Autumn Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

 Autumn Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Autumn Salad

I was looking some light and refreshing dinners/lunches and came across this salad that looked so yummy! Full of a bunch of my favorite things I knew this salad would be a hit with the entire family. Sure enough, my daughter Maddie ate and entire salad bowl of this and asked for more. Izzie isn't feeling well today, so she just wanted a small cup of my chicken noodle soup to sip on during dinner time. I'm not putting down amounts, just put ratios of what you like. This is a chop salad, so all the ingredients should be roughly the same size. My husband who also liked the salad suggested apples instead of pears next time. They'd give a bit more crunch.
-Amanda

Autumn Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

romaine lettuce
pecans
cranberries
feta cheese
bacon, cooked
pear or apple
leftover poached chicken

Chop everything into close to equal sizes and toss with Poppy Seed Dressing (below.)

Poppy Seed Dressing

1 tsp mustard
1 cup of olive oil
3-4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp salt
1.5 tbsp poppy seeds

In a medium size bowl put 1 tsp of mustard. Drizzle in an equal amount of oil and start to whisk. When completely combined slowly, slowly drizzle in more oil as you whisk. When about half the oil is whisked in drizzle in sugar, maple syrup and apple cider viengar and salt. Continue drizzling the oil until it is gone. Stir in poppy seeds and taste. Adjust as necessary for seasonings.

Gyro Salad

I love gyro sandwiches and crave them every once in a while. I love lots of green flavors, but they are usually so strong that I only want them occasionally. Well, gyro meat is a creature all in itself and I don't think it'd be too easily recreated in the home kitchen, but I decided to use the main flavors of the dish and make a salad. I was going to make some soaked wheat pita bread, but well, I'm back on a low-carb kick today so I skipped the bread and just served up a salad. Okay, this looks complicated, but it literally took 15 minutes to cook! You can make the spice mixture ahead of time.
-Amanda

Gyro Salad

Meat:
1 lb of ground lamb (I got mine from Sloane Creek Farm.)
2 tbsp Greek Spice Mixture*
1/2 lemon

Spice Mixture*

1 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp curry
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder

Tzatziki Dressing:

1/2 cup Greek yogurt, strained to thicken
1/2 juice of a lemon
3/4 of a cucumber grated
1 tbsp fresh mint, minced
1 small garlic clove, grated
1 tbsp olive oil
salt

Salad:

Lettuce
feta cheese
cucumber
tomato
red onion
kalamative olives

Mix spices together. Use 2 tbsp and sprinkle on raw lamb meat. Squeeze in 1/2 a lemon. Mix well and let marinate in fridge for 1-2 hours. Saute in a pan on medium high heat until done. It was pretty greasy, so I just drained a bit of juice out when I scooped onto the salad.

While meat is cooking, mix up the tzatziki dressing and chop up vegetables for the salad.

Pea Salad

This is a recipe from my childhood. I do not know if it is a southern dish or a northern dish that traveled south. My memories of this dish are from when my Grandma Bettie made it. And, it was the ONLY way I would eat peas as a kid. No kidding. I normally would use a red apple for contrast but I was out of apples and my neighbor, being an awesome neighbor, lent me an apple and it was green, and so that was a perfect apple. Thank you Andrea! Oh, and I made this from a childhood memory so I don't know if it is the "right" way to make pea salad, but I'm pretty sure this was a popular dish in the 1970's. It should make a come back. It's good. Plus, it might get your kid to eat peas.
-Amanda

Pea Salad

1.5 cups frozen peas
1/2 tbsp butter
salt & pepper
1 apple
2-3 oz cheddar cheese, cubed
3 tbsp mayo (I make mine homemade)

In a small skillet, bring peas to a boil and cook for a few minutes. Drain, return to pot. Add butter, salt and pepper and allow peas to cool completely. Chop one apple, leaving the skin on. I try to cut it as close to pea size as possible. Do the same with the cheese. Mix the cooled peas, the apple and the cheese in a bowl with the mayo. Refrigerate and serve cold.

Apple & Bacon Salad

 

I'm trying to add a few more salads into the rotation because they are usually pretty quick to make and for summer, salads just seem right. This was a very hearty and tasty salad that was approved by everyone. John said he thought the avocados were a bit odd in it and I think my girls were just going to eat the bacon until I encouraged them to taste a bit more! I think some dehydrated cranberries would be good in this too!

