Posts tagged ‘Salad’
Keeping It Simple – Warm Chicken Salad
From the Salad Collection at emealsforyou.com
Warm Chicken Salad
After a weekend of large meals we couldn’t decide on Sunday night’s dinner. We really didn’t feel like eating too much but knew if we skipped dinner altogether that wouldn’t work either. Maybe because we have been on a “heavy” meal trend lately; something simple and tasty seemed perfect. Fresh salad with some leftover chicken hit the spot; we did add a piece of garlic bread.
On another note a friend recently apologized for making a crock-pot meal for her family while she was at work. She thought because I cook I would not approve of crock-pot meals. I told her that the crock-pot chicken she was making would be just fine and by far better then all the additives she would be feeding her family had she purchased take-out. We advocate making good food for your family. The cooking method doesn’t matter; sitting down for a family meal is what matters.
Warm Chicken Salad
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 2 |
| Category: | Salad |
| Meal: | Other (General) |
| 4 | cup | lettuce, mixed |
| 0.5 | tsp | garlic powder |
| 0.125 | Tb | oregano, dried |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 1 | Tb | vinegar, red wine |
| 6 | oz | chicken breast, cooked , skinless and boneless with pan juices |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Place lettuce in a bowl; add garlic powder, oregano, oil and vinegar. Toss and place in center of plate. Heat chicken and pan juices. Cut chicken into slices and place on salad. Spoon pan juices on top and serve.
More simply delicious meals and recipes at emealsforyou.com.
- Warm Chicken Salad
Recipe of the Week – Heritage Tomato Salad
From the Salad Collection at emealsforyou.com
Heritage Tomato Salad
For those of you who don’t know what heritage tomatoes are or those who haven’t tried them yet; a word of caution. You probably won’t experience a “WOW” moment. While some of these tomatoes are very good; most are just over-priced. Having said that, they look really great in a salad. This is one of those salads that adds color to your meal and provides a chance to add your own ideas; adding your special touch to everything from burgers to fresh grilled fish.
Don’t have feta, add blue cheese or shaved Romano. Like olives, add them; like capers add them. Got some bread laying around, make croutons and add them. Add grilled chicken, shrimp or steak for a great lunch. Support your local Farmers’ Market and buy some tomatoes.
Heritage Tomato Salad
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Salad |
| Meal: | Welcome Fall Dinner (Quick Meals Planner) |
| 1 | lb | heritage tomato |
| 2 | Tb | cilantro |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 0.5 | medium | lemon, juice of |
| 0.25 | cup | cheese, feta, crumbled |
| 1 | cloves | garlic, minced |
| 0.5 | tsp | pepper, fresh cracked |
| 1 | tsp | salt, kosher |
Cut tomatoes into bite size wedges. Place in bowl, add remaining ingredients, toss, let rest for 10 minutes and serve.
More salads and great meal ideas at emealsforyou.com
Recipe of the Week – Spinach Salad
(From the Salad Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Spinach Salad
This was the weekend of “food”. The trip to NJ to pick up my mother-in-law went without any problems with the exception of an hour delay on Rt. 70 for a truck accident. We planned the meals in advance; after all this is a meal planning website, so in line with my mother-in-laws love of everything “salad” they were a big part of the weekend. We started with a refreshing Watermelon Salad on Friday with grilled burgers. Saturday was a 2 salad day with an Italian Salad with lunch and the Spinach Salad with the dinner of Chicken Piccata. Rounding out the weekend was a wonderful Caesar Salad with grilled porterhouse steaks; served with a Gorgonzola cheese sauce.
The spinach salad is always a favorite with the tart dressing mingling with the sweet sour cranberries and toasted pecans. My brother-in-law came out to spend some time with us and drove my mother-in-law back to NJ. As a special treat for their ride back I made, you guessed it, chicken salad sandwiches.
Spinach Salad
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Salad |
| Meal: | Guest Who’s Coming to Dinner (Distinctive Dinners) |
| 1 | lb | spinach, fresh baby |
| 3 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 0.5 | medium | lemon, juice of |
| 1 | tsp | garlic powder |
| 3 | oz | cheese, feta, crumbled |
| 2 | Tb | cheese, Romano, grated |
| 0.25 | cup | cranberries, dried |
| 0.25 | cup | pecans, halved |
| 0.25 | cup | mushrooms, sliced |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Lightly toast pecans. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss.
Catch these salad ideas along with a bunch more at emealsforyou.com.
Recipe of the Week – Watermelon Salad
(From the Salad Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Watermelon Salad
Do you love watermelon but just think it may be time to try it in a different way? This recipe is for those who are looking for a refreshing salad to serve on a hot summer’s eve or maybe an easy lunch on the deck served with some homemade muffins. Either way it is a great way to get the kids eating salads and good enough to serve as a surprise for guests. Quick to make and easy to serve this is one I know is a keeper.
