Italian Chopped Salad

This was our 1st course on New Years Eve. I wanted a chopped Antipasta Salad to go with my pizza. We have a restaurant close to us that does this to perfection so I decided to give it a whirl myself, and I had amazing results. I have made this again since and man, it is such a great salad to go with pizza. I do apologize, I did not take a picture once the dressing was on it. I couldn't dress it too soon, and well once I put the dressing on I ate it! BUT the dressing is incredible too. It would be great on lots of different kinds of salads. If you don't make your own dressings, you should make that a goal for 2012. They are so much better then what you buy in the store and you can control the ingredients and the amounts of oil you put in. This is a keeper!

Chopped Antipasta Salad

by Me :)

1/2 head of iceberg lettuce

2 heads of Romaine

1 pint of grape tomatoes halved

4 ozs. of genoa salami, chopped

6 ozs. of provolone cheese, chopped

6 ozs. ham, chopped

Sprinkle with shredded Mozzarella (this didn't make the pic either)

Optional: My husband had chopped olives on his.

Note: You can use any amount of meats and cheeses you like. This was what I had so I used it.

Directions:

Chop the lettuces into small pieces, mix the rest of the ingredients in, right before you serve it, toss with this dressing:

Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette

Yields about 1 ¼ cups

Ingredients:

1 large garlic clove, pressed

1 tablespoon minced fresh shallot

2 – 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, to taste

1 teaspoon dried oregano, rubbed

1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, minced

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon kosher salt or more to taste

¼ cup + 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil, or more to taste

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon grated Romano cheese

Directions:

2 ways to make this

Version #1-which is my method

1. take the garlic & shallot and pulse it in my mini food processor, then add everything else except the oil, pulse for about 15 seconds.
2. then add the oil slowly while processing
3. then add the cheese and give it one more good pulse
4. Refrigerate until needed, leftovers keep great!

OR the original method---

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients except the oil and Parmesan.

2. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow steady stream until incorporated. Stir in the Parmesan and Romano cheeses

3. Refrigerate until needed.

Note: You may use 3 tablespoons Parmesan and omit the Romano cheese.

This was our pretty pizza--well it was the one I made. 1/2 chicken parm, 1/2 regular

Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing

This was not supposed to be featured on my weekly menu until Wednesday but I had an issue with Meatless Monday's main ingredient, the Spaghetti Squash. WHAT THE HECK? I was going to cause some permanent damage to myself had I continued hacking into this thing. It was solid as a rock and I was sweating and barely made a dent. I just dont get it? I carve pumpkins with the best of them...what's the deal with this darn squash? I am even more curious now to try it. So instead we had this salad that is featured in this month's cooking light magazine

Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing

borrowed from Cooking Light April 2011

4 servings

**** 7 Weight Watcher Points Plus****

• 6 cups torn romaine lettuce

• 2 cups shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast

• 2 cups fresh bean sprouts

• 1 cup shredded carrots

• 3/4 cup sliced celery

• 2/3 cup light coconut milk

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

• 2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce

• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts

• 4 lime wedges (optional)

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine coconut milk and next 5 ingredients (through red pepper)

in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and cool for 2 minutes. Pour warm coconut milk mixture over lettuce mixture.

Sprinkle with peanuts; serve with lime wedges, if desired. Serve immediately.

VERDICT: LOVED the dressing. I am already trying to figure out what else I can put it on. I need to figure out the points for the dressing alone, because between the 2 of us, we finished the dressing. The salad just needed it. It was a great salad though, and the dressing was the star of the show. I can imagine the full fat version would make me shudder but this is a great alternative. Next time I will leave out the bean shoots, I liked them cooked up in lomein, but in the salad they were just bleh. And I might saute or grill some chicken with some seasonings instead of using rotisserie which I am always a fan of, but I felt the chicken needed a little kick also. It came together really quickly, even with cooking up the dressing, but it was so tasty and so worth it, I will make this again for sure.

