quick salads- recipes?

[pugz]

I often want to make a side salad with dinner but feel like my go-tos are getting kind of old.

What kind of quick salads do you make up? Do you make your own dressing or use store bought?

[Deleted]

I have one that I love.

lettuce (not iceberg), red grapes sliced in half, feta and toasted pine nuts. No dressing required. The feta and grapes make it moist.

My sister made a great salad for t-day but it looked very time consuming since it had roasted pear

[audette]

I tend to go with basic salads - spinach or mixed greens or such, topped with various veggies (whatever I have in the fridge), and a homemade dressing.

Dressing: a bit of olive oil, some balsamic vinegar, some spicy mustard or honey, and whatever seasonings sound good - usually some garlic, black pepper, italian seasoning, extra oregano because I like it, etc...

Lately I've been mixing up the homemade dressing in spare mason jars - I know they'll seal well enough I can shake the crap out of it to emulsify it.

[Pom]

I have 2 different dinner side salads that are our favs....
Bleu Beacon Salad----Sliced Red onion, mixed greens or whatever you have, bleu cheese crumbles, bacon pieces, garlic bread crumbs, shake salad ingredients with Ken's Vidalia Onion dressing (I go light on the dressing, but so awesome)
Michigan Woods Salad---- Baby lettuces, dried Michigan cherries, gorgonzola or feta, candied nuts or toasted almonds, raspberry vinaigrette

[mbcdefg]

I like to top my salads with walnuts, goat cheese crumbles, and raspberry dressing. And some sliced Granny Smith apples if I have them on hand.

[pugz]

mmm yummy. Mason jar is a great idea!

I re-created the wendys apple pecan chicken salad recently and it was yum, made quick sugared pecans on the stove top.

[magdala9]

If I have the time, I will make my own dressing but I don't always have the time.

for winter, I like:
Orange slices, dried cranberries, spinach and romaine with honey mustard dressing
Spinach, apples, raisins, cucumbers, scallions with ranch dressing
Cherry tomato, cucumber, arugula, boston lettuce with a vinaigrette.
Weeds and seeds: Arugula, dandelion greens, Boston lettuce, sunflower seeds and toasted pumpkins seeds in a maple vinaigrette.

[audette]

Oh, darn near any nuts being added to a salad benefit by being toasted first. Doesn't take much to do it, and it really boosts their flavour.

[ijack]

someone made this for thanksgiving and it was amazing!
www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Kale-Brussels-Sprout-Salad-368295

[atouchofklasse]

TJs has a really good aged balsamic that's almost syrupy. Drizzle that on greens with olive oil salt and pepper (and any other veggies).

[ondaflipside]

DH mixes salad greens, worchestire sauce, anchovies, olive oil, mustard, sea salt and lime. It's light enough to be a side, and can also be made a full meal as-is.

[mmmomof2]

Adding Cutie segments and diced avocado to spinach makes a tasty and nutritious salad.

[atouchofklasse]

Nov 26, 2012 12:54:13 GMT -5 ondaflipside said:

DH mixes salad greens, worchestire sauce, anchovies, olive oil, mustard, sea salt and lime. It's light enough to be a side, and can also be made a full meal as-is.

Sounds amazing!

[ESF]

I make my own dressing, and always just tiny 1-dinner batches. It takes about 30 seconds. I pour a splash of olive oil, a splash of vinegar and/or citrus, and some S&P into a tiny tupperware container, seal, shake for a second or two, then dump on the salad. If I am feeling fancy, I will throw in other stuff to flavor it - minced shallots, garlic, mustard, honey, herbs, grated citrus rind, pomegranate molasses, maple syrup, etc.

To make creamy dressings, I throw in a bit of yogurt or sour cream and whisk. Or I crumble up goat cheese or blue cheese into the vinaigrette and just whisk the shit out of it for a minute or two until it's smooth.

You can make a healthy Caesar by mincing some garlic and anchovies with a couple spoonfuls of plain yogurt, some oil, lemon, and s&P.

As for salads, I rarely use romaine, except for Caesars. Mostly I use various greens, and then just toss in a couple little things.

A couple winter combos that I like are:

arugula and/or baby greens with radish, kumquat, and pomegranate seeds. Citrus vinaigrette.

Radicchio with toasted walnuts and blood orange vinaigrette

I also like tossing citrus segments with avocado and/or fennel in the winter, which is good with or without leafy greens.


magdala - your weeds and seeds salad sounds delicious!

[CloudBee]

I often use the Dole Caesar salads. I then toss in my own cubed hard cheeses (Brenta, Satori) and sometimes things like grape tomatoes if I have them in the fridge.

[ESF]

Another tip that I saw on Barefoot Contessa. Make your salad dressing in the bowl you plan to toss/serve the salad in. Just whisk it and leave it there. Then put your salad on top. When you are ready to serve, toss it all together. Then you don't dirty up multiple bowls.

[Deleted]

Nov 26, 2012 13:09:56 GMT -5 ESF said:

Another tip that I saw on Barefoot Contessa. Make your salad dressing in the bowl you plan to toss/serve the salad in. Just whisk it and leave it there. Then put your salad on top. When you are ready to serve, toss it all together. Then you don't dirty up multiple bowls.

WHY HAVE I NOT BEEN DOING THIS ALL THESE YEARS?!

We usually make a delicious salad dressing, but since I moved out, I've been lazy. I buy Newman's Own Balsamic vinaigrette. It's pretty good for bottled.

My standard is lettuce, toasted almonds, goat cheese, craisins, balsamic vinaigrette. I toast a bunch of almonds at once and keep them in the fridge.

For lunch, I often do chopped vegetable salads because they take up less room in my lunchbox - diced up bell pepper, cucumber, zucchini/yellow squash, grape tomatoes, with the same almonds/cheese/fruit/dressing as lettuce salad.

[Deleted]

I make a lot of cabbage salads. Sliced cabbage, chopped parsley, green onion and if you like, any herb like dill or cilantro. Dressed with salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil and sometimes sumac.

Then add whatever. For T-day I added pomegranate and chopped pineapple. Sometimes I add kidney beans. Sometimes raisins/craisins and and a few nuts. Make your own combo. Just start with the base.

Or start with the base minus the cabbage and use steamed baby potatoes, dressed hot. Or just beans. Or watermelon. Jicama......

[80sjunkie]

Nov 26, 2012 13:09:56 GMT -5 ESF said:

Another tip that I saw on Barefoot Contessa. Make your salad dressing in the bowl you plan to toss/serve the salad in. Just whisk it and leave it there. Then put your salad on top. When you are ready to serve, toss it all together. Then you don't dirty up multiple bowls.

I do this but I don't know where I got it from. This thread couldn't have come at a better time; we need to detox after our Europe trip.

[fuddyduddy]

This is more fitting for summer, but I love this salad: www.annies-eats.com/2011/04/06/strawberry-spinach-salad/

[pugz]

yum yum yum yum! thanks guys

[Deleted]

I do something similar to others--spinach, feta, craisins, walnuts w/ poppyseed dressing.