Oriental Chicken Salad

Yield:
8 servings
Ingredients:
Salad ingredients:
leaf lettuce, washed and torn
shredded red cabbage (optional)
sliced almonds
chow mein noodles
fried chicken strips (recipe below)
homemade honey mustard dressing (recipe below)
Fried chicken strips ingredients:
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
1/4-1/3 cup vegetable oil

Dressing Ingredients:
6 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon white vinegar
8 teaspoons mayonnaise or salad dressing
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon sesame or olive oil
Instructions:
1. Slice chicken breast into thin strips (as thin as possible).
2. In a medium-large container with a tight-fitting lid, combine flour, seasoned salt, pepper, garlic powder, and parsley flakes. Add 1/4 of the chicken meat; close tightly and shake vigorously to coat. Continue adding meat in three more sections, each time replacing the lid and shaking the container (leave meat in when adding more).
3. Heat 1/4-1/3 cup oil in a large skillet over medium heat (or just slightly above medium). Add chicken and spread out over bottom of skillet. Allow to fry for several minutes, then stir. Continue stirring and frying until chicken is completely cooked. Drain on paper towels to remove excess grease.
4. Combine dressing ingredients and whisk to remove lumps.
5. To assemble salad, layer plates with lettuce, cabbage, fried chicken, chow mein noodles, almonds, and top with the homemade dressing.


Additional Notes:
The fried chicken pieces can be still warm/hot, or, if you need to make this up ahead of time, you can refrigerate the chicken and serve a completely cold salad: it's good either way!
Preparation Time:
15 minutes
Cooking Time:
15 minutes

Coleslaw

1 medium head cabbage, chopped very finely
¼ cup shredded carrot
1/3 cup sugar
½ t. pepper
¼ cup milk
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup buttermilk
1 T white vinegar
2 T lemon juice

Put chopped cabbage and shredded carrots in a large bowl. Combine remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Add this to the cabbage and mix until cabbage is well coated with dressing. Cover and refrigerate for minimum of 2 hours before serving

Catalina Salad Dressing

Makes about 1 qt.
 1 cup ketchup,
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup light olive oil or  canola
1 ½ cups sugar
1 t minced garlic
1 T season salt


Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix on medium until everything is completely combined.  Store in a quart size canning jar and put in the fridge until ready to use.

Carrot Raisin Salad .

                   


3 to 4 cups carrots, shredded
½ cup raisins
½ cup mayonnaise
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained or 1 small apple chopped in small pieces

In a medium bowl add your shredded carrots, raisins, and drained pineapple. Stir this up well and add mayonnaise until moistened.  If the pineapple is still a little moist that is o.k. it will add a nice sweetness to the salad.  Serve right away.

ALMOND BUTTER DRESSING

1/4 cup almond butter
1t minced fresh ginger
1t garlic
T soy sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
3T apple cider vinegar

Add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend until creamy. Keeps in the fridge for at least a week.

blue cheese salad dressing

simply whisk to combine in a bowl and allow to refrigerate overnight, the following:

1 cup mayo
1 8oz sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
one large spring onion, white only, that i grated on a small hand grater
one clove garlic, that i grated on a small hand grater
a heavy dash, like a tsp of worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 dashes of hot sauce
2 tsp of sugar
5 oz crumbled blue cheese(you can add more, but this was the size of the container i bought, for me it was perfect)

you must allow this dressing to sit overnight for the flavors to truly develop.

Sweet Chili Salad Dressing

1/3 c sweet chili sauce (look for it in the Asian food section)
3/4 c mayo
milk to thin
1/2 t fresh ground black pepper
1/4 c grated parmesan
1 t onion powder or grated onion (yes grate the onion, and make sure to do it over the bowl so you catch the juices)
1 t granulated garlic or 2 cloves grated garlic (same as the onion folks)
Whisk this all together until it is well blended, and use the milk to thin to your desired consistency. 

This stuff only gets better with time, developing a great bite by the next morning. Make sure to refrigerate!

