BLT Salad with Avocado Ranch Dressing

This salad was so yummy and refreshing. Also quick and easy. You can pretty much put what you want in it. We love BLTs in this house and we love to add cheddar and avocado to them so I adjusted the salad to my taste. And the dressing...OH SO YUMMY!

Romaine Lettuce

Tomato

Bacon

Avocado

Cheese

Croutons

or whatever else you like

Salad Dressing: Recipe below

Avocado Ranch Dressing:

1 whole avocado

1/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup sour cream

1 Tbl buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp white vinegar

1/8 tsp dried parsley

1/8 tsp dried dill weed

1/8 tsp onion powder

1 garlic clove, minced

Mash the avocado in a bowl. Add the mayo, sour cream, buttermilk and vinegar. Add the parsley, dill weed, onion powder and garlic. Chill in fridge until ready to serve.

If your dressing is to thick you can add more vinegar or buttermilk to your liking.

Reader Submission Friday - Cha Cha Chicken Salad

We haven't seen R.S.F. in a very long time. We were inundated with recipes from people that really enjoyed the blog. And trust me, we are trying to get to all of them. In fact I'm backed up like 20 recipes right now that I need to blog...so people...PATIENCE, PATIENCE!

I had to submit this particular recipe though as soon as I could because it's just soooo amazingly good and I love how semi-homemade it is. It's easy and tasty. I love those two things together.

These pictures and recipe were sent in to me by Amber Dellisanti. We've had a shout out to her before. She has really taken to this blog and has made several recipes. She's cute as a button and we love her dearly.

P.S. And she's crafty...check out her Etsy store for adorable kid's items.

Cha Cha Chicken Salad

Package of Angel Hair Cabbage

1 Celery Stalk

2 Green Onions

Shredded rotisserie chicken or one or two cooked chicken breasts

Chow Mein Noodles

Cashews or Peanuts

3/4 cup Cha Cha Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing

Just mix all the ingredients together and enjoy!

When I made this recipe for my family, I used peanuts and I added shelled Edamame. It was really good because it added even more crunch.

Mediterranean Turkey Meatball Salad

So as most of you know, I'm on a diet. No fun..I know! I have decided to go with South Beach Diet. I've done it in the past and lost weight and it's a heart healthy diet so I really like it. The first two weeks is horrible as you can have no sugar and no carbs. So that means, no candy, no bread. Surprisingly this time around with this diet, the first two weeks wasn't so bad. I found a few good blogs that cater to South Beachers which totally helps and I will list some of those recipes soon. But the first one I wanted to show you was actually a take off from one of my own recipes. One of my first posts on this blog was for my Mediterranean Turkey Meatball Pitas. Since I'm still on Phase 1, I can't have the pita. I love this dish so much, I thought I would try it as a salad. It was delish! I put the meatballs over the salad and used the Tzatziki sauce* as dressing. It was really good. Next time around, I might throw some olives in there and some Feta Cheese, which I am allowed to have. But even with just the lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes, this salad was super filling. By the way, I lost 7 lbs in the first week...Not bad, huh?

Mediterranean Turkey Meatball Salad

1 pound Ground Turkey Breast

1/4 cup finely diced onion

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried parsley

1 clove minced garlic

1 tsp dill

Combine turkey meatball ingredients, mix well. Shape into balls. Using non-stick skillet coated with non-stick cooking spray or a little olive oil, cook meatballs about 10 minutes or until brown and no longer pink in the center.** Combine sauce ingredients if making home made.

Homemade Tzatziki Sauce

1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt or greek yogurt

1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely chopped

2 tsp fresh dill

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/8 tsp black pepper

Salad ingredients:

Romaine hearts, rinsed and chopped

Sliced tomatoes or cherry tomatoes

Sliced cucumbers

Other ingredients to add:

Olives

Feta Cheese

*I buy Tzatziki sauce from Trader Joe's when I don't have time to make it. It's just as good.

**You can freeze these meatballs and put them in a Ziploc freezer bag and have them on hand for future use. If I buy the sauce at Trader Joe's, this is one of the fastest meals I can make, no lie!

