Greek Salad with Chicken

I realize that salads are typically more of a summer meal, but we eat salads all year at my house (plus it's still very much summer where I live).  I'm not sure if this is because a) I'm too lazy to actually cook something, or b) we don't really have a true winter here (unless you consider lows in the 50s winter).  Salads are also economical as they allow a small amount of meat to go a long way.

One of our favorite salads is a Greek salad that I posted 5 years ago.  It's so good that it really deserves to be mentioned again, but I've tweaked it ever so slightly to make it an entree!  I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner because it's so simple.  Add some chicken to the salad and, BAM, you've got a healthy and affordable entree!  You can use any kind of chicken you want - grilled, sauteed, rotisserie, leftovers, etc.  If I've recently made a whole chicken and have leftover meat, I'll use that for this.  If I don't have any leftovers on hand, I'll typically season boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I can often get these for $1.66-$1.77/lb on sale so I stock up and throw them in the freezer) with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and sautee in butter or throw them on the grill.  And for our family of 5, I can get away with 2 chicken breasts and usually have leftover meat for the lunch the next day.

You can use a bottled salad dressing, but I highly recommend you make the dressing below.  It tastes a-maz-ing (thanks to my sister-in-law for sharing it with me!), and it's healthier and much cheaper than store bought dressings.  My 7-year-old daughter LOVES it and always asks me if we have *that* dressing, even when we're not having a Greek salad.

On an economical note, I realize that Feta can be pricey.  I typically buy a chunk rather than crumbled Feta, because it's cheaper per ounce, and let's face it - it's really not hard to crumble your own Feta.  I've been omitting the olives as half of my family doesn't like olives and not using them also brings the cost down a bit.


Greek Salad
Romaine lettuce, cut into bite-sized pieces
Tomatoes, diced
Green bell peppers, diced
Red bell peppers, diced
Red onions, sliced
Cucumbers, chopped large
Olives, sliced (either kalamata or black will work)
Feta cheese, crumbled
Greek salad dressing (recipe below)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  You can either toss it all with the dressing or have people put their dressing on individually.  If you choose to toss the salad with the dressing, make sure you add it immediately prior to serving so that the lettuce doesn't get soggy.

Greek Salad Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 1/4 tsp dried basil
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 cup red wine vinegar

Combine all ingredients in a salad carafe and shake well.  If the dressing is too tangy for your taste, you can add a little sugar to tone it down a bit.  To help prevent separation, you can put all ingredients except the oil into a blender or food processor.  While the blender or food processor is running, slowly add the oil.  

Note: For those doing Trim Healthy Mama, this is an excellent S!

Spinach and Berry Salad

First of all, let me apologize for my absence recently.  We just got home from a 10 day vacation with my husband's family.  We had so much fun that there was just no time for blogging!  And I don't have a picture of today's recipe, but I am hoping to get one up later today.  So instead of a picture of today's salad, here's a picture of just some of the food we had on vacation.  There were 24 of us, and this doesn't even include any of the refrigerated or frozen stuff!!!

I enjoy eating salads for lunch, and I eat one almost every day.  The type of salad I eat varies, but lately I've been hooked on salads made with spinach and berries.  I was inspired when we had dinner with friends and they made a similar salad that was just so delicious.  I will say, though, that the berries often cost more than what I would normally pay for fruit, but Sam's Club has pretty good prices on them during the summer.

Spinach and Berry Salad
Spinach
Strawberries, sliced
Blueberries
Sliced almonds
Crumbled feta
Balsamic Vinaigrette

Place spinach in a bowl.  Top with desired amount of strawberries, blueberries, almonds, and feta; drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette and toss.  Enjoy!

BBQ Chicken Salad Update

Last month I posted one of my family's new favorite summer recipes - BBQ Chicken Salad.  In it, the dressing calls for buttermilk, which isn't an ingredient I typically keep on hand.  However, I bought some specifically for that recipe.  Don't worry, though.  I found plenty of other uses for the leftover buttermilk!  Anyway, since we like this salad so much, we're eating it pretty regularly and I don't want to have to keep buying buttermilk.  Of course, I could always make my own buttermilk, but I really don't use it often enough that it wouldn't be worth it for us.  So I made the salad again and substituted soured milk for the buttermilk and the results were great!  We didn't notice any difference between the dressing made with buttermilk and the dressing made with soured milk.  Here's the updated recipe.

Creamy Barbecue Dressing
1 cup mayonaise
2/3 cup milk
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 tsp distilled vinegar, divided
1 tsp sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup barbecue sauce

Combine milk and 1 tsp vinegar; let sit for about 5 minutes.

