Old Ebbitt Salad (Autumn Salad)

Old Ebbitt Salad
Sean and I tried this salad at a restaurant in Washington DC called Old Ebbitt. I have seen others call it an Autumn salad, as well. Whatever it's called, we like it!

Ingredients:

Spring mix (or arugula and green leaf lettuce)
Asian pears
Honeycrisp apples
Candied walnuts
Sharp white cheddar
Green onions
White balsamic vinaigrette (recipe below)

Optional toppings to make it heartier:
Bacon
Seasoned and browned ground beef

White Balsamic Vinaigrette:
1/2 cup light flavored olive oil
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Poppy Seed Chicken Salad

                                       Poppy Seed Chicken Salad

6 Chicken breasts (cut into sm pieces)       2  packages Top Roman Noodles
4 TBSP slivered almonds (toasted)            4 TBSP  sesame seeds (toasted)
1 Head cabbage (chopped)                         1 green bell pepper (chopped)
4 green onions (chopped)                           1 red bell pepper (chopped)
                                  1 bottle  Brianna's Poppy Seed dressing

Grill the chicken (you can use canned or boiled chicken, but grilled is the best... I usually marinate mine in soy sauce/spite/oil /garlic) Slice chicken in small pieces. Combine chicken with almonds, cabbage, onions, sesame seeds, peppers and  uncooked noodles (Do not use the season packet included with the noodles.). Add the Dressing. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.

(Toast almonds and sesame seeds in oven for 2-3 minutes at 350 degrees...or broil if you can watch them closely. )

Southwest Bean Salad

SOUTHWEST BEAN SALAD

(A vegetarian one just for you Dawn!) 

1 can Black Beans
1 can White Beans
1 can Garbanzo Beans (Chick Peas)
1 can Whole Kernel Corn

Dressing:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 Tbs. taco seasoning
1 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. dried cilantro (or 4 sprigs of fresh cilantro)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder

1. Open up cans and rinse the beans in a colander.

2. Mix dressing in a bowl and add the beans. Mix. It is not spicy, so you can add more taco seasoning or chili powder to give it some kick, but I would wait until after you mix it together. I bet if you added tomatoes or red peppers, it would still be really good, but not keep as well.

3. Viola! You can also add left over taco meat to the mix (as shown in the picture) but I wanted to show you how EASY this is. I made this for playgroup, then Logan and I chowed on this for 3 more days. I probably shouldn't have doubled the recipe, but I LOVE it! This is a great left-over-taco-meat lunch.

I put them in the Tostitos scoops for playgroup, but you can eat it as is or use as a dip for chips. BUT, if you have the ever-so-delicious cafe rio cilantro ranch dressing to put over this, it would be DIVINE! 

Basil Cous Cous Salad

This is SOOOOOO yummy. Everyone must try it!

Basil Cous Cous Salad
3 c. spinach/Euro mix lettuce
1/3 c. dried craisins
1/3 c. grated Asiago cheese
1/3 c. toasted pumpkin seeds or pine nuts
2 c. white corn
1 pkg. couscous, olive oil & garlic flavor (prepared per package instructions)

Dressing:
1 c. fresh basil leaves (roughly chopped)
1 c. mayonnaise
½ shallot, chopped
1 c. buttermilk
2 Tbs. red wine vinegar

Add ingredients in a blender and blend well. Salt & pepper to taste.
Toss with salad just before serving.

Strawberry and Feta Salad with cinnamon candied almonds

spinach
sliced strawberries
feta
thinly sliced red onion

Dressing
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup mayo
2 Tbs. rice vinegar
1/4 cup milk
Combined all ingredients and mix well.

Cinnamon roasted almonds
1 egg white
1 tsp cold water
4 cups whole almonds or slivered ( I used slivered as well as just 3 cups of almonds)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Lightly grease a 10x15 jellyroll pan
2. Lightly beat the egg white: add water, and beat until frothy but not stiff. Add the nuts, and stir until well coated. Mix the sugar, salt and cinnamon and sprinkle over the nuts. Toss to coat and spread evenly on the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until golden. Allow to cool, then store nuts in airtight containers.

Fiesta Corn Salad

5-6 cans white *shoepeg corn (rinse well, strain water)
2 bunches green onion chopped
3-4 tomatoes - diced
1/2 bunch snipped cilantro
garlic powder to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 - 3/4 C. mayonnaise
1 bag Fritos corn chips

In mixing bowl, add rinsed corn, onions, cilantro, salt, pepper and garlic, mix well. Add mayonnaise, stirring well. Add tomatoes and refrigerate for 3-5 hours. Just before serving, add crunched up frito corn chips on top.

*Shoepeg corn is hard to find. I have only found it in the 'Green Giant' brand. It is a sweeter, smaller, and crunchier corn that just regular canned corn. I have also used a mixture of the 3 cans shoepeg corn and 3 cans fiesta corn blend (it has red and green peppers) which just added a little more color!* This is a fun summer salad.

Wild rice & chicken salad

Wild rice & chicken salad
2 (small) boxes of uncle Ben's wild rice (cook according to box directions)
4 green onions chopped
1 bell pepper (red & yellow add great color!)
6 oz snap peas
2 avocados
3-4 chicken breast or rotisserie chicken
1 cup pecans
juice of 1 lemon

Add all ingredients except for avocados & pecans (add those right before serving).

Dressing:
4 cloves garlic or 2-3 tsp of minced garlic
2 T dijon mustard
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
1 T sugar (can do less)
2/3 c. riced vinegar
1/2 c olive oil

Pour on salad one hour before serving. Add pecans and avocados. Can serve on romaine lettuce of butter lettuce.

I made this salad for a friends baby shower and it was absolutely delicious! It's a must try!