-Amanda

Apple and Bacon Salad

1/2 head of lettuce

2 handfuls of fresh spinach

1 package of bacon

1 avocado

1 large apple, chopped

1 cup of slivered, freshly toasted almonds

1/2 a cucumber, sliced

1/4 purple onion

homemade honey mustard dressing (see below)

Cut bacon into bite size pieces and cook until crispy. Chop lettuce and spinach into bite size pieces. Wash and dry thoroughly. Add to a very large salad bowl. Add diced apple, avocado, toasted almonds, chopped cucumber, thinly sliced onion and drained bacon. Toss. Serve with honey mustard dressing. Made enough for two adult portions. 

Honey Mustard Dressing
(these are NOT exact amounts, I just eye balled it!!)

1 tsp mustard (I got to use my homemade mustard!)

2 tsp honey

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup avocado oil

1/4 cup olive oil (If you don't have avocado oil, just use olive oil)

1 grated garlic clove

salt and pepper

pinch of dried herb such as thyme, tarragon or oregano (optional)

In a small bowl, whisk honey and mustard together. Drizzle oils in slowly whisking continuously. Add rice wine vinegar, garlic and salt. If it is too thick and the flavor is good, add a bit of water. Otherwise adjust oil and vinegar until you get the acidity level that is good for you.

Hamburger Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing

Sorry I did not take a photo! Tonight I made hamburgers for the family but I ate mine sans bun. I made a big salad for everyone to enjoy with their hamburger, but I broke my patty up and incorporated it into the salad. It was actually really good and I didn't miss the bun. The salad was romaine lettuce (I wanted bib lettuce but they didn't have it at the store), boiled eggs, avocado, cucumber, bacon, colby jack cheese and the hamburger for me. Topped with homemade ranch dressing, it was very satisfying!
-Amanda

Homemade Ranch Dressing

There are lots of versions of ranch dressing on the internet. You can get really complicated or keep it simple. I take the time to make my own mayo as the base because I think that is important. This way you get healthy oils instead of rancid factory oils like canola, soy or vegetable oils. I actually made this batch of mayo with a bacon grease/sesame seed oil base! Make sure your bacon is nitrate free, of course. For the ranch, I like about equal parts mayo and sour cream, but you can play around with how tart you like it with what ratio you add.

1 part mayo
1 part sour cream
sprinkle of dried garlic, or fresh grated garlic
pinch of dill, fresh or dried
salt and pepper

Mix and serve!

Walnut Salad Dressing

I made a fun salad for our picnic lunch today with iceberg, strawberries, cucumbers, thin slices of carrot, feta cheese, toasted walnuts and baked chicken sliced on top. Figuring it needed a special salad dressing, I reserved half of my toasted walnuts and whipped together a tasty dressing in my Magic Bullet. I know the photo isn't the best... but this was a picnic afterall, I'm just glad I remembered to snap the photo before I dug in!!

Walnut Salas Dressing - 1 portion
2 tbsp toasted walnuts
2 tsp real maple syrup
1 tbsp balsamic dressing
pinch of salt
1 - 1.5 tbsp olive oil
water to thin

Put all ingredients (minus the water) in your Magic Bullet or other small food processor and pulse until smooth. Drizzle in a bit of water at a time until you get the consistency you want. This dressing is sweet and tangy!

Edited to add... this salad was so delicious that I made a second one for dinner tonight!

Patlican Salatasi (Eggplant Salad)

This summer was so hot in Marmaris it was unbelievable.  There is nothing tastier that a cold salad for dinner when it is hot and sweaty out.  I love this salad.  It is tasty and easy and has that yummy roasted flavor. 

P.S. Please excuse the quality of the photo, and the appearance of the salad.  I was on vacation and took the photo with my phone, and the kitchen at the summer house is kind of like camping, one knife, four plates, a pot and a sauce pan.

-Jules 

Patlican Salatasi

1 large eggplant or 3 or 4 smaller ones (I like the small ones myself)
1 or 2 cloves of garlic (mashed)
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup of yogurt
A splash of olive oil*
1 tomato diced
Salt and pepper to taste

*optional

Poke holes in the eggplant(s) before you roast them.  I use the grill but you could roast them on the grill, the stovetop (over the flames) or broil them in the oven.  Whatever the method-roast the eggplant until it is soft about a half hour or so depending on the size.  After they are done, let them cool and then peel off the skin.  Dice the eggplant small ad toss in a bowl.  Dice the tomato and throw that in the bowl too.  Mash one or two cloves of garlic, to taste, remember it will be in the salad raw.  Add that to the mix as well as the juice of the lemon the yogurt and the oil if you want it.  The oil makes it taster but without it the salad is pretty light calorically, cooked eggplant has about 35 calories per cup.  I also use light yogurt.  Add about a 1/2 tsp of salt to start with and a little pepper.  Salt to taste, you may want to add more salt (I do) but I do a little at a time or to my serving on my plate as I am always afraid to over salt the whole batch. 