Mix all ingredients, including soured milk, until well combined.  Serve with BBQ chicken salad.

BBQ Chicken Salad

I came across this recipe on Pinterest recently and decided to give it a try, since we eat a lot of salads in the summer.  I'm glad I found this one, because it was a hit and it'll be going into my regular rotation of summer recipes!  I've made a few small adjustments to the original recipe to suit our tastes and to make it more cost-effective.

BBQ Chicken Salad
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
Barbecue sauce
Romaine, chopped
Frozen corn kernels, thawed (or fresh, cooked and cut off the cob)
Black beans
Green onions, chopped
Cheddar cheese, shredded
Tortilla chips, crushed
Creamy barbecue dressing (recipe below)

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.  Pound chicken breasts until they are uniform in thickness (or you can slice them, lengthwise so they'll cook evenly).  Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  Grill until cooked through, brushing with barbecue sauce during the last few minutes of cooking.

While the chicken is grilling, prepare other ingredients.  When chicken is done, remove from grill and chop into bite-sized pieces.  You can either throw chicken and all remaining ingredients into a large bowl and toss, or have each person assemble their own salad, which is how we did it.

Creamy Barbecue Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp distilled vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup barbecue sauce

Combine all ingredients; mix well.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Filled Pita Pockets

Since I've recently gotten back into the habit of making pitas, we've been experimenting with all different ways of eating them.  One of our favorites is as a snack with hummus, but we've also been trying them out as part of a main dish.  The possibilities are pretty much endless, but here are a couple of the ways we've filled them.

Basically, we've just been filling them with salads.  For example, I tossed some lettuce, red and green bell peppers, red onion, turkey or chicken (either lunch meat, torn, or leftover meat), and Italian dressing in a bowl, then cut a pita in half and filled it with the yummy goodness.

For my husband, I basically took the filling of our Chicken Caesar Wraps and stuck it in a pita instead of a tortilla.  The key to getting everything mixed well is to mix it all in a bowl first, then put it into the pita.

You can also make more sandwich-type filled pitas.  Try filling one with chicken salad, egg salad, roasted veggies, or anything else you'd put into a sandwich or salad!  Actually, you're not even limited to salad or sandwich fillings!  I'd think taco/burrito type fillings would be delicious, as would dessert-like fillings (I'm thinking peanut butter, banana slices, and chocolate chips)!  Feel free to leave a comment with your favorite pita fillings!

Caesar Salad Dressing

Last summer our church community group had a BBQ and swim party.  I was in charge of dessert, so I took Kimiko’s brownies.  They were a big hit, but they were not what Keanna was talking about on the way home.  No, she was talking about Stephanie’s Caesar salad with homemade dressing.  Since then, I have not bought another bottle of Caesar salad dressing!  (I think I still have an old one in the bowels of my fridge that I need to toss.)

Stephanie got the recipe from Christina, another woman at our church who is an amazing cook.  When I received the recipe from Stephanie, I had to try it right away.  To my dismay, there were a few ingredients I didn’t have at the time.  But I tried it anyway with some substitutions.  The results were still fantastic (Robbie actually prefers the altered version).  I’ll post both versions below.

Original recipe:  Dijon mustard.  My recipe:  yellow mustard.

One of the concerns about making homemade Caesar dressing is the fact that it generally calls for raw eggs.  This recipe is great because it starts with mayonnaise instead of eggs so you don’t have to worry about egg contamination.

The one ingredient that I never would have had on hand before is anchovy paste.  I buy it in a tube from WinCo for less than $3 per tube.  That works out to a lot per pound, but it will last a long time.  You can find it in the canned fish section, right near the tuna.  Now I always have a tube of it in the fridge so I can whip up a batch of dressing whenever necessary.

Though I do roast a lot of garlic, I don’t always have some in my fridge or freezer when I want to make this dressing.  And sometimes I need the dressing right away.  In that case, I simply use garlic powder.

When I do roast garlic, I roast more than I need and
freeze the extra in air-tight containers for future use.

Keep in mind that fresh-squeezed lemon juice is more potent and has better flavor than bottled.  However, bottled lemon juice is more consistent in its flavor.  Use whatever you have, but remember that the type and quality of lemon juice could affect the final outcome.

Costco has the cheapest lemon juice by far if you use a
lot of it.  It comes in two-packs for not very much.

The original recipe calls for Parmigiano-Reggiano.  This is definitely not in my food budget.  I simply use the dry powdered parmesan from the WinCo bulk bins, and the dressing still turns out great.  Shhhh!  Don’t tell Christina—she’d be horrified!!

