Memphis Style Coleslaw

1 cup Duke's mayonnaise
2 Tbsp stone ground mustard

2 Tbsp vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
3/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp finely grated onion or 1 teaspoon onion powder
2 tsp celery seeds
16 oz of shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix

Mix all ingredients except cabbage in a large bowl until well combined. Add cabbage and toss to coat well. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour to over night. Toss again before serving to redistribute dressing.

My favorite potato salad

A dilly, not sweet, mustard potato salad that I could eat everyday. If you like a more firm potato bite, use yellow potatoes as the russet makes more of a very chunky mashed potato (which is how I like it)

3 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size cubes. Cover with water and boil for 10 min or until fork tender. Drain and set aside to cool.
Mix in a large bowl:
3-6 hard boiled eggs, chopped.
2 stalks celery, diced
1/4-1/2 cup dill relish
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
Add cooled potatoes and Dressing, mix well. Refrigerate overnight if possible for best flavor.

Dressing:
1 cup Duke's mayonnaise (Duke's is a must or it will probably have added sugar)
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/4 cup stone ground mustard
2 tsp vinegar
1/2 tsp celery seeds
salt and pepper to taste

Chicken BLT Wedge Salad

This recipe was an instant hit at my house. Talk about yummy. I served this with cut up pita bread to round out the meal. To make it super simple use prepared bleu cheese dressing.

• 1 cup buttermilk, divided
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup panko 
• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1 tsp dried dill
• 1 tsp dried chives
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 medium head iceberg lettuce, cored and cut into 6 wedges
• 2 cups chopped plum tomato
• 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese (1/2 cup)
• 3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. 2. Combine 1/2 cup buttermilk and egg white in a shallow dish. Place panko in a shallow dish. Dip chicken in egg white mixture; dredge in panko. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt.
3. 3. Heat an ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add chicken. Cook 4 minutes; turn over. Bake at 425° for 14 minutes or until done. Let chicken stand 10 minutes; slice crosswise.
4. 4. Combine 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, mayonnaise, dill, chives, and vinegar. Place garlic on a cutting board; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt. Chop until a paste forms, scraping with the flat side of knife to mash. Add garlic to dressing.
5. 5. Place 1 lettuce wedge on each of 6 plates. Top each serving with chicken, 1/3 cup tomato, and 2 1/2 tablespoons dressing. Sprinkle with cheese and crumbled bacon.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

My husband recently requested chicken salad sandwiches for a lunch at the lake. I haven't made chicken salad before because I don't like a lot of the fillers that people put in them. I found a simple recipe which I modified to be healthier and everyone LOVED it, including me! To make it healthier, omit mayo and use 3/4 cup yogurt. Also the bread makes a big difference in how healthy these are. My husband likes it on a croissant but I like it on a hearty bread. One last thing, you will need more or less ingredients depending on the size of your chicken. I used a pretty small chicken so adjust accordingly.

Ingredients:
1 whole cooked rotisserie chicken
1/4 cup mayo
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1 cup small-diced celery (about 2 stalks)
1 1/2 Tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves
   or 1 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Bread of choice
Green Salad

Directions:
Remove meat from chicken and shred or chop into bite-sized pieces. Place the chicken in a bowl and add the mayo, yogurt, tarragon, celery, salt and pepper. Toss well.

Spread chicken mixture on bread. Top with salad leaves and enjoy!

Corn and Tortellini Toss

Two of my favorite things are in full harvest in my yard right now – tomatoes and basil. I love Caprese salad, and could eat that every day, but I wanted to try something new. I found this recipe on the internet. Since it is currently 100 degrees here, something hot did not sound good. I made my own cold version and shared it with the family. It was a big hit!

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated cheese and roasted garlic tortellini
2 tablespoons butter
¼ c. chopped red onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 c. fresh corn kernels
¼ c. chopped fresh basil
12 cherry or grape tomatoes, cut into halves
4 tablespoons crumbled ricotta or grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (I used Parmigiano Reggiano)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Reserving ½ cup pasta cooking water.

(After the pasta was thoroughly cooked, I put it in the fridge to chill for a couple of hours.)

2. Melt butter in large skillet. Add onion and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add corn; cook 5 minutes or until tender. Add basil, cooked pasta and reserved pasta water to skillet. Cook until thoroughly heated. Top with tomato halves and cheese.

(Instead of this step, I mixed everything together in a large bowl, adding olive oil as needed.

The recipe says that it serves 4. But my “cold” version was easily 6-8 servings.

Greek Salad

Since the weather is finally getting warmer, I had a serious desire for a taste of summer and made this for dinner. I love this salad and since it has no lettuce it lasts forever in the fridge (though it doesn't need to because it is so good). I used grape tomatoes to cut down on the chopping and simply diced the cucumber and onions to make it easy. Next time I am going to double this so I can have more leftovers. I also love kalamata olives because they are fairly mild. If you want to use black olives instead, feel free but it won't be as authentic.

