Category: General Food Recipes

How To Make Your Own Chicken Salad

Making a chicken salad is often perceived by many to be extremely easy; just pour in the chicken. Actually, it is not all about the chicken. Chicken salads are about the overall taste it has, together with other ingredients.

Therefore, it is highly important to take note of the other ingredients that you put in your chicken salad for it to have a delicious and savory taste.

You will need three chicken breast halves that are of large sizes. With these chicken breasts, it is important that you do not remove the bone.

You will also need a good-sized apple, which you will dice; one or two large celery stalks that you will also dice; a half cup of chopped nuts, you can use either pecans or walnuts, both are good for chicken salads; salt and pepper; and a good type of mayonnaise.

First you have to season the chicken with pepper and salt. After doing so, bake it, while placed in foil, for fifty to sixty minutes at three hundred seventy-five degrees. Once done, drain the liquid, for it will not be needed. Leave your chicken to cool down.

Once it is already cool, cut the chicken meat into small chunks. You can also tear the cooked chicken into thin strips if you do not like chunks.

You may add in more salt and pepper if you think doing so is necessary. Add the apple that you have diced, with the celery and the nuts. To attain that desired moistness, put in your mayonnaise.

And there you have it; you have just conjured your very own chicken salad. When you want to serve your self-made chicken salad to your guests already, just place an ample amount of it on a bed of lettuce leaves. Serve it with bread, hot rolls, crackers or biscuits to have a complete, delicious meal.

If you have taken note of the ingredients, you will notice that the ingredients used are not oozing with cholesterol. Chicken salads are healthy, but they will not make you bloat. They are perfect for nutritious diets, for they are most certainly filled with different nutrients.

Making a chicken salad is not difficult. However, you have to be accurate and careful in choosing the ingredients you put in it as to keep that slender body of yours. You do not feel hungry, and you also do not have to worry about getting fat. What more could you ask for?

Go Meditarrenean With Greek Salad

Greek Salad is characterize by its fresh taste. Made only with crisp vegetables. It is a very healthy dish that requires little or less than ten minutes to prepare. Greek salads are a fusion of colors. You have the greens, the yellows, the reds and the oranges. Below is a compilation of some of the most fantastic Greek salad recipes.

GREEK SALAD RECIPE

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic: minced (crushed)
teaspoon dried oregano
teaspoon sea salt
teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and extra for garnish
3 tomatoes: cut into wedges
red onion: sliced into rings
cucumber: sliced into thick half-moons
green pepper (capsicum): julienned
4 oz (120g) feta cheese: cut into small cubes
16 kalamata olives

PLACE the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano in a small jar with a screw-top lid and shake to combine. PLACE the salad ingredients in a large bowl. POUR the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine just before serving. Garnish with a little freshly ground black pepper.

MEDITERRANEAN GREEK SALAD

INGREDIENTS

3 cucumbers, seeded and sliced
1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese
1 cup black olives, pitted and sliced
3 cups diced roma tomatoes
1/3 cup diced oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, oil reserved
1/2 red onion, sliced

DIRECTIONS

1.In a large salad bowl, toss together the cucumbers, feta cheese, olives, roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, 2 tablespoons reserved sun-dried tomato oil, and red onion. Chill until serving.

GREEK SALAD

3 vine ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 European seedless cucumber, cut into bite-size chunks
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chunked
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and chunked
1 cubanelle pepper, seeded and chunked
1 cup Kalamata black olives
Several sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, about 1/2 cup
2 (1/4 pound) slices imported Greek feta
1/4 cup (a couple of glugs) extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons (3 splashes) red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed in palm of your hand
Coarse salt and black pepper
Pita breads

Combine vegetables, olives, and parsley in a large bowl. Rest sliced feta on the top of salad. Combine oil, vinegar, and oregano in a small plastic container with a lid. Shake vigorously to combine oil and vinegar and pour over salad and cheese.

Season with salt and pepper and let the salad marinate until ready to serve. Serve salad with pita bread blistered and warmed on a hot griddle or grill pan.

Natashas Greek Salad

1 bunch leaf lettuce
2 cucumbers
4 large tomatoes
1 small yellow onion

Garnish:

Greek black olives
feta cheese

Dressing:

1 part red wine vinegar
1 part olive oil
crushed garlic
salt and pepper to taste
2 pinches sugar

Chop lettuce and onion finely. Chop tomatoes and cucumbers coarsely (about 1/2). Combine and garnish to taste. One of the simplest items we prepare, this salad draws many compliments. Use real Greek olives packed in brine.

