Basil Couscous Salad

 

Basil Couscous Salad

Ingredients 

• 1 cup chicken broth or water
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup cous cous, regular, not pearl
• 12-15 cups Romaine lettuce, chopped, about 1 large or two medium heads*
• 1 cup Craisins
• 1 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese
• 2 cups or 3-4 medium ears fresh white or yellow corn, or frozen, cooked, cooled and cut off cob*
• 1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds, salted or unsalted

Dressing: (enough for a double batch of salad)

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves*
• 1 cup mayonnaise, I like regular but you may use light
• 1/2 shallot, chopped
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken , or substitute in notes
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, sold near vinegar and salad dressings
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

For best results- a day before, or at least a few hours before:

• Bring chicken broth (or water), olive oil and salt to boil in a saucepan.
• Add couscous to pan.
• Cover with lid and remove from heat. Let sit for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove lid and break up couscous so no clumps remain.
• Wash, dry and chop lettuce, set aside in refrigerator.
• Cook corn, rinse with cool water. Cut corn off cob and place in refrigerator to cool completely. If using frozen corn, do not thaw, when ready to assemble salad take bag of corn from freezer and use in salad.
• Make dressing by mixing all ingredients in blender or by using a hand immersion blender. Refrigerate.

When ready to serve:

• Chop lettuce into bite size pieces. Add lettuce and rest of salad ingredients into bowl. Just before serving, drizzle dressing (I only use about 1/2 ) and toss. You may serve additional remaining dressing on.

Strawberry Poppyseed Salad

 

Strawberry Poppyseed Salad

Ingredients

Stovetop Candied Almonds (see note 1)

• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Creamy Poppyseed Dressing

• 1/3 cup mayo full-fat
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds

Salad

• 8 cups (5 ounces) baby spinach or mixed greens
• 2 cups strawberries stems removed and sliced
• 1 large ripe avocado diced, or 2 small avocados
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Instructions

• Add almonds and sugar to a medium pan over medium heat. Stir constantly for 3–4 minutes, until the sugar melts and coats the almonds. Watch closely to avoid burning. Remove from heat, stir to coat evenly, then spread on parchment to cool. Break apart once hardened.
• Dressing: Zest the lemon to get 1/2 teaspoon. Add the zest, mayo, milk, cream, sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper to a small blender. Blend until smooth. Stir in the poppy seeds.
• Salad: Add greens to a large bowl. Top with strawberries, avocado, feta, and almonds. Drizzle on dressing only for what you'll eat that day—you’ll likely have extra (see note 2). Toss and serve right away.

Notes

Note 1: This makes extra almonds—store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 months in the freezer or 2–3 weeks in the pantry. Great for snacking or topping other salads.

Zupas BBQ Chicken Salad

 

Southwestern Chicken Chopped Salad with Cilantro Lime Ranch

Southwestern Chicken Chopped Salad with Cilantro Lime Ranch

Ingredients

Chili Lime Chicken:

• 1 lb. Chicken Breast
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Lime juiced
• 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Salt

Salad:

• 1 Head Romaine Lettuce or 2 Romaine Hearts, chopped into bite size pieces
• 1 Large Avocado or 2 small avocados, sliced
• 1 cup Pepper Jack Cheese shredded
• 2 Ears of Fresh Corn or 1 cup White Corn
• 1 cup Grape Tomatoes halved (or 1 large tomatoes, sliced)
• 1 Orange Pepper sliced (mini peppers)

Cilantro Lime Ranch Dressing:

• 1 cup Mayonnaise
• 1 cup Buttermilk
• 1 Ranch Dressing Packet or 3 Tablespoons Ranch Dressing Mix
• 1 cup Cilantro
• 2 Limes juiced
• 1 Jalapeno deseeded

Instructions

• In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, lime juice, chili powder, cumin and salt together and pour evenly all over chicken breasts. Allow chicken to marinate for 30 minutes - 1 hour before cooking.

