Strawberry Spinach Craisin Salad with Candied Almonds

This was the first "fancy salad" (a.k.a. a salad with more than lettuce and tomatoes) that I made and fell in love with.  It's a staple at our BBQ's and when I'm asked to bring a salad to a potluck, this is my go to recipe.  It's always a hit and I usually end up passing along the recipe before I leave.  I know there are so many versions of this salad out there, but trust me, this right here is the BEST one!

Salad:
1 pkg spinach
1 chopped apple
1 can mandarin oranges
½ C crasins
1 C sliced strawberries
½ C slicedAlmonds
¼ C sugar

Dressing:
zest of one lemon
2 Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 Tbs vegetable oil
2 1/2 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp mustard seed

Put almonds and sugar in a small pan and heat over high heat. Stir constantly until sugar melts, coat evenly then spread out in a single layer on a sheet of parchment paper.  Put aside to cool and set while preparing the rest of the salad.  Combine dressing ingredients, whisk well then refrigerate.  Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl, top with candied almonds. Right before serving, stir dressing then drizzle over  salad and mix well.

Italian Caprese Chopped Salad

This salad is so great, year round!  I first tried it in the summer.  It's so simple, light and fresh.  I love it in the winter too though.  It's a refreshing light dish in the midst of the plethora of winter comfort foods and a delicious reminder of summer days to come.

2 packages grape tomatoes, sliced in half
fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
12 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, diced into cubes
sea salt and pepper, to taste

In a serving dish, combine tomatoes and basil.  Pour balsamic vinegar over them and stir until evenly coated.  Before serving add in mozzarella, salt and pepper to taste.  Stir and serve.

Source:  Baked In The South

Oriental Grilled Chicken Salad

I love this time of year!  The weather is getting warm, flowers are blooming and all the brown is turning to green.  It's the perfect time of year to start breaking out the salad recipes for a delicious, light dinner.  We recently had a women's activity at church and they had all these amazing salads for dinner.  This was one of my favorites.  I got the recipe and made it for dinner tonight and everyone loved it!  Well, everyone that normally loves salad.  My two non-salad eaters enjoyed a PBJ sandwich, as usual.  They have no idea what they are missing out on.  The rest of us didn't mind though because that meant more for us.

Dressing:
½ cup white vinegar
1 cup white sugar
1 TBS sesame oil
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 cup olive oil

Put sugar and vinegar in blender. Blend at low speed. While blending, add salt, pepper, and sesame oil. Turn the blender to high and gradually add the olive oil.

Salad:
2 heads romaine lettuce, washed and cut into bite size pieces
1-2 chicken breasts, grilled and cut into thin strips
½ red pepper, cut into strips
½ small red onion, cut into thin strips
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
2 or 3 handfuls of fried wonton strips
1 handful of caramelized almonds*

Put lettuce in salad bowl. Top with chicken pieces, red pepper, onion, and mandarin oranges. Just before serving, add the wonton strips and almonds. Pour dressing on top and serve. Do not toss!

* You can buy caramelized almonds, but I prefer to make them.  I think they taste better, are cheaper and super easy to make.  To make your own caramelized almonds, put 1 cup almond sliver and 1/2 cup white sugar in a small frying pan.  Heat over high heat, stirring constantly.  It won't look like anything is happening, but keep stirring.  After about two minutes, the sugar will suddenly turn caramel like.  Stir until almonds are evenly coated then remove from heat.  Pour out onto a greased sheet of parchment paper.  Spread out so that it is a thin single layer and let it cool while you make the salad.  When cooled, crumble over salad.  If you haven't eaten them all before then :)

Source:  Seidi Bennett

Mango Black Bean Quinoa Salad

I was at my friend's house the other day and she pulled out this beautiful, delicious salad.  After one bite, I knew I had to get the recipe!  With salad season just around the corner, I'm excited to have this one in my arsenal of recipes.  It will most definitely be making a regular appearance throughout the summer.  It tastes great the next day too, so throw those leftovers in the fridge and enjoy them for lunch the next day!

