Salads and such--recipes.

Olive Garden Salad

submitted by Alicia Andersen

Olive Garden Salad Dressing:

½ c. mayonnaise

1/3 c. white vinegar

1 tsp vegetable oil

2 Tb. corn syrup

2 Tb. Parmesan cheese

2 Tb. Romano cheese

¼ tsp garlic salt – or one clove garlic, minced

½ tsp Italian seasoning

½ tsp parsley flakes

1 Tb. lemon juice

Salad:

1 large head romaine lettuce

slices red onion

black olives

2-4 banana peppers

2 small tomatoes, quartered

½ c. croûtons

freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For homemade croûtons:

4 slices sandwich bread

1 clove garlic, minced

3 Tb. butter

salt and pepper

dried parsley flakes

Mix all dressing ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little too tart for your own personal tastes, add a little extra sugar.

Chill one salad bowl in freezer for at least 30 minutes. Put lettuce in bowl. Place on top of lettuce red onions, black olives, banana peppers, tomatoes, and croûtons. Add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you like, and add plenty of Olive Garden Salad Dressing on top.

For the homemade croûtons:

Cut off crusts of sandwich bread, and cut bread into cubes. Melt butter in small saucepan and add minced garlic. Toss sandwich cubes in the butter and spread out in a pan. Sprinkle salt and pepper and parsley flakes to taste. Bake for 15 minutes at 350°, turning half way through baking.

Em's Black Bean Cilantro “Salad”

Submitted by: Sarah

2 cans corn

2 cans black beans

2 avocados, chopped

2-3 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 bunch of green onions, chopped

1 bunch of cilantro, stems removed and blend with…

1 packet of italian dressing (follow directions on back of packet to make) OR pour in premade italian dressing (from a bottle) to taste.

Pour cilantro dressing over other ingredients, mix and enjoy!

*You can use it also as a salsa or bean dip*

Recipes to Try on your Own:

Apple-Craisin Good Salad

Submitted by Alicia Andersen

1 head romaine lettuce

1 head red leaf lettuce (or any combination of lettuce/ spinach)

2-3 gala apples- cubed

1 11oz. Can mandarin oranges, drained

½ c. craisins

8 oz. toasted sugar pecans

toast with ¼ cup sugar in a frying pan over med/high heat. Watch and stir continuously, when sugar starts to melt and caramelize remove from heat and pour into a dish to cool.

Dressing:

¾ c. sugar

1 tsp. Dry mustard

1 tsp. Salt

2 Tbl. Fresh onion, finely diced

1/3 c. apple cider vinegar

¾ c. vegetable oil

1 Tbl. Poppy seeds

Measure all ingredients except poppy seeds into blender and mix well. Then add poppy seeds and blend to mix in.

Salad: Wash and tear lettuces, add apples, oranges and craisins. Toss with pecans and dressing just before serving.

Note: I have omitted and added different things such as crumbled cheese, sliced pears, etc.

Southwestern Salad

Submitted by Alicia Andersen

Ingredients:

Grilled Chicken

Lettuce

Tomato

1 can baby corn

1 can black beans

shredded cheddar cheese

sliced olives

chopped red onions

Dressing:

½ portion honey hickory BBQ sauce

½ portion ranch dressing

Mix together

Mix salad together (quantities according to taste) as desired. Top with dressing and crushed corn chips.