Fluff topic: Summer salads for dinner so you don't heat up the kitchen!

by restrangled 20 Replies latest jw friends

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  restrangled

  I know this is not exciting for most, but for those who have to put dinner on the table every night.....sometimes cooking stinks big time, especially during summer months

  Here is my contribution for a fantastic Greek Shrimp salad.....its addictive!

  1 pound corkscrew pasta cooked aladante and cooled. (set aside)

  1 pound frozen shrimp...good quality, cleaned cooked and tails removed. Thaw and set aside.

  In a large bowl, combine the following:

  1 can quartered artichokes drained.

  1 can diced tomatoes with liquid.

  8 green onions chopped.

  4 cloves garlic minced.

  2 packages of Feta from Athenos basil tomato or 16oz of your favorite feta cut up into bite size pieces.

  1/3 pound black olives chopped......do not use canned or anything in a Jar....buy them fresh at the deli.

  Add the shrimp and pasta and add the following dressing.

  1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 and 1/2 lemons} and 1 cup good quality olive oil, salt, pepper to taste, and add 1 and 1/2 tablespoons dried Thyme.

  Mix the dressing with a fork and add to salad. Toss gently and marinate for several hours in your refrigerator, or overnight.

  This salad gets better with time, and can be served at room temp.

  r.
• 

  Finally-Free

  Here are the salads I make most often. I don't measure anything, I just do it to taste.

  1. Baby spinach
  2. Sliced strawberries
  3. blueberries
  4. sliced red peppers
  5. Feta cheese
  6. Sliced almonds
  7. Renee's ravin raspberry vinigrette.

  1. Baby spinach
  2. sliced red peppers
  3. sliced crimini mushrooms
  4. grape tomatos
  5. crushed cashews
  6. shredded old cheddar
  7. whatever dressing I'm in the mood for.

  W
• 

  restrangled

  Finally free, you can add toasted almonds, walnuts etc. to those delicious salads described by you. Put them into a pie plate and roast for about 3 minutes at 400 degrees....no longer. The flavor is intensified.

  r
• 

  BizzyBee

  Awesome!

  My main-dish salad repertoire includes:

  Chinese chicken - frozen grilled chicken strips thawed out in a little teriyaki sauce, add to lettuces (some napa cabbage) and chinese veges (pea pods, bell peppers, green onions, etc.) dressed with chinese dressing and sprinkled with sliced toasted, slivered almonds and chinese noodles for crunch.

  Taco salad - frozen grilled chicken strips thawed out in a little taco sauce, add to lettuces, bell peppers, green onions, etc.) dressed with southwest dressing, grated cheese, avocado, tomatoes, plop of sour cream, baked tortilla strips (I make my own).

  Cobb salad: you know. Served with whole grain toast for crunch.

  Note: I don't find these salad dinners to be particularly quick - lotsa chopping. Each dinner is a work of art - Mr. Bee threatens to take a picture every night for Bon Appetit. But with my own little TV in the kitchen, I'm quite content.
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  beksbks

  I applaud all of the above!!!

  Tonight I made a dinner salad consisting of spring greens, romaine, green onions, grape tomatoes, bell peppers, canned pinto beans, cilantro, jalapeno, and grilled chicken I had marinated in chili powder, cumin and garlic. Dressing was a blend of light ranch, tapatio, and sour cream.

  I do a dinner salad about 4 nights a week. My next one is going to be steak and blue cheese, most of the above veggies, plus canned artichokes and garbanzos.

  FF I love those greens, berries, nuts, and piquant cheese salads.
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  restrangled

  Bizzy Bee and Beks....please give the recipes! Your Descriptions sound fantastic!
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  StAnn

  Not that I don't like salads, but my kids are handicapped (cerebral palsy both, among other things) and have difficulty chewing and swallowing. They don't do well with things like raw lettuce.

  So, in an effort to keep my kitchen/house cool in the summertime, I cook food out of doors in my solar cooker.

  Also, I sometimes take my crockpot out of doors and let it cook all day on the patio. Keeps the house much cooler. And when it's time to eat, we just serve it up out there on the patio table.

  StAnn
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  beksbks

  No recipes R, just what ethnic flavor do I want, and what type of meat. Then I add all the stuff that seems to go with.

  St. Ann, have you ever grilled asparagus? Does your family even like it? If you do, marinate it in a bit of Italian dressing, some olive oil and crushed garlic in a freezer bag, and then grill. It's scrummy.
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  Barbie Doll

  CRANBERRY FRUIT SALAD

  2 cup Chicken Lettuce Pecan Coating

  Apple chopped Cranberry Walnuts

  Strawberry slice White Raisins Carrots chopped

  Mandarin Orange 1/2 cup diced Celery Broccoli small

  1 tablespoon sweet onion

  DRESSING----Rasberry Vinigrette
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  StAnn

  Beks, I absolutely love asparagus. My husband doesn't like it but I usually cook it with just butter and then squeeze some lemon juice over it. I will have to try your marinade and see if he likes it better. It does sound good.

  I'm a garlic fanatic and he's addicted to olive oil and everything tastes better grilled, doesn't it?

  StAnn