Chicken, Asparagus and Apple Salad

Source:  Taste of Home

I love asparagus.  And you know I love salad.  Combine the two of them together and I was in heaven!  I was looking for a dish to bring to a salad supper last week but wasn’t having much luck finding the perfect salad. I finally found this one and thought it would be juuuuust right!

I forgot to take a picture of it in my pretty bowl, so this is what I had leftover for lunch the next day.  It surprisingly wasn’t very soggy after it sat for a day.

I made a lot more than the original recipe calls for, so here’s what I used.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

3 cups cubed cooked chicken

Asparagus (a little less than 1 bunch), cut in 1 inch pieces

1 gala apple, diced

1 bag Mixed greens

Dressing:

½ cup apple cider vinegar

½ cup honey

½ cup olive oil

3-4 tsp. parsley

salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Blanch asparagus in boiling water for 2-3 minutes.  Drain and cool.
2. Combine all dressing ingredients.
3. Toss chicken, asparagus and apple together.  You can either serve on top of the salad greens or mix it all together, which is what i did.
4. Pour dressing over salad and toss.  You may not need all the dressing.

Santa Fe Chicken Salad

Adapted from:  Midwest Living

 

Another chicken salad!  But this one is so different and so so good!  Very addictive.  You have to try this now!

I just slightly modified the recipe by using what I had on hand; I didn’t have green onions or a yellow pepper.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 rib celery, diced

½ onion, diced

½ red pepper, diced

¼ cup chopped cilantro

Dressing:

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons lime juice

3-4 finely chopped chipotles in adobo

Directions:

1. Combine mayonnaise, lime juice and chipotles in a small bowl.
2. In a medium bowl combine chicken, celery, onions, peppers and cilantro.  Pour dressing over the chicken mixture and toss to coat. Chill for 1 hour.
3. Serve with flour tortillas or tortilla chips.

The Best Chicken Salad Ever!

Printable Recipe
This recipe came about when I accidentally bought dried cherries instead of dried cranberries for another dish.  I wasn’t really sure what to do with dried cherries but I needed to use them for something, so I thought they might be pretty good in chicken salad.  AND BOY WAS I RIGHT!  This is quite possibly the best chicken salad I’ve ever had!
Chicken salad is a very personal thing, isn’t it?  Everyone has their own way they like it.  Me, I can’t stand eggs in it, yuck!  The dried cherries added a nice little flavor to the way I usually make my chicken salad.
Val Original Recipe
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
2 ribs celery, diced
½ red onion, diced
¾ cup dried cherries
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup mayonnaise (I use light)
½ cup sour cream (light again)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
Combine all ingredients and let sit for 30 minutes to let the flavors blend.
Serve on your favorite sandwich bread or with crackers, which is my favorite way.

Zesty Refrigerator Pickles

Printable Recipe

Since I have an abundance of cucumbers from the garden, I decided to try my hand and refrigerator pickles.  I don’t even like cucumbers, but I do LOVE pickles. Cucumbers don’t ever stay around our house long because Cal LOVES them.  He eats them whole like a banana while he’s watching tv!  I had to sneak a few from him so I could make my pickles. 

These were a very pleasant surprise!  They are a little spicy but oh so good!  Cal was a little concerned about them, but after he gave them the sniff test, he decided to try them and gave them a thumbs up!  Pretty good, eh?

The recipe said to use 6 cups of cucumbers and 1 onion, but that didn’t sound right to me with only 1½ cups of the vinegar solution, I used less cucumbers.  I put them into 2 tall containers and divided the vinegar solution in them so it would come up half-way.

 

Source:  Cooking Light  I believe it was also in Southern Living maybe last month, but I can’t find that issue.

Ingredients:

4-5 cucumbers, thinly sliced

¼ onion, very thinly sliced

1½ cups white vinegar

¾ cup sugar

4 cloves garlic, chopped

¾ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. mustard seeds

½ tsp. celery seeds

½ tsp. red pepper flakes

1. Place cucumbers and onions into containers
2. Combine vinegar and remaining ingredients in a small saucepan and boil for about 1 minute.
3. Pour over cucumbers and onions, let cool.  Cover and place in refrigerator for a minimum of 4 days. 

Next up are dill and garlic pickles!  Yum!

