BLT Salad

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BLT Salad

My good friend came to my house to go swimming and brought this salad. The lettuce keeps the salad fresh and the creamy dressing brings everything together. 

Ingredients
1LB Pasta – Any shape will do
1 LB Bacon
2 Cups Cherry Tomatoes – Any color
½ Cup Milk
2 tsp Salt – Plus salt for pasta water
2 Garlic Cloves – Grated
1 TBSP Fresh Thyme
2 TBSP Chives – Chopped
½ Cup Mayonnaise
¼ Cup Sour Cream
5 Cups Romaine Lettuce

Instructions
Cook the bacon until it is crispy.  Once it is cool, crumble into pieces.  In a large stock pot, cook the pasta until al dente.  (Add salt to the water when you are boiling the pasta).  Drain the pasta.  Put the pasta in a large bowl and add the milk.  Toss to combine.
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and add to the bowl.  Add the grated garlic cloves, salt, thyme, chives and ¾ of the bacon.  Lightly toss to combine all the ingredients.  Add the mayonnaise and sour cream and stir until all the pasta is coated.  Stir in the lettuce and top with the remaining bacon. 


Picture

 

Steak Salad

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Steak Salad

 

This is a meal salad.  The blue cheese with the steak is absolutely delicious and the dressing is the light touch that makes this salad great.

Ingredients
Greens – Any combination of lettuce, arugula, spinach this is your choice
Steak – Can be left over or freshly made
Vinaigrette Dressing
Blue Cheese Crumbles

 

Vinaigrette Dressing

3 TBSP Olive Oil
2 TBSP Red Wine Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
**There are many variations of vinaigrette dressing.  This is a very easy, basic dressing. 

Instructions
Place the greens in a bowl and toss with vinaigrette dressing.  Arrange the steak on top of the greens.
Top with blue cheese crumbles.

 

Tortellini Salad

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Tortellini Salad

 I made this for my family and they devoured the entire bowl.  The pesto enhances the flavor of the tortellini while the mozzarella makes it extra special.

Ingredients
1lb Tortellini
½ Cup Pesto
¼ Cup Walnuts – chopped
4-5 Sundried Tomatoes
1 Can Black olives – sliced
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1 TBSP Fresh Basil – Chopped
2 Basil Leaves for garnish
1 Pint Cherry or Grape Tomatoes
1LB Mozzarella – Cubed

 

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, cook the tortellini following the package directions.  Drain.  Add ½ the pesto while the tortellini is hot and stir to combine.  Once the pasta is cool, add the mozzarella, olives, cherry tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, walnuts, salt and pepper.  Add the remaining pesto and the chopped basil.  Gently mix.  Before serving, garnish with chiffonade cut basil.

 

Mandarin Orange Salad

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Mandarin Orange Salad

 This salad is delicious.  The mandarin oranges are sweet and delicious and the candied almonds are truly amazing.  Once you have this salad, it will definitely be in your recipe rotation.

 

Salad Ingredients

1 Head Iceberg Lettuce (You can use any lettuce you like)
1 Head Romaine Lettuce
1 Cup Celery – chopped
½ Red Onion
1 11-oz can Mandarin Oranges
1/2 Cup Slivered Almonds
3 TBSP Sugar


Poppy Seed Dressing
¼ Cup Sugar
2/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Prepared Mustard
2 tsp Poppy Seeds
¼ Cup Vinegar
1 TBSP Parsley – chopped
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Black Pepper

 

Salad Instructions
Wash and dry the lettuce.  Cut into bite-sized pieces.  Add the celery.  Chop the red onion and add it to the bowl. In a heavy bottom frying pan, combine the sugar and almonds.  Cook until the sugar is melted and coats the almonds.  When the almonds are cool to the touch, break them apart and place them in a separate dish.  If you leave them to cool in the frying pan, they will stick together and you may not be able to separate them.
Once cool, add to the salad.  Top with the mandarin oranges.

 

Dressing Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake vigorously.

 

Orange & Strawberry Salad with Balsamic Reduction

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Oranges & Strawberries

 Fresh fruit is fabulous on its own, but add a balsamic reduction and you will be in heaven. On a warm summer night, this is the perfect dessert.

 

 

Ingredients
Oranges
Strawberries
¼ Cup Balsamic Vinegar
2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
Fresh Mint – Chopped (Optional)
¼ Cup Water

 

Instructions
Peel the oranges and remove all the pith.  Cut into slices or chunks.  Wash the strawberries and remove the stem.  If the strawberries are very large, then slice them.  If they are small to medium, then just cut in half.

Arrange the orange slices and strawberry slices in a dish.  Drizzle the balsamic glaze over the fruit.  Top with chopped mint.

Balsamic Glaze
In a small saucepan, add the vinegar, water and sugar.  Whisk to combine.  Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer the vinegar until it becomes thick.  You will know it is ready when the glaze coats the back of a spoon.