Recipes: Side Salads

I have tried out a couple recipes lately. A couple I'd like to keep here for future reference and a couple I won't even share 'cause they will not be put into our "rotation." Ha. I'm supposed to limit how much vinegar I eat right now, so I only make a salad with vinegar in it like once a week or less. Beside, one TBSP of vinegar in a whole salad seems pretty innocent to me. 
Broccoli Salad is a staple at our house. I use whatever I have in the pantry. I don't always have turkey bacon on hand, so I don't always put it in. I also don't always have sunflower seeds on hand. In fact, I usually save the sunflower seeds for the times we have company over. I suppose I could try walnuts or pecans in the salad in place of the sunflower seeds. Anyway. Here is the base recipe.


GF Broccoli-Raisin Salad

3 cups broccoli 

¾ cup sunflower seeds

¾ cup raisins

4-5 slices bacon (I use turkey bacon)

Dressing:

½ cup light GF mayo

1 TSBP apple cider vinegar

2 TBSP sugar

Bake bacon in oven.

Place bacon on cookie sheet in cold oven. Shut oven door. Set oven to 400 degrees. Cook 17-20 minutes. Cool and cut into small pieces.

Run broccoli in food processor until cut into desirable sized pieces.

Place non dressing ingredients in large bowl.

In medium bowl, mix dressing ingredients well. Stir into salad ingredients and serve.

From Healthy Lunch Box Cookbook

We also eat a lot of slaw at our house. This week I made this version I found on pinterest. I like it and will make it again.

Crunchy Apple Slaw
Yield: 8-10 servings
1/2 cup salad dressing (such as Miracle Whip)
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 green cabbage, shredded
1 red apple (Braeburn preferred), unpeeled and diced
1 green apple (Granny Smith preferred), unpeeled and diced
1 Tablespoons chopped green onions
1/4 cup sliced almonds


Mix together the salad dressing, sugars, vinegar and lemon juice in a large bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients and toss to coat.  Cover and chill before serving.

I made the following salad a few weeks ago and really liked it!!

Tomato, Corn, and Bacon Salad

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) corn, off the cob
1 Tablespoon minced fresh cilantro (or if you don’t have any, substitute parsley)
5 slices bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled
juice of 1 lime
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons olive oil
Toss together all ingredients.  Serve immediately.  Or, if you want to make ahead, toss together and refrigerate everything except the bacon overnight and make and add the bacon before serving.

The next salad on my "to make" list is below. I'm interested in it because it will taste good on a warm summer day and it should be filling because of the protein in the Edamame.

Marsha’s Edamame Salad
1 cup frozen edamame, lightly cooked according to package directions
⅓ cup dried cranberries (or dried cherries)
½ cup sweet corn kernels
1 cup carrots, julienned
⅓ cup bell peppers, chopped
¼ cup chopped red onions, rinsed with cold water

Dressing:
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 to 2 teaspoon brown sugar (or honey), depending on how sweet you like it

Boil the edamame according to package directions. Dunk them in cold water to cool the beans and stop the cooking. In a bowl, combine all of the salad ingredients.

Measure the dressing ingredients into a small jar which has a lid. Put the lid on the jar and shake it until the dressing ingredients are combined. Pour most of the dressing on the salad and toss the salad. Taste the salad and add the remaining dressing, if desired.