Quinoa Salad

If I ever become known for a recipe, it will probably be this one. I took it to Blaine's family Christmas party last year and was practically hoisted up on the shoulders of a dozen women who quickly proclaimed it was the best thing they had ever eaten. I don't know that it would classify as that, but it is a beautiful salad with lots of tasty ingredients, a light and zingy dressing and it definitely stands out on a table at a potluck. Now, contrast that to my family, I took a big bowl of this to a party with my family and it sat, untouched, all night long. And the next time I was invited to a party I was politely asked to "maybe bring something besides a salad" because "your salads are just a little . . . different". But the last time someone besides me in my family consumed a vegetable was probably back in the early 70s or so.

Anywho, this is a delicious salad, easy to make and pleases most crowds, you can't ask for more than that!

PS After many lengthy discussions and much soul searching I've decided that the accurate way to pronounce quinoa is "KEEN-wah" not "keen-OH-ah".

Quinoa Salad

by: Kamiko's mom (Kamiko was a little kid in my primary class in our last ward, how sad that I can't remember her mom's name)

2 cups uncooked quinoa
1/2 green/red/or yellow pepper, diced
1 can black beans
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt
pepper
1 1/2 cup frozen corn (I've used canned corn before and it was fine)
cherry tomatoes cut in half
1 or 2 avocados, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Dressing
5 tablespoons lime juice (fresh is best, but no one will tell if you use bottled)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4teaspoon cumin
1/3 cup olive oil

Cook the quinoa according to package directions. While it is cooking soak the beans (rinse them first) in the vinegar with salt and pepper (to taste). When the quinoa is all cooked add the other stuff, mix the dressing ingredients together separately and then in with the salad. Serve with lime wedges if you have some left over.

I can't figure out if this is supposed to be served hot or cold. Blaine likes it hot, I like it cold. It's fine either way. Enjoy!

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

Yeah yeah the picture is from ourbestbites, I know. Sorry. Saturdays are complete chaos around these parts, zipping from one activity to the next and I somehow managed to prepare three crazy meals yesterday in an attempt to use all of the produce in our fridge that was um...getting a little old (since I took a quick little jaunt to St. George a day after a Costco run, bad idea!). Anyway I made this salad last night for a family party and everyone LOVED it! I think the secret to making people love something is to put crispy tortilla strips on top ;)

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad
by: Ourbestbites.com

Salad:
4 cups chopped Romaine Lettuce
2 cups chopped grilled chicken (I didn't do the chicken, still good!)
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, washed (and I cut them in half)
1/3 cup vertically sliced red onion
1 avocado, cubed
1 15-oz can bacl beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, rinsed and drained

Dressing:
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2/3 cup light sour cream
1 1/2 tsp adobo sauce from canned chipotle in adobo sauce (one can will last your entire life, you can freeze the chiles and remaining sauce in an ice cube tray for easy use!)
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Optional : Crispy Tortilla Strips
To make the tortilla strips fill a frying pan with 1/4 inch canola oil. Slice corn tortillas with a pizza cutter to be pretty thin, when oil is hot (it should sizzle when you flick water on it, not spatter, if it spatters it's too hot), throw in the tortillas and stir frequently till they are golden brown. Remove with slotted spatula and place on a plate with a paper towel on it, sprinkle with salt. Try to not eat them all before you serve your salad.

I watched a documentary the other day about doing a juice cleanse. I'm trying to gear up for that. I could post a lot of awesome juice recipes ; )

Avocado Bacon Parmesan Salad with Tangy Avocado Dressing

I hang my head as I write this post because I am breaking one of the cardinal rules I set for myself - I am pilfering an image. It's extra shameful because I actually have my new lens and I probably could have taken a half decent picture, but I kind of forgot and then when I remembered all that was left of this salad were a few little scraps stuck on the salad tongs (which I promptly ate). So, please forgive.

So ... salads. For the first 26 years of my life all a salad was to me was iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, croutons and ranch (maybe carrots if my mom was feeling sassy). Well, actually, in her defense she did once make a snickers salad, which she was ridiculed for and vowed to never make again. Anyway, I always thought salads were kind of blah.... and I would be rather insulted when people would ask me to bring a salad to a function, because I thought they didn't trust me to actually bring something important. But then in Texas a good friend made a salad that had apples in it. And avocados, and mandarin oranges, and nuts. And she made her own dressing. It was one of those defining moments in life where I realized that salads don't have to be boring. And now making salads is kind of my thing. I'm always on the lookout for new recipes to try, always throwing in a few more veggies, new types of nuts, and making my own dressings. Don't get me wrong though, there is still a place in my heart for iceberg and ranch!

I took this salad to a family party on Saturday. It was the first time I had left my house since becoming deathly ill earlier in the week, and it was lovely. Good food, good friends, horses, s'mores, mosquitos. Ah, sweet, sweet, summertime!


Avocado Bacon Parmesan Salad with Tangy Avocado Dressing
by Natalie @ Perry's Plate

For the salad:
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced
6 ounces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/3 cup fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese shavings
12 ounces of salad greens

For the dressing:
1/2 of an avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into large chunks
1 green onion, sliced
3 T sour cream
3 T mayonnaise or plain yogurt
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 T agave nectar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper, to taste

To prepare the dressing, place all dressing ingredients into a small food processor and blend until smooth. Adjust salt and pepper as needed.

Toss dressing with salad greens and top with avocado slices, bacon crumbles, and cheese shavings.

Homemade Ranch Dressing

Maybe you are concerned about random ingredients in your food (MSG anyone?), or perhaps maybe dinner is in an hour and you don't have time to run to the store (have I complained yet about how I live in the middle of a fairly large city and yet I still must drive fifteen minutes to get to a grocery store?). Regardless of your reasoning, sometimes it is nice to be able to just whip up your own salad dressing. You probably have most of the ingredients on hand, and if you don't you probably wont be disappointed with a little improvisation.

Homemade Ranch Dressing

by: Janssen @ frugalwifewealthylife.blogspot.com

3/4 cup mayonnaise (light is fine)
3/4 cup sour cream (light is fine)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup parsley (this was the thing I did not have)
1 green onion (green part only)
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons - 1/2 cup buttermilk

Put all ingredients, except buttermilk, in the blender and process until smooth; add buttermilk until desired consistency is reached. Store in fridge for up to two weeks.

*Kristi's Notes: I had no parsley, but ironically I did have fresh basil so I threw in a couple of basil leaves in lieu of the parsley and enjoyed the results. Also I don't go through buttermilk so I usually keep some buttermilk powder on hand, or you can mix 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice and let it stand for five minutes. Another handy thing to note is that if you go to the store and buy Italian salad dressing, you can buy a two pack that has a cruet included for less than the cost of two Italian dressing packs. probably everyone in the world knew this already but me, but it was a happy day when I didn't have to store my homemade dressing in a canning jar anymore :)