Morroccan Vinaigrette Dressing

Ingredients:

2/3 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed or bottled)
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 small clove garlic, finely minced, or 1/8 tsp garlic granules
1 generous pinch cayenne (ground red) pepper
1/3 cup tightly packed minced fresh parsley (or 4 tsp dried parsley)
1 tsp salt, or to taste
lots of freshly ground pepper (optional)

 

What to Do:

Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Taste and adjust seasonings adding more lemon juice or vinegar if you like.  Store unused portion in refrigerator. Keeps well up to two weeks.

You may wish to add additional lemon juice, cumin and parsley after a few days in the refrigerator.

This healthy dressing is delicious on salad or drizzled over raw or cooked veggies.

Cranberries in the Snow

I found this holiday recipe at Twirl and Taste.  Sounds so fun, and anything with cranberries and cream cheese in the same recipe sounds great to me! Now the question: Is this a salad?  Or is this a dessert?  Ah, I'll file it in both places.

Ingredients
1 package raw cranberries
3/4 cup water
1 (6-ounce) box cherry flavored gelatin
2 cups sugar
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup crushed pineapple, well drained
Chopped pecans
1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow creme
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 pint whipping cream, whipped

What to Do
Cook raw cranberries in water until tender. Add gelatin and 2 cups sugar; stir well and cool. Then add celery, pineapple and pecans. Put into a 13 x 9-inch pan (glass looks pretty and shows the colors) and refrigerate until jelled.

Combine marshmallow creme, cream cheese and whipping cream; spread on top of jelled cranberry mixture.

Winter Fruit Salad 2

Here is the next winter salad, similar to the last one but different enough that I wanted to post them both. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 Tbs. diced onion
1 tsp. Dijon-style prepared mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbs. poppy seeds
I head romaine lettuce
4 oz. shredded Swiss (or other pungent) cheese
1 cup cashews
1/4 cup dried, sweetened cranberries
1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced
1 pear, peeled, cored and sliced

What to Do

In a blender or food processor, combine sugar, lemon juice, onion, mustard and salt.  Process until well blended.  With machine running, add oil in a slow, steady stream until mixture is thick and smooth.  Add poppy seeds and process just a few seconds more.  Tear lettuce into bite-sized pieces and toss together with the cheese, cashews, cranberries, apples and pears in a large bowl.  Pour dressing over salad just before serving and toss to coat.

Winter Fruit Salad

Still thinking of apples, so here is the first of two more salad recipes that are appealing for fall.  This one is reported to be a favorite of Michelle Obama.  A nice size for company, but I cut it in half for fewer servings.  I love the sweet-sour cranberry flavor. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or other nut
1/4 cup cranberries
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup chopped red onions (or other onion, if that's what you have, works fine too)
1 Tbs. Dijon-style prepared mustard
1 cup vegetable oil
I cup sugar
salt and pepper to taste

About 10 cups mixed salad greens, rinsed and dried
2 apples, cored and thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread nuts on a baking sheet in a single layer.  Bake 8 minutes or until lightly toasted.  In a food processor or blender, combine cranberries, vinegar, onion, sugar and mustard.  Puree till smooth.  Gradually blend in oil and  and season with salt and pepper.  In a salad bowl, combine greens, apples, and enough of the cranberry mixture to coat.  Sprinkle on the nuts and serve.

Some optional but nice additions: feta or other sharp cheese, avacoda, rye croutons

Cranberry-Walnut Chicken Salad

The tarragon gives this crunchy-sweet chicken salad an interesting flavor.  Nice to make ahead for sandwich filling for a picnic.  Also a good way to use up some leftover Thanksgiving turkey.

 Ingredients

4 cups cubed, cooked chicken

1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

1 cup diced celery

2 Tbs. finally chopped shallot

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 to 3/4 cup mayonnaise

3 Tbs. white wine vinegar, or red is okay too if that's what you have

3 Tbs. finely chopped, fresh ttarragon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

What to do:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Serve over lettuce or on pita bread, croissants, or toasted ciabatta bread.

Creamy Cucumber Salad

This recipe is adapted from one of my sister's favorites. Lovely on a hot summer day.

Ingredients:

Two cucumbers, peeled and sliced.
Two tomatoes, cut into wedges and most of the seeds removed
1 small onion, or a couple of scallons, sliced
about 1/2 to 1 cup sour cream or Greek-style plain yogurt
salt
dill week

Place cucumbers in a bowl and sprinkle with salt.  Allow to sit for about an hour.  Squeeze liquid out of cucumber slices with your hands. After you have removed as much liquid as possible, add the tomatoes, cut in chunks and with seeds removed. Add onion. Chill. Just before serving, drain any remaining liquid. Stir in sour cream. Sprinkle with about 1 tsp. dried dill weed, or some fresh dill if it is available. If you like you can also add cooked, sliced carrots that have been chilled in advance.

Curried Chicken Salad

I needed a way to use up some leftover chicken and experimented with what I had on hand. It turned out to be delicious!

Ingredients

2 cups cooked chicken, diced
1 cup mayonaise or 1/2 cup mayo and 1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sliced almonds, or chopped pecans, or sunflower seeds
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 green onions, sliced
3/4 cup craisins or raisins
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. lemon juice and 1 tsp. sugar or 1 tbls. orange juice
1 small can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. ginger (opt.)
salt and pepper to taste

What to do

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Serve on a bed of lettuce.