Chicken & Mango Salad

I would have been quite sad if this recipe didnt make it onto the blog because I really want to make it again. Must not be so careless with my blogging habits or else recipes like this might be lost to me forever!!!! Can you make a new years resolution in July???? Must make sure I blog at least once a week so I dont get so far behind. Can I blame it on the heat?

Chicken & Mango Salad

borrowed from Williams Sonoma

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup peanut or canola oil
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
• 2 to 3 tsp. Asian chili oil (optional)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup mango chutney
• 2 cups shredded roast chicken, homemade (see
  related recipe at left) or purchased
• 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
• 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup roasted salted cashews, coarsely
  chopped
• 1 mango, peeled, pitted and thinly sliced
• 4 cups shredded romaine lettuce

• Directions:

  Make the vinaigrette
  In a food processor or blender, combine the peanut oil, vinegar, mustard and chili oil and process until blended. Add the garlic and chutney and continue to process to form a smooth puree.
  
  Assemble the salad
  In a bowl, combine the chicken, celery, onion, cashews and mango. Add the vinaigrette and toss gently to coat. Divide the lettuce among individual plates, top with the chicken mixture and serve. Serves 4.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Salad

I truly am the worst blogger ever. I made this sooooo long ago but again it wasnt on the website right away so it never got posted. I only remember it because the page of the magazine was torn out and staring at me for the last few weeks. It was so worth blogging so I am happily posting it now. Such things wouldnt happen if I was on the ball. I am going to force myself to do better. If I dont stick with it, some yummy dishes will get lost in the shuffle again.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Salad

borrowed from Racheal Ray MagazineI

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound fingerling or small yukon gold potatoes, quartered lengthwise
• Salt and pepper
• 2 chicken cutlets (4 ounces each)
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus more for drizzling
• 1/2 pound 1/2-inch-thick ham steak
• 1 large shallot
• 1/4 cup grainy dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey or agave syrup
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1/3 pound thick deli-sliced swiss cheese
• 1 celery root, peeled and cut into matchsticks
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
• 1 bunch watercress, trimmed
• 1 baguette, warmed, for serving
• Butter, for serving
• 
  
• DIRECTIONS

1. In a large saucepan, combine the potatoes and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, salt the water and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Rinse under cold water; drain well.

   
   Season the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat a drizzle of EVOO over medium-high heat. Add the cutlets and cook, turning once, until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add the ham steak to the skillet and cook, turning once, until browned, about 5 minutes.
   
   While the meats cook, grate the shallot into the bottom of a large salad bowl. Whisk in the mustard, vinegar and honey, then whisk in 1/3 cup EVOO. Season with the thyme, salt and pepper.
   
   Cut the chicken, ham and swiss cheese into thin strips and add to the dressing. Add the celery root, carrots and potatoes. Toss to coat well. Divide the salad among plates garnished with the watercress leaves. Serve with the baguette and butter.

   VERDICT:

   This is a GREAT salad. Really unique flavor. I loved the combo and this is perfect for an Easter buffet, I realize its June and summer but one day I will be looking for a great Easter luncheon dish and it will take me directly to this posting. It was such a complete meal and the leftovers were just as great. I dont cook RR often but the ones I do seem to pick are recipes that end up cooking again and again. This one is added to my keeper pile.

Greek Grilled Chicken and Vegetables with Pita

I started taking a photography class to learn how to take better pictures. Admittedly I used to take much better pictures for the blog, but I am always in such a rush I dont have time to make things look as pretty as I used too. I dont use the different colored plates anymore either. Maybe I will try to make that my 2nd year resolution. I truly do this blog for myself so the pictures dont really matter to me. I have had so many awesome recipes that I just dont want to lose any of them. I am much more selective then I used to be when posting. Only the truly great recipes seem to make it on, because it isnt worth my time if it was just eh. This one sadly has such a bad picture. I only took one when I had about 6 minutes to eat, grab my camera and drive to class in the pouring rain. Note to reader. DONT eat this salad if you are going to be in public. I used a ton of garlic and it STUNK!!!! But it was OH so worth every stinky bit.

