A bed of lettuce layered with colorful veggies, black beans, and cilantro, topped with tangy homemade dressing!
Yield: 

4 servings
Ingredients: 

Dressing Ingredients:

3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar*
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash pepper

Salad and Toppings:

Approximately 4 cups lettuce of your choice, freshly washed and torn
1 cup chopped multi-colored bell peppers (green, red, yellow, and/or orange)
1 cup cooked or grilled chicken, cubed
1 cup cooked black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup sliced green onion tops
2 avocados, diced
a handful of chopped fresh cilantro Instructions: 

1.
Start by combining dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisking
with a fork or small whisk. Set aside for flavors to combine.

2. Prepare lettuce and toppings by washing, chopping, etc. as specified in the ingredient list.

3. Layer salad starting with the lettuce. Sprinkle colored peppers, chicken, black beans, green onions, avocado, and cilantro.

4. Drizzle dressing on top and enjoy!

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A
sliced grilled chicken breast on top of lettuce tossed with apple
pieces, candied walnuts, bleu cheese and a light Dijon vinaigrette
dressing
Yield: 

2 large servings
Ingredients: 

2 small-medium (or 1 huge) heads of Romaine lettuce, washed and chopped bite-size*
1/2 cup thinly sliced and halved red onion, optional
2 red apples, washed, cored, and thinly sliced/diced**
1/4 cup crumbled bleu cheese***
1 cup Maple Glazed Walnuts (or glazed walnuts of your choice)
1/2 cup of Honey Mustard Vinaigrette or your favorite vinaigrette salad dressing
2 medium grilled chicken breasts, thinly sliced**** Instructions: 

1.
In a large mixing bowl, toss together the lettuce, onion, apples,
walnuts, and bleu cheese (reserve a few apple slices and bits of cheese
for garnish), along with enough dressing to lightly coat. Don’t use too
much dressing, as this salad is very flavorful already!

2. Spoon tossed salad onto a large serving plate. Place the sliced
chicken breast on top and sprinkle with reserved bleu cheese to garnish
(if desired) and garnish edges with apple slices.

Enjoy your delicious salad and feel great that you made it yourself! 😀

Additional Notes: 

*About 8-10 cups chopped greens total. Feel free to use other lettuces for part of the lettuce, or even some baby spinach!

**I used Fuji; I think any sweet crisp red/pink apple would be great!

***If you don’t care for bleu cheese, you could substitute feta or an even milder white crumbled cheese.

****The chicken can be still warm OR be leftover grilled chicken. I
like to have Joshua grill some extra chicken and then use the leftovers
for a meal like this. I’m sure any cooked chicken meat would suffice but
grilled chicken breast is the BEST! 🙂

This salad (1 serving) costs over $10 at Red Robin — plus tax and a tip! Making it at home is easy and fun… and affordable! 🙂

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A mildly sweet homemade vinegar and oil salad dressing with celery seed and other seasonings
Yield: 

12 servings (approx.)
Ingredients: 

1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup water*
1 heaping tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon onion salt
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/8 cup olive or vegetable oil
1/8 teaspoon celery seed
Instructions: 

1.
Combine all ingredients and shake or stir until sugar is dissolved. I
like to use a container with a tight-fitting lid, and shake the
dressing.

2. To serve, place clean lettuce in a large bowl (to allow room for
stirring) and pour desired amount of dressing over lettuce. Stir to
coat.

You can also put this dressing on individual serving bowls of lettuce, but since the dressing is fairly runny and mild we like to have it all stirred together. 🙂

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A
flavorful medley of kidney beans, black beans, green beans and
artichokes seasoned with rosemary and lightly sweetened with maple syrup
Yield: 

8 servings
Ingredients: 

1 can (15 ounces) cut green beans, drained (OR 1 1/2 cups cut cooked green beans from fresh or frozen)
1 can (15 ounces) dark red kidney beans, drained (or 1 1/2 cups cooked dark red kidney beans)
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, partially drained
1 can (15 ounces) marinated artichoke hearts, drained and cut into bite-size chunks (about 1 cup)
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic (or 1 clove freshly minced garlic)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions: 

1.
In large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and toss to coat.
Refrigerate for 4-6 hours to allow flavors to combine. Serve bean salad
cold or at room temperature.

Bean salad will keep in the fridge for up to a week.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A creamy homemade honey mustard dressing — sweet and tangy!
Yield: 

About 1 1/2 cups of dressing
Ingredients: 

1/2 cup olive oil or flax seed oil
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup prepared mustard (Dijon or other*)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
dash of black pepper
Instructions: 

1.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well-mixed. Or, place
ingredients into dressing bottle/jar, seal with tight-fitting lid, and
shake to combine. A glass pint jar with a screw-on lid works well for
this recipe!

2. Serve with your favorite lettuce greens, or use as a dipping sauce for chicken.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

Fresh
spinach leaves tossed with orzo pasta, fresh tomatoes, red onion,
olives, feta cheese, and a light homemade vinaigrette dressing for a
colorful and flavorful side salad or lunch!
Yield: 

8 servings or 12 side servings
Ingredients: 

Salad Ingredients:

8 ounces dry orzo pasta
8 or 9 ounces fresh baby spinach
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced (or half a large one)
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
1 cup (or a 6-oz. jar) pitted Kalamata olives, quartered or halved
1 1/2 cups feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup of your favorite vinaigrette dressing OR use the recipe below

Vinaigrette Ingredients:

3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 tespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional but tasty)
1/3 cup olive oil

Instructions: 

1. Cook the orzo according to package instructions for al dente. Drain and rinse pasta under cold water to cool. Set aside.