Outdoor Grill Instructions:

• Preheat the grill to medium heat.Place chicken on grill and cook for for 5-7 minutes per side, or until chicken is cooked through. Add corn to grill to roast, if desired. Remove chicken from grill and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Skillet Instructions:

• Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook for 4-6 minutes per side, or until nicely browned and cooked through. Remove to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

To make dressing:

• In food processor, pulse mayonnaise, buttermilk, ranch dressing mix, cilantro, lime juice, and jalapeno. Taste and add salt, if desired.

To assemble salad:

• Place chopped romaine lettuce in large bowl. Top with grilled chicken, sliced avocado (sprinkle with fresh lime juice and salt to prevent browning and bring out flavor), pepper jack cheese, roasted corn, grape tomatoes, and orange pepper.
• Pour cilantro lime ranch over salad and toss to serve.

https://www.modernhoney.com/southwestern-chicken-chopped-salad-cilantro-lime-ranch/

SOUTHWEST SALAD WITH CILANTRO HONEY LIME DRESSING

 This dressing is SO good. The whole thing is so good.

SOUTHWEST SALAD WITH CILANTRO HONEY LIME DRESSING

INGREDIENTS 

SALAD:

• 1 1/2 large heads Romain lettuce (about 15-18 cups), washed and dried
• 1 small bag frozen corn, white or yellow, or fresh, 3-4 large cooked and cut off cob
• 1 can black beans, washed and drained
• 2 avocados, chopped (not too soft) choose avocados that are fairly firm
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced
• 4-5 Roma tomatoes, chopped, or about 3 cups of cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 1/2 cup Pepper Jack Cheese, grated
• 1 1/2 cups Colby cheese, grated

DRESSING:

• 1 cup cilantro, rinsed, remove stems
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 4-6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• lime zest from one lime
• 2 tablespoons honey
• sea salt
• pepper
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

FOR SALAD:

• Chop lettuce into bite size pieces. Place lettuce in large serving bowl.

IF NOT USING IMMEDIATELY, LAYER IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER:

• Lettuce
• black beans
• corn
• peppers
• green onion
• avocado
• tomatoes
• grated cheeses
• air fried breaded chicken tenders

INSTRUCTIONS

• For Dressing: Chop cilantro. Whisk together in bowl rest of ingredients, add fresh cilantro. Add more lime, honey or cayenne to taste.
• Air fry breaded chicken tenders, let cool and chop.
• Toss salad with dressing just before serving, or serve dressing on the side of salad. If serving on side, double dressing.

https://abountifulkitchen.com/southwest-salad-with-cilantro-honey/#recipe

Chopped Thai Salad with Honey Garlic Dressing

 We didn't process the edamame or the cashews as directed, but feel free to try it.  

Chopped Thai Salad with Honey Garlic Dressing

yield: 8 SERVINGS prep time: 25 MINUTES

Dressing:

• ¼ cup canola, vegetable, avocado or other neutral-flavored oil

• 2 cloves garlic, peeled

• ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons water

• 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

• 1 heaping tablespoon honey

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger, or ginger paste

• ½ to 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Salad:

• 4 cups chopped kale or baby kale, about 113 grams

• 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce, about 113 grams

• 3 large carrots, peeled and small diced

• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and small diced

• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and small diced

• ½ cup chopped cilantro

• 1 to 2 green onions, white and green parts chopped

• ¾ cup roasted cashews

• 1 to 2 cups frozen, shelled edamame (fully cooked), thawed and patted dry (see note)

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Combine all the dressing ingredients together in a blender and process until smooth.

• Season to taste with salt and pepper, if needed.

• In a serving or salad bowl, add the chopped kale, romaine, carrots, bell peppers,

• cilantro and green onions.

• In a food processor (or blender…or by hand with an old-fashioned knife

• and cutting board), add the edamame and pulse until minced but still a little

• chunky in texture. Scrape the edamame into the salad bowl.

• Add the cashews to the food processor (or blender…or again, with a knife and

• cutting board) and pulse until coarsely chopped to desired texture. Add the cashews to the salad bowl.

• Give the salad ingredients a light toss.

• Pour about half of the dressing over the salad, and toss to combine.

• Add additional dressing to taste, and serve immediately. To preserve crisp

• leftovers, add the dressing only to individual servings instead of the whole batch

• so leftover salad doesn’t get soggy.