Our Week of Salads for Dinner

[ssandy_561]

We decided to have salads every night this week for dinner.

You might ask yourself “Why would I care about this?”

These aren’t your run of the mill garden salads.

They are the 5 salads me and my better half have developed over the many years that we enjoy eating on a regular basis.

NIGHT ONE

Strawberry Feta Chicken Salad with Candied Pecans and Maple Syrup Vinaigrette.

Yesterday I made some candied pecans. I took 12 oz. of pecan halves and tossed them in 2 tablespoons of an egg white and water mixture. I then continued to toss the pecans while I added in a1/4 cup of granulated maple sugar and 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt. I spread these pecans out on a parchment lined sheet pan and roasted them in the oven at 250° for 40 minutes mixing every 10 minutes. They have just the right amount of sweetness on them for salads.

Tonight I cubed up some chicken tenders and skewered them up on some bamboo skewers and hit them with some olive oil, salt and pepper. 15 minutes over some KBB and they were ready for the salad.

The maple syrup vinaigrette I make is simple.

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon smoked salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the base of this salad we use leafy greens. There is a local greenhouse that produces these hydroponically and are delicious.



We can get these for $3.19 a container and they are a perfect size for one dinner salad.

We will just make the salad right in the container.

After we cut up the greens a bit smaller I crumbled the feta cheese onto the salad.



Next up is the strawberries. This salad is much better in the spring with locally grown strawberries but Florida grown ones had to do tonight.



Grilled chicken got added next.



Candied pecans got added last.





Then it gets hit with the vinaigrette and is enjoyed.



This salad hits all the notes. Sweet, salty, savory. I know I probably should have assembled it differently for a better final picture but it all tastes the same after I mix it up to eat it.

Return tomorrow for The Breakfast Salad.

[Oakgrovebacon]

My wife does strawberries and pecans in a salad with poppyseed dressing. Good combo!

[STEbbq]

I was going to comment, what kind of bet did you lose for a week of salads. However, now I wish to like and subscribe. Yum.

[barelfly]

Looks good! I’d eat it as one of my lunch salads I eat every day!

[smokenoob]

So a salad with meat is still a salad? OK I’m in!

[ssandy_561]

All of the salads this week will include a meat. Stay tuned.

[Alan Brice]

Bacon bits?!? Well yeah!

[Mosca]

Which night gets the Reuben sandwich salad?

J/k, looks good!

[texastweeter]

Or the 2000kcal taco salad?

[JCBBQ]

Hahahaha

[Sid P]

Wasn’t the Bills loss and the Chiefs going to the Super Bowl enough torture for one winter?

[Uncle Bob]

I like it!

We have one that's become a regular in the menu rotation, Calamari Caesar salad. The juxtaposition of warm protein to cool, crunchy lettuce, and some parm for tangy taste is a well balance flavor treat.

[MsTwiggy]

I am all in on your Calmari ceasar!! 👏👏👏🔥🔥🐿️

[SheilaAnn]

^ what MsTwiggy said!!! BF loves blackened chicken Caesar, but this looks even better!

[Alan Brice]

We have a local place called "Italian Street Food" Piada. Unbelieveably huge hunks of calmari. Nearly $20 each.

[fzxdoc]

My family loves this salad with orzo and crispy salami bits:

https://www.recipetineats.com/italian-orzo-salad-risoni/

Kathryn

[shify]

You don't have to go down like this just because the Bills lost! It will be okay!!

This sounds good (excl. strawberries - I'm not a fan of fruit in salad - but that can be easily left out). I eat salad for lunch most of the week but tend to stick with the standards when I'm making it myself. One thing I do love in salads, like what you have above, are candied nuts, so well done on that aspect!. Btw if you want to take the candied pecans in a different direction, highly recommend adding about 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper to the mix. I do that with my candied pecans and the family goes nuts for them -- maybe i'll add them to the Super Bowl menu now that I'm thinking about it.

Can't wait to see what you have planned for the rest of the week.

[FireMan]

I do like readin about them there concoctions.

[ssandy_561]

NIGHT TWO

Breakfast Salad

This salad came about after I started putting spinach on my homemade egg McMuffins.

We love using the following spinach.



It’s always delicious and it’s just the bonus that it’s organic.

I’ll start with about 5 oz. of spinach in the bowl.



I’ll then add 3 hard boiled eggs that have been diced up.



Next up BACON!



The cheese then joins the party.



Can’t forget the toast (aka croutons)



Last but not least my simple Raspberry Jam vinaigrette and some freshly ground black pepper.



The Raspberry Jam vinaigrette is as follows:
3 parts seedless raspberry jam
2 parts white wine vinegar
4 parts olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste.

Once again this salad hits all the notes. Sweet, salty and savory. We have been know from time to time add garden fresh cherry tomatoes to it but there is no garden for us here in Ohio in January.


BONUS CONTENT

I know there has been a few discussions here in the pit about the best way to boil eggs so the shells remove easily.

My method that produces the following results is:

Bring your water to a rapid boil

Gently lower your eggs into the boiling water with a slotted spoon

Boil 13 minutes or so

Dump out the hot water and fill the pan with cold tap water 3 times

Shells just slide right off

[texastweeter]

I make a wilted greens salad similar, but I use hot bacon grease in my dressing. The croutons are not in mine, but the will be from now on!

[Bkhuna]

"Is that USDA organic, Oregon organic, or Portland organic.?"

[ssandy_561]

Come back tomorrow evening for Taco Salad.

[SheilaAnn]

I rarely do this at home, but if I am at a big ole salad bar, I love adding raisins and sunflower seeds to salad.

at home, we do Caesar, wedgies, and a funky bleu cheese salad that I love.

funky bleu cheese salad: romaine, bleu cheese dressing, crumbled hard boiled eggs, almond slivers, crumbled bleu cheese as garnish.

caesar: finish with a squeeze of lemon….thank me later.

wedgie: more bleu cheese dressing, chopped tomato, chopped bacon, avocado.


oh, oh, oh….. arugula with s&p, olive oil, splash of balsamic, shaved pecorino Romano cheese.

[acorgihouse]

Not a fan of raisins, but I love those salad bars with the sunflower seeds. I actually can eat just a pile of sunflower seeds covered in dressing (ranch is best IMHO) with a fork. I've been known to get a to go container from the grocery store with just that. They just weigh it, they don't care what's in it.

[ssandy_561]

I love adding sunflower seeds to coleslaw. It kicks it up a notch.

[Alan Brice]

I just read today a squirt of fresh lemon juice will brighten up a salad or even veggies. Kim and I have started everyday with a fresh squeezed half lemon and a pinch of cayenne.

[Johnny Booth]

Too funny when you say ‘settle’ for Florida Strawberries. I fully agree that local is better. I’m from Florida, about an hour from the strawberries. Those that you got from here look anemic and underripe. Trust me, picked at their peak and not shipped thousands of miles, they are deep red, large, sweet, and juicy. I bet your local berries are that good too. 😎👍

[texastweeter]

Yes, the pick them green and gas them on the way to make them turn red.

[acorgihouse]

Agreed, I'm even closer. The Plant City strawberries, where the Fla Strawberry Festival will be in a few weeks, is less than 30 minutes from here. We are already getting the early ones in my co-op, although by end of Feb we will be getting cheap, beautiful flats of berries. They are astounding when just ripened. It is so unfortunate that they are transported like that, everyone should try right off the vine. Look local, though may be much later in spring. Was May in Tn where I grew up.