Vertical Pear Salad (Sandra)

(taken from "the Novice Chef" website)

Vertical Pear Salad

ingredients:

4 smooth skinned pears
2-3 cups watercress
1/2 cup toasted pecans
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
vinaigrette dressing
honey for drizzling
lemon juice

directions:

Cut pears horizontally into 3 or 4 slices depending on the size of your pears. Use a paring knife to cut out the cores. The pieces should look like O's. Leave the stem on the pop piece. Brush slices of pear with lemon juice to keep it from browning.

Toss watercress, pecans, and blue cheese with dressing until coated.

Reassemble the pear, vertically, with the watercress salad in between each slice. Once assembled, drizzle with honey, and serve!

Adapted from Better Homes And Gardens

Black Bean Salad (Selina)

1 large red onion diced
1 each red,yellow,green pepper diced
1 can niblet corn
4-5 carrots diced
2 cans black beans drained
1 can chick peas drained
1/2 bottle vinegrette dressing
sundried tomatoes
Mix together all ingred.refridge overnight

Cabbage Slaw (Elsie)

1/2 head savoy or napa cabbage ,shredded
3 scallions, sliced thinly, can substitute shallots or green onions
1 jalapeño, minced
 Dressing,
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 Tbsp honey
Salt to taste

This is really good. It makes a great topping for fish tacos as well.

Primavera Pesto Pasta (Dorothy)

300 g. uncooked fettuccine noodles
1 cup fresh asparagus, cut diagonally into 1' lengths
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed and drained
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup (1/2 of 250 g. tub) herb & garlic cream cheese
1/2 cup vegetable (or chicken) broth
1/4 cup Kraft Extra Virgin Olive Oil Pesto Parmesan Dressing
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil

Cook pasta as directed, adding asparagus to the boiling water for the last minute.  Meanwhile heat large skillet on medium heat.  Add cream cheese, broth and dressing, cook until sauce just begins to thicken, stiring constantly.  Stir in peas and onions, cook 2 min. stiring occasionally.  Drain pasta mixture and add to sauce mixture in skillet.  Cook 1 min. or until heated through.  Top with basil.

Winter Fruit Salad with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing (Sandra)

dressing:
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c lemon juice
2 tsp diced onion
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 c veg oil
1 Tbsp poppyseeds

salad:
1 head romaine
4oz grated swiss cheese
1 c cashews
1/2 c dried cranberries
1 apple, diced
1 pear, diced

Zingy tomato, corn & avocado salad (Kim)

1 (16 oz) pkg. frozen corn kernals
2 (2.25 oz.) cans sliced ripe green olives, drained
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 small onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c. olive oil
1/4 c. lemon juice
3 tbsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
4 avocados, peeled and diced

In a large bowl mix corn, olives, pepper and onion.
In a small bowl mix garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, cider vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper. Pour into the corn mixture and toss to coat. Cover and chill in the fridge 8 hours or overnight. Stir avocados into the mixture before serving.

Arlene's Taco Salad (Elsie)

Romaine lettuce, 1 head torn
2 or 3 tomatoes, chopped
1 med. cucumber, chopped
2 avocados, peeled & chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, riced or chopped
1 can pitted black olives, sliced
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
grated cheddar cheese 1-2 cups
1 pound lean ground beef browned with taco seasoning (make sure all liquid is pretty much evaporated or the salad will be too soggy)


Put all ingredients in a large salad bowl and dress with the following dressing
1/2 cup fat free mayonnaise
1/4 cup fat free or low fat sour cream
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
cayenne pepper to taste
You can adjust amounts of seasonings to taste.
Serve with nacho chips.
This is a delicious salad!

5 Cup Salad (Kim)

An old classic but I still love it.

1 c. pineapple pieces
1 c. mandarin slices, drained
1 c. coconut
1 c. mini marshmallows
1 c. sour cream

Mix well and let stand in fridge several hours or overnight.

Thai Tuna Salad (Kim)

2 tins tuna
juice of one lime
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1 chili pepper
1 tbsp grated ginger root
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
1 green onion
1/2 bunch cilantro
1/8 c. chopped peanuts

Mix and refrigerate. Cilantro and peanuts are garnish. SUPER fresh tasting!

Bean Salad with Feta (Manisha)

This recipe has been brought to many an occassion at Elsie's. Super easy, super tasty, especially a day later. A great side dish with anything. Veg-friendly. Can easily be doubled for a larger crowd. It's a favourite.

1 can Unico Bean Medley, rinsed. Not to be confused with their own bean salad mixture.
1 red onion, small, or one-quarter to half of a large, sliced.
1 red pepper, de-seeded and diced.
1 green pepper, de-seeded and diced.
2 lemons, juiced, or to taste from a bottle
1/4 olive oil, or more
1 block of feta cheese, or to taste.

