Super Summer Salads!

Krista Hurt hosted our SALAD cooking club! We made 4 awesome salads and a yummy dessert! We love salads for lunch AND dinner - so great on a hot summer night! Enjoy!

Barbecue Chicken Salad - Krista Hurt

Romaine lettuce, chopped
Red onion, chopped into small pieces
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, washed and drained
Jicama, peeled and diced
1-2 avocados, chopped
cilantro- as desired
2 Chicken breasts, cooked and chopped (good way to use leftover grilled chicken)
1 cup pepperjack cheese (or your favorite mexican style cheese)
few limes- squeeze lime juice over salad
tortilla strips- sprinkle over top of salad

Dressing: equal parts ranch dressing and barbecue sauce
pour over salad and toss. Enjoy!
Great with corn bread

Krista sliced her chicken breasts in half, so they were not as thick and took less time to grill. She also said that when she cooks chicken, she will do extra to use for another meal. Smart!

A hicka-whata? Krista uses jicama in her barbeque chicken salad, which was new to some of us. Here Dani and Kira are checking it out, smells like a potato was the concensus.

Here is Krista's finished salad!

Fiesta Salad - Jackie Costabile

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen corn
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved (you can use regular or plum tomatoes)
1 cucumber,peeled, cut into chunks
1 red pepper, cut into chunks
1 avocado, cut up
1 giant handful of cilantro, chopped
zest and juice of 2-3 limes
1/2 - 1 t. adobo seasoning (Dani found it at Wal-mart, or use cumin)
salt to taste, at least 1/2 t.

Toss everything together. Can also add chopped lettuce (add a bit of veg. oil if you add lettuce), or grilled chicken. Also yummy if you take out the black beans and add black olives. I don't know why, but I don't like them in there together.

Lots of the ingredients, chopped, and ready to go!

Black beans and chopped avocados on top. Then zest the two limes and juice over everything.

Nutty Salad - Jackie Costabile


salad:
1 head romaine, chopped
1 head curly leaf or green leaf, chopped
1 head boston bibb, chopped (just used a little variety, it doesn't have to be these exact 3)
1 bunch greeen onions/scallions (about 6)
1 big handful of cilantro, chopped
sliced strawberries, grapes, and/or mandarin oranges
1 cup sliced almonds
5-6 T. sugar

Prepare salad ingredients, set aside. Place almonds and sugar in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Stir continuously until sugar melts (takes awhile, but keep stirring so it doesn't burn!), coats almonds, and gets nice and golden brown. Cool on wax paper, then crush. Prepare dressing.

Dressing:
4 T. seasoned rice vinegar
3 T. sugar
1 t. salt
dash of pepper
1/2 C. oil (I use vegetable oil for salads)

Combine everything, but oil. Whisk until sugar is dissolved mostly, then slowly stream in oil. Toss with salad just before serving. Save some fruit and nuts for the top.

Almonds and sugar into the skillet. Watch closely!

Turnip & Apple Salad - Michelle Mulford


Ingredients:
4 tablespoons cider vinegar
4 tablespoons walnut or olive oil
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 1/2 cups grated white turnip
2 small apples, diced with peel
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup walnut pieces
2-3 cups chopped lettuce
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a salad bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil and green onion. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix together the turnip, apples, and lettuce and toss with the dressing. Top with the cheese and walnuts.



Fruit Pizza - Krista Hurt


Sugar cookie crust- one roll of refrigerated sugar cookie
Spread evenly on bottom of 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 12-15 min. Cool completely.

Next layer:
1 8oz tub of cool whip, thawed
1 8oz cube of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
powdered sugar, optional

whip cream cheese until smooth and creamy. fold in cool whip with spatula until blended. Sprinkle in some powdered sugar, if desired, to sweeten.
Spread mixture evenly over cooled cookie crust.

Top with favorite fruits! Strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, peaches, nectaries, blackberries, raspberries, bananas.... whatever you like.
So yummy

Krista used a wooden spoon to spread the cookie dough into her pan.

Beautiful!