Late Summer Salad: Vegetable Salad with Beets and Goat Cheese

Even though it’s the end of summer, I think it’s the perfect time to make fresh salads filled with your favorite produce. This Vegetable Salad is so colorful and flavorful from fresh roasted beets, corn, potatoes, tomatoes and lettuces topped with goat cheese and pecans. It makes a great main-course vegetarian salad because it is so hearty. This recipe is adapted from a recent recipe in Cooking Light for a Corn and Basil Salad. I added and deleted various ingredients, and this version turned out even better than it looks. My friend, Nancy, served it the other night along with beef tenderloin, and her friends raved about it. You can also add chicken or shrimp if you want to add extra protein. Also, feel free to prepare the beets, potatoes, corn and salad dressing ahead of time so all you have to do is assemble the ingredients.

Oh So Easy Family Favorite: Tortellini, Chicken and Feta Salad

It means so much to me when people tell me how much they love my site (so to those of you who tell me that, thank you!) I ran into my friend, Adelaide, at my daughter’s recital a week or so ago, and she told me how she told her entire tennis team about me, and how they are all now subscribing and cooking from my blog. She even gave me an idea for a recipe that she and her good friend, Sissy Bice, had made. She showed me a photo on her phone that Sissy took of the finished dish. It seems I’m not only giving recipes and ideas, but I’m inspiring friends to be creative. I couldn’t wait to make this Tortellini, Chicken and Feta Salad for my family because these are all ingredients that they love. This recipe is so easy. Feel free to steam or blanch the asparagus and use feta or goat cheese. I love using rotisserie chicken as it makes dinner a snap. Thanks again to Adelaide and Sissy. Hope more of you will share ideas soon, Alison

What to Have for Lunch: Low-Fat and Healthy Turkey-Edamame Salad

People ask me all of the time, “What do you eat for lunch?” I guess because I am in my kitchen all of the time, or because I work and workout a ton, they are curious. Also, I think most of us get in a lunchtime rut and eat the same things for lunch over and over (I know I do). I threw together this simple salad in about 10 minutes this week, and my neighbor had stopped by and thought what I threw together was so fabulous. I thought others might enjoy this Turkey-Edamame Salad as well, but feel free to add whatever is in your vegetable bin and use your favorite reduced-fat salad dressing.

See the link from my television segment yesterday:

http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=10362611&nav=menu374_6_4

Oh This Salad so Good! Spinach-Turkey Salad

This salad is so simple and so delicious! The combination of fresh spinach, basil, chopped pine nuts, turkey and Parmesan create an incredible healthy, fresh, main-dish salad. I served this salad for dinner, and it disappeared faster than I could blink. Serve it with your favorite vinaigrette or just a drizzle of red wine vinegar and olive oil. It has so many great flavors already, so it doesn’t need a lot of dressing. Welcome in spring with clean eating and this fresh salad.

Main-Dish Salad: Shrimp Iceberg Wedge Salad

Iceberg wedge salads are so fresh, delicious and best of all, simple. This one is a low-fat main-dish salad topped with shrimp and turkey bacon. I developed a low-fat blue cheese dressing to go with it, but if you’re short on time, use a bottled blue cheese or even vinaigrette dressing instead. This recipe is so simple: 21 minutes and dinner’s on the table.

Shrimp Iceberg Wedge

If you’re short on time, cook turkey bacon in microwave on HIGH 21/2 to 3 minutes or until crispy.

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 6 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon bottled hot sauce

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided

2 to 3 tablespoons crumbled Blue cheese

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 large head iceberg lettuce, cut into 6 wedges, with core attached

2 slices turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled into pieces

1 cup chopped tomato

1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion

Pita wedges (optional)

Preparation

1. Combine mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, hot sauce and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Add blue cheese, stirring until well blended. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

2. Preheat grill saute pan or grill pan to medium-high heat.

3. Drizzle shrimp with remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Place shrimp on grill rack or grill pan coated with cooking spray; grill 3 minutes on each side or until shrimp are done.

4. Arrange lettuce wedges on serving plates. Top with bacon, tomato, onion and shrimp. Spoon dressing evenly over each wedge.

Easy Healthy Asian Chicken Salad

I am amazed how many subscribers and fans on facebook I have that are college students, and I thank all of you and am so excited that ya’ll are cooking while in college! Carlie, a college senior at the University of Georgia, has particularly enjoyed when I post salad recipes, and she told me she has tried all of them. She asked me to “keep them coming” so Carlie, this one’s for you. This salad is a cinch! The ingredients are very simple and easy to find. Feel free to substitute salmon for the chicken or even add thin cooked vermicelli or rice noodles to this salad. I kept the dressing very light, but it is a little tangy so if you want to add more oil, feel free.

Asian Chicken Salad

Prep: 25 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

5 cups shredded romaine lettuce

1 large seedless cucumbers, thinly sliced

2 cups shredded carrots

1 tomato, thinly sliced

11/2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

1/4 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, toasted

2/3 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon canola or sesame oil

2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Preparation

1. Combine lettuce and next 8 ingredients in a large salad bowl. Whisk together rice wine vinegar and remaining ingredients and pour over salad, tossing gently.