Spinach Mandarin Poppy Seed Salad

The recipe may be stolen, but the picture is by yours truly (as are all my other pictures). See? I'm not ALL thief. :)

I haven't been in much of a "cooking new recipes" mood lately. It's summer - I'd rather play than spend an hour slaving in the kitchen before dinner!

So I'm (once again) presenting another one of my favorite recipes I've gleaned from the Our Best Bites cookbook. I know it's easy to just go get it from there, but at least this way, I may point someone (and by that I mean the two people that read this blog) to the easiness and yumminess that is this salad.

Our family is small (three of us that eat big-people food), so I pretty much halved everything in the recipe below. The original makes 8-10 side dish servings. I also substituted chopped up mini cucumbers for avocados since my hubs doesn't like avocados. Like I said, it was really easy to throw together (especially if you just cook the bacon in the microwave), and tasted just like I expect summer foods to taste. Sweet. Tangy. Crisp. Light. Perfect. :)


Spinach Mandarin Poppy Seed Salad

8 ounces (1/2 bag) baby spinach
1/2-1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 thinly sliced medium red onion
1 large avocado, cubed
8 oz. mozzarella or Swiss cheese, shredded
1 (12-oz.) package bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 (12-oz.) can Mandarin oranges, drained
Poppy seed dressing, to taste (I made it from scratch, but it would be just as easy to buy a bottle of the pre-made stuff)

Combine all ingredients except dressing in a large bowl. When ready to serve, toss with desired amount of salad dressing and serve immediately.

If you anticipate leftovers, just let your eaters dress their own salads because the dressing will make the greens wilt.

Chicken Salad

I get asked for this recipe all the time. I think it came from my dad's side of the family, but not totally sure about that one. It's a little different than your normal chicken salad in that it doesn't have grapes. What?! I know! Shocking, isn't it? But I tend to make whole batches of it just for myself (hubby doesn't like any kind of salad with mayo in it... he's weird) to eat on sandwiches and/or crackers.

I've given measurements here, but there's no exact science. I usually just throw stuff in and adjust it to taste.


Chicken Salad

4 cups chicken, shredded (I usually splurge and buy the canned chicken for this one - it's easier)
2 cups celery, chopped
1 1/2 cups carrots, grated
1/4 cup sweet pickles, chopped (I buy a jar of sweet relish. Same thing, less work. :))
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 3/4 cup mayonnaise (I'm a Miracle Whip girl, so I usually go half mayo, half MW.)
1/2 Tbsp. dried onion
1/2 Tbsp. dill weed
1 1/2 Tbsp. mustard

Mix ingredients together and serve... easy as that!

Olive Garden Salad Dressing

I realize you can't really see the dressing on the salad in this picture. That's because it's really thin and blends right into the lettuce. But it's there.

I found this recipe on a website called Copykat. It didn't taste exactly like Olive Garden salad dressing, but it was close. I hope to make it a lot in the future simply because it was easy and cheap - my two favorite things! The recipe calls for Romano cheese, but I couldn't find any in the store that wasn't $6 for a teeny tiny container. So I just used 4 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and it turned out just dandy.

I also didn't put sugar in it. I like my dressings a little tart.

1/2 C. Mayonnaise
1/3 C. White Vinegar
1 tsp. Vegetable Oil
2 Tbsp. Corn Syrup
2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp. Romano Cheese
1/4 tsp. Garlic Salt – or one clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp. Parsley Flakes
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
sugar (optional)

Place all ingredients in blender until well mixed. Can be enjoyed for about 10 days if stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.