Greek Pasta Salad

Our sister in-law Suzanne made us dinner the other night and it was terrific. She tried to copy it from a Greek salad she had tried at Costco. I loved the flavors that each of the ingredients brought to the dish. They blended together nicely. I really don't know what else to say besides it was a delicious pasta dish, one I will be making again soon.

Greek Pasta Salad
recipe from Suzanne

Makes a BIG bowl!

2 lb penne or rotini pasta, cooked

1 bottle Greek salad vinaigrette (Wishbone)

1 jar Greek olive blend, drained

1 container grape tomatoes

8 oz. pkg. Feta cheese

1 jar artichoke hearts, drained

1/2 red onion, chopped

cooked, cubed chicken, or rotesserie chicken shredded

First, cook your chicken (unless using a rotisserie chicken). Just season it with a little salt, pepper, and a little of the greek salad dressing. Suzanne also poured in some of the juice from the artichoke hearts to give it more flavor. I liked that idea. When chicken is cooked and cubed, set aside. Next, cook your pasta according to directions and drain. Place pasta in a large bowl. Combine with the rest of the ingredients, olives (drained), tomatoes, feta cheese, artichoke hearts (drained), and red onion. Now pour the vinaigrette on top and combine well. Use a little vinaigrette at a time, you may not want to use all of it, just however much you like. This dish is normally served cold, so refrigerate for a couple hours before serving! Serve with a side of garlic bread. Delish!

Yogurt Fruit Salad

 picture from Cookin' with Cousins

This salad always makes an appearance at all our family get togethers. We love it because one, it is really good, two, it is loaded with yogurt and fruit and three, it is super easy! You can whip this up in no time flat and have a delicious side dish to share at your next summer barbecue. You can make it as yogurty or as fruity as you want. You can even mix and match fruit and yogurt flavors. It is that easy. During those winter months, you can use frozen mixed fruit or strawberries and it comes out great too. Try it this summer, you'll love it!

My sister Callie is featuring this salad at her Cookin' With Cousins blog. Instead of using fresh fruit, she teaches a great way in how to incorporate your freeze dried fruits you may have in your food storage. They are always offering great ways and tips to use your food storage items. Check it out! 

Yogurt Fruit Salad

recipe from Delicious Discoveries

1 large carton strawberry yogurt

1 regular size container Cool Whip

3 bananas sliced

1 carton strawberries sliced

1 carton blueberries

*blackberries

*raspberries

Mix yogurt and cool whip together until combined. Fold in fruit until combined! You really can add as much or as little fruit as you want.

You can use it to top delicious waffles if you want! It is pretty darn good.

picture from Cookin' with Cousins

Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad

This is a great salad for lunch, but filling enough for dinner. The dressing really is amazing. You can lighten this salad up by using grilled chicken and light mayo. Try it out!

Applebee's Oriental Chicken Salad

DRESSING:

3 Tbsp Honey

1 1/2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar

1/4 C Mayonnaise

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

1/8 tsp Sesame Oil

SALAD:

Lettuce--Romaine, Iceberg, Spinach

Shredded carrots

Red Cabbage

Mandarin Oranges

Chow Mein Noodles

Shredded Cheese--optional

Slivered Almonds--optional

Jicama--optional

Simple and Yummy Balsamic Vinaigrette

photo taken from Lucy's Kitchen

My friend brought me over some fresh butter lettuce from their garden. I wanted to try something lighter than ranch on it, but didn't have any other options, so I decided to whip up my own balsamic vinaigrette! It was a smart decision!

I used Emeril's recipe as the starting point. I really loved the end result. It was fantastic and so easy! I'll definitely have to try this again.

Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette

adapted from Emeril

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons dark brown sugar (**I used light)
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp soy sauce
1/2-3/4 cup olive oil *I went with 1/2 cup and it was plenty for me
*Your favorite greens mix
*Your favorite salad ingredients: *I used what I had on hand which was cherry tomatoes, diced cucumbers, and strawberries. The strawberries were SO AMAZING with the balsamic....try it! You could also add in whatever: carrots, red onion, cucumbers, blue cheese etc!


Beat the vinegar in a bowl with the sugar, garlic, soy sauce, salt and pepper until sugar and salt dissolves. Then beat in the oil, whisking constantly. (Or place all ingredients in a screw top jar and shake to combine.) Serve immediately. To store, cover and refrigerate, whisking or shaking again before use.

**If using a good quality balsamic vinegar you should not need the sugar, but if using a lesser quality you might want the sugar to round out the dressing.