Chef Salad

Another salad that is interesting and tasty enough for a manly man!  My husband loved this chef salad.  I know you all probably don't really need a recipe for salad, but I always find it helpful to see salad recipes to inspire me!  So, I thought I would share.

Chef Salad

2 c Mixed greens

½-1 c Cooked ham cubes*

¼ c Carrot, shredded

¼ c Cheese, shredded 

¼ c Black olives, sliced

½ c English cucumber, sliced and quartered

½ c Grape tomatoes, cut in half

1-2 T Ranch (We like Wishbone Ranch, which is egg-free and gluten-free.)

In a large bowl, combined desired amount of each ingredient, omit some, add others, depending on your tastes.  I find that if you add a little dressing and mix it into the salad, then you can get away with using a lot less dressing.

The quantities I listed above are great for one large salad.  According to my calorie counting ap, it is only about 400-600 calories.  That is not bad at all for a filling, delicious lunch.

*The first time I made this salad, I used leftover ham that we had in the freezer from our Easter dinner.  I have also bought packaged cubed ham from the grocery store.  I like to sear my ham in a skillet to brown it up a little, which enhances the flavor and dries up any excess moisture on your ham pieces.  You don’t need to add oil or anything to the pan.  If you are on a gluten-free diet, make sure your ham is gluten-free.

Tomato Cucumber Salad

In my last post, I served my Pesto Chicken Salad sandwiches with a simple cucumber salad.  Again, this is not a typical fall recipe.  But I find you can always find some decent tomatoes and cucumbers in your local grocery store, even when some veggies are out of season.  So, I made this quick salad!

Cucumbers release a lot of water and can really soak down your salad.  This salad has a light dressing so I tried to minimize the excess water by salting and draining the cucumbers first.  I was amazed at how much water I drained off.  The salad did seem a crisper!

Tomato Cucumber Salad

1 English cucumber, peeled and cubed

Salt, to taste

6 Campari tomatoes, cut and seeded

1 T diced shallot

1 T red wine vinegar

½ T olive oil

Pepper, to taste

Place peeled in cubed cucumbers in a medium sized bowl.  Sprinkle with salt and refrigerate for about four hours.  Remove from refrigerator and pour off excess water.  Add remaining ingredients and toss to coat.   

Notes:  I used Campari tomatoes because I like their crisp, sweet taste.  You could substitute 3-4 plum tomatoes or 10-12 cherry tomatoes.  I also used a shallot because of its mild flavor.  You could substitute red onion, if preferred.