Chicken Salad With Avocado Dressing

A sure sign of spring--I'm in salad mode.

Dressing Ingredients

1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/2 ripe peeled avocado, seeded and coarsely mashed

Salad Ingredients

About 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
2 cups diced roasted chicken breast (or turkey)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

What to Do:

Combine dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth, scraping sides. Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing and toss gently to coat.

Serve with cheese toast.

Tossed Orange Spring Salad

Tear (don't cut) 1 small to medium head of romaine lettuce into salad pieces (enough for about 4 or 5 salads).

Add the following:

1 can well drained mandarin orange slices
1/2 to 3/4 cup Craisins (sweetened, dried cranberries)
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup sliced celery
2 boiled eggs, chopped (opt.)

Make dressing the night before and toss with salad just before serving:

1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon or lime juice
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp. salt
dash of mustard powder
dash black or red pepper
1 Tbs. dried, minced onion
2 tsp. sesame or caraway seeds

If you like, add a few grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes (halved) as a garnish. You can also make this more of a main dish by adding chunks of grilled chicken.

Note: I tried this with fresh oranges, cut in chunks, and that worked as well or better than the canned ones. I also had some ham I needed to use up, so added some diced ham--yum! The ham was really good with the orange flavored dressing. I love avocado, and I think I'll try it with that next.

Aunt Maxie's Orange Jell-o Salad

My late Aunt Maxie served this to my family one hot summer day and it became an instant favorite. My mom made it all the time. Both of my sisters and I made this when we married and moved away. Now my daughteer's husband seems to like it as much as mine does, so Maxie's wonderful Jell-o salad is passing down to a new generation. This is a must for our holiday table. It looks nice in a pretty bowl, and it tastes even better than it looks. I've toted it to countless pot-luck dinners, and it has never failed to inspire compliments and requests for the recipe.

Ingredients:

one large size box of orange or lime Jell-0
(I've tried others. Orange or lime really are better for this recipe.)
one 16 oz cube cream cheese
3 or 4 carrots, grated
one cup chopped pecans. or more
one large size can crushed pineapple, drained well
1 to 2 cups miniature marshmallows (plain, not colored ones)

What to do:

Dissolve jello in two cups boiling water. Add cream cheese that you have cut into chunks. Whisk till cream cheese melts. A few small remaining chunks are fine. Add the juice from the can of pineapple plus enough cold water to make two cups. Chill till syrupy.

Add pineapple, nuts and grated carrots. Stir. Then add however many marshmallows you want. Stir again. Chill until firm.

The Friars' Spinach Strawberry Salad

Because of a Cappucin program that involves prison ministry, and because of my husband's work as a prison chaplain, we are occasionally invited to a "friary" not far from our home. There we join young men who are preparing to enter the Cappucin order, and their instructors, for supper and an evening of conversation.

Their temporary home is located in rolling Wisconsin fields and surrounded by manicured flower beds. Inside, the kitchen is large and bright, and the long wooden table in the dining room is polished to a dull sheen. Their brown robes and rope belts always make me think of Friar Tuck from "Robin Hood" but I don't tell them that--I'm sure they've heard it before. They served us this salad, and I immediately asked for the recipe. I've since had it elsewhere, but the night we tasted it at the friary was a first. It has become a favorite of our family, but I never stand at the stove toasting the almonds without remembering the lovely summer evening we spent with the Franciscan Cappucins.

Dressing Ingredients:

1/3 C red wine vinegar

(Daughter Kris found strawberry red wine vinegar and says it was yummy.)

1/2 Cup oil

1/2 Cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp dried minced onion

1 tsp dry mustard

2 tsp poppy seed

Salad Ingredients:

About 1 lb fresh spinach

2 packages sliced almonds

2 1/2 Tablespoons sugar

About 1 quart sliced strawberries.

(I use more.)

What to Do:

Make the dressing the night before and refrigerate. If it seems too thick it can later be watered down a bit.

Toast almonds & sugar in a skillet over low heat. I usually add a few drops of water, and sometimes a little more sugar. Spread on wax paper to cool.

 

Combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds and add dressing just before serving. It is nice to sprinkle a few of the almonds on top of individual servings.

Serves 8-10.

Other ingredients can be added. Purple onions are nice, but don't overdo it or you will overwhelm the strawberries. I tried Mandarin oranges, and I've tried cranberries. I think diced apples would be good too.

The salad looks beautiful and tastes wonderful!

Aunt Pauline's Cucumber-Onion Salad

My mother and my Aunt Pauline are the last remaining siblings of  six sisters and two brothers.

Mother and her sisters were all wonderful cooks, but Pauline was the best of the lot.  At 93, she is nearly blind and quite frail, but she is still a charming southern lady.

She can no longer cook, but she will be happy to know I'm passing on some of her recipes. Here is a simple summer salad that is surprisingly good with almost any meat.  Eating it  makes me think of summer vacations in Texas.

Ingredients:

1 small onion, or 1/2 of a large onion, sliced and rings separated
1 nice cucumber, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oil
dash pepper

What to do:

Slice the onion and cucumber and put them into a jar.  Mix other  ingredients, adjusting sugar and salt to taste if needed.  Bring to a boil so sugar melts.  Cool and then pour over the onions and cucumbers.  Refrigerate for several hours, or overnight.  Serves 4 to 6.

Variations:

Add some chopped parsley, a pinch of dill or fennel, or some sesame seeds if you'd like to change it a bit.