Chinese Chicken Salad

My blogging BFF, Jaime made this salad for my baby shower a month ago and it was a hit, not only with me but for everyone! I received so many e-mails from friends asking for this recipe, so I got it from Jaime and made it a few times. I love it! It's so refreshing, crispy and absolutely delish!

3/4 to 1 cup oil - I prefer Olive Oil

6 Tbls red wine vinegar

1 Tbls soy sauce

4 Tbls sugar

2 packets from the Oriental Top Ramen Packets (sold in the soup section)

Additional items to toss in the salad:

Chicken breast

Toatsed Almonds, my favorite!

Red Onions

Toast the almonds until golden brown, I use olive oil to help with the toasting process.

Mix oil, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and Top Ramen packets together. Just like any salad dressing you make, you can adjust it by adding a little more of any ingredient to your liking...however, I personally prefer sticking with the original. Drizzle over your favorite salad, I love Romain. Top with your almonds and don't forget to break up the uncooked noodles of the soup package as a "crouton" topper.

-Enjoy

Strawberry Pecan Salad

Once again, I have an amazing recipe from my sister-in-law Kim. That girl can cook! This salad has become quite the staple at all of our anniversary parties and baby showers and family picnics. It sounds very time consuming but it's really not. So here you go folks...If your butt gets bigger, it's not because of me...you can blame Kim for this very addicting salad.

Strawberry Pecan Salad

1 bag spring mix salad

1/2 square container of fresh strawberries, sliced

1/2 c to 1 cup candied pecans (recipe below)

Mozzarella cheese (diced)

10 or so grape or cherry tomatoes (optional)

1/4 to 1/2 chopped avocado (optional)

Classic French Vinaigrette (with added honey) (recipe below)

Jaime's quick tip: If you buy string cheese in bulk, like I do, just cut up string cheese for this salad. It's makes it easy especially if you are making a small salad.

I usually make this for a large crowd so I buy the spring mix in the big rectangle plastic container at Costco. I then adjust the recipe for the bigger salad. It's really based on how much you like of the different items you put in. I usually double the recipe of the dressing if I make a large batch like that.

Classic French Viniagrette

1/4 c balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

pinch of salt

2-3 pinches of sugar

1 tsp mustard

1/2 cup olive oil

Whisk sugar with vinegar until dissolved. Add mustard and whisk until very well blended. Add garlic and salt. Very slowly dribble the oil unto the vinegar while continuously whisking.

NOTE: For the Strawberry Pecan Salad, add some honey to the dressing to make it sweet.

Candied Pecans

Chop pecans up. About 1 cup. I use my Pampered Chef chopper but you could put them in a food processor but that's a little too chopped up for me.

Heat up 1/2 cup sugar in a pan on medium high heat in a non-stick pan. Sugar will start to dissolve. Watch closely. Once this happens, start stirring until sugar is completely liquid. Take off the heat and add the chopped pecans. Stir until well coated. Pour immediately on foil. Let cool. Break into pieces. Great on salad and as for a snack, as well. YUMMY!

Kim's Favorite Turkey Burgers w/ Tomato Cucumber Salad

I got this recipe out of the cookbook that my sister-in-law Kim headed up. It's entitled May I Have Your Recipe? It's a collection of family and friends' recipes. I love it and have it open on my counter every single day. This recipe is Kim's recipe and it's called "My Favorite Turkey Burger". We loved it. It was super yummy and really easy. I served it with a tomato cucumber salad. I got this recipe from the blog Dish on Delish (which I think she got it from the blog Rookie Cookie). Try both these recipes out...it was all so yummy and good for you.

Side Note: I told Luke that it was a giant meatball and he was excited to eat the giant meatball. I just cut it up for him and Dylan. They gobbled it up.

3/4 lb ground skinless turkey breast

2 scallions or 1/2 onion, minced (I used green onions)

1 t soy sauce

1 t ketchup

1/4 t garlic powder

4 whole wheat hamburger buns, split and toasted

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Form into burgers. Grill until cooked thru, about 7 minutes each side. Easy to cook on stovetop, as well.

I added lettuce, tomato, avocado and turkey bacon. I also added a dollop of barbecue sauce....pretty tasty. You can also add cheese if you like.