Ingredients
2 cups cooked quinoa, at room temperature or chilled
1 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium mango, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
4 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Place cooked quinoa in a large bowl.  Add mango, red pepper, green onion, black beans, and cilantro.  In a small bowl combine vinegar, olive oil, and lime juice.  Whisk until smooth and pour on top of salad.  Toss to combine and add salt and pepper to taste.  Chill for at least one hour before serving.

Source:  Candice Nielson

Broccoli Salad with Dried Cranberries

This classic salad is definitely on my list of favorites.  The tangy dressing, crispy bacon and tart cranberries combine so perfectly.  Oh, and then there's the broccoli too.  The healthy part of this dish that makes me not feel so guilty about eating it when I'm on my third helping.  With this salad comes a hint of summer, BBQ's and the promise of warmer days to come.  I'll take another serving of that, please!

Ingredients
2 heads fresh broccoli
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1/2 pound bacon, cooked
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup of dried cranberries
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, shelled
2 1/2 tablespoons vinegar
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar


Directions
Chop broccoli florets into bite-size pieces. Crumble bacon up.  Combine broccoli, bacon, onions, cheddar cheese and dried cranberries in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl combine vinegar, sugar and mayonnaise. Pour over broccoli mixture and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until serving.  Stir in sunflower seeds right before serving.  For best flavor, make salad the day before serving.

Source:  Jam Hands

{Skinny} Chicken Salad

I don't know about you, but I eat much healthier when I plan ahead.  If I'm hungry and grab whatever is quick and easy, it's usually not so healthy.  If I plan ahead and prepare some healthy snacks and meals to have on hand when hunger hits, it's much easier to stick to healthy eating habits.  This is one of my favorites.  The original recipe is from Jillian Michaels and makes 4 cups.  Each 1/2 cup serving only has 118 calories.  I like to make a double batch and keep the extras in the fridge to pull out for a quick lunch or snack.  You can serve it sandwich style, scoop it up with crackers, roll it up in a leaf of lettuce or eat it just plain.  So many options.  And speaking of options, this recipe is very versatile.  If you're not a fan of the grapes (ahem, Jamie), just leave them out.  Not so fond of the celery?  Replace them with cucumbers.  Cashews are my favorite nut but you can switch them out for another kind if you have a different favorite.  I've listed some optional seasonings that I like to add in (not all at the same time though!).  Play around with it and find the seasonings that do it for you.  Make this salad yours and enjoy a yummy, guilt free, protein packed meal!

Ingredients
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and cubed
1 cup red seedless grapes, cut in half
1/3 cup chopped cashews
1/3 cup non or low fat plain greek yogurt
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1 tsp cider vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
Optional seasonings and herbs:  chili powder, garlic salt, cumin, paprika, green onions, parsley, cilantro

Directions
Put the cubed chicken into a large bowl. Add the grapes and cashews and toss gently to mix the ingredients. In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, celery, honey, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pour the dressing over the chicken and stir gently to coat. Season to taste.  Store the salad in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.

Source:  Cassie Cakes

BBQ Chicken Salad

This has got to be my favorite salad!  The BBQ sauce combined with the ranch dressing, drizzled over the mix of veggies, corn and beans is southwest brilliance.  But the real winner of this show goes to the chicken.  I dream about this chicken.  The pan seared, golden, crispy chicken breast, swimming among the BBQ sauce is almost too much for me to handle!  Chop that up and mix it in with all the rest of the goods and I am in salad heaven!  Maybe it's the Texas in me, but when it comes to salad love, my heart belongs to this bad boy.

