Strawberry Spinach Salad

1/4 cup sugar

1 quart fresh strawberries

1 (10-oz) package fresh baby spinach

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1 recipe honey celery seed dressing (see next recipe)

Lightly sprinkle sugar over strawberries and toss with spinach before serving. Top with toasted almonds and Honey Celery Seed Dressing to taste.

Honey Celery Seed Dressing

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon mustard

1 teaspoon finely grated onion

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

Mix all ingredients together except oil and celery see in a blender. Gradually add oil and celery seed and continue blending. Toss with salad. Refrigerate remaining dressing for later use. Keeps 3 weeks.

*Recipe from The Essential Mormon Cookbook. We had it for dinner tonight, delish!

Italian Bread Salad

4 c. cubed French bread
1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped
3-4 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 c. ham, cubed
8 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, cubes
2-3 green onions, chopped

Dressing:
6 TBS olive oil
3 TBS red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced (I know I didn't use this much)
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Bake bread cubes at 325 for 15 min or until lightly browned (mine took a little longer to get crisp.) Reserve one cup and scatter remaining bread on a serving platter. Top with lettuce, tomato, ham, cheese. Drizzle with dressing and toss. let stand 15 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with remaining bread cubes and green onions. (I didn't follow exactly. Used a bag of romaine, one large tomato, 2 green onions, however much ham I wanted and 8 oz. cheese. I just put it all in a big bowl and mixed the dressing in about 15 minutes before we ate.)

Craisins Salad and dressing

Salad
1 head red leaf lettuce
1 head green leaf lettuce
1 head iceberg lettuce
1 (8oz) package shredded mozzarella cheese
1 (8oz) package shredded Parmesan cheese
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 (8oz) package craisins

Break red and green lettuce into pieces. Shred iceberg lettuce. Toss together with remaining ingredients just before serving. Pass the dressing with the salad, not recommended to toss with dressing.

Salad Dressing
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/2 onion chopped
1 1/2 teas salt
2 teas mustard
1 cup salad oil.

Mix everything BUT the oil in a blender. Add oil and then blend again.

Chicken Salad

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 cups diced, cooked chicken breast meat
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 1/2 cups diced Swiss cheese (I didn't have any, not sure if it's good or not)
1 1/2 cups halved green grapes

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, salt, poultry seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and lemon juice.
In a large bowl, toss together the chicken, celery, green onions, water chestnuts, Swiss cheese, and grapes. Add the mayonnaise mixture, and stir to coat. Chill until serving.
I also added poppy seeds because I like them in chicken salad. I usually make chicken salad with only chicken, mayo, celery, and grapes, but I wanted something different and with a little more taste. This was really good!

Orzo Salad

4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups orzo
1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups red and yellow teardrop tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved (I used grape tomatoes)
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

About 3/4 cup Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe follows
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Pour the broth into a heavy large saucepan. Cover the pan and bring the broth to a boil over high heat. Stir in the orzo. Cover partially and cook until the orzo is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes.

Drain the orzo through a strainer. Transfer the orzo to a large wide bowl and toss until the orzo cools slightly. Set aside to cool completely.

Toss the orzo with the beans, tomatoes, onion, basil, mint, and enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad, to taste, with salt and pepper, and serve at room temperature.

Red Wine Vinaigrette
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Mix the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with more salt and pepper, if desired.

Yield: 1 3/4 cups (Like it says up above, only use about 3/4 cup of this on the salad)
This recipe serves six.