Watermelon Salad
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Salad |
| Meal: | Summer’s Night (Quick Meals Planner) |
| 0.33 | cup | pine nuts, toasted |
| 7 | cup | watermelon,seedless |
| 1 | cup | cheese, feta |
| 0.5 | medium | onion, red |
| 1 | cup | arugula |
| 0.33 | cup | cilantro, chopped |
| 0.25 | cup | oil, olive |
| 2 | Tb | lemon, juice of |
| 0.5 | tsp | pepper, fresh cracked |
| 1 | pinch | salt to taste |
Toast pine nuts, Seed and cut watermelon into bite size pieces. Thinly slice onion, crumble feta and place in bowl with all other ingredients. Mix well, serve very cold.
For those watermelon “freaks” out there try the Watermelon Gazpacho with Crab Salad at emealsforyou.com
Recipe of the Week – Warm Chicken Salad
(From the Salad Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Warm Chicken Salad
It was warm in the Ohio Valley this weekend; and after a couple of days of running errands we settled in for a nice, light dinner on Sunday. Trying to figure out what we felt like proved difficult until I mentioned a Warm Chicken Salad, something we have in the summer and always find just right.
There is something special about a nice big salad topped off with a few pieces of warm chicken. Just the right amount of food to keep us happy without the heavy feeling of over-doing it on a warm night. Besides, we had room for a Klondike Bar a few hours later.
Warm Chicken Salad
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 2 |
| Category: | Salad |
| Meal: | Other (General) |
| 4 | cup | lettuce, mixed |
| 0.5 | tsp | garlic powder |
| 0.125 | Tb | oregano, dried |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 1 | Tb | vinegar, red wine |
| 6 | oz | chicken breast, cooked , skinless and boneless with pan juices |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Place lettuce in a bowl; add garlic powder, oregano, oil and vinegar. Toss and place in center of plate. Heat chicken and pan juices. Cut chicken into slices and place on salad. Spoon pan juices on top and serve.
More Diet Friendly meals at emealsforyou.com
All Hail Caesar – The Salad That Is
From the Salad Category at emealsforyou.com.
Caesar Salad
We are just back from our quarterly trip to New Jersey. As is the custom we ended our stay with the traditional T-bone steak dinner including the always demanded Caesar Salad. I have made the ” Julie Child’s” caesar in the past but like the ease and freshness of this salad. The charm of the old-fashioned Caesar Salad was that in most good restaurants the salad was made tableside, by a waiter who would take great pride in preparing the salad as a robust performance in the culinary arts. Alas, it has gone the way of Crepe Suzettes, Dover Sole and Steak Diane.
I avoid anchovies, those hairy little fish, as I call them and the customary raw egg. I find they are not needed to make a salad that never fails to satisfy my guests. Probably best served with a side order of breath mints; if you like garlic like we do. Maybe you could try making it tableside as well.
Caesar Salad
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Salad |
| Meal: | French Bistro in under 30 Minutes (Distinctive Dinners) |
| 1 | head | lettuce, Romaine |
| 3 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 0.5 | medium | lemon, juice of |
| 2 | cloves | garlic, minced |
| 0.75 | cup | cheese, Romano, grated |
| 0.25 | small | baguette |
| 1 | spritz | PAM |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
In a large bowl place oil, lemon juice and garlic, press garlic into bowl with a wooden spoon to distribute. Whisk ingredients together. Cut baguette into 1/4 inch slices, spray with PAM and place in a 350-degree oven for 4 minutes or until gold brown. Tear (don’t cut) lettuce leaves into small pieces and place in bowl on top of dressing. When you are ready to serve, toss salad and add romano and toss again and add croutons broken into halves.
Chef Rick tells me he must have anchovies, if your wish, add four anchovy filets to the bowl with the oil, garlic and lemon.
More salad ideas and the Steak Diane recipe at emealsforyou.com.
Recipe of the Week – Panzanella Salad
(From the Salad Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Panzanella Salad
We have a salad with just about every dinner meal, so making different salads is important. We are on our second planting of lettuce in the garden and the tomatoes are just now turning; but I found some great plum tomatoes at the market. So when my wife asked if we could have a Panzanella salad for dinner; I was more than ready.
Panzanella salad can incorporate any number of ingredients. Make it with fresh veggies, grilled yellow squash or even substitute canned tomatoes. Add capers, olives or just about anything else in the fridge. Toast the bread if it is too soft or fresh. This works well when you forget to put the bread in a bag after dinner the night before and now you have all this stale bread laying around. Need to fill those teenage boys up, this is the thing; using inexpensive ingredients and they will be eating veggies without complaining.
Give this a try and I bet you will come back for more.