Greek Grilled Chicken and Vegetables with Pita

borrowed from Rachael Ray via Food Network

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders, 2 packages from meat case
• Salt and pepper
• 8 pita breads
• 1 ripe lemon, zested and juiced
• 3 tablespoon red wine vinegar, eyeball it
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it ***I used maybe 1/4 cup***
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped oregano, 4 stems, stripped of leaves and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 hearts Romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
• 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 vine ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1/3 seedless or English cucumber, diced
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley leaves, a couple of handfuls, chopped **I omitted**

Directions

Preheat grill pan over high heat. Place chicken in shallow dish and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Wrap pita breads in foil. Place in warm oven and heat until dinner is served.

Combine lemon zest, juice and vinegar in a bowl and whisk in oil. Add oregano, garlic and whisk again to combine into dressing. Pour half the dressing over chicken tenders. Turn tenders in dressing to coat.

Combine remaining salad ingredients in a bowl. Pour remaining dressing over salad and toss well. The salad should be very lightly dressed. Season salad with salt and pepper and transfer to a large serving platter.

Grill tenders 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Transfer hot tenders to the salad lined serving platter. Remove pitas from oven and unwrap. Cut pitas in half and arrange around the edge of platter.

To serve, each person can pile grilled chicken and veggies into pita halves, wrap up on either side and enjoy!

VERDICT

OH MY......Delicious. This was such a yummy meal. I am sad I ate it so fast I didnt enjoy it. But I will be making it again soon. As I have said before I tend to reduct the oil in my dressings to cut some of the fat. I also like things on the more vinegary side then oily. So far I have never been sorry I did this. I also used fresh herbs for the dressing and on the chicken and I think it really punched the flavor. My store just started carrying small single size fresh herbs for $1, so it doesnt bother me as much to toss out what I didnt use. But I used them entire thing on the chicken and I think it was worth the fresh oregano. This whole meal was really perfect for me. The salty, vinegar flavor was oh so good. This would be a great casual meal to make for a crowd.

Tortellini Spinach Salad with Balsamic-Tomato Vinaigrette

I love me a good hearty salad. I actually make most of the salads in the archives quite often. There is something so great about homemade dressings and all the fresh ingredients coming together in a big bowl of love. So with summer upon us check out my collection of salads. This one is right at the top and its a great place to start. The picture is eh....I have to work on my salad pictures. Once you mix the dressing it, they dont look so great :)

Tortellini Spinach Salad with Balsamic Tomato Vinaigrette
borrowed from My Kitchen Cafe
Salad:
20 ounce package refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 (14.5 oz.) can quartered artichokes
1 (9 oz.) bag fresh baby spinach
1 (3 oz.) bag sun dried tomatoes or jar of sun dried tomatoes, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
¼ cup diced red onion

Dressing:
9 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 ½ tablespoon tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste (about 1/8 teaspoon each)
3/4 cup olive oil

Cook tortellini in boiling water until al dente. Drain and toss with a teaspoon of olive oil to keep from sticking. Let cool in colander. In a large bowl, toss all the salad ingredients together after the pasta has cooled.

In a blender add all of the dressing ingredients except for the olive oil and process until smooth. Then, while the blender is running, slowly add the olive oil and blend until completely combined. If serving the salad right away, immediately pour the dressing over the salad and toss well (you may not need all the dressing). Serve.

VERDICT

This is a MUST for all your salad needs. I did throw in some grilled chicken to make it a total and complete meal but you could easily leave it out. The dressing was awesome, the mixture of the salad was perfection and I was so happy we had left overs. This should be a take along to your next BBQ get together, if you invite me to yours maybe I will bring it.

