Spinach Mandarin Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

This salad is filled with yummy flavors.  You can use your favorite store-bought poppy seed dressing or make this simple dressing.  It's a great salad to feed a group but if you're not going to eat it in one meal then I would suggest leaving the dressing off and adding it to individual portions.  It will make the greens wilt and nobody wants to eat soggy salad the next day.  Or you could just make a half portion of the recipe.

Spinach Mandarin Salad
1/2 head Romaine lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
1 (8-10 oz.) bag baby spinach
1/3 purple onion, thinly sliced
1 large avocado, cubed
1 cup Swiss or Mozzarella cheese, shredded or cubed
1 package bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 large can (or two small) Mandarin oranges, drained (and I also like to slice them in half to make more pieces)
Poppy Seed Dressing to taste

In large salad bowl, combine lettuce, spinach, onion, bacon, cheese, and oranges.  Gently fold in avocado.  Just before serving, toss with salad dressing and serve immediately.

Poppy Seed Dressing
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. mustard
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 green onion, ends removed
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp. poppy seeds

In blender, combine vinegar, salt, sugar, mustard, and pepper.  While blender is going, add green onion and then add the oil in a constant stream until it is mixed in.  Pour dressing into a bowl and stir in poppy seeds.

Asian Wonton Salad with Sesame Dressing

This is a very yummy salad on its own but throw in the dressing  and it is so delicious!  I'm not saying it's the healthiest salad around (fried wontons and all) but it is good.  They served it at a women's conference I went to and we were lucky enough to get the recipe.  The dressing recipe makes more dressing than what I like on the salad so I just save the rest for a salad on another day.  Double this recipe if serving a large group.

Asian Wonton Salad
1 head romaine lettuce
cherry tomatoes
1/2 red onion, sliced in thin strips
1 cucumber, sliced
2-3 cooked chicken breasts, cubed, optional
1/2 package wonton wrappers
oil for frying

Heat about one inch of oil in a skillet to 375 degrees.  Cut wontons into thirds (I like to use a pizza cutter to make it easier).  Fry wontons a few at a time.  Drain on paper towels.  These can be made ahead of time.

Tear lettuce into bite sized chunks and put in a large salad bowl.  Toss with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion.  Add chicken if using.  Top salad with Sesame Dressing and toss together.  Add wonton crisps last and toss to combine.

Sesame Dressing
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup canola oil
1-2 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 cup sugar
2-4 Tbsp. sesame seeds

Place all ingredients in a jar or container with tight lid.  Shake vigorously until well incorporated.  This can also be made ahead of time.  Store leftovers in fridge.

B-B-Q Ranch Chopped Salad

It's getting to be salad time!  That means it's too hot to cook!  We've been having plenty of days in the 90s already.  Whew!  I made this up yesterday with what we had on hand in our fridge.  I think the only thing that was missing was tomatoes.  How could I be out of tomatoes?!  I'll definitely be adding those in next time because there will definitely be a next time for this salad.  Great flavor and my kids just inhaled it!  We ate the entire bowl for one meal!  If you're not planning on eating it all in one meal I'd probably suggest doing half the recipe or else putting the dressing just on the salad you're planning to eat right away.  This reminded me of California Pizza Kitchen's B-B-Q Chicken Chopped Salad.  It's one of the only things I've ever had at CPK and after making that soup the other day I've been craving their salad ever since.  This definitely satisfied that craving!  It was great without chicken but you could also add grilled B-B-Q chicken.  Great way to use up some leftovers for the upcoming grilling season!  We added some Honey-Roasted Walnuts for fun.  But those are delicious no matter what!

B-B-Q Ranch Chopped Salad
1/2 head Romaine lettuce
1/2 bag Baby Spinach (or more)
1/3 purple onion, diced into small pieces
1 cucumber, diced into small pieces
2 carrots, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can sweet corn, drained
1/2 cup B-B-Q sauce
1/2 cup Ranch Dressing
Honey-Roasted Walnuts, optional


Rinse, dry, and cut lettuce into 1/8-inch-wide strips.  Cut spinach into 1/8-inch-wide strips.  (I just grab a handful at a time and slice through it all.)  Combine greens with diced onion, cucumber, carrots, beans, and corn...and tomatoes!  In separate bowl mix Ranch dressing with B-B-Q sauce.  Drizzle over salad and mix until coated.  If you need more dressing just mix equal proportions of dressing and sauce.  You might want extra to serve with salad at the table.  Serve with Honey-Roasted Walnuts if desired.

Teriyaki Pasta Spinach Salad

This salad is one of my top two favorite salads of all time. To be in my top two I have to be able to want to eat them every single week. (Not that I do...just that I WANT to.) My favorite is still the Fiesta Pasta Salad but this one is so close it's practically a tie. They served this at our church Super Saturday Craft Day a few weeks ago and I really think I might have died if they didn't share the recipe. Thank goodness they did! You have to try this one. I love the dressing, the honey roasted peanuts, the mandarin oranges, and the craisins. Mmmm...so tasty. When I went to buy my ingredients to make this my grocery store only had the mini-size bow tie pasta. I also didn't put any fresh parsley in. Oh...and I just used one big can of chicken breast instead of cooking up my own. Oh...and it's originally called "Spinach Pasta Salad" but I thought it needed to include the word "Teriyaki" because that's what makes it soooo yummy! So I think those are all of the changes I made. This makes a ton! Easily enough to feed 6-8 people. When I was putting it together I made as directed but saved back about 1/3 of the dressing, 1/3 of the spinach and toppings, and 1/3 of the pasta. That way I could mix up a "fresh" batch the next day for lunch since I knew we probably wouldn't eat it all at once. The original recipe was double the amounts below. Since I doubt I'll ever need to make THAT much I'm just going to post the 1/2 size that I made (before I divided it into thirds) and if I ever need to make a HUGE batch then I'll just double it. OK. Enough chattering. Here's the recipe!

Teriyaki Pasta Spinach Salad

1 bag (10 oz.) spinach
2-3 green onions, sliced
1/4 c. fresh parsley
1/3 c. craisins (I put in a few more!)
1/3 c. honey roasted peanuts (I put in a few more!)
1 can mandarin oranges, drained (I cut each segment in half just to make more pieces in my salad.)
1-2 c. cooked, cut-up chicken (or 1 large can chicken breast)
1 box (12-16 oz.) bow tie pasta (You're actually supposed to use 1/2 this amount but I don't know if it was because I used the mini-size pasta or what but the whole box seemed just right...especially after I took 1/3 out to save for the next day.)

Dressing:
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/3 c. Teriyaki sauce
1/3 c. rice vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Prepare the dressing ahead of time and refrigerate overnight. (Mine got about two hours of refrigeration and it was just as good as the 1/3 I reserved for the next day.) Mix all salad ingredients together and add dressing just before serving.