Chicken and Swiss Salad

This salad is so divine. I still remember years ago when my friend made it for a little luncheon we did to reunite our little college group of friends. I'm not sure why I haven't posted it yet! I'm trying to incorporate more vegetables in our family meals, and since summer is coming I would like some of our dinners to be hearty salads. This is perfect for that! Some notes when I make this: I don't do the onion because my kids balk at onions. I also use bagged bacon pieces because it's just easier. I also like to half the dressing because not all my kids like sweet dressings and I prefer not to mix the dressing in so I can keep it fresh and divide it out in meal prep containers for the week. If you want to mix it all together with the salad I would suggest the full serving. :) 

Chicken and Swiss Salad

Recipe slightly adapted from my friend Lyndsie Field

1 head romaine lettuce

1 bunch spinach

1/2 red onion (optional)

8 ounces swiss cheese, shredded

1 pound bacon, cooked and shredded (or pre-bought in the bag)

3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and shred *see note

1/2 cup candied almonds

Poppyseed Dressing:

1 cup sugar

2 tsp dry mustard

2 tsp salt

2/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 1/2 cup oil (I use canola)

3 Tbsp poppyseeds

Poppyseed Dressing-Halved:

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

3/4 cup oil (I use canola)

1 1/2 Tbsp poppyseeds

Combine dressing ingredients and whisk together. Pour over salad before serving

*Super easy shredded chicken: Toss some frozen chicken breasts in the crockpot and cook on high for a few hours. I add a splash of chicken broth at the end along with some salt and pepper before shredding it up.

BBQ Chicken Salad

This has been one of my favorite salads since Brook shared it with me last year! Probably the only salad I crave to make at home :) I usually just mix the barbecue with the ranch and let people put it on their salads. So yummy!! 

Oh my other hint is that I like to make this salad after I have made barbecued chicken of some sort like Dad's squirt chicken. I just cook extra and use the leftovers for this salad. 

BBQ Chicken Salad

Recipe from damndelicious.net

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 chicken breasts

salt and pepper

6 cups romaine lettuce

1 roma tomato, diced

3/4 cup canned corn kernels, drained

3/4 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/4 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 avocados, diced

1/4 cup ranch dressing

1/4 cup BBQ sauce

1/4 cup tortilla strips

Heat olive oil in medium skillet over medium high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Add to skillet and cook until done. Let cool then dice into bite-size pieces (could also use leftover chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces). In a big bowl place romaine lettuce in a large bowl with chicken, tomato, corn, beans, onion and cheeses. Mix the barbecue and ranch together and pour over salad. Top with tortilla strips

Fennel, Beet, and Citrus Salad

Fennel, Beet, and Citrus Salad (inspired by Bon Appetit)

1 bunch beets, washed with greens trimmed
1 head fennel, trimmed and cut into 1/8″ slices, with green fennel fronds reserved for garnish
1/2 red onion, sliced into paper thin half moons

Goat cheese

Handful of Spinach
 2 blood oranges
1 navel orange
 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

To prepare the beets, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the beets thoroughly and trim off the greens. Place the beets in a large casserole dish, or anything that will hold 1/8″ of water. Sprinkle the beets with salt, cover tightly with foil, and put into the oven. Roast until the beets are tender, and you can easily pierce them with  fork, around an hour, but start checking after 40 minutes. Add more water if too much has evaporated. Once the beets have cooked though, run them under cool water to remove the skin. Slice into 1/8″ rounds and set aside.

Meanwhile, cut one blood orange and piece apart, Juice the remaining oranges, set in a bowl-whisk together olive oil, juice, salt and pepper.

When ready to serve, layer the fennel, onions, oranges, and drizzle on several tablespoons of the dressing. Keep in mind that the beets will quickly turn everything pink, so dress them separately and intersperse just before serving for optimal presentation. Finish with a few turns of fresh pepper, green fennel tops, and a strip of blood orange zest. I added goat cheese and a handful of spinach!!

Raw Tabouli Salad w/ Hemp Seeds

Did you know that parsley is rich in Vitamins A and C, folic acid, and flavonoids that act as an antioxidant? Also Iron and Vit C! It is a blood purifier and kills bacteria in the body, it also cleanses the liver of toxins and rejuvenates it! Hemp seed is a digestible plant protein loaded with a ton of minerals, in fact..3 tablespoons of hemp seeds is 10g of PROTEIN!

