Salads

Herbed Greek Chicken Salad

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Another venture into Mediterranean recipes brought me this delicious, yet simple, salad with chicken.

I didn’t realize how much I loved the subtle tastes of these foods until I took my first bite of salad.  My eyes closed and all I could say was “Mmmm…this is really good.”

This is a pretty healthy dish–protein, veggies, some healthy fats.  Sounds like a pretty good option for lunch today, right?

Herbed Greek Chicken Salad
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Ingredients
  1. 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  2. 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  3. 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
  4. 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
  5. Cooking spray
  6. 1 lb. thin sliced skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut in 1-inch cubes
  7. 5 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, divided
  8. 1 cup plain yogurt
  9. 2 teaspoons tahini (sesame seed paste)
  10. 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
  11. 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
  12. 1 cup peeled, chopped English cucumber
  13. 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
  14. 6 pitted Kalamata olives, halved
  15. 1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Instructions
  1. In a small prep bowl, combine oregano, garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
  2. Place the cubed chicken in a medium bowl toss with the herb mixture.
  3. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray, then add the chicken. Saute until chicken is done. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and stir. Remove from pan.
  4. In another small bowl, combine remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, yogurt, tahini and garlic. Stir well.
  5. Combine lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and olives in a large bowl.
  6. Place 2 1/2 cups of lettuce mixture on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with 1/2 cup chicken and 1 tablespoon cheese. Drizzle each serving with 3 tablespoons yogurt mixture.
Notes
  1. I was not able to drizzle the yogurt dressing because it was pretty thick. You will probably need to thin this out, maybe with a little milk? I wouldn’t increase the amount of lemon juice.
  2. I found tahini by the peanut butter at my local Wal-Mart.
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Frog Eye Salad

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Although this recipe has been around quite a while, it still seems to be unknown to many.  At a recent church function I was asked two questions about it:  “What is this?” and “Can I have the recipe?”  It makes a lot and is a very satisfying side dish or light dessert.

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cup pineapple juice (reserved from canned pineapple)
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 16-ounce package Acini de Pepe pasta
2 11-ounce cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained and juice reserved
2 20-ounce cans pineapple chunks, drained and juice reserved
1 9-ounce carton non-dairy whipped topping
marshmallows
coconut
maraschino cherries, halved

1.  Combine sugar, flour, pineapple juice, and eggs in a medium saucepan stirring well to combine.  Cook over medium heat until thickened stirring often.  Remove from heat, add lemon juice and stir to combine.  Set aside to cool.
2.  Cook Acini de Pepe pasta according to package directions.  Drain, rinse with cool water, and set aside to cool.  (Unless you have a sieve-type large colander, you may have to line your colander with paper towels like I did…..otherwise the pasta will escape through the holes!)
3.  In a large bowl, combine the cooled egg mixture and the cooled pasta.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap (or lid if you have it) and refrigerate until serving time.
4.  When ready to serve add the fruit, whipped topping, marshmallows, coconut, and cherries.

Notes:

  • The amounts for the marshmallows, coconut, and cherries are up to you.  I like a lot of each, so I added almost a whole bag of mallows, about half a bag of coconut, and a large jar of cherries.
  • This salad keeps well in the fridge after the initial serving but is always best right after the last ingredients are added.  To “freshen” it up a bit after it’s been in the fridge, just add some more whipped topping.
  • Acini dep Pepe pasta is not hard to find in most grocery stores.  It’s just with all the other pastas, not in a special section or anything.  It looks like little balls….it’s the “frog eye” in this salad.
Source:  I got it for the first time from my sister, Amy (fellow Maven known as “Amos”)
 
Originally posted on April 1, 2013.

Mandarin Sunburst Salad

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Father’s Day was celebrated a day early for us this year so that we could get together with our oldest daughter and her family.  They were reserving Sunday for her husband to enjoy an easy day at home after church. 

We picked up some amazing deep-fried barbecued chicken from Maw Maw’s Kitchen–a local southern diner. That was my husband’s idea because he really didn’t want to man the grill on his day.

I needed to add a couple of sides, so this ramen-inspired salad was just the ticket.  I also added Frosted Salad.  Great pairings! 

