Chicken, Rice, and Edamame Salad

This chicken salad breaks out of the traditional chicken salad class with its rice vinegar and mint flavors that sing to your taste buds.

Chicken, Edamame, and Rice Salad

The distinct and powerful taste combination of fresh ginger and mint lends a burst of flavor to this main-dish salad.

Prep: 11 minutes; Cook: 5 minutes; Other: 2 minutes

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup salad and 1 radicchio leaf)

Ingredients

• 1 (8.8-ounce) pouch microwaveable cooked long-grain rice (such as Uncle Ben's Original Ready Rice)  {I just used approximately 1 1/2 cups of cooked long-grain rice}
• 1 1/4 cups frozen shelled edamame (green soybeans)
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 cup diced cooked chicken breast
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 radicchio leaves (optional)

Preparation

1. Microwave rice according to package directions. Set aside; keep warm.
2. Combine edamame and 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave at HIGH 3 minutes. Let stand 2 minutes; drain.
3. Combine rice, edamame, chicken, and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl; toss to coat. Serve over radicchio.

Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast, Oxmoor House 2009.

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad With Citrus Vinaigrette

Daniel and I made this for Sunday dinner tonight and loved it. We had fresh spinach on hand, so we used that instead of mâche (I don’t know what that is, but wikipedia does: corn salad). The Citrus Vinaigrette makes this salad.

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad With Citrus Vinaigrette

Hands-on Time: 20 min.; Total Time: 1 hr., 10 min. (including vinaigrette).

• YIELD: Makes 4 servings
• COURSE: Salads

Ingredients

• 1 pound medium-size sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
• 1 medium-size sweet onion, cut into wedges
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
• 1 (5-oz.) package fresh mâche, thoroughly washed
• Citrus Vinaigrette

Preparation

• 1. Preheat oven to 400°. Heat a 17- x 10-inch cast-iron pan or 12-inch cast-iron skillet in oven 10 minutes. Toss together sweet potato wedges and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Place sweet potato mixture in hot pan.
• 2. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes. Stir once, and bake 15 more minutes or until potatoes are tender and begin to caramelize.
• 3. Spoon potato mixture over mâche; drizzle with Citrus Vinaigrette.

Southern Living
JANUARY 2010

Festive Winter Salad with Walnuts and Apples

1 pkg (10 oz) European Style salad mix, washed
1 thinly sliced tart apple
1 pkg (4 oz) bleu cheese crumbled
1 cup walnut halves
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Salt & Pepper to taste

Combine salad, apples, walnuts, and bleu cheese. Whisk together oil and vinegar and pour over salad. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss well. Serve immediately. 6 servings. 10 min prep time.

Swiss Chard Tuna Salad with Egg

We have a forest of Swiss Chard growing and found a great recipe online.  We modified it a bit:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup chopped kalamata olive

2 teaspoons brine from the olives

2 6-ounce cans tuna, drained

3/4 cups chopped Swiss chard stems

2 to 3 cups chopped Swiss chard leaves

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

                                         1 cup chopped green onions

                                         4 hard boiled eggs, cubed

                                         Salt & pepper to taste

                                         Serves 4

Cold Chicken Curry Salad

Jocelyn asked for my Chicken Curry Salad. It is difficult as I seldom measure and use what I have on hand.

3 cups cubed cooked chicken, cooled and chilled
6 oz slivered almonds
1/2 cup diced celery
¼ cup minced onion or green onion or omit
2 cups halved green grapes
2-3 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
¾- 1 tsp Curry Powder
1/1/2 cups Mayonnaise (can use ½ sour cream, ½ mayo)more if needed

Mix mayo, lemon juice, curry powder, parmesan cheese and onion together. Toss chicken cubes, almonds, celery and sliced grapes together. Lightly mix the sauce with the chicken mixture. Chill salad. Use a scoop to serve a mound onto either a lettuce leaf or a large tomato divided into 6 cuts (like a flower), gently spread and place scoop of salad in center.

Pineapple Mint Salad

Here's a fun salad that I've enjoyed making this last year. I found it in Easy Summer Meals by Cooking Light (pg 32)

Combine 4 cups cubed fresh pineapple, 1/2 cup very thinly vertically sliced red onion, 1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh mint, 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, 1 tablespoon honey, and 1/8 teaspoon salt.