For the chicken:
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp salt
dash of cayenne pepper
1 cup barbecue sauce

Mix olive oil and seasonings in a large ziploc bag. Add raw chicken and coat evenly. Heat skillet over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. Place chicken breasts in skillet and cook for 7 minutes. Turn chicken and cook an additional 7 minutes, or until cooked through. Pour half of BBQ sauce over chicken. Turn chicken over, and pour remaining sauce over the other side. Cook 2-3 minutes more while flipping the chicken and basting with additional sauce if necessary. Remove chicken to cutting board and shred into large chunks then set aside to cool.

For the salad:
1 head of lettuce
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 cup corn
1 cup black beans
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Tortilla strips (optional)
Tomatoes, diced
Avocado, diced
Cooked chopped chicken
BBQ sauce
Ranch dressing

Finely chop the lettuce, mix in cilantro then add to individual serving dishes. Top each serving with corn, black beans, tomatoes, avocado, BBQ chicken, cheese and tortilla strips and a drizzle of ranch dressing and BBQ sauce.

Source:  Who Wants Dinner

Angel Hair Caprese Salad

Even though winter is still heavy in the air, I've been in the mood for some light summery food.  I found this angel hair pasta recipe on allrecipes.com and it was very tempting.  Then, a few days later came across this recipe on Who Wants Dinner.  That was enough to push me over the edge.  I HAD to have some pasta!  I didn't have the exact ingredients for either salad, so I combined the two and came up with my own version.  We had company over for dinner that night and I'd say it was a hit.  When you see people going back for seconds and thirds, you know you have a winner.  You can serve this as a side dish or top it off with some grilled chicken and to make it heartier and serve it as a main dish.

Ingredients
2 cups cherry tomatoes
16 oz angel hair pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves minced garlic
8 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions
Bring water for pasta to a boil.  Slice cherry tomatoes in half.  When the water reaches a full boil, put the tomato halves in.  Boil for 3-5 minutes.  Remove from water and set aside.  Add pasta and cook until al dente.  Drain, return pasta to pot.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Mix well.  Can serve hot or cold.

Source:  All Recipes and Who Wants Dinner

Cranberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Chicken and Orange Poppy Seed Dressing

This salad is fabulous!  It's got so many of my favorite, power packed foods - grilled chicken, avocado, feta cheese, dried cranberries.  And then there's this dressing.  It's got a zippy citrus flavor that's a little sweet from the honey and a little tangy from the dijon mustard.  Mix it all together and you've got a heavenly, healthy meal.

Ingredients
Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp honey
2 tsp dijon mustard (I like Emeril's)
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
Salad:
1 lb chicken, grilled
9 oz baby spinach
2 medium avocados, cored and diced
1 cup crumbled feta
3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions
Add olive oil, canola oil, orange zest, orange juice, lemon juice, honey, dijon mustard and salt to a blender. Pulse until well emulsified. Pour into a jar and stir in poppy seeds. Refrigerate until ready to use.  Add all salad ingredients to a large bowl. Pour dressing over top and toss to evenly coat. Serve immediately.

Source:  Cooking Classy

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

I love a good salad.  Grilled chicken over lettuce, topped with a little balsamic dressing is my go to salad but it's nice to change things up and throw something different into the mix every now and then.  My friend passed this one along to me a few years ago and I still love to pull it out and serve it for a filling, but lighter meal.  This salad is packed full of amazing and the dressing has just a little zip that will leave you wanting more.

Ingredients:
Dressing:
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2/3 cup light sour cream or yogurt
1 tablespoon minced chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Salad:
4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts) Leftover grilled chicken works too.
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup diced peeled avocado
1/3 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (8 3/4-ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, rinsed and drained or use frozen

Directions:
To prepare dressing, combine first 7 ingredients, stir until well mixed.  To prepare salad, combine lettuce and the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately. Store leftovers in the fridge – it’s just as good the second day!
Tip: Add a spoonful of adobo sauce for a spicier salad. Kidney or pinto beans also work in this salad.
Yield: 4 Servings   Servings Size: Approx 2 1/2 cups

Source:  Nutmeg Notebook via Karilyn Shields