Spinach Salad & Teriyaki Bowties

I am caught up!!! I made this last night. Ok in truth I decided to jump ahead and skip some recipes that I wont likely make again. There was no reason to talk about ho-hum meals when a beauty like this can be discussed.

I did alter it from the original to try to keep the calories down. I dont think it lacked flavor at all and I dont think you would even know I made any changes.....unless I didnt just tell you.

Now that the weather is getting warmer and produce is fresher and cheaper you will see many more salads in the rotation.

I think I might have made this recipe before and I dont know if I liked it. So odd because it sounds so familiar but yet I cant remember. anyway......

Spinach Salad & Teriyaki Bowties

adapted from The Sister's Cafe

3 cups dried Bowtie pasta, cooked and cooled
1 large Bag of fresh baby Spinach (it is 7 ozs in wt.)
1 can No Sugar Added Mandarin Oranges drained
1 Red Pepper, chopped
1 bunch Green Onions, chopped
1 cup Honey Roasted Peanuts or Cashews (optional but adds calories so I omitted)
1/2 cup fresh Parsley (optional)(omitted)
1/4 cup Sesame Seeds, toasted (optional)(omitted)
2 cups torn cooked Chicken (optional)**(used unseasoned Rotisserie chicken)

Dressing:
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
2/3 cup White Wine Vinegar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
2/3 C. Teriyaki Sauce or Soy Vay
3 Tbs. Sugar

Cook bowtie pasta according to directions, drain and cool while whisking the dressing together in a large bowl. **I used my hand blender to emulsify it and it worked great and it was much more blended***

Marinate cooked bowtie pasta in the dressing for 1 hour or longer in the fridge.***I didnt do this and it worked great, I didnt want it to soak up the dressing or get too soggy since I knew I would have leftovers***

Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl and pour the teriyaki sauce and pasta over the salad, toss together and serve.

If it's just a few of you, make individual salad servings; keeping the salad and bowtie sauce separate for the rest of the week (no one likes a soggy salad).

VERDICT:

This salad is a winner. I altered some of the ingredients listed and if you click on the link you can see the original version and maybe give it a whirl. It makes a ton of salad so you could easily make this for a large crowd as a side dish without the chicken. I do think you could add some crunchy noodle and that wouldnt drive the calories up too much and give a nice crunch. The dressing was also very delicious and I am glad that I cut the oil in half and omitted some of the sugar because it didnt need it. I am also glad I chose not to soak the pasta because, it would in truth just be soaking up more fat and calories and I think it was just as flavorful without using all that dressing. I have about 1/2 the salad leftover and 1/2 the dressing so it makes enough for 5 generous dinner sized servings just with the quantities I have listed. Click on the original link to make an even larger salad.

Shredded Sweet Pork

So sorry I have taken my sweet time in posting some new meals for ya'll!
Its crazy how much prep goes into a vacation adventure and then how long it takes for life to return to normal once you get home.
This recipe I actually made about 10 days ago but in my haze of packing for our vacation I didn’t get a chance to post it. I am also excited because I have quite a reserve of recipes. I typed up about a 1/2 dozen new things I made and then 3 recipes from this week already so I don't feel the pressure to have to post nightly but I can still give you a new recipe daily. Hopefully I can accurately remember this dish since I have eaten quite a lot since then.


Shredded Sweet Pork
Borrowed from The Sister’s Café

3 lb pork roast
1 c brown sugar
1 c Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tb dried minced onions
Cook all ingredients in a crock pot on low all day (about 8 hours). One hour before serving, remove roast and shred it. Dump out all cooking juices and place shredded pork back into crockpot and add...

1 c brown sugar
1 c red enchilada sauce
*** I think I might not have emptied the original liquid…oopsie!!!!

Cilantro Lime Rice*** I didn’t make this but want to next time***
3 c water
3 c Minute rice
4 cubes chicken bouillon
4 tsp garlic, minced
1 Tb canola oil
2 Tb fresh lime juice
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1/2 onion
1 can green chilies
Blend cilantro, onion, and chilies in food processor. Bring water to boil and add all ingredients, simmer covered for 30 minutes or until rice is cooked. *I hate Minute Rice and never buy it - you can substitute regular rice, just adjust the water to rice ratio accordingly.