Tomato Cucumber Salad

This is pretty much a free for all. You can put anything you like in this. Tonight I added tomato, cucumber, fresh basil and after I took the pic, I decided at the last minute to add mozzarella. (Hint: cut up string cheese into bite size pieces...very easy).

Then add a splash of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, rice wine vinegar, oregano, sea salt and crushed black pepper. Serve chilled. Pretty easy! I might add red onion next time.

I got that fresh organic basil plant at Fresh and Easy...2.99...I use it all the time.

Just pluck off the leaves as you need them.

sisters will play while family's away

So my whole family (other than Tina) is in Mexico. Tina and I were feeling a little left out so I invited her over for dinner. I looked to see what might sound good in my pantry or refrigerator and I had just bought some pesto from Fresh and Easy so I thought I would make her a chicken pesto pasta dish. (side note: I got this pesto for 2 bucks and change...and it wasn't even expired...how great is that!). I looked around on the blogs and found a few I liked but I doctored this one up to my liking...so I think I can offically say this is my first recipe that I "created". Of course I used store bought pesto...I haven't ventured out and made homemade pesto yet....but I will...someday. Also, I realized a little later that I hadn't planned for dessert so I checked the ole trusty pantry again. I found a box of brownies. Let me tell you, there are few things in this life that are just beyond Divine...and a box of brownies is one them. I hate homemade from scratch brownies. I think they're gross...they are thick and dense and you can never get the chocolate right. And for less than 2 bucks and 28-30 minutes later, you are devouring yummy gooey brownies. Well I wanted to try something different and on the side of the box was this recipe for Peanut Butter Brownies...I think they called them Ball Park Brownies or something...eewwww, sounds like a hot dog. I thought I would try it out. YUMMY! This was definitely semi-homemade cooking at its finest. They were delish and remember, only serve brownies with real vanilla bean ice cream. Oh, and before I forget, I also decided to make these little parmesan crisps that I had saw on another blog, as well. They were so easy and sooooo yummy! You gotta make 'em...you'll be hooked. So here's my dinner tonight...Chicken Penne with Cream Pesto Sauce, Ceasar Salad with Parmesan Crisps, Naan Bread (love this stuff) and Peanut Butter Brownies with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream...bon appetite!

Chicken Penne Pesto

Cheap, huh???

Homemade Pesto or Store Bought

Half pint of heavy cream

1 cup peas (I use frozen)

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 cup sun dried tomatoes

2 large grilled chicken breast sliced

1 lb penne pasta

Boil pasta according to directions on package

Grill your chicken (we love to marinade our chicken in either Newman's Own or Bernsteins Italian dressing with the juice of one lemon...it's the best marinade ever), when chicken is done, thinly slice and set aside.

In large skillet on medium heat simmer pesto and heavy cream for 5 minutes

Add peas, mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes. Let simmer for about 15 minutes until peas and mushrooms are cooked thru. Add chicken and mix around until well coated.

Serve the pesto mixture of the penne pasta.

Parmesan Crisps

Spray cookie sheet with oil. Make little grated parmesan piles all over cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Youl could eat these things like chips...they are so good. Excuse the rust marks on my cookie sheet, I need to get to IKEA and get me some more...they have the absolute best cookie sheets.

Naan Bread

(Very addicting...get em at Trader Joe's...frozen or fresh)

Brush with melted butter and place in 350 degree oven and heat thru...about 10 minutes

Peanut Butter Brownies

1 package of Brownies...any kind will do...I really like Betty Crocker but Duncan Hines was on sale

1/2 cup oil (I use canola)

2 eggs

Mix the brownie mix together...set aside

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/3 cup butter (it called for margarine..but I'm not a fan)

1/3 cup sugar

2 T flour

2 eggs

Beat together peanut butter and butter. Add sugar and flour, mix well. Add eggs, mix well.

Grease a 13x9 pan. Pour half the brownie mix into the pan, then spread the peanut butter mixture over the top. This was kinda hard and mine sorta got swirled in.

Then add the remaining brownie mixture. Cook in a 350 deg preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Even Scott and Luke enjoyed the meal!