Bosc Pear Salad with Sweet Balsamic Dressing

My sister in law brought this salad over for dinner and I couldn't stop eating it.'

I now call it the "Molly Salad" and make it all the time.

There is just something about this salad...maybe the candied walnuts, the delicious pears, or the homemade balsamic dressing, but everything goes together perfectly.

You will need:

Spring mix & spinach

Candied walnuts (directions below)

Cranberries

2 Bosc pears

Shaved parmesan

Balsamic Dresssing

3/4 cup evoo

¼ cup balsamic

1 tsp ground mustard

1 tsp brown sugar

Sea Salt, pepper

To candy the walnuts, 2 Tbsp butter and 1 TBSP brown sugar melted in pan. 

Then add walnuts and coat. Lay on wax paper to dry.

After the walnuts are candied, add spring mix and spinach to a bowl.

Slice up 2 bosc pears and toss in a handful of cranberries.

Add some freshly grated parmesan cheese and your salad is ready to eat!

To make the dressing combine all ingredients and whisk.

Pour over salad and toss well. 

My FAVORITE salad

My FAVORITE salad

This is my absolute favorite salad to make.
It is my go to when I need to bring something to a 
dinner party and it is always a huge hit.

Ingredients:

Salad

Spring mix blend salad

3 hard boiled eggs

½-3/4 bag of apple chips, I used Seneca brand

½ cup sliced almonds

3 Tbsp sugar

1 tomato, diced

Dressing

½ tsp salt

¼ cup vegetable oil

½ tsp dried parsley

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp vinegar

{This is the brand of apple chips that I use.}

To make the almonds,

in a skillet pan on medium heat,

cook almonds & sugar until dissolved

 (be VERY careful because this will easily burn).

Stir constantly!

 Cool on wax paper.

Then make up the dressing. Add salt, vegetable oil, parsley, sugar, and vinegar to a small bowl and whisk.

Place it in refrigerator to chill until ready to use.

Then dice up the hard boiled eggs & tomato.

Mix everything together and then sprinkle the apple chips on top.

Be careful to not add the dressing until right when you’re ready to serve so that the chips don’t get soggy.

Bacon Apple Rasberry Vinaigrette Salad

This salad is absolutely delicious.

I made it for Thanksgiving and I love the combination of flavors it brings.

To make this you will need:

2-3 Romaine Hearts, Shredded

1-2 apples chopped

1 pkg. Bacon, cooked and chopped

1 pkg. Walnuts

1 pkg Feta Cheese

Dressing:

1 cup Sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

1/2 cup Red wine vinegar

1/2 small Red onion ( I skipped this)

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tsp poppy seeds

Add the chopped romaine and all the other ingredients into a large bowl.

Combine the first 5 ingredients for the dressing in a blender and mix until smooth. 

Slowly add in oil while blender is running.

 Stir in poppy seeds.

Source: http://aaronandcarlyn.blogspot.com

Cornbread Croutons

One of my favorite salads of all time has cornbread croutons on it and they just make the salad!

So, I found the Pioneer Woman's recipe for them and they were delish!

Here is what you will need:

3 Tbsp vegetable shortening, melted

1/2 cup cornmeal, white or yellow

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup milk

1 small egg

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 stick butter, melted

To make:
Preheat the oven to 400 degree's F.

Pour 1 Tbsp of the shortening into a medium sized iron skillet or square 8 x 8 inch baking pan.

Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. 

In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, milk, eggs, and baking soda.

Stir.

Mix together the wet and dry ingredients until just combined, then stir in the remaining 2 Tbsp melted shortening.

Pour into the skillet or baking pan, smoothing the surface with a knife or spatula.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

To make the croutons, cut the cornbread into 1 inch cubes.

Spread the cubes on a baking sheet and drizzle with the melted butter.

Bake at 325 degree's F, tossing or shaking occasionally, until the croutons are crisp,

about 20 minutes. Allow the croutons to cool slightly before serving.

Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks- Food From my Frontier

Perfect fried chicken dinner salad

Perfect Dinner Salad

If you're looking for a light easy meal for dinner then this is it!

It's a great fried chicken salad with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and ranch. Throw in a garlic breadstick on the side and you're good to go!

You will need:

A head of any lettuce you like, I used romaine

cucumber, sliced and diced

cherry tomatoes

boneless, skinless chicken tenders

Drake's coating (for the chicken)

Ranch dressing, or any kind you prefer

(optional) New York Brand Garlic Breadsticks, frozen

To make:

Follow the directions on the back of the Drake's coating mix to coat the chicken and then either pour some oil in a pan and fry it until it comes out white and reaches 180 degrees or what I did is place them in my deep fryer for a couple of minutes until they were done.

Then dice them up and set aside.

Chop up the lettuce and halve the cherry tomatoes. 

Remove the skin and dice up the cucumber. 

Add it all to a bowl and throw in the chicken. 

Then mix it all up, plate it, and add some ranch dressing!

I added some New York Brand frozen garlic breadsticks and just warmed them in the oven for a few minutes and they were the perfect addition!

It makes a quick meal when you have a lot going on in the evening, but just need a little something to keep going!

Strawberry and Feta Salad

Strawberry and Feta Salad

I was looking for a really good summer salad and I came across a few different recipes that all looked really good. This was the first one. I would never think to put fruit in my salad and I typically don't like them together, but this salad was just the perfect blend. The dressing adds just a hint of tang which makes it irresistible!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup slivered almonds

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup raspberry vinegar

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 head romaine lettuce, torn

1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

DIRECTIONS:

In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook the almonds, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted. 

Remove from heat, and set aside.

In a bowl, prepare the dressing by whisking together the garlic, honey, Dijon mustard, raspberry vinegar, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil.

In a large bowl, toss together the toasted almonds, romaine lettuce, strawberries, and feta cheese. 

Cover with the dressing mixture, and toss to serve!

Source: Allrecipes.com

Crystal's Creation salad!

For my birthday I requested to go to J. Alexander's because i am in LOVE with their salad.

A few weeks later I was craving it again, so I decided to re-create it myself!

Crystal's creation salad

romaine or butter lettuce

fried up chicken tenders, chopped

hard boiled eggs

croutons

avocado

bacon crumbles

any dressing you like! I use honey mustard

First off, I cut my avocado in half and turn it so that the ball inside easily pops out.

Then I slice each half like this and then use a spoon to get between the skin and the inside and scoop it out.

Then I throw everything together and it is just PERFECTION.

ahhhh....yum!

The lettuce gives it great crunch, the chicken is warm and moist, and the avocado gives it just the right amount of creaminess!

Pair it with some breadsticks and you've got yourself a delicious dinner!

You can also add cornbread croutons on it, and it will be complete!

The recipe for Cornbread Croutons is here.

Mandarin Salad

My mother in law makes this fabulous salad & I was craving it so bad the other day!

It has a nice, light dressing that goes with everything. The recipe calls for manadarin oranges in it, but I didn't have any on hand so I used strawberries instead. You really can substitute just about anything you'd like!

The key to this salad is making the delicious nut clusters. Trust me....it'll be worth it! 

Mandarin Salad

½ cup sliced almonds

3 Tbsp sugar

½ head iceberg lettuce

1 cup chopped celery

½ head romaine

2 green onions, chopped

1-     11 oz. mandarin oranges, drained

In skillet pan on medium heat, cook almonds & sugar until dissolved (be VERY careful because this will easily burn). Stir constantly! Cool on wax paper.

Dressing:

½ tsp salt

Dash of pepper

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 Tbsp parsley

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp vinegar

Dash of Tabasco

Mix & chill.

Mix lettuce, celery, onions together. Then add almonds, oranges & dressing!

I made extra nut clusters & later on that week made up a quick salad & used the clusters for an added crunch!