Garlic Black Beans
1 can black beans
1/3 c tomato juice
2 cloves garlic, minced (1 tsp)
1 tsp cumin
2 Tb canola oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tb chopped cilantro
Heat oil then add cumin and garlic until garlic begins to pop. Add rest of ingredients and serve warm.

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing—if you skip the beans and rice you must at least make this dressing.
3 tomatillos, peeled and quartered
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 c buttermilk—I used regular whole milk
1/2 c mayonnaise
1/2 c sour cream
1 pkg dry buttermilk ranch dressing
1 c fresh chopped cilantro—I omitted because of my aversion to cilantro
6 green onions with ends, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (1 tsp)
3 tsp sugar
1 jalapeno, sliced thin - add to taste—I omitted because of my newly discovered fear of jalapenos

Place all ingredients in food processor or blender and mix well. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

TO ASSEMBLE SALAD

I put shredded lettuce, a few spoonfuls of pork, beans, cheese, dressing, cheese, tortilla strips


VERDICT
YUM!!!
This was very very good. A bit time consuming since the nice thing about a crock pot is the lack of effort required to get dinner on the table. But it was really worth the effort. I wish I would have had time to make the rice. I discovered on my vacation that I in fact like cilantro…..shocking isn’t it? I just like less then the recipes call for. I don’t mind it, I just don’t like it to overpower what I am eating. So now I really want to make it. I had the leftover pork the next night on a toasted roll with the dressing and it was like a version of a pulled pork sandwich. I think this is a super dish and something you could make for a crowd with very little effort. Don’t let all the steps and ingredients scare you away.

Asian Noodle Salad

Its has been a flurry of cooking going on in my kitchen today. That's it for me though. It will be leftovers or sushi tomorrow night & the weekend because I am out recipes. Unless someone might want to come over for a BBQ? There are some turkey burgers I need to try out before vacation.

It will sound ridiculous because I am sure I could say this about everything I have posted--heck, I probably wrote it this afternoon but you need to try this salad. Make it for a party, bring it to someone's house, make it and eat it for a week. I am telling you, this is a EUREKA I cant believe I know how to make this salad its so good.

Asian Noodle Salad

borrowed from The Sister's Cafe who adapted it from Jamie Oliver

SALAD INGREDIENTS:

1 packages linguine noodles, cooked, rinsed, and cooled--(I used whole wheat spaghetti)
1/2 to 1 head sliced Napa cabbage **I couldn't find this in my store so I omitted**
1/2 to 1 head sliced purple cabbage**I got a bag of shredded red cabbage is that the same?**
1/2 to 1 bag baby spinach
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thin
1 orange bell pepper, sliced thin
1 small bag bean sprouts (I left these out)**me too they didn't have them in my store**
3 sliced scallions
1 peeled, sliced cucumber ( you could use more)
chopped cilantro-to taste (I only used a little) **blech I don't like cilantro**
1 can whole cashews, lightly toasted in skillet **um, I forgot to do this whole step so no nuts were harmed in the making of this salad**

DRESSING:

Juice of 1 lime
8 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 hot peppers or jalapenos, chopped--WARNING the use of jalapenos can be dangerous. I know when I seed them not to touch the membrane but I was in a rush and wasn't really thinking and I pulled it out with my finger nails instead of cutting it with a knife and now my fingers under the nail are burning for hours--DON'T DO THIS. I think next time I will just omit these too because I liked the dressing better without it anyway, and I cant be trusted with a hot pepper

Mix together salad ingredients in LARGE bowl. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Mix with tongs and serve in a big bowl or platter. NOT A big bowl A HUGE BOWL. This is a BIG salad--you cant even tell how big it is from the picture, but this bowl is enormous

VERDICT
IIIIII LOOOOOVVVVVEEEE THHHISSSS SAAAAALLAAADDDDD!!!