Watermelon Salad

Printable Recipe

Ok.  I know what you’re going to say…”That doesn’t sound good.”  But I’m telling you…it is a-mazing.  It’s got that special combination of sweet and savory and it tastes out-of-this-world! 

We ended up with 2 whole watermelons at our Fourth of July cookout…for only 7 people!  We have watermelon out the ying-yang!  So I’ve been eating it for breakfast and lunch pretty much everyday, and I was looking for something different for it. 

And Paula Deen to the rescue! 

I just kind of eye-balled the ingredients, but this is approximately how much I used.

Ingredients:

6 cups watermelon, chopped into 1 inch cubes
½ red or white onion, thinly sliced
2-3 Tbsp. feta cheese
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Toss watermelon, onion, and cheese in a medium bowl.
2. Pour vinegar and oil over and toss again.  Season with salt and pepper.

 

Go make this now with all your extra watermelon!

Orzo Salad

This is a copy cat recipe for J. Alexander’s Orzo and Wild Rice Salad.  I’ve never had the restaurant version, but everyone who has said it tastes just like J. Alexander’s.

This serves a LOT!  I recommend halving this recipe if you’re not feeding an army.  That’s a 4.5 quart bowl in the picture and that doesn’t include the other container in my fridge.  I made an extra large batch so I would have some to take to a cookout Sunday night and some for our family cookout Monday afternoon.  I still have a good amount leftover, so guess what I’ll be having for lunch all week!

Adapted from AllRecipes and cdkitchen.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 boxes Orzo

2 packages Wild Rice

½ medium red onion

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1 can corn kernels, drained

3 green onions, chopped

½ cup currants (omitted because I couldn’t find them in the store)

2-3 garlic cloves, chopped

 

Dressing:

½ cup white balsamic vinegar

4 Tbsp. lemon juice

¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¾ cup canola oil

4 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 Tbsp. dried basil

S&P

 

1. Cook orzo and wild rice according to package directions.  Cool in refrigerator.
2. For the dressing:  Whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, mustard, garlic, basil, s&p. Slowly whisk in the oils.
3. Place all ingredients in a large bowl (including dressing) and toss well.

Salsa Chicken Salad

This is such an easy dip and it’s something different from your regular salsa or cheese dip.  Perfect snack for a summer picnic or party….or just for lunch like me.

Source:  Paula Deen, The Lady and Sons Too!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups cooked and shredded chicken

16 oz. sour cream

16 oz. chunky salsa

½ packet Ranch dressing mix

1 cup shredded pepperjack cheese

8 oz. container water chestnuts, chopped

Mix all ingredients together, chill in the fridge for a couple hours.  Serve cold with tortilla chips or as tortilla roll-ups.

Greek Pasta Salad

On Sundays, I like to make something to have for lunch for the upcoming week.  It's usually some kind of salad or soup.  This Greek Pasta Salad is light and refreshing...perfect for the nice warm weather we've been having!

Adapted from Robin Miller

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 box of Ditalini or other small pasta

2 cups of cooked Chicken, diced

1 Green Pepper, diced

½ Red Onion, diced

1 Tomato, seeded and diced

1 package of crumbled Feta

Dressing:

1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard

½ cup Chicken Broth

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1 tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar

2 cloves of Garlic

1 teaspoon dried Oregano

1 teaspoon dried Thyme

1. Cook pasta to al dente, according to package directions. 
2. Whisk all the dressing ingredients together, season with salt and pepper.  Pour into large bowl with the diced chicken, green pepper, onion, and tomato.  
3. Add pasta after it has cooled slightly, and stir in Feta.

Strawberry-Kiwi Tossed Salad

I made this salad for Easter Brunch... oh man!  It was De-lish!  This is a keeper.  It was gone so fast I didn't have time to take a picture!

Source:  Taste of Home

Ingredients:
2 bags of salad greens (I used a spinach mix and a spring mix)
1 cup of Strawberries, sliced
1 Kiwi, sliced
½ Red Onion, sliced
1 package of Feta cheese
Toasted Walnuts or Pecans

Dressing:
½ cup Mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Sugar
2-3 tablespoons Raspberry Jam
1-2 tablespoons Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar
1 tablespoon Milk (you can use a little more to get a thinner consistency)
2½ tablespoons Poppyseeds

1. Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.
2. Toss all salad ingredients together in a large salad bowl and mix in dressing.   (You may not need all of the dressing.)