Chicken Salad

When I was growing up, a friend of my mom would bring over chicken salad occasionally.  It was basically canned chicken, mayo, poultry seasoning and some celery.  I devored it everytime she brought it over.  So I always knew I liked "chicken salad"  

It wasn't until I was older and started going to my friends' baby showers, that I learned Chicken Salad is not the basic meal I had devoured as a kid.  Chicken Salad is a meal that can take on many different personalities with many different ingredients.  Even though no one has ever repeated the chicken salad recipe my mom's friend made, I have yet to find a Chicken Salad that I don't like!

I especially liked this recipe because of the cashews and cucumbers.  The salty nuts mixed with the cool crisp cucumbers....(MmMmm!)  And adding a pita instead of plain white bread gives it a fresh new approach.  

So good!

Chicken Salad Pitas

Ingredients:

Dressing:

1/2 cup mayo

1/4 sour cream

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 ginger

2 cups cubed chicken, cooked

1 cup red grapes, halved

1/2 cup cashews

1/2 cup dice cucumbers

pita pockets

Romaine lettuce

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix all the dressing ingredients together.  Fold in the chicken, grapes, cashews and cucumbers. 

Stuff each pita wiht a leaf of lettuce and the salad. 

Thank you Family Favorite Recipes cookbook!

BBQ Chicken Salad and Dressing

I've hesitated posting this dish soley because of the picture.  It's just not good enough to illustrate how BOMB-DIGGITY this salad is!  My plan is make it again soon....take a new picture.....post it.  But, try to look past the picture.  Close your eyes.  (Wait now you can't read!  Open your eyes!)  This salad is so sweet and tangy...and filling.  The combination of the BBQ chicken and the dressing makes it a tasty, satisfying treat with every bite.  

Oh, and I got this reciepe from the Favorite Family Recipes  site who got it from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  

This dish gets around.

BBQ Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

Chicken and Salad

3 cups chicken, cooked, shredded

2 cups BBQ sauce

1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped

2 romaine hearts, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 can black beans, risned and drained

4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

4 ounces, monterey jack cheese, shredded

Creamy BBQ Cilantro Lime Dressing

1 cup mayonaise

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup buttermilk

2 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped finely

1 Tablespoon lime juice

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon, sugar

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4-1/2 cup BBQ sauce

Directions:

Salad: Combine the cooked chicken and BBQ sauce in a medium bowl.  Refrigerate until ready to use. In another large bowl, mix together iceberg, romaine, onion, cilantro, corn, beans and cheese.  

Do not toss the dressing in because your leftovers may get soggy.  I suggest tossing the salad with dressing immediatly before an individual serving. 

Dressing: Combine all ingredients together and whisk to combine.  Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Lynn's Pasta Salad

During Teacher Appreciation Week one of my favorite parents brought this pasta salad to our "Feed Your Teacher" potluck.  Of all the varieties of goodies brought, this dish was devoured first.  Everyone kept asking, "Who made the pasta salad?!  It's sooo good!"  I knew this was a recipe I HAD to have!

The secret is in the salad dressing.  This is the brand you'll want to try to find.  Any other brand and you'll comprimise the deliciousness of this pasta!

Lynn's Pasta Salad

***This makes A LOT!  If you are going to serve it for dinner, I suggest cutting the recipe in half.  Otherwise, this is ideal for potlucks!  A real crowd pleaser!

Ingredients:

2 boxes farfalle pasta (bowtie), cooked

1 container each grape tomatoes, red and yellow, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 large can sliced olives

1 small container feta cheese, crumbled (Garlic and Herb)

1 bottle Brianna's Home Style Real French Vinaigrette salad dressing

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for a few hours so you can serve it chilled. 

***SEPTEMBER 7th, 2013***

I made this today and after going to two seperate stores looking for the amazing mircale dressing for this salad, I couldn't find it.  I decided to take my chances on another dressing.  I settled on Girard's Greek Feta Vinaigrette.....

Luckily, I scored and the pasta is just as yummy.  

Whew!

Taco Salad

Taco Salad was an occasional dish at my house growing up.  I remember loving it, mostly because it had Doritos in it.  Now I still love it, but for more reasons than just the Doritos.  Nothing better than eating a taco out of a bowl!  So many different flavors in each bite. 

We always used to toss everything together in one large bowl.  But in my own family, I have a few picky eaters so the best thing is to keep all the ingredients seperate.  That way, each person can add what they like (and how much they like) to their bowl.  

Taco Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (I prefer to use ground turkey)

1 head lettuce, chopped 

tomato, diced

green pepper, diced

shredded cheese

Doritos, crushed

1 can kidney beans, rinsed

1 bag frozen corn

taco sauce (my favorite is La Victoria, medium)

1 package taco seasoning

Cook meat and add the taco seasoning according to packaging. 

Add seasoned meat to a bowl of lettuce and garnish with your favorite toppings. 

Bean Salad

This colorful bean salad is so fresh and light with so many flavors I could eat the entire bowl in one sitting!  I got the recipe from my brother who made it last year for Thanksgiving.  It is now a mandatory side dish at all our family gatherings.

Make this tonight.  You'll probably want to eat the entire bowl.

Bean Salad

Ingredients:

1 small red onion, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can garbonzo beans, drained and rinsed
small bunch cilantro, minced
1 small bag frozen corn
1 small container feta cheese
juice from 1 lime
few splashes rice vinegar (to taste)


Mix all ingredients together.
Serve with tortilla chips.