Watermelon Salad with Feta, Mint and Micro Greens

This is beautiful on a plate. Ramp up your watermelon for the summer holidays. We get our micro greens from our farmers market. The simple Lemon Vinaigrette is wonderful with this salad. 

 

Ingredients:

A small seedless watermelon, chilled

Greek feta cheese, crumbled

A large handful of mint, chopped 

Micro greens

Lemon-Olive oil dressing (recipe follow)

Directions:

Slice the watermelon into discs and trim, and set on plates. Lightly salt the watermelon (remember feta cheese is salty).

Spoon the lemon dressing over the the watermelon discs.

Sprinkle feta cheese on top, then scatter mint and micro greens on top.

Drizzle with more dressing. 

Serve.

Lemon Dressing:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

Large pinch of sea salt

3/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a mason jar. With a hand frother or whisk mix until the dressing is emulsified.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peas and Peanuts Salad

Perfect for a spring side dish. 

 

Ingredients: 

1 (10 oz) package of frozen peas, thawed and drained

3 green onions, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 cup mayo

2 Tablespoons lemon juice (or more to taste)

1/2 cup chopped cooked bacon

3/4 cup salted peanuts

S&P to taste

Optional: 1/2 cup small cubes of cheddar cheese, 1/2 teaspoon sugar.

Directions:

In a large bowl combine the thawed peas, green onions, celery, mayo, lemon juice, half the bacon and half the peanuts. Mix well.

Before serving, top the salad with the rest of the peanuts and bacon.  

 

Georgia Cracker Salad

Think of it as the salad you throw together when tomatoes are ripe on the counter and you need something fresh, creamy, and crunchy in a hurry. It’s a potluck standby across the South, and Paula Deen helped make the tomato-and-saltine version popular for Southern home cooks.

 

Ingredients:

1 sleeve of saltine crackers

1 large tomato or 2 large Roma tomatoes (seed the tomato and drain on paper towels for a few minutes)

3 green onions, finely chopped (white and green part)

1 hard-boiled egg, chopped

Pepper

Mayo 

Directions:  

Crush the crackers with your hands into a medium mixing bowl. You want to have some big cracker pieces for texture.  Think rustic. 

Combine  the ingredients except the mayo and stir well.

Add the mayo a 1/2 cup at a time until is reaches your desired consistency. You want the ingredients to be just coated. 

Season with pepper. The saltines add enough salt, so taste before you add anymore salt.  

 

Southwest Chicken Chopped Salad

 Another summertime salad. 

 

INGREDIENTS:

For the Salad:

2 cups or to taste, diced rotisserie chicken

1 green bell pepper, diced (red or yellow would work as well)

1 cup black beans or pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup canned corn, heated and refrigerated

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

2 whole green onions, chopped or half of a small red onion, chopped

1/2 bunch cilantro, rough chopped 

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded 

1 whole large romaine heart, chopped into bite size pieces 

2 cups crush tortilla chips

For the Dressing:

1/2 cup mayo

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon ranch dressing seasoning

1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning

1 teaspoon fresh lime juice or more to taste

Salt & Pepper 

DIRECTIONS:

When ready to serve, toss salad ingredients with most of the dressing then gently stir in tortilla chips. Serve remaining dressing on the side or for leftovers. 

Optional: 2 ripe avocados, chopped or sliced jalapenos.

Source: Tastykitchen.com 

Chopped Salad with Crab and Shrimp and Thousand Island Dressing

Serve this for a summertime lunch or a simple supper, with extra dressing on the side!

 

 FOR THE SALAD: 

1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped

 ½ head to 1 whole head iceberg lettuce, chopped 

1 cup halved yellow cherry tomatoes

 3 whole to 4 whole Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

 4 stalks celery, diced 

1 whole large or 2 small European cucumbers, unpeeled, diced 

1 whole orange sweet pepper, stem and seeds removed then diced

½ pound to 1 pound cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined and coarsely chopped

½ pounds to 1 pound jumbo lump crab meat 

 4 whole hard boiled eggs, peeled, quartered lengthwise 

Chives, snipped for garnish (optional)

FOR THE THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING: 

1 cup mayonnaise

 ¼ cups chili sauce

 2 Tablespoons sweet pickle relish

 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar

 2 teaspoons sugar

 2 teaspoons finely minced white onion

 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

¼ teaspoons salt

Ground black pepper

 

DIRECTIONS: 

For the Thousand Island Dressing:

Combine all ingredients well in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour prior to serving to allow flavors to blend. Serve with Crab and Shrimp Chopped Salad.

For the salad:

In a large bowl toss together the lettuces, tomatoes, celery, cucumbers and peppers. Set aside.

In another bowl, toss together the shrimp and crab.

Divide salad among four salad plates or bowls. Top each salad with the shrimp and crab mixture. Arrange quartered eggs around salad. Top with a dollop of dressing. Garnish with chopped chives if desired.

Cucumber Salad

I am always looking for a better recipe. Right now, this is the best I have served.  A good side salad with Beef Stroganoff.

 

Ingredients:  

2 hot house cucumbers or 4 average sized cucumbers (cut in half and seed)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup scant mayo

1/4 cup scant sour cream

1 teaspoon dill weed

Directions: 

Peel and slice the cucumbers and put them in a class or ceramic bowl. Sprinkle with salt and vinegar and mix well. Cover and let sit for half and hour.

Pour off the excess liquid. Add mayo, sour cream and dill weed and mix. 

Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

Fall Harvest Salad with Apples, Pecans and Maple Dijon Dressing

 Double for a large dinner or Pot Luck.

 

Ingredients for Salad:

1 large box spring mix

2 apples (mix types Granny Smith or Gala)

1/2 -3/4 cup toasted pecans

1/2 cup dried cranberries of chopped dried apricots (or a mix of the two)

1/2-3/4 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese (or a mix of the two)

1/4 or 1/2 of a small red onion, thinly sliced

 

Maple Dijon Dressing (1 1/2 cups)     

1/2 cup olive oil

3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar

2-3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 clove of garlic, minced or pressed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Whisk or shake all ingredients until smooth. Keeps in refrigerator for 1 week.  

 

Additional items: 

1 cup sliced red grapes and/or Pomegranate arils. 

 

 

Salad Dressings

 

Galatoire's Creole Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup creole mustard

S & P

2/3 cup mild olive oil

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except olive oil. Using a whisk, incorporate the olive oil.

Serve at room temperature and keep in the refrigerator.  

 

 

Creole Buttermilk Dressing

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayo

1/4 cup sour cream

1 Tablespoon Creole mustard

2 Tablespoons finely chopped shallot or green onion'5 Tablespoons buttermilk

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar or a squeeze of lemon juice 

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl or mason jar. 

Store covered in refrigerator.  

 

Lemon Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

2 small garlic cloves, pressed

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon sea salt, more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon honey

1/3 - 1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme

Directions:

In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, mustard, salt, pepper and honey.

Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking and continue to whisk until the dressing is emulsified. Or combine everything in a jar and use a hand-held electric whisk.

If the dressing is too tangy, add more olive oil, to taste.

Store in the fridge. When ready to serve, let the dressing sit at room temperature for 15 minutes and stir before using.   

 

Maw Maw's Baton Rouge Potato Salad

This recipe is from Fleurty Girl's Blog. She owns many gift shops around New Orleans. Best ever. The only potato salad recipe you will ever need! I cut this recipe in half and it still make a lot!

1 5lb bag russet potatoes chopped in 1/2-inch cubes

1 dozen boiled eggs, save two to cut in half for the top, chop the rest

1 jar of Blue-Plate Mayo (Yes, the ENTIRE jar!) 

1 jar of Zatarain's Stuffed Olives (drained), save 10-14 whole, chop the rest. Regular pimento stuffed green olives work great too.

1 chopped white onion

Salt, Pepper, Cajun Seasoning, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder to taste (with a half recipe I use a half teaspoon of each).

**NO MUSTARD** In case you were wondering if I had left it out! Nope, this recipe does NOT need it.

Place potatoes in a pot and cover until 2 inches of water on top. Bring to boil. This is important so that the warming pot cooks the potatoes at different times. It gives you varied potato textures! 

Boil the eggs 

While these are boiling, chop the onions and olives. (For half recipe have equal portions of onions and olives). Save some olives whole for the topping. About 12-14. 

When you can pierce the potatoes with a fork until tender, remove from heat and drain. Let cool for 20 minutes. This is important. If you mix your potato salad when your potatoes are steaming hot, you're going to end up with fluffy potato salad. This one is meant to be chunky. I think to go with those olives. Maw Maw Freeland was so smart!

Remove eggs from heat after boiling. Cool with ice water. Peel. Reserve two eggs and cut them in half to put on top. Peel and chop the rest. 

In a large mixing bowl, add cooled potatoes. Add the jar of mayo on top. Put your seasonings on top of the mayo. This is another trick because it helps seasonings spread out easier throughout. Add eggs, chopped olives and onions and then stir. 

Once it is all mixed, top with halved eggs and whole olives. Sprinkle paprika on top to finish.

 

French Dressing

 

If you spend time with old Louisiana and Texas cookbooks (like I have), or those wonderful Junior League collections, you start to notice how often French dressing appears. It was a true staple of the Southern table for generations. After trying many vintage versions over the years, this one is the best — a classic, old-fashioned French dressing worth keeping in regular rotation.

Ingredients: 

 1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup of ketchup

1/2 cup light live oil

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon dried mustard

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1 or 2 teaspoons of salt

Directions:

Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor or even a mason jar.

Process until smooth and sugar dissolves, store in glass container in the fridge.  

 

Homemade Catalina Dressing

From the Speckled Palate. 

This vibrant homemade dressing blends olive oil, honey, ketchup, and red wine vinegar into a perfectly sweet-and-savory vinaigrette with just the right zip. A hint of paprika and classic pantry spices give it that nostalgic Southern flair—think French dressing meets Sunday supper. This goes with the classic Taco Salad recipe from the 1970's.

 Ingredients:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

Pour all ingredients into a mason jar and shake until all ingredients are well combined. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

 

Catalina Taco Salad (From the 1970's)

This Catalina Taco Salad is straight out of the 1970s, when a package of Fritos or Doritos, a bottle of sweet red dressing, and a pound of ground beef could turn a simple salad into supper. It is crunchy, colorful, a little retro, and still surprisingly good. I use homemade Catalina dressing, but the spirit of the recipe is exactly the same: easy, casual, and made for a crowd.

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped 

1 small red onion, chopped

1 bunch of romaine lettuce, torn 

1 package of Frito’s

Catalina Dressing (see my homemade dressing)

Directions:

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef until no longer pink, drain and set aside. 

In a large bowl add the Romaine, cheese, beans, tomatoes, onions, corn chips and toss. Add the cooled beef, toss again and drizzle the salad dressing over the top of the salad.