Mix well and chill, serve cold.  It is best served after an hour or two when the flavors have time to meld.

Tex-Mex Stuffed Bell Peppers and Fruit Salad

A few days ago I made Taco Mini Muffins. When I made the meal, I doubled the taco meat & veggie mixture for a meal later in the week. That was tonight. I turned the taco meat into Tex-Mex Stuffed Bell Peppers, and they were very delicious! I served them alongside a simple fruit salad with a yogurt dressing.
-Amanda

Tex-Mex Stuffed Bell Peppers

1 recipe of the taco meat & veggie mixture from my Taco Mini Muffins.
2/3 cup wheat couscous
3/4 cup of chicken or beef stock (or water.)
4 small bell peppers
2 oz of your favorite Mexican cheese, grated

In a small pot, bring stock to a boil. Add couscous and stir. Turn off heat, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Add couscous to taco meat mixture and stir. Cut the tops off your bell peppers. If the bottoms are very crooked, you may want to cut of a very small amount to make them level so they will stand up. Stuff each bell pepper with 1/4 of the taco/couscous mixture. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake at 425 for 30 minutes. Top each bell pepper with some of the grated cheese and broil until cheese is melted. Serves 4.

Fruit Salad with Yogurt Dressing

1 banana
1 orange
8-10 strawberries
1 cup of grapes (I did green and red
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh grated giner

Peel and chop banana. Peel and segment one orange and cut each slice in half. Cut strawberries into fourths. Cut grapes in half. Place all fruit into a mixing bowl. In another small bowl, mix the yogurt, vanilla, honey, cinnamon and ginger. Pour over fruit. Serve chilled.

Ham and Fruit Tossed Salad

Our salad kick has continued with this ham and fruit tossed salad. It's been fun stepping out of our "normal" routine and trying some new dishes. And let me tell you, with the weather peaking at 104-105 degrees these days a nice cool salad is perfect for dinner! I got this recipe from Salads by Carrie Holcomb.
-Amanda

Ham and Fruit Tossed Salad

3 medium oranges
1 3 oz package of cream cheese, softened (I used a pre-whipped variety)
2 tsp sugar
3 cups torn iceberg lettuce
3 cups torn spinach
8 oz cubed fully cooked ham (1 1/2 cups)
1 cup red (or green) seedless grapes
1/4 cup of Spicy Nuts (see recipe below)

Take the zest off one orange and set it aside. Peel and segment two of the oranges. Set the orange segments aside.
Make dressing by mixing together cream cheese, sugar, orange zest and enough of the juice from one orange to make the dressing a drizzling consistancy.

In a large bowl, combine lettuce, spinach, ham, grapes, spicy nuts and orange segments. Toss lightly to mix. Pour dressing over lettuce mixture and toss to coat. Divide amount four salad plates.

Spicy Nuts

3/4 cup walnuts or pecan pieces
1 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
dash salt

Combine nuts, butter, red pepper, cumin and salt. Spread on a single layer in a shallow baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, stirring once. To store, place in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 month. Break to room temperature before serving.

Marinated Greek Steak Salad

I decided to make a salad for dinner. Usually when I do this it is a last minute meal thrown together with ingredients from my refridgerator. So grilled chicken with carrots, cucumber over iceberg lettuce is our usual "main dish" salad of choice. But I found this salad in a cookbook, appropriately named "SALADS" by Carrie Holcomb. I set out with a grocery list and a plan. This was a very good salad. My husband who said he doesn't like Greek food even liked it! That's a win!
-Amanda

Marinated Greek Steak Salad

(adapted from Salads by Carrie Holcomb)

10 oz sirloin steak, cut one inch thick
1, 7oz can of artichoke hearts
1/2 of a red onion, cut into thin rings
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin rings
1/4 cup pitted greek olives
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbps of lemon juice from 1 lemon
1 tbsp oregano (or 1 tsp dried oregano)
1 tbsp anchovy paste
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 large garlic clove
3 cups torn ice berg lettuce
1 cup torn spinach
 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Place steak under broiler 3 inches from heat for 6 minutes. Turn steak. Broil to desired doness (6-8 minutes for medium.) Cool slightly. Cut into thin slices. Place meat in a deep bowl along with artichoke hearts, onion, olive, bell pepper and tomatoes.

Make the marinade: whisk in a medium bowl, oil, vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, anchovy paste, pepper, grated garlic. Pour marinade over meat mixture. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours, stirring occasionally.

In a large mixing bowl, combine lettuce and spinach. Top with meat mixture. Sprinkle with feta cheese.
Makes 4 servings.