We had a delicious meal and then topped it off with Apple Pie and ice cream.  Good thing I had yoga the following Monday morning to start off a new week of working out at the Y.  Oh goodness. 

Mandarin Sunburst Salad
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Ingredients
  1. 2 pkg. ramen noodles, chicken flavor
  2. 1 pkg. (14-oz.) Cole Slaw
  3. 1 can (15-oz.) Mandarin oranges, drained
  4. 1 pkg. (5 or 6 oz.) dried sweetened cranberries
  5. 4 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
  6. 12-16 snow peas, cut diagonally into thirds
  7. 1/2 cup toasted, sliced almonds, divided (Opt. if you have nut allergies)
  8. 1/2 cup canola oil
  9. 1/3 cup sugar
  10. 1/4 cup white vinegar
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Open noodles packages. Reserve one seasoning packet for dressing and save other for future use, if desired.
  3. Break up ramen noodles into small pieces.
  4. Arrange noodles on an ungreased baking sheet and bake 10-13 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack covered with waxed paper.
  5. In a large bowl, combine Cole slaw, oranges, cranberries, onions, snow peas, 1/4 cup almonds and cooled noodles.
  6. Whisk oil, sugar, vinegar and reserved seasoning in a small bowl until well blended. Pour over slaw mixture and toss to coat evenly and combine all other ingredients. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup almonds over salad.
Notes
  1. This can be prepared 1-2 hours ahead of time and refrigerated to soften noodles. But you do want a little crunch!
Adapted from Fine Cooking
Adapted from Fine Cooking
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Frosted Salad

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This Frosted Salad is delicious!  To tell the truth, I would just eat the topping and leave the rest, but that wouldn’t be fair to anyone else.

I cannot for the life of me remember where I got this recipe–maybe a magazine–and it has been DECADES since I made it.  A browsing session through our family cookbook brought back the memories of that topping and I was like “oh yes, this will be made for our Father’s Day dinner.”

 

Frosted Salad
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Ingredients
  1. 2 pkg. strawberry Jello
  2. 2 cups lemon-lime soft drink
  3. 1/2 pt. whipping cream
  4. 2 cups boiling water
  5. 1 (20-oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained, reserve juice
  6. 2 large bananas, diced
  7. 1/2 cup reserved pineapple juice
  8. 1/2 cup sugar
  9. 2 T. flour
  10. 2 t. butter
  11. 1 egg, well-beaten
Instructions
  1. Drain pineapple and save juice for the topping.
  2. Dissolve Jello in boiling water. Stir in lemon-lime drink. Chill until partially set.
  3. Add pineapple and bananas and stir well. Chill until set.
  4. In a small saucepan, combine reserved pineapple juice, sugar, flour, butter and egg and cook until thickened.
  5. Remove from heat and allow to cool (you can put this in fridge).
  6. When cooled, add 1/2 cup WHIPPED cream and spread on salad. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
  1. Don't forget to whip the whipping cream before adding to topping mixture.
Adapted from unknown
Adapted from unknown
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Southern Cole Slaw

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If you haven’t tried Southern Cole Slaw, you are missing out on the perfect pairing for hot dogs, barbeque (beef or pork), steak or whatever!. This recipe is from my Mom and I have used it for years–now I am sharing it with you.

I am also going to share a shortcut that I just picked up today at our local grocery store.  It will save you a LOT of time and probably some finger skin (gross, right?)–if you use a box grater, then you know what I’m talkin’ about.  You can also grate your cabbage in a food processor.  Here is the link to Chef Buddys Southern Slaw.  This is the already diced cabbage, green bell pepper, and onion.  

You will notice that my recipe does not have bell pepper or onion.  These were ingredients in the packaged slaw mix.  Personally, I prefer not to have those two ingredients but you might like it. My recipe includes carrots so I used Thrive Freeze-Dried Carrots to save time and my fingers.

