Salad 101

Dear Martha,
This post is for you! One salad can be so totally different from another, so it's best to make your own dressings for the crave of the day! Plus, it's always tastier! First, meet your general cast of characters that you should always have on hand in your pantry:

• Vinegars- usually red wine & white wine vinegar. I have a healthy stash of lots- apple cider, rice, balsamic... you never know what you'll need :) 
• Vegetable and olive oil
• Ground mustard (found in spices in baking aisle)
• Garlic (I buy the jar of minced garlic packed in oil--so easy to pull out and use in everything without the work)
• Onion powder/garlic powder
• Sugar, and salt & pepper

Here are some different types of dressings to go with your different salads choices...

Poppy Seed Dressing (from Our Best Bites)
1/3 c. white or white wine vinegar
1 tsp. kosher salt (different than table salt, more coarse and not as strong)
A dash or ground black pepper
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. prepared mustard (now this is the real mustard you keep in the fridge, not the dry ground mustard I mentioned earlier)
2 tbsp. sliced green onions (if you don't have this, you could use 1/4 tsp. onion powder)
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. poppy seeds (also found in spice aisle)

1. In a blender, combine vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar and mustard. While blender is running, add green onions. Continue running blender and add the oil in a  steady stream until it is fully incorporated into the dressing.
2. Pour dressing into a serving or storage container and whisk in poppy seeds. Serve over leafy greens or spinach and any combination of things good in a sweet salad.

Here are some possibilities, but mainly, keep it to fruits/nuts/cheese combos--grilled/roasted chicken would be good added to any of these as well:

• spinach, romaine lettuce, sliced red onion, cubed avocado, shredded mozz or swiss cheese, cooked and crumbled bacon (for the husband), 12 oz. can drained Mandarin oranges.
• spinach/lettuce, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, feta, sliced almonds, sliced celery
• Mixed greens, roasted walnuts/pecans (sprinkle chopped nuts on ungreased shallow pan and bake at 350 degrees for 6-10 min., stirring frequently--keep a close eye on them), sliced pears/apples, feta/blue cheese crumbled, bacon (opt.)

Another tasty sweet one (to use on same kind of salads) with a different twist is this:

Red Wine Vinaigrette (from Peacocks on My Porch)

1/2 c. olive oil

1/4 c. red wine vinegar

1/4 c. sugar

2 garlic cloves, crushed (or 1 tsp. of the bottled minced garlic I use)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. dry ground mustard

1/4 tsp. onion powder

 

Combine all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake to mix. Chill until serving time.

 

If you are in a Mexican mood, here are a couple winners!

Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette (from Our Best Bites):

1/4 c. fresh lime juice (about 2-3 juicy limes)
1/4 c. white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
4-5 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. Kosher or sea salt
2 tsp. sugar
1 c. canola oil (or whatever oil I have besides olive)
1/2 c. roughly chopped cilantro, stems removed

In the jar of your blender, combine lime juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, and sugar. Blend until ingredients are completely combined. With the blender running, add the oil in a steady stream. Add cilantro and blend until the cilantro has broken down but still maintains some of its texture. Serve with greens, on any type of Mexican salad, or use as a marinade.

This would be good over a salad of mixed greens, avocado, tomato, grilled chicken, drained & rinsed black beans (you could even layer all of that over rice). You could also use this dressing to pour over raw chicken in a baking dish, and roast at 350 degrees for 30+ minutes (checking to make sure chicken is to 160 degrees all the way through, or not pink when cut). Also on fish for fish tacos!

Creamy Cilantro-Lime Ranch Dressing (from Our Best Bites)
1 c. mayo
1/2 c. milk or buttermilk
1 packet (1oz) Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix (ignore directions on packet)
1 lime, juiced (about 2 tbsp. lime juice)
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped (or 1 tsp. of the minced bottled garlic)
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro
1/4 C green salsa (La Costena is their preferred brand)
hot sauce, to taste (like tobasco, opt.)

Combine mayo, milk, lime juice, and the contents of the ranch packet in a blender. Add garlic, cilantro, and green salsa and blend to thoroughly mix all the ingredients. Season with hot sauce, if desired. If possible, refrigerate for several hours to allow the dressing to thicken and flavors to meld.
Would be great on same type of mexican salad, or as a sauce to "Chipotle" style burritos (with rice, beans, lettuce, chopped tomatoes, shredded chicken...)

If you want an Asian flavor, I like this recipe:
Crunchy Oriental Salad (Betty Crocker's Cookbook)
2 tbsp. butter/margarine
1 package Oriental-flavor ramen noodle soup mix (the little packet inside)
2 tbsp. sesame seed
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. white vinegar
1 tbsp. sesame oil or vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)
1 bag (16 oz.) coleslaw mix
1 can (11 oz.) mandarin orange segments, drained
1/4 c. dry-roasted peanuts (if desired)
2 c. cut-up cooked chicken (I usually don't add this if this is a side salad, but adding the chicken would make it a complete meal for the husband)

1) Melt butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Stir in seasoning packet from ramen. Break block of noodles into bite-size pieces over skillet; stir into butter mixture.
2) Cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in sesame seeds. Cook about 2 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until noodles are golden brown; remove from heat.
3) Mix sugar, vinegar, oil and pepper in large bowl. Add noodle mixture and remaining ingredients; toss. (Serves 6)

And here's a salad WITHOUT making a dressing. :)
BBQ Chicken Salad
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped
3-4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 c. cilantro, chopped
1 (15-oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. frozen sweet corn, thawed
Monterey Jack cheese, grated
Chicken-- PURCHASE A CROCKPOT :), then place 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in it. Add about 1 bottle of BBQ sauce with 1/2 c. water and cook on low for 4 hours. When done, shred chicken (with 2 forks, pulling it all apart) and use that on top of the salad.

Toss all ingredients together and dish onto plates. Drizzle with Ranch dressing and then with your favorite BBQ sauce. Crushed corn tortilla chips are also good sprinkled on top.

These recipes are bigger scale than you need for the two of you, so scale down accordingly. Once you toss salads with the dressing, they don't save well as left-overs so keep that in mind. However, the dressings will be good for a couple of weeks in the fridge. And if there are any ingredients you don't like, or want to substitute, feel free. Salads are easy that way. Cater them to what you like.

And last tip, get one of these:

Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mixes with Glass Cruet
You can probably find this at Walmart/HEB and it's so easy and good. It has directions on the box, but it's just water, oil, vinegar and the mix packet. Perfect for your Italian Dressing fix and also great for baking chicken in a crockpot or oven.

Good luck!