salad

every salad needs 3 things: a good dressing, a fruit, a crunch. this one's got them all.

ingredients:

• spinach and/or romaine lettuce
• red onions, sliced
• sweetened walnuts (just put some nuts in a pan with some sugar and heat -- watch it closely, this stuff burns quickly. the oil from the nuts is all the liquid you need, so just keep stirring until they're coated)
• feta cheese
• fruit (blueberries, mandarin oranges, pears, strawberries)
• poppyseed dressing
• craisins

this is our go-to salad whenever we have to take one. and we all love it.

brad kramer's salad

if you know brad kramer, you may know he's an amazing cook. our relationship works well with the kramers: they love to cook, we love to eat. some people are just meant for each other.

relish:

• 1 can black beans
• 1 can corn
• red pepper (optional)
• olive oil (just a little -- i actually leave it out)
• cumin
• salt and pepper

salsa:

• tomatoes and red onion, ratio 2:1
• cilantro, finely chopped

tortilla strips:

• cut flour tortillas into thin strips and fry (not deep fry) in pan until brown. quickly remove and put on paper towel. sprinkle with salt. nate and i eat about half of these before they even make it to the table.

dressing:

• BBQ sauce, sweetened with a little bit of honey
• spicy ranch dressing (equal parts of ranch and BBQ sauce)

chicken strips: cooked and cut into strips, flavored if you want.

Serve everything over romaine lettuce. Makes a full meal and is very, very yummy.

strawberry spinach salad

if you're like me and don't really like salads (i feel like my old pet turtle when i eat salad), this one's worth trying

salad:

• 1 lg. head red leaf lettuce (i used romaine)
• 1 pkg. fresh spinach with stems trimmed
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 small purple onion, thinly sliced
• 1 c. strawberries (i used a lot more -- can't get too many of these!)
• 1 c. sugared walnuts: stir in 1/3 c. sugar with 1 c. walnuts and cook on skillet over med. heat. watch closely because they burn easily
• 1 can mandarin oranges

dressing: mix ingredients together in blender and refrigerate until use

• 1/2 c. strawberry jam
• 2 T. red wine vinegar
• 3 T. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. oil