You can’t beat a really good summer salad recipe and these are some of my favorites. Side dishes, entrees and potluck dishes – there’s a little bit of everything. As I see it, there are only a few options for summertime cooking when the temperature rises. Grilling, slow cooker meals and salads. Lots and lots…
20 Healthy Summer Barbecue Salad Recipes
Whether you like pasta or quinoa salads, or lean more to slaw and green salads, there’s something here for everyone! These are 20 of my favorite healthy summer barbecue side dishes. With all of the holiday and “just because” get-togethers that happen in the summertime, you’re bound to be asked to bring a side dish…
Spinach Salad Recipe with Chicken, Orange & Avocado
I remember the days when weeknights meant sitting down to dinner altogether, playing a game, and then trundling the boys off to bed. Now that they are getting older, our two boys are involved in more activities. Juggling evening soccer and basketball practices with increased homework loads means that evenings are far less relaxed than…
Mushroom, Caramelized Onion & Cannellini Bean Salad Recipe
The holidays are always a time of abundance. Abundance of food, family, presents, and parties make the season a whole lot of fun, but often leave me in need of a good long rest. One of the downsides of all of the revelry is the accumulation of extra pounds that settles around my midriff, which…
Potato Salad with Gorgonzola, Sage & Red Chiles Recipe
Sage and Gorgonzola cheese. It is a combination that continuously wafts into my subconscious kitchen. I have no idea what Freud would have to say about that, but I am certain it would not be good. It all started with Sage and Gorgonzola Gougères (Cheese Puffs). The pungent cheese was tempered by slivers of fresh…
Pesto Potato, Tomato & Fresh Mozzarella Salad Recipe
When you have a marathoner in the family (um…not me), you have to plan to include some sort of carbs into each meal. Five mornings each week, my husband heads out to run anywhere from 7 to 21 miles and, on the other two days, he does strengthening workouts. The man burns some serious calories….
Grilled Pattypan (or Summer) Squash, Tomato & Feta Cheese Salad Recipe
As June turns to July, one of the first stops I make is a little farm stand about 15 minutes from our house. It is run by a family that believes that garden fresh vegetables do not require chemical sprays to flourish and nourish. As strange as it sounds, finding a live grub or two…
Chicken BLT (or Bacon, Spinach & Tomato) Pasta Salad Recipe
When I think of New York City, images of kamikaze taxi drivers and business women running for the subway in their sneakers may come to mind. However, while New Yorkers like to work and play hard, they also seek out moments of relative quiet in the bustling city. When my husband and I lived in…
Wild Mushroom & Cornbread Panzanella Salad Recipe
Over the past several years, I have managed to get myself black-listed from several parties. This is not because I dance on the tables, consume all of the top-shelf tequila, or hog the karaoke microphone (okay, maybe I have sung Total Eclipse of the Heart one too many times). Rather, it is because I am…
Crispy Parmesan Cheese & Rosemary Cups Recipe with Spinach & Strawberry Salad
When it comes to browned cheese, it is a punishable offense to wash any dish before every morsel of the toasty bits have been peeled off and savored. Each New Year’s Eve, we get together with our dear friends to ring in the coming year. The traditionalists in the group (I am admittedly one of…
Spicy Asian Slaw Recipe with Napa Cabbage, Carrots & Ginger Dressing
Steer clear of the cole slaw! That has always been my motto at summer barbecues. There is something about limp cabbage salads drenched in sun-warmed mayonnaise and permeated with the harsh taste of raw onions that makes me lose my appetite. However, when I made a Teriyaki Flank Steak Sandwich with Napa Cabbage, Red Peppers…
Shrimp Salad with Red Pepper, Avocado & Dill Recipe
Everything was going along swimmingly. After making a light shrimp salad with a touch of mayonnaise, red pepper, avocado, and dill, I packed it into a small bowl and unmolded it onto a salad plate lined with romaine lettuce leaves. As I was preparing the plate for its photo shoot, I laid it on the…
Thai Cucumber Salad Recipe
As I mentioned in my previous post, I am in Vancouver for my 20th high school reunion. We are staying with my dear friend, J., and her family. J. and I have been friends since we were nine, which means there aren’t a lot of things that we don’t know about each other. We shared…
Grilled Flank Steak Salad with Chimichurri Dressing Recipe
Chimichurri. This Argentinean sauce, made with chopped parsley, minced garlic, red or white wine vinegar, red pepper flakes, and olive oil, is traditionally served with grilled meats and is a must-have in any cook’s arsenal. Quite honestly, I’d be happy to drown my ice cream in it. When I first tasted this fresh, spicy sauce,…
Grilled Summer Vegetable Salad Recipe
The fresh flavors of grilled summer squash, zucchini and eggplant make a fantastic salad when mixed with feta cheese and a light vinaigrette. My crookneck squash was begging to have its pictures taken. Who am I to deny a squash its 15 minutes of fame? It’s a miracle that we even have vegetables to harvest…
Mint-Basil Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe with Tomatoes, Asparagus & Feta Cheese
Okay, so I cheated. I’m not ashamed to admit that I enjoy the flavor and ease of the grocery store rotisserie chicken. Really, you can’t beat the convenience. The vinaigrette melds beautifully with the fresh mint and basil, and the flavorful veggies. To make the vinaigrette, combine 1/4 cup red wine vinegar… 2 tablespoons fresh…
Potato Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
What says summertime picnic more than a big bowl of potato salad? My husband is not of fan of mayo-laden, hard-boiled egg-filled potato salads. If you had to pick one of us to stay away from mayo-laden anything, it would not be him. He runs as though someone’s chasing him (because he’s a marathoner, not…
Pan-Fried Risotto Cakes Recipe
Do you have any leftover risotto from last night’s dinner? These little gems can be eaten as a main dish or on top of a salad, or make bite-sized versions for an original hors d’oeuvre. I always make extra risotto just so I can make these for lunch the next day Yes, I am always…
Greek Shrimp Orzo
With a little citrus dressing, sweet shrimp, and tangy feta, this orzo salad is a wonderful spring or summer meal. Combine 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (none of that pre-squeezed stuff in the little plastic lemon – it’s a PLASTIC lemon, people – that should be our first clue about the taste, right?) and…