Southern Cole Slaw
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Ingredients
  1. 1 head of cabbage, grated*
  2. 2 medium carrots or about 1/3 cup of Thrive Freeze-Dried Carrots
  3. 2/3 cup mayonnaise
  4. 1 1/2 T. apple cider vinegar
  5. 4 t. sugar
  6. 1 t. salt
  7. 3/4 t. celery seed
Instructions
  1. Combine cabbage and carrots in a large bowl and set aside.
  2. Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Add to the cabbage and carrots and toss until well-blended.
  3. Refrigerate for at least an hour to let the flavors combine.
Notes
  1. * Here is where you substitute the Chef Buddys Southern Slaw pre-diced package.
Adapted from Patricia D. Brew
Adapted from Patricia D. Brew
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Southwest Cornbread Salad

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Here’s a tasty, healthy summer salad that makes a great side dish to just about any cookout or family meal.  I used this for a cookout with my daughter’s in-laws just the other day.  Use your favorite cornbread recipe or do like I did and search our site.  I found this delicious recipe right HERE.  This is now my go-t0 cornbread–delicious!! 

A couple of things to note about this recipe: the pumpkin seeds are a little chewy so next time I am going to make it with sunflower kernels; the dressing is made with plain yogurt, so if you want a little sweeter taste use French or regular Vanilla; if you don’t like lime so much, just reduce the amount. My husband was skeptical about the dressing because of the lime.  Go figure.

And again, thanks for your continued support and patience as we try to work out our crazy lives so that we can cook again…and actually blog about it!

Southwest Cornbread Salad
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Ingredients
  1. 6 T. lime juice
  2. 4 t. sugar
  3. 2 c. plain yogurt
  4. 1/2 c. olive oil
  5. 1 (8 x 8 pan) cornbread, cut in 1 inch pieces
  6. 6 c. romaine lettuce, chopped
  7. 1 (15-oz.) can black beans, drained & rinsed
  8. 2-3 avocados, chopped
  9. 2 c. chopped tomato
  10. 1/4 c. toasted pumpkin seeds
  11. 1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, mix lime juice, sugar, yogurt and oil.
  2. In bottom of a large glass bowl, distribute cornbread cubes to cover the bottom.
  3. Layer the following ingredients in this order: romaine, beans, avocado, tomato and the dressing.
  4. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds & cilantro.
  5. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Notes
  1. Dip your serving spoon to the bottom of the bowl to be sure and get all the flavors from the foods! And if you make your own cornbread, try baking at 375 degrees in a convection oven for 18 minutes.
Adapted from Relish
Adapted from Relish
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Autumn Chopped Salad

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We originally posted this salad on October 7, 2012.  I was looking up the ingredients to make it for dinner tonight and thought I would repost it.  One of my all-time favorites and this is the perfect time of year to enjoy it!
 
Oh Pinterest, how we love thee and how we love the world of food that you have brought to us!  I pinned this recipe the other day and my sister and I made it last night.  Oh so good.  It was a big hit with all!  Even the guys.  Just love chopped salads.
 
 
Autumn Chopped Salad
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Ingredients
  1. 6-8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
  2. 2 medium pears, chopped (we used one green and one red)
  3. 1 cup dried cranberries (love me some Craisins!)
  4. 1 cup chopped pecans
  5. 8 slices thick-cut bacon, crisp and crumbled (we used pre-packaged real bacon pieces, because of time)
  6. 4-6 oz. crumbled feta cheese
  7. Poppy Seed Salad Dressing
  8. Balsamic Vinaigrette (we used Newman's Own, my personal favorite)
Instructions
  1. Combine the lettuce, pears, cranberries, pecans, bacon and feta on a large platter.
  2. Drizzle generously with the poppy seed dressing, followed by the balsamic vinaigrette (you should end up with about a cup of dressing, so adjust the quantities of the two dressings according to your taste bud preferences).
  3. We added chopped, cooked chicken to this recipe when we made it because we were using it as a main dish.  Grilled would be a great option on the chicken, but we were in a hurry so we picked up one of those awesome rotisserie chickens at the grocery store.  Yeah, one of those....
Adapted from Espresso and Cream
Adapted from Espresso and Cream
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/
 

Oriental Chicken Salad with Crunchy Noodles

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Oriental Chicken Salad with Crunchy Noodles

Ramen!  I don’t think they had this when I was a poor college student, but it sure has become popular over the years.  My first experience with it was in a delicious salad a friend shared at a church dinner.  I was mesmerized and asked for the recipe.  Which I could not find this week, so I googled and found this recipe.  It’s a little different than my friend’s but it’s a variation on the same theme.  I made some changes to this recipe and it proved to be delish!

