Light chicken taco salad

not my photo

This is a beal family special. Strange at first... And then terribly addicting! Even my kids will eat lettuce thanks to this recipe! A great way to sneak in a ton of veggies!

1/2
 head of lettuce chopped small
1/2 head cauliflower chopped small
2 diced tomatoes
2 carrots chopped small
1 large avocado diced
2 green onions sliced
I can olives sliced
1 can kidney beans
1 cup part skim mozzarella shredded cheese
2 chicken breasts
1 packet taco seasoning
Nacho Doritos
Light Ranch dressing

Cook and shred chicken. Add taco seasoning with 3/4 cups water and simmer briefly.
Combine chicken and all salad ingredients. Toss until well combined. Serve with crushed Doritos and light ranch dressing. Enjoy!

* feel free to sub ground beef or turkey or leave meat out completely!

Glazed nut salad

Photo from food.com

I made this for Mitzi's baby blessing on Sunday - everyone loved it!

I usually mix half a head of green or red lead lettuce chopped with half a bag of spinach. But you can do all lettuce or all spinach too.

Cranberries (can use fresh pears instead, or any dried berry)
Bacon- 1 lb cooked and crumbled
Feta cheese crumbles (can also use Gorgonzola or blue or Parmesan cheese)
Glazed pecans (can use any nuts)
Poppy dressing

Glazed nuts:
Place 1/4 cup sugar in frying pan and 1/2 cup chopped nuts on top. Over medium heat stir until sugar melts and turns a light caramel color and nuts are evenly coated. Turn out into a piece of foil and cool.

Poppy seed dressing:
1 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon mustard (dry)
1 1/2 teaspoons onion salt
Combine everything and blend in blender for a few minutes until thick.

Chinese Chicken Salad

                                                                          (photo: here)


Gabe and I just discovered that we LOVE this salad. I think we will be adding it into our meal rotaion from now on. Its filling enough to be a main dish and light enough to eat a LOT of it! 


Here is the recipe I cam up with that my family liked best:


Ingredients:


1 Rotisserie chicken
1 head of chopped green leaf or romaine lettuce (or 1 bag of salad mix)
1/2 bag shredded cabbage 
5 Green onions
2 shredded carrots
Handful of sliced almonds
Wonton wrappers


Sweet Sesame Dressing:

2/3 C rice vinegar
1 C canola oil
2 Tbs sesame oil
4 cloves garlic, pressed or very finely minced
2 Tbs soy sauce
1/2 C sugar
4 Tbs sesame seeds

Directions:

In a large bowl combine chicken, onions, lettuce, cabbage, and carrotts. Fry wonton wrappers in oil, drain and crumble into salad. Toss with sweet sesame dressing. Sprinkle almonds on top and serve!

* You can add mandarin oranges in if you like. but I despise fruit with meat. 

Spring salad

I made a spinach salad today that was so pretty I just had to take a picture of it :)



Spinach & mixed lettuce
green onions
red pepper
cooked ground turkey (cooked with s&p & Worcestershire sauce)
blue chips
avocado
tomatoes
radishes
asparagus
and anything else you like!

top with your choice of salad dressing.

On the Farm ColeSlaw

This is one of my favorite go-to recipes that I trifed from "The Farm" aka - my Mother in Law's kitchen! I was so impressed with how easy (and cheap!) this recipe was that I often bring it to pot lucks, family dinners, BBQs, and church functions. Trust me, you'll be making this over and over again once you try it. 


Shopping List:


2 16 oz bags of shredded cabbage mix 


Sauce:
1 cup of mayo (Or salad dressing or miracle whip, any variety. My favorite is best foods full fat mayo - Of course!)
1/3 cup sugar
3-5 T of vinegar (again, any variety will do!)


Mix well until sugar isn't grainy. This recipe is all about tasting until its right. If its too tangy add more sugar. If its too runny, add more mayo. If its too sweet, add more vinegar. 


Once you get the sauce right, evenly coat shredded cabbage. You can toss it in a bowl, shake it in a baggie, shake it in a bowl with a lid - however you want. 


And then - the finishing touch....
Stir in 1 1/2- 2 cups of salted peanuts. The amount is up to you, depends on how crunchy you like it. 


WANT TO  MAKE THIS CHRISTY STYLE? ADD IN 3-4 SLICES OF CRUNCHY CRUMBLED BACON and 1 OR 2 SLICED LITTLE GREEN ONIONS!


Voila! You are ready to go for a ride on the 4 wheelers and take a hike up to the swinging tree!

Santa Barbara Salad

Dressing:
1/2 c. canola oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. sugar
2 Tbl. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. chopped red onion
1/4 tsp. dry mustard

*mix all ingredients in blender/food processor

Salad:
1 package spinach baby leaves
1/4 c. blue cheese
1/2 c. toasted pecans (toast 5-10 minutes at 300 degrees)
2 gala or fuji apples, chopped

*Toss with dressing and ingredients right before serving.

...And then with your first bite, simply imagine you are Oprah sitting on her porch in Santa Barbara, enjoying this tasty creation from your own personal chef....which of course, in reality, is yourself!

You wish it were healthy Broccoli Salad

Ingredients:
3 Bunches of Broccoli
1/2 lb bacon - cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup salted sunflower seeds
1/2 of a red onion - diced very fine
1 cup of grated mozzarella or monterey jack cheese


Sauce:
1 cup of Mayo (you can sub any variety, it doesn't matter)
1/3 cup of sugar
2-3 Tablespoons of vinegar (any variety)
mix above ingredients together until sugar is no longer grainy. If needed, add more vinegar until it tastes right to you.


Prepare:
Wash and separate broccoli florets into bite size pieces
Dump sauce over broccoli and coat well
Toss in remaining ingredients and serve


This is the best kind of salad. Completely unhealthy but hidden under a blanket of Broccoli to fool yourself into thinking you met your folic acid quota for the week. perfect!