Grilled Summer Salad with Apricot Poppy Seed Dressing

I love apricots!  I grew up in the small central California valley town of Patterson.  At one time, it was the world's largest producing area of apricots.  Times have changed and now almond orchards are abundant, but there are still many apricot orchards in the area. Each year I make multiple batches of apricot jam, as well as apricot pies and crisps (I currently have a box of apricots in my fridge that I am working my way through!)  Apricots have a short season and I try to get in as much of the fruit into my diet as I can while they are in-season. They are a great source of nutrition, especially Vitamin A! I recently ran across a recipe for an apricot poppyseed dressing and knew I needed to try it. We loved it.  Since making this grilled salad I also used the dressing on a spinach salad. It's summertime and we eat a lot of salads this time of year!

The salad is just a mish-mash of grilled ingredients; chicken, corn and apricot halves. To grill the apricots, I brush lightly with olive oil and grilled for just a few minutes, until they are just softened.

Grilled Summer Salad with Apricot Poppy Seed Dressing

3 apricots, pits removed
4 tablespoons sweet yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons poppyseeds

In the jar of a blender, combine the apricots, onion, olive oil, vinegar and honey.  Puree the ingredients until you have a smooth mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Stir in the poppy seeds until fully incorporated.

To make the salad, on a bowl or platter, arrange romaine lettuce and top it with grilled chicken, grilled corn, avocado slices, and grilled apricots. Drizzle with the apricot poppy seed dressing.

Summer Strawberry Salad with Creamy Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

With the passing of Labor Day many people consider summer to be over. Perhaps in other parts of the country it is starting to feel like fall, but out here in the central California valley we are sweltering under 100+ degree temps.  All the stores have their fall decor out (some even have Christmas!) but we're still trying to stay cool in the pool!  With the temperatures as hot as they are I don't plan menus around the BBQ (and my Hubbers thanks me for that!) Standing over a hot stove or warming up the house with the oven isn't very pleasant either.  Consequently, meals on sweltering days often involve a salad.  This salad is one of my favorites, I love all the fresh fruit in it. I add grilled chicken as my Hubbers likes a little protein in  his main-dish salad, but it can easily be left out.  The dressing makes enough for leftovers, it's also good on a spinach salad.

Summer Strawberry Salad with Creamy Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

 

For the dressing:

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

¾ cup sugar

2 tablespoons minced shallot

¼ teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons mayonnaise

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 ½ teaspoons poppy seeds

 

For the salad:

Romaine lettuce, spinach and/or any other type of lettuce, washed and dried

Strawberries, hulled and sliced

Blueberries

Mandarin orange segments

Fresh pineapple, cubed

 

Directions:

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the vinegar, sugar, shallot, dry mustard, salt, mayonnaise and orange juice.  Process to blend well.  With the feed tube open and the processor on, add the vegetable oil in a steady stream and continue processing until incorporated.  Add the poppy seeds and pulse briefly just until blended.  Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.

 

To make the salad, chop the lettuce or other greens into bite-size pieces. Plate individual servings of the lettuce in salad plates.  Top each serving with strawberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges and pineapple cubes as desired.  Drizzle lightly with the poppy seed dressing and serve immediately.

BLT Salad

Now that the days are getting warmer, and daylight longer, we find ourselves spending much more time outdoors in the evening.  We may be taking a walk with Harley, working in the yard, or just enjoying the yard. I love to end my evening, in one of our outdoor chairs, with a book on my iPad or doing a little cross stitching.  The scent of the flowers fill the air and watching the hummingbirds flit around never gets old for me. It's a very relaxing way to end the day!

All this time outdoors means less time in the kitchen.  We grill more and tend to eat lighter meals.  We both really enjoy salads and are very fortunate to have fresh-from-the-field produce available. We also enjoy bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches, as well as in salad form. I replaced the bread in the sandwich with farfalle (bowtie) pasta.  If you're watching your carbs, that is an easily eliminated ingredient.  The salad is refreshing, delicious and oh so easy to put together!

BLT Salad

Romaine lettuce
Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 avocado, diced
4 slices bacon, cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups farfalle pasta
Ranch dressing (or dressing of your choice)

Cook pasta in boiling salted water.  Drain and rinse with cold water.

Combine first five ingredients; toss with dressing. 

