Spinach Salad with Homemade Dressing

MMMMM, this is one of my favorites. I LOVE a good spinach salad with all kinds of goodies on it. It's definitely worthy of the description, "YUMMY!"

Spinach Salad with Homemade Dressing

Salad:
10 oz baby spinach, torn
1/2 cup sliced red onion (I used sweet since I had it on-hand)
1 pear, cored and sliced/chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
8 oz. grilled chicken, sliced

Dressing:
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Mix the salad ingredients in a large bowl. In a blender or large bowl, mix together all the dressing ingredients. Blend or use stick blender to blend. Pour on salad and toss well. Allow to stand 5-10 min before serving. Enjoy, and try not to lick the bowl clean.

Yummy Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and shredded (or 2 cans of Tyson all white meat chicken breast, drained, rinsed and shredded)
1 heaping tablespoon of Hellman's Mayo
3 tbsp. Honey Mustard
40-50 red seedless grapes, quartered
1/4 c. chopped walnuts

In a large bowl, mix shredded chicken breast, mayo, honey mustard, grapes and walnuts. Mix thoroughly. You may need to add a little more mayo depending on how moist you like the chicken salad. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over a bed of lettuce, on toast or on a bagel. To add a little more flavor, chop one apple right before you serve to mix in. The apples get brown very quickly, so only add them right before you serve.

Meal Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. This is a staple for our house. We never get tired of this chicken salad.

Snicker Salad-Oh Yum!

Trick or Treat! This sure is a delicious treat! This is an old fall party favorite!

Amy, this is for you! I bet this will make you come and visit!

Snicker Salad
(or Apple Salad if you are going to Weight Watchers!)

6-8 Granny Smith Apples-cut into bite size pieces
6-8 Snickers Bars-cut into bite size pieces
1 can of salted Planters Peanuts
1 lg. tub of Cool Whip

In a large bowl, combine Snickers, peanuts, apples (cut the apples last to prevent browning) and Cool Whip. Mix thoroughly and chill for 2 hours before serving.

Meal Rating: 10 out of 5 stars! Yummy deliciousness!

7 (Yummy!) Layer Salad

This delicious summertime favorite salad is easy to make. You can substitute any of the layers for a change. I have had this with celery, peppers, snap peas, broccoli and egg (you will never have mine with egg!). You can also leave off the bacon for the vegetarians in your life!

7 Layer Salad

Ingredients:

1 large head of iceberg lettuce-rinsed and chopped
1/2 bag of shredded carrots or 2 large carrots shredded
1/2 red small red onion-diced
1/2 c. frozen peas
2 c. Hellman's Mayo (no Miracle Whip!)
3 tbsp. sugar
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
8 strips of bacon

Cover the bottom of your dish (approx. 4x8) with the lettuce. This layer should be approx. 1 inch thick. Layer carrots, peas and onion on top of the lettuce. In a large measuring cup, mix mayo and sugar together. Mix until smooth and creamy. Spread evenly over the salad. Cover dressing with cheese. Crumble bacon on top of the cheese. Refrigerate until serving.


Meal rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. This is a crowd pleaser, but I took off a 1/2 star due to the cost. The veggies and the bacon can get expensive if you have to make this for a large group of people. This is best if serving 8-10 people. Enjoy!

p.s. Happy Birthday Madison and Chris Bors. Hope you like this salad (and your presents!)

Cucumber Onion Salad-Yum!

This is one of my favorite summertime salad recipes.

Cucumber Onion Salad

1 large cucumber

1 large sweet onion

3 tbsp. sour cream

salt

pepper

Thinly slice the cucumber and onion. The thinner the better. In a medium bowl mix cucumbers, onions, sour cream. Salt and pepper to taste. I prefer fresh coarsely ground pepper.

Chill for an hour and enjoy!

Meal Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. This is a great side dish that is easy to make.