Honey Mustard Dressing

5 tablespoons of honey (I used a local source )

3 tablespoons of your favorite mustard

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

Mixed up it looks like this:

and on a salad:

Yummy!

Roasted Vegetable Pasta

8 oz.  whole wheat fettuccine or your favorite pasta

2 T. olive oil

1 small eggplant, diced in large pieces

1 small onion, diced in large pieces

2 tomatoes, diced in large pieces

1 small zucchini, diced in large pieces

1 red bell pepper

1 clove garlic, minced (or more if you are like me and love it)

1/4 cup butter, room temp or melted

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. salt and pepper

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

1/2 cup chopped basil

Dice vegetables into one inch pieces and place on a large cookie roll pan (Note: if you use a pan with deeper sides it will steam the produce while it's roasting; which is fine if you like it that way. Otherwise, a shallow pan keeps veggies more firm and crisp.) Toss with olive oil and roast or broil for at least 15 minutes or until skins are evenly blistered and charred, turning as needed. Remove from broiler and set aside.

While vegetables are roasting, boil water for pasta and cook al dente and drain. In the meantime, in another bowl, combine garlic, butter, lemon juice, parmesan, salt, and pepper. 

When vegetables and pasta are done, add to the large bowl with the garlic, butter, and parmesan sauce and toss well. Serve with additional parmesan and basil on top.

Bon appetit!

Summer Garden Pasta Salad

2 small raw squash, chopped in quarters - zucchini, crook neck, or a mix

handful of cherry tomatoes
1 small red onion
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
feta cheese
1-2 cups chopped chicken, cooked
1 bag bow tie or other favorite pasta (I usually use whole wheat)


Dressing:
Mix equal parts of extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar. 
1/2 - 1 tsp. dried oregano (or fresh if you have it)


Chop and combine ingredients to your liking. Toss with dressing. 

Basil Pesto

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves

1 cup grated parmesan

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

3 garlic cloves

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients except the olive oil in your VitaMix or food processor. Pulse gently to roughly chop ingredients. On low speed, continue to process and slowly drizzle in the olive oil until well blended. 

Tips: 

• For thicker pesto, reduce the amount of olive oil.

• Pesto freezes well. You can put it in small containers for an entire meal or freeze in ice cube trays for smaller requirements.

• Keep pesto covered prior to serving so it doesn't discolor (like guacamole). 

Uses: 

• Toss on pasta

• Serve on fish or chicken

• Add as a pizza topping

• Garnish appetizers

• Use as a dip

• Make it into a salad dressing!

Pesto Salad Dressing

1/4 - 1/2 cup homemade pesto (recipe above)

1 - 2 T. mayonnaise

juice of one lemon

Add mayo and lemon juice to pesto as desired. This isn't scientific, so just taste as you go. I like mine very lemony and creamy. 

If you freeze the pesto in ice cubes, you can make small batches of this dressing all winter! 

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Mix

Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix

1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Buttermilk Powder

1 T. dried parsley flakes

1 tsp. dill weed

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. dried chives

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. pepper, ground 

Combine all ingredients either by hand or in a blender on low speed. Store in an airtight jar in a cool dry place until ready to use.

To make ranch dressing:  

Combine one tablespoon mix with one cup of mayonnaise and one cup milk.

To make ranch dip: 

Combine one tablespoon mix with one cup of mayonnaise and thin with just enough milk to make desired consistency.

For cooking recipes: 

Use one tablespoon mix per envelope of commercial Ranch Dressing.

Hint: For long term storage, seal in a vacuum pac such as a Food Saver or Seal-A-Meal bag.

Low Fat Oriental Chicken Salad

Dressing

2 cups water

2 T. brown sugar

3 t. dry pectin

1 T. rice wine vinegar

1 t. soy sauce

1 t. minced garlic

1 t. kosher salt

¼ t. black pepper

¼ t. paprika

1 package ramen noodles

1 cup water

½ t. chicken bouillon

3 cups torn green leaf lettuce

1 cup shredded Napa cabbage

2 green onions, white and green parts sliced on the diagonal

2 mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 rib celery, thinly sliced

½ cup cooked, shredded chicken

3 baby carrots, cut into matchsticks

1 T. roasted sunflower seeds

Combine dressing ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat to boiling, whisking frequently. Cook at a low boil for about 10 minutes, until slightly reduced. Remove from heat, cool, and refrigerate.