Go Heathy With These Fantastic Tuna Salad Recipes

Tuna is probably the most versatile type of seafood. It is a healthy substitute for meat. It has a distinct taste that makes it perfect for salads as well as sandwich dressing. Like chicken, tuna’s taste is not strong so as to contrast with the taste of all the other ingredients that it mixes with. Below are some interesting takes on the good old tuna salad.

Gourmet Tuna Salad

1 (12-ounce) can tuna, drained
2 chopped green onions
1 stalk celery, diced
1/4 cup stuffed green olives, chopped
2 tablespoons capers, diced
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream

1.In a mixing bowl, combine tuna, green onions, celery, green olives, capers and almonds.

2.In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream and the Worcestershire sauce. Blend together dressing and tuna mixture.

3.Serve on bed of lettuce or your choice of fresh bread as a tuna salad sandwich.

TUNA SALAD RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

2 large tomatoes, cut in quarters
1 red bell pepper, cut in matchstick strips
1 green bell pepper, cut in matchstick strips
1 small onion, sliced in rings
1 can (6 1/2 or 7 ounces) tuna in vegetable oil
4 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons wine vinegar
1/2 small clove garlic, finely minced
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
12 pitted black olives, chopped

PREPARATION:

Arrange tomato quarters on a salad serving platter; place pepper strips and onion rings in center. Drain oil from tuna into a small jar; flake tuna and arrange in center of platter. Make salad dressing: add olive oil, wine vinegar, minced garlic, salt, pepper and dry mustard to tuna oil in jar.

Seal tightly and shake vigorously to blend. Sprinkle over tuna salad platter. Sprinkle chopped olives over the salad. Tuna salad serves 3 to 4.

TUNA SALAD WITH MELON RINGS

INGREDIENTS:

1 large honeydew melon
lettuce
2 cans (7 ounces each) tuna, drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 teaspoon dried leaf thyme, crumbled
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

PREPARATION:

Peel honeydew melon; cut into circles about one inch thick. Remove seeds and place on beds of lettuce. Mix tuna, mayonnaise, and celery, thyme and pepper. Spoon into centers of honeydew circles. If desired, garnish with fresh parsley. Tuna salad recipe serves 6.

CRUNCHY TUNA SALAD WITH GREEN BEANS

INGREDIENTS:

2 packages (10 ounces each, or 3 cups total) frozen cut green beans
2 cans (7 ounces) tuna, drained and flaked
2 cups thinly sliced celery
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups chow mein noodles
salad greens

PREPARATION:

Directions:

Cook green beans according to package directions; drain and let cool. Combine cooled green beans, tuna, celery, mayonnaise, lemon juice, soy sauce, and garlic powder; toss to mix well.

Chill salad thoroughly. Just before serving tuna salad, stir in chow mein noodles. Serve tuna salad on salad greens. Tuna salad serves four to six.

Famous Ceasar Salad Recipes

Ceasar Salad is undoubtedly the most popular of all the salads. Hence, the name fitted for royalty. It has gained popular acceptance mainly because it has the taste and texture you can actually enjoy. In other words, it does not taste like most healthy food should. Listed below are two amazing recipes and takes on the well-loved salad.

CEASAR SALAD (From Recipe Source.com)

4 ounces anchovies
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 ounces garlic — chopped
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 quart olive oil
1 teaspoon black pepper
12 cups romaine lettuce
salt — to taste
croutons — seasonings in recipe

STEP ONE: Prepare Croutons (Optional)

Cut a loaf of stale bread into 1/4-inch cubes. Season with melted butter, thyme, basil, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Bake until crisp.

STEP TWO: Prepare Caesar Salad Dressing

In a large bowl, grind anchovies to a paste-like consistency. Stir in all remaining ingredients except Romaine lettuce.

STEP THREE:

Tear Romaine lettuce into large pieces and place in large bowl. Pour salad dressing over lettuce and toss salad. Serve immediately.

CEASAR SALAD WITH LEMONGRASS-SKWERED SHIMPS AND SCALLOPS (From Recipe Link.com)

CAESAR DRESSING:

1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, preferably Reggiano
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped (about 1 teaspoon)
1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
About 1/3 cup water for thinning

16 large shrimp (about 1 pound), peeled and deveined (tails on)
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
16 medium sea scallops (about 1 pound), muscles removed
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
8 stalks lemongrass, cut into 10- to 12-inch skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes
2 cups croutons
6 cups lightly packed mixed salad greens
6 cups lightly packed chopped hearts of romaine
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, preferably Reggiano

1.For the dressing, combine the mayonnaise, Parmesan, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, anchovy, and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk until well incorporated. Whisk in the water to desired consistency. Refrigerate until chilled.