Panzanella Salad
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Salad |
| Meal: | Thursday Comfort Food (Quick Meals Planner) |
| 6 | slices | bread, Italian |
| 3 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 1 | 16 oz can | tomatoes, diced |
| 0.25 | small | onion, red |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 3 | Tb | vinegar, red wine |
| 1 | Tb | capers |
| 1 | small | squash. yellow |
| 2 | Tb | cilantro, chopped |
| 2 | Tb | cheese, Romano, grated |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Slice bread in ¾” slices, then into cubes. Place in bowl, add tomatoes, thinly sliced onion, capers, and garlic. Dice yellow squash and add to bowl. Add oil, vinegar, romano cheese, cilantro and salt and pepper to taste. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.
Recipe of the Week – Warm Chicken Salad
(From The Salad Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Julia's Chicken
Warm Chicken Salad
The final chapter in the Julia Child’s weekend was played out on Monday. Returning from taking Jeannie to the airport we decided we wanted a light but good lunch to put the ribbon around our food-a-thon. This involved putting two words that I thought I would never use in the same sentence: Julia Child and leftovers. We still had some of the wonderful chicken left from Sunday’s dinner so why not combine the chicken with a salad and have the best of both worlds while keeping it light.
I re-heated the leftover chicken including the pan juices in the microwave, and cut the chicken into 6 pieces. Placing 3 pieces on each salad I finished the dish by spooning the pan juices onto the top of the salad. This added a wonderful new dimension to the simple salad, slightly warming the lettuce and adding those tasty pan juices to both the chicken and the lettuce.
So don’t be so quick to pitch those pan juices when saving the leftover chicken. You may find yourself in a quandary as to what to make for a quick lunch, and this warm salad may just hit the spot.
Recipe of the Week – Dressing Up an Old Favorite
(From The Salad Collection at emealsforyou.com)
French Vinaigrette Salad
I have posted on making recipes your own; adding or subtracting ingredients to make the finished product more to your taste and liking. This salad is the one I served this past weekend for the Neighborhood Dinner Party. The French Vinaigrette salad dressing is ridiculously simple, and spectacularly tasty. My wife suggested I “dress it up” a little by adding a baked goat cheese medallion.
The medallion took a good salad to the next level. It added a touch of class visually, a contrast in texture from the leafy lettuce to the smooth and silky cheese, and a wonderful taste treat as the warm cheese blended its sweet taste to the tart dressing.
To make the goat cheese medallions cut a roll of goat cheese into 1 inch pieces. Roll these in panko bread crumbs, place in the frig for 20 minutes or so; then bake in a 350 degree oven until they just start to color. Carefully remove each one with a flat spatula and place, centered on the salad. Serve immediately, then sit back and listen to the mmmmmmmmmmmmm’s.
French Vinaigrette Salad
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Salad |
| Meal: | September Book Club (Celebration Meal Plans) |
| 2 | Tb | vinegar, red wine |
| 1 | Tb | mustard, dijon |
| 0.5 | cup | oil, olive |
| 1 | small | shallots, sliced |
| 0.75 | tsp | salt, table |
| 1 | dash | pepper, fresh ground |
| 1 | lb | lettuce, mixed |
Whisk vinegar,shallot and mustard together in a small glass bowl. Slowly drizzle in the oil, whisking constantly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.Toss with mixed lettuce and serve.
Leftovers – Trash or Treasure
(From The Salad Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Spring Salad
Learning to plan your meals requires you to re-learn a skill our grandmothers had; understanding how to use all the various food products before they went “bad”. Leftovers became the next meal, tops of vegetables were put in water with a piece of meat to make a soup. Bread too dry to eat was made into stuffing or a bread pudding for dessert.
The first step is to plan your meals so that you count on there being leftovers. Cooking half a chicken for dinner makes little sense when you could cook the whole bird with the same effort and build a second meal with the leftovers; think chicken salad, chicken pot pies, chicken soup. A pot roast becomes hot roast beef sandwiches a couple of nights latter.
We are all mesmerized by the cooking shows that, with great fanfare, reveal the surprise ingredient to be included in the meal. We think this is great fun but shy away from this thinking when it is us who are looking into the frig and trying to come up with something appealing from what we see there. The salad pictured above came about when I realized the tomatoes were just about to lose their crunch, the leftover asparagus was to the use now or pitch stage and I had an abundance of feta cheese.
The bottom line is if we plan our meals we will save money; if we use all the food we buy we will get bonus meals, again saving money. The secret is to think about a meal, then think about an associated meal made using similar products. Don’t think about it as a chore, think about it as a game show, one you can win.
Spring Salad
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Salad |
| Meal: | Easy, pizy |
| 1 | pt | tomatoes, cherry |
| 0.5 | small | cucumbers, English, peeled |
| 0.33 | lb | asparagus, peeled, cooked |
| 3 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 1 | Tb | cilantro, chopped |
| 0.25 | cup | cheese, feta, crumbled |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 0.5 | medium | lemon, juice of |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Cut cherry tomatoes in half, place in a large bowl. Dice cucumber and asparagus into ½ inch dice; add to bowl. Add garlic, cilantro, feta, lemon juice and oil, toss to coat. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
This salad filled out our Philly cheesesteak sandwiches nicely, see this meal and more on emealsforyou.com.
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