Busy Mommy Media » Salad Recipes

Quick Cucumber Pickles

Courtney — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 03:24:32 +0000

These pickles make a super fast side dish or condiment to all sorts of dishes, but go particularly well with Asian foods. I like to flavor these with a little fresh ginger and a couple of drops of toasted sesame oil, but they are just as good plain. Toss a handful across some noodles or fried rice or have a pile alongside your next sandwich. No matter what you choose to use these for, they’ll add a refreshingly tangy crunch to your meal.

Quick Cucumber Pickles

Ingredients:
2 English cucumbers
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp minced ginger (optional)
1/8 tsp toasted sesame oil (optional)
pinch of red chili flakes (optional)

Directions:
Slice the cucumbers into 1/8 inch thick rounds (a mandoline is perfect for this if you have one). Combine the sugar and salt in a large bowl and toss the cucumber slices with your hands to coat with the sugar/salt mixture. Add any additional spices or flavoring you wish to use and toss to incorporate. Allow cucumbers to sit for at least 20 minutes and taste for seasoning. If they are too strong you can rinse them a bit, if they aren’t strong enough you can add more salt or sugar.

Notes:
-These should keep for a few days in the fridge, but you will want to check from time to time to make sure they aren’t getting too strong for your taste, assuming they last that long.
-You can scale this up as you so desire, just use a mix of 1 part salt to three parts sugar. If the brine is too concentrated you can dilute it with some water or rinse the pickles to take off some of the excess salt.
-Fresh or dried dill, tarragon and mustard seeds are also good flavorings to try.

Baked Kale Chips

Courtney — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:07:34 +0000

This method of cooking kale is my new favorite. Kale chips made by baking the leaves with a little olive oil and salt results in an almost potato-chip like treat that is genuinely good for you. You can season them with whatever spices you like or keep them simple and plain. There is no easier way to eat green leafy vegetables, or at least no way more genuinely enjoyable (and that’s coming from a true salad lover). Make a batch of these today and you’ll probably make three more before the end of the weekend. Even my dog begs for these chips, and I’m pretty sure I could convince my dad to try one too. These more than make up for the minimal effort involved in making them.
A note on the type of kale–I’ve been having a hard time finding the best variety of kale for these–flat, or lacinato kale. The batch I made for the picture is from a bunch of curly kale. I think the result is a more evenly crunchy one when you can find the flat kale, but the chewiness of the center rib and thicker middle of the leaf in curly kale is actually kind of appealing, though you’ll need to watch it closely to make sure you don’t burn the frilly edges. Whatever kind you’ve got, wash it thoroughly and dry it very well and you’ll do just fine.

Baked Kale Chips

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale
1 Tablespoon olive oil
salt and/or other spices to taste

Directions:
Wash the kale and spin it dry in a salad spinner if you have one, otherwise drain well and finish with paper towels. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If useing curly kale, break off the bottom third or so of the stem where there isn’t much actual leaf. Rip the leaves into large pieces. Toss gently in a large bowl with the olive oil to coat lightly with the olive oil, using your hands to make sure you get all the leaves. Line a cookie sheet with parchment and scatter the leaves in a single layer. Sprinkle lightly with salt and whatever other spice you choose and bake for 10-15 minutes until the leaves are crisp but not brown, keeping a close eye on the pan so that the leaves don’t burn. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before tearing into the chips.

Simple Spinach Salad

Rachel — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:47:36 +0000

This spinach salad is perfect for entertaining or as a light meal. The mushrooms marinate in the dressing to create wonderful flavor and texture. Most of the ingredients to this salad are in the dressing, which can be easily made ahead of time and keeps for several days, making this salad a real time saver.

Spinach Salad Ingredients

Baby Spinach, washed and dried
Swiss Cheese, shredded
Bacon bits

Wash the baby spinach leaves and dry them using a salad spinner or paper towels. If you are using regular spinach leaves in this salad you will want to pull off the thick stems to create a better texture and flavor. Shred the swiss cheese and set aside.

A lot of bagged spinach says that it has been pre-washed. I’d still wash it anyway. A quick wash can get rid of any bacteria or other contaminants that have gotten onto the spinach from any point during the processing and packaging.

Cut bacon up into 1/2 inch pieces and saute in a frying pan until it is crispy. Be sure and cook the bacon long enough that it can stand up to the salad dressing without getting mushy.You can use artificial bacon bits in this – but seriously, why would you. Bacon cooks really quickly if you cut it up first but if you prefer to cook it whole and then crumble it that works just as well.

Spinach Salad Dressing

Sliced mushrooms (I like baby portobello but button mushrooms work fine)
1/2 red onion, sliced
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 t salt
1 T poppy seeds

Slice mushrooms and mix together all of the ingredients for the spinach salad dressing.

Let the dressing sit for at least a few hours before serving.

This dressing tastes just as good, if not better the next day. If you don’t mix it together with all of the spinach leaves on the first day you can easily put together another salad in minutes the next day that is just as fresh as the first one.

Assembling the Spinach Salad

Toss the spinach leaves with the salad dressing about 10 minutes before serving. Top the salad with swiss cheese and bacon.

Variation – To create a more mild onion flavor, the red onion can be chopped and cooked with the bacon.

Blueberry Date Salad

Rachel — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:42:32 +0000

Salad is one of the few foods I never feel guilty about eating and it comes in endless varieties so you can always try new flavors and ingredients. I’ve been fortunate that my kids love salad so it makes an easy, quick, and healthy meal in our home.

This filling salad includes a variety of fruits and vegetables to create a well rounded meal or a tasty appetizer. Including cauliflower in this salad adds some great nutrition and always tricks me into thinking I added more cheese than I actually did so it is a great way to cut down on the fat.

Blueberry Date Salad

Butter or leaf lettuce
Cucumbers
Celery
Cauliflower
Blueberries
Date nuggets
A small handful of mozzarella cheese

Rinse the lettuce and dry well to avoid a soggy salad. I like using a salad spinner but laying the lettuce leaves out on paper towels will work just as well. Slice the cucumbers, celery, and cauliflower into bite sized pieces and toss with the lettuce. Layer the blueberries and date nuggets on top. Date nuggets are small, slightly candied dates that add a delicious sweetness to the salad. Top the salad with a small amount of mozzarella cheese. You can go light on the cheese because the cauliflower does wonders for tricking your brain and the dates and blueberries add enough flavor that you won’t even miss the cheese if you want to leave it out completely.

Balasamic Dijon Salad Dressing

Balsamic vinegar
Olive Oil
Half a fresh lemon, juiced
Dijon Mustard
Greek Seasoning

This is a great salad dressing recipe that I adapted from this one found at 5 Minutes for Mom. The rosemary in the original recipe was a bit strong for my kids so I left out the fresh herbs and now they honestly lick the dressing from the bowl when they are done.

Fill a small container (I like to use the small container with the screw on lid from my Magic Bullet set, which is well used in my kitchen) with 2 parts olive oil and 1 part balsamic vinegar. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon into the mix, shake in some Greek seasoning to taste (I just used the stuff I found in my grocery store), and squirt in about 1 T of dijon mustard. Put the lid on your container and shake it until the dressing is mixed.

Note – Do NOT mix this with a blender. I figured that since I was already using my Magic Bullet container I might as well mix the whole thing up with the blender base. I ended up with some kind of weird mustard sauce.