Antipasto

This zesty Italian salad is a perfect addition to any Italian dish, or makes for an excellent healthy lunch. "Homemade" Italian dressing really adds a kick, and meshes nicely with pepperoncinis. If you like spice and zest, you'll love this Italian salad! 

Salad Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp of croutons
• 2 tbsp of pepperoncinis--sliced
• 3 slices of salami, cut into strips (I used turkey salami)
• 2 cups of mixed Romaine lettuce--chopped
• 2 tbsp of Parmesan cheese cubes

Dressing ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. of Roquefort, ranch or blue cheese dressing
• 1 tsp of balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp of olive oil
• A dash of black pepper

Salad:

Toss ingredients in a large bowl, or arrange separately in a carry container, like above. This is best if the salad won't be served right away. 

Dressing:

Combine all ingredients, and whisk well with a fork.

Whole jar of dressing for refrigerator storage:

• 3/4 jar of blue cheese, Roquefort, or ranch dressing
• 4 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• 4 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tsp black pepper

Add all ingredients to jar, cap tightly, and shake well. 

Shake well before serving. 

Optional

• We keep a couple of glass salad dressing jars handy for mixing our own dressings. 
• Raspberry dressing: Substitute 1/2 jar of raspberry balsamic vinaigrette dressing for balsamic vinegar, and add to 1/2 jar of of your choice of creamy dressings listed above. Omit olive oil, and add 1 teaspoon of black pepper. 

Fresh Mozzarella Salad

This full-flavored salad is gratifying to the palate in that it offers unique textures and flavors, such as ripe cherry tomatoes, fresh slivers of basil, hearty sun dried tomatoes, and chunks of fresh, soft mozzarella. It serves wonderfully alongside a savory pasta dish, such as our Baked Penne Parmesan!
Ingredients:

• 2 cups mixed salad greens
• 2 oz. fresh mozzarella, chopped
• 2 basil leaves, sliced into strips
• 5 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 tbsp. chopped sun dried tomatoes (from jar)

Dressing:

We drizzled a tablespoon of olive oil and about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of our favorite balsamic vinegar over the salad. It would also taste great with green Pesto dressing.

Optional Ideas:

• spinach, in place of the mixed salad greens
• bacon bits
• pine nuts

Apple Pistachio Salad

This zesty salad, loaded with flavor, is satisfying by itself or as a side to any meal.  The juicy sweetness of the apples combined with the salty, savory crunch of the pistachios create a unique and healthy combination.  Green onion and dried cranberries give an added kick!  

Ingredients:

• 2 cups mixed salad greens
• 1/2 of a medium apple, chopped
• 1 small green onion stalk, sliced
• 1 handful of dried cranberries
• 1 handful of shelled, salted pistachios

Dressing options:

This salad would be delicious with Oil and Vinegar dressing, or Raspberry Vinaigrette; however, we had a bottled Sweet Vidalia Onion dressing on hand, which proved to compliment all the ingredients very well!