Add all non-liquid items and mix together. Add liquids and feta. Mix and let sit before serving (to let the flavours marry).

Grilled Portobello Mushroom Salad (Sandra)

8 portobello mushrooms, stems removed
4 c hot water
1 tsp salt
1/2 c each honey & hoisin sauce
1/4 c each soy sauce & rice vinegar
1 Tbsp each: pepper, cilantro, sesame seeds, grainy mustard
1 tsp sesame oil
3 bunches arugula (or any mixed greens)
1/2 goat cheese (sliced or crumbled)

Clean mushroom caps and place in a large bowl. Dissolve salt in hot water and pour over mushrooms. Cover with plastic wrap and steep 15 min. Whisk together all dressing ingredients. Drain mushroom and pat dry. Place mushrooms gill-side up and a glass dish and pour dressing over top. Marinate for 2 hours. Preheat grill to med-high. Grill mushrooms 5 min per side, basting with marinade. Thinly slice mushrooms and serve on a bed of arugula. Sprinkle with goat cheese. (I like to drizzle a bit of the marinade over top too)

Fresh Tasting Salad and Dressing (Elsie)

Mix baby spinach and bibb lettuce
Add red pepper slices
tomato wedges
red onion slices
1/2  cup of chopped fresh parsley

Dressing
6 tbsp light olive oil
3 tbsp of red or white wine vinegar
2 cloves minced garlic
dash nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp prepared mustard
5 or 6 drops of Maggi sauce
4 tbsp whipping cream
Mix well and use amount desired over salad

Napa Salad (Elsie)

I got this recipe from Sheri. It's delicious and makes a very large salad.

2 small heads of Chinese cabbage,thinly sliced
5 green onions, chopped

In 1/2 cup butter brown; 1/4 cup sesame seeds, 1/2 cup slivered almonds, and 2 pkg. of ramen noodles well broken into small bits or Mr. Noodle, discarding the flavouring packets.

Dressing
1 cup olive oil
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tsp soy sauce
Mix together and whisk vigorously.

Can be ahead, but not mixed together. Just before serving, add browned mixture to greens and mix well.
Add dressing and toss.

Spinach and Strawberry Salad ( Elsie)

Baby spinach
sliced strawberries
chopped almonds
sliced red onion
thinly sliced cucumber
blackberries, raspberries, blueberries  ( optional)

Dressing
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp raspberry concentrate or raspberry puree
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
Blend well all ingredients.

Spring Salad (Kim)

Artichokes. Cheese. Tomatoes. This is from the cookbook: Cooking with Foods that Fight Cancer. It's delicious.

3 cups canned artichoke hearts
2 medium tomatoes, quartered
1 bunch fresh watrercress, washed and patted dry
2/3 c. old cheddar, grated
2 tbsp. fresh chives, chopped
1/4 c. whole hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

Vinaigrette
4 tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 tbsp. white wine or maple vinegar
3 tbsp. maple syrup (preferably dark amber)
2/3 c. hazelnut oil
grapeseed oil
salt and freshly ground pepper

Mix and toss. Add dressing just before serving.

Winter Waldorf Salad (Lori Rempel)

2 Granny Smith Apples
2 Red Delicious
2 Golden Delicious
1 cup diced celery
1 cup seedless red grapes, or I love the black seedless
1/3 cup raisins
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted in oven for a few minutes on low heat
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaisse
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tbsp liquid honey
2 tsp grated lemon rind
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ginger
pinch of salt
wisk together and pour over diced apples and other ingredients, add the toasted nuts on top.  I always put lemon juice on the apples as I cut them to prevent browning

Grandma's Cabbage & Apple Salad (Dorothy)

1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage (approx.)
1 small red apple, chopped with peel on

Dressing:  2 tbsp miracle whip
                   1 tsp. sugar
                   1/2 tsp vinegar
                    pinch of salt

Grandma's Almond Chicken Salad (Dorothy)

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 cup small cantalope balls or chopped mandarin slices
1/2 cup sliced almonds (lightly toasted)
1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup miracle whip
1/4 cup creamy cucumber dressing
ground pepper (to taste)

Combine all ingredients, mix well and chill to set flavours.

Coleslaw (Erma)

Dressing:
2/3 c oil
3/4 c sugar
1 c vinegar
2 tsp salt
Bring to a boil. Cool. Add to cabbage when cold.
Shred 1 cabbage, 3 carrots, 2 green peppers & 1 onion.
Let sit 24 hours before serving. Will keep for 3 weeks in fridge. Serves 20 people.

Orange Pineapple Salad (Erma)

1 500mL cool whip
1 500mL creamed cottage cheese
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
1 pkg orange jello (85g)
Fold all ingredients together & chill.