Tag: Salad

Cafe Rio Jalapeno Ranch Dressing

This dressing is amazing! And it’s easy because you just throw everything in the blender. It’s great on a sweet pork salad and also inside a sweet pork burrito. I adapted this from a recipe on The Recipe Critic. It often turned out pretty runny and not spicy enough (albeit still delicious), so I made some adjustments. I’m not sure if it’s 100% a Cafe Rio copycat, but I love it. Sometimes 2 jalapenos can be really hot, but I think I’d prefer a little too much heat in the dressing to basically none. Otherwise you might as well make plain ranch.

And this one is naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

Cafe Rio Jalapeno Ranch Dressing

  • Servings: 10?
  • Difficulty: easy
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Use 2 jalapenos if you want it to have any heat (1 is usually very mild).

Ingredients

  • 1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix
  • 1 c. Mayonnaise
  • 2 Tomatillos, husk removed and cut in chunks
  • 1/2 bunch Fresh Cilantro (discard stems)
  • 1 tsp. Minced Garlic
  • Juice of 1 Lime
  • 1-2 Jalapenos with seeds, cut in chunks (2 if you want any heat)
  • Up to 1 c. Buttermilk for desired consistency (or 1 c. milk + 1 Tbsp. lemon juice) (or just use regular milk)

Directions

Place all ingredients except buttermilk in a blender and pulse until smooth and creamy. Then blend in milk gradually until you reach your desired consistency. Sometimes you won’t need to add much milk at all.


 

Strawberry Bacon Salad

This is a nice summery meal, and it makes lots of leftovers. You can use prepackaged candied pecans, but I usually make my own because I can make a lot–and they’re much cheaper. The coating from the candied pecans does tend to dissolve off in the leftovers, though. Haha, that’s if you don’t secretly sneak all the candied pecans before dinner–they’re too tempting! Sometimes the red onion can be a bit much, so we often opt for green onions instead. You can opt to add feta cheese, but we found that the salad didn’t need it, with the salt from the bacon. And this salad is delicious, but it does take a fair amount of time to make.

For the salad in the picture, I just used one package of spinach, 1 pound of strawberries, a package of bacon, 1 bunch of green onions, a rotisserie chicken, and I made my own candied pecans. And I used Kroger Poppy Seed dressing, much cheaper than Brianna’s.

And luckily the poppy seed dressing is gluten free, so this one is naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

Strawberry Bacon Salad

  • Servings: 6-8?
  • Difficulty: medium
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Delicious and summery–try not to eat all the pecans before mealtime. Haha

Ingredients

  • 1-2 (8 oz.) pkgs. Spinach
  • 1-2 lb. Strawberries, sliced
  • 1 pkg. Bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 1 small Red Onion, diced OR 1 bunch Green Onions, sliced
  • 1 Rotisserie Chicken, broken down into pieces OR 4 Chicken Breasts, cubed and cooked
  • 2 c. Candied Pecans (prepackaged or using recipe below)
  • Brianna’s or Kroger Poppy Seed Dressing

Candied Pecans

  • 3 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. Salt
  • 1 Tbsp. Water
  • 1/4 tsp. Vanilla
  • 2 c. Pecan halves

Directions

Place the spinach in a very large bowl, then place the rest of the ingredients on top, except the dressing. We generally don’t toss the salad because everything falls to the bottom of the bowl. Each person can add dressing as desired.

For candied pecans: In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, salt, water and vanilla. In a heavy frying pan on medium-high heat, toast pecans until they smell nutty and brown. Be careful because once they’re toasted, they can start to burn quickly. Pour the liquid over the nuts and mix to coat. Spread nuts on wax paper or Silpat to cool and harden.


Chicken Grape Cashew Salad

If you’re making a salad that will be eaten in one sitting, you can mix the mayo right in with everything. But generally we can’t finish the whole salad in one meal and need to make containers of leftovers, so I almost always leave out the mayo and mix it separately per serving. If you mix the mayo with the whole salad and then make leftovers after, it does tend to get slimy fairly quickly, FYI.

If you’re making this gluten free, it’s naturally gluten free as long as you use a new jar of mayo or one that’s dedicated gluten free (so you don’t get crumbs from previous sandwich making).

Make it a meal with:

Chicken Grape Cashew Salad

  • Servings: 6?
  • Difficulty: easy
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Light and easy, but it does take a little time to cut and assemble everything.

Ingredients

  • 3 lb. Chicken Breasts, cubed and cooked (or 1 rotisserie chicken, pulled)
  • 1 bag Salad or Spinach
  • 1 bunch washed Grapes
  • 1-2 c. Cashews
  • 1-2 stalks fine-cut Celery
  • 2 sliced Green Onions
  • Mayonnaise (or new jar/dedicated gluten free jar)
  • Salt to taste

Directions

Cook cubed chicken, adding salt and pepper to taste. Combine rest of ingredients except mayonnaise in a bowl, generally keeping everything on top of the lettuce because everything will fall to the bottom otherwise. Add mayo separately per portion and mix in, to keep leftovers from getting slimy.


Spinach Pear Salad

We don’t have this salad as much anymore, but for a while we always used to make it with the pears from the Harry and David basket we’d get from our uncle and aunt at Christmas. A nice, fresh salad in the winter.

And luckily the salad dressing is gluten free, so this one is naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

Spinach Pear Salad

  • Servings: 8?
  • Difficulty: easy
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A nice departure from regular iceberg salad.

Ingredients

  • 1 bag Spinach
  • 1 fresh Pear (sliced small)
  • 6 slices cooked Bacon, chopped
  • ¼ c. Onion, chopped
  • ½ c. Pecans, chopped
  • ¼ c. Craisins
  • ½ bottle Brianna’s Poppy Seed Dressing

Directions

Toss together all ingredients in large bowl.


Broccoli Apple Bacon Salad

Even if you’re not a fan of raw broccoli, the bacon and onion add a wonderful flavor to this fresh salad. It’s a great departure from plain iceberg salad in a bag. We don’t make it much anymore, but it’s still delicious.

And luckily Brianna’s Poppy Seed Dressing is gluten free, so this whole salad is naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

Broccoli Apple Bacon Salad

  • Servings: 6?
  • Difficulty: easy
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A great bacony departure from regular iceberg salad.

Ingredients

  • 1 bag fresh Broccoli
  • 8 Bacon Strips, cooked and chopped
  • 1 Apple
  • ½ Onion
  • ½ c. Pecans
  • ¼ c. Craisins (optional)
  • ½ bottle Kroger or Brianna’s Poppy Seed Dressing

Directions

Cook and chop bacon. Then combine all ingredients and toss.