Salads!

A guy walks into the doctor's office. A banana stuck in one of his ears, a head of lettuce in the other ear, and a carrot stuck in one nostril. The man says, "Doc, this is terrible. What's wrong with me?" The doctor says, "Well, first of all, you need to eat more sensibly." 

There was lots of sensible eating at today's Recipe Swap.

 'Lettuce' share some of these great dishes with you.

Edamame & Sweet Corn Salad by Marnell

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro

• 2 limes, juiced

• 1 teaspoon white sugar

• 1 teaspoon coarse salt

• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

• 1 clove garlic, very finely chopped

• 12-oz. package frozen shelled edamame

• 2 cups frozen super sweet corn kernels

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

• 2 tablespoons red onion, very finely chopped

• 1 avocado, pitted, peeled and cubed

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the red wine vinegar, olive oil, cilantro, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic. Set aside.
2. Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the edamame and boil for 3 minutes. Add corn to the boiling water and continue cooking for 1 minute. Drain well and pour into the bowl with the dressing. Gently mix in the cherry tomatoes and onion. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Add avocado just before serving.

Spinach Salad by Cyndi

1 bag spinach
1 bunch romaine lettuce
1/2-3/4 lb grated Swiss cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 lb crumbled bacon (I use about 1 cup from the bag from Costco and put it in a frying pan for a few minutes to make it crisp)

(can add 3/4 lb mushrooms or 1 purple onion cut into rings, but I like it better without)


Dressing:
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 c sugar
1 t salt
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 t poppy seeds
1 T oil (just for coating purposes)

ENJOY!

Spinach, Chicken, & Feta Salad by April

4 T olive oil
2 medium red peppers, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips
1.5 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick strips
1 t salt
3 T white wine vinegar
1 t sugar
1/2 t coarsely ground black pepper
12 ounces spinach, tough stems removed
1/4 lb feta cheese

1. in 12-inch skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add red and yellow peppers and cook until tender and lightly browned, about 10 minutes.  With slotted spoon, transfer pepper strips to large bowl.
2. Add chicken and 1/2 t salt and cook until chicken is lightly browned and loses its pink color, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  With slotted spoon, transfer chicken to bowl with peppers.
3. Remove skillet from heat.  Add vinegar, sugar, black pepper, remaining 1 T oil, and remaining 1/2 t salt, stirring to loosen brown bits from bottom of skillet.
4. Add spinach and vinegar mixture to bowl with chicken; gently toss to mix.  Finely crumble feta onto salad.  Makes 4 main-dish servings.

We also had a dish dubbed "chocolate salad" a.k.a. brownies.

Mike’s Brownies by Sonja

1 cup butter                                                     

2 cups sugar                                         

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup + 3 T cocoa powder

1 tsp salt

1-1½ cups dark chocolate chips 

Mix. Bake in 9x13 pan at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes.

Southwest Chicken Chop Salad by Tricia

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups diced rotisserie chicken
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 cup black beans
• 1 cup sweet yellow corn {canned or frozen and defrosted}
• 2 roma tomatoes, diced
• 4 scallions, washed and sliced {white and green parts}
• 1 large romaine heart, washed and chopped
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, washed and chopped
• 2 just under ripe avocados, diced
• 2 cups crushed tortilla chips
• for the dressing-
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 tablespoon ranch seasoning
• 1/2 tablespoon taco seasoning
• 1/2 tablespoon lime juice {optional}
• salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, stir all salad ingredients together, excluding the tortilla chips and avocado. In a small bowl, stir all dressing ingredients together until smooth. When ready to serve, toss salad with dressing then gently stir in avocado and tortilla chips.

Lauren's Won Ton Salad by Dana 

(this was typed up by my mother and she doesn't always give the greatest directions, lol)

1 head lettuce

1 bunch green onions

1 cucumber

Red, seedless grapes

Frozen peas, thawed

Won ton wraps (found in veggie section)

3 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded (pepper generously before adding to salad)

Cut up veggies, halve grapes (leave peas as they are) and prepare in large bowl along with the shredded chicken. Cut won ton wraps into halves or thirds, Fry in any type of oil for a couple of seconds on each side (they cook really fast). Add into individual salad bowls to prevent being soggy.

Dressing

3/4 c. canola oil

3/4 c. vinegar

3/4 c. sugar

1 T. olive oil

1 T. black pepper

1 T. salt

1 1/2 t. Accent seasoning

Place in container and shake until dressing is consistent. Shake well each time before putting on salad.

Here are pictures of some other delicious salads that we got to sample.  (I'll add recipes as they are sent to me).