The one thing I’ve learned is that the flavors mellow out and change as the dressing sits in the fridge.  Always taste and adjust before serving.

A classic Caesar salad would be romaine lettuce and croutons with Caesar salad dressing tossed in and possibly more parmesan cheese grated on top.  For a more substantial salad, try chicken Caesar salad.  You can also wrap it all up in a tortilla for chicken Caesar wraps.

Caesar Salad Dressing

1 head garlic, roasted

1 c. mayonnaise

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Juice of 1 lemon (2-4 Tbsp.)

½ tsp. anchovy paste

½ c. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in blender; blend until thoroughly mixed.

Sumiko’s Caesar Salad Dressing

1 c. mayonnaise

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. yellow mustard

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Juice of 1 lemon (2-4 Tbsp.)

½ tsp. anchovy paste

½ c. grated parmesan cheese

1-1½ tsp. salt

Few dashes pepper

Place all ingredients in blender; blend until thoroughly mixed.

Yummy!

Autumn Salad with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing

Apples, cranberries, and pecans just sound right in the fall.  And they all just happen to be ingredients in this salad!  I think my sister-in-law introduced me to this salad and I love it!!!  I would recommend using fresh lemon juice as it tastes much better, but if you don't have any fresh lemons, go ahead and used the bottled stuff.

Autumn Salad with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing
1/4-1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tsp dried minced onion
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
Romaine lettuce, chopped or torn
Chopped pecans
Dried cranberries
1 apple, chopped
1 pear, chopped

In a blender or food processor, combine sugar, lemon juice, onion, mustard, and salt.  With blender or food processor running, slowly drizzle oil into mixture; add poppy seeds and quickly pulse, just to combine.

In a bowl, add lettuce, pecans, cranberries, apples, and pears; toss if desired.  I usually toss only a few of the ingredients with the lettuce and save most of them to put on top.  I've found that if I toss all of the ingredients, they end up on the bottom of the bowl!  Serve with dressing.

Homemade Croutons

Remember those bread scraps and heals from the grilled cheese I made last week?  I made croutons out of them!!  Of course, you don't have to wait for scraps--you can make croutons with perfectly good bread.  I love using a loaf of French bread.

Either way, simply cut the bread to whatever size you want.  Because I was using scraps, I went for small croutons.  Spread them out on a jelly roll pan and leave them out to get dry and stale.  This is the key to crunchy croutons.

My croutons never come out the same because I usually don't measure.  Feel free to diverge from the recipe.  Add dried herbs, omit the cheese, use more garlic...it's up to you!

Homemade Croutons
3 c. stale bread cubes
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
a few dashes pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese



Preheat oven to 375.  Place bread in large bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil while tossing.  Add remaining ingredients, tossing to thoroughly coat.  Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.  Spread in single layer on shallow pan.

Bake until golden, stirring occasionally.  May take as little as 8 minutes or as many as 15 depending on your oven, bakeware, and size of croutons.  Just keep checking them.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO BURN THEM!  I overdid my batch while I was distracted with kids, but they still tasted yummy!

These are great with Caesar salad!

Chicken Caesar Wraps

Last summer, I wrote about BLT Wraps.  I continue to make a version of this meal, but have made a few alterations.  I usually leave out the bacon (hence Chicken Caesar Wraps instead of BLT Wraps), since it's not on sale for under $2/lb very often.  Also, instead of using chicken breasts that I cook specifically for this meal, I use leftovers from a whole chicken cooked either in the slow cooker or in the oven.

Leftover meat from my slow cooker chicken.

And while we're on the subject of chicken, let me just encourage you to check the clearance meat section of your local grocery stores often.  Last week, I found whole chickens on sale for 97 cents/lb (which is more than I pay for whole chickens), that were on clearance for 50% off, making them less than 50 cents/lb!  I bought two and stuck them in the freezer!  I also found bacon for $1.35/lb that same day.  Taking a few extra minutes to check for clearance meats may well be worth your time!

These wraps are simple and make easy lunches.  You can assemble them in the morning, wrap them in cling wrap or foil, and take them to work or school for a delicious lunch!  Just make sure they're kept cool!

Chicken Caesar Wraps
Tortillas
Cooked, shredded chicken (see links above)
Lettuce, shredded
Tomatoes, chopped
Grated Parmesan
Caesar dressing

Warm tortillas in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat.  Top with lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, Parmesan, and Caesar dressing.  Roll up; enjoy!

Layered Summer Salad

Not only do I like making food that tastes good, but that also looks good.  When Robbie and I were first married (before kids), I would try to think of creative ways to plate dinner.  Seven-plus years and four kids later, my goal is just to get the food from the kitchen to the dining room with as little as possible ending up on the floor.