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

My Hubber's favorite salad is a Caesar salad, usually with chicken.  Me?  I find them rather mundane. Lettuce, dressing, some croutons, a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.  I like more "stuff" in my salads! A few weeks back my sister and I were pondering what to make for our Mother's Day lunch. I found this recipe online (who needs cookbooks anymore?) and knew it would appeal to most everyone in attendance.  They all like Caesar salad and this version had a little more "stuff" in it, including pasta. How can a salad be bad when it's got pasta in it? It was a hit with all our guests and I made it for dinner a few nights ago where it got rave reviews from my resident Caesar salad lover.

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

3 cups grilled chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
6 oz. penne pasta, cooked and cooled
4 cups Romaine lettuce, cut into small pieces
1 cucumber, diced
1/4 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced
2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Caesar salad dressing, either bottled or homemade
Croutons

Mix together all ingredients except for the dressing.  Pour desired amount of dressing on top (we used about half a bottle), toss.  Top with croutons, if desired (I'm not a crouton fan, so omitted).

Makes 4 large servings.

Chopped Autumn Salad

I served this salad at the baby shower I hosted last weekend.  I needed something that would easily multiply for a crowd, yet be easy to make and serve.  It needed to look good, too.  The salad scored on all fronts.

Variations of this salad exist all over the Internet and Pinterest.  It's not so much a recipe as it is a mixture of various ingredients.  It is easily adaptable to each person's tastes.  For the shower I used the following ingredients, all chopped in bite-size bits, so we didn't need knives.

Romaine lettuce
Cooked chicken (ours was grilled)
Apples
Pears
Blueberries
Dried cranberries
Candied pecans (recipe to come, so good!)
Blue cheese crumbles
Pomegranate seeds

The dressing is a mixture of poppy seed dressing and balsamic vinaigrette.  I used a ratio of 2/3 poppy seed to 1/3 balasamic.  For this event I used bottled dressing but homemade would obviously be wonderful! You can also substitute a few tablespoons of quality balsamic vinegar in lieu of the prepared vinaigrette.

The first six ingredients were tossed with the dressing.  Each salad was garnished with candied pecans, the blue cheese crumbles and pomegranate seeds. 

I loved this salad.  There was a combination of sweet and salty in each bite, as well as soft and crunchy.

Dance Recital at the Park

Our two older grandchildren take classes at a local ballet studio, Juline School of Dance, the same one their Aunt attended in her youth.  It's a fantastic dance studio.  Besides the quality instruction, one of the things I love about the Studio is their end-of-year recital. It's held at a local park that has an amphitheatre. It's very organized, the dancing is wonderful, yet the whole recital retains a relaxed atmosphere. Many of the families picnic at the recital, street vendors sell ice cream, cupcakes, shaved ice, younger siblings get to run around and burn off energy, and we aren't stuck in an auditorium for umpteen hours. It all makes for a very pleasant summer evening.

As we are in the midst of a heat wave here our picnic needed to be light.  I saw this recipe online and was intrigued by it.  I love oriental chicken salads and this one has some unusual ingredients in it.  I was somewhat apprehensive about the dressing as it calls for a package of dry onion soup mix.  The online reviews convinced me to try it and we weren't disappointed.  It had a nice ginger overtone and the orange juice gave it a nice flavor, too. Our picnic companions all loved it. This salad will be added to my list of "go-to" recipes.

Mandarin Chicken Pasta Salad

1 teaspoon finely chopped, peeled fresh ginger
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 ( 1ounce) package dry onion soup mix
2 teaspoons white sugar
1 clove garlic, pressed

1 (8 ounce) package bow tie (farfalle) pasta

1/2 cucumber, scored, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup coarsely chopped red onion
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 carrot, shredded
1 (6 ounce) bag fresh spinach
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin orange segments, drained
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

To make the dressing, whisk together the ginger root, rice vinegar, orange juice, vegetable oil, sesame oil, soup mix, sugar, and garlic until well blended. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add the bowtie pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain, and rinse under cold water.  Place pasta in a large bowl.

To make the salad, toss the cucumber, bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, carrot, spinach, mandarin oranges, chicken and almonds with the pasta.  Pour the dressing over the salad mixture, and toss again to coat evenly. Serve immediately.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Only three weeks left and the grind of tax season 2014 will be over. We are tired and cranky. Our living room is getting no use, we get home and head straight to bed. I've not cooked dinner in a week now. My refrigerator has a half-gallon of milk and some eggs. Have I said there are only three more weeks left?!!

