Bex's Sesame Chicken Romaine Salad

I originally took this recipe from Taste of Home, but added in the chicken to make it more "hearty". Perfect for lunch...Jen and I make this a lot when we hang out!

1/2 C butter
1 TB sugar
2 packages Ramen noodles, crushed
1/3 C sesame seeds
1/4 C slivered almonds
2 bunches romaine, torn
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I either boil them OR just buy a rotisserie chicken and shred off some of that meat)

Dressing:
3/4 C olive oil
1/3 C sugar
1/4 C red wine vinegar
1 TB soy sauce

Melt the butter and sugar over medium heat. Add the noodles, sesame seeds, and almonds. Cook and stir until browned (watch carefully; this happens pretty fast!). In a large salad bowl, toss the romaine and chicken.

Mix dressing ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake well to combine. Just before serving, drizzle over romaine mixture and then top with noodle mixture. DELICIOUS!

*you will have leftovers. I don't toss the all of the dressing with the lettuce; I just use enough to taste on individual salads. I also just add however much crunchy noodles I want, that way I can save it all without the lettuce getting wilty. With your leftovers, just Ziploc the crunchies but don't refrigerate those. Dressing and lettuce in fridge.*

Cranberry Salad

 

(Nicole's IL's famous recipe)

1 bag fresh cranberries

1 large box cherry Jell-O

1 15.5 oz can crushed pineapple (save the juice to grind cranberries)

½ cup sugar

Grind cranberries in blender with the juice from the crushed pineapple. Add 1 cup hot water to package of Jell-O. Mix sugar and pineapple in with Jell-O. Add cranberries and mix well. Put in fridge until Jell-O sets.

Nicole's Summery Cucumber-Tomato Salad

1/3 cup white vinegar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 t salt

1 t white sugar

½ t dill

1 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

3-4 tomatoes, thinly sliced

Layer veggies in a flat dish, alternating layers. Mix the oil & vinegar, salt, sugar and dill until sugar dissolves & oil & vinegar are blended (as much as possible.) Pour mixture over tomato/cucumber/onions. Sprinkle with a bit of dill for garnish. Serve.

Elaine's Mandarin Salad

Mandarin oranges add a sweet tang to this lettuce salad, and almonds and celery add crunch. The vinegar-and-oil dressing has a hint of hot pepper sauce. The salad can be assembled ahead of time, and finished at the last minute.

INGREDIENTS:

 Dressing:

1/4 cup salad oil

2 Tbsp sugar

 2 Tbsp vinegar

1 Tbsp snipped parsley

 1/2 tsp salt

 Dash pepper

 Dash bottled red pepper sauce

 Salad:

 1/4 cup sliced almonds

 4 tsp. sugar

 1/4 head lettuce (iceburg is my choice)

 1/4 head romaine

 1 cup chopped celery

 2 green onions with tops, thinly sliced

 1 can (11 oz) mandarin orange segments

METHOD:

Shake dressing ingredients in a tightly covered jar; refrigerate. Cook almonds and remaining sugar over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is melted and almonds are coated. Cool on foil and break apart. Store almonds at room temperature. Tear lettuce and romaine into bite-size pieces (about 4 cups.) Place greens in a plastic bag, add celery and onion. Fasten bag and refrigerate. Five minute before serving, pour dressing into bag, add drained mandarin orange segments. Fasten bag and shake gently until greens and oranges are well coated. Add almonds and shake. Turn into salad bowl. Serve immediately.

Jen's Colorful Rice & Bean Salad

Quick, easy, and can be made low-cal!

1 bell pepper (coarsely chopped)
1 onion (coarsely chopped)
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup rice (cooked)
1 can corn
1 can kidney beans
1 can spicy crushed tomatoes (such as Rotel)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. ground red pepper (if you like hot)
shredded cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)

Saute pepper and onion in the oil until desired tenderness is reached.

In large pot, add cooked rice, sauteed peppers, and onion, and all other ingredients.

Heat until warm, top with cheese and sour cream.

Taco Salad from Mika

1 can Ranch-Style Beans

½ Head of Lettuce, shredded

2 medium sized Tomatoes

¼ Onion, finely diced

8 oz Cheddar cheese, shredded

1 can black olives, sliced and drained

Fritos

Catalina dressing

In large bowl, place lettuce. Next, layer tomatoes, onion, and olives on top of lettuce. Pour beans over top. Place cheese on top of salad. Sprinkle with fritos. Pour dressing over the top and serve.

Nat's Greek Pasta Salad

Chopped zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 or 2 lemons (depending on how much you get)
½ cup olive oil1 Tbsp dill
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt & pepper
1 lb. orzo pasta, cook to al dente & drain
6 oz. feta, crumbled
1 large yellow pepper, diced
1 large red pepper, diced
½ cup kalamata olives, pitted & quartered
2 scallions, sliced
1 Tbsp chopped oregano

Mix the pasta, cheese, peppers, olives & scallions together. In a small bowl, whisk the zest, juice, dill, garlic & oil. Season with salt & pepper. Pour the dressing over the pasta mixture, add oregano & combine.

Oriental Cole Slaw from Mika

1 lb Cole Slaw Mix

4 green onions, chopped

2 pkg Ramen noodles, crushed (I use 1 chicken and 1 oriental)

4 oz slivered almonds

4 oz sunflower seeds

Combine above ingredients together.

Dressing

½ cup white vinegar

½ cup sugar

½ cup vegetable oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

Flavor packets from Ramen

Mix together well (shaking works best) and pour over slaw no more than 30 minutes before serving. Slaw can be refrigerated overnight without dressing.

Mika's Make Ahead Mexican Salad

16 oz torn iceberg lettuce

15 oz black beans, drained and rinsed

4 med tomatoes, chopped

1 cup Thick N Chunky Salsa

½ cup sour cream

1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese

2 green onions, sliced

2 cups broken tortilla chips

Layer lettuce, beans, tomato in 4 ½ quart bowl. Mix salsa and sour cream. Spread over salad to seal. Sprinkle with cheese and onion, cover. Refrigerate several hours, or overnight. Sprinkle with tortilla chips just before serving. Toss lightly.

Nicole's Panzanella Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 6 cups day old Italian bread, torn into bite-size pieces (1 long French bread loaf works as well)
• 1/3 cup olive oil (you may need more than this)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (just use jarred garlic, much easier)
• 1/4 cup olive oil (you may need more oil & balsamic.....just keep the same ratio for the dressing)
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 4 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges (I dice)
• 3/4 cup sliced red onion (I like them really thin)
• 10 basil leaves, shredded
• 1/2 cup pitted and halved green olives (I use Kalamata instead)
• 1 cup fresh mozzarella, cut into bite-size pieces (I use FETA instead)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, toss bread with 1/3 cup olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. Lay bread on a baking sheet, and toast in the preheated oven until golden, about 5 to 10 minutes; allow to cool slightly. (MY CHEAT: I put all the bread on cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil...unmeasured....until they're all coated but not sopping wet, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, dried California basil (YUM) and minced garlic from a jar)
3. While the bread is in the oven, whisk together 1/4 cup of olive oil and balsamic vinegar (I've found that you'll need more oil & vinegar than the recipe suggests.....just make sure to maintain the same RATIO and it'll taste fabulous!). Gently toss together the bread, tomatoes, onion, basil, olives, and mozzarella cheese. Toss with the vinaigrette and let stand for 20 minutes before serving.