One dish I make that still looks pretty, even with my precious munchkins running around my legs, is layered salad.  Rather than putting the salad on individual plates in the kitchen as I do with my taco salad or southwest salad, I layer all the ingredients in a pretty glass bowl.  This allows me to serve something that looks great and is easy to get on the table (or the picnic blanket).

The ingredients listed in the recipe serve merely as a guide.  This is how I made it last week.  Next time it will be different.  There are a few basic things to keep in mind when making layered salads:

• Think about color.  Try to break up ingredients of the same color—don’t put peas on top of lettuce or cheddar cheese on top of carrots.
• Avoid excess moisture.  Be sure to drain everything well so juice from one layer doesn’t seep down into the lower layers.  Some ingredients such as lettuce and cheese don’t do well with moisture.  If using tomatoes, use grape or cherry tomatoes that don’t need to be cut.
• Try to make only as much as will be eaten.  Because everything ends up mixed up in the bowl, leftovers will only last about a day if everything started out pretty dry.  If there is excess water to start with, leftovers may be soggy by the next day.
• Be sure everything is cut, diced, torn, or chopped to bite-sized.
• Serve croutons and dressings on the side.  Not only does this allow everyone to customize their salad, it will help any leftovers last longer.

  

Layered Summer Salad

Greens, torn

Carrots, sliced

Whole wheat shell noodles, cooked, drained, and cooled

Frozen peas, thawed (can thaw under cool running water)

Garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

Beets, sliced

Cheddar cheese, shredded

Hard boiled eggs, sliced

Croutons

Assorted salad dressings

Layer all ingredients in glass bowl.  Serve croutons and salad dressings on the side.

The easiest, fastest way to slice beets.

I put the peas and garbanzos on top of the noodles
because my kids like it when they get stuck in the shells.

Perfect summer picnic in the front yard!

I went for balsamic vinaigrette.  Yum!

Note:  I made this salad meatless.  You could add chopped sauteed chicken.

Chicken Caesar Salad

Since it's summer, I've been using my stove and oven as little as possible.  That means we've been eating a lot of salads, sandwiches, and slow cooker meals.  This recipe combines both a slow cooker meal and a salad.

Friday I posted a great way to cook a whole chicken without heating up your house and I mentioned that we didn't eat it as is; I used it as part of another meal.  That other meal was chicken Caesar salad.  I also used it to make chicken salad sandwiches, which we'll post another time. 

Chicken Caesar Salad
Romaine lettuce, cut into bite-size pieces
Shredded chicken
Grated Parmesan
Caesar dressing (we like Ken's Lite Creamy Caesar Dressing)
Croutons

There are two ways you can do this, both of which are easy.  For the first method, you simply set out all ingredients and have each person build his or her own salad.  This is good if you have picky eaters who aren't going to want all ingredients in their salad or if you know all the salad won't get eaten in one sitting.  The second method involves mixing all the ingredients and tossing it all together.  Keep in mind, that any leftovers will get soggy with this method.

So there you have it!  It's a super simple recipe that will fill you up, but won't heat you up!

**UPDATE: Check out Sumiko's recipe for homemade caesar dressing here!

Blackened Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Last month, I posted a recipe for a delicious honey mustard dressing and I mentioned that I'd post an entree salad on which we use that dressing.  It's a blackened chicken salad, and my husband absolutely loves this recipe!  It's especially great in the summer, because it requires very little cooking.  In fact, the chicken can be made ahead of time (when it's cooler; either the night before or the morning of) and refrigerated until ready to be used.

Blackened Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing
1 cup water
3 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 Tbsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
2 Tbsp butter
Romaine lettuce, chopped (iceberg works too)
Carrots, sliced
Cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, or a combo of both)
Honey Mustard Dressing

In a bowl or container with a lid, combine water, lime juice, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.  Place chicken in mixture; marinate in refrigerator for 4 hours to overnight.

I used one HUGE chicken breast.  As you can see, one side is much thicker than the other, so to get even cooking (and to expedite it a bit), I cut it into smaller chunks.

I could have pounded it, but chose this method instead.

In a small bowl, combine salt, sugar, paprika, onion powder, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne.  Remove chicken from marinade and coat with dry mixture.

Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Melt butter in skillet and saute chicken until cooked through, turning once.  While chicken is sauteeing, make salad by tossing lettuce, carrots, and cheese.  Toss with dressing or leave dry, allowing each individual to add dressing to their salad.

When chicken is done, remove from heat and allow to rest for about 5 minutes.  Slice chicken into thin strips and serve on mixed salad.