Oriental Chicken Salad with Crunchy Noodles
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Ingredients
  1. 2-3 cups chopped cooked chicken breasts (I used Thrive chicken)
  2. 1 head of cabbage, shredded or chopped (I opted for Broccoli slaw, 2 12-oz. pkgs.)
  3. 1 bunch green onion, finely chopped (Thrive chopped green onion)
  4. 2 2.5-oz. pkgs. slivered almonds
  5. 3 T. sunflower seeds, shelled of course
  6. 1 can Mandarin oranges, drained well
  7. 2 pkgs. Ramen noodles
  8. 3 T. vegetable oil
Dressing
  1. 3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
  2. 4 1/2 T. seasoned rice vinegar
  3. 4 1/2 T. sugar
  4. 2 t. salt
  5. 1 t. pepper
Instructions
  1. Prepare dressing and set aside.
  2. Smash Ramen noodles, removing seasoning packets (save to flavor something else sometime) and brown over medium heat in 3 T. oil--I used olive oil here because I had used all of my canola oil in the dressing.
  3. Once noodles are slightly browned, add the almonds. Brown until noodles are a dark golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
  4. Combine cabbage, green onions, chicken, oranges, and sunflower seeds in a large bowl.
  5. Add ramen/almond mixture and stir well.
  6. Add dressing and stir to coat.
Notes
  1. Don't overcook the Ramen noodles and almonds, and stir continuously until the are golden. They will continue to cook when you remove them from the heat.
Adapted from Tulip at Food.com
Adapted from Tulip at Food.com
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/

Yummy Healthy Spinach Salad

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This recipe was shared on Facebook with no title, so I gave it one.  Oh goodness.  Here is a quote from the original post: “This SPINACH-based salad will boost the thyroid gland’s output of metabolism-reviving hormones!” 
I also added grilled chicken to this.  Makes a great main dish salad that way.
 
Source:  Tammy Elmore, Facebook, 1/5/16.
 
Yummy Healthy Spinach Salad
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For the salad
  1. 5 oz. fresh spinach (half a 10-oz. bag)
  2. 3/4 cup chopped celery
  3. 3/4 cup dried cranberries
  4. 1 15-oz. can mandarin oranges (or fresh Cuties/Halos, or 1 cup pomegranate seeds. I used the mandarins.)
  5. 1 large Granny Smith apple, cut in bite-size pieces
  6. 1 t. lemon juice
  7. 1/3 cup pecans–I toasted mine in butter and a little sea salt
  8. Optional: Feta cheese & orecchiette pasta (did you know that means little ears?)
For the dressing
  1. 4 T. olive oil or vegetable oil
  2. 2 T. apple cider vinegar
  3. 2 T. white wine vinegar
  4. 2-4 t. white sugar (or honey or Stevia to taste)–I used 3 t. sugar
  5. 1/8 t. each of paprika, onion powder
  6. 1 T. poppy seeds
Instructions
  1. Just throw it all together and enjoy!
Notes
  1. I made the dressing separately, so that I could adjust the amount I poured on the salad, if needed.I also added grilled chicken to this. Makes a great main dish salad that way.
Mormon Mavens https://www.mormonmavens.com/
 
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Avocado Tuna Salad

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I love a good tuna sandwich, but it can be a bit, well, uninspired sometimes.  Here’s a way to jazz up your tuna salad.  And you can eat it plain, over greens, on crackers, or in a a good old sandwich.  I ate it over salad and didn’t need any dressing because it’s so moist.

Ingredients:
2 cans tuna packed in water
1 ripe avocado
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 red apple, finely chopped
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1 Tbsp. water
1 tsp. dried dill
1/2 tsp. Dijon or Dusseldorf mustard
1/4 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Drain the tuna.  Mash the avocado in a bowl with the back of a fork.  Mix the tuna and avocado together.
2.  Add celery, apple, and walnuts.  Stir to combine.
3.  In a small bowl mix water, mustard, and spices.  Add to tuna mixture and mix well.

Can store in fridge for up to a week.  Serves 4-6

Source:  slighly adapted from thehealthymaven.com