Chicken Burrito Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

We've been eating tons of salads at our house lately, and this was a super easy variation. I would suggest cooking up a large batch of beans and freezing them in smaller containers or just draining and rinsing canned beans. We have one cheese hater in the family so we keep that on the side.

Chicken Burrito Salad

500g chicken breast

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 cups cooked rajma beans

1 can corn, drained (or ~2 cups from frozen)

lettuce, roughly chopped

3-4 medium tomatoes, chopped

Grated cheese, optional

Cut chicken breasts in half (parallel to cutting board) to create thin cutlets. These will cook faster. Generously season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper or whatever seasoning you like. Grill or saute chicken and set aside.

Layer salad bowl with lettuce, tomatoes, corn, and beans. Add cheese if desired. Cut cooked chicken into smaller pieces and lay over the top of the salad.

Cilantro Lime Salad Dressing from Fifteen Spatulas

1 large bunch fresh cilantro/coriander, cleaned

1/2 cup plain yogurt, thick (like ND's brand)

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 Tablespoons lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 chili, seeds removed, optional (I did not use this)

Put all the ingredients except the olive oil into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Drizzle in olive oil and blend until smooth. Adjust the tastes with a little more salt or honey as desired to balance the tanginess.

Panzanella

I love this salad. It is seriously one of my favorite salads in the world! I learned about it a few years ago from Barefoot Contessa when I was trying to find a way to use up some stale bread leftovers I had. You can pretty much use any salad vegetables you want, which is perfect for those seasons when the lettuce doesn't look great. Any kind of crusty bread will work for this, but sandwich bread would be too soggy for this salad. This dressing is also the base for most of the vinaigrettes I make, too.

Panzanella
1 loaf day old crusty bread (boule, baguettes, foccacia)
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
2-3 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 large cucumber, roughly chopped
1 green pepper, cut into small cubes
Handful salad greens or other salad vegetables
3 Tablespoons capers (optional)
1 red onion, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon mustard, Dijon preferred
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar (AKA "grape" vinegar)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon mixed herbs (oregano, basil, thyme, etc.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground

Cut bread into chunky crouton-size cubes. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and when warm, add the bread and 3/4 teaspoons salt. Toss to coat the bread evenly with the olive oil. Saute, shaking the pan often, until the bread is toasty and golden. Remove from heat and cool. In a salad bowl, toss together all the salad vegetables, pulling apart the red onion so slivers mix throughout. In a small jar, combine all the ingredients from the garlic cloves through the pepper. With the lid on, shake to combine the dressing. Toss the bread cubes and about 1/2 the dressing into the bowl with the salad. Allow the flavors to meld about 30 minutes before serving, adding more dressing according to individual tastes.

Peachy "Poppy Seed" Dressing

One of my all time favorite summer dinner items is a crisp salad that has fruit in it. I know many people might think it sounds horrible, but don't knock it till you've tried it. Right now, we're nearing the tail end of peach and plum season (my favorite!!) so I put together a simple salad of mixed greens, cucumber, toasted almonds, fresh mint leaves, and sweet peaches last night. Refreshing! When searching for a recipe for a sweet poppyseed-like dressing last night, I came across a few and combined them to make this. Now, you should know the "" marks are because I've never actually found poppy seeds here so my dressing did not include them. Sorry for the lack of a photo, but it was already being wolfed down before I remembered! Slightly overripe peaches are great in this because it doesn't matter if they're pretty.

Peachy "Poppy Seed" Dressing
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoon cider vinegar
4 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Tablespoons honey (or less if you prefer less sweet)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon mustard
1 juicy peach, skin removed (2-3 little ones)
2 Tablespoons poppy seeds

Pour everything except poppy seeds into a blender and puree until it is smooth and creamy. Add the poppy seeds if you have them. It almost looks like a mayo based dressing when it's finished. Chill for at least 30 minutes. Top your favorite salad with this.

I think it would also be delicious over fresh fruit.

Note: If you don't have different vinegars around, white vinegar would probably be a completely fine substitute.

Autumn Fruit Salad

For those of you who are salad traditionalists (lettuce+cucumber+tomato=salad), this recipe may seem a bit unorthodox, but it's a delicious way to combine the crispness of lettuce with crunchy cool weather fruit. It goes really nicely with Pumpkin Ginger Soup for a fall evening meal or lunch. This is another adapted recipe from the Simply in Season book using local ingredients. The actual "recipe" isn't much at all. It's all the add-ins that make the salad interesting.

Autumn Fruit Salad
3 cups lettuce greens, torn into small pieces
1 large apple or Asian pear, thinly sliced and tossed with lemon juice

Add-ins:
1 packet Honey Almonds or Honey Sunflower Seeds
Handful of soft or salty cheese (feta, goat cheese, parmesan, etc.), crumbled or grated
Dried cranberries or golden raisins
Cucumber, diced

Dressing:
1/3 cup oil
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon sugar or honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Place all the dressing ingredients into a jar and shake to thoroughly mix. If you want a really good emulsion that stays for a while, pulse this a few times in the blender. Adjust seasonings to taste. Place the apple slices and whatever add-ins you would like on top of the lettuce. Toss the salad with about half of the dressing, reserving extra for adding directly according to taste.

On it's own, the dressing is nothing magnificent, but something about the combination of that with the sweet fruit and crunchy greens brings it to life. The original recipe has double the salt content of this adjusted recipe, but I found it a touch too salty so I cut back. You can sometimes get the Dijon mustard on B1G1 promos, and the honey-flavored nuts are generally sold with snack foods like chips. I don't often have the precious cranberry stock so I just leave those out. Locally made soft goat cheese really takes this to another level, too. It's one of the cheapest "luxury" type cheeses.

Ranch Dressing

I made this for lunch today and was reminded that it's definitely a recipe worth sharing. Several years ago, a local friend of mine was asking me how to make ranch dressing without packets. She had worked for foreigners most her life, and her kids had developed a particular taste for it. With foreigners the only source of the occasional imported dressing packets here, that means those packets are guarded as precious treasures for only the most special occasions. I find that often I guard those so much they expire before I get to use them! I did some digging for my friend back then and found this recipe. Having had packet dressing this week the night before making this one, I could really do a good comparison. Honestly, they taste very similar. So, here's a quick and easy ranch dressing with local ingredients. It takes literally about 3 minutes to make if that much.

Ranch Dressing
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried dill or 1 Tablespoon fresh, chopped finely
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley or 1 Tablespoon fresh, chopped finely
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together with a whisk to get out any lumps. Keep refrigerated up to a week.

A few notes about this recipe. First, make sure you get a decent mayonnaise as it will really affect the flavor of the dressing. American Garden seems to be fairly priced for a quality mayo. Fun Foods....not so good. Adapt the second ingredient to the thickness you like. For a more thick dressing, you might even drain yogurt over a cloth first. I like dips thicker and dressings thinner so I actually use almost 1/2 cup yogurt and add a little water to top it off. Lastly, if you want a classic ranch flavor, use the recipe as is or even cut back on the dill. If you want a dilly dip, omit the parsley and up the dill. The flavor will increase over time too so don't go overboard. I never have parsley on hand so I just use dill. This time of year, most of the people who sell a variety of leafy greens will also carry dill. Just sniff, and you'll know.