Four Bean Salad by Guest Chef Kariann

1 pkg. frozen baby lima beans
1 can yellow wax beans
1 can green beans
1 can red kidney beans
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup minced green pepper
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Cook lima beans according to package directions; drain. Drain canned beans. Combine beans in large bowl. Combine onion and green pepper; add oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Mix well and pour over beans. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving.

Ramen Coleslaw Salad with Chicken by Guest Chef Summer

1 env. Good Seasons Italian Dressing/ Recipe Mix (prepare as directed)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 pkg, 3oz ramen noodle
1 pkg, 16oz coleslaw blend, bag
3 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup Planters Dry Roasted sunflower kernels

1/2 cup Planters Sliced Almonds, toasted I also like to add:
Grilled chicken, diced
Sesame Seeds

In a separate bowl, prepare salad dressing mix per package (w/ oil, vinegar and water). Add soy sauce and sugar and stir. Break apart noodles; place in large bowl. Add coleslaw blend, onions, sunflower kernels and almonds to noodles. (Add chicken and sesame seed if prefer). Mix lightly. Add dressing...toss to coat well. Serve soon after mixing to stay crisp.

Great Summer Salad w/ Great Homemade Dressing/Marinade

1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
1 small bag spinach or baby greens mix
1 green onion, chopped all the way from white to green
1/2 carton strawberries, sliced
1/2 c. almonds, chopped
1/2 c. mozzarella, shredded
1-2 TBS. butter
1 TBS. sugar

Wash, chop and refrigerate greens. Slice onion and strawberries. Place butter in pan with chopped almonds. Coat with sugar until sugar carmelizes on nuts. Place sugared almonds in a bowl with greens, onions and strawberries. Cover with dressing (recipe below - I only use about 1/4 of the dressing and save the rest for later). Toss with mozzarella. If you need more bulk, you can add grilled chicken to this salad. We like it with and without.

Dressing:
1 whole strawberry, large
3 green onions
3/4 c. olive oil
2/4 c. white vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. mustard
1/2 tsp. poppy seeds (optional)
Mix in blender until smooth. Pour desired amount over salad.

Roquefort Pear Salad by Chef Jamie

1 head leaf lettuce, bite-size pieces
3 pears- peeled, cored and chopped
5 oz. Roquefort (bleu cheese) crumbled
1 avacado- peeled, pitted & diced
1/2 C. thinly sliced green onions
1/4 C. white sugar
1/2 C. pecans

Dressing:
1/3 C. olive oil
3 T. red wine vinegar
1 1/2 t. white sugar
1 1/2 t. prepared mustard
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 t. salt
ground pepper to taste

In a skillet, over medium heat, stir 1/4 c. sugar together with pecans. Continue stirring gently until sugar has melted and caramelized the pecans. Carefully transfer to wax paper to cool. Break into pieces.
For dressing: mix dressing ingredients in blender. In a large bowl, layer lettuce, pears, cheese, avacado and onions. Pour over salad and nuts.

Peggy's Spinach Almond Salad by Guest Chef Emily

**I LOVE this recipe of my mother in law’s- the dressing is great on any salad**

10 oz fresh spinach
Cook ½ lb bacon until crumbly
½ c. toasted almonds (@ 350 for 8 min)
1 med. Granny Smith apple cut into thin slices

Dressing: puree the below in blender

1/8 red onion
1/3 c. EVOO
1/4 c. sugar
3 T apple cider vinegar
½ t salt

Toss the salad and add dressing when ready to serve. Garnish with red onion and apple slices or parmesan.

A Great Cinco de Mayo Taco Salad

My friend April gave me a tip on how to make non-fried taco salad bowls, and they were great! I decided to serve them for our Cinco de Mayo celebration! This salad is awesome. Don't forget to serve it with Jumex Guava Nectar (available in the Mexican food section).

Ingredients
Salad Filling:
Refried Beans (1 can)
4 chicken breasts
3 carrots, chopped and diced
1 small zucchini, chopped and diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped and diced
1/2 packet taco seasoning
1/2 c. medium salsa


Tortillas:
4 tortillas
vegetable oil or non-stick cooking spray
chili powder (to taste)


Salad Toppings:
finely chopped iceberg lettuce
2 tomatoes, diced
fresh guacamole
sour cream
1/2 c. fresh shredded cotija cheese (Mexican parmesan)


Salsa de Repollo (this is a must! make ahead of time and let it marinate in fridge for a while):
In large tupperware, add all ingredients below and let sit to take in flavors.

1 small cucumber, finely shredded
1/2 head green cabbage, finely shredded
3 TBS. vinegar
1 TBS. lime juice
1 can green chiles (optional...use to taste)
1/2 tsp. ground oregano
1-2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Add carrots and peppers to frying pan, turn on medium-high and cook until semi-tender, add a little water if needed. Cut up chicken, add to carrots and peppers, add salsa and taco seasoning. Cook until chicken is almost done. Add zucchini. Stir all together and cook until chicken and zucchini are done.

Preheat oven to 425. Spray each side of tortilla with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle to desired amount with chili powder. Make a fist-sized ball of tin foil for each tortilla. Place each tortilla so it makes a dome over the tin foil ball. Bake for about 8 minutes or until crispy and lightly browned.