Though we're not doing much for dinner, we are eating well for lunch. Most of us in the office are taking turns bringing lunch in. We've had lasagna, grilled sandwiches, sloppy joes, quiche, tuna sandwiches, soup, to name a few. It's a good arrangement as we're not running out for junk food and we usually are only responsible for bringing something in every 4-5 days. 

Last week I brought in this Chinese Chicken salad.  I was introduced to this salad when my son was in the first grade.  The school had a luncheon for past parents and I was a volunteer worker.  This salad was on the menu.  I've made it numerous times over the years. It's got salty (soy sauce), sweet (pineapple and mandarin oranges) as well as crunch (water chestnuts and chow mein noodles). I always get requests for this recipe when I serve it. Most of it is done the night before so it makes very easy to put together for lunch.

Once again, not the prettiest picture but just keeping it real.  We don't have fine china and linen at work!

CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD

 

1 whole chicken (or use equivalent in chicken breasts)

1 can pineapple chunks (16 oz.)

1 can mandarin oranges (11 oz.)

1 can sliced water chestnuts (8 oz.)

4 ribs of celery

4 green onions

1 can chow mein noodles (5 oz.)

Salad greens

 

       DRESSING

¾ cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

 

1.       Remove fat from chicken; cook in boiling water; drain; cool and bone; chop into bite-sized pieces. (This was the directions in the original recipe. I usually bake bone-in chicken breasts).

2.       Drain pineapple, mandarin oranges and water chestnuts well.

3.       Chop celery and green onions.

4.       Mix together the chicken, pineapple, mandarin oranges, water chestnuts, celery and green onions; cover and refrigerate overnight.

5.       For dressing, mix together the ingredients; may be done in morning.

6.       Just before serving, mix salad greens and  chicken mixture with dressing (make sure there is no extra juice from fruit in chicken mixture before tossing).  Top with chow mein noodles.

Caribbean Chicken Salad on a Busy Night!

We have a very busy week going on here. We leave this weekend for vacation so lots of last minute things to do. But when a client brings you a box of apricots you just have to put things aside and get to work!

After going to Pilates at 5:30 a.m. and working a full day it's overwhelming to think of making jam and dinner. So, on nights like this, dinner must be easy. We love a good chicken salad. My hubby could eat a chicken caesar salad every day of the week but I am quickly bored by repetitive meals. Chili's restaurant has a grilled chicken Caribbean salad on their menu. It's changed over the years but the basic salad is the same as this copycat recipe I've been using for a while now. It's easy to put together and my hubby grilled the chicken while I cleaned my kitchen of the apricot jam mess. I especially like the dressing, the addition of the sesame oil gives it such a nice flavor. It was a dinner without much fuss, hardly any mess to clean up and one that was pretty healthy for us!

CHILI’S GRILLED CARIBBEAN CHICKEN SALAD
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
½ cup teriyaki marinade (store bought or homemade)
4 cups chopped iceberg lettuce **
4 cups chopped green leaf lettuce **
1 cup chopped red cabbage **
5.5 oz. can pineapple tidbits in juice, drained
10.4 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained
Tortilla chips, broken into small pieces

PICO DE GALLO:
2 medium tomatoes, diced
½ cup diced onion
2 teaspoons chopped fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and de-ribbed
2 teaspoons finely minced fresh cilantro
Pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and chill.

HONEY LIME DRESSING:
¼ cup Grey Poupon dijon mustard
¼ cup honey
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons lime juice

Blend all the ingredients in a small bowl with a whisk; cover and chill.

Marinate the chicken in the teriyaki for at least two hours. Preheat outdoor or indoor grill. Grill the chicken for 4-5 minutes per side or until done.

Toss the lettuces and cabbage together.

To serve, pour pico de gallo over the bowl of greens. Sprinkle pineapple and oranges on salad. Sprinkle broken tortilla chips on salad. Slice the grilled chicken into thin strips and place on salad. Serve salad with dressing. (Note: salad may be divided into individual servings.)

** Or use packaged lettuce mix.

I've made 24 jars of jam and still have half a box of apricots to deal with. Tomorrow night I'll make apricot pie filling for the freezer!

It's Foodie Friday!