Bring cup of water to boiling in saucepot. Add ramen noodles and boillon. Boil for 3 minutes then turn off heat and allow to cool (noodles will absorb excess liquid).

Combine lettuce, cabbage, onions, mushrooms and celery. Toss with 1/3 to ½ cup of dressing. Place in serving bowl and top with chicken, ramen noodles, carrots and sunflower seeds.

Serves one with approximately 525 calories – but this is a BIG salad and has enough protein to satisfy.

Slow Cooker Low Cal Sesame Green Beans

1 pound fresh green beans

½ t. sesame oil

½ t. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, sliced on the diagonal

1 shallot, chopped (about ¼ cup)

½ t. garlic salt

2/3 t. sesame seeds, toasted*
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Remove the ends of the green beans and snap each into two or three bite-size pieces.

Place the oils in a slow cooker set on low. Add the garlic and shallots, topped by the green beans. Sprinkle all with garlic salt and sesame seeds. Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours (or high for 2 hours), until tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste just before serving.

Serves 2 large servings with 71.4 calories in each serving.

Low Fat Asian Linguine With Vegetables

2 ounces whole wheat linguine

1/4 cup chopped broccoli

1 t. sesame oil

1/4 cup Red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 Green onion, cut on the bias
2 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

1/3 cup Oriental salad dressing

Cook linguine in boiling water as directed on package with broccoli; drain and set aside. In the same pot, heat the sesame oil over medium heat. Add the pepper and white parts of the onion (reserve the green parts) and stir fry for 2 – 3 minutes, until veggies start to soften. Mix in reserved linguine and broccoli and add salad dressing. To serve, top with slices of reserved green onion and basil leaves.

Dressing

2 cups water

2 T. brown sugar

3 t. dry pectin

1 T. rice wine vinegar

1 t. soy sauce

1 t. minced garlic

1 t. kosher salt

¼ t. black pepper

¼ t. paprika

Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix

 I found this recipe on a recipe card that belonged to my  mother in law and we all love it.. 

Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix  

Ingredients:

5 Tbl dried minced onion
7 tsp parlsey flakes
4 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dill 

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together and store in an air tight container.

For Dressing:  Mix 2 Tbl dry mix with 1 C mayonnaise and 1 C buttermilk.  Allow flavors to blend for a couple hours before serving.

For Dip: Mix 2 Tbl dry mix with 2 C sour cream.  Allow flavors to blend for a couple hours before serving.

Italian Dressing Mix

• 1 tablespoon garlic salt

• 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar (something like evaporated cane juice would work well)
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 tablespoons salt

Use as Italian seasoning in breadcrumbs or sprinkled on grilled chicken. Can also be used as a dressing or marinade by mixing 2Tbsp of the mix with 1/4 cup vinegar, 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, and 2Tbsp water.

Italian Cream Cheese Chicken Casserole

2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour or cornstarch
3 cups chicken broth
8 oz cream cheese
1 Tbsp Italian Dressing Mix
1/2 Tbsp dried minced onion
1/2 Tbsp dried minced garlic
1-2 cooked and cubed chicken breasts
1 box of rotini pasta (we use brown rice)
1/2 head of steamed broccoli or about 1/2 bag of frozen broccoli

Cook pasta until al dente or slightly firm. (if you’re freezing this under cook it) Melt the butter over medium heat and whisk in the flour or cornstarch (cornstarch for you gluten free folks) to make a rue. Once mixed together well, add the broth in slowly while whisking. Once at a gentle boil, whisk occasioanly and simmer for 5 minutes until thickened. Add in cream cheese and all the seasonings. Mix well and taste. If you like more seasoning, add it now. Let simmer for a few minutes while you grease a 9×13 pan and dump the pasta, chicken, and broccoli into it. Pour cream cheese mixture over everything and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. 


Take out, stir, and enjoy!