There is so much leftover that I am totally in heaven that I get to eat more of it. Can you tell I am starting to get a little nuts over some of these recipes. Who said Food isn't love??? Who knew a salad could bring so much joy. I am telling you if I made this for a crowd they would go nuts for it too. I want to have a party just so I can make this salad for people. You can make it for a crowd because its GIANT, have I mentioned that? So again I omitted somethings and forgot one really big thing the cashews, but I didn't miss them and I saved a whole bunch of extra calories. When I have the leftovers maybe I will throw them in just in case it might make me love the salad more but I don't think that could happen.

EDIT:

Something about the leftovers werent quite right. There was a bitterness that wasnt there the night I made it fresh and ate it. The cabbage made the leftovers taste very bitter and I had to throw the rest out. So I am putting this warning out there. If you use cabbage beware. Maybe it was the paricular cabbage I used since I dont think it was either of the ones mentioned in the recipe or if that is what cabbage does after a day or 2. I dont think it added anything spectacular to the dish so in the future I will leave it out of maybe add plain old coleslaw mix or a broccoli cole slaw mix instead--consider yourself warned

California Chicken Salad and Summer Soup

ALL THE PRETTY COLORS

Tonight's meal was an array of beautiful colors. I am not sure how it happened but I picked a lot of veggie filled recipes this week and we have 2 recipes tonight PACKED with veggie goodness
First up
SUMMER SOUP
I tried to find out the origins of this recipe but I have no idea where I copied it from

INGREDIENTS

4 cups fresh corn kernels or two 10 oz. packages frozen corn, thawed **you don't need to cook the corn before you de-cob it, I did but a contributing chef Lauren said I didn't need too--
thanks L***
2 cups non-fat milk
1 tbs. olive oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced (about 1 cup)
1 small zucchini (about ½ lb.), diced
2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
¾ tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons

Put 2 cups of the corn and the milk into a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.
Add the onion, bell pepper, and zucchini and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the remaining 2 cups corn and the broth and bring to a boil.
Add the pureed corn and the tomatoes and cook until warmed through but not boiling.
Add the salt and season with pepper.
Serve garnished with the basil ribbons.

VERDICT
This soup was....good. Healthy, full of veggies, and Jackson and Doug really liked it so that says something. I wish I knew I didn't have to boil the corn 1st because that would have cut down on my cooking time. I had 2 servings of this soup. The 2nd had cheddar cheese added and I liked it more with the cheese. I also think it would be great with some toasty croutons. I think I needed to add more fresh basil then I did also. Overall it was a good quick, healthy soup and I will make it again for a perfect lunch. It did pair nicely with the next recipe for........


California Chicken Salad
borrowed from the blog Delicious Meliscious

INGREDIENTS

4-5 cups mixed salad greens

5 large strawberries, sliced

1 mango peeled and sliced

1 avocado peeled and sliced

2 chicken breasts, grilled & diced ** I used Monterrey Chicken Seasoning**

Directions: In a large bowl, place salad greens, then add all other ingredients. Serve drizzled with the poppy seed dressing below, or the dressing of your choice.

Balsamic Poppy Seed Salad Dressing

Source: Adapted from a post on the CookingLight.com Community

Ingredients:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1 tsp. splenda or sugar

1 tbsp. fat free mayo (optional)

Directions:Whisk together all the ingredients

VERDICT

I really liked the freshness of this salad. I loved the combo of the fruit and the avocado, it looked beautiful on the plate. And would be perfect to serve for an Easter brunch or shower luncheon. I wasn't so crazy about the dressing. It was kind of bitter because of the balsamic and I think there are much better poppy seed dressings out there (and on this site) This is my least favorite of the 3 poppy seed dressings I have made in the past 2 weeks. But if you like Balsamic I would give it a try because maybe it was just me and my tastes. I think I need to take a break from the poppy seeds in case I need to take a drug test.