2.Preheat a grill to medium high or the oven to 450 degree F. Add the shrimp with 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a bowl. In a separate bowl, gently toss the scallops with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Season the shrimp and scallops, on both sides, with kosher salt and pepper.

Thread 4 shrimp onto each of 4 lemongrass skewers, threading them through the head and tail so they will lie flat when cooking. Thread 4 scallops onto each of the remaining 4 lemongrass skewers, so they will also lie flat when cooking.

Cover the grill and cook for 8 minutes, rotating the skewers frequently, until the shrimp are pink and the scallops are opaque throughout. Or, place the skewers on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and bake for 8 to 10 minutes on the top rack of the oven.

3.Toss the croutons in a bowl with about 1/4-cup of the dressing. Add the greens and lettuce and Parmesan cheese. Add about 1/2-cup dressing. Season with more kosher salt and pepper to taste, if necessary. Divide among 4 serving plates. Criss-cross 2 seafood skewers on top of each salad portion.

4.The dressing can be made up to 1-week in advance and refrigerated. The seafood can be grilled or baked up to 8 hours in advance and refrigerated. (If precooked, be sure to cook the seafood on the rare side so as not to overcook it when reheated.) Reheat in a preheated 350-degree F oven, covered with aluminum foil, for about 5 minutes.

Everything You Need To Know About Fruit Salads

Most of the people know only one thing about fruit salads; and that is how to eat them. How could you eat something that you know nothing about? Well, aside from the fact that they are delicious?

A fruit salad is a delicious dish with different kinds of fruit, sometimes served submerged in their own fruit juice, or lathered with syrup. It is oftenly served as an appetizer, if not that, dessert. Eitherway, fruit salads are definitely delicious, you can have them for both appetizer and dessert.

Making your own fruit salad is not hard; you just need to prepare its ingredients. And the ingredients used are neither extinct nor hard to find, you can just whip out your wallet and make the march to the nearest grocery store.

It needs one pint of basket of fresh California strawberries, which you are supposed to stem and make into halves; a teaspoon of finely chopped fresh mint or a half teaspoon of dried mint; a half cup of light sour cream; lettuce leaves; a half teaspoon of honey; two cups of fresh fruits that are in season. See? These ingredients do not require you to go hiking up in the mountains, looking for exotic fruits.

For you to make a strawberry dressing, you must puree an ample amount of the strawberries in an electric bender, about a half-cup, to make a cup of pureed strawberries. In a separate bowl, stir the puree, together with mint and honey, into a sour cream so that they will all blend. In assembling your fruit salad, line individual salad plates that contain lettuce. Arrange the strawberries that you have reserved with the other fruits on the lettuce and top with the strawberry dressing. Sounds good, huh? You could bet that this tastes even better.

Yes, you now know how to make a fruit salad after knowing the necessary ingredients. But still, do you know where fruit salads came from? This is added knowledge, thus, it would be best if you keep this pieces of information in your memory.

The origin of fruit salads relies highly on what you initially mean by “fruit salad”. Fruit salads that are made up of combinations of different fresh, dried, candied or sugared, and stewed fruits or vegetables. This type of fruit salad originated from the ancient times. The ingredients and the recipes that are used depended on what were available in the country, or if what ingredients were in season. They also depend on the socio-cultural attitudes of the people toward the ingredients, whether the fruits were socially considered to be healthy or not.

The fruit salad, as we know of it today, is a production of the mid-nineteenth century. There has been unearthed culinary evidence that confirms the saying that sometimes, fruits salads are purposely mixed with sugar and alcohol, thus, given the term “fruit cocktail”. The non-alcoholic variation of this recipe, also the jellied fruit salad, was famous in the 1920s. In the period of the World War II, fruit salads were introduced to the world as a proper supplement of Vitamin C, and were, in fact, included in the American diet.

However, fruit salads in the European countries evolved quite differently. The recipes contained amounts of mayonnaise. Have you heard, or better yet, eaten a Waldorf salad? Well, this is the name of the said fruit salad that is lathered with mayonnaise.

Now is the time when you can say that you know everything you need to know that concerns fruit salads. Fruit salads contain one hundred twenty-three calories, two grams of protein, eleven milligrams of cholesterol, four grams of fat, and twenty-one grams of carbohydrates. What more can you ask for?