Grape, Blue Cheese & Candied Pecan Salad

Grape, Blue Cheese & Candied Pecan Salad

Ingredients:
1 Bag Baby Spring
Mix Greens
1 Bunch Red or Black Grapes
1/2 cp Crumbled Blue cheese
1/2 cp Candied Pecans or Walnuts
Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Directions:
Mix greens, vinaigrette and grapes in a bowl. Place in salad bowl or plate. Sprinkle walnuts and blue cheese on top and serve.

Ensalada de Nochebuena (Mexican Christmas Salad)

Traditionally served on Christmas Eve with tamales, beans, & rice.



Ingredients:
2 medium-sized Limes
1 cup of Mayonnaise
3 tablespoons of Sugar
2 tablespoons of Milk
1 small head of Iceberg or Romaine lettuce, thinly sliced
1 medium sized Pineapple, sliced or 1 (20 oz.) can sliced Pineapple, drained
3 medium-sized Oranges, peeled & thinly sliced
3 small Bananas, peeled & sliced
2 small Red Delicious apples, cored & cut into thin wedges
¼ pound Jicama or additional Red Apple
1 16 ounce can of sliced Beets, drained
¼ cup Pomegranate seeds
½ cup of Peanuts

Prepare dressing: Grate 1 tablespoon peel and squeeze ¼ cup juice from limes. In small bowl, mix lime juice, 2 teaspoons lime peel, mayonnaise, sugar and milk. Sprinkle remaining peel on top of dressing. Place bowl with dressing on large platter. Line platter with sliced lettuce. On lettuce, arrange in separate piles of pineapple, oranges, bananas, apples and beets. Sprinkle peanuts over fruit. Serve salad with dressing.

Steak and Mango Salad

Now here's a super tasty salad that will please a man and a woman and will satisfy those pretending to be on a diet! Recipe courtesy of Our Best Bites.


Ingredients
1 lb flank steak
1 head romaine or red leaf lettuce
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 mangoes, sliced
1 or 2 avocados, sliced
1/2 cp chopped cilantro
1/2 cp carmelized macadamia nuts

Dressing & Marinade
1/2 cp fresh squeezed orange juice
6 tsp fresh lime juice
6 tsp soy sauce
1/2 cp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cp olive oil
1/2 cp canola oil

Directions:
In a bowl, whisk together the orange juice, lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic. Whisk until sugar is dissolved. Continue whisking while slowly drizzling in the oils until combined. Reserve about 3/4 C* and place the rest of the mixture in a zip-lock bag.

Lightly score the flank steak in a diagonal pattern on both sides. Place steak in the zip-lock bag with marinade and leave in fridge for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

Remove steak from fridge about 30 minutes prior to cooking and leave at room temperature. You'll want to let the dressing portion to sit at room temp during this time as well. Heat outdoor grill to med-high heat. If an outdoor grill is not available, use the broiler, or an indoor grill pan. Remove steak from bag and let any excess marinade drip off. Sprinkle steak lightly with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5-8 minutes on each side or until done. In order to stay tender, flank steak should still be pink in the middle, but nicely seared on the outside. When done, remove from grill and wait at least 5 minutes before cutting to let the juices redistribute. Then slice into thin slices.

Now comes the assembly. Divide lettuce onto plates and top with slices of mango, avocado, and red onion. I purposely chose these toppings not only for the perfect blend of flavors and textures, but for the gorgeous color combination- we eat with our eyes first!

Add steak slices and drizzle with dressing. Sprinkle macadamia nuts and cilantro on top.

Makes 4-6 large dinner salads or 6-8 smaller side salads

Darlene's Tips:
Let steak sit for 5 minutes after cooking with out slicing so juices settle in.

Substitute macadamia nuts with pecans, walnuts or almonds

Carmelize nuts with a mixture of brown sugar and butter heated on stove-top until liquified.

Add or substitute chicken or prawns


¡Buen Provecho!

Jicama, Shrimp & Apricot Salad

There's always a lot going on in June between graduations, weddings and Father's Day. It's a great time to invite family and friends over for a BBQ and try out our Chipotle BBQ sauce and jicama salad recipes.

INGREDIENTS
• 1 lb large cooked shrimp
• 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 lb jicama, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick matchsticks
• 3/4 lb firm-ripe apricots (4 large), cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds



DIRECTIONS
Whisk together vinegar, garlic, ginger, and oil, then add shrimp and remaining ingredients and toss to combine well. Season salad with salt and pepper.

Tomato & Sweet Corn Salad

Before the cold weather returns take advantage of the weather and invite your family and friends over for a BBQ. I just served this tomato & sweet corn salad with a menu of barbequed tri-tip, garlic butter prawns, twice-baked potatoes, and spinach salad ending with chocolate-dipped strawberries. Mmm Mmm makes me hungry just thinking about it again!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese (small balls called bocconcini or perlini work best)1/3 cup
• basil-flavored olive oil or extra virgin olive oil or use a vinagerette dressing
• 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• 10 to 12 ears of sweet corn, husked and silk removed
• 2 to 3 baskets of cherry or grape tomatoes
• Fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

Directions:
In a large pot, partially filled with water, bring water to a rolling boil. Add the corn kernels to the boiling water. Bring water back up to a boil; immediately remove from heat and drain corn in a colander in your sink. Run cold water over the corn in the colander to stop the cooking process; drain the corn thoroughly.

Scrape the corn kernels from the ears of corn by using a sharp kitchen knife and a large cutting board. Cut off the stem end to give a flat base. Hold the ear, tip end up, then cut downward, removing a few rows at a time.

In a large bowl, gently combine corn kernels, tomatoes, mozzarella with marinade, and basil. Adjust seasonings to taste. Refrigerate the salad until approximately ½ hour before serving.

To serve as a first course for your dinner party, spoon salad into wine glasses.
Makes approximately 10 to 12 servings.