Battle of the Poppy Seed Dressings

Its the battle of the Poppy Seed Dressings

I think if I had to take a drug test I might fail because of the large amount of poppy seeds in my system. Over the 4th of July weekend I made Dave & Kim's Famous Berry Salad & Poppy Seed Dressing (which I didn't get around to posting about yet) and tonight I made a Chicken Poppy Seed Salad. So I figured I might as well post the battle royal together.

Dave & Kim's Berry Poppy Seed Salad

Borrowed from Dave & Kim

Please excuse the really bad picture. I made this for a BBQ and didn't have my good camera and didn't think to take another picture once I dressed the salad. And for some reason I cant get the picture to be right side up. So basically the battle is already tainted by bad PR for the Berry Salad.

INGREDIENTS

Salad

1 container blueberries

1 large container strawberries sliced

3 romaine heads shredded

Dressing

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbs. poppy seeds

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 cup oil

Mix salad. Mix dressing in a seal able container and shake until mixed. Pour on salad

Now for our competitor

CHICKEN POPPY SEED SALAD

borrowed from The Sister's Cafe

Spinach leaves
Romaine leaves
Grilled chicken, sliced (grill with lots of lemon pepper seasoning) **I actually used Rotisserie this time and it was really good**
Red onion, sliced thinly
Crispy bacon, crumbled
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Toasted almonds (or you can sugar the almonds. Put sliced almonds in a pan with lots of granulated sugar (about equal amounts). Cook on medium heat until sugar melts, coating the almonds as they brown.)

The best part... The Dressing:
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp dry mustard
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 Tb Maui or Vidalia onion, chopped ** I substituted Shallot because they didn't have either in my store today**
2 cups canola oil ** I used 1/2 canola 1/2 EVOO because I ran out of Canola**
3 Tb poppy seeds

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a blender, then slowly add the oil, blending until thick. Stir in poppy seeds. Toss all ingredients together with generous amount of dressing before serving.

*This makes a lot of dressing! If you need a really big salad for a party then start with a large bunch of spinach, large head of romaine, 4 chicken breasts, 1 lb bacon, etc. I rarely make a salad that big so that is why there are no "amounts". So have fun with it - you're going to love it!

The dressing before the poppy seeds--What a cool color. Jackson thought I was making smoothies

Now it looks like its dirty
VERDICT

Ok so there is a clear winner in our house and the Chicken Poppy Seed Salad TAKES IT!

Thoughts on the Berry Poppy Seed Salad---

I do love the Berry Poppy Seed Salad as well, but for me it is a great lunch salad and a side dish. It is absolutely perfect to bring to someones house because it so easy to throw together. Another thing the Berry Poppy Dressing has going for it, is its a lot lighter then the Chicken Poppy Salad Dressing. Although I think it only probably makes 1/3 as much so maybe all things are equal.

Thoughts on the Chicken Poppy Seed Salad

PERFECTION--No SERIOUSLY

It tasted like something you find in a restaurant, not on my kitchen table. Doug (aka the Chief Taste Tester) said this was the best salad we've had and I asked "in this house or ever" and he said "EVER". That should be all you need to know because he has eaten his fair share of salads and for this one to be the best EVER---that's huge. I feel badly that I had to change a few things because since I have never made it before I wanted to follow the recipes exactly. That was my intention but my pantry had other ideas. I also felt like using Rotisserie Chicken tonight because I like my salads to be as quick and easy as possible and so I skipped the grilling of the chicken. But let me tell you, make sure you don't skip out on sugar coating the sliced almonds. It was quick & easy and packed a giant flavor punch. Who knew it was so easy to do.

The only thing I need to work on is 1/2ing the dressing recipe. It made A LOT of dressing and since there is only 2 of us the salad wasn't very big and I dumped a lot of it out and still have a whole salad shaker full.

So for all the Poppy Seed Salad fans, try both and let me know which you like better.....