I do not know the origin of this recipe, but I have been making it for years. Other than the marinading time, this salad is quick and easy to put together.

Nappa Chicken Salad

Marinade:
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 Cup Lite Soy Sauce
1/3 Cup Honey
1/2 tsp. Ground Ginger (Or use fresh)
1 Tbsp. Minced Garlic
1/3 Cup Apple Juice
Mix all ingredients together and marinade Chicken at least 2 hours or more. The longer you marinade it, the more flavorful the chicken becomes. When done marinading, Grill chicken until done. Cut chicken breasts into strips. Set aside.

Dressing:
3/4 Cup Vegetable Oil (or oil of your choosing)
3 Tbsp. Lite Soy Sauce
1 Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup White Vinegar
Mix all ingredients together and mix well. I usually put mine in a quart Mason jar, double the ingredients and shake it well, until all ingredients are blended. Set aside till ready to serve.

Salad:
Nappa Cabbage, Chopped
Onion, Sliced
Green, Red or Yellow Pepper, chopped
Chop Nappa Cabbage, Onions, Green, yellow or/and Red peppers in slices. Mix together in a big bowl.

Garnish:
Sesame Seeds, Toasted
Almond Slices (I buy the Almond Accents, Toffee Glazed) they are usually in the produce areas to mix in with your salads.)
Ramen Noodles – Broken into pieces and fried in a little butter til slightly browned. (Discard or save seasoning packet for another recipe)

Putting the salad together:
Place salad mixture on your plate, Add Sesame seeds, Almond slices and Ramen noodles to your plate, add Chicken strips and pour the dressing over the salad on your plate, and eat. Go back for seconds. It is good!! Very Good!! Dinner is fast, easy and really good. What more can you ask for?

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