Easy Salad Recipes
These easy salad recipes are simple to prepare and serve. They are also a great use of leftover meat, and an easy way to get adequate servings of healthy vegetables.
Salads aren't just for those who are eating light. Hearty salads are great for lunch and dinner. During the summer we often have a weekly salad night where I prepare our all-time favorites.
Here are my favorite easy salad recipes:
Barbecue Chicken Salad
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Chef Salad
Cobb Salad
Easy Chicken Salad
Southwest Tuna Salad
Layered Taco Salad
7 Layer Salad
Spinach Strawberry Salad
Taco Salad
Are you watching your waist? You can find ways to make these salads healthier on my page of healthy salad recipes.
You can really wow your guests by adding homemade croutons to your salads. Here's a lesson on How to Make Croutons.
Salad Preparation Tips
By taking time to choose fresh vegetables and store them properly, you can turn a good salad into a great one. Here are some tips for preparing salads:
- Use a variety of salad greens such as arugula, Belgian endive, green leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, radicchio, and spinach.
- Purchase fresh, crisp greens that don't have any discolored leaves. Anything brown or slimy is old.
- After purchasing salad greens, remove bruised or yellowing leaves, wash the greens in cool water, and pat them dry so they'll stay fresh. You can also dry your lettuce using a salad spinner.
- Wrap salad greens in a paper towel, place them in a plastic bag and store them in the vegetable drawer of your refrigerator.
- Prepare your salads according to the number of guests you will be serving. Estimate 2-4 cups of greens per person.
- Use food of a variety of colors in your salads in order to make them pleasing to the eye.
- Add salad dressing just before serving so you don't cause your lettuce to wilt. First, make sure the lettuce is dry so the water droplets won't dilute the dressing. Add dressing and toss the salad until all ingredients are coated evenly.
- Consider setting up a salad bar so your family members and guests can choose what they would like. Salad bars are great for children who don't like having their foods mixed together.
Salads are filling, healthy meals every member of your family will enjoy. Best of all, salads don't leave you with dirty pots and pans to clean!