Add a layer of refried beans, chicken mixture, the salad toppings and salsa de repollo. Serve fresh! mmmmmmm.

Black Bean and Cous Cous Salad by Guest Chef Emily

1 c. uncooked cous cous
1 can chicken broth
3 T EVOO
3 T fresh lime juice
2 t red wine vinegar
½ t groud cumin
10 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 c. frozen corn
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained
½ c. cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring broth to a boil and stir in cous cous- cover, remove from heat and let stand 5 min

In a small bowl wisk together olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and cumin. In large bowl add onions, peppers, corn, beans and cilantro. Mix well and add dressing- toss to coat. Fluff couscous well and add to the bowl of veggies. Salt and pepper to taste.
Refrigerate until ready, I think it’s better served the next day.
Serves 6-8

Pomegranate, Pear and Avocado Salad

Salad:
2 bunches red leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
2 avocados cut into ½ inch chunks
1 large pomegranate (seeds only)
2 pears, peeled and cut into ½ inch chunks
1 block of Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled (or use asiago, romano or parmesan for milder flavor)
1 bag almond slivers, toasted on low with butter and 1 heaping tsp. of sugar
2 cans mandarin oranges, drained
Dressing:
½ t grated orange peel
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
2 T red wine vinegar
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 T sugar
1 T Good Seasons dry Italian dressing mix

Mix the dressing ingredients and chill before mixing with the salad. Toss immediately before serving.

Harvest Salad

2-3 chicken breasts, grilled or pan fried in 2 TBS. olive oil, sprinkling both sides with basil, oregano, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cut into thin strips or small cubes.

1 head red leaf lettuce, or small bag of fresh spinach (whichever you prefer)
1 c. diced, dried apricots
1 c. craisins or dried berry blend
bleu cheese crumbles (or mozzarella if you prefer it more mild)

Toss salad. Cover with grilled chicken strips. Pour Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette over salad (this brand of dressing is crucial!). Serve while chicken is still warm. A delicious and easy salad for autumn time.

Frog Eye Salad

1/2 (16 ounce) package uncooked orzo pasta (I USED acini di pepe)*
1/4 cup white sugar
1 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (20 ounce) cans crushed pineapple, drained with juice reserved
1 can mandarin orange segments, drained
1 (10 ounce) jar maraschino cherries, drained and chopped (OR USE FRESH)*
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 cup*ish sliced strawberries

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until al dente, rinse under cold water and drain. In a sauce pan, combine the sugar, eggs, flour, salt, pineapple juice and cook over medium heat until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and cool. Toss together the pasta and cooked pineapple juice mixture. Refrigerate overnight (or for a couple of hours)*. Break up chilled pasta with a spoon and mix in pineapple, mandarin oranges, cherries, and strawberries. Fold in thawed whipped topping, chill and serve.

Spinach & Corn Salad

1/4 cup lime juice (fresh)
1 Tbsp. honey
1 jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped
3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp. salt
3 cups frozen whole kernel corn thawed, or 6 ears of fresh corn
1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
3/4 cup seeded, chopped cucumber

In a large bowl whish together lime juice and honey until well combined. Stir in jalapeno pepper, cilantro, and salt. Add corn or carefully cut corn kernels off cobs. Add to lime juice mixture. Stir in spinach, tomato, and cucumber. Serve immediately.
Makes 9 - 2/3 cup servings.

Review - I made this for a BBQ, it is a refreshing side salad, that has quite the kick to it! I used picked jalapeno peppers, since I didn't have a fresh one, and I think I would use less next time. Let the frozen corn sit out for a couple minutes so it's not crunchy. A nice summer salad.

Mother-in-Law's Tangy Pasta Salad

16 oz. farfalle pasta
*Prepare pasta according to directions on box.
1 c. vegetable oil
2/3 c. bottled teriyaki sauce
2/3 c. white vinegar
Small bunch of green onions chopped
6 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
*Combine above ingredients (except pasta) in blender, blend well until smooth. Coat pasta in sauce and marinate in fridge for at least 2 hours (or overnight). After marinating, add:
2. cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 c. honey roasted peanuts or cashews
1 bag fresh spinach leaves
2 small cans mandarin oranges
1 c. dried cranberries (I like to use a mix of dried berries)
1 T. parsley flakes
*Toss until mixed well. Can be served as a main dish, or a side salad.

Chicken and Wild Rice Salad with Golden Raisins

*Must give props to Ron & Carrie Ramirez for this great hit!*

4 to 6 servings

1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. sugar
2/3 cup olive oil or mayonnaise
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 pounds), cooked and cubed or shredded
1 cup wild rice
1 cup coarsely grated peeled carrots
1 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts
1/3 cup golden raisins

Whisk vinegar, garlic, mustard, and sugar in medium bowl. Whisk in oil or mayonnaise. Season vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook wild rice according to package directions. (This should take about 50 minutes.) Rinse cooked rice under cold water and drain well.

Mix carrots, green onions, celery, walnuts, raisins, chicken, rice, and vinaigrette in large bowl. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper as desired. Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Serve at room temperature on bibb lettuce leaves, with pita toasts, or with crackers.