2. Make vinaigrette by combining all vinaigrette ingredients in a
blender or jar with tight-sealing lid and blend or shake until dressing
is mixed well.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the drained/cooled orzo, spinach,
onion, tomatoes, olives, and feta. Stir dressing into salad to coat
well. Stir more than you think you need to…it will help “wilt” the
spinach a bit.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

This salad will keep for a couple days in the fridge, but is best consumed with 24 hours.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A
sliced grilled chicken breast on top of lettuce tossed with apple
pieces, candied walnuts, bleu cheese and a light Dijon vinaigrette
dressing
Yield: 

2 large servings
Ingredients: 

2 small-medium (or 1 huge) heads of Romaine lettuce, washed and chopped bite-size*
1/2 cup thinly sliced and halved red onion, optional
2 red apples, washed, cored, and thinly sliced/diced**
1/4 cup crumbled bleu cheese***
1 cup Maple Glazed Walnuts (or glazed walnuts of your choice)
1/2 cup of Honey Mustard Vinaigrette or your favorite vinaigrette salad dressing
2 medium grilled chicken breasts, thinly sliced**** Instructions: 

1.
In a large mixing bowl, toss together the lettuce, onion, apples,
walnuts, and bleu cheese (reserve a few apple slices and bits of cheese
for garnish), along with enough dressing to lightly coat. Don’t use too
much dressing, as this salad is very flavorful already!

2. Spoon tossed salad onto a large serving plate. Place the sliced
chicken breast on top and sprinkle with reserved bleu cheese to garnish
(if desired) and garnish edges with apple slices.

Enjoy your delicious salad and feel great that you made it yourself! 😀

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A
colorful crunchy salad of cauliflower and broccoli florets, onion, and
carrots tossed in a sweet poppy seed vinaigrette dressing
Yield: 

8-12 servings
Ingredients: 

1 head of cauliflower (about 2 pounds)
1-2 bunches of broccoli (about 1 pound total before trimming)
3 ribs celery, sliced (about 3/4 cup sliced)
1/2 red onion (or onion of your choice), sliced or chopped (about 3/4 cup sliced)
2 carrots, washed and thinly sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped (optional)

Dressing Ingredients:

1/2 cup pure maple syrup*
2 teaspoons dry mustard powder**
1/2 cup light olive oil or oil of your choice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Instructions: 

1.
Wash cauliflower, remove stem and solid “heart” and cut into bite-size
florets. You should end with about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds of florets
after trimming (or around 8 cups of florets).

2. Wash broccoli and cut into bite-size florets, ending with about 3/4 pound of florets (about 5-6 cups).

3. Place the cauliflower and broccoli florets, celery, onion, carrots, and pepper (if using) in a large bowl.

4. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the dressing ingredients and mix. Pour over veggies and toss to combine and coat.

Chill salad for a few hours or overnight in the fridge before serving.

This salad keeps in the fridge well for several days. If using red onions, this salad is most attractive within about 24 hours of being made, as the onions will “bleed” and lose their color after a while.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

Fresh baby spinach leaves and sliced strawberries tossed with red onion and feta cheese in a light vinaigrette dressing
Yield: 

8 servings
Ingredients: 

Salad Ingredients:

8-9 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
1/2 cup quartered and thinly sliced red onion
1 pound fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced (about 3 cups of sliced strawberries)
1 cup (about 4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1 cup Maple Glazed Walnuts, optional (but delicious!)

Dressing Ingredients:

Juice and zest of 1 lemon (about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of zest and about 1/4 cup juice)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt
dash black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
Instructions: 

1. Place spinach and red onion in large mixing bowl.

2. Make dressing by combining dressing ingredients in a jar or
blender and blending or shaking until well-mixed. Pour about 3/4 of the
dressing over spinach and toss gently to coat.

3. Add strawberries and feta cheese (and walnuts if using) and stir gently, adding more dressing if needed to coat.

Serve chilled or at room temperature. Salad is best eaten within a few hours of mixing.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.

A
crisp salad of romaine lettuce, broccoli florets, red onions, and
walnuts, tossed with a vinegar and oil dressing and crunchy noodles
Yield: 

8 servings
Ingredients: 

For the salad:

2 large heads of Romaine lettuce, washed, dried, and torn into bite-size pieces
5-6 cups of broccoli florets (bite-size), about 1 pound)
1/2 cup thinly sliced or diced red onion
2 cups thinly sliced or shredded red cabbage, optional
2 cups of maple-glazed walnuts (or other walnuts of your choice, toasted)
~4 cups chow mein noodles*

For the dressing:

1 cup oil (vegetable or light olive)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup**
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Instructions: 

1.
Make dressing by combining all dressing ingredients in a jar with a
tight-fitting lid. Shake well. Let stand for 30 minutes or so, shaking
occasionally, until sugar is dissolved.

2. In a large bowl, combine the romaine lettuce, broccoli florets, onion, and cabbage (if using). Toss together with a cup of the dressing. Add half of the nuts and half of the noodles, and toss, adding a little more dressing if needed. Sprinkle remaining nuts and noodles on top and serve immediately, with any leftover dressing on the side.

This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.