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1½ tablespoons lemon juice

1 clove garlic—minced

½ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and extra for garnish

3 tomatoes—cut into wedges

¼ red onion—sliced into rings

½ cucumber—sliced into thick half-moons

½ green pepper (capsicum)—chopped

4 oz (120g) feta cheese—cut into small cubes

16 kalamata olives

PLACE the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano in a small jar with a screw-top lid and shake to combine. PLACE the salad ingredients in a large bowl. POUR the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine just before serving. GARNISH the Greek salad with a little freshly ground black pepper.

Italian Salad Dressing

I ran out of Italian dressing and I needed it to make dinner. So what did I do? I made my own of course. This was so easy that I might not ever buy Italian dressing again! If you want to substitute olive oil in you can, but it will taste heavier. This makes a lot, so feel free to pare it down.

Recipe Yield 0.5 cup dry mix

 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 tablespoon salt

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix together the garlic salt, onion powder, sugar, oregano, pepper, thyme, basil, parsley, celery salt and regular salt. Store in a tightly sealed container.
2. To prepare dressing, whisk together 1/4 white vinegar, 2/3 cup canola oil, 2 tablespoons water and 2 tablespoons of the dry mix.

Tabbouleh

This is a great summer recipe, but I just gave a presentation about the foods of the Middle East where I used this so I am posting it now instead. You can find bulgur in the natural foods section or the bulk foods section of most grocery stores. If you want to substitute cooked quinoa that works well too. You must use fresh parsley as it creates most of the green bulk for the salad. A 28 oz can of diced tomatoes drained and rinsed can be used in the winter. DO NOT skimp on the olive oil. It is heart healthy and adding less with give you a dry salad. This can be served as a side or eaten as a sandwich in a pita pocket. It also works well in a falafel. I doubled this recipe for my presentation and it made a ridiculous amount that I will half it when I make it again.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups vegetable stock (for vegetarian option), chicken stock or water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups bulgur wheat
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Zest and juice from 2 lemons
• 5-6 Roma or plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 Red onion, chopped
• 1 Cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 2-3 cups parsley, chopped
• 1 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

Directions

1 Place the bulgur in a medium sized bowl. Bring the stock or water and the teaspoon of salt to a boil, pour it over the bulgur. Let sit for 30 minutes to an hour.

2 In a large bowl, add the olive oil, lemon juice, bulgur and mix well. Add in all the other ingredients and mix to combine.

3 Taste the tabbouleh, and add more salt, olive oil or more lemon juice to taste. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes before serving. Will keep chilled for several days.

Avocado Aioli (Dressing, Sauce)

The traditional aioli recipe is similar to mayo, so somewhat high in fat. A couple of weeks ago, I saw a TV segment (sorry, I can't remember which show) making a few recipes from The Biggest Loser ranch. This Avocado Aioli was used on shrimp tacos, if I remember correctly, but it was designed to be a salad dressing. I have used it as a salad dressing, on chicken, on fish, and as a spread on sandwiches. It is great with any of those things!

1 avocado

1/3 c. plain Greek style yogurt

1 T. basil

2 t. garlic

1 t. lemon juice

1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper (I used fresh ground pepper)

The original recipe just says to combine everything in a food processor until smooth. I've made it a couple of times now, and have experimented with the order that I added the ingredients. I found that it mixed a little bit better when I did the avocado and lemon juice first, then added the basil, garlic, salt and pepper, and then added the yogurt last.

The recipe directions also suggest that you put the dressing in a condiment bottle and keep it in the fridge so it's quick to grab and squirt on salads, etc. Since we're at the beginning of BBQ and picnic season, I was able to find a condiment bottle pretty cheap. It's working very well to have it that available.

Super Summer Salad

This salad was my pot luck contribution at Alice & Claire's birthday party last Saturday. It seemed to be a hit, and I had a couple of people ask for the recipe. It's perfect this time of year with ingredients from the garden (or from the farmer's market)! I saw it in the American Profile magazine. I LOVE Caprese salad, and it sounded very similar, so I had to try it!

Ingredients

6 medium tomatoes (1 1/2 pounds), seeded and diced
1 English cucumber, seeded and diced (do not peel)

1 cup diced red onions

2 (7-ounce) fresh mozzarella balls, cut into ½ -inch cubes (I actually used the medallions, and cut them into fourths)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

½ cup chopped basil

½ cup chopped parsley

1 tablespoon dried Fines Herbes, or 2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves and ½ teaspoon dried tarragon leaves

1 cup Italian salad dressing

1/2 teaspoon salt

Coarsely ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Combine tomatoes, cucumber, onions, mozzarella, garlic, basil, parsley, Fines Herbes, and salad dressing in a large bowl; toss well.

2. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours, or until well chilled. Add salt and pepper before serving.

Serves 12.

Tips From The Test Kitchen: It’s important to seed the tomatoes and cucumber so they won’t water down the flavors of the other ingredients. To seed tomatoes easily, cut in half crosswise and remove the seeds. Squeeze the tomatoes over a bowl to release seeds and juices. To seed a cucumber, cut in half lengthwise and run the tip of a teaspoon down the center.

(I didn't completely seed the tomatoes and cucumber due to time constraints. I had to drain the salad due to all of the liquid settling at the bottom.)