Category: Salad

Copycat Olive Garden Salad

12/27/2015

Who doesn't like Olive Garden's salad? Raise your hand........................ Right. Nobody. EVERYBODY loves Olive Garden's salad, including me! As I was making the dressing for this, my son came in and said, "If you can figure out the Olive Garden salad, you'll be my hero!" And of course we always want to be a hero to our kids, right? So TWO reasons to make this recipe!

INGREDIENTS

Salad:
1 head of iceberg lettuce washed and chopped
1/2 cup radicchio washed and shredded
sliced red onion (use as much as you prefer)
3-4 pepperoncini (mild) (didn't use since we always take them out)
1 medium tomato washed and sliced
1/2 cup shredded carrots
black olives
croutons
grated or fresh shredded parmesan cheese if desired
Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons light Hellman's mayo (I used Hellman's Olive Oil mayo)
2 1/2 tablespoons grated pecorino romano cheese (or parmesan)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt (I used 1/2 tsp garlic powder + 1/2 tsp salt instead)
1 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper

For the dressing, combine all the ingredients together in a jar and shake well to combine. I made mine a couple of hours ahead so it would have time for the flavors to meld.

Combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl, non-lettuce veggies on top. We didn't add the croutons - my husband put them separately on his salad so that the main bowl was gluten free. Pour on dressing and mix gently.

RP Servings: Salad, make to desired amount - it doesn't keep once dressed. The dressing is about 6 -8 individual servings, or 2 big bowls of salad.

RATING: 4 stars
If you like the Olive Garden salad, you will DEFINITELY like this! It's almost identical (my "black" olives were smaller than those in the real salad and not as black). We loved it!

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Buffalo Shrimp Salad

11/27/2015

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We're pretty big fans of Carolina Ale House. As with most sports bars, the staple is wings, but sometimes you just want some vegetables. For times like those, it's the Buffalo Shrimp Salad. When I saw this recipe on pinterest, I thought it looked really similar, so I made it and hoped for the best!

Ingredients:

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup buffalo sauce
salad greens
½ medium red onion, sliced
1 medium cucumber, sliced
1 medium tomato, sliced
blue cheese or feta cheese, optional
ranch, optional

Peel your shrimp and pat dry with a paper towel.

Drizzle olive oil into medium skillet and add butter over medium-low heat. Once butter has melted, add in shrimp and garlic.

Cook, stirring often, until the shrimp have turned pink, about 3-5 minutes.

Add in buffalo sauce and cook another 1-2 minutes until thickened. Remove skillet from heat and set aside.

Place salad greens on each plate, topped with onion, cucumber, and tomatoes.

Spoon on shrimp, extra buffalo sauce if desired, and blue cheese/feta cheese. You can also add a bit of ranch dressing.

RP Servings: 2
Stars: 4 stars. This tasted pretty much exactly like the one from Carolina Ale House, and was much, much cheaper! This is definitely going into the dinner rotation!

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Apple Cider Vinaigrette

11/16/2015

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Yesterday we posted the terribly-but-accurately named "Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad," so today we're posting it's friend, the Apple Cider Vinaigrette!

Ingredients:

1 cup apple juice
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar in a pinch)
2 tablespoons honey
scant ½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup oil

Whisk together all dressing ingredients. Toss with salad immediately before serving.

RP Servings: I halved it, and it was still probably 6-8 servings.
Stars: This gets 3 stars. I had to tweak it by adding more apple cider vinegar and salt, and it still wasn't quite what I was hoping for it to be. Don't get me wrong- it was good, and I would definitely make it again, it just wasn't the greatest.

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Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad

11/15/2015

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I've recently discovered the joys of sweet and fruity salads. It's not that I didn't like them before, it's just that I had never really tried them. That streak is now broken, hallelujah and pass the dried cranberries. Though it's a straight up terrible name, I'm excited for this Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad. Plus, stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow when I make the dressing!

Ingredients:

6 cups salad (I used a combination of arugula and baby spinach, any spring green mix will do)
1 red apple
1 green apple
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (such as Diamond of California)
⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
⅓ cup dried cranberries

Core and chop apples into thin slices. Toss lettuce, apples, walnuts, feta, and cranberries together in a large bowl.

RP Servings: I cut it down to 2 servings, but the original would probably serve 4.
Stars: 4 stars. Not that it's surprising- these are pretty classic sweet-salad ingredients, but there's a reason for that. It tastes really good, and it somehow seems like you put a lot more work into it than you did. It's a great side dish for dinner or for parties/potlucks.

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Balsamic Green bean salad

9/19/2015

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I'm always, always looking for more good, healthy side dishes. Healthy being the key word there- if I didn't mind frying everything and then putting 10lbs of butter/cheese on top of it, Pinterest would have lots of recommendations for me. As it is, I get really excited when I see new sides I haven't tried before- like this balsamic green bean, tomato, and feta salad.

2 pounds fresh green beans, ends trimmed if desired
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 2-3 lemons)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 ounces feta cheese
6-8 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

*Note- I omitted the bacon. Remember, I was going for healthy here.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Cook green beans until tender, 5-10 minutes. While they cook, prepare a large bowl with an ice water bath. Immediately drain the beans into a colander (or scoop them out with a slotted spoon) and place the drained beans in the ice water for a few minutes to stop the cooking. This will keep them bright green and tender.

Drain the beans and pat them dry. Toss them in a bowl with the halved tomatoes.

To make the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Pour the mixture over the green beans and toss to coat. Cover the bowl and chill for at least an hour or up to 3 hours before ready to serve.

*Note 2- I didn't let it chill at all. I apparently didn't read the recipe completely through, and made it during dinner.

Stir in the feta cheese and bacon right before serving. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

RP Servings: 6
Stars: 4 stars! This is a winner. My two adjustments, the no bacon and not letting it chill in the fridge for 3 hours, ended up being completely fine. I think the bacon actually would have been a bit distracting, and while I don't know how it would have been chilled, it was great fresh. I'll definitely make this one again.

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Copycat Olive Garden Salad

Buffalo Shrimp Salad

Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad

Balsamic Green bean salad

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