Base Ingredients

1 huge bunch of curly parsley or flat is fine, or two small bunches

1/2 white onion, diced

1 organic tomato, diced

5-6 heaping tbl. hemp seeds

Dressing

Juice of 1 lemon

1 garlic clove, minced or chopped

1/4 cup of good olive oil (preferably cold pressed)

1/2 tsp of celtic or Himalayan sea salt

Directions

Chop the parsley small and place in a large bowl, with onions, tomato, and hemp seed. In a blender or processor combine lemon, garlic, olive oil, and salt. Blend until smooth- poor over mixture!

Put in fridge and snack on throughout the day for a burst of energy or eat it as a side salad.

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

These are sooooo yummy! Put them on mom's berry salad and you've got yourself a "nuts about berries" salad from Zupas! Heaven! Or just eat em! My kids can't stay out of them and my favorite part- no oils (just sugar lol)

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

Recipe from sister's cafe

1 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 egg white

1 tsp vanilla

4 cups almonds

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Cover a big baking sheet (with edges) with parchment paper or grease it really really well. In a small bowl combine sugar, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. In a large bowl slightly beat the egg white. Add vanilla and beat until very frothy, but not stiff. Add the almonds and stir until well coated. Add the cinnamon sugar mixture and toss until evenly coated. Spread evenly on prepared pan. Bake for one hour, stirring half way through. Allow to cool, then store in an airtight container.



Kale Salad

1 bunch kale

1 t salt
1/4 medium-small red onion, thinly sliced or diced
1/3 chopped toasted almonds or nuts of choice
1/3 C raisins, currants or dried fruit of choice
avocado, chopped
1/4 C olive oil
2 T apple cider vinegar

Soak kale in water to loosen any dirt. Wash individual leaves as you de-stem them (pull leaf away from thickest parts of stem). Shake dry. Chiffonade leaves (stack, roll and slice into thin ribbons) and put in a large bowl. Sprinkle salt over kale and, using hands, massagekale for 3-4 minutes. After about a minute you’ll notice a big difference in the leaves – they’ll start to soften and turn a dark green almost as though you were steaming them. When done, drain off any liquid that collects on bottom of bowl (may or may not happen) and setkale aside.

Heat a small sauce pan, toss in whole nuts and toast until nuts start to brown slightly. Shake pan on occasion to brown nuts evenly and to keep from burning them – which is SO easy to do. I used almonds because that’s what I had on hand. However, walnuts, pecans or even sunflower seeds would be great in this salad too. Remove nuts from pan and give them a rough chop on your cutting board. Add nuts to bowl of kale.
Add diced onions, avocado and raisins to bowl (again, raisins, currants, or your fave dried fruit cut into raisin-sized pieces will all be fine – just use whatever you have on hand). Pour olive oil and apple cider vinegar evenly over bowl of goodies, then toss the whole thing with tongs until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed

Strawberry Spinach Salad

This is such a great salad! I missed it this year for Christmas (so festive), and so I decided to add it to our annual New Years Eve fondue night. It did make me feel a bit better eating all the fried food and that deadly seven layer dip.

It's very simple, but has the perfect balance of flavors. Love this salad.

Spinach Salad
Recipe from Sherry Chapman 

1 package of fresh baby spinach
1 cup fresh ripe strawberries, stems removed and sliced
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
1 cup walnuts or pecans

Dressing:
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Mix together and let sit for an hour or until the sugar dissolves. Pour over salad just before serving.

Ramen Noodle Cabbage Salad

If you want to lighten it up after stuffing yourself at Thanksgiving,

here's a very tasty and easy salad.

Ingredients:

2 T Sesame seeds (optional)

1/4 cup silvered almonds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds (optional)

1/2 head Napa Cabbage (shredded in 1/8 in. strips)

1/2 bunch green onions chopped fine

Directions:

Mix all ingredients with one package of chicken flavored ramen noodles, uncooked and broken into tiny pieces.

Add dressing right before serving:

2 T sugar

4 T rice vinegar

1/4 t salt and pepper

1/3 cup light vegetable oil

1/2 package of  Ramon flavoring